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New Stats on Edouard; Fueling the Energy Debate; Olympics: Pressure to Succeed; Fighting AIDS: Educating Prostitutes in Brazil; Obama Lays Out Energy Plan in Lansing, Michigan
Aired August 04, 2008 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning again, everyone. You're informed with CNN.
I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
Developments keep coming into the CNN NEWSROOM on this Monday, August 4th.
Here's what's on the rundown.
New stats on Edouard this hour. The tropical storm threatening to blow ashore in Texas as a hurricane.
HARRIS: Barack Obama live this hour on energy. He is talking about a compromise on offshore drilling.
COLLINS: Two climbers pulled from the world's second largest peak, others crushed in an ice avalanche. An expedition spokesman live -- in the NEWSROOM.
Extreme weather by the numbers. This morning, we are watching two threats that could impact millions of Americans.
Along the Gulf of Mexico, emergency crews are scrambling to get ready for Tropical Storm Edouard. It could be near hurricane strength when it charges ashore tomorrow. In the crosshairs, Texas or southwest Louisiana.
And triple-digit temps forecast for Dallas, Texas, and northward. Heat warnings are in effect all across the southern plains and as far east as Tennessee.
HARRIS: So we're talking about a very busy day ahead in the weather center.
Let's begin our coverage with Tropical Storm Edouard with CNN meteorologist Reynolds Wolf.
There he is.
Reynolds, good morning.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We have some good news about the storm. The latest good news we have about the storm is that the winds have weakened a little bit.
Maximum sustained winds going from 50 to now 45 miles per hour. This is the latest information we have from the National Hurricane Center. Still, gusts are up to 60. It's about 260 miles from Galveston, Texas. Still expected to make landfall near Galveston at this point.
The intensity is very likely going to fluctuate. That happens with these storms. Very rarely are they able to get to a certain strength and maintain that power for an extended period of time.
So we -- it's very possible the storm could weaken a little bit more, then gain more strength, and just kind of go back and forth as it gets very close to land. But still, all the models have it going right into Galveston by 8:00 a.m. Tuesday, maximum sustained winds around 70 miles per hour.
It still has that potential of reaching hurricane force before it makes its way onshore. And then the storm still expected to make its way onshore as we get into 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, just to the west of Houston. And then the latest path brings the storm, or what's left of it, just a depression, just due south and southwest of Austin, moving back toward the Enchanted Rock and Fredericksburg area, with winds of 30 miles per hour, a big rainmaker.
Now, keep many mind, back in the Texas hill country, you've got a lot of limestone. Water doesn't really -- I guess you could say absorb real well in the soil. So you tend to have a lot of runoff, and flooding can be a tremendous issue.
On the other side of the coin now, they are desperate for rain in Texas. So there is both a good and a troubling side to this story. But certainly the Texans will be happy to see that rain come. The wind and the other damage, the potential flooding, they could certainly do without that.
Back to you.
HARRIS: Reynolds, appreciate it. Thank you, sir.
WOLF: You bet.
COLLINS: And we want to take a moment now to talk with someone who is possibly in the path of Edouard. Connie Porter owns a bed and breakfast in Galveston, Texas. She is watching the approach of the storm closely and the departure of her guests.
Thanks so much for being with us. Tell us what you're seeing around you, Connie.
CONNIE PORTER, GALVESTON, TEXAS, RESIDENT: It's gorgeous.
COLLINS: Really?
PORTER: It's absolutely gorgeous. It's the calm before the storm. COLLINS: Yes.
PORTER: A beautiful day. Yes, it is.
COLLINS: Well, you have seen this before. I understand that you have been in two or three hurricanes in your lifetime.
PORTER: Yes, I have.
COLLINS: Tell us about that. Why is this one -- at least I understand, anyway, that you're kind of, you know, watching things but you are certainly not panicking.
PORTER: Oh, no, because even if it were to go to a Category 1, I would not evacuate. I probably wouldn't evacuate until a Category 3. Definitely a Category 3.
Category 1, right now it's got sustained winds. It's just not going to be that big of a deal. We'll have to just make sure that anything that's loose outside is tied down and canvas off our patio, and those kinds of things. But we might lose power for a couple of hours. That could be an issue.
COLLINS: OK. Well, obviously, we did mention that you own a bed and breakfast there in Galveston. What about your guests? Are people still there, or are they heading out now?
PORTER: Well, I have a whole house full of guests that are leaving today, planning on leaving today, anyway, which is great for them. But then I had a whole house full that was supposed to come today, and I advised them not to come, because I don't think it will be that pleasant.
COLLINS: Yes.
PORTER: Today and tomorrow.
COLLINS: Yes.
PORTER: After it goes through, it should be just fine. Everything will be fine.
COLLINS: OK. Well, Connie, we're going to stay in touch with you. We certainly hope that you are right about that. We know how tough it is to really be able to predict these potential hurricanes with exact accuracy. But, of course, we are watching it here with our meteorologist as well.
Connie Porter, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Comes to us from Galveston this morning.
And when the weather does become the news, remember to send us your iReports. Go to ireport.com, or type "ireport.com" right into your cell phone. But as always, please, stay safe. HARRIS: You know, you may feel the impact of Tropical Storm Edouard even if you live thousands of miles from the coast. That's because any storm in the Gulf of Mexico can rumble all the way to your neighborhood gas station.
CNN Senior Correspondent Allan Chernoff has a closer view in New York.
Allan, good morning.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Tony.
Well, so far, this storm has not a huge impact at all on the oil industry. In fact, the major oil companies are continuing to drill. They're getting oil out of the Gulf as we speak. Just a few minor items to mention.
The Houston Ship Channel has been closed. But, you know, that happens fairly often. They close for fog sometimes.
Also, the LOOP right now is not offloading oil form tankers. The LOOP is one of the biggest offshore oil tanker ports anywhere. The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port. And so right now they have one major tanker sitting there. They're not offloading because of the rough seas.
On a typical day, they offload 1.1 million barrels of oil. But keep in mind, this is not going to affect us as consumers, not going to hit gas stations, because we've got the whole production line, and it take as long time for all this to get over to us at the gas station. And they are still sending oil via by the pipelines over to the refineries. So no impact over there.
And the evidence? Hey, the price of oil as we speak, it's down about a dollar. We're trading at about $124 per barrel. So that's down about $1.
The price of gasoline today, more good news for us, down for the 18th consecutive day. We're now at $3.88 a gallon.
HARRIS: OK.
CHERNOFF: So, Tony, things are looking better for us.
HARRIS: Yes. That's great information for us.
Allan Chernoff for us from New York.
Allan, appreciate it. Thank you.
COLLINS: The economy and energy dominating the presidential campaigns today. Right now, Barack Obama is getting ready to unveil what he calls a new energy plan for America.
That's in Lansing, Michigan. We'll take you there live when he begins. We will also take a closer look at his plan.
John McCain turns his attention to small business owners. He's meeting with them this afternoon in Lafayette Hills, Pennsylvania. McCain then heads to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota.
Congress is on break, but some lawmakers are staying on Capitol hill. The reason? High gas prices. Today, at least a dozen Republicans will talk about it on the House floor.
CNN's Kate Bolduan is on Capitol Hill.
So Kate, just Republicans are there?
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just Republicans, Heidi. It's another interesting day here on Capitol Hill today.
It started Friday, when several dozen House Republicans took to the House floor for five hours after the House had adjourned for the long break, demanding action on energy legislation. Now, it looks like this protest will continue this week. Here's a little bit from Republican House lawmakers as they headed in again to the House floor for another impromptu session.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MARSHA BLACKBURN (R), TENNESSEE: It is shameful that Congress recessed for five weeks, left for five weeks. The American people are having a difficult time making ends meet. My constituents say they have too much month (ph) left at the end of their money.
I agree with them. Congress needs to come back in. They need to address this issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: Neither the House nor the Senate were able to pass any significant energy legislation prior to leaving for this long break. Leaders of both parties on both sides remain divided about whether or not to allow for new domestic oil drilling.
Republicans say yes, Democratic leaders say no. The Democrats do continue to emphasize that they support some drilling, but only drilling in areas that are already approved.
Here's a little bit from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who spoke about this over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: So this is of the highest priority. And in that priority, we have to increase supply in our own country, drill, use it, don't lose it. Drill where you're allowed to drill. Release the oil from the stockpile that we have, which would reduce the price of the pump in 10 days.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BOLDUAN: Now, a spokesperson for the House speaker did reiterate her position again this morning, but another important note from the weekend. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, he seemed to signal that he could be open to a compromise bill that could include some offshore drilling as part of a broader energy plan -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, that's what we've been reporting here all morning.
All right. CNN's Kate Bolduan.
Sure do appreciate it. Thank you, Kate.
BOLDUAN: Of course.
HARRIS: How many Americans have HIV? It turns out many more than we thought.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The Olympic flame getting closer to Beijing. Today, the torch stopped in Mianyang, one of the areas hard hit by May's deadly earthquake there.
The torch was lit in a stadium that once housed thousands of quake victims. This segment of the relay was supposed to be held in mid-June but had to be postponed. The torch has one more stop before reaching Beijing on Wednesday.
Olympic open ceremonies are on Friday.
HARRIS: Drugs costing the U.S. more Olympic gold. The International Olympic Committee stripped the men's 4x400 relay team of medals won in the 2000 Sydney games. One member, Antonio Pettigrew, admitted he was doping. He is just one of several high-profile athletes disgraced, all seem to be driven to succeed at any cost.
CNN's Betty Nguyen has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARION JONES, FMR. OLYMPIC TRACK STAR: And I truly hope that people will learn from my mistakes.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With those words, disgraced Olympic track star Marion Jones was sentenced to six months in prison for lying to federal authorities investigating performance enhancing drugs. Jones won three gold medals and two bronze at the 2000 Sydney games, and with that came instant celebrity.
MIKE WISE, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Most big-time athletes, especially in America, are going to come down on the fame side because it means everything. It means money, it means sponsorships, it means a Wheaties box.
NGUYEN: Psychologists say it's that shot at fame and fortune that prompts some to risk it all. DR. STEVE EPSTEIN, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: There are other people whose entire identity is wrapped up with success and it can be devastating to lose or to not achieve at a high level.
NGUYEN: Dominique Dawes is an Olympic gold medal winning gymnast, she says the pressure to perform is intense and the temptation to take shortcuts is real.
DOMINIQUE DAWES, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL WINNING GYMNAST: These outside sources, it's the people they choose to surround themselves with, feeding this information into their mind.
NGUYEN: Dawes' post-Olympic life includes coaching to motivational speaking.
DAWES: That was very good.
NGUYEN: And she said whether it was at the Olympics, in school or on the job, it's important to be able to look at oneself in the mirror and be happy with what you see.
DAWES: There are a few of us that do lie and those who think the right way and I think it eventually comes back to bite those individuals. Either they get caught or it just eats away at their conscious.
NGUYEN: So, is there a formula for achieving success on the up and up.
DAWES: When you were young, your parent instilled certain values in you about commitment and sacrifice and don't cheat and work hard and things like that, and we all as adults need to stay true to those core values.
NGUYEN: Olympic officials are counting on those core values when the Beijing games start, but the other problem lies with the message society sends.
WISE: Don't finish second. Don't be number two. Be number one. And that's a powerful drug.
NGUYEN: Betty Nguyen, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Everything you want to know about the Summer Olympics in one place. We've teamed up with "Sports Illustrated" to create Fan Zone, and the athletes, the events, all the action, the results, it's right there. It's at CNN.com/fanzone.
COLLINS: Cold and frostbitten, crews rescue survivors of a deadly avalanche. We're going to be hearing from a spokesman for the climbing expedition.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: In India, investigators say a deadly stampede was probably triggered by a false report of a landslide. At least 133 people were killed in the stampede. It happened Sunday at a remote Hindu temple during a crowded religious festival. This morning, survivors are searching rows and rows of bodies for their missing relatives.
Officials say some victims were crushed, others fell to their death, when a railing collapsed. Forty people were hurt.
HARRIS: In news about your health now, the spotlight is on the battle against the AIDS epidemic. An international AIDS conference is under way in Mexico City this week. The main message: prevention and education are the best lines of defense against HIV and AIDS.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. PETER PIOT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UNAIDS: If we are going to get ahead of this epidemic, it's time to come to terms with complexity. Whatever you may read in some journals today, even scientific journals, there is no shortcut in HIV prevention. Those who claim that we just need two -- or one or two things to prevent HIV and those who say that we can forget all about involving communities are playing with fire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Now, according to a U.N. AIDS report, more than 30 million people worldwide are living with HIV. Still, experts say infection rates are down and fewer people are dying of the disease.
On the front lines of the fight against AIDS, one woman making a difference, waging her own campaign in Brazil's Red Light District.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TIM LISTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's Friday night in Rio, and Gabriele Leite is starting her rounds -- meeting friends, catching up, and handing out hundreds of condoms to the prostitutes around Tilandente (ph) Square, one of the city's red light districts. Wherever she goes, there are lively conversations about sex, men and rights.
GABRIELE LEITE, ADVOCATE FOR PROSTITUTES (through translator): We have made a lot of progress in having our rights recognized. We cannot get into a fight with the guys and say, "I'm not doing it."
LISTER: Once a prostitute herself, Gabriele Leite formed her advocacy group La Vida more than 20 years ago. She's lost friends to AIDS, also infected, she says, by the men who pay them for sex. But the women getting ready tonight are on the front line of Brazil's campaign against the disease.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I tell them, "No, I'm not going to do it without a condom." And they say, "I'll go find someone else." Some men, all they think about is themselves, not how they can harm so many people.
LISTER: Prostitution is legal in Brazil, and hundreds of women work the streets and clubs around Copacabana Beach. While the overall number of HIV-positive people is falling here, it's rising among women.
Valkiria is a prostitute who also works with Leite's group. She came here from the northeast at the age of 14.
VALKIRIA PEREIRA COSTA, PROSTITUTE (through translator): There are some poor girls who are desperate for money, and sometimes clients will give them more to have sex without a condom. But it's rare.
LISTER: Prostitutes are part of a national dialogue about AIDS in Brazil. The government listens to Gabriele Leite's group. It has a high-profile program to distribute 250 million condoms a year, and a free national initiative to supply antiretroviral drugs to people with HIV.
And that's probably kept Genalai (ph) alive. She's HIV-positive and a volunteer with Gabriele Leite. She says she was infected by her husband and only found out he had AIDS as he lay dying. Genalai still works as a prostitute, only now she says, "I protect my clients by insisting they wear a condom."
Genalai has also launched a new career as a model for Das Boot, the group's very suggestive clothing line. It's been a big success in Brazil. The income helps Davida launch new initiative and provide some of the prostitutes with income.
Leite says it helps the Brazilians face sexuality without taboos. This T-shirt has ever word used in Brazil for "prostitute," but she's frustrated by the influence of the church and its opposition to prostitution and the use of condoms.
LEITE (through translator): The Catholic Church has always meddled with sexuality of human beings. It's crazy. And it's not just the church. You have the U.S. policy saying, how do you prevent AIDS? Abstinence.
LISTER: Next Friday, Leite won't be patrolling Tilandente Square, but making the case in Mexico City for the world's prostitutes.
LEITE (through translator): People think we are the problem, the ones who spread HIV. But we are part of the solution, because we no so much about sexuality and about men.
LISTER: Tim Lister, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Here at home, the number of Americans newly infected with HIV is much higher than the government estimated
Details now from CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. So Elizabeth, what happened here? Why did the numbers change?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Experts came up with a more precise way to estimate the number of people getting infected with HIV. That's sort of the bottom line of what happened. And boy did the numbers jump, Heidi, when they started to use this better technique.
Let's take a look at these numbers. They went way up.
Previously, the CDC had estimated that 40,000 Americans each year were getting infected with HIV. But under this new estimate, it jumped 40 percent, to 56,300. So that is a big jump.
And how are people getting HIV? Well, let's take a look at these numbers now.
Fifty-three percent are men who are gay or bisexual, and another chunk there, 31 percent, are getting this disease through heterosexual sex, and 12 percent are getting them through injection drug use. And one of the things that's interesting about this is no matter how people are getting HIV, many of them are under the age of 30.
COLLINS: Really?
COHEN: They sort of don't -- the message that so many of us heard, you know, decades ago isn't always getting to people under the age of 30 -- use condoms, don't share needles. And there's a concern that those messages just aren't being heard by the people who need to hear them.
COLLINS: Yes. Well, it sounds like they're not. And those numbers, obviously, they can't really even begin to include the people who are HIV positive but just don't know it.
COHEN: Yes, and that's a truly, truly scary number. One out of four Americans who are HIV positive does not know it.
So that means two things. One, that person can be out there spreading HIV without knowing it.
COLLINS: Yes.
COHEN: And two, they are not taking the antiretroviral drugs that can help this disease. And the sooner you take the drugs, the better. But if you don't know you're infected, you won't be taking the drugs.
COLLINS: Of course, yes.
But what about when you look at this for ethnicity? Is there any breakdown with these numbers?
COHEN: Yes, there is a breakdown. And we talked about this a bit last week, about African-Americans and AIDS.
COLLINS: Right.
COHEN: And there are some other numbers here.
Forty-five percent of people who are HIV positive in this country are African-Americans, 76 percent are Hispanic, and 35 percent, approximately, are white. So that sort of tells you a bit about sort of the face of AIDS in this country.
COLLINS: Right. Well, interesting study, certainly.
All right. We appreciate it. Thanks so much.
COHEN: Thanks.
COLLINS: CNN medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen.
HARRIS: John McCain's Internet strategy: using the Web to poke fun and take shots at Barack Obama.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Bottom of the hour. Welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.
COLLINS: Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
A gathering storm, growing concerns. Along the Gulf of Mexico, emergency crews are scrambling now to get ready for Tropical Storm Edouard. It could be near hurricane strength when it charges ashore tomorrow. In the crosshairs, Texas and southwest Louisiana.
Want to make sure you know Reynolds Wolf will not be with us right now because he's actually en route to Galveston. He's going to be reporting from there. We can look for him tomorrow morning, or perhaps even later on tonight as he's following this very closely.
Also, summer swelter and a danger that rises with the mercury. Millions of people could see triple-digit temperatures this week. Here's a map of the building heat wave, now. Much of Texas will climb 5 degrees above normal. An extra 10 degrees on the outer edges of the nation's midsection. In the very center of the country, highs will be 15 degrees hotter than usual. North Texas has had 10 straight days of triple digit highs. In Dallas County, officials say at least three people have died from the heat.
HARRIS: Rescued, the two survivors of a deadly ice avalanche, the peak known as K2, is the second highest mountain in the world. It is located near Pakistan's border with China.
And on the phone with me right now, is Michele Schuurman. He is a spokesman for the climbing expedition.
Michele, thanks for your time. The two survivors who were rescued, tell me, how long were they trapped? At what elevation? And if you know, are what are their injuries?
MICHELE SCHUURMAN, EXPEDITION SPOKESMAN: Well, first let me say they're from the Incipit K2 Expedition. We can just talk about the eight expedition members of our team. So, we can't discuss anything about other expeditions because we're not sure.
Our two -- actually, three climbers were up on the mountain for about 48 hours. And they came down on their own strength. And afterwards they were air lifted off from base camp to the hospital where two of them were treated for frostbite injuries on the hands and feet.
HARRIS: Well, Michele, if you would, tell us what your hikers reported. What happened?
SCHUURMAN: Well, basically, when they started the summit push on Thursday morning -- Friday morning, is that they secured all the lines to make sure they had a safe descent. And when they reached the summit on the way back, a large chunk of ice had already fallen down and took with it a large piece of the ropes that they fixed on the difficult part of the descent. So that resulted in the fact that they had to descend without the safety lines on that part of the mountain.
HARRIS: How difficult is that? On the face of it, it sounds enormously challenging. But in your words, from your experience, how difficult is if to climb down to do this descent without safety lines?
SCHUURMAN: Well, I can't speak of my own experience because I have not been on that part of the K2. But, you can imagine that if it's a very, very steep part of ice, and we're talking about 60, 70 degrees here. And you don't have any safety line, you have to be really careful where you put your feet. And if you slip for one reason or the other, then you just slide down.
HARRIS: You know, the continuing drama, and I don't know if you can speak to this. The continuing drama is the story of the one climber that still on the mountain.
If you could, can you give us some kind of a sense of what it must be like for this climber who has to climb down now to an elevation where the helicopter can attempt to rescue.
SCHUURMAN: Yes. Well, again, it's someone who's not part of our expedition so I can't really comment on it. But it must be horrible for that person to still be up there in that condition.
HARRIS: OK. Michele Schuurman is with us. He actually put together a group of climbers as part of an expedition of K2.
Michele, thank you.
And right now, Barack Obama is getting ready to unveil what he calls a new energy plan for America. We will bring you that live from Lansing, Michigan, when it begins. And we will take a look at how his plan might actually work.
COLLINS: John McCain has his own ideas on energy and working with Congress and an opinion of Barack Obama's proposals.
Here he is taking questions from reporters during his stop in Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The fact is that we are gridlocked in Congress. We are gridlocked because the Democratic leadership refuses to reach across the aisle and work with the Republicans. We are gridlocked on virtually every single issue. And so I want to assure you when I'm president, I will reach across the aisle. We will sit down, we will work together and we will do it in a by partisan fashion and we'll solve the issues that confront the American people -- yes, sir,
QUESTION: Senator Obama earlier today, expressed support for a plan -- a bipartisan energy plan that would allow oil drilling within 50 miles of Florida's west coast. I's like to get your reaction to that and (INAUDIBLE).
MCCAIN: We need oil drilling and we need it now offshore. We need it now. He has consistently opposed it. He has opposed nuclear power. He has opposed reprocessing, he has opposed storage. And the only thing I've heard him say is that we should inflate our tires.
So he has no plan for addressing the energy challenges that we face and we need drilling everywhere that the states and the governors, such as in the state of Florida, approve of.
QUESTION: Please tell us your thinking behind this new web ad that mocks Obama as an (INAUDIBLE) figure.
MCCAIN: We were having some fun with our supporters that we sent it out to and we're going to display a sense of humor in this campaign. I noticed a couple of days ago that Senator Obama challenged me to a duel. Well, light sabers is my weapon of choice.
But seriously, if we have differences, we should have appeared at the Urban League Convention today. I've asked him time after time to appear with me on the same stage so we can discuss the issues that are important to the American people. So, I look forward to people across this country saying, appear together. Appear in town hall meetings and discuss the issues that are important to the United States of America -- Kelly.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) ... the political video today does use religious imagery. Some people might have questions about that. And where does mocking, as it has been described by some of your critics, no longer include a respectful campaign. Where is the line for you?
MCCAIN: This is a very respectful campaign. I repeated my admiration and respect for Senator Obama. That clip is of Charlton Heston. It's a movie, it's a film, movie. So, I really appreciated the movie and I appreciated Charlton Heston's magnificent acting skills as I saw it. But, it's a movie -- yes.
QUESTION: Senator, are you going to steal our governor for vice president?
MCCAIN: I think that your governor has earned a place in the Republican Party, not just in the state of Florida, but nationally. He's a great leader.
And I think that obviously, he has a major role to play in the Republican Party in this nation, in the future. We aren't talking about the process but, everybody knows the respect and appreciation that I have for him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: John McCain in his own words. He'll be talking energy again today in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
And, remember, you can always watch the candidates in their own words live and uninterrupted on the campaign trail at CNN.com/live.
HARRIS: John McCain's campaign goes viral. New ads getting him plenty of free face time.
CNN's Jim Acosta has a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John McCain's nickname was "The Mac" long before he confessed he doesn't use a Mac or a PC.
MCCAIN: Neither. I am a illiterate that has to rely on his wife for all of the assistance that I can get.
ACOSTA: But don't tell that to the people behind the web ads at McCain headquarters. The Arizona senator's TV and online spots, comparing Barack Obama to everything from Britney Spears to Moses -- yes, Moses -- are more gags than ads.
They were some of the most viewed videos on YouTube last week.
ACOSTA: Web columnist Anna Marie Cox, a.k.a, the "Wonkette," says it's a serious attempt to use humor in a contentious race.
I do think it's ironic that its the McCain campaign that seems to be most in control in of this particular medium.
ACOSTA: This ad, called The One, mocks Obama as having a Messiah complex. The Democratic National Committee isn't laughing. Its latest ad accuses McCain of taking the low road.
Political analyst Larry Sabato sees an underdog gaining traction.
LARRY SABATO, UNIV. OF VA. CENTER FOR POLITICS: Republicans will say, this is hilarious. They really got Obama here. Democrats will say, I disagree with the message, but I have to admit this is clever. That's how you can tell when something has gone viral.
ACOSTA: For months, it seemed Obama and his surrogates had all of the YouTube buzz. Not anymore, says John McCain.
MCCAIN: You've got to have a sense of humor in this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But, in general, the ads, the Paris Hilton, George Clooney ads are over?
MCCAIN: Well, I don't know. We'll continue to have humor in our campaign.
ACOSTA (on camera): It's too early to tell whether these spots are having any affect on the polls. But as long as his ads are circulating for free online, at almost no cost to his campaign, John McCain will approve that message again and again.
Jim Acosta, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Plenty of debate over the so-called race card in the presidential campaigns. During the primaries, former president Bill Clinton was accused of dealing from that deck while stumping for his wife. He was asked about it on ABC's Good Morning America.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you personally have any regrets about what you did campaigning for your wife?
WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, but not to the ones you say. And it would be counterproductive for me to talk about them. There are things that I wish I would have urged her to do, things I wish I had said, things I wish I hadn't said. But I am not a racist. I never made a racist comment and I didn't attack him personally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The former president says he'll have more to say once the election is over.
HARRIS: A distinctive voice silenced after three decades of bringing baseball into your living rooms. This morning a sad good-bye to Skip Caray.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Boy, popular baseball broadcaster, Skip Caray, has died. You may know him as the voice of the Atlanta Braves. Caray announced their games on television and radio for 33 years. The team says he died in his sleep. He had been doing only home games this year due to failing health. Caray's father, what a giant of the game, Harry Caray, was a Hall of Fame broadcast the Cubs and Cardinals. His son Chip is an announcer for the Braves. Skip Caray was 68 years old.
COLLINS: He won a Nobel Prize for writing about the horrors he witnessed in a Soviet labor camp. Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, the author who many considered to be the moral voice of Russia, has died at the age of 89.
Our Jill Doherty has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JILL DOHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He was a man who taught the world the meaning of the word, gulag. Alexandr Solzhenitsyn spent eight years in that vast system of Soviet slave labor camps. Three years in internal exile and chronicled them in three-part monumental work, "The Gulag Archipelago."
Solzhenitsyn was born in 1918. Even as a child, he said he wanted to be a writer. He was too poor to study literature in Moscow, and instead became a mathematician. In 1945, while serving in the Red Army, he was arrested for writing letters to a friend criticizing dictator Joseph Stalin, calling him the man with the mustache.
In the hardships of the camps, Solzhenitsyn wrote secretly. In his work, "The First Circle, "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich," and later, "The Cancer Ward," he exposed the horrors of Soviet communism. In 1970, Alexandr Solzhenitsyn was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
But, he would not formally collect it until 1974, after he was deported from the Soviet Union, and stripped of his citizenship. He worked at Stanford University in the United States, then moved to the seclusion of Vermont, where he lived with his family for 18 years.
Finally, in 1990, his Russian citizenship was restored and Solzhenitsyn moved back to Russia. In June 2007, President Vladimir Putin bestowed the highest Russian award on Solzhenitsyn. Throughout his life, Alexandr Solzhenitsyn grappled with the issues of good and evil, materialism and salvation. He was called the conscience of Russia.
Jill Doherty, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Let's take you to Lansing, Michigan, right now. Illinois Senator Barack Obama, laying out his energy plan in Lansing.
Let's have a listen.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... It is true, today is my birthday and I would -- there's no place I would rather be on my birthday than Lansing, Michigan.
(APPLAUSE)
I know there's a cake back there somewhere.
I want to begin by just -- and I know this has already been done, but there's certain people I am so grateful to for their outstanding work that I just feel obliged to repeat the acknowledgements.
First of all, the outstanding governor of this great state of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm, give her a big round of applause.
(APPLAUSE)
Two of the best United States senators for the United States Senate. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow.
(APPLAUSE)
A legend in the House of Representatives, a champion for Michigan manufacturing -- John Dingell. Our leader in the Judiciary Committee in the House and a champion for workers rights and civil rights, Congressman John Conyers.
(APPLAUSE)
The speaker of the House in Michigan, Andy Dillon. Wayne County executive, Bob Ficano. The Mayor of Lansing, Verge Bernero. The president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, James Hoffa. And please give another big round of applause to co-founder of Adaptive Materials, Inc, Michelle Crump, for the wonderful introduction.
We needed a moment when this country is facing a set of challenges greater than any that we have seen in generations. Right now our brave men and women in uniform are fighting two different wars while terrorists plot their next attack. Our changing climate is placing out planet in peril. Our economy is in turmoil, I don't need to tell you that. Families struggling with rising costs and falling incomes, with lost jobs and lost homes, and a lost faith in the American dream. And for too long our leaders in Washington have been unable or unwilling to do anything about it.
And that's why this election could not be more important. This election is the most important election of our lifetime.
(APPLAUSE)
When it comes to our economy, our security and the very future of our planet, the choices we make in November and over the next few years, will shape the next decade, if not the next century. And central to all these major challenges is the question of -- what will we do about our addiction to foreign oil?
Without a doubt this addiction is one of the most dangerous and urgent threats this nation has ever faced. From the gas prices that are wiping out your paychecks and straining businesses, to jobs that are disappearing from this state, from the instability and terror bred in the Middle East, to the rising oceans and record drought and spreading famine that could engulf our planet. It's also a threat that goes to the very heart of who we are as a nation and who we will be.
Will we be the generation that leaves our children a planet in decline, or a world that's clean and safe and thriving? Will we allow ourselves to be held hostage to the whims of tyrants and dictators who control the world's oil wells, or will we control our own energy and our own destiny? Will America watch as the clean energy jobs and industries of the future flourish in countries like Spain, Japan, or Germany, or will we create them here, in the greatest country on earth, with the most productive, talented workers in the world?
(APPLAUSE)
As Americans, we know the answers to these questions. We know that we can't sustain a future powered by a fuel that's rapidly disappearing, not when we purchase $700 million worth of oil every single day from some of the world's most unstable and hostile nations -- Middle East regimes that control nearly all of the world's oil by 2030, not when the rapid growth of countries like China and India mean that we're consuming more of this dwindling resource faster than we ever imagined. We know that we can't sustain this kind of future.
But we also know we've been talking about this issue for decades. We've heard promises about energy independence from every single president since Richard Nixon. We've heard talk about curbing the use of fossil fuels in State of the Union addresses since the oil embargo of 1973.
Back then we imported about a third of our oil. Now we import more than half. Back then global warming was a theory of a few scientists. Now, it's a fact that is melting our glaciers and setting off dangerous weather patterns as we speak. Then, back in 1973, the technology and innovation to create a new source of clean, affordable, renewable energy was a generation away. Today, you can find it in the research labs in this university and in design centers of this state's legendary auto industry. It's in the chemistry labs that are laying the building blocks for cheaper, more efficient solar panels, and it's in the reborn factories that are churning out more wind turbines every day all across this country.
Despite all this, here we are in another election still talking about our oil addiction, still more dependent than ever. Why is that? You won't hear me say this too often, but I could not agree more with the explanation that Senator McCain offered a few weeks ago. He said, and I quote, "Our dangerous dependence on foreign oil has been 30 years in the making and was caused by the failures of politicians in Washington to think long-term about the future of the country."
(APPLAUSE)
Now, what Senator McCain neglected to mention was during those 30 years, he was in Washington for 26 of them.
(APPLAUSE)
And in all that time he did little to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. He voted against increased fuel efficiency standards and opposed legislation that included tax credits for more efficient cars. He voted against renewable sources of energy, against clean biofuels, against solar power, against wind power, against an energy bill that, while far from perfect, represented the largest investment in renewable sources of energy in the history of this country. So when Senator McCain talks about the failure of politicians in Washington to do anything about our energy crisis, it's important to remember that he's been part of that failure.
(APPLAUSE)
And now, after years of inaction in the face of public frustration over rising gas prices, the only energy proposal he's really promoting is more offshore drilling, a position he recently adopted that's become the centerpiece of his plan and one that will not make a real dent in current gas prices or meet the long-term challenge of energy independence. Understand, George Bush's own Energy Department has said that if we opened up new areas to offshore drilling today, we wouldn't see a single drop of oil for seven years -- seven years. Senator McCain knows that, which is why he admitted that his plan would only provide, quote, "...psychological relief to consumers."
I know that's what you've been looking for is psychological relief when you're pumping that gas into your car.
He also knows that if we opened up and drilled every single square inch of our land and our shores, we would still find only 3 percent of the world's oil reserves -- 3 percent for a country that uses 25 percent of the world's oil. Even Texas oilman Boone Pickens, and Boone is not a Democrat, was calling for major new investments in alternative energy and has said, quote, "...this is one emergency we can't drill our way out of." That's Boone Pickens, an oilman, made his money drilling.
Now, increased domestic oil exploration certainly has its place as we make our economy more fuel efficient and transition to other renewable American-made sources of energy. But it's not the solution. It's the political answer of the sort Washington has given us for three decades. And there are some genuine ways in which we can provide some short-term relief from high gas prices. Relief to the mother who is cutting down on groceries because of gas prices, or the man I met in Pennsylvania who couldn't go on a job search after he lost his job because he couldn't afford to fill up the tank. I believe we should give every working family in America a $1,000 energy rebate, and we should pay for it with part of the record profits that the oil companies are making right now.
(APPLAUSE)
I also believe that in the short-term, as we transition to renewable energy, we can and should increase our domestic production of oil and natural gas, but we should start by telling the oil companies to drill on the 68 million acres they currently have access to but haven't touched. And if they don't use it, they should lose it. We should require them to give up their leases to somebody who is going to do something. That's common sense.
We should invest in the technology that can help us recover more from existing oil fields, speed up the process of recovering oil and gas resources from shale formations in Montana and North Dakota and Texas and Arkansas and in parts of the West and central Gulf of Mexico. We should sell 70 million barrels of oil from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve for less expensive crude, which in the past has lowered gas prices within two weeks. Over the next five years, we should also lease more of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska for oil and gas production, and we should also tap more of our substantial natural gas reserves and work with the Canadian government to finally build the Alaska natural gas pipeline, delivering clean, natural gas and creating jobs in the process.
But these are all some short-term steps that we could take right now to provide families some immediate relief, and I know you need immediate relief. You need immediate relief.
(APPLAUSE)
But the truth is none of these steps will come close to seriously reducing our energy dependence in the long-term. We can't simply pretend, as Senator McCain does, that we can drill our way out of this problem -- T. Boone Pickens is right. We need a much bolder and much bigger set of solutions. We have to make a serious nationwide commitment to developing new sources of energy, and we have to do it right away, right now. We cannot wait.
Now, last week, Washington finally made some progress on this. A group of Democrat and Republican senators came down and came up with a compromise on energy that includes many of the proposals that I've worked on as a senator and many of the steps I have been calling on during the course of this campaign. It's a plan that would invest in renewable fuels and batteries for fuel efficient cars, help automakers retool and make a real investment in renewable sources of energy.
(APPLAUSE)
Now, like all compromises, this one has its drawbacks.
It does include a limited amount of new offshore drilling. And while I still don't believe that's a particularly meaningful short- term or long-term solution, what I have said is I'm willing to consider it if it's necessary to actually pass a comprehensive plan.
I'm not interested in making the perfect the enemy of the good, particularly since there's so much good in this compromise that would actually reduce our dependence on foreign oil. And yet, while the compromise is a good first step and a good-faith effort, I believe that we have to go even further, and here is why.
Breaking our oil addiction is one of the greatest challenges our generation will ever face. It is going to take nothing less than the complete transformation of our economy. The transformation is going to be costly, and given the fiscal disaster we will inherit from the next -- the last administration, it will likely require us to defer some other priorities. It's also a transformation that will require more than just a few government programs.
Energy independence will require an all-hands-on-deck effort from America, efforts from scientists and entrepreneurs, from businesses and from every American citizen. Factories will have to retool and redesign. Businesses will need to find ways to emit less carbon dioxide. All of us will need to buy more fuel-efficient cars built by this state of Michigan.
(APPLAUSE)
Built right here in Lansing, built all across the state of Michigan.
All of us will need to find new ways to improve efficiency and save energy in our own homes and businesses, and none of this is going to be easy. It's not going to happen overnight. If anyone tries to tell you otherwise, they are either fooling themselves or they're trying to fool you. But I know we can do this.
We can do this because we're Americans. We always do the improbable. We always beat great odds. We always rally together, whatever challenge stands in our way.
That's what we've always done, and that's what we must do now. For the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, we must end the age of oil in our time.
Now, creating a new energy economy isn't just a challenge to meet. It's also an opportunity to seize. And that's what people like your governor and your senators and your congressmen have been talking about for years now. It's an opportunity that will create new businesses, new industries, and millions of new jobs -- jobs that pay well, jobs that can't be outsourced, good union jobs.
(APPLAUSE)
Which is what we need right here in Michigan. For a state that has lost so many jobs and struggled so much in recent years, this is an opportunity to rebuild and revive the economy. As Governor Granholm has said, any time you pick up a newspaper and see the terms "climate change" or "global warming," just think jobs for Michigan.
You are already seeing -- you're already seeing the potential. Already, there are 50,000 jobs in your clean energy sector right here in Michigan. Already, 300 companies, including Michelle's, that are creating jobs all across the state.
Now is the time to accelerate that growth both here and across the nation. So if I am president, I will immediately direct the full resources of the federal government and the full energy of the private sector, working with state and local governments, to achieve a single overarching goal.
In 10 years, we will eliminate the need for oil from the entire Middle East and Venezuela, in 10 years' time. Ten years is how long it's going to take. Ten years is how long it's going to take.
(APPLAUSE) Now, to do this, we will invest $150 billion over the next decade, $15 billion a year, and we'll leverage billions more in private capital to build a new energy economy that harnesses American energy and creates five million new American jobs. There are three major steps I'll take to achieve this goal, steps that will yield real results by the end of my first term in office.
First, we will help states like Michigan build the fuel-efficient cars we need, and we will get one million 150-mile-per gallon plug-in hybrids on our roads made in America within six years' time. We can do that. We can do that.
(APPLAUSE)
We can do that. We can do that.
And I know how much the auto industry and the autoworkers in this state have struggled over the last decade or so, but I also know where I want fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow to be built. Not in Japan, not in China, here in the United States. Right here in Michigan.
(APPLAUSE)
Now, when I arrived in Washington, I reached across the aisle to come up with a plan to raise the mileage standards in our cars for the first time in 30 years, a plan that won support from Democrats and Republicans who had never supported raising fuel standards before. And I also led bipartisan efforts to invest in the technology necessary to build plug-in hybrid cars. So, as president, I am going to accelerate these efforts to meet our urgent need.
With technology we have on the shelf today, we're going to increase fuel mileage standards four percent every year. We'll invest more in the research and development of those plug-in hybrids, specifically focusing on battery technology.
We will leverage private sector funding to bring these cars directly to American consumers. We'll give consumers a $7,000 tax credit to buy these vehicles. Most importantly -- most importantly, I will provide $4 billion in loans and tax credits to American auto plants and manufacturers so that they can retool their factories and start building these cars right now.
(APPLAUSE)
That's how we'll not only protect our auto industry and our autoworkers, but help them thrive in the 21st century economy. We're going to get the automakers here in Michigan, we're going to get them back on track, and we are going to work with them.
We're not going to have a situation where they've got to beg and plead to get the attention of the federal government. We're not going to have a Michigan governor trying to beg and plead to get the attention of the White House, because you're going to have a partner in the White House to make sure that the auto industry is thriving right here in Michigan. (APPLAUSE)
Now, once more, these efforts will lead to an explosion of innovation here in Michigan. At the turn of the 20th century, there were literally hundreds of car companies offering a wide choice of steam vehicles and gas engines. I believe we're entering a similar era of expanding consumer choices.
There are going to be a whole range of cars that we're producing, from higher mileage cars to new electric entrants like the GM's Volt, to flex fuel cars, trucks powered by biofuels, and all driven by Michigan innovation. You will have a partner in the White House to make sure that innovation thrives.
(APPLAUSE)
Now, the second step -- the second step I'll take is to require that 10 percent of our energy comes from renewable sources by the end of my first term. By the end of my first term, and more than double what we have now.
To meet these goals, we will invest more in the clean technology research and development that's occurring in labs and research facilities all across this country, and right here at MSU, where you're working -- where many of you are working with farm owners to develop this state's wind potential and developing nanotechnology that will make solar cells cheaper. I will also extend the production tax credit for five years to encourage the production of renewable energy like wind power, solar power, and geothermal energy.
(APPLAUSE)
It was because of this credit that wind power grew 45 percent last year. The largest growth in history. And experts have said that Michigan has the second best potential for wind generation and production in the entire country.
(APPLAUSE)
And as the producer -- and as the world's largest producer of the material that makes solar panels work, this tax credit would also help states like Michigan grow solar industries that are already creating hundreds of new jobs. We will also invest federal resources, including tax incentives and government contracts, developing next- generation biofuels.
By 2022, I will make it a goal to have six billion gallons of our fuel come from sustainable, affordable biofuels. And we'll make sure that we have the infrastructure to deliver that fuel in place.
Now, here in Michigan, you're actually a step ahead of the game with your first-ever commercial cellulosic ethanol plant which will lead the way by turning wood into clean burning fool. It's estimated that each new advance biofuels plant can add up to 120 jobs, expand a local town's tax pace by $70 million per year, and boost local household income by $6.7 million annually. That is something we should be investing in. That's something that I will partner with the state of Michigan, the city of Lansing, and cities all across Michigan and across the nation to create a new reality when it comes to biofuels all across America.
(APPLAUSE)
Now, in addition, we'll find safer ways to use nuclear power and store nuclear waste. And we'll invest in the technology that will allow us to use more coal, America's most abundant energy source, with the goal of creating five first-of-a-kind coal-fired demonstration plants with carbon capture and sequestration so they're not adding to global warming.
Now, of course, too often the problem is that all of this new energy technology never makes it out of the lab and onto the market because there's too much risk, too much cost involved by starting commercial-scale clean energy businesses. So we will remove some of this cost and this risk by directing billions in loans and capital to entrepreneurs who are willing to create clean energy businesses and clean energy jobs right here in America.
As we develop new sources of energy and electricity, we will also need to modernize our national utility grid so it's accommodating new sources of power, more efficient and more reliable sources of power. That's an investment that will also create hundreds of thousands of jobs and one that I will make as president.
Finally, the third step I'll take is to call on businesses, government, and the American people to meet the goal of reducing our demand for electricity 15 percent by the end of the next decade. And this is by far the fastest, easiest, cheapest way to reduce our energy consumption. It will save us $130 billion on our energy bills.
Since DuPont implemented an energy efficiency program in 1990, the company has significantly reduced its pollution, it's cut its energy bills by $3 billion. That's one company.
The state of California -- this is an interesting statistic -- the state of California has implemented such a successful efficiency strategy that, while electricity consumption grew 60 percent in this country over the last three decades, it didn't grow at all in California. Think about that. The country as a whole, 60 percent more electricity usage over the last 30 years. In California, no change, and this is despite the fact that California has been growing in leaps and bounds.
There is no reason why America can't do the same thing. We will set a goal of making our new buildings 50 percent more efficient over the next four years. We'll follow the lead of California and change the way utilities make money so their profits aren't tied to how much energy we use, but how much energy we save.
(APPLAUSE)
And I know that this sounds like pie in the sky, but understand this, in just 10 years these steps will produce enough renewable energy to replace all the oil we import from the Middle East, all of it. And along with the cap and trade program I have proposed, we will reduce our dangerous carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050, and slow the warming of our planet. And we'll create five million new jobs in the process.
(APPLAUSE)
And if these sound like far-off goals, just think about what we can do in the next few years: one million plug-in hybrid cars on the road; doubling our energy from clean renewable sources like wind power or solar power; and two billion gallons of affordable biofuels; new buildings that are 50 percent more energy efficient; and putting people back to work, making those buildings more energy efficient. So there is a real choice in this election, Lansing, a choice about what kind of future we want for this country and this planet.
Senator McCain would not take the steps or achieve the goals that I have outlined today. His plan invests very little in renewable sources of energy, and he's opposed to helping the auto industry retool.
Like George Bush and Dick Cheney before him, he sees more offshore drilling as the answer to all of our energy problem. And like George Bush and Dick Cheney, he's found a receptive audience in the very same oil companies that have blocked our progress for so long.
In fact, John McCain raised more than $1 million from big oil just last month, most of which came after he announced his plan for offshore drilling in a room full of cheering oil executives. His initial reaction to the bipartisan energy compromise was to reject it because it took away tax breaks from oil companies. And even though he doesn't want to spend much on renewable energy, he's actually proposed giving $4 billion more in tax breaks to the biggest oil companies in America, including $1.2 billion to ExxonMobil.
Now, understand, ExxonMobil is a corporation that just recorded the largest profit in the history of the United States. This is the company that last quarter made $1,500 every second. That's more than $300,000 in the time it takes you to fill up a tank with gas that's costing you four bucks a gallon. Senator McCain not only wants them to keep every dime of that money, he wants to give them more.
So make no mistake, the oil companies have placed their bet on Senator McCain, and if he wins, they will continue to cash in while our families and our economy suffer and our future is put in jeopardy. That's not the future I see for America. That's not the future I want for America.
(APPLAUSE)
I won't pretend that the goals I laid out today aren't ambitious. They are. I won't pretend we can't achieve them without cost or without sacrifice, without the contribution of almost every American citizen. But I will say that these goals are possible. I will say these goals are achievable. And I will say that achieving them is absolutely necessary if we want to keep America safe and prosperous in the 21st century.
(APPLAUSE)
So I want you all to think for a minute about the next four years and even the next 10. We can continue down the path we've been traveling. We can keep making small piecemeal investments in renewable energy and keep sending billions of our hard-earned dollars to oil company executives and Middle Eastern dictators.
We can watch helplessly as the price of gas rises and falls because some foreign crisis we have no control over. We can uncover every single barrel of oil buried beneath this country, only to realize we don't have enough for a few years, let alone a century. We can watch other countries create industries and the jobs that will fuel our future and leave our children a planet that grows more dangerous and unlivable by the day.
That's one option. Or we can choose another future.
We can decide that we will face the realities of the 21st century by building a 21st century economy. In just a few years, we can watch cars that run on a plug-in battery come off the same assembly lines that once produced the first Ford and the first Chrysler.
(APPLAUSE)
We can see shuttered factories open their doors to manufacturers that sell wind turbines and solar panels that will power our homes and our businesses. We can watch as millions of new jobs with good pay and good benefits are created for American workers, and we can take pride as the technologies and discoveries and industries of the future flourish in the United States. We can lead the world, secure our nation, and meet our moral obligations to future generations.
(APPLAUSE)
This is the choice we face in the months ahead. This is the challenge we must meet. This is the opportunity we must seize. And this may be our last chance to seize it. And if it seems too difficult or improbable, I ask you to think about the struggles and challenges that past generations have overcome.
Think about how World War II forced us to transform a peacetime economy still climbing out of the Depression into an arsenal of democracy that could wage war across three continents. And when President Roosevelt's advisers told him that his goals for wartime production were impossible to meet, he waved them off and he said, believe me, the production people can do it if they really try. And they did.
Think about when the scientists and engineers told John F. Kennedy that they had no idea how to put a man on the moon, and he told them they would find a way. And we found one. Remember how we trained a generation for a new industrial economy by building a nationwide system of public high schools, how we laid down railroad tracks across an entire continent, how we pushed the boundaries of science and technology to unlock the very building blocks of human life.
I ask you to draw hope from the improbable progress this nation has made, and look to the future with confidence that we, too, can meet the great test of our times. I ask you to join me in November and in the years to come to ensure that we will not only control our own energy, but once again control our own destiny and forge a new and better future for the country that we love.
It starts right here in Michigan. It starts right here in this election. And if you will support me and vote for me, I promise you we're going to change this country and change the world.
Thank you very much, Lansing. God bless you. God bless America.
Thank you.
