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Obama Wins And A Look At What's Next; Another Possible Storm Heading To Northeast; Obama Faces Fiscal Cliff; Third Party Candidate Gets 1 Percent; Heavy Rain, Cold Expected in Northeast; Stocks Selling Off Day After Election; Wisconsin Elects First Openly Gay Senator; Balance of Power in Congress Remains Split

Aired November 07, 2012 - 13:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: You know, you stay neutral, purple the whole time and then you make way with that.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Get that beard going -- get that beard going. Could be an indicator. Red, blue, whatever is going on.

MALVEAUX: All right. Is until -- don't ask me to grow one, all right? That's all I ask.

Well, the voters have spoken, the results are in. We are looking ahead to what happens next now that President Barack Obama has won a second term in office. I'm Suzanne Malveaux at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

BLITZER: And I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. And this is CNN's special coverage of America's choice 2012. We're looking at how President Obama won and what the loss for the Republican Party means moving forward. In his victory speech, the president reached out to Romney supporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Whether I earned your vote or not, I have listened to you. I have learned from you, and you've made me a better president. And with your stories and your struggles, I return to the White House more determined and more inspired than ever about the work there is to do and the future that lies ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: For Mitt Romney, it was the end of a long journey that fell short of his goal of winning the White House. His concession speech was part resignation, part regret.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I so wish that I had been able to fulfill your hopes to lead the country in a different direction, But the nation chose another leader. And so, Ann and I join with you to earnestly pray for him and for this great nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: But first, look at this, the Dow now falling 294 points, in part, because of the gridlock in Congress that may continue. Investors are concerned about the two parties being able to cross the aisle and stop the so-called fiscal cliff. That's the budget cuts, the tax increases that would -- could go into effect as early as January. We're going to continue to check in throughout the hour.

Now that he's been re-elected, President Obama facing some challenges, trying to bring together a divided nation, working with a divided Congress. He also, of course, has to deal with the fiscal cliff.

Jill Dougherty, she's at the White House to talk a little bit about this. And, Jill, we've already seen House speaker Boehner. He has talked a little bit about reaching out to the president. He's going to be addressing this very issue, the spending cuts, the tax hikes that automatically take into effect if Congress doesn't, essentially, come up with another plan by the new year. He's going to talk about it at 3:30. Do we have a sense if the president has a plan to reach out to Boehner or even a senator minority leader, Mitch McConnell?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes, they have to -- both sides have to reach out to each other, because, after all, now that the dust has settled, we're really back to the same quandary that we had before which is how are they going to resolve this before the cliff comes at the end of the year? And, of course, the president wants both elements, tax increases and spending cuts. They're -- for a long time, there has been resistance from the Republican side for those tax increases. But ultimately, the question is and some believe that there might be more room to negotiate and find common ground. But it feels like deja vu, as we say, all over again. And the implications internationally, though, are very serious, as they were before.

What they are hoping is -- even if that essential debate hasn't changed that much, the dynamics have, they -- many people hope, and something could be accomplished.

MALVEAUX: Yes, and you bring up a very good point, Jill. I mean, we've seen this kind of high stakes game of chicken, if you will, from both sides. Certainly, they're hoping that there's a new enthusiasm or tone in Washington that will help them get beyond some of this. I noticed the president as well said that he was going to reach out to Mitt Romney. And here's what he said last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In the weeks ahead, I also look forward to sitting down with governor Romney to talk about where we can work together to move this country forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So, Jill, what do we make of that? Was he just being gracious here or do you think there's a real role for Romney to play? DOUGHERTY: I would have to say that there -- it's more than just, you know, for show or being polite or whatever. It really is crucial that, right now, as you yourself pointed out, the president has to bring the country together because not only just for, you know, the symbolism of it, but because the gridlock will continue if they do not. I think one of the issues, though, is even if he were to shake hands, which he will, and sit Down with Mr. Romney, as everyone expects, will that be enough for the people who are on Romney's side in the Republican Party who felt he was weak that he didn't go far enough, that they should continue the fight. And that's one of the issues, too. Is this peace making enough for some people who want to go even further?

MALVEAUX: All right. Jill Dougherty, it'll be interesting to see the role the Tea Party plays as well and how far they push the Republicans as well as Mitt Romney. Thank you, Jill, appreciate it -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you. President Obama certainly wasted no time reaching out to all Americans last night in his victory speech. The president said what unites us is bigger than what divides us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I believe we can seize this future together, because we are not as divided as our politics suggest. We're not as cynical as the pundits believe. We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions, and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are, and forever will be, the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The president downplaying polls that show a deep divide between whites and minorities, men and women, young and old, rich and poor. So, what's the next chapter for this nation? We've got two experts to weigh in, the Republican strategist and CNN Contributor, Mary Matalin, is joining us from Houston, Democratic strategist and CNN contributor, Van Jones, is here in Washington.

Van, let me start with you. Can this president do what he largely failed to do in the first four years, get a coalition going with the Republicans and get some bipartisan legislative achievement through?

VAN JONES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, he absolutely can. First of all, I think there's a myth out there that he never tried. He put on the table, people forget, significant cuts. He put on the table tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans, for small business. The Republican Congress made a decision they didn't want to work with them. But he is still there, after all the filibusters, after all the super PAC money, after all the birther smears, he's still there. I think now the better angels in the Republican Party can come forward and look at some of the stuff he put on the table earlier.

But you've got to remember, he's also strengthened. The Republican Party has now shown itself to have to be in this demographic cul-de- sac. They cannot win another national election until they reach out. So, there's pressure on them also to reach across and I think that's good for the country.

BLITZER: The Republicans, Mary, as you know, retained the majority, the decisive majority, in the House of Representatives. So, where do you see bipartisan cooperation going, if at all?

MARY MATALIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, it's certainly not initiated by this president. There's no record of that. Van is completely wrong. He's completely erroneous and he was there when -- I believe he was in the White House when the president said to Eric Cantor who came with all of the Republican ideas in hand, elections have consequences, Eric, and I won. He didn't include any of those Republican ideas. He had majorities in both chambers and he jammed through his own agenda. And he is -- his campaign was --

JONES: (INAUDIBLE) --

MATALIN: -- marked by malice. His campaign was marked by malice and mendacity. It was full of derision and division and destruction and distraction and distortion. I don't see how he can -- how anyone would trust him, even Democrats.

BLITZER: All right, let's let Van respond to that.

MATALIN: -- he has mow mandate for anything.

JONES: Well, I think it's not true that he doesn't have a mandate. He said very clearly that he thinks that people that make more than $250,000 a year should pay more taxes, 60 percent to 70 percent of Americans agree with him on that. So, I think he's -- he has a mandate for that. The other thing I think is that, you know, he also was a victim of a lot of really nasty, I think, offensive attacks on him.

We went through a dark ugly period in American politics the past two years. My hope is that we'll get past some of the vitriol now. He is still there. The Republicans are still there. The problems are still here. And there is common ground. And I think we've got to recognize that the president is sounding the right tone. Frankly, Mitt Romney sounded a much better tone, frankly, than you just did, Mary. I think people want to come together now.

BLITZER: Well, Mary, let me ask you, do you think the president --

MATALIN: Because, Romney is a gentleman.

BLITZER: Hold on, Mary. When you say the president doesn't have a mandate, he did win a majority of the popular vote, and he won decisively in the electoral college, especially if he wins Florida, and we haven't made a formal projection yet on Florida, but he's slightly ahead in Florida. So, why do you say he doesn't have a mandate?

MATALIN: What is his mandate? What is this issue mandate, Wolf? Free contraception? Penalizing rich people? The revenues he raises from that will kill jobs --

JONES: A balanced approach to deficit reduction. A balanced approach to --

MATALIN: That doesn't -- that doesn't have anything to do with deficit reduction. Van, that's what he said. It was a campaign of platitudes and (INAUDIBLE), and it was divisive and it was destructive.

JONES: I don't think this helps America. We've got to be able to move past this, Mary.

MATALIN: I don't care what you think, Van. And he did not have any issues mandated other than free contraceptions and taxing rich. He's got -- he's the only history in president who has -- his president in history who has a low-re-election margin and fewer electoral votes than his first time around. He won in a squeaker --

JONES: This is the dispirit that has turned the Republican Party --

MATALIN: -- by running a tactical campaign.

JONES: This is -- the dispirit you are showing, unfortunately, is exactly what I think we're trying to get away from now. I think the Republican Party has to make a decision. Does it want to be a permanent minority party that has this sort of vitriolic tone or does it actually want to try to find common ground where it's there? This president put tax cuts on the table, 98 percent tax cuts rebuffed by the Republicans. He put on the table tax cuts for small business. This past year, rebuffed by the Republicans.

So, I think the Republicans have an opportunity to go back and look at those earlier offers and say, you know what, Mr. President? We'll take you up on that. They don't have to move from their own position, they just have to vote for their own policies.

BLITZER: All right.

JONES: This (INAUDIBLE.)

BLITZER: Very quickly, Mary, because we've got to go.

MATALIN: What? It's four years of distortion, division, derision and it's going to be four more. But, luckily, the House of Representatives and Romney laid out a foundation for reform agenda going forward which will be -- which will be grounded in the House of Representatives. I'm proud of Mitt Romney. He's a gentleman. He was courageous. He ran a campaign of conviction and he should be proud of himself, unlike the Democrats who really, really have excelled at the politics of personal destruction.

BLITZER: Well, I think you're going to get a debate on that from a lot of people on that, Mary. But we've got -- unfortunately, have to leave it right there. Mary Matalin joining us, Van Jones as well. That conversation, obviously, only just beginning -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Thanks, Wolf.

Here's what we're working on for this hour. It's four more years of President Obama, but how does he move forward with gridlock now in Congress?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I believe we can seize this future together because we are not as divided as our politics suggest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: He continues to talk the talk. Is he going to really walk the walk? Plus his name was on the ballot in 48 states. Libertarian Gary Johnson on how Democrats and Republicans can find common ground.

And almost 2 million people were without power in the Northeast after being hit by hurricane Sandy. Now, another nor'easter is heading their way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: One of the big concerns here in the United States, of course, the fiscal cliff. This car, representing the United States, facing a major hazard ahead. If the car continues to ignore the warnings, spending cuts will come into effect. Tax cuts will expire after December 31st. All of it worth $7 trillion. At the same time, the so-called alternative minimum tax rate expires, pushing millions of people into a higher income tax level. And if the payroll tax holiday expires, it raises the social security tax on earnings. Finally, if the unemployment benefit extension expires, it cuts the amount of time that job seekers can actually claim benefits. In essence, it is going to cost us a lot of money.

To help understand what might happen in the future, joining us, economists and former labor secretary Robert Reich. He is also the author of "Beyond Outrage: What Has Gone Wrong With Our Economy And Democracy And How To Fix It."

Robert, good to see you, as always.

ROBERT REICH, FORMER LABOR SECRETARY: Thanks, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: You have been somebody who worked, obviously, with Democrats, but you've also been critical. You are very much considered a moderate voice when it comes to the economy here. Explain to us how does the president get out of this scenario here? He's got to satisfy his pledge. He's not going to raise taxes on the middle class. Just those making more than $250,000 or above. But he also has to reform those entitlement programs as the Republicans demand. How would you advise him?

REICH: Suzanne, the real problem with the fiscal cliff is that it's too much deficit reduction too quickly. I think there is bipartisan understanding that the long-term deficit does have to be reduced. But when you take $500 billion to $600 billion out of the economy in terms of tax increases and spending cuts, all that quickly, you're going to push us into recession. So I think what the president has to do is seek as much bipartisan support as he possibly can for a grand bargain of some sort with regard to deficit reduction. But the critical piece of that is that the deficit reduction does not begin until the economy is out of the woods.

MALVEAUX: And when does that happen? Give us a timetable here, if you can be a little bit more specific.

REICH: Well, I would actually -- I would, you know, if somebody asked me, I'd recommend that there be a trigger built right into that grand bargain. That immediately upon two consecutive quarters of 6 percent or less unemployment and 3 percent or more economic growth, then you have immediately major deficit reduction. But you don't have deficit reduction before you get those two consecutive quarters of 6 percent unemployment and 3 percent economic growth. Otherwise, you have a danger of following Europe into a kind of austerity trap.

MALVEAUX: Does the president, can he afford simply to raise taxes on the very wealthy, or does he need to tax the middle class? Does he need that base, that monetary base, to get the economy growing again?

REICH: Again, broad consensus that with regard to the final grand bargain, over deficit reduction, there's got to be mostly tax increases on the wealthy. That's what most of the polls tell us, not just Democrats, but also Republicans. There may also have to be a tax increase on the middle class. But again, you don't want to do that when the economy is still having high unemployment and a lot of underutilized capacity.

MALVEAUX: Talk a little about the treasury secretary. We know that Timothy Geithner says he's not likely to do a second term and they're already looking at some possibilities. We love this inside Washington parlor game, if you will, to see who might be up for the job. The White House budget director Jack Lew, played a key role last year if the debt ceiling and deficit reduction talks. Another person mentioned, Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, one of the world's largest investment firms. A friend of Geithners. Other names floating, Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Goldman Sachs veteran. And, of course, Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council. Who would you advise?

REICH: Well, they're all very able people. I think Jack Lew has the inside track. And I've worked with Jack Lew. He is extraordinarily bright. He understands the budget inside and out. He has a very subtle understanding of fiscal and also monetary policy. I think Jack would be probably the best choice for the president at this point in time.

MALVEAUX: All right. You wouldn't consider coming back, would you?

REICH: I -- well, if somebody asked, absolutely. If the president asked me, I'd be back in a minute.

MALVEAUX: All right. There you go. All right, thanks again.

REICH: Thanks, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Suzanne. His bid for president was a long shot, but that didn't stop the libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, the future of this third party movement. Gary Johnson, he's standing by to join us live. And that is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Well, in case you didn't realize, President Obama and Mitt Romney, not the only candidates for president on the ballot yesterday. Third party candidate Gary Johnson, he made it on 48 state ballots, as well at D.C. He appeared on "The Daily Show" to talk about it. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON STEWART, "THE DAILY SHOW": Libertarians are very interesting because Democrats and Republicans both seem to agree with half of it.

GARY JOHNSON: Yes. Yes.

STEWART: But the opposite halves.

JOHNSON: No, I -- I got one of those --

STEWART: It's like one of those friendship necklaces that have like a half. And each one has a half. And if they put it together. Oh, my God, I'm a libertarian.

JOHNSON: So, well -- I think so. The notion that most people in this country are fiscally responsible, socially tolerant, I'm in that group.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: It turns out that Johnson actually picked up 1 percent of the vote on Election Day. That is about 1,147,000 votes. Gary Johnson, he's joining us from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Good to see you. You were the Republican governor of New Mexico for two terms. Ran as a libertarian for president this go around. You probably just heard the interview that we saw that Wolf did with Van Jones (ph), the Democrat on the left, Mary Matalin (ph) on the right. And still some bitterness, some contention over this race. A divided country. How do these two parties, what do these two parties do to get something done and to put away some of the vitriol?

GARY JOHNSON, FORMER LIBERTARIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, how about -- how about the notion of coming together? Romney, you know, not as conservative on dollars and cents as Republicans would like. But when it comes to social agenda and I'm talking now about Romney and Republicans, I think, for the most part, it scares people.

And then Democrats. You know what? They could be a lot better on civil liberties and they could acknowledge that there have to be some cuts that really do have to take place. So it really is combing the best of both worlds. It's reflective. It needs to be reflective of the majority of Americans, which really are fiscally responsible and socially accepting, which I think there's an opportunity here.

Look, let's stop the wars. Let's stop with the military interventions. Let's stop the growing police state. And then let's stop what is unsustainable spending, which is both parties that need to come together. Like I say, I just think that's more reflective of Americans than either of the two parties are.

MALVEAUX: So, Gary, do you think that's an opening for you, and other third party candidates? Do you think that's the role that you plays here? Does it underscore your importance of being in this contest?

JOHNSON: Well, during this contest, I was really kind of taken aback. I thought we would have done a lot better. I think that -- I think maybe one of the analysis here is that people really did buy into the notion that their votes counted and that everybody needed to go vote for, if you will, the lesser of two evils.

But that's gone by the wayside. Now we do need to move forward. And moving forward, look, we've got some really important issues in this country that start with cutting spending, lest we have a monetary collapse. Let's stop with the military interventions, which also add to that spending. And then we do have a growing police state in this country.

I was really heartened by the fact that yesterday Colorado passed Initiative 64. Something that I think most Republicans right now would still vote to criminal -- to --

MALVEAUX: That's the marijuana -- the marijuana use.

JOHNSON: To make criminal penalty -- yes, marijuana use. That Republicans, for the most part, I think, would still like to enhance criminal penalties in lieu of rolling them back. And Colorado spoke very clearly. I think that passing -- regulating marijuana, like alcohol, I think it's going to change worldwide drug policy when we wake up tomorrow and realize that the world is a better place when police can actually go out and enforce real crime. Coloradans get it. Six years ago, citizens of Denver voted to decriminalize marijuana on a campaign based on marijuana being safer than alcohol. But I just get back to the social issues that Republicans scare the world with and spending that Democrats scare the world with.

MALVEAUX: So we noticed --

JOHNSON: How about each side back off a little bit.

MALVEAUX: We notice it was Colorado and Washington state, both of them, who did approve those ballot initiatives in legalizing marijuana use. When you say the social issues that scare people, what are you talking about specifically? Are you talking about some of those members of Congress who were making comments about rape and abortion and linking it -- in those terms? Is that what you're talking about?

JOHNSON: Well, sure. Sure. Well, women's rights, immigration. Look, immigration's a good thing. It's something that's value added. And it's something that does need to be addressed. Marriage equality. Look, I think it's a constitutionally guaranteed right. But how about the notion of giving a little bit on these issues or holding your own personal conviction, but don't make these convictions government policy. You know, lest people not vote for you. I mean that's the bottom line. I think that people were scared off by -- people are scared off by Republicans' social agenda and then when it comes to Romney -- and I'm just going to get at the root cause of why I don't think he was elected -- you know what, he really wasn't talking a different game than it came to Obama when it came to spending.

MALVEAUX: So, Gary --

JOHNSON: During the last debate with Ryan and Biden.

MALVEAUX: Sure. Gary, real quick question here. Why do you suppose, just real quickly here, why do you suppose -- you were hoping for 5 percent. You got 1 percent. And, you know, you're trying to compromise, bring these two parties in some sort of moderate stance. Why is not the third party candidate, your candidacy, gaining more traction?

JOHNSON: Really, a disappointment and a surprise. I mean, historically, polling really evaporates. Historically third party votes evaporate at the very end. And I saw that same phenomenon. And it very disappointing. I can only chalk it up to the fact that people really took to heart the fact that their vote was going to count and, you know, lesser of two evils as opposed to -- there's a lot more support out there for what I'm saying than I think was reflected in votes.

MALVEAUX: All right. All right, Gary Johnson, thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate it. Thanks again.

JOHNSON: Great. Hey, thank you very much for having me on.

MALVEAUX: Sure.

Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Suzanne.

They're still counting the votes in Florida at this hour. Can you believe it? They are almost finished counting the ballots in Miami- Dade County. And they expect to finish up the rest later in the afternoon. Remember, Florida's past election problems. Who can forget.

Here's where the vote stands right now in Florida, with most of the precincts reporting. But even if -- even if Mitt Romney were to win the state's 29 electoral votes, it would not be enough to make the difference.

So, why is the state so behind in vote counting right now? Here's one reason. Thousands of voters were still in line hours after the polls closed. Also, election officials say an extremely high number of absentee ballots needed to be counted. They also say they won't finish counting provisional ballots until Thursday or Friday. We're patient. We'll see the final result. It's been more than a week since Superstorm Sandy devastated parts of the Northeast. Still, millions of people are without power. And now another nor'easter is threatening the area.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: The people hammered by Superstorm Sandy have not suffered enough. Trying to just recover. There's a new storm that is about to make matters a lot worse. Here's what we know right now. 179 people have died since the storm started its track across the Caribbean last week. Includes 110 deaths here in the United States. More than 250,000 customers still without power in New Jersey and New York. Now there is a freezing cold nor'easter expected to complicate power restoration. Snow already falling in Connecticut right now. Heavy rain, coastal floods, mix of snow. It's going to sweep through New York and New Jersey in a few hours. I'm sure to add to misery the families you are seeing there. They are going to get some help from FEMA. It just approved more than $156 million to help the folks in New York.

Rob Marciano is joining us from Staten Island.

Rob, explain to us what you are seeing there. I understand you are actually at a home who -- I guess the first floor completely gutted from the storm. And this nor'easter is coming.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you know, it's been over a week now, Suzanne. And these poor people on Staten Island, obviously, New Jersey, Long Island, even Connecticut, a lot of them have just been surviving day-to-day. Temperatures have been getting colder and colder and colder. For many of them, the feeling of getting, as I talked to them, they are just kind of beat down. And with this now snow coming in and the potential for another flood coming in this afternoon and tonight, with the storm surge from this nor'easter, that's just heartbreaking stuff.

So this is one of the many streets near Staten Island that was completely inundated by the storm, Sandy. You see all sorts of debris pulled outside of homes. Lines the entire streets. Personal belongings. For many of these homes, water up to shoulder height, if not more than that.

I want to bring you inside. This is Nick Camerata's (ph) home. He's lived here at least 20 years. And took the entire week now, gutting was incredibly damaged walls and flooring in through here. Actually, been staying here because the night they left for the storm, this whole neighborhood was looted. Fearing that happening again, they're going to stay in here.

Hey, Nick?

NICK CAMERATA (ph), STORM VICTIM: Yes.

MARCIANO: So there's Nick, his wife.

The neighbors, the community is helping out quite a bit. You are working on just trying to get heat tonight?

CAMERATA )ph): Me and my buddy, Mike, trying to get the salamander working but it's got a fitting that's five-sixteenth fine thread and can't find it nowhere.

MARCIANO: We can hear the exhaustion in your voice. We talked earlier about how devastating this is. Try to put into words what you've experienced this week.

CAMERATA (ph): Everything that I own is here, and I'm trying to save it. My wife, my kids, my best friend, Mike. And I'm just going to lose everything. I mean, my body is shutting down. There's no words to explain or express the stress, the pain, the suffering. And I just want to get back so that I can provide for my kids to send my kids to college. If I can just get this place livable, not even -- I would live with insulation on the walls so that I don't lose my house right now. My house is everything I have. And the most important thing is right now is to get my kids through college.

MARCIANO: So Nick was telling me earlier -- thank you, Nick.

Obviously, you are busy and emotionally and physically trying. Words can't even summarize what he and his family feel right now.

But just a little back story there. Four kids by my count. At least one in college. UPS -- worked for UPS for 20 years. Just retired. Kind of a handy man, fix-it guy, real good mechanic. Bought all sorts of equipment to start a business. Much of that equipment completely damaged if not destroyed by this storm. Heartbreaking stuff, Suzanne. And his story, just one of many that is happening here across the borough of Staten Island.

MALVEAUX: His story is very heartbreaking. You just stop in your tracks and you hold on to every word. He clearly is suffering. Does he feel like in some way he's prepared for this weather that is going to be about to hit him and his community again?

MARCIANO: Not at all. They feel a little bit helpless but they take some comfort in get something information when we arrived on the scene. Obviously, the information is not very free flowing when you don't have power. They are actually plugged into our truck and another satellite out, helping them out with some generation just to get some light on the situation. But they were hearing at least an eight-foot surge coming in here. That would be devastating. The berm that was protecting them, much of that damage washed away. The shore line completely changed. So a lot of this along with Jersey and Long Island, more on protecting than it ever has been. They took a little comfort in getting information from me and that they'll probably not have much more than three or four-foot storm surge and that will not nearly do the damage that Sandy did, but hopefully won't even flood these streets. We'll have to wait and see in to the next two high tide cycles. His words tell it all. Your heart goes out to these people.

MALVEAUX: Trying to find a way to help him and his community there.

Thank you, Rob. We appreciate it.

For supporters, it was hugs, high-fives after the president's re- election. But traders on the stock market not having the same reaction. Stocks are now selling off.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Fresh from elections and now we're watching a major market sell-off. The Dow has plunged below 13,000 today.

Alison Kosik over at the New York Stock Exchange.

Why is this happening, Alison?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: First of all, I'll put it in perspective. The losses are certainly stabilizing. We're all the lows of the session. The Dow down 268 points. Before, it was off more than 300 points. And the sell-off, Wolf, not so much about the election. It's more so about some comments from the European Central Bank president, Mario Draghi, that Germany's economy is slowing and that's what's spooking investors. We are watching oil prices drop 3.5 percent. Part of the reason for that, low demand because of the worry about slowing economies. The other part of it is an unexpected increase in supply which should come as welcome news to many of us still worrying about whether there's a gas issue in the northeast part of the country -- Wolf?

BLITZER: I assume investors, Alison, also worried about the fiscal cliff. Unless they resolve this by the end of the year, there could be severe economic dislocations.

KOSIK: Oh, yes. There's a huge worry about this. Many have been saying if we do go over this fiscal cliff that the U.S. Economy will go into a recession. This is a combination of these huge federal spending cuts and tax increases that all go into effect unless Congress does something about it. It will suck trillions of dollars right out of the economy. Would be a huge shock to the system because it includes $55 billion in defense spending cuts, another $55 billion in nondefense and I haven't mentioned the taxes. The taxes in this country will go up because tax cuts will expire like the Bush tax cuts, tax holiday. I'm talking about income taxes and capital gains taxes. All of that would go up unless Congress and the president can get their act together and stop it all from happening. That's what Wall Street is going to be focused on until the end of the year. And the way Wall Street sees it, the way everybody sees it is they'd like to see a deal sooner rather than later especially for a lot of companies. A lot of companies are holding off on hiring because they don't know what the tax situation is going to be next year. And that is eating into any recovery in the jobs market that we're seeing.

BLITZER: Knowing Washington, as I do, I'd be surprised if it's sooner rather than later. Usually, if there's a deal, it's always later.

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BLITZER: In fact, if there's going to be a deal, probably the last moment before that fiscal cliff happens. Let's hope they can get their act together and do something.

Appreciate it, Alison.

KOSIK: Sure.

BLITZER: It was a night of firsts. Besides President Obama's historic win, Wisconsin elected the nation's first openly gay Senator.

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REP. TAMMY BALDWIN, (D), WISCONSIN & SENATOR-ELECT: I didn't run to make history. I ran to make a difference.

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MALVEAUX: The balance of power in Congress and the president may not have changed in this election, but there were some historic changes. Wisconsin elected the country's first openly gay Senator, Democrat Tammy Baldwin. The seven-term Congresswoman beat former Wisconsin governor, Tommy Thompson, with 51 percent of the vote. Here's what she said about her victory this morning on CNN.

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BALDWIN: What I would say in terms of crashing through that glass ceiling is, if you aren't in the room, the conversation is about you. If you are in the room, the conversation is with you. And that does transform things. But as I said last night, I didn't run to make history. I ran to make a difference.

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MALVEAUX: Another historic moment for the first time, New Hampshire will have an all-female congressional delegation and a female governor. Another big gain for women in Hawaii. Voters there elected their first female Senator. She is also the first U.S. Senator born in Japan.

So, Wolf, a lot of progress there going on.

BLITZER: Good to have more women coming to Washington.

MALVEAUX: There you go.

BLITZER: Nice work all around.

The balance of power in Congress shows little change, but one difference is the number of women joining the ranks. We have more on this.

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Votes are still being counted in several Congressional races. We'll bring you the results as soon as they come in. One thing already very clear, the newly elected Congress is still fiercely divided.

Dana Bash is here.

Let's talk about the Senate right now. Show us the breakdown.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Let's just look at what the Senate looks like currently at this point, 47 Republicans, 51 Democrats, two Independents, and this represents all of the seats.

Now, let's check out what it is going to look like in January. You can see the blue seats kind of encroached over here on the red seats. That's not what Republicans had intended. They're very stunned today and quite depressed and look up here at the numbers, Democrats not only have 52 solid seats, they also have two Independents who will likely both caucus with them. So it is certainly a surprise to Republicans because going into yesterday they felt pretty confident that it would get some of these Democratic seats. 23 were up for grabs. 23 Democratic seats were on defense, so to speak. And it certainly didn't happen.

One interesting note, a lot of these blue seats, one of the red ones, represent women. They're going to be the largest number of female Senators in history. So far, 19, and we have one outstanding race. I shouldn't forget to mention that that's North Dakota. Heidi Heitkamp is a Democrat. Berg is a Republican. We'll see what happens there.

BLITZER: Bernie Sanders definitely going to caucus with the Democrats.

BASH: Exactly.

BLITZER: Angus King said today, though, he wants to meet with Harry Reid, wants to meet with Mitch McConnell and make his final decision. He's the newly elected Senator from Maine.

Harry Reid already talking today, though, about the fiscal cliff. There is no rest for the weary. This is going to be intense between now and December 31st.

BASH: Big time. The deadline is nearing at the end of the year. And, you're right, Harry Reid came out to reporters at noon today, noon eastern, and he was very deliberate in his tone. He was very calm, tried to seem very conciliatory, but also said, look, we, from his perspective, got a mandate.

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SEN. HARRY REID, (D-NV), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: I'm going to do everything within my power to be as conciliatory as possible. I want to work together. But I want everyone to also understand you can't push us around. We want to work together.

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BASH: So we want to work together, he said it's better to dance than to fight, but the same time he said he believes that what the exit polls showed was that most Americans do not want the wealthiest Americans to continue to get a tax cut and that's their position we're going to hear from the House speaker John Boehner in an hour and a half. They're actually setting up a teleprompter for him now. I've never seen him do that in that kind of environment. He clearly wants to have a message and get it out and get it out right.

BLITZER: We'll be watching. 3:30 p.m. eastern, right?

BASH: You got it.

BLITZER: Dana, thanks very much. Get ready. You'll be busy between now and December 31st.

Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: Busy people all around.

The ballot box shows American's shifting attitude about same-sex marriage. We'll show you where voters are now saying yes.

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MALVEAUX: U.S. election is certainly making headlines around the world today from Egypt to Europe. Our reporters are fanned across the globe with reaction.

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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ben Wedeman in Cairo. Most Egyptians seem to prefer Barack Obama over Mitt Romney. Many of them saying they thought the Republicans are simply too pro Israeli. But for most Egyptians, there is so much going on in this country after the revolution, what with a faltering economy, and an uncertain political future.

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN BERLIN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Fred Plietgen in Berlin, Germany. Germans are by and large happy with the outcome of the election. Barack Obama, by and large, would have gotten 90 percent of the vote here in this country.

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Reza Sayah in Pakistan. Four years ago many here supported Mr. Obama. Not the case this year. Many wanted change. They wanted Mr. Romney and that's because they still don't like U.S. Policy in the region, especially the drone strikes.

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MALVEAUX: Americans have weighed in on several important ballot initiatives. Take a look at this. For the first time voters in Maine approved a measure giving same-sex couples the right to marry. Maryland voters made history by upholding a new law legalizing same- sex marriages in that state. Minnesota voters rejected a ban on same- sex marriage. A similar measure in Washington State is still too close to call. It is the first time voters have approved same-sex marriages. In the past, only judges and state legislatures legalized the unions.

Legalizing marijuana another issue on ballot in several states. Voters in Washington State and Colorado approved the recreational use of marijuana. But a similar measure in Oregon was rejected.

A critical part of President Obama's health care reform law was on the line in several states. Alabama, Wyoming backed measures amending the state constitutions to ban people from being forced to buy health insurance. And early results suggest Montana voters may follow suit. But check this out. Florida has rejected a similar challenge to Obama care.

CNN's special election coverage continues right now with Brooke Baldwin and John King.

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