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President Obama Announces Details of Iraq Withdrawal; Interview With Texas Congressman Ron Paul; GOP Beaten, Not Broken
Aired February 27, 2009 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: All right, hello there, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes, sitting in today for Rick Sanchez. Thank you so much for being with us here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A lot to get to this hour, including the talk that, yes, the war in Iraq is coming to an end, and it's coming to an end just about as President Obama promised when he was out on the campaign trail.
Stay with us here. I'm listening to you, Chris. What are you saying? Oh, there we go. President Obama, a live picture here, just arriving back, I believe this is, at Andrews Air Force Base after his trip to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, where he made a major announcement.
Again, the president talking today and pretty much delivering on a promise he made when he was out there on the campaign trail that he would end this war, that he would bring out combat troops out of Iraq within 16 months of taking office.
Well, it's going to be about 18 or 19 months, but it's still pretty close. He made it all official today at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina in front of military men and women and their families that in fact he will be pulling out U.S. troops from Iraq by August 31 of next year.
Then, after that, he will keep a residual force there of about 35,000 to 50,000, will stay there in Iraq under certainly with a different mission. They will stay there, but all of those still will be coming out by 2011, but a live picture we are seeing here of the president after really a major day and momentous day for the war in Iraq, making the statement and putting what George W. Bush would not put there, which was a timeline for withdrawal for Iraq.
We essentially do have a timeline now. He said his first day, full day in office, exactly what he did was ask for a full review of the mission in Iraq. And after several -- after essentially a month now, that review is done, and the conclusions he has come to is that in fact it is OK and will be OK and the -- it is set.
Iraq is stable enough at least that he thinks this can be done, about 142,000 U.S. service men and women in Iraq right now on what is coming up on a sixth anniversary here right now.
But President Obama, live picture here. We will stay with this -- more to come in this hour of the CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES (voice-over): Coming at you now: The president finally tells us how and when our men and women are coming home from Iraq.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our combat mission in Iraq will end.
HOLMES: What does it mean for our troops? What does it mean for Iraq?
We showed you this picture yesterday distributed by a California mayor. Well, guess what he's saying today? We will have that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I looked in my mirror and the truck behind me was fully engulfed in flames, I mean, just blazing.
HOLMES: His actions likely saved lives -- the story behind this incredible video.
And it's the most important conservative gathering of the year. Rush is there. Huckabee is there. Ann Coulter's there. We will take you there to CPAC. Oh, yes, Ron Paul is there. But, today, he's coming here to take your questions.
Your questions unfiltered on Twitter, Facebook and more. Like nowhere else, your interactive newscast starts now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right, hello there again, everybody, T.J. Holmes sitting in here in the CNN NEWSROOM for Rick Sanchez today.
Take you back to that live picture. We're keeping an eye on the president here. And I misspoke a second ago. He hasn't arrived back at U.S. Andrews Air Force Base just yet. He's just now leaving Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. That's where he has been for a good part of the several past hours, making an announcement about troop levels in Iraq.
They will be reduced and reduced drastically. Combat forces will be out, according to President Obama, out of Iraq by August 31 of 2010. That is next year, just about 18 or 19 months from when he took office.
He was promising it would happen within 16 months of him taking office. However, he's just missing that mark by a couple of months, but a lot of people will certainly think right now he is keeping one of his major campaign promises, and one of the promises that certainly highlighted him and further skyrocketed him certainly during the Democratic primary race against Hillary Clinton.
Let's bring in a couple of folks who know a whole lot about this. We're going to be talking to Joe Klein with "TIME" magazine, also Michael Ware. There they are.
But before I get to you gentlemen, let's listen in now to the what the president said at Camp Lejeune.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: So let me say this as plainly as I can: By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end. As we...
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: As we carry out this drawdown, my highest priority will be the safety and security of our troops and civilians in Iraq. So we will proceed carefully, and I will consult closely with my military commanders on the ground and with the Iraqi government.
There will surely be difficult periods and tactical adjustments, but our enemies should be left with no doubt: This plan gives our military the forces and flexibility they need to support our Iraqi partners and to succeed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right.
Michael Ware, I will start with you. You know Iraq, and you know it well. Listening to this plan, is it possible, plausible and prudent?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes, it could definitely happen.
Obviously, everything depends upon the situation on the ground in Iraq and what the president's commanders of the war are telling him. So, the plan is that the timetable has been outlined. But the actual withdrawal in essence doesn't begin until next year.
There's two brigades of troops coming home this year, as planned. The rest are being kept there until after the Iraqi parliamentary elections. So, it's going to be a matter of what's happening next year, particularly in the lead-up to all this.
But, on the whole, none of this is hardly a declaration of bold resolve. The Bush administration, that started the war, had already negotiated the end of the war in the status of forces agreement that came into effect on the 1st of January. That gave American troops 36 months to get out of Iraq.
President Obama has chosen that he will only need 19 months to get the bulk of them out, and the remainder, the residual 35,000 to 50,000, will be out by the date set by the Bush administration.
HOLMES: Well, Joe, on his point right there, Joe, like he said, not necessarily bold resolve, but will this be viewed by the American public as a bold move by this president and this president keeping a campaign promise?
JOE KLEIN, COLUMNIST, "TIME": Well, yes, it will probably be viewed that way. But Mick is right about the deal and the inevitability of the deal after the status of forces agreement. One other thing that I would emphasize here is it is, as Mick said, a very back-loaded deal. You're only going to have two brigades fewer in Iraq by the end of the year.
And those two are going to be moved to Afghanistan. And so, a year from now, we're going to have as many American troops, if not more American troops, downrange in Afghanistan and Iraq total that we have now. So, the military is still facing a very stressed situation.
HOLMES: Still going to be stressed.
But, Michael, on that, we -- we know President Bush was adamant about making sure he never set a timeline, never going to let the enemy know when we're going to pull our troops out. They would just lie in waiting, until troops left, and then they would move in and attack. Is that still possible? Or are we dealing with a different Iraq now?
WARE: Well, we are dealing with a different Iraq post -- post- deal with the Sunni insurgency, the accommodation with rebel anti- American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
But the Bush administration did in fact, at the end, in one of their -- the last gasps of their time in office, set out precisely that, a timetable. The Bush administration signed a deal with the Iraqis to say, we will be out by the end of 2011, no discussions, no negotiation. That's it.
And the Iraqis insisted upon that. So, already, President Obama had that, in many ways, the heavy lifting, done for him. And the other thing to remember is, come June, July 2009, if Iraq is falling apart, heaven forbid, it will be a daring President Obama who pulls the troops out then, because he will be then as the president who oversaw the defeat of the war in Iraq or the loss of what successes had been made.
HOLMES: Yes. And it might come as a surprise right now to folks where the support and where some of the grumblings are coming from in this particular plan, Joe.
We're going to listen to, of all people, a supporter right now. Might be surprised whose face pops up on the screen to some of the viewers. Stay with me here and we will talk about it after this sound bite, Joe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: The American people should be clear. The president's plan, even after the end of its withdrawal timeline is reached, will leave in place up to 50,000 U.S. troops. All will be in harm's way.
Some will continue to conduct combat operations. They will play a vital role in consolidating and extending remarkable progress our military has made since early 2007. That's why I believe that the administration should aim to keep the full complement, 50,000, as briefed by Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullen, and not succumb to pressures, political or otherwise, to make deeper or faster cuts in our force levels.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And, Joe, we know who that is, the opponent in the election.
KLEIN: Yes.
HOLMES: He actually said he's consciously optimistic about the plan, but said he thinks it can lead to success there.
What do you get there? Go ahead.
KLEIN: And he was hedging a little bit there at the end about the 50,000.
You know, he -- John McCain was someone who campaigned on the need for American troops in Iraq in perpetuity. He's gotten some religion in part because he's now far more aware of how terrible the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan is. He gave a big speech about Afghanistan this week.
But, essentially, you know, this deal was -- you know, was cooked about six or eight months ago. And, you know, and McCain knew it then, even when he was attacking Obama about it during the campaign.
What we have to look at -- there are a couple of areas in Iraq that are still of concern. The most important thing of these elections, if you get the same kind of results nationally as they just got locally, that means that it will be a strong national Iraqi state supported by a parliament.
But a lot can change between now and next December. The other thing is that there's still a lot of tension in the northern part of the country between Arabs and Kurds, and that could blow up at any time.
HOLMES: All right. Joe Klein, again, with "TIME" magazine, Michael Ware, longtime correspondent, know all about that war and Iraq, but today with us from New York, gentlemen, always good to see you. Appreciate you both.
And we appreciate our viewers here as well who have been chiming in already. We will get to some of your comments on Facebook and Twitter here in just a second.
But up first here, you ever seen anything like this driving down the street, a tractor-trailer in front of you on fire? We hadn't quite seen anything like this either. We saw it today -- the story ahead.
Also, Rick was telling you yesterday right here about that California mayor who sent out an e-mail with that on it. Yes, that's the White House with a watermelon patch in front of it. That controversy was getting a lot of attention yesterday. The mayor came out and apologized. He came out and said something else today. We will let you know what he said.
And then Ron Paul, you know him, know him well, know the name, ran for president, he's coming up this hour. And he's not going to be answering my questions. He's answering yours. Get them in to us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Yes, welcome back here to the CNN NEWSROOM, everybody, T.J. Holmes sitting in for Rick Sanchez today.
The big story today, President Obama coming out and saying that he intends pull all combat troops out of Iraq by August 31 of next year.
Your comments have been coming in to us, as always, on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace.
A couple here I will share with you, wherever you want to start, and I will go with you. All right, right there, we will start with this one from MySpace saying: "Finally, we have a president that is serious about maintaining his promise and ending this unnecessary warp. I served two tours and was injured. I still have buddies there. It is time they come home."
To the left there, a Twitter comment: "One thing, I'm thrilled to think of troops coming out of Iraq."
Another saying: "OK, but I worry about the 50,000 still left behind. Will they be safe enough?" -- making a reference there to about 35,000 to 50,000 troops who will be left behind to continue a different kind of mission, not a combat mission, in Iraq.
Now, I do want to bring your attention to something that Rick was talking about here yesterday, about a mayor out in California who sent out a fairly disturbing and many say a racist e-mail to several folks, got him in trouble now. Listen to this from Rick yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Let me show you something before we do anything. Rog, go ahead and put this picture up. This is a picture of someone who is actually a mayor in California. Look at the see the -- all right, you see the watermelons in front of that? This is an e- mail postcard sent by the mayor. His name is Dean Grose of Los Alamitos, California.
He sent this as a joke to an African-American activist in his area. The caption, by the way, under this picture, this watermelon patch in front of the White House, says, "No Easter egg hunt this year."
Funny or racist? Well, let me tell you this. The mayor's now come out and said, yes, it's true, when contacted by the Associated Press, I did in fact send that. I didn't mean to offend anybody by it, though.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Yes, that's what the mayor said. Again, the name is Mayor Dean Grose of Los Alamitos, California.
He's coming out and expected to say something else on Monday: "I'm out." He's expected to resign on Monday at a city council meeting after sending out that e-mail -- again, the mayor, Dean Grose, expected now to come out and resign, even though he has apologized for that e-mail he sent out. And, by the way, he also said about that e- mail, he had no idea that there was any kind of negative stereotype attached to black people and watermelons.
Speaking of, unfortunately, black people and watermelons, another story to bring you of a similar incident that took place on a Facebook page. A couple of police officers are in trouble in New York State because of racist and offensive things they put on their Facebook pages. Take a look here at this piece that came to us from one of our reporters at a local affiliate station.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TIM FLEISCHER, WABC-TV REPORTER (voice-over): Several Harrison police officers are the focus of an investigation, town officials reveal, after derogatory and racial comments appeared on their personal Facebook sites.
"Eyewitness News" has obtained printouts from the Facebook sites, sources claim, of several Harrison police officers, sites that appear to contain numerous derogatory remarks about town Supervisor Joan Walsh. This, sources say, is one officer's site. It describes his political view as "Joan Walsh Hater."
But some of the sites also appear to contain racially charged remarks aimed at President Barack Obama. One reads: "Well, here is some breaking news from the Obama office: one, the Rose Garden will be turned into a watermelon garden; two, KFC set up right in front of the White House."
Efforts to reach the officers through their PBA representative were unsuccessful. But town officials say they will look closely at the department's code of conduct.
BOB PALLADINO, TOWN ATTORNEY: I think we need to separate what the individuals posted on their own behalf vs. what other people perhaps posted on their Facebook.
FLEISCHER (on camera): Town officials describe this as very embarrassing and certainly not the way they want their community to be perceived. Still, they do believe it should be investigated.
Reporting from Harrison, Tim Fleischer, Channel 7 "Eyewitness News." (END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And it is in fact being investigated. And police tell us they are looking into this. And it is likely that some disciplinary action will come out of it. Certainly, we will keep you posted right here.
Got some video we are going to be showing to you coming up here next. You see trucks driving around all the time. You fires actually all the time. You don't often see a combination of the two -- the story of this roving, burning thing coming up.
And, as we mentioned, we have got Ron Paul that's going to be joining us today. He will be answering, not mine, but your questions. Get them in on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: And hello again, everybody.
And if you are joining the show, just like that graphic invited you to do, with Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, got a couple of comments coming in on a couple of stories we have been doing just in the past 20 minutes, since this show started.
One thing: "What idiots would put something like that on your Facebook page if you work for the counties or for the state? Crazy" -- making a reference to the story we just did about a few cops in New York State in trouble for some racist and offensive remarks that they put on their Facebook pages. We will keep you posted on that story.
Also, some video here to show you. We can show you this, and say it looks cool because nobody was injured in this thing. But what you're seeing there is an 18-wheeler, tractor-trailer, with its butt end on fire. This is a dash-cam video from a police cruiser. This was out in California. And this happened early yesterday morning.
According to our affiliate out there, KCRA, the truck driver was sleeping. And he woke up and saw the back end of his rig engulfed in flames, as you see there. Now, instead of just taking off, bailing, getting out of there on his own and taking care of himself, he started the truck up and drove out of the truck stop, getting it away from other tractor-trailers.
Now, he was loaded with apparently thousands of gallons of cleaning supply chemicals, potentially volatile payload there, certainly a lot of diesel fuel in his tank and also those other trucks. Look at all those trucks around. So, this really could have been a nasty, ugly, maybe even deadly situation. But nobody was hurt here.
So, good job there, truck driver.
Not exactly what sure started that fire, however. Stay with us. Like we said, there's going to be Ron Paul coming along here in just a minute to join us. He will be talking about conservatives who are huddling right now in Washington, D.C., trying to find a game plan, a winning game plan, after pretty much a battering that they took in the November election. He's coming your way with answers to your questions.
Again, you can send them in to Rick's Facebook, MySpace and Twitter pages. And we will be asking him your questions.
That's ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ (voice-over): All here, Ann Coulter, Michael Steele, Joe the Plumber, Rush Limbaugh. Can the conservative movement get its groove back in the wake of Bush/Cheney? And who will lead the way?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Joe the plumber, he is amongst the conservative elite now, I suppose. Well, he's gathering with the rest of them in Washington, D.C., right now, a three-day conference happening there right now called CPAC. You might be hearing that a lot.
But that's the Conservative Political Action Conference that is happening. It's a big gathering of conservatives in Washington, D.C. And it's really trying to get their mojo back right about now, after really a beating they took in the November elections.
A lot of big names have been there, you name it, from the Senate majority, minority leaders there, Rush Limbaugh there as well. You see Newt Gingrich. You will be hearing from him in just a second.
But our Mark Preston is there, actually, at the conference. Also, Patricia Murphy is going to be joining us, chiming in on this conversation. There she is. Going to be talking to her as well.
But I will start with you, Mark.
And it's always interesting to have these polls and this speculation so far out. So, give us this latest and greatest poll and who's at the top, or who conservatives might want in 2012.
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, I will tell you what, T.J. You know, 9,000 conservatives are here in Washington, D.C., and they're talking about strategy. They're talking about rebuilding the party. They're also talking about 2012.
Just in the past couple hours, CNN has released a new horse race poll for 2012. What Republican is at the top of the list, T.J.? Not surprisingly, Sarah Palin, the vice presidential nominee in 2008. She comes in at 29 percent. Mike Huckabee comes back at 26 percent, Mitt Romney at 21 percent. And Bobby Jindal, who delivered that national address right after Barack Obama, comes in at 9 percent.
T.J., I should note a couple of things here. One ,the poll was done before Jindal gave his address. And, two, really, this is based on name recognition. This will all change over the next couple years. But it does show us really what is going on in the conservative movement.
Sarah Palin is not here, T.J. She's not here. She's not giving a speech, but her supporters are. And in fact they're doing a lot of this. They're handing out paraphernalia such as this very, very large poster. And they want her to run in 2012.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: I will ask you later what you're going to do with that poster when we get off the air here, Mark. But, like you said, a lot of big names for there for that conference. And they are on the attack.
Let's take a listen here.
And, Patricia, I will get your reaction to this after we hear it. But let's listen to what Newt Gingrich had to say, going on the attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Let me say, first of all, that we now have more than enough evidence of what this administration thinks of the American people.
If you look at Attorney General Holder's recent speech in which he described us as -- quote -- "a nation of cowards..."
(AUDIENCE BOOING)
GINGRICH: let me say to Attorney General Holder, I welcome an opportunity to have a dialogue with you about cowardice anywhere, anytime.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Patricia, right now, is it just trying a little bit of everything; there's not a clear, concise and coordinated mission and effort just yet?
PATRICIA MURPHY, EDITOR, CITIZENJANEPOLITICS.COM: I would agree with that.
There is -- certainly, first of all, we have seen there's not a clear leader just yet. There's not a clear message just yet. There is still some soul-searching going on here at CPAC. But what we have seen emerge are the conservatives who say it's not what we were doing in the past. It is not being conservative that was a problem. It was not being conservative enough.
They really blame George Bush, Tom DeLay, Karl Rove. They blame the leaders of their own party for squandering their conservative message and squandering what they thought were the most important parts of their message. So, what they're saying now, they're like, when we go forward and choose a leader, we need a true conservative to lead us out of this.
So, they're taking a lot of strength from that.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: And, Patricia -- I'm sorry there -- have they also, Patricia, found a way just yet to go after this quite still popular president, and not sound just like the party of no or obstructionists, or sounding like the politics of the past?
MURPHY: Well, that's something that they certainly have struggled with.
The conservatives in the House of Representatives were very, very angrily going against President Obama, particularly on his stimulus package. And then they got some poll numbers that came back and said that most Americans thought they were too partisan, that they weren't working enough with President Obama.
But conservatives at this conference really are not worried that. They're not worried about public opinion polls. At this point, they want to hone in on their message, go back to basics of being conservatives and then transmit that through new technology, new communications methods out to Americans. They don't think they're wrong on their principles. They think they just haven't articulated them well enough.
HOLMES: Well, Mark, tell me, are they excited about who we expect to be articulating a lot of that message? I believe it's going to be tomorrow, Rush Limbaugh going to be the headliner there. Is this the person they think -- and his name has been out there a whole lot lately -- is this really the person they want to see as the I guess torchbearer for the Republican Party and for conservatism?
PRESTON: Well, I will tell you, there's no question, T.J., that Rush Limbaugh is a very influential voice in the conservative movement. He's not necessarily a leader, per se, but he really does have a lot of influence.
He was able to really galvanize support for Republicans to oppose the stimulus package that was just passed through Congress. And he really can help influence the debate. So, expect to hear a lot of from Rush Limbaugh. People here are excited that he's speaking tomorrow night.
HOLMES: All right. Mark Preston, my buddy from the weekends, always good to see you. I guess I'll see you soon on the weekends.
And, also, Patricia Murphy, always a pleasure to be here and have you on and get speak to you, as well.
Guys, thank you both.
MURPHY: Thank you.
HOLMES: And a reminder to our viewers out there, we are asking for your questions, because we have Ron Paul coming up -- the congressman from Texas, who did run as a Republican for the Republican nominee -- for the Republican nomination for president. He is coming your way.
But we certainly want to get your comments, your questions in. And he is going to be talking to us.
So again, please, send in your questions on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, on Rick's pages. We will go through some of those questions and hand them off to Congressman Paul when he gets here.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY WABC)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have an explosive in Building Number One. There's smoke all over the place.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the towers went down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(ON SCREEN)
Terence Manning 1964-2001
CAROLYN MANNING, CNN HERO NOMINEE: My brother-in-law was killed in Tower One on September 11th. After September 11th, I saw a picture of an Afghan family who had also lost a family member because of the Taliban and they had to flee their country. Our family has five kids. We lost a family member, too. We just naturally went from that to let's show the refugees that we welcome them.
My name is Carolyn Manning and I started the "Welcome to America" project to help refugees in Phoenix, Arizona.
How are you?
Are you doing well?
The families that we help come from places where there's been war and genocide. And some refugees have never lived with indoor plumbing and they've never flushed a toilet.
All right, let's go. The "Welcome to America" project is the community and it operates by community volunteers. My husband and I, many a time, have been out here pulling furniture -- before work, after work. This is our life.
(ON SCREEN)
Since 2001, Carolyn and her organization have provided furniture, clothing and support to over 550 refugee families in Arizona.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) I do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much for all of your help.
MANNING: All right. Let's go on to the next family.
When they step foot in the United States, they have been invited here. I want the refugees to feel like this is their home.
Welcome to America.
And that's what America has been built on. It's our history. It's who we are. And they're a part of it.
UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: Tell us about your hero at cnn.com/heroes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Welcome back, everybody.
I'm T.J. Holmes sitting in for Rick Sanchez here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Like we've been saying, we've been keeping an eye on what's happening in Washington right now. CPAC is happening. That's the Conservative Political Action Conference happening -- a big collection of conservatives there trying to get their mojo back after a beating they took back in November.
And Congressman Ron Paul, the former presidential candidate, joining me now from that convention. You're going to be addressing the folks there.
Thank you for being with us, sir.
We've got a few questions from our viewers we're going to pass along to you.
But first, I want to ask you one question. You have of course -- it's been well documented -- have been against big government and certainly against more regulation. Given what you've been seeing in the first month of the Obama administration, geared toward, many would say, bigger government and geared toward more regulation down the road, how are you sleeping at night? REP. RON PAUL (R), TEXAS: Well, it sounds like it's epidemic. I mean we had too much government for a long time. And the last eight years were terrible for us who believe in minimal government. And now we have Obama. And now we have to deal with the outward nationalization of our industries and a runaway Federal Reserve.
I mean it's just totally out of control. We're living in very, very dangerous times. And, of course, the expansion of the war in the Middle East is not doing any of us any good.
So other than the fact that I get encouragement when I leave Washington, I get encouragement when I'm at places like this and talk to young people. But in Washington, D.C. And in the U.S. Congress, there's no reason for this country to be too happy.
HOLMES: All right, sir. I will turn to some questions from some of our viewers. We'll see how happy they are right now.
But here is one coming to us that says: "Do you see the Republicans rediscovering their conservatism or are they merely acting as an opposing voice to the Democrats?"
That's a question from our viewers.
PAUL: Well, that's a very good question because if you're a cynic -- and I tend toward being cynical, having been around here for a bit, if they were true conservatives, they wouldn't have supported all the big government programs of George Bush. But today, we're unified. They stand up. They say the right things. They oppose the big spending programs of Obama. But credibility has been lost.
So I don't know how they're going to regain credibility and trust. And that's what politics is all about.
People can disagree with you. I have people disagreeing with me at home, but they know he can trust me and they know how I'm going to vote. And right now, the Republican Party is going to have a terribly difficult task of regaining that confidence. Hopefully, they'll stick to their guns. But the Republicans have been known to be much better in opposition than to be in control.
HOLMES: All right, we'll turn to another question, again from a viewer, this one from Reyes, saying how -- on the left screen there on the Twitter board: "How does Ron Paul feel about Obama's Iraq plan?"
As you know, sir the plan came out today. And you were, saying during your campaign, that you certainly wanted to get U.S. troops out of Iraq as quickly as possible.
Do you agree with the way that President Obama is saying he's going to go about doing that?
PAUL: No, because he's not doing it very fast. I don't think he's really changing policy. He's going to keep 50,000 troops there maybe. If there's any trouble, there will be a lot more. And then they're going to be non-combat. How can you have a soldier be non-combat?
Does that mean he can't shoot is rifle?
Is he going to be a bureaucrat?
Is he going to be a policeman or is he going to be a half of a soldier?
And besides, the soldiers still being in Iraq is occupation. That's why they hate our guts, because we've taken over their land, we've invaded their country, we've killed a million of their people. And that's why there's an Al Qaeda.
So I would say this is useless. And besides, he's building the forces in Afghanistan. So there's every reason in the world for our problems to accelerate. And we're doing exactly what Osama bin Laden wanted, because he wanted to bankrupt our country. And lo and behold, we're bankrupt.
So we -- our foreign policy, unfortunately and inadvertently, has done everything to please Osama bin Laden and our enemy.
HOLMES: All right. Sir, I will get one more question in from a viewer. And if the viewer didn't ask it, I was going to ask it. Again, for another Twitter comment there, saying: "Will he try to run for president again?"
That's a question on a lot of people's minds. And I'm sure you're going to get it every single interview you do. So go ahead and get officially on the record for us here.
PAUL: It's not in my plans. It's way too early. That's a long way off. The world could be a different place in four years from now. So that thought process is not something I'm dealing with.
HOLMES: All right. And I'll ask you one more.
What's your message going to be to those conservatives there at this conference when you speak today?
PAUL: Well, hopefully, it goes well. It's a good crowd and there's a lot of enthusiasm. But the future of America is here. It's the young people. And that's the group that is attracted to the ideas of liberty and obeying the Constitution.
So I'm optimistic, when I talk to young people, that we'll be attending at this conference.
HOLMES: And certainly a lot of those young people were the ones who certainly had a lot of energy around your campaign when you were out there a lot. You took advantage of the Internet and you had a pretty good following, sir. So I'm sure they still follow you.
Good luck today.
We appreciate you taking some time out and answering some of our viewers' questions.
Thank you so much, Congressman Paul.
PAUL: Thanks.
HOLMES: All right. Ryanair, check your ticket. If you're flying them any time soon, you might not want to have a drink on that flight -- not unless you have some spare change handy -- not for the drink, but because you might need the change to get into the bathroom. We'll tell you what this airline is considering, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. As we know, most airlines make you pay to check a back, they make you pay for food, they make you pay for headphones. Some are even talking about making you pay for blankets and pillows.
What are they going to do next?
What, make you pay to go to the bathroom?
Yes, maybe. According to Michael O'Leary he's the head of Ryanair -- the airline is considering placing a coin slot on the door of the bathroom. O'Leary suggests that this would keep ticket prices lower by bringing in some extra money to the company. Now, some are suggesting this is nothing more than an attention-grabbing ploy. But hey, don't bet your bladder on it.
Ryanair is, of course, a low cost airline that operates -- really, you would have to put a pound in there. So we're not talking about quarters and whatnot. So we shall see. Well, tell us what you think about it, please. Of course, this is your newscast. Continue to participate, as many of you have been, on Rick's MySpace, Facebook and Twitter pages.
And stay with us here. We've got a different kind of segment coming up.
We're going to take a little break from some of this horrible news. There he is. You know the name. You know the face.
Andy Borowitz coming up to talk about all the news of the day. We might even get his take on paying to pee on an airplane.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Welcome back, everybody.
A lot of people are already giving some response to the story we just did about Ryanair possibly is going to charge people to use the bathroom on the plane. There might be a little coin slot on the door. Some responses coming in already. One saying -- I didn't see this. One saying that: "If the alternative was to soil myself, sure, I'd pay. But I wouldn't be happy about it."
That's just one of many we're already getting in.
Andy Borowitz, award-winning comedian and satirist joining us now.
Sir, good to have you here. I didn't -- I didn't expect to talk to you about this particular topic.
But what comes to mind when you hear a story like that?
They're already getting us in so many other ways with these airlines. And they have been hurting.
But to use the bathroom?
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: I think it's time for some payback, T.J.
Here's what I would do -- and I would recommend this to anyone flying Ryanair. Pay the pound, put the coin in the slot, then you effectively have control of the bathroom. You charge admission. That's what I'm going to do.
HOLMES: That's not a bad idea.
BOROWITZ: It's an awesome money making opportunity.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Our producer is sitting right here next to me and we're both shaking our heads. Yes, we didn't think of that. That is a good idea.
Let's move on to some other news of the day -- topics of the day, a lot we've been hearing about. The latest was the "Rocky Mountain News" is going to be closing down. A lot of papers hurting like that. A lot say they're going down because people are getting their news in different ways -- in ways that folks like yourself are giving it to them.
Now, do you take any responsibility for some of these collapses?
BOROWITZ: Well, I don't think I have that kind of power. But I do think I break a lot of stories over at BorowitzReport.com. I've got a story that's not in the mainstream media at all right now, which is that the CIA is now following Osama bin Laden on Twitter. And it's going to be huge. They -- they are getting so many tweets out of this guy.
(LAUGHTER)
BOROWITZ: It's amazing. HOLMES: OK.
BOROWITZ: More than Rick Sanchez, I can tell you that.
HOLMES: More -- well, if he's getting more than Rick Sanchez, that's a lot, because Rick's got a lot going on.
Yes, we do need to...
BOROWITZ: He's everywhere.
HOLMES: We need to check that out. We haven't seen that story on your Web site yet.
Another story that got a lot of attention -- and a kind of a head-scratcher and a lot of people couldn't believe the mayor didn't realize that the stereotype between watermelons and black people would be offensive to anybody. But this, we're seeing this again, this is the e-mail he sent out.
What was your reaction when you saw this?
Can he plead stupid on this one?
BOROWITZ: I don't know, T.J.
Do you buy this at all?
I don't think -- I don't buy the I didn't know about this whole watermelon thing. I'm glad that he's resigned. It's a disgrace. Some positive news for this guy, though. He just got a job as a cartoonist for "The New York Post." So that's good news for him.
HOLMES: Oh, ha, ha, ha.
BOROWITZ: Ha, ha.
HOLMES: Oh. All right. The New York -- I don't need to follow up and tell people what that's all about.
BOROWITZ: You don't.
HOLMES: And we will...
BOROWITZ: You do not.
HOLMES: We will move on swiftly. Another story got a lot of attention and a lot of people still scratching their heads -- and a lot of outrage. This mom -- I don't even know what to call her now. She has 14 children now. She just had the octuplets, the eight.
BOROWITZ: She is known...
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: I think the technical term for her is octo mom. HOLMES: Octo mom?
BOROWITZ: I think we have to stick with that.
HOLMES: Did something not sit right with that story to you?
BOROWITZ: Well, I just am concerned about the implications of this for our budget. You know, we're in a massive deficit situation right now. I'm not just concerned about the octo mom. If some of these children that she has also turn out to be octo moms, we're looking at a geometric progression here. It's a ticking time bomb, T.J.
HOLMES: Oh, well, the last one -- I'll let you pick which is -- I've only got time for one more topic...
BOROWITZ: OK.
HOLMES: Either Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana or Gisele and Tom Brady getting married. You take one of the two, whichever one, and go with it. And we're going to have to wrap up on that one.
BOROWITZ: Well, we've got to talk about Gisele and Tom. This is a great story. I actually have access to the prenuptial agreement. If Tom Brady is injured at any point in this marriage, Matt Kassel goes in for him. So that's awesome. Good news.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Oh. OK. If you all don't know, just go to AndyBorowitz.com and it will explain everything in further detail.
But a good looking couple there, don't you think?
BOROWITZ: Awesome. They're going to make amazing kids.
HOLMES: They are going to make amazing kids.
Andy Borowitz, we appreciate you stopping by. Always good to see chat with you. Good to see you. Thanks so much, man.
BOROWITZ: Thanks, T.J.
(VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right. That's rock star treatment. You remember these pint-sized movie stars from India, the "Slumdog Millionaire" kids. Well, they have made it back home -- their triumphant arrival and several other stories that kind of flew under our radar this week.
Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES (voice-over): That horrible plane crash, Pakistan, Afghanistan. Republicans say tomato, Democrats say ta-mato. And hold on there, Dow.
It was a busy week in the Sanchez universe. There were so many great stories that didn't make it to air between 3:00 and 4:00.
Like this -- Yosemite National Park -- a nail-biter rescue after an avalanche knocked a climbing group 100 yards down a mountain. One guy was hurt pretty bad. They choppered him out. His friends kept climbing. That's cold.
Overseas, Bangladesh, paramilitary troops staged a mutiny against their superiors this week. And it looks like more than 60 officers were killed. The mutiny is over, but lots of people are still missing.
Bad news for pro-golfers who were allowed to win a few tournaments the past eight months -- Tiger is back and the knee the better than ever.
And how did he do his first round back?
He won.
Also, Stevie Wonder has got a fan in the White House. President Obama says without Stevie's music, the first lady probably wouldn't have married him. The president awarded Stevie Wonder the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize this week. He hooked you up with your wife, sir. You owe him more than that.
Also, check out the movie star mob scene in India. Straight from Hollywood, the "Slumdog Millionaire" kids returned to their homeland as Oscar-winning heroes. It's back to school for the kids, with hopes that the eyes of the world were opened to India's big problems.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HOLMES: All right. Just a few of the things we didn't get a chance to show you this week. We wanted to bring them to you there, briefly, at least.
Also, I didn't know we were going to get this much response. We should have known, probably, about this story -- the airline -- Ryanair, possibly going to putting a coin dispenser on the -- not a dispenser, I guess, but a -- you had to put a coin in to get into the bathroom -- essentially charging you to use the bathroom on the plane.
A lot of comments coming in. Let's head to Facebook there on the right. Pat says: "I'm going to have to start panhandling in mid-flight to use the bathroom."
We'll head right there to the left now for the Twitter board, saying: "Yes. But I also will hold the door open for the next person to save the coin, too."
Someone else saying: "I would definitely pay to make sure someone else could. Consider the alternatives. There's not a lot of good alternatives to not using the bathroom on the plane."
Stay with us. Just a few minutes away from Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM".
A quick break.
Be right back with you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm coming to you from high in the Berkshires at Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort. And, you know, at first glance, this could be any ski What in America. I mean, you've got the skiers, you have the snow, you've got the skiers, you have the snow, you've got the trees, you have the ski lifts. But, you know, there is one big thing that does set this place apart from any other ski What in America.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF (voice-over): Meet Zephyr -- a turbine named after the Greek god of wind. It's taller that the Statue of Liberty, standing more than 250 feet high. And it generates power for the mountain.
BRIAN FAIRBANK, PRES. AND CEO, JIMINY PEAK RESORT: We have been trying to do everything we could to conserve on energy. And somebody suggested take advantage of the wind.
WOLF (on camera): It's not exactly Everest, but still, man, let me tell you, this is pretty intense. Latching on.
(voice-over): Zephyr's blades produce a third of the What 's electricity. And when demand is low, it helps power local homes and businesses. But not everyone is a fan of the $4 million turbine.
FAIRBANK: We've had some people in the community that have said, I don't want to look at that.
WOLF: And studies show turbines can be deadly for migrating bats. But some think the benefit far outweighs the costs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the sign of the future. If it helps us have less dependence on foreign oil, it's a wonderful thing.
FAIRBANK: That thing is going to keep giving us power every year.
WOLF: Reynolds Wolf, CNN, Hancock, Massachusetts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. One last Twitter comment for you here. People are commenting about the possibility of one airline charging you to use the bathroom, saying: "I wonder if those vomit bags are leak- proof."
People are already thinking ahead.
We appreciate all of you who have participated on the show today.
Also, we talked about CPAC. Rush Limbaugh is speaking tomorrow. CNN will be carrying that for you live, 5:00 p.m. tomorrow. You can tune in right there to see that.
Thank you so much for being with us here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm T.J. Holmes.
I'm going to hand it off now to Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM -- Wolf, it's all yours.
