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Lessons Obama Learned From Past Presidents; Republicans Respond to State of the Union Address; Obama Urges Freeze and Shift in Spending; Giffords' Condition Upgraded to Good; Checking State of the Union Facts; Our "Sputnik Moment"; Interview with Rep. Chris Van Hollen
Aired January 26, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING, they could sit together last night. But can they work together today? We'll have reaction to the president's State of the Union address last night and also we'll fact-check some of his statements.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Also, some good news this morning from doctors in Houston. They upgraded Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' condition from serious to good. In the next couple of hours, the congresswoman could be checking out of intensive care and we're following developments on that right now.
HOLMES: Can you walk and talk at the same time? Well, we'll tell you what city is trying to now ban you using your cell phone as you walk across the street.
CHETRY: And boy, I feel bad for whoever had to do this little investigation. But they were chewing tobacco stains on the walls, spider webs in the rooms, carpet so filthy that you don't even want to put your luggage down. It is the dirtiest, most disgusting hotel in America. Where is it? We'll tell you coming up.
HOLMES: Yes. That's if anything you need to hear this morning, you need to hear that. Check us out on AMERICAN MORNING. We're coming up in just a few minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Right now, severe weather in Florida. And another snowstorm barreling up the northeast.
HOLMES: Also, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' condition has been upgraded and she is expected to be moved out of ICU and officially into rehab in just a matter of hours on this AMERICAN MORNING.
CHETRY: Good morning to you. Forgive us if we're a little bleary- eyed. We stayed up last night to watch the State of the Union and the response and the other response and, you know, it gets a little late. But it is Wednesday, January 26th. Glad you're with us on AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Kiran Chetry.
HOLMES: And hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. And we will start with the president's State of the Union address. In case you weren't able to stay up and see it, we'll show you some video of it. The traditional walk-in as the president did last night as he was introduced.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And here he comes in a traditional march shaking the hands, signing some autographs. And everyone wants just that few seconds with the president while tens of millions are watching. But the president got up to the podium finally and he did talk about, you guessed it, economy and jobs. That was the singular focus for the most part of his speech last night. But he wants to do this while continuing to invest in many things, which means he wants to continue to commit money but at the same time said deficits need to be addressed. And he did all of this while speaking to kind of a mixed and matched audience last night.
As you know, it was billed as "date night" last night on Capitol Hill. Democrats and Republicans sitting together as a symbolic gesture of civility last night.
CHETRY: Well, there was one empty seat and it helped set the tone for the president's speech. He took a few moments to remember victims of the Tucson shootings and family members and heroes from that day sat overhead, like Daniel Hernandez, Gabrielle Giffords' intern who helped her until help could arrive. Also, the parents of Christina Green, the 9/11 baby who was killed in the Tucson attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Tucson reminded us that no matter who we are or where we come from, each of us is a part of something greater, something more consequential than party or political preference.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now the president also, of course, talked about his health care reform law and he kind of made light of it when he brought it up for the first time while making a serious point.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have heard rumors that a few of you still have concerns about our new health care law. So let me be the first to say that anything can be improved. If you have ideas about how to improve this law by making care better or more affordable, I am eager to work with you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: He also said, let's not go back and, you know, refight the fight of the last two years. Let's try to move ahead. We'll see if that happens because in keeping with this new spirit of bipartisanship, we also noticed that the president may have taken a lesson last night from two of his predecessors, a very popular Republican and Democrat.
HOLMES: Ed Henry had a late night as well. He's live for us at the White House.
Good morning to you, Ed.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Yes, I mean, you know, absolutely when you think about past presidents, I think it's very clear this president stole a page from Bill Clinton, first of all. You listened to that sound bite on health care. What the president there was trying to do was stand his ground and try to say the Republican efforts to repeal the health reform law are extreme, in his estimation. But he said, look, if you've got a good idea, I'll meet you halfway. And so he's trying to find sort of that sensibility center, something that Bill Clinton did very well coming out of the 1994 shellacking of his own.
Then think about Ronald Reagan as well. Used a little bit of humor as you mentioned, as Ronald Reagan used to do and also was very, very optimistic. You know, Ronald Reagan used to talk about taking on the Soviet Union. Now it's more about this president saying we've got to compete with China and India. We've got to get that kind of agenda that can make sure that our economy withstands all this competition but just relentlessly optimistic. Warning in America perhaps, like 1984 in that re-election campaign of Ronald Reagan. And I think that's the point to underline is the fact that both Clinton and Reagan suffered big losses in their midterm elections but two years later they were both reelected. And this president last night was clearly trying to stake out that middle ground and bring back some of those independent voters the Democrats lost just a couple of months ago.
CHETRY: Also on the topic of the budget deficit, the president did outline some spending freezes. A five-year freeze he vowed to veto any bill that came across his desk that had earmarks and they got a standing ovation from John McCain over that one. But when are we going to hear more detail about the planned attack on the deficit?
HENRY: That's the big question. I mean, in the president's defense, he's basically saying this is a down payment and that basically that five-year freeze on nondefense discretionary spending, which basically means you wall off the Pentagon and military, veteran spending, homeland security and then everything else is on the table to be frozen at current levels for five years. Says that's going to save $400 billion.
Now, Republicans are saying that's just a drop in the bucket. It's not going to do anything to deal with this long-term debt problem and that is true. But the fact of the matter is the Republicans haven't really put serious cuts on the table. At least the Republican leadership. Some individual members have. And the president didn't get specific last night either. So they've got a short window here. At some point in the next few months for both sides to try to work out some serious spending cuts, get specific, because pretty soon we're going to be getting into another campaign season, 2012, that's going to be just as aggressive, maybe more so than 2010. It's going to be that much harder to actually sit down and work out a bipartisan deal. They've got to get moving on in the next few months. Otherwise, that time is going to slip away -- T.J., Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Ed Henry for us this morning. Thanks.
HOLMES: All right, Ed. Thanks so much.
And as is tradition after a State of the Union address, the other side, the other party gets to give a response. So let me tell you about the Republican responses last night. There were actually two. One of them from Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan. He's the chairman of the House Budget Committee. You see him there. That was the official Republican response.
But then there was another Republican giving a response, and that was Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. But this one was billed as a Tea Party response and the two kind of took different tones.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PAUL RYAN (R), WISCONSIN: Health care spending is driving the explosive growth of our debt, and the president's law is accelerating our country toward bankruptcy. Our debt is out of control. What was a fiscal challenge is now a fiscal crisis. We cannot deny it. Instead, we must as Americans confront it responsibly. And that is exactly what Republicans pledge to do.
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), MINNESOTA: Unless we fully repeal Obamacare, a nation that currently enjoys the world's finest health care might be forced to rely on government-run coverage. That could have a devastating impact on our national debt for even generations to come.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: All right. Well, the president promised to tackle the deficit. Our Stephanie Elam is "Minding Your Business" this morning. So when he calls for this freeze on the non-security discretionary spending, you're talking about a tiny piece -- about 15 percent of the budget that's on the table.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: A little tiny piece that's really, really not going to help us with our deficit, but some people are saying, hey, this is a way to start. Other people looking at to say, so what, it's not going to help us. So let's break it down exactly what is going to go on here.
They say this discretionary spending, he says, the White House saying it will save $400 billion over the next 10 years or so. He says he wants this five-year freeze. Last year, he said he wanted three years so he's extending that. Also, we have a Defense Department saying that they're going to cut their spending by $78 billion last night. He says that he supports this idea. Now, this 15 percent, it excludes spending on defense. That's a separate thing which you heard from the Defense Department there. So he was not focusing on that. He's talking not about homeland security. He's not talking about veterans. It also excludes the mandatory spending that we would have on Medicaid and Medicare, social security, interest, all of those things that we have to do. It excludes that.
So if you take a look at the chart that's on the screen right now, you can see 76 percent of every dollar that our tax dollars go to go to that 2.6 -- or $2.162 trillion, right? So the 24 percent, that $519 billion, that's everything else. So we're talking about cutting a fraction of that $519 billion.
As far as the deficit is concerned, that is not that huge especially when you take into account the fact that you look at the rising cost of Medicare. You look at the rising cost of social security. Those numbers are expected to go up.
CHETRY: Right.
ELAM: And if those are going to continue to go up, it's not really going to help us. So that's what a lot of people are saying. We didn't get a comprehensive plan from the president last night, but what the plan is here he's saying is to start targeting any place that you can cut. A lot of people saying we need to see more. There needs to be more, that you and your comprehensive plan comes out.
HOLMES: And he also said I want you to find things to cut but I don't want you to cut and sacrifice, or put on the backs of those who need the most help. Now what it is? February 14th, I have it right, when his budget --
ELAM: Yes. Wednesday.
CHETRY: Wednesday. I love how it's budget day for the guys. It's Valentine's Day.
ELAM: So we can get an actual plan here and see if that's really going to happen and where you can cut. And, you know, he's also targeting the rich folks saying that your tax cuts need to actually come to an end. So we'll see.
HOLMES: All right. Stephanie, we're going to see you throughout the morning.
ELAM: Yes.
HOLMES: Good to have you here.
ELAM: Thank you.
HOLMES: Thanks so much.
CHETRY: Thanks, Steph (ph). Well, the president's claims that Americans are taking home bigger paychecks, thanks to his tax cuts. Is this really the case? In seven minutes, Jim Acosta is going to be doing some fact-checking on the president and also on the Republican response.
HOLMES: And we're going to be getting a lot of reaction this morning from the State of the Union last night and we'll, of course, have to ask who their date was last night. 6:40 Eastern Time, we're going to have Democratic Congressman Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. I believe he actually went stag last night. He got stood up or something. We'll ask him about that.
Also at 7:20 Eastern, the House Majority Leader Eric Cantor will be along. And at 8:10, the Democratic whip, Steny Hoyer.
CHETRY: Cantor got stood up too by Nancy Pelosi. Right? She already had a date.
HOLMES: You can't ask somebody that close to the dance. He asked a little late.
CHETRY: Yes. OK.
Well, doctors in Houston have upgraded the condition of Gabrielle Giffords from serious to good. So in the next two hours, the congresswoman will be expected to -- this congresswoman would be able to be moved out of intensive care and into the rehab facility at the TIRR Memorial Hermann Medical Center. So this is yet another big step toward her recovery in what's already been pretty miraculous after a gunshot wound to the head.
Last night, she and her husband, Mark Kelly, held hands. They watched the State of the Union address together. This was the picture that her office released of the two of them viewing it in their hospital room.
HOLMES: Two recalls I need to tell you about both related to Toyota. We're talking about 1.7 million vehicles recalled worldwide. Now most of those not in the U.S. but still you need to hear this.
This has to do with a defect that may cause fuel leakage. I'm no mechanic but I think that's bad. This involves certain Lexus luxury 350 models that were made in '06 and '07. In particular, the Lexus IS 250 models between '06 and '09, and also the Lexus 350s from '06 to '08. If you own any of these Lexus models, you just need to look it up and make sure you know for sure whether or not your car is involved in this recall. And again, for the most part, most of these vehicles, we've got a million of them were not sold in North America but still something you need to be aware of.
CHETRY: All right. Well, South Florida is waking up to another round of cool temperatures, storms with 75-mile-per-hour gusts, lightning and hail moving through overnight. In fact, we have some pictures of the storm damage.
This is St. Petersburg, Florida. Heavy rain and high winds knocked down the gas station canopy. You can see that there, trapping a driver in her car. She was actually rescued by firefighters, had to be taken to the hospital but is doing OK. They also say they were dealing with a lot of trees and power lines knocked down.
HOLMES: Let's turn right to our Jacqui Jeras who can tell us what to expect for today. Say good morning to her for the first time. Good morning to you, Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, good morning, guys. It's going to be stormy again but mostly just this morning across parts of Florida especially south Florida. You can see those thunderstorms already kicking in around the Keys and southwestern parts of the state. That's going to stick with you and maybe until the noon hour before things begin to improve. But the big show is what's going on across the East Coast today. And that's that wintry weather along with a little wintry mix into parts of the northeast.
We've got snow in Nashville as well as Louisville. We have a mix going on in Washington, D.C. right now, and that snow is going to start moving into New York City. And this is going to be a powerful event that's really going to ramp up once we hit the evening hours and overnight. But thankfully, it's a quick mover so we do expect to see better weather by even midmorning at the latest tomorrow.
Temperature-wise, kind of typical for what you should see this time of the year. I like the 76 in Miami. Twenty-two in Minneapolis.
We'll have more on that storm and we'll talk snowfall totals coming up in just a little bit when I see you guys again.
CHETRY: All right, Jacqui, sounds good. Thanks.
HOLMES: Last night, one of the president's cabinet secretaries skipped the State of the Union. We'll tell you who and why.
CHETRY: Also, he saw an opening and he took it. The handcuffed suspect making a leap for freedom from a moving police car. And that car was going pretty fast. It was all caught on video.
HOLMES: Also, don't you just hate walking down the street and people keep bumping into you because they're looking down and texting on their cell phones? One city trying to put an end to at least part of that practice.
It's 13 minutes past the hour. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Sixteen minutes past the hour. Welcome back to this AMERICAN MORNING.
A lot of people in attendance last night at the State of the Union Address, several Supreme Court justices. One was absent, and maybe noticeably absent, Samuel Alito. You may remember him from last year. He mouthed the words, was clearly not agreeing with what the president was saying, at one point mouthed, "Not true." But you're seeing another picture here, Antonin Scalia and also Clarence Thomas. They we're there either. They traditionally don't go at all. But Samuel Alito actually had another engagement out in Hawaii. That's why he wasn't there.
CHETRY: Yes. He's teaching law for the month. It's a nice time of year to go there to teach law, right?
HOLMES: Hawaii? Yes.
CHETRY: Well, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar also not there last night at the State of the Union Address, but that's because he was the White House's "designated survivor." Everyone on the presidential order of succession list in the same room, so one cabinet member is traditionally sent to an undisclosed location in the event of any type of mass catastrophe.
It's a grim thought, but had the unthinkable happen Salazar then would have been tapped to take over the country.
HOLMES: Undisclosed location. He was at home, on the couch. Just kidding. He was not.
At the State of the Union Address last night, the president made a lot of claims, including that your paycheck is getting bigger. Did you feel that? He says his tax cuts are the reason for it.
Also, as we said, there were two responses from two different Republicans last night to the speech, including Michele Bachmann, speaking for the Tea Party. She also slammed the president on his stimulus plan.
CHETRY: Right. So we're digging a little deeper in some of the comments that were made last night, some of the - some of the things put forth as fact. We're doing a little fact checking.
Our Jim Acosta is in Washington this morning. So, Jim, good morning.
So are we really making more money, as the president claims?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that depends on how much money you're making and where you fall when it comes to the tax breaks that were passed last December.
Good morning, Kiran and T.J.
For the most part, they got the facts right last night, but there were a few slip-ups, and our CNN fact checking team was on the case.
Let's start with President Obama. In his State of the Union Address, the president said the tax cut deal passed last month resulted in bigger paychecks for Americans. Here's what Mr. Obama said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thanks to the tax cuts we passed, Americans' paychecks are a little bigger today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: That is not quite true, Mr. Obama. While the payroll tax break in the tax cut deal will result in bigger paychecks for most Americans, people making less than $20,000 or couples making less than $40,000 may actually see a drop of about $210, on average, in their take-home pay. That's because of a tax break called making work pay for lower income earners has expired, guys.
HOLMES: Jim, the Republican, or the second Republican response, a lot of people are saying, but it was a Tea Party response, Michele Bachmann was throwing out a lot of numbers, so you had a lot of fact checking to do there.
ACOSTA: That's right. We had to fact check the fact that we had two Republican responses last night, one from the official GOP response and one from Michele Bachmann.
Minnesota Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann got a big share of the spotlight last night, T.J. She gave the Tea Party response to the State of the Union. And near the top of her remarks, she said something about the stimulus that grabbed the attention of our fact checkers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), MINNESOTA: After the $700 billion bailout, the trillion dollar stimulus and the massive budget bill, with over 9,000 earmarks, many of you implored Washington to please stop spending money that we don't have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Now, did you hear that? She said trillion dollar stimulus. That's false. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the stimulus price tag is $814 billion, not a trillion. People do round up in Washington, but not by a couple of hundred billion dollars, guys.
And if you're wondering about the official GOP response from House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan, we'll take a look at that in the next hour.
CHETRY: Also - OK. Also, people were noting why wasn't she looking at the camera? There were Tea Party cameras also set -
ACOSTA: Right.
CHETRY: It was a little bit distracting when you were watching her response.
ACOSTA: Yes. Well, I'm not doing the aesthetic checking of this - last night, Kiran, but yes, you're right. I mean, this - this was unusual, what Michele Bachmann did last night. There are a lot of folks in the Republican Party who did not like it, and if you go through her speech, the facts may have been mostly right all the way through, but it was a much more partisan delivery on her part and people are taking exception to that when you - when you take into consideration the fact that everybody was trying to be on their best behavior last night.
So she's not getting a lot of stylistic points from a lot of people this morning. But the Tea Party, I'm sure, is very happy about her speech last night. She gave it to President Obama worse than the Republicans did, Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Jim Acosta for us. Thanks.
HOLMES: Thanks, Jim.
ACOSTA: You bet.
CHETRY: So, as he was talking about, people were trying to strike a - a more civil tone. A lot of it was in the form of where they sat, who sat together. Well, we're going to take a look at some of those odd couples, coming up.
HOLMES: Also, this morning, another Arab-speaking country where anti- government protests have broken out, and these have turned violent and deadly. We'll tell you where it's happening.
This is 21 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We're 24 minutes past the hour now.
The Underwear Bomber, he's set now to go on trial on October the 4th. We're talking about Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. He's the one accused - you remember this picture maybe as well, accused of trying to blow up a plane on Christmas Day 2009 by using explosives that were tied into his underwear. He has pled not guilty and right now he's acting as his own attorney, although he does have another attorney on stand-by in case he needs help.
CHETRY: Well, Osama Bin Laden's former cook and bodyguard is going away for life. Ahmed Ghailani sentenced to life yesterday. He's the first Guantanamo detainee and maybe the last to be tried in civilian court. Ghailani was only convicted on one conspiracy charge. That was in the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Africa. That was the deadliest attack by al Qaeda before 9/11.
HOLMES: And take a look now at what's happening in the streets of Beirut. People there are upset over an appointment of a new prime minister. This prime minister is backed by Hezbollah. Hezbollah, an organization - what you see in that video there, that was someone trying to light something and throw it, but it blew up in his hand there. But these are street protests.
But, again, this new prime minister is backed by Hezbollah, which the U.S. government designates as a terrorist group. Supporters of the outgoing prime minister are calling this the day of rage. CHETRY: Well, opposition leaders in Egypt are calling for another day of street protests. Tens of thousands of Egyptians held rallies yesterday against President Hosni Mubarak. Dozens of people have been injured in these clashes. The protests in Egypt were inspired by the recent uprising in Tunisia. The White House says the Mubarak government must be responsive to its people.
HOLMES: And look here now at what started as a routine traffic stop. This was a pursuit in Southern California. This went on for some 45 minutes. And you see how it ended there, in an intersection at pretty high speeds, the collision that took place there. Again, the police said this was - just kind of started as a simple traffic stop, a minor traffic infraction they were trying to stop this person for and they took off. Lasted some 45 minutes. Both the driver and the suspect had to be hospitalized. But, again, you can expect some charges to be coming.
CHETRY: How about this video, unbelievable. One of the dumbest and maybe most daring breaks for freedom you'll ever see. Check this out. There's the dash cam and there's the suspect in the back, handcuffed burglary suspect. Well, decides it will be a good idea to try to wiggle out the window handcuffed of a moving police car. This is in Utah. Look how fast they're going.
Police say that they slowed down to 35 when they saw what was happening. They say they cracked the window because the suspect was high and he was throwing up when they found him. Well, somehow in that fall he did not get hit or break a single bone.
HOLMES: But he was recaptured, I take it?
CHETRY: Yes. It's kind of hard to jump up and continue to run with your handcuffs on but I'm sure he's now facing more charges because of that.
HOLMES: Give him some air.
CHETRY: Well, you've never seen a piano bar quite like this one. Take a look. This is a grand piano on a sandbar in Miami's Biscayne Bay. How did it get there and why? It's a 650-pound mystery. The piano seems to have been carefully positioned on that sandbar to avoid being underwater during high tide. Authorities say that unless it becomes a danger to wildlife or boaters they're not planning on doing anything with it. They'll leave it there.
HOLMES: Cool picture.
CHETRY: Well, how did voters feel as they were watching the president's State of the Union address? We have some instant reaction from the people, what hit and fell flat.
HOLMES: Also, a former governor and former wrestler Jessie Ventura is now suing the government. And when you hear why, you might want to join his lawsuit.
It's 27 minutes past the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Nashville, Tennessee, this morning, where it is now 31 degrees. Feels like 20, though, and they're getting a little bit of light snow right now. Looks like they're going up to just above the freezing mark a little bit later and it should clear up because all of that weather headed up north.
HOLMES: Yes, it's getting clear there. Things will not be so clear in other parts of the country, with the bottom of the hour here now. That is going to be a major story we're keeping an eye on today. Yet another winter storm headed for the Northeast.
You see what's happening there. It will cause all kinds of disruptions, yes, with you folks trying to get around, trying to travel. But this could be another dangerous weather situation from Washington, New York and all around the New England area.
CHETRY: Yes. We've talked about this one for a week. Meanwhile, yesterday, three inches of snow just sort of dropped around our area and no one really noticed.
HOLMES: You know, I guess I'm adjusting because I didn't even notice that yesterday.
CHETRY: Well, in about 90 minutes, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is expected to be transfer out of intensive care. She is going to be going to that rehab facility at Houston's TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital. Doctors have upgraded her also from serious to good.
There's a picture of her last night watching the State of the Union address with her husband Mark Kelly holding hands and watching it in her hospital room.
HOLMES: In the State of the Union address last night, the president hit on a number of themes, including this country's future and the new race that we are in to out-compete the world. This is our Sputnik moment, he called it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So, now is the time to act. Now is the time for both sides in both houses of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, to forge a principled compromise that gets the job done. If we make the hard choices now to rein in our deficits, we can make the investments we need to win the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, we've heard what the pundits said. What about the people?
HOLMES: Our Tom Foreman keeping an eye on this for us. He has the instant reaction from the voters who watched the president's speech.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kiran, T.J., the focus group put together brought together here by Maslansky, Luntz & Partners and online by a group called Square Off brought together really an awful lot of people, and there were some very sharp differences between Republicans, Democrats and independents on some key issues mentioned by the president.
And the first was energy policy. The president said, we have to pursue alternatives. And then he said this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: We need to get behind this innovation. And to help pay for it, I'm asking Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: I don't know if -- I don't know if you've noticed, but they're doing just fine on their own.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Another big area on which there was a huge split was health care reform. Obviously, a lot of concern from Democrats and Republicans when the president talked about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Now, I have heard rumors that a few of you still have concerns about our new health care law. So, let me be the first to say that anything can be improved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: The simple truth is, what you can really see in this dial testing, in this speech, is that there still remain deep and very difficult divides between different parts of the electorate which this president and members of Congress will have to address, obviously, before 2012 -- Kiran, T.J.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Tom Foreman, thanks.
HOLMES: He talked about that divide. There was less of a divide in the room last night, in the chamber -- the State of the Union, as you know, traditionally split Republicans on one side, Democrats on the other. Really right down the middle and you can always see the stark contrast. One side will get up and cheer when they hear something and the other sits on their hands.
But last night, they called it "state date night" in Washington. And you had more than 60 members of Congress who embraced this idea of a bipartisan seating arrangement. So, who were these seat mates?
Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer of New York sat next to Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. The two were spotted laughing, joking, having a good time last night.
Senator Franken of Minnesota and also newly elected Tea Party darling, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, they were together as well as the other Florida Senator Bill Nelson, a Democrat.
Also the minority whip, Steny Hoyer, he spent the night with his counterpart, majority whip, Republican Kevin McCarthy.
CHETRY: All right. So, all's well that ends well with that.
Next on AMERICAN MORNING: winning the future by getting out from under a mountain of debt. We're getting reaction to the president's State of the Union message from the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee. We're going to be talking with Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen.
HOLMES: Also, we told you about this story yesterday. Somebody is suing Taco Bell over the claim that their beef tacos actually have beef in them. Well, Taco Bell is defending the beef.
It's 35 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Thirty-eight minutes past the hour. Welcome back to this AMERICAN MORNING.
It was billed a "state date night" last night on Capitol Hill. It took on kind of the feel of a high school prom with everybody pairing up. But what happens at every prom? Somebody gets rejected.
And that went to Cantor. The House majority leader, yes, Mr. Cantor, was rejected by Nancy Pelosi, the minority leader. She instead went with Republican Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland instead. He asked her, Representative Cantor did, and she said no because she had been invited by Bartlett before Cantor, beat her to the punch.
So, he was a little late, Kiran, asking a date so close to the dance.
CHETRY: Yes. Well, some people had two dates. So, you know, anything went last night apparently. Well, President Obama delivered his message of economic urgency in the State of the Union, making sure that we're not buried under a mountain of debt for future generations.
Well, the man who will be tasked with trying to make this happen, at least part of it, is Democratic Congressman Chris Van Hollen from Maryland, the ranking member on the House Budget Committee.
Good morning. Thanks so much for joining us.
REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D), MARYLAND: Good morning. Good to be with you.
CHETRY: So, the highlight when we talk about this trying to get a handle on our deficit is the proposed freeze in domestic spending over the next five years. It really is a small slice of the pie, though, when you look at what we -- the so-called "mandatory spending" that we're not going to be touching right now. The White House is estimating about $400 billion over the next decade.
Why not get serious look at some of those entitlement programs as well?
VAN HOLLEN: Well, look, the president focused on the two big issues that are on the minds of the American people. Number one, I get the economy in full gear and get people back to work. And number two, as you said, act now to put the country on a long term fiscally sustainability path.
And he laid out right away the five-year freeze on domestic discretionary spending and then he indicated that he wanted to sit down and work out with our Republican colleagues to map out that longer-term deficit reduction plan.
So, now, it's up to all of us, Republicans and Democrats alike, to try and come together and do exactly that, because the down payment the president talked about was a very serious one as he indicated. We're talking about taking domestic discretionary spending down to the level as a percentage of the economy as it was during the Eisenhower administration.
So, that's a significant move. But he also said we got to get together and map out that longer-term plan.
CHETRY: Now, I understand what you're saying it might be significant. But then some of the costs of things, the spending is going to be -- is really going to eat that up. The Congressional Budget Office, the former director saying that Medicare and Social Security alone scheduled to rise by more than $100 billion every two years from here on out. So, that savings that you guys get from that discretionary spending is pretty much gone.
VAN HOLLEN: Well, there's no doubt that we have to work on the long- term issues that you mentioned. What I would say with that -- in that respect -- we're going to have a hearing on this issue today in the budget committee is that the health reform bill did actually begin to bend the cost curve in the out years. In other words, the rate of increase in medical costs is brought down by a number of the innovations and changes to medical delivery that were set forth in that bill.
Now, we've got to implement that as we go forward and there's no doubt we have to do more, especially when it comes to the out-year spending, especially the health care spending that's being driven. But I -- it's an important point and the president mentioned it last night. The health care reform bill does begin to bend that cost curve in the out-year. So, it was a first step, but only the first step. CHETRY: I want you to listen to what Congressman Paul Ryan said in his rebuttal. He basically made the situation sound quite dire and said that our day of reckoning is really around the corner. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PAUL RYAN (R), WISCONSIN: Our nation is approaching a tipping point. We're at a moment where if government's growth is left unchecked and unchallenged, America's best century will be considered our past century. This is a future in which we will transform our social safety net into a hammock which lulls able-bodied people into the lives of complacency and dependency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So, we heard, you know, some optimistic words from the president last night and then you hear the GOP response making it seem like this is, you know, the tipping point.
Is the GOP overblowing how dire our situation is?
VAN HOLLEN: Well, two things. First, the most important thing we can do to help the deficit and debt situation out-year is to get the economy in full gear now, because the more economic growth you've got, the faster we come fully out of this downturn, the more revenue that will be generated as we put more people back to work. So, that has got to be the focus and the priority.
But it is also true, as the president's deficit and debt reduction commission said, that we have to act now to put ourselves on that fiscally sustainable path. And that is why we hope to work together.
Now, you know, last night was important symbolically.
CHETRY: Right.
VAN HOLLEN: A lot of Democrats and Republicans working together. As the president indicated, the test will be whether we can now come together to solve these problems. And coming together doesn't mean that we agree on everything.
CHETRY: Right.
VAN HOLLEN: But it does mean that we all have to give a little as we try and tackle these common challenges.
CHETRY: It sounds like, though, Congressman, no one on either side of the aisle is willing to sort of touch that Social Security issue and the issue of Medicare and the issue of entitlements that gobble up so much of what we're spending right now. It sounds like that's still off the table.
VAN HOLLEN: Well, certainly I don't think we should do anything to threaten the integrity of the Medicare program or the Social Security program. I mean, millions of Americans depend on that for retirement security and health security.
But in the 1980s, Tip O'Neill, the then speaker of the House, got together with then-President Reagan and they made some changes that helped sustain those programs going forward. And so, that's the kind of model I think we can look to for coming together. And everybody had to give a little bit in that process.
CHETRY: All right. Well, it's great to talk to you this morning, Congressman Chris Van Hollen from Maryland. Thanks so much.
VAN HOLLEN: Good to be with you.
CHETRY: Coming up at 7:20 Eastern, we're also going to hear from the other side. We're going to be talking to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, on what he thought of the State of the Union and Republican proposals as well -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. And also this morning, we are keeping an eye on another storm system that is going to cause more problems. You see it and you see where it's targeting right there on your screen. Our Jacqui Jeras will be along in just a moment.
Also, it is a must-have for any Pittsburgh Steelers fan. It is a staple at every Steelers game. But why might the terrible towel be absent from the Super Bowl once Pittsburgh Steelers fans find out where they're being made?
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CHETRY: A look at the nation's capital this morning, 37 degrees right now. A little bit later, it's actually going down in temperatures, 33 and possibly snow as we talk about this nor'easter, this system moving across the East Coast today. It's raining a little bit there, but again, a little bit of snow in the forecast later today for the nation's capital.
HOLMES: Well, one guy who left Washington, D.C. to get his dream job in Chicago is kind of in limbo. We're talking about Rahm Emanuel who left as White House chief of staff at the end of last year. He has now been ruled ineligible to run for mayor of Chicago by a court.
But now, another court says his name for now still needs to be on the ballot. This is the Illinois Supreme Court. They have granted a stay on that appeals court ruling. So, right now, his name will still continue to be printed on the ballots. The higher court will take up the case. They will see whether or not he ends up on the ballot on Election Day.
CHETRY: And a Twitter ban on lawmakers in Massachusetts has launched a war of words on Twitter. The state house blocked tweeting from all office computers, claiming the site is vulnerable to viruses. So, lawmakers went to their own personal computers to tweet their displeasure with the decision.
One Republican, Dan Winslow said that Massachusetts is becoming the North Korea of the United States, but stressed he did mean it as a joke.
HOLMES: Well, you've probably been in this position before, walking down the street, somebody bumps into you or you have to try to go around them because, what, they're looking down, not paying attention to where they're going so they can text or talk.
Well, New York City now is trying to target those distracted walkers, implementing a walking and talking ban would be the preference of one Brooklyn senator. He's proposed this now to make this law. It would make it illegal to use your cell phones, those iPads, while you are crossing the street.
This was triggered by this lawmaker -- well, you remember this video, of course. Everybody is talking about it these days because of this incident that happened in Pennsylvania, a woman looking down at a mall walked right into a fountain. But this lawmaker has brought this up over the years. He's tried this several times, really gotten nowhere. Maybe he has some momentum this time. And he also said that some people in his district have actually been injured or killed because they are distracted as they walk across the street.
CHETRY: And that video gives it a little more momentum, I guess.
HOLMES: Yes.
CHETRY: Poor girl.
Well, it's 49 minutes past the hour. We get a check of the weather headlines this morning. Jacqui Jeras in the extreme weather center for us.
So, what's going on, Jacqui?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we've got a big mess, guys, for a whole lot of people up and down the East Coast. Some of you getting rain, some a little mix and some of you getting snow out of this one.
Let's go ahead and start you out by showing you some video that we have fresh out of the gate this morning from Louisville, Kentucky, where it's been snow. There you can see it coming down at this hour. You're under a winter weather advisory. Check out anywhere between one and three inches of accumulation, you're just kind of on the fence of the back side of this storm. So, hopefully, you'll be on the lower ends of that. It's a little heavier down towards your south, over towards Paducah and then you can see Nashville getting in on the snow as well.
We're kind of getting this storm in two little pieces. So, what you're seeing in the Northeast right now is just kind of a warm-up. And the real heavy accumulating snow for the most part for the big cities is going to come into play after sundown for tonight.
Wintry mix in Philadelphia, as well as Washington, D.C. We'll see the heaviest of snow likely right along the I-95 corridor and just off to the west of there. This is a forecast snowfall totals. There you can see the bull's eye. We're expecting maybe two to four in D.C. Up to three to six in New York City and a little more as you head into Boston.
Lots of travel delays expected as a result of this. New York, Philly and Boston potentially over an hour; Baltimore and D.C. expecting issues, as well as Atlanta and Charlotte due to some of that fog; and maybe down here into South Florida as well because of some of the thunderstorms.
Are you guys sick of snow, T.J. and Kiran?
CHETRY: Yes, absolutely.
JERAS: You should be.
Take a look at some of these numbers. For example, New York City, you've had 37 inches of snow so far this year, which is 27, almost 28 inches above where you should be.
CHETRY: Unbelievable.
JERAS: So, go ahead and complain. And we're going to just add to that, right?
CHETRY: Yes. And yesterday was -- it added up as well. We didn't make a big deal about it and then, all of a sudden, we had three inches.
JERAS: I know. It came down quick.
CHETRY: Thanks, Jacqui.
HOLMES: Thanks, Jacqui.
CHETRY: Well, this morning's top stories just a couple of minutes away, including everything you need to know about another pretty big Toyota recall -- 1.7 million cars worldwide and some new questions about quality and safety.
HOLMES: Also, she got a shout-out from the president last night, but you have probably no idea who she is. But she doesn't mind telling you who she is. We'll tell you a moment that was caught on camera and show it to you last night.
CHETRY: Well, the fat and calorie content laid out right there in front of your face. New food labels making it hard to avoid the reality of what you're eating. But, does it really make a difference?
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HOLMES: Well, we're about five minutes to the top of the hour.
Jesse Ventura is now suing the federal government. And particularly, he's going after the Department of Homeland Security and the TSA. Why? He says he has been violated, at least his rights have been. Former Minnesota governor and pro-wrestler filed this lawsuit over these aggressive pat-downs. He says he actually has a titanium plate in his hip that sets off the metal detectors so he is forced to go through this thing more often than most maybe, says he doesn't want any money here, just wants them to acknowledge that his rights are being violated.
The agency is not responding to this case, but they, of course, are defending their practices at security lines.
CHETRY: And as you said before, a lot of people are probably looking to jump on that band wagon. Some people feel the same way he does.
Well, remember yesterday, we told you about the big fuss about Taco Bell's beef.
HOLMES: Beef, or not the beef.
CHETRY: Right, exactly.
So, there's some what do you have call anti-dusting agents, but it still tastes good. Well, anyway, Taco Bell is now defending itself, denying claims made in the lawsuit that the meat in their tacos is not all beef. They say that the facts were wrong and that they plan to take legal action against people making those allegations. They say, "We use the same brands of beef sold in supermarkets and they're simmered in a delicious blend of seasonings."
HOLMES: That stuff is good. It's bad -- I don't care -- I mean, we all know the stuff we love, we don't know what's in it. Hot dogs, sometimes people love those. Street meat here in New York, what is that stuff?
CHETRY: Yes.
HOLMES: Yes. All right.
CHETRY: It's a mixture of lamb. It's a lamb mixture.
HOLMES: A lamb mixture? We don't have that in the South.
Well, the dirtiest hotels. I'm sure you've been in some in your life that you thought were nasty. But, now, we got the nastiest.
According to Trip Advisor, the Grand Resort Hotel in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, you do not want to check into that place. Now, the hotel is actually defending -- let me show you the list we got that up on the screen now.
Number two on this list, this was judged by people who write in to Trip Advisor. But Jack London Inn at Jack London Square out there in Oakland, California, came in number two.
And the Desert Inn Resort in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Those are three places you may not want to be. Now, number one on the list, the Grand Resort Hotel, they did send a statement to CNN, said that they take this issue very seriously. So, maybe, we'll see some improvements.
CHETRY: Yes. Maybe you caught them on a bad day, maybe not. Good luck.
We're going to take a quick break. Top story is coming up.
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