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Concerns About Disney's "MagicBands"; Obama Faces Contention Over Cabinet Post Picks; Largest Gadget Conference Kicks Off; The Rise of Chris Christie; Chris Christie Speaks Out.

Aired January 08, 2013 - 13:30   ET

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

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Because before when you needed a ticket to get in, you had to through turnstiles, this band will get you in. Hook up credit card to this and use it on your scanner to make purchases at restaurants.

Also another good thing about it is, ahead of time, before you go to the park -- you've heard of the Fast Pass? You know what that is?

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I totally know what that is. You can --

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: Yes, you get -- you sort of dodge some lines, figure out timing when you go on a ride, so you don't have to wait in line forever.

KOSIK: Exactly. What this band could do is, before you leave your hotel, let's say, you can organize, let's say, three rides that you know you want to go on, that you know the lines are long, so you don't have to wait to get to the park to get fast passes. You can do that early.

There's a creep factor to this, too. Would you like them tracking your every move like that?

VELSHI: I figure everybody's tracking everything I do already.

KOSIK: I know --

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: I'm not one of the guys that gets worried about the tracking. Whatever. If I get a discount, you can tell what I want to buy, who knows?

KOSIK: The good thing is, is that this is mostly opt-in, meaning choose what you want to share with Disney. Share as little or as much and think about it. Think about it. You're at Disney. There are security cameras everywhere.

VELSHI: You're tracked already if you're at Disney.

(CROSSTALK)

KOSIK: Yes.

VELSHI: Yes, I agree.

All right, Alison, we'll check in with you later.

KOSIK: Sure.

VELSHI: Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange.

Hey, looking for a job that won't leave you pulling your hair out. It's not a problem for me. Let's say, won't have you raising your blood pressure. Career Cast just released a list of the least stressful jobs in America.

Here are the five. Number one, university professors. They have high-growth opportunities, low-health risks and good pay. Professors make an average of $62,000 a year. Salaries can get as high as 200k. Next, seamstresses and tailors. Pay is low but it can be creative and they work in quiet environments. Medical record technicians have low- stress jobs. Low paying, $30,000 a year. But it's a growing profession. Jewelers come in at number four. Medical lab technicians round up the top five.

One stressful job, selecting a cabinet. President Obama's on the fast track to fill up his cabinet. From the looks of it, he's picking -- hand he's picking men that he trusts. What about women? How is his cabinet doing in terms of diversity? Plus, his picks are not a shoe- in. Congress may be pushing back on some of them. We'll tell you about that when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

The NRA says it will take part in meetings at the White House this week on gun policy proposals. A spokesman says the group received an invitation late Friday, and will send a representative. A senior administration official says, Vice President Joe Biden will hold a series of meetings with stakeholders in the gun debate. President Obama appointed Biden to lead an effort to curb gun violence that was after the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.

The president is facing a contentious battle over his two latest nominations for cabinet posts. He tapped former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel for defense secretary, and anti-terrorism chief, John Brennan, for CIA director.

But most of the controversy surrounds Hagel because of opposition to troop surges in Iraq and Afghanistan, and some of his positions on Israel. The president cited one main reason for both of his picks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My number one criteria in making these decisions was simple, who is going to do the best job in securing America? These two leaders have dedicated their lives to protecting our country. I'm confident they will do an outstanding job. I urge the Senate to confirm them as soon as possible so we can keep our nation secure and the American people safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Now, there's something to be said for how a president picks cabinet nominees, cabinet secretaries, in his second term.

Let's bring in author and presidential historian, Douglas Brinkley. He's professor of history, fellow at Rice University, and author of a thousand books, last I checked.

Doug, good to see you again. Thank you for being with us.

As you just heard, the president wanted to be seen as tough, particularly as tough on terrorism. These two men seem to fit the bill. What's the issue about the president appointing just anybody he wants? Why is this I going to be a tough battle for him?

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN & PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, RICE UNIVERSITY & AUTHOR: We're in a tough, political climate now. President Obama's picked two excellent people, I believe, in John Brennan and Chuck Hagel. I mean, look at their long scope of their career and resumes. Brennan has probably been the number one counterterrorism voice in policy-maker in our government in Obama's first term. And the president's learned to trust his information. They have a great shorthand together. And Chuck Hagel's an old friend of the president from his days in the Senate. It's a quasi bipartisan effort picking Hagel, but not quite, because he's a disgruntled Republican. So I think president's getting people he wanted to be comfortable with. He doesn't have to run for office again. He has two men by him that he wants to hear from every day.

VELSHI: Hagel's got history that's going to cause the president trouble, including positions on Israel and Iran. Does that matter? And how does the president overcome resistance he's going to get from Republican and conservative Senators?

BRINKLEY: It matters. We're going to have a big public hearing. There are moments in hear where people that we think are shoo-ins suddenly have to quit the process. Admiral Strauss in 1959 was picked by Dwight Eisenhower to be commerce secretary. Everybody thought how he was an automatic, a long veteran in government. And yet, they wouldn't allow him to go through.

Most famously, John Tower, 24 years in the U.S. Senate when George Herbert Walker Bush picked him to be secretary of defense. In the hearing, there were stories of over-drinking, alcohol, womanizing, financial improprieties. You never know what you're going to stumble into.

They'll go after Hagel and Brennan but, in the end, they'll probably both be confirmed.

VELSHI: Hagel's a veteran. Hagel is a Republican. But you do point -- being a veteran may help a bit. Being a Republican, you're saying going to help less than you would normally think? BRINKLEY: Yes, because Hagel's not part of the neo-con movement, nor part of the modern conservative movement. He's kind of a loose cannon. I like that about him. He's a gut player, but you make enemies that way. That's what cost John Tower to be secretary of defense, the independent streak.

Interesting to watch John McCain. McCain part of the group of -- who embraced Hagel. They're Vietnam vets together. They used to pal around with John Kerry and Max Cleland and Chuck Rob, the Vietnam Senators. But they differed in the past few years and there's tension there. McCain's will be the key person. For Brennan, Brennan has a weak spot that he was pro-CIA, waterboarding type of activities. McCain was opposed to that. So he may go after Brennan, too. McCain will be in the spotlight the next week.

VELSHI: Talk about women. We've had three major appointments so far, three major suggestions at the moment, Kerry, Brennan and Hagel. We know the treasury secretary's leaving. We haven't had somebody named but there are not a lot of women's names floating around, as potentials. Why no more women in the cabinet?

BRINKLEY: Well, we're just losing two high-profile women in the Obama administration, Hillary Clinton, but also Lisa Jackson at EPA. It is -- seems to me the president's going to want to try to get in his last remaining appointments some women in play. Susan Rice can stay in at U.N. But you want to get a few more. You might see more women becoming assistant secretaries, high-level ambassadorships on the foreign policy front. And I think you'll find a woman finding a spot in one of the domestic cabinet posts. But it's, I think, the president felt he had to pick the people that were best, and their names were Kerry, Brennan and Hagel, after he floated Rice around a little and she didn't track.

VELSHI: Because of the movie "Lincoln" that's been out and Doris Kearns Goodwin's book, "Team of Rivals," your response is that Obama's cabinet picks now for his second term are the least team of rivals ever. Explain that a bit.

BRINKLEY: Yes. I mean these are a team of friends. I don't blame the president. Look, you're in the second term now. You've won a big election like he did, you don't want to have to constantly pick the political choice. You want the person you think can get the job done. Chuck Hagel is not afraid to slash defense budgets. You really need a veteran to do that. He's our first secretary of defense who is a Vietnam War veteran. Our country has to deal with the expanding Pentagon costs and Hagel's ready to do it. It's hard to find somebody that has moxie that wants to get in there and slash.

He's with his compadres right now, the president. And you can't blame him. Whether you're looking at FDR's brain trust or the kitchen cabinet of T.R., it's always good to have people around you that you're comfortable with.

VELSHI: Douglas, good to talk to you as always. Thanks for joining us.

BRINKLEY: Thank you.

VELSHI: Douglas Brinkley, presidential historian.

Chris Christie, he's a face you know and, in New Jersey, he's a name that voters love. Why his skyrocketing approval ratings and his controversial leadership style make him one to watch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Largest electronics gadgets show in the world kicks of today in Las Vegas. I'm not there. I love CES, from electronic forks that monitor how fast you eat, to phones that turn light off in your house.

Dan Simons joins me from Las Vegas.

Home automation, Dan, is the big theme. The electronic fork, the worst idea ever. But home automation with your phone seems to be the big deal there.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It really is. You know, we just kind of got here. The show's been open now about 40 minutes. We've been roaming the floor, trying to find themes and products that interest us. One theme that quickly emerged right away, Ali, is home automation. That's the idea of using your phone to connect everything.

Let me give you the lay of the land first. This is sort of -- this is the south hall. This is where there are a lot of companies that are focusing on home automation and audio.

We're going to kind of walk around here and talk to people from Nexia Home Intelligence. They've emerged as one of the leaders in the space of home automation.

And the key here, Ali, this isn't brand-new technology but what is new is it's simpler and more affordable.

This is Paige Muhlenkamp with Nexia.

Paige, first of all, we were talking about how this has been around, at least some products have. Gotten a lot more cost affordable for people, correct?

PAIGE MUHLENKAMP, NEXIA: Yes, that's correct. The notion of home intelligence in products that were integrated into homes that talk to each other is getting much more affordable. We used to see home automation at ten of thousands of dollars. We've brought it down to a point of a couple hundred dollars or a thousand dollars so all homeowners can have the advantage of home automation.

SIMON: I want to show people how this work. It's this simple piece of hardware that connects to your home router. This is the key to making all of this stuff work. And in terms of the range of products, we're talking about your thermostat you control from your phone. This is electronic thermostat. Here, this is your newest product. I think this one's interesting. Tell us about in. MUHLENKAMP: This is a touch screen dead bolt. It was launched last week. It connects into the home automation system, allowing the homeowner to lock and unlock the door remotely. So leave the home, realize the door's unlocked, hit a button, lock it.

SIMON: Right. We all leave the house and wonder sometimes, was the house locked or unlocked? Pressing a button here. The Wi-Fi's tough inside. We're not sure. You can see instantly, you can tell the door just locked. And what is something like this cost?

MUHLENKAMP: This retails for around $199. Go out, search for it online, touch screen deadbolt. It's always going to give you that status the lock is locked or unlocked. Unlock it for housekeeper, a cleaning lady, give everyone a code, and receive a text when they walk in the door?

SIMON: Paige Muhlenkamp, thanks very much.

MUHLENKAMP: Thank you.

SIMON: Ali, a couple things that we're hearing a lot about, connected homes. Also connected cars, the idea of using your phone to, for instance, start your car on the cold, winter days. Get in your car and it's almost warm. So Smartphone technology is all of the rage during this CES.

VELSHI: All right, Dan, good to see you, my friend.

Dan Simon at Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas.

I think we're taking a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Welcome back, folks.

Christine Romans is with me.

The days of getting by on the high school diploma are over. The Labor Department has released a report card showing that the unemployment rates for 500 different jobs.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right. A deep dive for you. These are the jobs with the lowest levels of unemployment.

Topping the list, physicians and surgeons, only 0.8 percent unemployment followed by nurse practitioners, estate appraisers and assessors of real estate, clergy and physicians assistants. And then on the other end, look at this, anything related with -- housing market still has high unemployment, and telemarketers, 25 percent unemployment here.

VELSHI: You can outsource.

ROMANS: Right.

VELSHI: You don't have to be in the U.S.

This may start changing as the housing market starts to come back.

ROMANS: Also construction laborers, packers, brick masons, drywall installers. You get the picture. News analysts, by the way, reporters, and those are in the middle of the pack with 6.6 percent unemployment.

VELSHI: Now, here is the thing you need to look at, unemployment by levels of education. What do all the low unemployment jobs have in common? They require a college degree or special training. The more education you have, the more likely you are to be employed and earning good money.

Look at this. People with a bachelor's degree or higher have under 4 percent unemployment. That is half of that -- of those people with high school diplomas. And look at that. If you have less than a high school diploma, unemployment rate close to 11.7 percent. If you have a college or associate degree, you're in the middle with 6.9 percent.

What is standing in the way of everybody getting a college degree? We know the answer to that, we hear it all the time, it is cost. Between 1998 and 2008, the cost of college rose 130 percent, but income didn't increase anywhere close to that. Two-thirds of college seniors have college debt. The average debt load is $26,000.

ROMANS: So you may end up eventually, once you get into the labor market, with a lower unemployment rate than the national average. You have more debt normally.

I like to say most people don't need to spend $200,000 to get a good degree. There are three-year programs. You should already go to college with a few credits under your belt. I'm not kidding. You cannot, in this world, take five years to get through school anymore. Choose your school wisely. If you don't have savings, and you don't have scholarships, you can't afford to go some place that is a private liberal arts college, paying $50,000 a year. You can't afford it.

VELSHI: But the fact you come out of college with debt doesn't necessarily mean it is a bad investment. Because if your debt puts you into this category, 3.9 percent unemployment, as opposed to this category of 8 percent, you're going to make that money up over time. You'll have savings. You're going to be able to invest it and you're going to be able to do a little bit better.

So that's our "How to Speak Money" for today.

Christine, good to see you.

ROMANS: Thank you.

VELSHI: Thank you for joining us. We'll be right back after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VELSHI: In just a few minutes, Governor Chris Christie will deliver a State of the State address. The outspoken Republican will no doubt focus on the efforts of -- on the effects of Superstorm Sandy which barreled into New Jersey on October 29th. I was in Atlantic City, covering the storm when it hit. I've seen the extensive damage firsthand. Governor Christie has emerged as a leading voice pressuring Congress to pass a $60 billion aid package to repair damaged infrastructure and help people rebuild their homes and businesses in New York and New Jersey.

I want to bring in our political editor, Paul Steinhauser, in Washington.

Paul, we probably know what we can expect to hear from Governor Christie. What we also know is his way of doing things seems to resonate with New Jersey residents.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: It sure does, Ali. The State of the State addresses, they're basically a state of the union address on the state level where governors talk about their accomplishments from the past year, what they're going to do in this New Year.

As for Christie, his office put out a press release earlier today touting the governor's efforts on the budget deficit, on taxes, on education. Let's be honest, as you just mentioned, the big part of this speech today is going to be on Sandy, on how the storm devastated New Jersey in 2012, what Chris Christie did in 2012 after the storm hit, and what he plans to do this year as he helps to continue to get New Jersey back on its -- on its right setting.

Ali, as you just mentioned, polls indicate New Jersey voters are giving Chris Christie two thumbs up.

VELSHI: Yes.

STEINHAUSER: His poll ratings skyrocketed after Sandy. He's still in the 70s. A new poll out yesterday, 73 percent of New Jersey residents aprove of the job he's doing in office.

All this comes, of course, 10 months before Governor Chris Christie is up for re-election. New Jersey and Virginia, the only two states that have gubernatorial elections in the year after a presidential. That's another reason why this address and his efforts on Sandy are so important to Chris Christie.

VELSHI: Talk to me about we're all talking about here. Most of the rest of the country doesn't care about New Jersey's election. They care about 2016. Is Chris Christie going to be a presidential candidate in 2016? What do you know about this?

STEINHAUSER: Listen, a lot of Republicans wanted him to run for the nomination this past time. He eventually thought about it, but eventually said no, and endorsed Mitt Romney as we all know.

He was asked about it, possibly running in 2016 in an interview in the "New York Star Ledger," that came out yesterday. They asked, would he be more prepared this time around? This is what he said, "Yes, you're damn right I'd be more ready."

Look at this, Ali, a new poll from CNN/ORC. Listen to this. We put it out about a week ago. We asked Republicans, look at, 2016, would you be very likely or somewhat likely to vote for these people. Six in 10 Republicans said they would be very or somewhat likely to vote for Chris Christie as their nominee in 2016.

I don't think he's going to talk about 2016 at all in this speech, but we continue to talk about it all this year and probably into the future -- Ali?

VELSHI: Very good, Paul. Always a pleasure to see you, my old friend.

Paul Steinhauser joining us from Washington.

And we will be probably dipping in, bringing you some of Chris Christie's State of the State speech in a few minutes from now, because he's always so darn interesting to listen to. It will be very interesting to watch what he's got to say.

Well, that is it for me. I'm Ali Velshi.

But we're not done. The CNN NEWSROOM continues in just a moment with my good friend, Brooke Baldwin.