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American Morning
Clinton To Try and Sell Obama Afghan War Strategy to NATO; Obama Focuses on Job Creation; Senator's Daughter Carjacked; One-On- One with Sec. Clinton; Missing Piece of the Job Puzzle
Aired December 04, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING on this Friday. It's December 4th. I'm Kiran Chetry in New York.
Hi, John.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, good morning to you, Kiran. I'm John Roberts outside of NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium where just a few minutes ago we wrapped up an interview with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. This is a big day for her. She has come over to the NATO headquarters to try to cajole the other 27 members of the NATO alliance into providing more troops for Afghanistan. And it looks like she is going to come away with this conference with what she looked for if not more.
The secretary general, Rasmussen, said just a few minutes ago that they have commitments, while not all have been made public, of some 7,000 NATO forces to go into Afghanistan to join the 30,000 American troops that will be deploying to Afghanistan in the next six months. The secretary of state and I sat down just a while ago to talk about that and many other things. But here's what she said on the troop front.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, as of right now, we have more than 5,000 committed. These include decisions by governments to keep troops that they were about to remove that they had sent only for the elections, plus new additional commitments. For example, today, we heard from the Italians and the Poles and the Slovakians and I'm probably forgetting some others, but we had some really positive, new commitments.
ROBERTS: As you wanted to get 7,000 troops, do you think that you'll get to that number? Might you get beyond it?
CLINTON: Well, what we've already said -- what we've always said is between 5,000 and 7,000, because that's what we assessed. But we're obviously looking for more commitments. We think more will be coming in the weeks ahead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And, again, just a few minutes ago, the NATO secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said that he has commitments of 7,000 troops. So it looks like the United States will get to that upper number and perhaps beyond that. But, of course, it's not all just military that will be the key to success in Afghanistan. The civilian component will be a big one as well.
Our State Department correspondent Jill Dougherty is here along with me outside of NATO headquarters. Talk to us about that civilian component because it's one thing to have boots on the ground. But if we're looking at a transition to Afghan control, the civilian component is going to play a huge part whether or not Afghanistan makes it or slides back into chaos again as it did in the 1990s.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, John. You know, the point that the secretary is making and everybody is making here is the military can't do it alone, that you have to have the services for the civilians in Afghanistan that the government of Hamid Karzai is not providing. And if you don't have that, the citizens lose hope and they can turn to the Taliban. So that's what they believe -- that it's crucial to get people on the side of the government and away from the Taliban.
ROBERTS: Now in terms of getting people on the side of the government and away from the Taliban, there has to be good governance in place. People have to be able to trust the government, and we know that the secretary, when she went over to Afghanistan recently on the eve of Hamid Karzai's inauguration was very strong with him to say, you have to do something to root out corruption. And we understand that ISAF, even national security force there in Afghanistan may actually play a role in helping to root out corruption across the Afghan government. What do we know about that?
DOUGHERTY: Absolutely. It's very interesting and it's new that these ISAF forces, the trainers particularly, would be able to have actionable intelligence that they would collect and then they would give to the Afghan government and say, look, here is where the corruption is taking place. Now follow up with your promise to do something about it.
ROBERTS: So they would actually play an active role in rooting out corruption?
DOUGHERTY: Yes.
ROBERTS: That is a new role for the ISAF force.
DOUGHERTY: Quite different. Quite different, yes. Yes. And you know, John, there's another point that you can see emerging here. What they're trying to do -- what Secretary Clinton is trying to do and the president is trying to do is say, look, the military side is going to be relatively short term. We're talking about this July 2011 -- not a deadline but a beginning of the end.
But you heard from Secretary Clinton in your interview the civilian part of it is going to be long term. So the message is going out to Pakistan and Afghanistan. We're in it for the long run, but not militarily, but in a development civilian side. ROBERTS: Although they have made it clear though as well in the last few days that there may be some sort of residual force that stays in Afghanistan to back up the Afghan military and the Afghan police.
DOUGHERTY: Right.
ROBERTS: Now in terms of moving forward here with these forces, we have not heard from two of the big NATO countries, France and Germany. Where are they in terms of -- we talked to the secretary of state. The United States has asked France from somewhere around 1,500 troops. Where are France and Germany in terms of more commitments to the Afghan forces?
DOUGHERTY: The French, all they're saying at this point is we're in it for as long as it takes, but we're not going to give you anymore troops. However, behind the scenes, would you know that in some countries unnamed so far, there are some commitments but they can't talk about them publicly, because it's just too radioactive in their own countries.
People are opposed to it. There's a lot of opposition. So they may be able to make the commitment here quietly and then later, especially in London the end of January, January 28th, there will be this other conference and maybe at that point they can make some type of public commitment. But the message that you're hearing from Clinton is ante up as many as you can right now because the sooner you get them over here, the sooner we get out.
ROBERTS: Yes. The other thing that we're hearing from Secretary Clinton as well is that while this is a transition to Afghan control, it is not an exit strategy. They're trying to dispel the notion that the United States is preparing to pep run from Afghanistan as it did back in 1989.
Much more of that interview with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton just ahead on the Most News in the Morning. But right now from Brussels and NATO headquarters, let's send it back to Kiran in New York -- Kiran.
CHETRY: John, thanks.
And the other big story we're following this morning, President Obama shifting his attention to issue number one -- jobs. The White House is feeling the heat. Critics say the president spent too much time on health care and Afghanistan and too little on trying to get Americans back to work.
Well, in just a few hours, the new numbers will be out and they're expected to show unemployment hovering still above 10 percent. That's the highest rate in more than a quarter century. So today, the president will kick off a multi-city tour beginning in Allentown, Pennsylvania and it's all about jobs. The same topic that dominated the White House summit yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We cannot hang back and hope for the best when we've seen the kinds of job losses that we've seen over the last year. I am not interested in taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to creating jobs. What I'm interested in is taking action right now to help businesses create jobs, right now in the near term.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Our Kate Bolduan is live at the White House. And, Kate, so the big question is how does the president's plan turn words into action when it comes to the job front?
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran. Well, it doesn't seem that that is quite clear at this point. It also seems that's the same question that the White House is asking as it turns to the public, private businesses and economists and experts looking for creative ways to spur job growth. At the same time as you were talking about, the White House is facing continued problems with record high unemployment.
Yesterday, the president did say the private sector, private business would be key in this effort in spurring job growth and hiring. And talk at the summit included discussions of increased spending on infrastructure like roads and highways, increased spending on green technologies, weatherizing of homes as well as incentives and tax credits for businesses.
And today, the president and the White House is kind of taking this message and taking these questions on the road, as you mentioned, in what's being billed as the main street tour. The president's heading to Allentown, Pennsylvania in the first of what's being expected to be several stops across the country in the coming months. And the White House says the president really wants to hear directly from the public about the economic challenges that they're facing.
But the reality also here is that unemployment continues to be more and more of a political problem, a political headache for the White House. They not only want to show that they feel the pain of the American public as Americans struggle to find jobs and keep their jobs, but also that they're doing something about it. And it doesn't seem that there's quite a clear solution at this point.
CHETRY: And how are Republicans reacting to some of the president's job proposals? I mean, there has been talk of giving credits, you know, to new businesses that are willing to hire, perhaps suspending some taxes. How is that being received by the GOP?
BOLDUAN: Well, overall, especially looking at yesterday's job summit, Republicans are really hammering the White House saying that really these efforts are more PR than any real substance, they say. Listen here to House Republican Leader John Boehner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: I can tell you that the policies being proposed by this administration and their Democrat allies here in Congress are causing employers to sit on their hands. They've got a stimulus bill that's not working, spending that's out of control, deficits that are out of control, a national energy tax, and now the government takeover of health care is causing employers to wonder what the policies here in Washington are going to mean to their future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: At the same time, the president is also taking some heat from members of his own party. Members coming out saying that they want the president in the White House to do more, to generate jobs. Talks of a comprehensive jobs package, but that, of course, is part of the discussion going forward, Kiran.
CHETRY: Kate Bolduan for us this morning in Washington, thanks.
Also stay with us because we're going to be talking more about this. Coming up in about 20 minutes, we're going to break down some of the best ways that the administration can create jobs. We'll be speaking to Jill Schlesinger, editor-at-large for CBS MoneyWatch.com, and Peter Morici, professor at the University of Maryland.
Also new this morning at nine minutes past the hour, the Secret Service is placing three agents now on administrative leave because of a security breach that allowed this couple to get into a White House state dinner without an invitation. They also declined to appear at a congressional hearing Thursday.
House Homeland Security Committee is threatening to subpoena Tareq and Michaele Salahi. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan did testify at that hearing, saying his agency was solely to blame for the party crashing incident.
Well, the Senate rejecting a plan from Senator John McCain to strip its health care reform bill of $400 billion in Medicare cuts. The vote pushes the plan forward instead of sending it back to the finance committee. Minority Leader Senator Mitch McConnell said the cuts amount to raiding Medicare to create a new government program, but Democrats are promising seniors that they will not lose any guaranteed benefits.
The Washington Monument was the North Pole last night as the Obamas lit the nation's Christmas tree in D.C. The president joking about being technology challenged, but the lights came on. Sheryl Crow and former "American Idol" Jordin Sparks performed. Mrs. Obama also read "The Night Before Christmas" to the kids.
Well, still ahead, some scary moments for Tennessee Senator Bob Corker's daughter. She was carjacked but police were able to quickly caught up with the suspects because of a device that she had in the car -- OnStar. We'll have more on that in a moment.
Ten and a half minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Roman Polanski out of jail and will be moved to his luxury Swiss Alps chalet as he fights extradition to the U.S. That's where the 76-year-old Oscar winner will remain under House arrest until Switzerland decides whether or not he will be sent back to the U.S. He still faces sentencing in California for having sex with a 13-year-old girl more than three decades ago.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention out with a warning about an online swine flu scam. It involves fake e-mails telling people to create a personal H1N1 vaccination profile on the CDC's Web site. The agency has no such program. The officials say the e-mail messages are an attempt to spread a computer virus.
And some surprising research showing young people are sending racy text messages known as sexting, many more than parents think. According to an "Associated Press" MTV poll, a quarter of teens say they've shared explicit photos, videos and text messages by cell phone or online. Fourteen percent suspect that those pictures and videos may have been shared without their knowledge.
Fourteen minutes past the hour now. The 22-year-old daughter of Tennessee Senator Bob Corker says she's a little bit sore but otherwise doing fine this morning. She was carjacked, police say, Wednesday night.
Julia Corker getting roughed up a bit, but otherwise OK. Within 60 minutes, police were able to catch the two suspects. And as Brian Todd tells us, it's an accessory in the young woman's SUV that helped locate them so quickly.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Kiran. This story illustrates the capabilities of a system called OnStar. GM has been equipping its new vehicles with this for several years.
Now, it can kick in automatically or drivers can activate it by working these very simple buttons just underneath the rearview mirror. In this case, it helped bring a happy ending to that harrowing ordeal involving Senator Corker's daughter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): Wednesday evening in downtown Washington, the 22-year-old daughter of a US senator is carjacked, dragged from her vehicle, thrown to the pavement. Two suspects take off in her Chevy Tahoe.
Police in Seat Pleasant, Maryland tell us after only about an hour, they're notified of the vehicle's make, model, tag numbers and location. Shortly thereafter, about seven miles from where the carjacking took place, the suspects are apprehended, parked at a Taco Bell.
Tennessee Senator Bob Corker is grateful his daughter, Julia, wasn't seriously hurt. He's also grateful for something else. SEN. BOB CORKER (R), TENNESSEE: With OnStar, they were able to identify that they were actually not moving and the police were able to come up and apprehend them.
TODD: OnStar, the navigation and tracking system that GM installs in its new vehicles, can pinpoint your car just about anywhere.
We get a demonstration from Bob Kunkel, sales consultant at Koons GM of Tysons Corner in Virginia. He shows us how, just by hitting a button, OnStar connects you to a real person in a command center who can give directions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) tunnels southeast on old (INAUDIBLE) road...
TODD: The system can unlock your doors if a child's locked in, and if your car is stolen, all you have to do is call the police, let them know your make and model, tell them you have OnStar. They'll look up the vehicle ID number and, as Kunkel says, interrogate the vehicle without the knowledge of those driving it.
That's essentially what happened with Senator Corker's daughter. You can activate the emergency system yourself, he says, but be careful.
TODD (on camera): You say I shouldn't hit this little red button unless things are really hairy. Why?
BOB KUNKEL, SALES CONSULTANT, KOONS GENERAL MOTORS: That little red button will send the cavalry. OnStar assumes that if you hit this button that it is a life-threatening situation and they are going to respond with police, fire and rescue until somebody tells them otherwise. They're assuming somebody is going to die very shortly.
TODD (voice-over): A new feature with OnStar shown in a recent ad, the ability to disable the gas pedal by remote control and slow the car down. That stopped another carjacking in California recently.
But Kunkel says OnStar is not the perfect fit for everyone.
KUNKEL: A number of my customers are concerned about big brother, so to speak, being able to watch the people in the car, listen surreptitiously to phone calls, things of this nature.
TODD (on camera): But Kunkel says OnStar has been very upfront about not tracking motorists unless the drivers contact OnStar first for help.
John and Kiran, back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Our Brian Todd this morning with that fascinating story. We will be back with more from NATO headquarters in Belgium and our exclusive interview with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talking about this idea of a timeline. Since President Obama's speech on Tuesday night, the State Department and other American officials have spent a lot of time trying to walk back this idea that this is an exit strategy, a potential cut and run from Afghanistan.
We'll hear from the Secretary of State more about that, coming up right after the break. Stay with us. You're watching the Most News in the Morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twenty minutes past the hour right now. And that's a live look this morning at Brussels, Belgium. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Our John Roberts is live this morning there at NATO headquarters in Belgium, world leaders meeting there with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She's trying to get NATO to back up President Obama's plan and strengthen their commitment to the war in Afghanistan.
John had a chance to sit down with Secretary Clinton just a short time ago. It's an exclusive interview you'll see only on CNN.
Up now, Afghan President Hamid Karzai. After a disputed election, he was sworn in to a second term about two weeks ago. Well, now he says he's willing to hold talks with Taliban chief Mullah Omar. But where does Washington stand on that?
Here's what Secretary Clinton had to say about all of it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Now, in terms of this -- this timeline that has been talked about quite a bit this week, the president mentioned July of 2011 is the time when perhaps you could begin to transition to Afghan control in certain regions and begin to draw down forces. The point was made at the Senate Armed Services Committee, which you sat in front of for a number of hours.
Well, wait a second here, you've said, it will be predicated on conditions on the ground. Now there is a date certain when it will begin. Which is it?
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, it's both, and I think that it is not at all contradictory to say that we're showing the resolve by putting in significant new troops as President Obama explained, but we want a sense of urgency at the same time.
And yesterday, I was very pleased that President Karzai gave an interview, I think, to the "Associated Press" where he said he saw the July 2011 date as a real impetus for them to work even harder and accelerate their efforts to get their security forces trained. Today, I heard from a number of foreign ministers at the NATO meeting here in Brussels about how they think it's exactly the right approach, that we want, on the one hand, to reverse the momentum of the Taliban. We do not want there to be any misunderstanding that we're working toward the Afghan people themselves, defending themselves in the future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: And as America prepares for a new chapter in Afghanistan, AMERICAN MORNING is bringing you the kind of coverage you wouldn't see anywhere else.
Of course, John's in Brussels to get the story from an international perspective, and overnight, our Barbara Starr arrived in Afghanistan to see it through the eyes of our troops.
This is Barbara's eighth trip into that country. She'll be reporting for us all next week, and this morning she's on the ground in Kabul.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, while Washington has been full of all of those Congressional hearings, statements and speeches, the reality on the ground here in Afghanistan is everyone is now getting ready for the surge of US troops that is headed here.
We will be spending the next several days here in Afghanistan, moving around the country, talking to troops, talking to commanders about what they need and what comes next.
But, of course, the wild card is going to be the Taliban and the insurgent forces. What is their strategy? What are their plans? Will they stay and fight or will they run away and hide?
Defense Secretary Robert Gates hopes either way he will be able to take the 30,000 troops that are coming here, the 68,000 already here, and provide enough security very quickly so that President Obama can live up to that promise to begin to withdraw US forces in 18 months -- John, Kiran.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Barbara Starr, thanks again. We'll be checking in with Barbara all next week, live from Afghanistan.
And stay with CNN this weekend. Our Christiane Amanpour is sitting down with Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai. It's a world exclusive interview. It's his first interview since President Obama laid out his plan for Afghanistan Tuesday. So what does he think of the plan?
Well, we're going to find out Sunday, 2:00 PM Eastern on "AMANPOUR" only on CNN. And still ahead, an AM Original, it's the domino effect of unemployment. There's no lending, there's no confidence, there's no hiring. Allan Chernoff takes a look.
Twenty-five minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twenty-seven minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
You know, in just two hours the Labor Department is going to be releasing the November unemployment numbers, and most analysts do not expect to see much improvement. Sixteen million Americans still out of work. And while President Obama is brainstorming with his finest economic minds to find jobs for them, the fact is few firms have the cash or the confidence to add people right now.
Our Allan Chernoff with an "AM Morning Original."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, getting companies to hire once again is definitely the hardest part of this economic recovery. If we think in terms of a domino effect, it's easy to see why.
What's been happening here? Well, more than a year ago the financial market domino began collapsing. That lead banks to push back on their lending. Without bank money, business leaders lost their confidence, and once businesses got worried, they cut costs by laying off.
Now, fortunately, the dominoes are beginning to stabilize. Financial markets, they're certainly back up. Lending, an improvement, not quite there, and the same with business confidence, employment remains flat on its back.
In order for the employment domino to pick up, these two have got to be rock solid stable and that certainly isn't happening yet. The spending is coming from the government, not the private sector.
CHERNOFF (voice-over): Your federal tax dollars at work on the bridge expansion in Connecticut, a welcome contract for Waters Construction Company. But the road and bridge building firm is not hiring any new workers.
MARIO SMITH, PRESIDENT, WATERS CONSTRUCTION COMPANY: I can say that I am not laying off as much.
CHERNOFF: Waters Construction is laying off. Federal spending, Mario Smith says, simply hasn't accounted for that much new building, especially considering the cutbacks that strapped towns and states are making.
CHERNOFF (on camera): The economy seems to be picking up. Wouldn't that translate into more jobs for you?
SMITH: It might eventually. We can't turn construction on and off like a light switch.
CHERNOFF: Before hiring, business managers want to have confidence that they can increase revenue to cover the cost of adding people to the payroll. Right now though, many businesses don't yet have that confidence.
SMITH: We lost the bid by $7,000.
CHERNOFF (voice-over): A confidence buster. Smith has just lost a contract competition, even though, he says, his $3.5 million bid was rock bottom.
SMITH: Well, the profit margins are zero.
CHERNOFF (on camera): So there's no profit?
SMITH: No profit. The best we can hope for is to cover enough costs to pay for the overhead costs in the office.
CHERNOFF (voice-over): Waters is operating so lean that job superintendent Mike Archer, a civil engineer, is doing double duty, allowing the company to avoid adding another worker to the payroll.
MIKE ARCHER, SUPERINTENDENT, WATERS CONSTRUCTION COMPANY: Even though I'm a superintendent, I'm out here working every day as part of our crew and then still doing the paperwork and the project management stuff.
CHERNOFF: Only the paving division of Waters is showing signs of a pickup thanks to some local projects. But until it wins more infrastructure spending contracts, Waters won't be hiring, keeping expenses low to help weather what it anticipates will be a tough winter.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF: And there are thousands of companies just like Waters Construction that are looking at these heavy dominoes fearing that they could come crashing down, and that's why businesses have not yet started hiring -- John, Kiran.
CHETRY: All right, 30 minutes past the hour right now. We check our top stories. A slim majority of Americans are supporting the president's new war plan for Afghanistan according to a new "USA Today" Gallup poll. It found 51 percent are in favor of the build-up, 40 percent oppose it.
But when it comes to cost, nearly 75 percent of Americans are in agreement -- they are worrying that the war's price tag will make it more difficult to deal with issues at home.
Florida police now releasing a recording of their interview with a neighbor who tried to help Tiger Woods on the morning he crashed his SUV into a tree. Jarius Adams says that when he rushed home from his house, he saw Tiger's wife kneeling over the golfer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADAMS: I saw tiger laying on the ground, OK. Elin was talking to him. And from that point I just said, OK, I immediately just ran back in the house, dialed 9-1-1 and ran back out to see if she needed any assistance.
QUESTION: Was he conscious, unconscious?
ADAMS: At that point he was snoring.
QUESTION: He was snoring?
ADAMS: He was actually snoring.
QUESTION: OK. Did she say anything to you?
ADAMS: No. At this point she was actually very quiet, just kind of in shock. You know, just kind of sitting there. She wasn't very verbal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, Adams lives with his sister. She told police that she saw no broken glass at the scene despite reports that Tiger's wife broke out the windows of his SUV with a golf club.
Auctioneers expect the bidding to reach $2.5 million today when they sell a signed four-page letter from George Washington to his nephew. That would triple the existing record for a document written by America's first president.
In a 1787 letter, Washington passionately discusses his support for ratifying the constitution. The auction is being held at Christie's.
Well, President Obama says that it's the private sector not the federal government that must create the conditions for a real economic recovery. The president met with top minds at a White House jobs summit yesterday, economists, CEOs all asked for their ideas to find work for millions of unemployed Americans.
Some of the suggestions in play ideas, financial incentives for companies that hire, expanding U.S. exports, and also using that TARP money, the Trouble Asset Relief money, to actually create new jobs.
Joining us now is Jill Schlesinger. She's the editor at large for CBSmoneywatch.com. Welcome.
JILL SCHLESINGER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, CBS MONEYWATCH.COM: Thank you.
CHETRY: Thanks for being here.
And also in Washington we have Peter Morici with us, a professor at the University of Maryland, a former economic director for the U.S. International Trade Commission. Peter, great to have you with us, as well.
PETER MORICI, PROFESSOR, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: Nice to be with you.
CHETRY: I want to ask you a question first off the bat, Peter, when the president gathers CEOs, academics, government leaders, how much of this is to enact change, how much of it is simply PR?
MORICI: It was really a PR exercise. Their mind was made up before they went in there. They want to spend the TARP money and say they are not adding to the deficit when they are. And they want to spend some additional money on band-aids, basically more stimulus which they will call a "jobs initiative" because the word "stimulus" has now become discredited.
CHETRY: And Jill, it's interesting, the president did say to those in attendance, what's holding back business investment? How can we increase confidence and spur hiring? If he asked you that, what would you say?
SCHLESINGER: I would say, have a little bit of patience, president, because this is a 20-year bubble that exploded. The credit and debt bubble exploded. It takes a while to clean up.
And you know what, as a business owner, and I used to be a business owner, it seems to me let the business owner determine when it's time to add people, and the business owner knows that by when the economy can actually support additional hiring.
I agree with Peter. I think this was a PR -- I wouldn't say hoax, because I think it comes from a good place, but I don't see that there is anything substantive that can come out of this that's truly going to bring a huge number of jobs back to the American economy. It will come. It's going to take a lot of time.
CHETRY: Peter you have talked a lot about the need to get tougher with China when it comes to trade practices there and also trying to incentivize, making sure that manufacturing jobs stay here. Was any of that addressed to your liking yesterday at this White House summit?
MORICI: Absolutely not. Things like business tax credits aren't going to help unless businesses have customers. And the basic problem is Americans spend far much more in China and other countries than other countries spend here.
When those dollars leave to buy a coffeemaker at Wal-Mart and don't come back to pay for exports, essentially there is not enough demand, not enough customers for American manufacturers and American businesses generally, and so they downsize.
Until we correct the trade deficit, which means developing our natural gas on the east coast, because half of the trade deficit is oil and gas, and to reducing the trade deficit with China, which is the other half, and China's undervalued currency which subsidizes the sale of its products to the United States, we're simply not going to get there from here.
Obama talked about that as a candidate. Geithner talked about that in his confirmation hearings. But now that they are in the White House they seem to have amnesia.
CHETRY: Isn't it a hard thing? You're stuck between a rock and a hard really as our financial leaders and in the White House because China holds all of our debt as well, Jill, or a lot.
SCHLESINGER: Yes, but they're in it with us. They don't want to see the dollar crash down to ground. And they want to try to develop their own domestic consumers. So I don't actually think that...
CHETRY: They already started talking about protectionist practices and warning about that.
SCHLESINGER: OK, but protectionism is always an outgrowth of a recessionary period. And I don't care which country you're in. That's always an outgrowth. And I'm sure Peter knows more about that than I do.
I just want to point out that really the big issue here is that when the economy goes through a seismic event like this recession, we are not going to get jobs, we're not going to get policy -- things aren't going to just happen to correct excesses of the past. And I think it's really foolish to expect it.
And frankly, if a year ago you put all those people in the room a year ago and you said to those 130 leaders, listen, in a year the stock market will be up 60 percent from the lows, the economy will stop losing jobs as quick, and inflation will be contained, I think a lot of people would have said, we'll take that bet, because this crash was so unbelievable.
CHETRY: But the thing is, and Peter, this is cold comfort for the 16 million people who are out of work that we see the stock market rallying to impressive heights. We're seeing gold at record highs. We're seeing banks pay back TARP money. And at the same time people still can't find work. Six people apply for every job out there. So what are some of the other solutions, Peter?
MORICI: We need to help the main street banks as much as we have helped the Wall Street banks. The TARP was originally intended to create some kind of bad bank to sweep up the bad mortgages and securities that are on the books of regional banks.
And that simply hasn't happened. Instead, we have loaned the ten largest Wall Street banks money at zero interest rates which they have used to trade and make big profits and trade.
The other thing is we talked about national health care and everybody should have health care and so forth. The way the president is designing it will impose a big tax on business. It's not a tax per se, but the rates will go up enough to basically cost them another $140 billion a year.
That cap and trade and so forth, these may be noble goals, but you don't do them when the economy is on its back. And that is what the president proposes to do. We're getting a lot of anti-business policies right now.
SCHLESINGER: I'll tell you one last thing. My heart goes out to the small business owners. I was a small business owner. I feel like when Peter said they are not lending to smaller institutions, those are the institutions that serve the small business people of America.
CHETRY: The regional banks.
SCHLESINGER: Exactly. And those folks haven't had access to the easy low interest rates and easy capital, and now they are contemplating how to hire people, I don't know what health care will be. Go kiss a small business man today, or woman, because they are under incredible pressure and there isn't a lot being done to help them out.
CHETRY: Will you do it, too?
SCHLESINGER: If you do it, I will do it.
CHETRY: Peter, are you in?
MORICI: I'm in. I agree with Jill 100 percent on that.
CHETRY: All right, well, it's great to have both of you with us this morning, Jill Schlesinger and Peter Morici, thanks.
MORICI: Take care.
CHETRY: Still ahead, we have been following a case out of Italy, Amanda Knox. She is an American exchange student accused of murdering her roommate. A verdict could come at any time. She actually spoke to the jury herself pleading for mercy. We're going to go live to Italy.
It's 39 minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: It's 42 minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
We're following a developing story that's making headlines from Italy all the way here to America this morning, the case of Amanda Knox, the American student accused of killing her roommate as part of a sadistic sex game involving her boyfriend as well.
She claims she's innocent, but this morning that's up to a jury to decide. Deliberations began overnight and a verdict could come at any moment.
Our Paula Newton is live in Perugia, Italy, this morning. And Paula, you have been following this case from the very beginning. Any indication of how this will go today, how those last days of the trial went?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, the last days of the trial really consumed many people here, because there are even things like new evidence brought forward. All of this took a toll on Amanda Knox and her family. Today, she tried to get comfort from whoever she could, but she knows right now her life is in the jury's hands.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Amanda Knox abandoned the poise and calm the jury is used to seeing to make one last impassioned plea. In Italian, her voice trembling, she told the jury she was frightened, terrified of losing her way.
"I'm afraid of having the mask of an assassin forced on me," she said.
The year-long trial of Amanda Knox is supposed to answer the question who killed promising British student Meredith Kercher. She was found dead in November, 2007, sexually assaulted, her throat savagely slashed, the 21-year-old left to bleed to death in the home she shared with Amanda Knox.
EDDA MELLAS, AMANDA KNOX'S MOTHER: We have to continue to hope that she is going to get a fair trial. You know, it looks like the judge and the jury are really paying attention, and so we have to hope.
NEWTON: For more than two years here in Perugia, investigators have been picking apart this case, bringing in forensic experts, criminologists, psychologists. And yet those close to this investigation tell CNN they still are no closer to knowing the truth.
That doesn't stop anyone from having their own opinion as to how these four young lives converged. Kercher, allegedly murdered in her bed during a sex-fuelled sadistic attack. Rudy Guede has already been convicted of the murder and sentenced to 30 years.
But the prosecution accuses Knox of masterminding the crime, exacting revenge on a housemate she hated, so much so the prosecution claims Knox Kercher's throat as her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito held her down and Guede sexually assaulted her.
Journalist Barbie Nadeau has been covering every development in the case.
BARBIE NADEAU, JOURNALIST, "NEWSWEEK": Especially at the very beginning, before the trial started, the portrayal of Amanda Knox was that of an angel-faced killer, this blue-eyed girl, this American assassin.
(END VIDEOTAPE) NEWTON: The American assassin -- you know, everyone's wondering what kind of an impact that's had on the jury. The media speculation has been so intense, Kiran. I spoke to her family as they were leaving the courtroom. They say, at this point, they are happy with the defense's closing arguments, satisfied Amanda's side of the story has finally been heard -- Kiran?
CHETRY: All right, and now we wait for the deliberation of the jury and their verdict. Paula Newton this morning in Perugia, Italy for us. Thank you.
We'll take a quick break. When we come back, part two of an a.m. original, a soldier's story. We'll follow Will McLean from the ball fields of California to basic training. Jason Carroll joins us in a moment.
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CHETRY: Beautiful shot this morning in Atlanta at 49 minutes past the hour. It's 39 degrees right now, going up to 52, and in Atlanta, it is going to be partly sunny today.
You know what they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure. It certainly holds true for this particular couple you are about to meet. They're turning things that you might normally just toss away into new homes for people who need them. Here's our Ed Lavandera with today's "Solution."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: License plate roofs, picture frame ceilings, wine cork floors.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: It feels really good. It's really cushy.
LAVANDERA: Those are a few of the corky in-home treasures Dan Phillips is designing from trash.
DAN PHILLIPS, FOUNDER, THE PHOENIX COMMOTION: I always suspected that one could build a house out of whatever went into the landfill.
LAVANDERA: Now Phillips is turning that hunch into a business.
MARCIA PHILLIPS, RETIRED ART TEACHER: I think it's definitely worth trying.
LAVANDERA: His wife Marcia, a retired art teacher lends a creative hand. The ply and stones have much to say. The designs grow primarily from the building materials.
PHILLIPS: They can't say, I would like to have the bathroom pink. You don't get that unless you found some pink paint in the dumpster.
LAVANDERA: It's a creative equation that keeps costs way down. Phillips who has to have all his projects approved by state inspectors, builds exclusively for artists, low income families, and single moms, and he encourages many of his tenants to be to help construct their future homes.
PHILLIPS: You know how to maintain it because you built it yourself, in the first place. You protect it because you know how many times you hit your thumb and how dirty and sweaty you got.
LAVANDERA: Kristy Stevens (ph) and her two sons helped remodel this 900-square-foot home. Now, they are living in it, paying $368 a month.
KRISTY STEVENS (ph): I'm very, very proud of this work. It's probably the hardest work i have done.
LAVANDERA: Phillips only builds in Texas, but his motto is spreading quickly. He says a group in Australia is now working to bring his noble recycling idea down under. Ed Lavandera, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Pretty cool. We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, everybody's talking about the Tiger Woods saga, and our Jeanne Moos is going to show us another unique group of individuals weighing in on it now. Fifty-one minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: Fifty-four minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
His private life is under intense public scrutiny, and everyone it seems has something to say about Tiger Woods. That includes singing Santas. Here's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is the season to be anything but jolly if you're Tiger Woods.
(on camera): What is your message to Tiger Woods?
UNKNOWN MALES: Ho, ho, ho! (LAUGHTER)
MOOS: He's probably not laughing. Not only has his voicemail to a woman claiming to be his mistress gone public.
UNKNOWN MALE (voice-over): Hey, it's Tiger.
MOOS: Now, the voice male has been turned into a slow jam remix on YouTube.
UNKNOWN MALE (voice-over): Hey, it's uh, it's Tiger. Can you take your name off your phone? My wife went through my phone and may be calling you. MOOS: Not since Alec Baldwin left a message for his pre-teen daughter...
ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR (voice-over): You are rude, thoughtless, little pig.
MOOS: ... Has a voicemail gotten this much exposure.
UNKNOWN MALE: You got to do this for me.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: It was so guilty.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: I'm embarrassed for him that his whole has just laid in front of everyone.
MOOS: And you can bet Tiger doesn't feel true jolly about the press for displaying it. To drive home the point...
UNKNOWN MALE: What he believes is a private matter, and the Florida Highway Patrol concedes that he does not legally have to talk to them.
MOOS: Along with reporters outside, Tiger's mansion was this scantily clad radio host carrying a sign saying "Tiger, they offered me $500,000, I'm keeping my mouth shut." As for the women who really are involved...
UNKNOWN MALE: Come on Jane (ph), give me something.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: Have a good night, guys.
MOOS: ... she already gave everything to "Us Weekly."
Did you hear his voicemail?
UNKNOWN FEMALE: I know everything about Tiger, but I can't comment.
MOOS: You're not one of his women.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: Uh, no. (LAUGHING)
UNKNOWN MALE: It's none of our business. Please, it's a personal domestic dispute.
MOOS: Okay.
UNKNOWN MALE: Tiger's a good boy. He gets a gift.
UNKNOWN MALE: No, he's on the naughty list this year.
(CROSSTALK)
MOOS: This parody of a holiday card from Mr. and Mrs. Tiger Woods is making the rounds. UNKNOWN MALES: Tiger, we have a message for you. One, two, three, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN. New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Fifty-six minutes past the hour. Our top stories are straight ahead on the Most News in the Morning including one-on-one with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. John Roberts traveled to Belgium and talked with her. The conversation you'll only see here on CNN. We'll have that and much more ahead in just 90 seconds.
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