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Fiscal Cliff Discussions; Gas Rationing in New York and New Jersey; "Obamacare Now Law of the Land"; Health Care Act: What You Need to Know; Tea Party and the GOP; Early "Black Friday" Sales; Musical Gloves; Syracuse Coach Won't Be Charged; Message to Washington: Fix Economy; CIA Director Petraeus Resigns

Aired November 09, 2012 - 14:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Happy Friday. Here we go.

Our nation is speeding toward a nasty combination of steep tax hikes and deep budget cuts known as the fiscal cliff. And now that the election is over here, it is time for Washington to get in gear, do something about it. This fiscal cliff business could affect just about every single one of us. And you can bet there was plenty going on behind the scenes.

In fact, just this past hour, we heard from the president in the East Room of the White House basically announcing he is inviting leaders from both houses of Congress and from both political parties to meet with him at the White House next Friday. Just a couple of minutes ago, we heard the president say he is open to compromise, he is open to new ideas. But there is one point the president is sticking to -- higher taxes for people making higher incomes. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I refuse to accept any approach that isn't balanced. I'm not going to ask students and seniors and middle class families to pay down the entire deficit while people, like me, making over $250,000, aren't asked to pay a dime more in taxes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Two hours before we saw the president, we saw the House speaker, Republican, John Boehner. He said, quote, "everything on the revenue side and on the spending side has to be looked at." But when it comes to specifics, he put the ball firmly in President Obama's court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I don't want to box myself in. I don't want to box anybody else in. I think it's important for us to come to an agreement with the president. But this is his opportunity to lead.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: Here to sort what all of this must mean, we've got all angles covered for you, including from the White House ahead of this daily briefing. We have Jessica Yellin, we have Athena Jones on Capitol Hill, and Ali Velshi. Ali Velshi in New York.

So, Jessica Yellin, chief White House correspondent, let me just begin with you here. You know, we were just watching the president walk into the East Room. I mean I noticed the standing ovation. The energy in the room. The president even pulled out his own pen, you know, saying, yes, I'm ready to sign the bill, flanked by middle class Americans. When it comes to middle class tax cuts, it sounds like the president's sticking to his guns.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, he has been clear that his terms are fairly stark. He is willing to negotiate on entitlements, Medicare and Medicaid. The White House, the Democrats, consider that a huge give from the Democratic Party. What he is not willing to negotiate on is raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans. And that is where the battle lines will be drawn because, Brooke, congressional Republicans have made it clear that that is where they draw the line. They do not want to see a change in tax rates.

Now, the White House, if you would ask them, they would say that their position has been bolstered by the election because the president ran on this and the American people voted for it when they voted him into office. And so arguably he has a significant bit of leverage here. But neither side wants to go over the fiscal cliff. Of course that would be with a sequester, not necessarily with the tax cuts, but this all rolled into one. And so both sides would prefer compromise, Brooke.

BALDWIN: You know the president said, I'm quoting him, "I'm not wedded to every detail of my plan. I am open to compromise." It was your reporting, you know, that we learned and then we heard from the president saying he is inviting member of both chambers of Congress, both parties to come to the White House next week. Any idea what to expect there?

YELLIN: Any idea, sorry, what they'll be discuss?

BALDWIN: Just what to expect out of that meeting.

YELLIN: Out of that. I think that what they're trying to do right now is to lay out where each side stands, what their absolutes are and see where they can move from there. Each side, you know, wants to see, after the election, OK, there was a lot of discussion on the trail. That was very public. Some of that might be rhetoric. Behind closed doors, what are they really willing to give on? And then, you know, the president, the day after that, is going to have to fly off to Asia for some -- for a trip, overseas trips. And then there's Thanksgiving. And so there's not a lot of time to get things done. They have to start the ball rolling. They'll have that one big public -- that one big meeting with the leadership. But you can expect their aides to be doing a lot of negotiating behind closed doors up until then and well past then, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Fifty-two days to go, starting today. Jessica Yellin for us, chief White House correspondent. Thank you, Jess.

Now to the Capitol Hill side of this looming fiscal cliff. House Speaker John Boehner had this to say about whether his members would follow his lead if and when an agreement is reached.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Well, when the president and I have been able to come to an agreement, there's been no problem in getting it passed here in the House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Athena Jones on The Hill for us today with this part of the story here.

Speaker Boehner, you know, he talked about what would happen if we did go over the fiscal cliff. The need, as he reiterated, the need for tax code reform. What was the biggest take away from his message when he spoke today?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brooke.

You know, it's interesting, we heard from Speaker Boehner today. We saw him in an interview last night. We heard from him on Wednesday. His tone all across the board has been conciliatory. But it's interesting because he's still dig in. He still stuck to his guns on this issue of taxes. We heard him to say today, everything on the revenue side, everything on the spending side has to be looked at, which sounds like an opening, but really he still continued to insist in this speech today, as well, that revenue can't come from raising tax rates on wealthier Americans. He talked about maybe closing loopholes, getting rid of some of the deductions. That could end up with some people paying more in taxes, but he doesn't want to see anything happening to those lowered tax rates. Those tax rates that were lowered under Bush.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: Talking a lot about reforming the tax code. Let's play the clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOEHNER: We also know that if we clean up the code and make it simpler, the tax code will be more efficient. The current code only collects about 85 percent of what's due to the government. And it's clear that if you have a simpler, cleaner, fairer tax code, that efficiency -- effectiveness and efficiency of the tax code increases exponentially.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: As I mentioned a second ago here, 52 days here of the session. Does he expect to clean up the tax code in that amount of time? JONES: No, he's not expecting to get that done. He's not expecting to get a lot done in the lame duck session, Brooke. I mean he's talked about wanting to come together on some sort of framework that could put office the worst of this fiscal cliff, put off sequestration and lay the groundwork for them to do the big work next year. He's talking about how 2013 is going to be the year when congress finally comes together to tackle these big issues.

But he declined to say what that framework should look like. We know that the House, back in the summer, passed a bill that would extend all the current tax rates. We heard from the president that he wants to see the House vote on the Senate's bill to go ahead and extend those tax rates for the middle class.

But no one wants to be really tied down here on this. We'll just have to see whether this common ground everyone says that they are looking for is really a real place or just a fantasy land.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: Athena Jones, thank you.

Ali Velshi, I have to bring you in here because just help all of us understand this because we hear Speaker Boehner, he's saying, heck no. You know, no to raising tax rates. Yes, you know, on the table of raising tax revenue. Just explain to me what is the difference and, really, as an American, how does it affect me?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is going to be the biggest question. So, raising tax rates is a percentage you pay, right? He's saying nobody should pay a higher percentage. So if you pay 35 percent, if you're the top end, you shouldn't pay the 39 percent that President Obama wants you to pay.

Raising tax revenues is the entire pool of money that the government collects. So let's say that more people start working. You've got, let's say, 10 percent more people are working. They can pay a lower percentage of their income as taxes, but the government would end up with more money.

Or let's say you took out some deductions. People still have the same income tax rate, but you don't get deductions for certain things. So raising tax revenues versus raising tax rates is a bit of a smoke screen, partially because the Republicans are depending on extra revenue coming from an increase in economic growth, which nobody really sees getting that high. So that's the -- it's a bit of a smoke screen.

BALDWIN: OK. So on the raising tax rates part of it, when I was sort of listening to the speaker and taking notes, I noticed he mentioned, you know, two different times, the, you know, really warning that small business jobs would be destroyed if we raise, you know, taxes on the wealthiest Americans. And so he kept citing this report by this, you know, huge accounting firm, Ernst & Young that says this.

VELSHI: Yes. BALDWIN: "Employment in the long run would fall by 0.5 percent, roughly 710,000 fewer jobs in today's economy." Can you just put that number in perspective for me, Ali? About 700,000 fewer jobs.

VELSHI: I can put the report in perspective.

BALDWIN: Yes.

VELSHI: It was commissioned by the National Federation of Independent Businesses, who don't want to see their taxes increase.

BALDWIN: Huh.

VELSHI: I've not seen a report like that anywhere else. It is, in fact, entirely counter to all other studies that I've seen on this thing. So that report got into my in box and got deleted.

BALDWIN: OK. Thank you for your honesty.

VELSHI: It doesn't make sense. It just doesn't -- that doesn't make any sense at all.

BALDWIN: You hear the number and you think, what, but, thank you.

VELSHI: Yes.

BALDWIN: That's -- that was what I was trying to get at.

VELSHI: Yes.

BALDWIN: We also heard President Obama say, if Congress fails to come up with a deal by the end of the year, everyone's taxes, you know, will be going up. It would be bad for the economy.

But I was reading, "The New York Times" this morning, op-ed piece by Paul Krugman. He wrote this, basically saying, you know, hey, it may not be such a bad thing if we drive over the fiscal cliff. This is his perspective. Quote, "it's worth pointing out that the fiscal cliff isn't really a cliff. It's not like the debt ceiling confrontation where terrible things might well have happened right away if the deadline had been missed." He goes on, "this time nothing very bad will happen to the economy if the agreement isn't reached until a few weeks or even a few months into 2013. So there is time to bargain." Is that a crazy thought?

VELSHI: He goes further to say, President Obama, stand your ground, don't compromise, don't give in.

BALDWIN: Don't be held hostage, he said.

VELSHI: Remarkable. Paul Krugman is, as you know, he's a Noble Prize winner. He's a very smart guy. I don't know where he's getting this from. It's the opposite of compromise. The reason we're in this mess in the first place is because nobody will compromise. But generally speaking, it's been conservative Republicans, the Tea Party and people who have been -- who have signed that stupid pledge to Grover Norquist not to increase taxes. That's you -- this has been the domain of the right until now. I think Paul Krugman's just trying to even the seesaw here by coming out with equally unreasonable things on the left. This is not helpful at all to the situation.

And he's wrong. He's absolutely wrong that nothing will happen. So all you're going to see -- this is the dangerous part, Brooke. You're getting disinformation and misinformation from everyone. This Ernst & Young report. Ernst & Young has got to be careful. They're a reputable accounting firm putting their name on this as if it's -- as if it's just generalized research. It's not. It was commissioned by a partisan source on this.

BALDWIN: Yes.

VELSHI: Paul Krugman, John Boehner with his stuff, everyone's got a -- and we're going to work on this, Brooke. You and me and CNN, we're going to make sure everybody actually has the facts, because this is not fact. This is all distortion.

BALDWIN: Ali Velshi, a little extra spicy today. I like it.

VELSHI: A little spicy. A little spicy.

BALDWIN: Ali, thanks so much.

VELSHI: All right.

BALDWIN: And now we have to talk about this horrible story many days later here. Long lines, short tempers for people hit so hard, first by this hurricane and now a snowstorm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're angry and we're not taking it anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: We're going to take you live to New York where hundreds of thousands of people still don't have power. Now they're dealing with gas rationing.

Also, Obamacare. The president's health care plan is the law of the land. But are states ready to implement it? Dr. Sanjay Gupta will help us explain that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Want to take a live look at Lady Liberty. Beautiful, beautiful skies here over New York. And we're showing you the Statue of Liberty because in the last couple of days here, Lady Liberty has not been lit because, like so many of you in the northeast, you've been out of power. Many of you still are. But we are now told by the National Park Service that this afternoon, for the first time since that horrendous superstorm hit you all in the northeast area, the Statue of Liberty will be relit -- relit this afternoon.

Speaking of that part of the world here, tempers flaring in New York today after another cold night without power.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Restore the power to our community now! Now! Now! We're done! Right now!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Done, she says. This was Ocean Side, New York, just a couple of hours ago. Look at the crowds. People there obviously angry. Who are they angry at? The utility company known as LIPA (ph). As of today, more than 200,000 are still without power in this one community. Folks, that's 12 days since the superstorm swept through here. Twelve days without heat with temperatures last night dipping in the 30s. Lack of power, not confined to Long Island. Listen as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo blasts utility companies all across the region.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: You pay a person for a service. They were specialized in doing this. And we paid them and we gave them a franchise because they represented themselves as experts at doing this. And they failed. And they should be held accountable for their failure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Also consider this. Today, New York's -- excuse me, New Jersey's attorney general announced lawsuits against eight different businesses accused of post-Sandy gouging. And that may be just the beginning. Very, very angry New Jersey consumers have already filed more than 1,200 complaints against gas stations and hardware stores and hotels.

And just getting some news here in my ear about the president. The president now, we're learning, will be going to New York to tour the storm-ravaged regions specifically in New York. So the president there, he was there touring around with Chris Christie post-Sandy and now he will be there again post nor'easter.

And in terms of the gas shortages here that have people lining up for hour upon hour. New York City began this whole odd/even license plate system of gas rationing this morning. New Jersey, they actually started this last week. And rationing programs are set to begin on Long Island in the next couple of hours. But there's already been a hitch. You see, even with the rationing, stations are running out of gas.

Roger Clark, I want to bring you in. You're a reporter with our CNN affiliate New York One. And, Roger, just set the scene for me. How long are the lines? How mad are these people?

ROGER CLARK, NY1 REPORTER: Pretty mad, Brooke, there's no doubt about it. We're on McGinness (ph) Boulevard and Green Point Avenue. A pretty major thorough fare here in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. One way you go, you go to the Brooklyn queens expressway. The other way, Pulaski Bridge, which leads you to the midtown tunnel, which just opened back up this morning, and the 59th Street Bridge so you can get to Manhattan.

A lot of gas stations, but not a lot open. Now, the one we're standing at now, which is a Hess station, it started at 6:00, the rationing. And actually going really well. The NYPD was here bringing in only cars that had odd numbers or letters on their last number of their license plate. Everything was going great until around 11:00 when they ran out of gas.

To then what we found was a lot of folks came here and went across the street and (INAUDIBLE) another line to go two blocks that way to a Sunoco.

BALDWIN: So they're hopping sort of from gas station to gas station, Roger. I mean ultimately there could, you know, you could totally run out of gas. What's plan b for these folks?

CLARK: Well, that's a really good question. A lot of people who we talked with said they haven't been to work for days because simply they don't have any gas and they can't get to work.

BALDWIN: Wow.

CLARK: They can't get to the gas station and they don't want to wait on line because they're going to run out before they get to the -- and that is exactly what happened. I mean the people who were at the final point probably had been in line for a good 45 minutes to an hour and then were told, sorry, we're out. Then they go -- have to go turn around. Now they're waiting on another line to go to another gas station. Who knows how long it's going to last there.

BALDWIN: Unreal. Roger Clark in Brooklyn with New York 1, thank you so much for joining us live just to help put this in perspective, effecting so many people.

Look, I know a lot of you have reached out. You want to be able to help the folks in New Jersey and New York areas. You can. Just go to cnn.com/impact. Again, cnn.com/impact. And you just click around. You'll find all kinds of information on how you can help in that relief effort.

And have you heard about this? This man with an AK-47 walks into a credit union and says, don't move or I'll shoot you. We have surveillance video of him. Take a good long look here at what they're calling the AK-47 bandit. Now there is a nationwide manhunt for this guy. We're going to talk about his latest heist just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A man armed with an AK-47 walks into this Idaho credit union, orders everyone to stop and freeze, then goes on to clean out the teller drawers and orders the manager to do the same with the vault. Now a nationwide hunt is underway for this man. He is nicknamed the AK-47 bandit by the FBI. He hit the East Idaho Credit Union in Rexburg (ph) this past Wednesday. This is video, actually, surveillance video, from July. And this is not his first time doing this. The FBI says he has robbed at least three other banks this year. Two in California, one in Washington state. He allegedly shot and seriously wounded a police officer who spotted him running out of there after that robbery number one.

And judging from an eyewitness account, in the "Rexburg Standard Journal" newspaper, Wednesday's robbery in Idaho could have gotten much, much uglier. A customer says the suspect became agitated when it took too long to get the money out of the vault. He pounded his fists on the glass door, told his victims about shooting the police officer, then ordered everyone to get inside the vault, slammed the door and he ran off. $70,000 in reward are offered up for this guy, this AK-47 bandit, described as 25 to 40 years old, about 5'10" and stocky. If you recognize him, call police, call FBI.

The family court judge in Texas caught on videotape beating his teenage daughter with a belt has now been reinstated to the bench. He is William Adams. He was suspended a year ago, with pay, after that video rant went viral -- not a rant, it was a video that went viral on YouTube showing him abusing his 16-year-old daughter. This was back in 2004. This all happened in the small gulf coast town called Rockport. And we just want to warn you here. This is a video, just a little bit of it, recorded by his daughter. It's graphic and it's disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM ADAMS: Bend over the bed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. No.

ADAMS: Bend over the bed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

ADAMS: I'm going to keep beating you on your legs. Bend over the bed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Again, the doctor -- or, excuse me, the daughter was the one who had that camera there and was recording. The Texas Supreme Court reinstated Adams, but he will no longer be able to preside over child abuse cases. The county prosecutor said too much time had passed to file formal charge. County commissioners cut his pay from $150,000 a year to $144,000. He is up for re-election in 2014.

The family of a Florida A&M University drum major who died after that hazing ritual has rejected a settlement offer here. An attorney for Robert Champion's family says the university's $300,000 offer is an insult. The family sued the university back in July. You know the story. Champion died a year ago after beaten on a bus after a football game.

Health care reform, it is kicking in. The question is, how will it affect you? We're digging deeper today on when parts of the plan go into effect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ralph sacrificed more than just his service to our country, he sacrificed his blood.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My dad, Ralph W. Bingham, he was a veteran of the first world war. The big war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For that sacrifice, he was awarded our nation's oldest medal, the purple heart.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He lost his right leg fighting in France and he received a purple heart for that. We had it for many years in my home where I grew up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unbeknownst to us it was lost in some manner in one of his moves later in his life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I found Private Ralph Bingham's medal on Craigslist. And this has been a calling of mine for about the last three years. I locate lost or stolen medals. These are all the people hearts that I'm currently working. Some, I've located the families. Some I haven't.

I do these on my own time. I don't consider it a hobby. It's more of a calling and an honor. A lot of times they put it in a shoe box under the bed and it gets misplaced and they lose it.

I myself have a purple heart. It hangs on the wall in my mother's home. And I would hope that one day, if my medal was lost, you know, someone would do the same thing for me and my family.

It is truly an honor to bring Private Bingham's purple heart home to his family. And I am again truly humbled by his sacrifice.

It is a great honor to bring home his purple heart. Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The medal means a lot to me especially and to our family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So that's that. That's the purple heart.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There it is. I remember seeing it as a girl growing up, you know. My mother kept it in a certain spot in the dining room.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And to see how appreciative they were was just a tremendous feeling. I'm glad it's home to where it belong and I'll move on to the next medal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: Well, it hasn't exactly been a harmonious four years between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner here, but when it comes to balancing the nation's budget these two men have certainly traded some verbal shots.

Well, now they get to give bipartisanship another chance. So let's talk about the president's Health Care Act. The question is, are House Republicans still trying to repeal it? This is what Speaker Boehner told ABC News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPRESENTATIVE JOHN BOEHNER (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: I think the election changes that. It is pretty clear that the president was re-elected. Obamacare is the law of the land.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But you won't be spending time the next year trying to repeal Obamacare?

BOEHNER: There are certainly may be parts of that we believe need to be changed we may do that. No decisions at this point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So what can you expect from this new law of the land, this health care law? Some parts have kicked in, but other parts of it won't actually take effect until 2014.

CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here with more on really just what you need to know. Here's Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, as a starting point, try to think of this almost in some ways more as insurance reform rather than health care reform. As you look at the list here, think about these things and the regulations on insurance companies and how they benefit patients.

For example you can't be charged higher premiums for being sick. That's a big one. You can't be denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions and no annual dollar limits on health benefits. Brooke, we're used to talking about people who could not buy health insurance because they had a pre-existing condition.

This will help them, but also people who are sick and as a result of being sick had to pay a lot of money in premiums to get their health care insurance. This will offer them relief, as well.

Now one of the strategies that a lot of states are adopting is something known as health insurance exchanges, think of that as a one- stop sort of marketplace where insurance companies are essentially bidding for your business. More competition may lower prices.

But more importantly, it offers an option for people who have not had health care insurance, who are doing it on their own, maybe working for a small business. You go to this one stop shop and get your health care insurance there. Sixteen states have said they are going to do this. Three states said they intend to do this. A lot of states are still up in the air. They have to decide by November 16th about these health insurance exchanges.

If they don't create one, the federal government comes in and does it for them. Also, you know, we talk a lot about the mandate, the individual mandate. You have to buy health care insurance or you get penalized?

What's the penalty? That's what a lot of people want to know. These numbers may surprise you. In year one, it is $95 or 1 percent of your income. That may be a lot or little depending on how you look at it.

But look how the numbers sort of go up overtime. By the 2016, 2.5 percent of your income or $695, whichever of those two numbers is greater. There is a lot to digest here and we will certainly have more details for you in the days to come. Brooke, back to you.

BALDWIN: Sanjay, thank you.

You can get more on the effects of the election this weekend. "SANJAY GUPTA M.D." is his show. You can watch it at 4:30 Eastern on Saturday and 7:30 a.m. Sunday morning Eastern Time.

You know it was just four years ago, the Tea Party just getting started, gaining attention, and gaining members. Now fast forward to 2012, passion has turned to problems. The Tea Party seems to have lost some of its momentum. We are going to take a look at what is ahead for the Tea Party.

Plus, the U.N. is calling for a global day of action for this brave young girl targeted and shot by the Taliban all because she wanted to get an education. We will tell you what this means for Malala Yousufzai.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: After looking at all of those long lines this past Election Day, you would think that more and more Americans were interested in voting for president this year, but it turns out that's not entirely the case.

In fact, Americans across most of the country showed up in smaller number than they did, not only in 2008 but in 2004. Look at the breakdown with me. You can see that this year the number was 57.5 percent of eligible voters. They are the ones who cast a ballot.

That compares to 62.3 in 2008. Obama beat McCain and four years prior, just a little over 60 percent of eligible voters participated in the Bush versus Kerry matchup.

But in the battleground states, it was a bit of a different story. Nearly 60 percent of eligible voters did show up and that, of course, is where the election was won and lost this year. So Republican Party, Speaker John Boehner, even himself said today, I had a difficult year. Who's to blame for that loss though from this past Tuesday?

Well, according to one Tea Party leader it is the establishment members of the party. Keli Carender of the Tea Party Patriots told CNN, quote, "In a nutshell, the Republicans sat on their hands for four years 'and I don't know what the Republicans were doing. The Tea Party was just getting started."

But as CNN's Gary Tuchman is about to show us, the Tea Party has a lot to answer for, as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is not the scene most supporters of the Tea Party envisioned or desired. Barack Obama was supposed to be a one-term president.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Liberty yes, Obama care no!

TUCHMAN: A primary mission of the Tea Party, get the government out of people's lives. There was even an African-American-led chapter in south central L.A. complete with a sign at one rally that read Tea Party supports MLK's dream.

SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: I see today that Fidel Castro likes Obamacare, but we don't like Obamacare, doesn't that kind of tell you something?

TUCHMAN: There was a lot of passion but also problems. There was Christine O'Donnell running for Senate in Delaware. Years earlier, she had told Bill Maher she had dabbled in witchcraft. She delivered this line in a political ad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not a witch.

TUCHMAN: Not only did she lose, but some say this was an early sign of problems the GOP would later have with untested Tea Party candidates. There were many other notable Tea Partiers in the limelight that year.

Sharon Engel running for Senate Nevada, but she was tripped when she said this to a group of Latino teenagers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know that all of you are Latino. Some of you look a little more Asian to me. I don't know that.

TUCHMAN: As the Tea Party increased its influence, speculation increased that former vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, run for president.

PALIN: That outrage, that moment of outrage, it came with the passage of Obamacare.

TUCHMAN: Ultimately, Palin decided not to run for president in 2012, but friends of the Tea Party like Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, Rick Perry and Michelle Bachmann did.

I caught up with Bachmann at the Minnesota State Fair in 2010. She was running for re-election for Congress and was at the height of her influence.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't take it for granted. I don't take any election for granted. So thank you.

TUCHMAN: But in 2012, not only did her support drop quickly in the presidential race, she barely won her congressional race this week. And it was worse for two other Tea Party favorites, Todd Akin lost his Senate race in Missouri. His effort not helped by this comment.

REPRESENTATIVE TODD AKIN (R), MISSOURI SENATE CANDIDATE: If it is a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.

TUCHMAN: And Richard Mourdock lost his Senate race in Indiana after he said this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape that it is something that God intended to happen.

TUCHMAN: The Tea Party's anti-government message continues to resonate with many. But arguably the group's policy and miscues may have cost the GOP a chance to be the majority party in the U.S. Senate. Party supporters put together a video of what they expected to see this week.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Teaparty.net is evolutionizing the moment. They think it is over. Won't it be fun to see their faces on November 6th?

TUCHMAN: As it turns out for them, it wasn't a lot of fun. Gary Tuchman, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: May not seem like it, but we have to start to talking Black Friday because shopping is around the corner, and this year one store will let you get your hands on big-time discounts even earlier than ever. Black Friday prices on Sunday next.

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BALDWIN: You like shopping? You like deals? If you are planning to take advantage of the annual Thanksgiving Black Friday sales, well, you can get an early start this year.

First, we told you about this yesterday, Wal-Mart announcing it would open its doors at 8:00 Thanksgiving night. Well, now we know Sears -- Sears says customers can get door buster discounts online November 18th, five days before Black Friday. For now, that puts Sears first in line to take your money, but stay tuned that could always change.

Learning to play piano certainly no easy feat, but in a musical blog teaching people how to play just wearing it. And that's not all it could also help people with spinal cord injuries regain sensation in their hands. Joe Carter has this technovation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE CARTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Wearing a glove may not make you dance like Michael Jackson, but it could teach you how to play music.

THAD STARNER, GEORGIA TECH ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR: This is the mellow music touch gloves and what it is going to do is teach how to play a piano melody without you paying attention to it.

CARTER: Created by some students and professors at Georgia Tech, the glove uses vibrations to teach your fingers the notes of a song.

(on camera): So you are going to teach me how to play "Oh Suzanna." I have zero experience, never played before.

STARNER: We will have you wear the glove for 30 minutes or so. You can be reading e-mail or jogging or talking with me and the system will tap your fingers over and over again in the sequence of notes that you need to play the song.

CARTER: Gloves off. Give it a try.

(voice-over): Along with teaching people to play music, the glove could also be used to help people.

STARNER: It could be used to help people with partial spinal cord recovery recover sensation and dexterity in their hands up to a year post injury.

CARTER: Like Rick Lynch, a quadriplegic who participated in a eight- week study wearing the glove about two hours a day helped improve his typing skills.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rather than just using one finger to type, now I'm trying to use fingers on one hand. This allowed me to not only regain some dexterity, but also learn how to play the piano.

CARTER: Joe Carter, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Joe Carter, thank you. Family or football? Chicago Bears quarterback, Charles Tillman, getting push back for suggesting he will miss a game this weekend if his wife goes in to labor. We are going to look at this whole back and forth on family first next.

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BALDWIN: Former Syracuse assistant basketball coach, Bernie Fine, will not face federal criminal charges. He was the subject of that year-long investigation after several ball boys accused him of molesting them.

Prosecutors say they don't have enough evidence to bring him to trial. The state said earlier it could not file charges because the statute of limitations had passed. Fine was fired from his job, but he maintains the allegations are patently false.

Americans voted on Election Day and now they want their elected leaders to get to work. As we saw throughout this past campaign, fixing the economy was issue number one for Americans. The campaign is over. You want action. Tom Foreman has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just an hour outside of D.C., people in the small town of Washington, virginia, spent months waiting to see what the election would bring their way.

And many like cabinet maker, Peter Kramer, say they didn't much care about whether the Democrats or Republicans would win, just as long as the creeping economy starts racing again.

PETER KRAMER, CUSTOM FURNITURE MAKER: I'm saying it is both of those people's faults and yes, somebody fix it. Let's get some people in Washington that want to sit there and say let's solve the problem and stop the gridlock.

TUCHMAN: Next door at the Stonyman Gourmet Farmer's cafe, Susan James spent the run up to the election feeling much the same way.

SUSAN JAMES, OWNER, STONYMAN GOURMET FARMER: Certainly the economy has changed the way we conduct business and changed decisions we have made, major decisions.

TUCHMAN: Instead of expanding her family-owned business, she kept a close eye on costs, steered clear of debt and watched the electoral process play out.

(on camera): What is it that you most want to see from Washington, D.C.?

JAMES: Leadership and stepping up. The game of passing the buck, blaming the other guy, it sounds as if the way my brother and I used to fight when we were 7 years old and people know it. We don't want that.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): It was that way all over town before the election. Many, like jewelry maker, Kaitlynn Mullan, were unsure of what would happen with taxes, jobs.

KAITLYNN MULLAN, JEWELRY MAKER, GOODINE'S DESIGNS: I think a lot of people are just scared to commit a large amount of money to anything, whether it be a couple hundred dollars for custom jewelry or a home. A lot of people are nervous.

TUCHMAN: No one expects any quick fix for the economy.

JAMES: It's big and it's going to take some time and a lot of work and it would be nice to get at it. TUCHMAN: But they are more than ready to start building up again, just as soon as the other Washington settles down and gets back to work. Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Tom Foreman, thank you.

Just ahead, the global day of action tomorrow, mark your calendars for the young girl targeted and shot point blank in the head by the Taliban. We will tell you what this special day means for young Malala Yousufzai.

Plus, it's the sign of the tough times, some people so desperate for money hitting up Craigslist to find a co-signer. We will check in with Alison Kosik. She is going to tell us what is in for these people who are willing to help next.

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BALDWIN: Breaking news coming in regarding the chief of the CIA. General David Petraus, we are now learning he has resigned. Let me check my notes here. He has resigned, submitted his resignation to President Obama citing personal reasons.

This is according to a U.S. government source. We have Suzanne Kelly. She is reporting on it. She is our intelligence correspondent in Washington. Suzanne, what do you know?

SUZANNE KELLY, CNN INTELLIGENCE CORRESPONDENT: Right, literally, Brooke, this has just come in within the last few minutes. We are finding out more details now. I am looking a statement from the director of the National Intelligence that I've just gotten 2 seconds ago.

General David Petraeus is indeed resigning from his post. The reason is an extramarital affair that he's had. Of course, he started as the director of the CIA in September of last year and something like this is sort of a bombshell coming on just days after the election.

Let me read to you just briefly what I have gotten. Yesterday afternoon, this is a statement from the CIA, I went to the White House, this is David Petraeus, and asked the president to be allowed for personal reasons to resign from my position as director of the CIA.

After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment in engaging in an extramarital affair. Brooke, so he has in fact confirmed that he is going to be stepping down from his post as the director of the CIA.

BALDWIN: So forgive me, but I am trying to understand. So he is married to his wife for 37 years. He has stepped out in his marriage. He's coming clean with it, talking to the president about it. Why then does that mean he needs to leave his post as chief of the CIA? KELLY: You know, that's a great question. As I'm listening to you here, I'm reading through the statement. That's how quickly this has come out. It doesn't give a lot of reason.

But people who know David Petraeus and have worked with him over the course of his military career know that he is a man of great honor and great integrity. I would be speculating if I said that's the reason.

However, you know, I mean, working here in Washington, the honest truth is people having affairs is not always a career breaker. So, you know, who knows what more is behind this.

It would be tough to speculate on something like this, but what we do know right now is that he has admitted to having an extra marital affair and he will be stepping down as the director of the CIA.

BALDWIN: And he's barely been in this position, it hasn't been that long, am I wrong?

KELLY: No, you are absolutely right. It has only been a little bit over a year. He was sworn in on September 6th, 2011. It's been an interesting an interesting leadership over there. He has a style that is very much from a military background.

Insiders at the agency have said, you know, that sometimes there are personality clashes between he and Deputy Director Michael Moral. Sometimes they see things differently.

But, again, that is also not -- certainly doesn't rise to a reason for anybody to step down. He was never really embraced I think by the intelligence community in the way that maybe Leon Panetta and the way that maybe George Tenet was in terms of their style, their approach.

But, again, here, you can they if you want to say it, but that is not certainly a reason why someone would ever step down from their post.

BALDWIN: OK, again, top of the hour, Suzanne, just stay with me, Suzanne Kelly reporting with us from Washington.