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Defending President Obama's Afghan War Strategy; Hungry for Work; Bombing at Graduation Ceremony in Somalia

Aired December 03, 2009 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. It is Thursday, December 3rd. And here are faces of the stories driving the headlines on CNN.

South Carolina wife and mother Bonnie Hoagland sending her husband and possibly all four of her boys off to war in Afghanistan.

Oscar-nominated film director Jason Reitman, his new movie means jobs for out-of-work Americans.

And Scottish singing sensation Susan Boyle. Her album debuts at number one this week, outselling -- listen to this -- Rihanna, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood combined.

Man.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Defending President Obama's new Afghanistan war plan. Top administration officials are back on Capitol Hill right now facing more tough questions from lawmakers. Today it is members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates told them it is crucial to stop al Qaeda from helping other terror groups plot attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: So they are supporting all of these different groups in ways that are destabilizing not just for Afghanistan, but for the entire region. And al Qaeda is at the heart of it. And whether or not the terrorists are homegrown, when we trace their routes, they almost all end up back in this border area of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

They are taking advantage of the situation in the region to play a very destabilizing and dangerous role. What they have learned, as I suggested in my remarks, is that in ungoverned space, you have the opportunity to recover, reconstitute and reassert yourself, which is exactly what the Taliban did in Pakistan over a period of about three years, and now are in a position where, with their momentum, are challenging, successfully to this point, significant numbers of modern armies.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: Senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash live from Capitol Hill.

And Dana, where is the most concern being expressed today? Is it over timelines, resources, or even the viability of the counterinsurgency and training strategy itself?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, not so much at all about the timeline for withdrawal. That was really the focus yesterday, but not today. And frankly, as expected, because of the makeup of this panel of Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

You have a lot more who are very vocally anti-war. And what you just heard from Secretary Gates was a response to a question from the Democratic chairman, John Kerry, who made a point of saying that there are people on this committee, Democrats, the president's fellow Democrats, who simply don't believe that there really is the kind of threat that necessitates sending 30,000 more troops. So that's why Secretary Gates responded that, in fact, he does believe it is very much a threat, it is still the central place that terrorists go to, and that is a critical, critical and dangerous part of the world.

However, even after that, there are Democrats, as I said, who very much oppose this no matter what they're going to hear. One of those is Russ Feingold, who said this to the panel...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RUSS FEINGOLD (D), WISCONSIN: I am disappointed that he has decided to escalate our military presence and did not give any goal or time frame for when our massive military operation in Afghanistan will actually end. I do not support the decision to prolong and expand a risky and unsustainable strategy in the region. And while I support ongoing civilian engagement in Afghanistan and counterterrorism efforts in the region, I do not believe more American lives should be at risk for a war that no longer serves our most pressing national security interests.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, after Senator Feingold spoke, another Democrat who opposes sending more troops, Barbara Boxer of California, she was very pointed, Tony. She said, point-blank, that she did vote several months ago in the spring, she said, with reluctance to send 21,000 more troops. And she cited some studies and some interviews that members of the military have done that said that since then, because of those U.S. troops now in the region, the violence has escalated.

So, she was very clear that she does not think sending more troops is the right idea. And as you can imagine, members of the president's military team and diplomatic team were trying to push back on that, saying that that is just simply not the case, that we believe that this is going to be the right thing to do to secure this region.

HARRIS: Look, it is an important debate to have. Glad you're following it for us.

Our Senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash for us.

Dana, appreciate it. Thank you.

CNN tomorrow, an "AMERICAN MORNING" exclusive. Her first interview since the president's announcement on sending more troops to Afghanistan. John Roberts, one-on-one with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. How will she get our allies on board, and what will NATO support look like?

"AMERICAN MORNING," tomorrow, 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

And checking the wire now.

The U.S. is pressuring NATO to send more troops to Afghanistan, as you know. Foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels today. Italy promising another 1,000 troops. The alliance is expected to add a total of 5,000 more forces to the 42,000 they already have in Afghanistan.

NATO's chief says the commitment is there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN, NATO: When people ask me when will the mission in Afghanistan end, then I have a very clear answer. Our mission in Afghanistan will end when the Afghans are capable to secure, to defend and to run their own country themselves. It is as simple as that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Somalia's fragile transitional government under attack. A bomb killed 16 people today. Among them, three government ministers. Islamist insurgents with links to al Qaeda are blamed. A suicide bomber reported to be a man disguised as a veiled woman.

A full report coming up in just minutes.

Another sign the jobs picture is slowly bottoming out. As the White House holds a jobs summit today, the Labor Department reports first-time jobless claims fell to 457,000 last week. That is the fifth straight week of declines and the lowest level in 15 months.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

HARRIS: You know, we're about two hours away from a jobs summit at the White House. While some see it as top leaders getting together for lunch, many who need a job are just hoping to get lunch today.

Jim Acosta has that story.

And Rob Marciano is tracking rain in the Northeast and snow -- really, Rob, snow in the South?

Rob is back in just a moment.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: President Obama looking for ideas on how to stimulate economic recovery and put 16 million unemployed Americans back to work. He is holding a White House summit with business and labor leaders today. But have Democrats waited too long to focus on jobs?

Here's CNN's Jim Acosta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just six miles from the White House, volunteers at this northern Virginia food bank are bagging up free groceries for the poor.

PYTEE, UNEMPLOYED MOTHER: I got to the point where I put canned, expired food inside my cupboards. You know? I'm scared.

ACOSTA: That's where we met this unemployed mother. She asked us to call her "Pytee."

PYTEE: You know, people are hungry out here. People are starving.

ACOSTA: She told us how she spends her days scrambling from food banks to clothing distribution centers to make sure her family gets the basics. That's on top of the 10 applications for jobs she says she's filled out since September.

PYTEE: How can you work hard when you don't even have a chance to even get into the doors?

ACOSTA (on camera): Is this as bad as you've ever seen it?

CHRISTINE LUCAS, DIRECTOR, ARLINGTON FOOD ASSISTANCE CENTER: This is as bad as I've ever seen it, and I've been a director here for five years and I was a volunteer here for 10 years before that. We've never seen anything like this.

ACOSTA (voice-over): The director of the food pantry, Christine Lucas, sees a hunger for work.

(on camera): Any message that you would give from somebody who sees this on the front lines?

LUCAS: Oh, you know, anything they can do to stimulate jobs is a big help. I spoke to a business group the other day and I said, please, just don't -- "If you want to help me, don't lay anybody off." We really need jobs. ACOSTA (voice-over): The White House insists the president is taking on the unemployment crisis and that his jobs forum with political and business leaders is just the beginning. Republicans say that's the problem.

REP. MIKE PENCE (R), INDIANA: We believe that it represents a tacit admission that the economic policies of this administration and this Congress have failed.

ACOSTA: Just around the corner from the food pantry, Andres Tobar says the politicians better hurry. He runs a day labor center where he notes jobs are drying up for the working poor.

(on camera): Is it a little scary when you take a look at what's happening right now?

ANDRES TOBAR, SHIRLINGTON EMPLOYMENT AND EDUCATION CENTER: It is beyond scary, at least in terms of the glimpses that we're getting here. For the day laborers, it's devastating.

ACOSTA (voice-over): And it's devastating for people like Pytee, who doubts there's much the president can do for her.

PYTEE: I feel that if he can't bring us out of the mess, we're going to be a third-world country pretty soon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And after his jobs forum, which is scheduled just a couple of hours from now, the president takes his message on unemployment on the road to Allentown, Pennsylvania. It's a stop where the president can see the struggle for work firsthand. The jobless rate there is almost identical to the national average, around 10 percent.

And Tony, just to give you a sense as to how much the White House is wracking its brains to figure out this jobless crisis and get some answers, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters yesterday that they are open to ideas at this point -- Tony.

HARRIS: My goodness. But job creation, most of it is going to have to come from the private sector. You wonder how much the government can really do.

ACOSTA: Absolutely.

HARRIS: Jim Acosta for us.

Yes, Jim. Appreciate it. Thank you.

And we will have more on the jobs summit at the White House in a half hour. Our Stephanie Elam shows us the number of people out looking for jobs right now.

We're back in a moment.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And let's get you caught up on our top stories now.

The House Homeland Security Committee threatening to subpoena the White House party crashers. Tareq and Michaele Salahi were no shows at this hearing today. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan is there to answer questions. He says the State Dinner security breach was his agency's fault.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke queuing up for a second term. The Senate Banking Committee considering his future today. Bernanke expected to win confirmation, even though he has angered Congress and the public for bailing out Wall Street and missing early signs of the housing collapse.

In Syria, dozens killed or wounded after an explosion struck a bus today in Damascus in a neighborhood that is home to a shrine for Shia Muslims. Fifteen months ago, a blast in the same area killed 17 people.

Deathtrap at a graduation ceremony in Somalia. A suicide bomber kills at least 16 people and wounds dozens more. They had gathered at a hotel in the capital, Mogadishu.

CNN's David McKenzie is covering the carnage live for us from neighboring Kenya.

And David, what is the significance of this attack? My understanding is students, journalists, government officials all at this graduation. Was there a specific target of this attack?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, the target might be multifaceted, but what we do know is that a suicide bomber who had a suicide belt strapped to him went into the ceremony. We have word from Somalia itself that the bomber walked in towards the person who was speaking at the podium and blew himself up.

It's significant, because this was a meeting -- this was a graduation of health students in Mogadishu, but, in fact, it also had key members of the weak transitional government there. At least three cabinet ministers of that government have been killed, as well as journalists and students, as you said.

After the bombing, after the suicide attack, they showed the dead body of the suicide bomber at a press conference to show that it was a man who had killed all these people and himself. He was dressed as a woman in a hijab. They showed shreds of the hijab, as well as remnants of the suicide belt. So very significant that it's a major blow for the government there, and it's also the first time that a suicide attack has happened like this, that it was an individual rather than a car bomb or car suicide attack -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes.

CNN's David McKenzie for us.

David, the pictures are absolutely horrific. Thank you, David.

Imagine going for a job interview to find out five other people have already applied. That's right, one job for every six applicants in America.

We are taking an in-depth look at the jobs crisis, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The stock market rebounds, the housing market showing signs of improvement. But if you're one of nearly 16 million unemployed Americans, that is little consolation.

CNN's Kitty Pilgrim reports on the top economic issue -- jobs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The stock market is up 60 percent off its lows of early last year, yet the unemployment rate is at a 26-year high and expected to continue rising. The U.S. dollar is in a free fall, leading many Americans to worry about what's next.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Having just experienced the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the American people are understandably focused on rebuilding our economy, and putting people to work here at home.

PILGRIM: Despite positive signs of an economic recovery and increase in consumer spending and a surprisingly strong housing market propped up by an $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, and low mortgage rates, many Americans feel insecure because of a single issue -- jobs. Larry Kantor is the head of research at Barclays Capital.

LARRY KANTOR, BARCLAYS CAPITAL: Given the panic collapse in spending that we saw last fall in the wake of the Lehman bankruptcy, firms were very aggressive cutting workers. Unfortunately it's also true on the upside that that's one of the last things to improve.

PILGRIM: That's borne out by the Federal Reserve's regional survey of the economy. Eight of the 12 said regions reported the economy had picked up since mid-October, but that labor markets remained weak, with further layoffs, sluggish hiring and high levels of unemployment. More bad news for the nearly 16 million people already out of work.

Kitty Pilgrim, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: The grim unemployment picture is raising doubts about President Obama's economic recovery efforts, so the president is looking for ways to jump-start the sluggish job market. He is holding a job summit, set to start in about two hours.

White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joining us now with a bit of a preview.

And Suzanne, share with us what you're learning about the topics to be covered, what we can expect from this event today.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly. And this is in advance to what we're going to get, new job numbers, the unemployment numbers for tomorrow.

Already, Robert Gibbs, the press secretary, saying that he expects that that might see a slight uptick. So we're talking about an increase in those who are unemployed. So, they obviously want to pay attention to those numbers and to convince the American people they're doing something about it. That's why we've got this jobs forum today, essentially sitting down, the president, the vice president, members of his cabinet, with the head of FedEx, Google, some other big-name folks, as well as some union leaders and academics, to figure out, what are some of these things that inside the White House this academic team has been talking about that the private sector thinks could work?

For instance, they have been discussing the possibility of additional tax credits for small businesses. Do they think that that would actually create more jobs or help them hire more people?

Something else, if the government were to support more infrastructure projects like building roads or bridges, would these folks think that that's also a good idea? Could they hire more people?

Those are the kinds of things that they're going to be discussing today, really, essentially, whether or not the academic ideas are really going to work in real-life situations. Are these people going to provide jobs for the American people?

The president, quite frankly, Tony, under a lot of pressure to prove that that is going to be -- that that's the case.

I want to read to you some criticism. This is from the American Small Business League. It says that it's concern that "President Obama's job forum is yet another publicity stunt designed to yield positive public relations, as opposed to creating new jobs." They want the president specifically to support legislation. They say, "If President Obama were really serious about creating jobs he would back legislation to redirect over $100 billion a year in federal infrastructure spending to small businesses where most Americans work and where nearly all new jobs are created."

No major announcements, Tony, that we're expecting today about what he's going to sign off on, what is he going to support. Some democrats saying you need a second economic stimulus package. They say they're open to all ideas, they're all on the table and this is kind of a listening session, if you will, before he takes this on the road, Tony. HARRIS: What are you hearing, Suzanne? Is this administration sensitive to the idea that at least the criticism that this is just more talk, talk, talk, talk?

MALVEAUX: They realize that. This is a talking session. But they say it's not an academic exercise per se. That talking in a way is a good thing because they need to figure out and find out if this works in real life. They've got a strong economic team, but it is in some ways an insular team, it's part of the administration. They want to reach out to people who they've reached out to before to see does this mean that these companies will actually be able to create an environment that provides more jobs for the American people. They're looking at unemployment numbers that are very discouraging.

HARRIS: And is the president planning to get outside of the Beltway and maybe reconnect with real people on this issue of jobs?

MALVEAUX: They certainly want to do that. The president, tomorrow as a matter of fact, as early as tomorrow is going to go to Allentown, Pennsylvania, he's going to be at a community college. He's going to talk -- it's what they call "The Main Street Tour," a series of visits throughout the country the next couple of months to listen to regular folks about what it is that they're going through, what they need from this administration, what they need from the business community, that kind of thing.

So, you know, they are trying to show that they get it. They understand it. But yes, big questions about whether or not they are really going to be able to produce the kinds of jobs that Americans are looking for.

HARRIS: And with what the government can really do here since so many of the jobs come from, as you mentioned, the private sector. All right.

At the White House, Suzanne Malveaux for us. Suzanne, appreciate it. Thank you.

First-time jobless claims at the lowest level since September 2008. The Labor Department says new claims fell to 457,000 last week. That's an improvement, still not enough to add jobs to the economy.

Let's look at the broader jobs picture with CNN's Stephanie Elam in New York.

Draw that picture for us, Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, based on what you were just talking about, those weekly jobless claims are actually at a 15-month low just to give you perspective of the direction they're moving in, although still they're out there.

If you take a look at where we were when the recession began in December of 2007, Tony, we had unemployment rate in this country of 4.9 percent, which is considered healthy. Five percent or lower is considered full employment in this country. Yes, life is good. Life's dandy then.

But now fast forward to October 2009 and we're above 10 percent and obviously no one wants to see that. And you see that it's just pretty much risen the whole time to get to that point and that's not what you want to see.

In fact, if you take a look at this bar chart here after peaking in January, this is looking at from October last year to October this year. So you got October last year, 380,000 job losses. A lot. But take a look at January. Tony, look at the pain -- 741,000 jobs were lost in January of this year. That was the peak. Can you imagine that many jobs in just one month? That shows you how awful January was this year.

Now going from that to October of this year, 190,000 jobs being lost. Obviously moving in the right direction, but that's a lot of jobs that have been taken off of the table. And it also means that 15.7 million people are without a job.

It also means that if you take a look at the overall long-term unemployment situation, it's been affecting 5.6 million people. And then, for every one job that's open, Tony, there are six workers who would like to take that position. So it just shows you that while we talk about these numbers and it's easy to not put that factually tangible people to that, you are talking about a lot of people who are really feeling the pain. And that doesn't even necessarily take into account the people who are underemployed and wish they could work more.

HARRIS: Underemployed. Yes, well we could talk about that for another three or four minutes.

Stephanie, appreciate it. Thank you.

Got to tell you, we're going to have more conversation about the need for jobs and job development. Evan Newmark (ph) and Alfred Edmund (ph) for a bit of a roundtable discussion in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

And quickly now, let's get to Rob Marciano in our Severe Weather Center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: All right. Take care.

And we're back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Grammy nominations announced last night in Los Angeles and Beyonce leads the way. Named in 10 categories.

Show me some Beyonce! Show's over. Nothing else matters.

Teen country crossover star Taylor Swift nominated for eight Grammys. Both Beyonce and Taylor Swift in running for "Song of the Year." The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards Show is set for the Staples Center -- you just do your thing -- the Staples Center in Los Angeles January 31st.

It is a voice heard that was heard around the world in one night. Susan Boyle is one of the "Faces of the Story" today in the CNN NEWSROOM. Our Josh Levs is joining us with some incredible numbers. And since this is all about recording, look, we set them up in the CNN audio booth.

Josh, you're not trying to pull together an album or something in there are you?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Actually I've asked Otis to grab your reads and we'll send it to music and get a little beat going.

HARRIS: That's a mistake.

LEVS: What do you think?

(LAUGHTER)

LEVS: Nothing, nothing -- Tony, look, let's tell everyone, in case they weren't here that day. You and I celebrated on the air when this became an Internet sensation.

(VIDEO CLIP, SUSAN BOYLE SINGING)

LEVS: Susan Boyle went on "Britain's Got Talent" and shocked...

HARRIS: Hey, Josh.

LEVS. Yes?

HARRIS: The truth is no one expected that voice to come out of that face. Come on. Let's be honest about it.

LEVS: And that's really a lot of what she has become an icon. You know, it was the set up. It was the fact they set her up so you would think, OK, another person thinks she can sing. And all of a sudden you see this. So many people have so many associations with seeing that she turned out to be a really, really great singer.

And now, Tony, these numbers, amazing. Listen to this -- her album is out. It just came out. First of all, it was number one on Amazon before it even existed in stores. People pre-bought it like crazy. Now, she has sold the most albums than any artist in a single week this year. She sold -- it's the largest ever sales debut for any female artist in history.

HARRIS: Are you kidding me?

LEVS: And I want to tell you, she just broke an Eminem record for this year. He sold just over 600,000 this year. She sold in her first week, 700,000 -- actually, over 700,000 in one week. And, Tony, she's beating the last two American idols from last year. The numbers keep growing and growing, and it really is a massive phenomenon we seeing surround Susan Boyle and now turned into the business that we could've all seen coming.

HARRIS: Seven hundred thousand copies in one week?

LEVS: One week.

And you know, part of what this is about -- well, a few things that are interesting. One, and I like to point out, she is the first ever truly overnight worldwide sensation in history. That's never existed before. Someone who has never been heard of, never seen, the next day the most watched and listened to singer in the world.

Also, what we're looking at businesswise is a lot of the people who are especially big supporters are older people who are buying albums. And these days younger people aren't buying albums. They buy individual songs. So a lot of her base are older Americans and older people around the world who go to stores and buy entire albums and she sells more actually albums than megastars; more than Rihanna or Beyonce.

HARRIS: That is absolutely amazing.

Josh, appreciate, thank you. That works back there.

LEVS: Yes, I know. This is fun.

HARRIS: Give Otis his space.

Let's check our top stories now.

Cable giant Comcast is buying a controlling stake in NBC Universal from GE. Comcast gains control of the NBC Broadcast Network and several cable properties including USA, SyFy and The Weather Channel. Consumer groups are raising real questions that a cable company will now own so much of the programming it distributes.

Outside Pittsburgh, a 72-year-old Wal-Mart greeter gets cold cocked leaving the store. I want to read this to you and watch video at the same time. The man who punched him claims the Wal-Mart greeter bumped into him. All of the bones on the left side of the victim's face were broken. The attacker charged with assault and public drunkenness.

Happening now on Capitol Hill, top administration officials are taking more questions about the new war plan for Afghanistan. Live pictures here of Defense Secretary Robert Gates picture. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Gates and Joints Chief Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen among the scheduled witnesses.

Families preparing for deployment as the president sends 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. Many parents, spouses and relatives are hoping for the best.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: A Chester, South Carolina, woman has reason to be focused on President Obama's Afghan strategy. Bonnie Hoagland is one of our "Faces of the Story" today, her husband and four sons are in uniform. One son is back from Afghanistan recovering from wounds and now two more plus her husband are headed there; the fourth son is on standby.

The military wife and mom says she's not sure a timeline for getting out of Afghanistan is a good idea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BONNIE HOAGLAND, MILITARY WIFE & MOTHER: I don't think there should be a time limit until we're completely sure that America is safe. Just believe in what we're there for. That's the main thing is we try to just keep the faith and support what they do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And of course, we have asked you to weigh in on President Obama's speech and the new strategy in Afghanistan. Here's what some of you are saying on the blog.

Fredric says, "The speech was great, brilliant. It was all things to all people and it can and will be interpreted in a variety of ways. I believe in the end, however, the speech is about exit. Obama realizes that war in Afghanistan has absolutely no value but he must satisfy a number of political constraints to get us out."

Ernesto from Florida says, "The United States cannot continue to unilaterally finance and fight wars against extremists. We must reformulate NATO... to more effectively and equitably address the security challenges facing the world today."

Keep those blog comments coming. Go to CNN.com/Tony or send us an iReport at CNN.com/iReport.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks out in his first interview since the Afghanistan announcement. His reaction in an Amanpour exclusive Sunday 2:00 p.m. Eastern.

Jobless in America. Nearly 16 million people are out of work and Washington is feeling the heat as the White House holds a jobs summit today. Anger is building that not enough is being done for those struggling without a paycheck.

CNN national political correspondent Jessica Yellin takes a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Millions of Americans without jobs. Are they being ignored? Some democrats in Congress say yes and they blame their own leaders.

REP. BOBBY RUSH (D), ILLINOIS: Obviously, there's something that's not getting through to them.

YELLIN: He's not alone. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are also slamming the White House demanding the president do more to stem catastrophic job losses in minority communities.

REP. MAXINE WATERS (D), CALIFORNIA: We're prepared to do what we need to do to truly represent our communities.

YELLIN: These members believe the stimulus is not reaching the hardest hit Americans. Some of their proposals -- redirect remaining stimulus and Wall Street bailout money to jobs programs, demand banks do more for homeowners facing foreclosure, and pass a new bill to spur job growth. Essentially, a stimulus by another name.

The White House insists it's already focused on this issue, Thursday holding a jobs summit with CEOs, small business owners and others.

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: What I think the president wants to do is hear from them on type of environment that we can have that would allow for that hiring to take place.

YELLIN: That's not good enough for these frustrated House members who say the White House listens too closely to business, especially Wall Street. Representative Rush has organized 128 House members to, as he says, bring the voices of jobless to the table.

RUSH: Wall Street has been there for a while. Move over Wall Street, cause here comes Main Street.

YELLIN (on camera): One way some of the members are threatening to turn up the heat on the White House, they're talking about organizing a massive march on Washington bringing some of the millions of unemployed Americans right to the president's doorstep.

Jessica Yellin, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Heading into the holiday travel season we just have to ask, is security being compromised by not having a leader at the TSA? Is the threat of a union to blame?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TEXT: Did YOU know? 43,000 trained and certified Transportation Security Officers are stationed at more than 450 airports across the county.

HARRIS: OK. That's good. It's the agency on the front lines of security at the nation's airports, but the TSA, the Transportation Security Administration, is without a leader. Why, and what does that mean for your safety? Details from our homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Tony, despite all the talk about the urgency of national security, there is one high-profile federal security job that is empty. A member of the Senate is holding up the confirmation man nominated to take the helm as at the Transportation Security Administration because of a heated debate over unions, security and politics.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE (voice-over): Fifty thousand transportation security officers screen, inspect, question and observe at the nation's airports to keep dangerous people and items off planes. Senator Jim DeMint believes giving them collective bargaining rights would hurt security.

SEN. JIM DEMINT (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Collective bargaining would standardize things across the country, make it much less flexible, much harder for the agency to adapt to changing threats around the world.

MESERVE: Harder for instance to react to something like the 2006 plot to blow up airplanes with liquid explosives. Within hours the TSA ramped up security and changed policy to ban carry-on liquids.

The union, representing 12,000 TSO, say DeMint's argument is rubbish pointing out that employees of the Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Protective Service, and others all have full union representation.

JOHN GAGE, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES: No one talked about union membership when the cops and the firefighters went up the stairs at 9/11 at the World Trade Towers. No one talks about our two officers, two union members, who took down the shooter at Fort Hood. There was nothing in their union membership that stopped them from doing their duties.

MESERVE: During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama wrote the union that giving TSOs collective bargaining rights would be a priority. Unions gave him valuable support in the election.

DEMINT: It's all about politics. It's payback to the unions.

MESERVE: DeMint pushed the issue at a hearing on Wednesday.

DEMINT: How can unionization and collective bargaining enhance security in our airports?

JANET NAPOLITANO, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Well, Senator, the answer is collective bargaining and security are not mutually exclusive concepts.

MESERVE: DeMint is holding up the confirmation of Errol Southers to head the TSA to make his point, though Southers has been noncommittal on the union issue telling DeMint he wouldn't recommend anything that would "potentially compromise the safety and security of the flying public."

JAMES SHERK, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: I think that the nominee is -- understands the confirmation process and that he doesn't want to say anything controversial. But ultimately, once he's confirmed it's not going to be his choice. It's going to be the choice of the secretary and ultimately the choice of the president. And the president has made it clear where he stands.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: Meanwhile, the union is accusing DeMint of jeopardizing security by holding up the confirmation of Southers to fill a critical aviation security position.

Tony, back to you.

HARRIS: CNN's Jeanne Meserve for us. Jeanne, appreciate it, thank you.

Here's what we're working on for the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

The president is holding a jobs summit today. Just where does the country want to go with jobs and how do we get there? What's the new economy? We will get some valuable insights from two guests watching the jobless numbers.

Plus, remembering our history and learning from Hollywood. Did you see it? "Charlie Wilson's War"? What can the president learn about Afghanistan from the big screen.

Those stories and much more ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Now, to one of our "Faces of the Story" today, Jason Reitman. His new movie, "Up in the Air" opens tomorrow and critics are already whispering Oscar. It is a dark satire about a corporation relation specialists who fires people. For Reitman, timing turned out to be a bit of serendipity.

CNN producer Katie Walmsley takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATIE WALMSLEY, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): Director Jason Reitman finds heroes in a the most unlikely people, from a pro-tobacco lobbyist in "Thank You For Smoking" to a pregnant teen in "Juno." In his newest film, he has George Clooney firing people for a living.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "UP IN THE AIR")

GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR, "RYAN BINGHAM": I work for a company that lends me out to cowards that don't have the courage to sack their own employees and for good reason...

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Who are you man?

CLOONEY: ... because people do crazy stuff when they get fired.

I'm going to need your key card.

(END VIDEO CLIP, "UP IN THE AIR")

WALMSLEY: Just as cameras were about to roll, Reitman and the cast realized the film had taken on an even greater significance.

JASON REITMAN, DIRECTOR, "UP IN THE AIR": Once we got to shooting, we were in one of the worst recessions on record and there was no way to approach this film as a straight satire.

CLOONEY: It was important to talk about, you know, and deal with the idea that people are getting laid off left and right, and we thought it doesn't make it a comedy anymore.

WALMSLEY: Reitman decided to gather testimonials from people across the Midwest who had been victims of the economic crisis.

(on camera): Now, why was it important to have the real people in the movie, people who had really gone through the experience?

REITMAN: My only real connection with the amount of people losing their jobs were numbers on the covers of newspaper. You know, mass type, you know, this many people lost their jobs, this percentage was cut at this company. And I feel like I never really got to see the face of these people. And I was shooting in St. Louis and Detroit, and I thought, I'm surrounded by people that lost their jobs, I would love to capture their voice in a real way.

WALMSLEY: These are some dark, grim times, my family has been affected by it, and it's just nice to see that this profession of ours can be indeed a megaphone for social change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "UP IN THE AIR")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Aren't you suppose told be consoling me?

CLOONEY: I'm a wake-up call. This is a rebirth.

(END VIDEO CLIP, "UP IN THE AIR")

WALMSLEY: The film suggests there's something on the other side of career and job. You know, does it have a message for people who maybe have been laid off or who may be laid off, this isn't what it's all about?

ANNA KENDRICK, ACTOR, "NATALIE KEENER": I mean, I hope so. I think, you know, the entire film is about people who have this idea that they have their lives figured out. And, you know, each of them sort of realizes that they don't know what they're doing, and maybe their entire lives they've been going the wrong direction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "UP IN THE AIR")

CLOONEY: We're here to make limbo tolerable, to ferry wounded souls across the river of dread until hope is visible.

(END VIDEO CLIP, "UP IN THE AIR")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're making a movie about one man who needs to connect with those around him. I think his search for purpose mirrors the kind of search for purpose that these people who lose their jobs are left with.

WALMSLEY: With the Fed predicting jobless rates in the U.S. remaining above average through 2010, a search for purpose is likely to resonate with audiences everywhere.

Katie Walmsley, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)