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American Morning
Obama Calls for Up or Down vote on Health Care; How Democrats Can Sidestep the GOP on Health Care; Kids Direct Planes at JFK Control Tower; Legroom for 50; Take Their Money and Run; Too Many Children Left Behind; Tsunami Fears in Chile; Restaurant "Health" Charge; Aftershocks & Aid in Chile; Obama Says Let's Get it Done
Aired March 04, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good Thursday morning to you. Thanks very much for joining us on the Most News in the Morning. It is the 4th of March. I'm John Roberts.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kate Bolduan. Kiran Chetry is off today.
ROBERTS: Good to have you with us this morning.
BOLDUAN: And John has to deal with me.
ROBERTS: Your first day in dawn (ph) patrol.
BOLDUAN: Exactly.
ROBERTS: Getting up in the morning.
BOLDUAN: It worked this morning.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, we'll check the other two hours from now.
BOLDUAN: Exactly.
ROBERTS: See if you'll still awake.
BOLDUAN: Exactly.
ROBERTS: It's just the way of the morning, you know.
BOLDUAN: That's right. It's a whole -- it's a piece of itself. Thanks, John.
Well, here are this morning's top stories. President Obama saying the time for talking is over. He wants Democrats to do what they have to do to get around the GOP filibuster and pass health care reform. But Republicans are promising they will use every tool they have left to kill the bill. How the president plans to get this done almost a year after it began.
ROBERTS: We're learning that the air traffic controller who let his son direct flights at New York City's JFK airport last month let his daughter do exactly the same thing the next day. We're going to have the latest on the fallout and the response from the FAA.
BOLDUAN: And she has no political experience but $50 million to spend. Critics say Linda McMahon, the wife of pro-wrestling boss Vince McMahon is trying to buy her way into the U.S. Senate. We're digging deeper on the marriage of money and politics.
ROBERTS: But first, the last stand. President Obama saying it's time to vote on health care reform and he's ready to move forward with or without the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every idea has been put on the table. Every argument has been made. Everything there is to say about health care has been said. And just about everybody has said it. So now is the time to make a decision.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Our Suzanne Malveaux is live at the White House for us this morning. And, Suzanne, yesterday the president said he wants an "up or down" vote within just a few weeks. He suggested ways that that could happen as well. But how does he plan on moving things forward from here on that timetable?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John, it certainly seems like this is the time where it's put up or shut up time. Certainly that is the message coming out of the White House.
A couple of things the president is doing. Obviously he's going to take his message on the road directly to the American people. His press secretary tweeted here, John, that he's hitting the road. He's making stops early next week in Philadelphia as well as St. Louis. So obviously making his case.
But the other thing that he's doing privately as well and his aides is that he's putting pressure on members of Congress, and we're not talking about Republicans, we're talking about Democrats here, to push forward and use that "up or down" vote, what is called a reconciliation, a simple majority vote to get this legislation passed. And, John, without even using the "R" word, reconciliation, he was able to make that message very clear that he wants the Democrats to pass health care reform with or without the Republicans. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It deserves the same kind of "up or down" vote that was cast on welfare reform, it was cast on the children's health insurance program, that was used for COBRA, health coverage for the unemployed and, by the way, for both Bush tax cuts, all of which had to pass Congress with nothing more than a simple majority.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And, John, yesterday the president said at stake whether or not Washington can get anything done, but also what's at stake here is whether or not the president can get anything done. He spent a whole year on health care reform. Obviously he is trying to move forward. He wants to pivot, to focus on creating more jobs. And aides that he, as well as others, are going to be making the case to the Democrats, those in Congress, that look, you've got to prove that you can do something here that you can govern. You voted for this in one way or the other and previously. Now is the time to pass this final legislation -- John.
ROBERTS: Trying to convince the Democrats, but no question he'll hear from the Republicans as well. Suzanne Malveaux for us the White House this morning. Suzanne, thanks.
BOLDUAN: So do the Democrats have the votes? There are still some things on which they don't eve agree. Dana Bash tells us where we stand right now.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Kate, President Obama says it's time for a simple up or down vote on his health care plan. But for Democrats here in Congress, getting that done is anything but simple. Let's lay out their plans and let's start in the House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH (voice-over): The idea is for House Democrats to pass the same bill already approved by the Senate in late December, but House Democrats don't like some of what's in that Senate bill, so they won't do that without making some changes, a separate package. Those changes are what Democrats are planning to push through without Republican votes, using that process known as "reconciliation." Reconciliation means the Democrats only need a simple majority, 51 votes in the Senate.
(on camera): Democrats say the first and most important step in making all of that work is getting that package of changes just right, especially to muster enough votes here in the House.
(voice-over): Some examples from the House speaker.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), HOUSE SPEAKER: That would be affordability for the middle class, closing the doughnut hole for seniors, ending the Nebraska fix, and having state equity for all states. And fourth, just to name the major ones, changing the pay for from the excise tax.
BASH (on camera): Another obstacle Democrats are grappling with is trust. Democrats in the House don't want to be left twisting in the wind. Some of them simply don't trust that their brethren over here in the Senate will actually follow-through and pass the package of changes.
REP. STENY HOYER (D), MARYLAND: We're working on having that faith verified.
BASH (voice-over): Another hurdle, and it's a big one, is whether Democrats themselves have enough agreement especially in the House to find the votes for all this. And it's an election year. Democrats are already nervous about getting re-elected and Republicans are stoking that by warning the health care bill will bring them down.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: I want to assure our Democratic friends that if they are somehow able to pass this bill in the House, it will be the issue in every race in America.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: So you see, both politically and procedurally, the so- called simple up or down vote on health care is really very complicated. As one Democratic source said to me, the president's new pressure does help but it doesn't guarantee that health care will happen -- John and Kate.
ROBERTS: All right. Dana Bash for us this morning. Dana, thanks.
Other stories new this morning. The president's plan to give $250 bonus checks to everyone on social security has been shut down by the Senate. Backers insisted the bonus was needed to offset the lack of a constant living increase this year, but the message was rejected by a 50 to 47 vote. It would have added $14 billion to the deficit.
BOLDUAN: And remember Toyota? Well, Toyota's fix may be flawed. Federal safety regulators say they've received 10 complaints from drivers about sudden acceleration in Toyotas that have already been repaired under the company's recall. That could bolster claims by some experts that there's an electrical problem with the vehicles. Investigators from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have contacted those drivers to find out more.
ROBERTS: A follow-up this morning on a story that we had been following closely for you on AMERICAN MORNING. The Rhode Island school superintendent who fired all of the teachers and staff at Central Falls High School says she is now willing to negotiate since the union has agreed to make some changes. The changes include a longer school day and additional tutoring. Last week, the Central Falls school board agreed to fire more than 90 people at the underperforming school.
BOLDUAN: And Captain "Sully" Sullenberger wheels down for good. He piloted his final flight for U.S. Airways yesterday. The "miracle on the Hudson" pilot is retiring after 30 years. Sullenberger who's 59 says he'll continue to be an advocate for pilots and aviation safety. Doreen Welsh, a flight attendant who was part of Sully's crew on that very memorial U.S. Airways Flight 1549, is also retiring.
ROBERTS: The skies will be just a little emptier.
BOLDUAN: That story still amazes me whenever we talk about it.
ROBERTS: (INAUDIBLE).
BOLDUAN: I know. Absolutely.
ROBERTS: Rob Marciano is in Atlanta this morning. He's got a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. How are we looking today other than windy in the northeast, Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And chilly all the way down to Florida, so the East Coast a little bit more quiet, with the exception of eastern New England. But there's another storm rolling into the West Coast as the intermountain west also gets cranked up.
Take a look at the map. Folks who live in the southeast are chilly this morning, but thankful that there's no more snow on the way. There's a little bit of snow across eastern New England and parts of Rhode Island and eastern Mass. A little bit of New Hampshire and Maine getting into the act as well, and also very windy with the storm that's exiting off towards the north to the east. And then freeze warnings down to the south. My goodness, and a wind chill advisory up for parts of central and South Florida. Feeling like it's in the 40s across South Beach right now, but a slow warm-up as we head towards the weekend.
We'll talk more about that in about 30 minutes. Kate and John, back to you.
BOLDUAN: The slow warm-up. I like the sound of that.
Well, still ahead on the most --
MARCIANO: Patience.
BOLDUAN: Oops, sorry.
ROBERTS: I was going to say one of our producers just headed down to Miami for a little long weekend. He should have gone a little further south.
BOLDUAN: So keep going. Keep going down South.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Rob.
BOLDUAN: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: Bye, guys.
BOLDUAN: Still ahead on the Most News in the Morning, what were they thinking? Air traffic controllers at JFK airport in New York in hot water after letting kids give commands to pilots. We're digging deeper on what exactly happened.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Coming up now at eleven-and-a-half minutes after the hour, and a quick check of other stories new this morning. Three 26-foot waves crashed into a cruise ship northeast of Barcelona, Spain, killing two passengers. Officials say 14 other people were hurt, two of them seriously. A spokesman from the cruise line says the abnormal waves broke five windows of the 14-deck ship. Boyd Data off of the French coast indicated that weather likely caused the high waves.
BOLDUAN: Wow. An ex-security chief for Chicago O'Hare International Airport says the airport is at high risk for a terror attack. In a lawsuit, he says Chicago aviation authorities are more concerned about delays with the $5 billion airport expansion than security gaps. The ex-security boss who was fired last year is suing for over $2 million and to get his job back. Chicago's Department of Aviation won't comment on the lawsuit directly but did say its number one priority is public safety.
ROBERTS: Well, we've got new developments this morning to tell you about of the air traffic controller who apparently brought one of his kids to work and let the child direct planes at one of the nation's busiest airport.
BOLDUAN: We're now learning he left his other -- he let his other child do the exact same thing the following day. Our Susan Candiotti has been following the story and has the latest.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Kate, good morning. How do you explain something like this? Is it an over the top version of take your child to work day? A brother and sister in the hot seat directing planes at JFK airport.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Children directing planes at New York's JFK airport? Not once but twice?
JFK TOWER: JetBlue 171 clear for takeoff.
PILOT: Clear for take off JetBlue 171.
CANDIOTTI: The FAA says the controller allowed his son in the control tower to talk directly to pilots, and on the next day, his daughter, according to an informed source had a chance to radio two more planes.
JFK TOWER: JetBlue 57 contact New York departure.
PILOT: JetBlue 57, thank you, good day.
JFK TOWER: That is just the next generation of air traffic control going here.
PILOT: Roger that.
PETER GOELZ, AVIATION CONSULTANT: This is just unbelievable. How dumb can you be?
CANDIOTTI: Former NTSB official Peter Goelz says with runway safety such a critical issue, what happened is senseless.
GOELZ: It's one thing to have your children into the tower to get a look at it. It is a completely different story when you're putting them on the microphone with hundreds of passengers on these planes.
CANDIOTTI: The incident comes on the heels of other eyebrow- raising events involving controllers and pilots in the last year. Two pilots had their license revoked after overshooting the Minneapolis airport by 150 miles. Both said they were using their laptop computers. The pilots are appealing.
In Teterboro, New Jersey, moments before a midair collision over the Hudson River, a controller was making a personal call and a supervisor had left the building. They were both put on leave.
CANDIOTTI: Now passengers are left to wonder about what happened at JFK.
JFK TOWER: That's what you get, guys, when your kids are out of school.
PILOT: I wish I could bring my kid to work.
JFK TOWER: JetBlue 171 contact departure.
PILOT: Over to departure JetBlue 171, awesome job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it's very unsafe, and I just can't believe that something like that was allowed to happen, how it even occurred.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I was flying and I heard a child's voice on the radio, I'd have to question any commands they might have given me.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): The FAA suspended both the JFK controller and the supervisor and called the tower distractions "totally unacceptable." And added "this lapse in judgment not only violated FAA's own policies but common sense standards for professional conduct. The behavior does not reflect the true caliber of our workforce."
The Air Traffic controller association chimed in "we do not condone this type of behavior in any way, it is not indicative of the highest professional standards that controllers set for themselves and exceed each and every day."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Adios, amigos.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Adios amigos. Over to departure. Jetblue 195.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: The controller and supervisor are on paid administrative leave. There is no telling the investigation will be and what kind of disciplinary action might be taken. John and Kate.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Susan Candiotti this morning. Susan, thanks so much.
You know, you listen to the pilots talking about to the young person in the tower, and they seem to not mind it at all.
BOLDUAN: At all... I know but -- it may very well be harmless, but from the perspective of a passenger, think if you were given word that a child was giving direction to your pilot, it would probably not sit well.
ROBERTS: It was not the best move in terms of judgment.
BOLDUAN: Yes.
ROBERTS: Still ahead in the most news in the morning. Believe it or not, there are some signs that the economy is improving. Our Christine Romans "Minding your Business" this morning. She joins us coming up next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: It is 19 minutes after the hour, and that means time for "Minding your Business."
Continental Airlines is the latest airline to offer extra leg room for a price. Starting next week passengers in coach can pay an additional fee for more space to stretch out. Prices will vary but an extra seven to eight inches of leg room from Newark to Houston will cost you around 59 bucks. U.S. Airways currently allow its passengers to buy an aisle or window seat for premiums that range from $5 to $30.
ROBERTS: Well, Ulysses S. Grant's days on the $50 bill may be numbered if one congressman gets his way. Representative Patrick McHenry of North Carolina wants to introduce a measure that will put Ronald Reagan on the $50 bill. McHenry points to a recent survey of historians by the "Wall Street Journal" where Reagan consistently outranks the legendary union general and 18th president. Grant has been the face of the $50 bill for 96 years.
Christine Romans is here now, "Minding your Business" and she is a veteran of paying to upgrade to a window or an aisle seat.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. Remember, I ranted about that for a good 30 seconds one morning. That's right. I paid 20 bucks just to get an aisle seat.
BOLDUAN: Worth it?
ROMANS: Yes. It was worth it. Now --
ROBERTS: She could have ranted much longer than 30 seconds. That's all the time.
(CROSSTALK) ROMANS: Look the economy is starting to improve. The fed has these regional snapshots. Yesterday, the Fed told us that the economy is starting to improve in different parts of the country. And for that, we are truly thankful. But these are modest improvements and there are still some things still to be concerned about.
So let me tell you what the Federal Reserve economists were saying, some of the things that were going in the right direction, at least in February. Consumer spending was picking up in some parts of the country, manufacturing and residential real estate at least wasn't bottoming out anymore, but the weak spot, noted by the Fed -- the job market. Even if we do get a little bit of jobs growth in the month of February, we are still watching to see all those snow storms might have played out and kept, you know, hiring activity pretty weak.
Also, commercial real estate. This is a problem, John and Kate, for small and regional banks who do a lot of loaning to small businesses and commercial entities, and they are really worried about some of these loans going bad.
And also, loan demand remained weak and lending standards were tight pretty much across the entire country. Now back to the hiring part of this thing because this is what I have been scouring these reports for.
Any signs that the layoffs are slowing, and they are seeing that here and there. And also seeing an up tick in hiring in places they noted like Dallas, where staff levels were picking up for things like energy, services, food, high tech and some manufacturing and transportation, equipment companies. So that's something that we have been trying to watch to see if there are places where you are starting to see a little bit of pickup, and you are.
I think the best way and Ben Bernanke, the Fed chief have said these many times. We are seeing continued economic improvement but it's very fragile, and a lot of people think that things are going to slow down in the spring, you know, and we had a nice pop back and things could slow down in the spring. So, you know, we have a lot of things to be worried about. That's my job.
But I am hoping that what this means is that there is a free fall for a lot of American families is at least over, and people can start to repair their balance sheets.
ROBERTS: I have been doing a lot of talking with entrepreneurs over the last couple of weeks, and they are very excited about the prospects now, the beginning of this economic recovery --
ROMANS: Sure.
ROBERTS: There are a lot of opportunities out there.
ROMANS: Yes.
ROBERTS: You got a Romans numeral for us this morning?
ROMANS: I do. 2003. And it's a year.
ROBERTS: It's a year obviously.
ROMANS: And it has to do with the strength of the economy at the end of last year, strongest since --
ROBERTS: 2003.
ROMANS: 2003. And that's something that I have not been able to say for a very long time. I have been saying the weakest since the early 1980s for about two years folks. So to be able to say the strongest since 2003 is good.
ROBERTS: In 2003, it was the beginning of the post 9/11 recovery.
ROMANS: It is the beginning of the post 9/11 recovery. Some people say it was a jobless recovery. That's a whole different story all together.
ROBERTS: And this one maybe even more so.
ROMANS: Yes. This is still a real problem for jobs, jobs, jobs. And still have a lot of foreclosures, and I'm not telling you that everything, you know, the roses bloom terrifically (ph) and everything smells great --
BOLDUAN: Right.
ROMANS: We have a lot of work to go through. But the free fall is over. Most economists believe that the recession was over last summer.
ROBERTS: No.
ROMANS: So --
ROBERTS: Where are the jobs?
ROMANS: Yes, where are the jobs? Where are the jobs?
BOLDUAN: Here comes the job bill?
ROMANS: Yes, exactly.
Next on the most news in the morning, from the wild world of wrestling, to the rough and tumble of politics. Linda McMahon's bid to be Connecticut's next senator. Why her millions might give her an edge now but it may not pay off in the end.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ROBERTS: In the most news in the morning, in Connecticut, the race is on to replace Chris Dodd in the Senate. One of the candidates, Linda McMahon. And if that last name sounds familiar, yes, she is the wife of pro-wrestling icon, Vince McMahon. Now she has no political experience and practically no limit on how much of her personal fortune she will spend to get elected. Our Randi Kaye is digging deeper on the cost of making it to Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The Center for Responsive Politics predicts the November mid-term elections could be the most expensive mid terms in history, costing $3.7 billion, and that's because candidates are spending so much money.
(voice-over): Take a look at this. That woman in wrestling jargon, she is getting tombstoned. Two things you need to know about her. First, she hates to lose and will do anything to win. Second, she is worth hundreds of millions of dollars and plans to spend tens of millions of her own to become the next U.S. senator from Connecticut.
Her name is Linda McMahon. Dave Leventhal from the Center of Responsible Politics tracks campaign spending. He says there is no recession in politics.
(on camera): Do you have to be rich to get elected these days?
DAVE LEVENTHAL, CENTER OF RESPONSIBLE POLITICS: You don't have to be rich, but it sure helps to be rich.
KAYE (voice-over): In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg poured at least $90 million of his own into his re-election campaign and won. New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine more than 40 million to win in 2005. Back in the Connecticut smack down, McMahon's opponent in the Republican primary are millionaires too but small time compared to McMahon.
Former congressman Rob Simmons is worth about $2.5 million.
ROB SIMMONS: You know, we don't need $40 or $50 million, we don't need $40 or $50 million, we need people. We need people. And tonight, we have got people.
(on camera): Do you believe that you have to be rich to win?
SIMMONS: No, I do not. And I am not rich and I have won.
KAYE: McMahon has never held political office but says she is willing to spend $50 million of her own money on this campaign and finance herself because she is refusing to accept money from special interest groups.
(voice-over): Personal financial disclosure forms shows McMahon has so much cash she keeps $1 million in a bank account and has more than $15,000 in uncashed checks.
At the Republican primary debate in Hartford this week, McMahon was asked if she was trying to buy the election. Her opponent Simons says it's a valid question.
(on camera): You've raised about $3 million.
SIMMONS: Yes.
KAYE: Your opponent, Linda McMahon has said that she is willing to spend $50 million that she has, her own money, on her campaign. How do you compete with that?
SIMMONS: it's hard in some respects to compete with somebody who has just the ton of money.
KAYE: Being independently wealthy allows McMahon to spend more time with voters, less time fundraising. She can blanket the state with advertising and pay top dollar for staffers. Her chief of staff earns nearly $300,000 a year.
KAYE (on camera): So money talks?
LEVENTHAL: Money does talk.
KAYE (voice-over): But for candidates like Linda McMahon who pay for their own campaigns, talk may not be enough. The Center for Responsive Politics says 40 out of 51 congressional candidates who spend $500,000 or more on their 2008 campaigns lost or quit, proof perhaps that even the richest person in the world needs a message voters believe, not just a good act.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Proof, perhaps that even the richest person in the world needs a message voters believe in, not just a good act. John, Kate.
ROBERTS: Randi Kaye this morning -- Randi thanks so much.
It brings us to the half hour, and that means it's time for this morning's top stories.
President Obama is saying let's get it done. He's saying it's time for Congress to pass health care reform despite the political risks involved. And for the first time, he gave the nod for the Democrats to do what it takes to get around a GOP filibuster.
BOLDUAN: The air traffic controller who let his kid direct planes at JFK Airport in New York City and his supervisor have been suspended. Officials say the tower controller not only let his son radio departing airplanes last month, but the next day, he allowed his other child to do the same thing. Federal aviation officials say the air traffic controller failed to use, quote, "common sense."
ROBERTS: And in Chile, more strong aftershocks rattled the country overnight, adding to tsunami fears five days after the huge 8.8 magnitude quake that killed more than 800 people. The military is working to get aid and security forces into the hard hit areas where the need is still desperate. More is coming up in just 10 minutes from our Karl Penhaul who's on the ground there in Chile.
Well, the superintendent who fired every teacher at one of Rhode Island's worst performing school says she is now willing to negotiate with their union again.
BOLDUAN: It could be a helpful development for 93 staff members at Central Falls High School. But there's no guarantee they'll get their jobs back and with the president emphasizing performance and education reform, his backing the decision to let them go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If a school continues to fail its students year after year after year, it doesn't show any sign of improvement, and there's got to be a sense of accountability, and that's what happened in Rhode Island last week.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well, our next guest says testing-based reforms like President Obama's and No Child Left Behind are failing our kids. Diane Ravitch was the assistant secretary of education under the first President Bush. Her new book, which is making a powerful quake in Washington is called, "The Death and Life of the Great American School System." Diane is here today.
Good morning, Diane. Good to see you.
BOLDUAN: Good morning.
DIANE RAVITCH, AUTHOR, "THE DEATH AND LIFE OF THE GREAT AMERICAN SCHOOL SYSTEM": Good to be here.
ROBERTS: So, this is all framed in the context of what happened at Central Falls High School, because performance is one of the central tenants of the No Child Left Behind Act. Back in 2005, you said with -- appearance with George W. Bush at the White House, quote, "All this attention and focus is paying off for younger students who are reading and solving mathematics problems better than their parents' generation."
You were a fan of No Child Left Behind. And now, you turned around 180 degrees on it. Why?
RAVITCH: Well, it hasn't worked. It's not successful. What No Child Left Behind has done is to narrow education to just testing reading and math, and we're losing history and civics, the arts, science, literature, foreign languages. Everything that makes a person an educated person is being put aside because we're only focusing on basic skills.
And performance has got to be more than just measuring these narrow skills. I mean, they are very important and the foundation of an education. But if you don't know any history, and you don't know anything about your government, you're not an educated person.
So, we are losing it. I think what's happening now is that we are into a phase -- and I think what's the Central Falls story illustrates this -- we are in the phase of punishment. Testing is being used to punish teachers, to close schools. We're not going to fire enough teachers and close enough schools to make our education system better. There's no evidence that's closing schools and firing teachers improves education. That's not the way people improve, not through punishment.
BOLDUAN: Well, when you look at this specific case, and you look at a school like Central Falls High School, it's at the bottom five percent of the state, a 48 percent graduation rate. So, clearly, the goals -- the system wasn't working the goals were not being met here. But you've also called the strategy that you just discussed, closing schools and firing teachers and principals, you call it mean, punitive and pointless.
So, if you don't change the teachers, what do you change?
RAVITCH: Well, you are assuming the teachers are causing low performance. And we know from time -- sometimes at social science and surveys over many years, that low performance is largely related to poverty. Central Falls happens to be the poorest district in Rhode Island. Many of the children there are children who don't speak English and their teachers are doing their best to teach them English.
You can't expect kids -- let's say, if they have to go to work because their parents are out of work, if they have to baby sit while their parents are looking for work, this affects performance. If they come to school hungry, that affects performance. You have to look at the whole picture.
Now, wherever you find a low-performing school, you find children in poverty. So, I would say that if the president were to look at the whole picture, he would be less punitive. We're going to end up with a situation where no one will want to teach in a low- performing school because this is where the poorest kids are.
And very often, what's happening now -- in fact, it's happening across the country -- is that children are being taught like trained seals to answer the questions on tests. They're not being educated.
So, we're seeing our graduation rates go up and then the kids need remediation when they get to college. This is not readiness for the workplace. It's not readiness for college.
ROBERTS: On the issue of poverty, and it's a vicious cycle, and the best way -- many people find -- the best way to break the cycle of poverty is through good education.
RAVITCH: Absolutely.
ROBERTS: So, you're saying, address poverty, these kids are coming from a situation of poverty, trying to get an education, but there's something getting in the way of that. And what is it that is getting in the way of that? And how can you address that specific point?
RAVITCH: Sure.
ROBERTS: If you try to alleviate the affects of poverty in education is the goal, how do you do it?
RAVITCH: I think that schooling is one of the very best ways to alleviate poverty, because it gives kids the tools to improve their own lives. But you cannot, at the same time, ignore the fact that many children won't even show up for school. The absenteeism rates in schools where there's poverty --
ROBERTS: So, how do you address that?
RAVITCH: You have to have a multifaceted approach. You can't just say fire the teachers. Fire the teachers. It's not going to teach children English. The next of group of teachers will also have the problems that the kids don't speak English. So, the way you address it is to support schools, to have smaller classes, to have after school programs, to make sure that kids have the services that they needed.
ROBERTS: But if the kids aren't showing up, how do you get them in the door?
RAVITCH: You have to address the poverty level. You have to make sure that there are enough activities, programs, economic development in that community so that everybody is getting the help they need to have a chance at the -- a crack at the American Dream.
BOLDUAN: And just very quickly, part of this equation -- reform we're talking about has a lot to do with accountability, but parents are part of this equation as well. How do you get parents involved to promote this education, to help their kids? How important is that?
RAVITCH: Sure. Well, see, this is why I am very much skeptical of the Obama approach of you fire teachers based on kids' test scores, because the test scores don't consist only of what the teachers do, it consists of what parents do and students' own efforts. If the students don't come to school and the students don't do their homework, the teacher is not necessarily the one who's to blame. It maybe that they're watching a lot of junk TV and playing with computer games.
We recently had a report from the Kaiser Foundation saying that the average American child from eight to 18 spends seven-and-a-half hours a day with the blinking screen, while they spend an hour with their teacher and seven-and-a-half hours with either the TV or the computer, or Facebook or whatever.
BOLDUAN: So, the parents are part of the solution.
RAVITCH: Parents are part of the solution. Parents have to be involved and say, turn off the television, do your homework, set a space at the kitchen table or wherever and say, you have to spend enough time in your homework, and I'll do my part. And when children are little, parents have to read to the, talk to them. A lot of kids never hear any words other than yes or no.
ROBERTS: But in the overall, just in terms of addressing these lower-performing schools, what I'm hearing from you is that it goes well beyond education, you got to get some social programs out there in the communities as well.
RAVITCH: Absolutely. It goes beyond education. But when a school fails, it's not just the failure of the school. It's the failure of the leadership of the district. When the leadership of the district does not provide the necessary oversight, supervision, bringing in the help that is needed, and helping the teachers, making sure that the teachers are the best they can be, giving them the mentoring and support they need, the district leadership has failed. So, we should fire the district leadership before we fire the teachers.
ROBERTS: All right. The book is called "The Death and Life of the Great American School System." Diane Ravitch, good to have you with us this morning. Thanks so much.
BOLDUAN: Thank you, Diane.
RAVITCH: Thank you. It's a pleasure.
ROBERTS: Coming up next on the Most News in the Morning: as the military tries to deliver aid to Chile, tsunamis are still real and still very terrifying.
Thirty-eight minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: Days after the deadly earthquake in Chile, one word still terrifies those who survived: tsunami.
ROBERTS: Aftershocks and tsunami fears are making it hard to keep people safe and distribute aid in the country. Our Karl Penhaul is on the ground, he's got the latest for us this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This woman tries to steady herself. She just felt a 6.0 aftershock.
In this fishing town of Dichato (ph), Chilean marines continue handing out food aid for a few minutes more. And then this --
(on camera): Concerned citizens are banding together as well and sending in supplies -- tsunami, tsunami, tsunami.
OK. There has been a tsunami alert now, and that was after an aftershock earlier on, and the military have been handing out aid have told us all to run. We have been separated from our producer. He was in the vehicle, but we hope that he is hearing the same warnings, too.
Marines hustle people to higher ground fast.
"The sea will come from over there. The waves never come straight on," she warns.
Rescue teams too abandon their search and head out of harm's way.
Citizens are breathless, clearly scared.
"I feel tense, worried, and I pray to God this will all calm down," he says.
After 45 minutes, the alert was lifted. It turned out to be a false alarm. But Dichato citizens have good reason to be terrified.
Look at new video obtained by CNN shot about three hours after Saturday's quake, and the time on the camera says 6:16 a.m., too dark to see, but listen. That's the sound of a tsunami wave destroying homes, dragging away cars and fishing boats.
Six-twenty, first light -- the first hint of the scale of the disaster. These pictures were taken from high ground above Dichato. At 6:44, the man who gave CNN this new video ventured down to low- lying ground. He was risking his life. Another tsunami wave was on its way.
By 8:46, that wave had crashed ashore, homes wrecked, souls lost. Images sheared so deeply into the minds of the people here, that five days after the quake -- they are still ready to run for their lives.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Dichato, Chile.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: You could imagine, they have had so many aftershocks as well.
BOLDUAN: I know.
ROBERTS: And many of them well up into the six-something range.
BOLDUAN: And that's -- I mean, that's huge enough as it is. And that's an aftershock. I mean, what this people are going through right now?
ROBERTS: You can't imagine.
We've got almost 45 minutes after the hour now. Rob Marciano is going to have this morning's travel forecast for you right after the break.
BOLDUAN: And in 10 minutes, Clinton and both Bushes -- even Ford and Reagan? Jeanne Moos with a look at a reunion of sorts of the ex-presidents.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: We got almost 45 minutes after the hour now. Rob Marciano is going to have this morning's travel forecast for you right after the break.
BOLDUAN: And in 10 minutes, Clinton and both Bushes even Ford and Reagan. Jeanne Moos with a look at the reunion of sort of the ex- presidents.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Midnight in the garden of good and evil there. Good morning, Savannah where it's 33 degrees right now. That is a little chilly for Savannah, Georgia. Later today, it's going to be nice and sunny, but unfortunately, the high is only going to be 55. It's a pattern of cool weather they were here. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It's time for your AM House Call now.
You may want to double-check your receipt the next time you're dining out. Some restaurants are now tucking on a health charge. The fee first appeared in San Francisco is a way to cover the restaurant's mandatory contribution to the city's health care system, but experts say you can expect this charge to be copied elsewhere.
BOLDUAN: And let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano is in the Extreme Weather Center. Good morning, Rob. Please tell me it's going to be extremely nice.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Soon. Soon enough. Just be patient there, Kate. Good morning, John. Hey listen, windy across the northeast and cold air driving down all the way to the south. Yes, it is the first week of March, but there is some hope on the horizon, but you are waking up this morning and say, Atlanta, Georgia, where it feels like 19 degrees, I think, not quite yet, but a beautiful, beautiful morning.
Check out the shots from the CNN camera outside the studios, looking over downtown, gorgeous stuff there as the sun comes off over the eastern horizon. It will be a sunny day, but a chilly, chilly start as mentioned, temperatures at 30 degrees, so below freezing and the wind chills well below that. Wind chill advisories out for parts of central and southern Florida for those who are traveling down there. all right. Boston and Rhode Island seen a little bit of leftovers from the storm system. Most in the northeast, we will see a little bit in the way of wind from this leftover, and maybe minor accumulations across the Katyuri (ph) and sort to see some of that precipitation breaking down.
Our storm working into the inner mountain west certainly dropping a decent amount of snow across parts of Nevada eventually into Utah and Colorado. They will see ten to 20 inches of snow as we go through the next couple days, so decent snow storm for them, but if you are traveling today, there will be issues in Boston for sure with the wind and leftover snow. The winds in D.C. and Philly and probably can add New York into that mix as well will probably see some delays.
Fifty-nine degrees in Vegas. It will be a cool 65 degrees with sunshine in Miami and 39 degrees in New York, not quite what it should be for this time of year, but at the time we get to Saturday and Sunday, you'll be right up there where we could see temperatures maybe as high as 50 degrees.
BOLDUAN: Don't be so excited.
ROBERTS: Yes. You know, as long as it's on the weekend, what happens during the week doesn't matter, right?
BOLDUAN: Sure.
ROBERTS: We're going to work, anyway.
MARCIANO: Central Park will be jammed I'm sure.
ROBERTS: I'm sure will. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: Yes.
It's 10 minutes to the top of the hour. Stay with us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Six former presidents living and dead lobbying President Obama about financial reform.
BOLDUAN: Sounds like some kind of strange dream. It definitely does to me. It is. Staring the biggest names from 3 decades of Saturday Night Live. Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If a get together featuring five real presidents was a big deal.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is an extraordinary gathering.
MOOS: Yes, then so is this. The most famous presidential impersonators of all-time gathered in one room to offer advice to the Obama's.
UNKNOWN MALE: On Michelle got some legs on her.
UNKNOWN MALE: How did you get in here?
UNKNOWN MALE: The security code is still 1, 2, 3, 4 from when I was pressed, only took me five times to remember.
MOOS: Saturday Night Live stars like Will Ferrell --
WILL FERRELL, ENTERTAINER: You changed the locks again.
MOOS: And Chevy Chase doing Gerald Ford --
CHEVY CHASE, ENTERTAINER: If you listened to me, I would erase taxes.
MOOS: And Dana Carvey doing Geirge Bush Sr.
DANA CARVEY, ENTERTAINER: Yes, on that second term years when the Reynold (ph) victory laughter wasn't a daubers.
MOOS: Top off with Jim Carrey as Ronald Reagan.
JIM CARREY, ACTOR: It must reached across the --
MOOS: It was a reunion of the presidents of comedy. The director was
JAKE SZYMANSKI, DIRECTOR: Absolutely. It was incredible.
MIKE FARAH, PRODUCER, FUNNYORDIE,COM: And they are just as excited as everyone else. I mean, they are all friends and know each other, but they haven't done anything like this before. So, everyone is kind of just looking around and saying, you know, I cannot believe this is happening.
MOOS: The comedians donated their time to make this funny or die video to push for financial reform in a creation of --
CARREY: The consumer protection agency.
MOOS: The video, shot in a day, from noon to midnight, was directed by Ron Howard.
FERRELL: I put the rock warm credit card. I never dreamed I would pay 28% in interest rates.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to thank the president-elect for joining the ex-presidents.
MOOS (on-camera): Occasionally, the real presidents were unintentionally almost as funny as their impersonators.
MOOS (voice-over): For instance, when George Bush Sr. almost shook hands with his hanky or when Bill Clinton got lovey-dovey about the oval office rug.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I love this rug.
MOOS: Of course, only the impersonators could bring back departed presidents.
CARREY: I, indeed, but I'm going to be a guest on Dancing with the Stars this season. MOOS: Both the real presidents and the impersonators took a group photo. Should you decide to do what the video says and call your senator, make sure you use the phone, not the glass.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
ROBERTS: Jim Carrey does a good Ronald Reagan, doesn't he?
BOLDUAN: That was pretty good. Total hilarious. That impression of Will Ferrell as of George Bush was stellar.
ROBERTS: I love the one where he has the book, and he is like, whooh, I didn't know it was pop-up book.
(LAUGHING)
BOLDUAN: There you go. Anyway --
ROBERTS: Good bits. Yes.
BOLDUAN: Good bits.
ROBERTS: Top stories coming your way in just about three-and-a- half minutes. Stay with us.
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