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McCain in Ohio; Bank Deal; Where's the Gas; Inside IReport

Aired September 29, 2008 - 12:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: -- All right, hello again. I'm Tony Harris. The headlines for this Monday, September 29th, begin on Capitol Hill.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are in a real crisis situation that could mushroom into something worse than the great depression.

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HARRIS: The House of Representatives set to vote this hour on the $700 billion bailout bill. Live coverage to come.

And another big bank falls victim to financial wreckage of Wall Street. Wachovia will be sold to Citi. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Waiting for a decision on Capitol Hill, watching for reaction on Wall Street. The House expected to vote this hour on that massive $700 billion financial rescue bill. We are also watching the stock market to see how investors respond. So far this morning, we've been looking at triple digit losses for the Dow. Our CNN money team covering the story from all angles. Kate Bolduan is on Capitol Hill where the vote could come any time. Ali Velshi there he is, in New York to tell us what it all means, and Susan Lisovicz has more on a big banking deal that may impact your money. Supporters of the bailout bill say doing nothing would be worse, but opponents are sounding the alarm and urging colleagues in the House to just say no.

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REP. J. GRESHAM BARRETT, (R) SOUTH CAROLINA: When it comes down to vote on this bill, I will be voting no. I understand my colleagues for their reason and I'm confident that we all want to do the best for this country. But I believe so strongly in the principles of the free market and the belief in the word, freedom. That's why I'm opposing this bill.

REP. BARNEY FRANK, (D) MASSACHUSETTS: If we defeat this bill today, it will be a very bad day for the financial sector of the American economy and the people who will feel the pain are not the top bankers and the top corporate executives, but average Americans. They don't see it yet. Pain averted is not a basis on what you get (INAUDIBLE) to. But that is what is coming.

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HARRIS: Kate Bolduan, live from the hill. Kate, good to see you again. What's the latest there?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there Tony. Well debate continues, but we are hearing that there remain at this hour, many undecided members on both sides of the aisle on where they're going to vote. You can tell this is going to be a very tough day, a very tough vote, for many members. We've heard some saying that they're getting a lot of calls from their constituents. One lawmaker saying 10 to 1 against the bill. But as we've been talking about this probably, as you can expect a lot of political arm twisting going on right now and will continue throughout the vote as leaders try to line up support behind this bill. The debate continues and here's a little bit of it.

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REP. MIKE PENCE, (R) INDIANA: Stand up for limited government and economic freedom. Stand up for the American taxpayer. Reject this bailout and vote no on the emergency economic stabilization act.

REP. ADAM PUTNAM, (R) FLORIDA: This is a better bill. Better for the taxpayer. No golden parachutes for CEOs that drive their companies into the ground and walk away with millions. None of the special interest projects that concern so many people on our side. But most importantly, the evidence is overwhelming that we must act.

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BOLDUAN: Leaders in both parties are in support of this bill and they are optimistic they can get the votes in the end to pass it and send it over to the senate. It's going to be a tough day, it's not going to be an easy vote, so we are hearing Tony, I just want to give you a quick update, that the vote is probably now going to be more towards the 1:00 hour.

HARRIS: A lot to be said. I know those members want to have their voices heard. Kate Bolduan on Capitol Hill for us, Kate thank you. Let's take a look at some of the details of the bailout bill. Here's the deal, the money would be handed out in stages. 250 billion available right away. There would be limits on salaries paid to executives who take part in the bailout. A new board would be created to oversee how that massive pile of money gets spent. Let's bring in our senior business correspondent, Ali Velshi of our CNN Money team. Who are the winners and losers in all of this, in your view?

ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The winners, unfortunately are the nebulous crowd of people you've never heard of, and that is the credit markets, which are much bigger than the stock markets. We hadn't even talked about this a few weeks ago and now this is the thing that dominates all of our conversation.

What that means is two very key things, one is, with banks able to borrow money from each other, the confidence is there that they want fail, they'll lend money to each other and that will trickle all the way down to your home loans, your car loans, student loans and things like that. It also trickles sideways, the companies will get the operating money that they need to go on with their day-to-day expenses, and that means salaries that were in danger of not getting paid will get paid.

So banks, credit unions, pensions, taxpayers are protected in this deal, particularly with the provision that if somebody has loaned the money, a company gets money out of the bailout, and doesn't pay it back in the appointed time, the government and taxpayers can seize a portion of that company. Homeowners should see a little bit more relief, a little bit easier to get loans. And if you're selling a home, it means that the person bidding on your home would probably get a slightly easier chance of getting a mortgage. Tony?

HARRIS: But Ali, the bill gets done, the credit markets don't loosen overnight do they?

VELSHI: Correct. In fact they are not loosening this morning. There are two very key measures that we have of the credit market. Typically speaking, credit is done on what we call over the counter basis. There's not a market, there's not a ticker like you can see in the bottom right corner of your screen.

But we have seen examples of credit levels, the treasuries, they are not freezing up just yet and that's partially because this vote hasn't taken place in the house and we know there's a great deal of opposition to it amongst some members. So the markets are still waiting for it.

One of the advantages of having Susan Lisovicz coming up is she's a veteran at the stock market and she'll tell you that the indication of the stock market is perhaps not a good indication of how things are going. It's very specific. But we are still waiting for those credit markets to open up. We do know there are some deals happening, Citibank buying Wachovia. But I think you're going to see a lot more of this if this House bill passes.

HARRIS: Ali appreciate it. Thank you. Ali Velshi in New York for us. What does the bailout mean for you, the consumer? Personal finance editor Gerri Willis joins us to talk about that in 25 minutes.

A wave of consolidations sweeping the banking world. Today, Citigroup announced plans to buy Wachovia's banking unit for $2 billion in stocks. Citi will also take on $53 billion of Wachovia's debt. These numbers are just massive. Federal regulators pushed the deal, agreeing to take on part of future losses generated by Wachovia's bad mortgages. Wachovia is the nation's fourth largest bank. Citi, the largest.

Susan Lisovicz joining us now from the New York Stock Exchange, what does this mean? The Wachovia deal, if I have accounts with Wachovia.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're OK. We've been through this before unfortunately just days ago with Washington Mutual. The FDIC insuring individual accounts up to $100,000. Retirement accounts up to $250,000. So service shouldn't be interrupted. Everything should be fine. No one's ever lost money with anything that was insured by the FDIC. I'm glad you said though, Tony, that these are massive numbers that Citi's absorbing. It's not like Citi didn't have its own problems. Citi has news of its own. It's going to have its quarterly dividend to help pay for this, $10 billion, they're still going to try to raise $10 billion by issuing new shares. That's the news from Citi.

Wachovia shares aren't trading. It's going to remain a publicly traded company. We saw it getting whacked in the free market. Its shares are down 90 percent. They have been taking a beating in the days leading up to this and are trading under a dollar. They still have not opened today. We're looking at a market that is wary, that is actually (INAUDIBLE), that is still in turmoil.

It's not like even if this plan works that things are instantly going to free up. There's a (INAUDIBLE) in the nation's credit market is going to suddenly be confident and lending freely, it's just not going to happen. We don't even have a vote yet. So it's playing out in the markets where we're seeing a nasty sell off, the Dow right now is down 254 points. The NASDAQ is down 95. We're talking about 2-1/4 percent on the Dow. 4.5 for the NASDAQ and we're waiting on news. Waiting on Washington.

HARRIS: There you go. All right Susan, appreciate it. See you a little later in the hour. Thank you.

John McCain, Sarah Palin, in Columbus, Ohio this hour. A live picture. Sarah Palin speaking now. Ohio, as you know, a critical state in the election which is just 36 days away. In minutes, we will listen in.

And also, Capitol Hill, right now where the debate continues, a vote is scheduled next hour now about 1:15 eastern time on the enormous plan to shore up the nation's financial services businesses. We will keep an eye on the debate as well. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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HARRIS: Welcome back everyone to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris. Drivers fed up while trying to fill up gas, an elusive commodity in the southeast.

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HARRIS: As promised, John McCain and Sarah Palin together right now in Columbus, Ohio, looking for votes in that key state. Let's listen in.

GOV. SARAH PALIN, (R) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: John McCain and I know this is the time we must put government back on the side of the people. And you know, as a city mayor and governor of a state, I always knew that I was accountable to the people who hired me, the people of Alaska.

In a McCain/Palin administration, we will never forget that we are there to work for you, the people of America. John and I are the only candidates in this race with a track record, a real record of actually making change happen. I want to ask you a few questions, OK? Let me ask you, our opponent likes to point the finger of blame, but when it comes to major reform, has he ever lifted a finger to help? Has he ever reached out a reformer's hand to the other side of the aisle? In order to get others to say yes to change, has he ever told his own party no? And when it comes to reform, he says, I will, but has he ever been able to say, we did? OK. One mission.

One mission that we're going to be on. I'll be leading the McCain/Palin administration to something that is near and dear to your heart it's got to happen and that's energy independence for America. I know that here in Ohio, a high price of gas is making a full tank at the pump seem like a luxury and the cost of living is going up. The cost of groceries is going up. Everything's going up, but the value of your paycheck is going down and this is because of energy costs. Now, to meet America's great energy challenge, we're going to need an all of the above approach and in a McCain/Palin administration, that's going to include the use of clean coal.

Just recently, Senator Biden made it perfectly clear that in an Obama/Biden administration, there would be no use of clean coal at all. From Wyoming to West Virginia, and especially right here in Ohio, America's coal resources are greater than the oil riches of the Middle East. And yet Joe Biden says, sorry, Ohio, we're not going to use it. As for Senator McCain and I, we will make clean coal a reality and to help power the American economy with clean coal technology, we're going to look to the hard-working people of Ohio to help us do that.

By developing this technology, we'll deliver not only electricity, but jobs. Jobs to some of the hardest hit areas by this economic trouble that we are in. We will achieve energy independence for our country and what that means is America's energy resources act brought to you by America ingenuity and produced by American workers. My work in a McCain/Palin administration will also focus on government reform, where John and I have real records of making change happen.

Third, I'll be helping families who have children with special needs, which is an issue close to my heart. That great governor, Robert Casey of Pennsylvania, he was asked once how society should treat the most vulnerable among us, such as children with special needs. He said it simple. He said, you put them first in line. Governor Casey reminded us that these beautiful children, who we are to cherish, they can inspire a special love and they're not a problem. They are a priority.

As governor, I've sought more funding for students with special needs. As vice president, I'm going make sure these children have a friend and an advocate in the house. The White House. OK, Ohio. You know, you've heard it. Our opponent's going on and on lately about how they will fight for you. But since my running mate, he's not going to say this on his own. I'm going to have to say it for him. There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you. He is a great man. Ohio, he is the only great man in this race. The only man in this election ready to serve you as our 44th president. I'm honored to introduce to you, my friend, Senator John McCain.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you for that wonderful Ohio welcome. My friends, I know that you know history shows that the president of the United States going all the way back to 1960, the last time someone was elected without carrying the state of Ohio, we must and will win the state of Ohio with your help and I'll be the next president of the United States. We need to win here. We need your help. We need to get out the vote. I'm happy to be introduced by Governor Sarah Palin from the great state of Alaska. She's a bit of a maverick herself. She'll be my partner, reforming everything that's broken in Washington. She's a leader who knows what it means to put her country first. She has a debate this week against Joe Biden. He's a good man. But his is not the heart of the reformer. If there's one thing every voter I've met this year agrees on it's the need for big tough reforms. We need -- the kind of reform that requires us to ruffle feathers and take on the entrenched special interests and that's Governor Palin's specialty, my friends. Whether it's taking on big oil or members of our own party, she ran against incumbent republican governor of her own party because she knew what was best for Alaska and she knows who she works for. She works for you. So, my friends, Sarah and I have news. We have some news for the big spending, smooth talking, me first, country second crowd in Washington and on Wall Street. Change is coming. Change is coming. Change is coming.

You know we need reform in Washington and Wall Street and you know who suffered because we need it and that's Main Street. The financial crisis that threatens the economic security of all Americans, I laid out principles to protect hard-working Americans and I believe that inaction was not an option. I put my campaign on hold for a couple of days last week to fight for -- I put it on hold last week to fight for a rescue plan that puts you and your economic security and your family and working Americans first. That's why -- I want them to be first. I fought for a plan that protected taxpayers, homeowners, consumers, small business owners. I went to Washington last week to make sure that the taxpayers of Ohio and across this great country were not left footing the bill for mistakes made in Wall Street and evil and greed in Washington. You know -- remarkably, some people have criticized my decision to put my country first, but I'll never be a president who sits on the sidelines when this country faces a crisis. I'll never do that. I know that many of you have noticed it's not my style to simply phone it in. I'm a Teddy Roosevelt republican. I believe our leaders belong in the arena when your country faces a challenge. Not on the road in a campaign. I've never been afraid of stepping in to solve problems for the American people and I'm not going to stop now. It's a matter of record, Senator Obama took a very different approach to the crisis our country faced. First, he didn't want to get involved. Then he was monitoring the situation. That's not leadership. That's watching from the sidelines. Watching from the sidelines is exactly what got us into this mess.

It was the lack of accountability and oversight that put your working family's tax dollars on the line. It shouldn't be surprising that Senator Obama isn't interested in protecting your tax dollars. Senator Obama has proposed more than $860 billion in new spending. You notice in the debate Friday, he was asked to name a single program he would consider cutting to help our country through this crisis. He couldn't name a single program and in his response, he started naming programs he wanted to increase spending on. You know what? He's a fan of all that spending because he's always cheering for higher taxes or against tax relief and he voted 94 times either to raise your taxes or raise spending. My friends, he never voted to cut your taxes. Two times in March 14th, 2008, June 4th, 2008 in a democratic budget resolution, he voted to raise taxes on people making just $42,000 a year. He said at the time that this vote for higher taxes on the middle class was quote getting our nation's priorities back on track. Then something happened. Amazing. On Friday night, he looked the American people in the eye and said it never happened. My friends, we need a president who will always tell the American people the truth. Senator Obama's record of higher taxes and more spending isn't going to help 95 percent of Americans as he likes to say. It's going to hurt 100 percent of Americans by growing government, slowing growth and destroying jobs. By the way my friends, he also said he had quote suspended his earmark pork barrel requests. Suspended? He didn't want to talk about the $932 million, almost $1 million a day, in pork barrel projects that he was asking for the state of Illinois and his friends. My friends, remarkable. That's almost a million dollars a day of taxpayers money that he asked for earmark and pork barrel spending.

My friends, times are tough for our economy. I'm confident America and Americans will emerge stronger than before. I will do my part. My commitment to the American people is this. I will clean up the Wall Street mess. Reform Washington and focus the entire federal government on a pro-growth agenda that creates jobs -- that creates jobs and gets this country back to work and back on track. That's what I promise.

Times are tough for America. Times are tough for working families. Times are tough. They're paying the penalties for the greed and excess in Washington and the ole boy network. A thing I have never been a part of. Let me give you some straight talk about this election. In 36 days, your vote, the state of Ohio, will determine the next president of this great country that we all love. I think the differences between Senator Obama and myself are pretty clear.

A vote for me will guarantee immediate pro-growth action, tax cuts for America's hard-working families, strong support for small businesses, which are the backbone of our economy -- and an end to pork barrel corrupting spending in Washington, D.C. I'll end it, my friends. The next time one of these bills comes across my desk as president of the United States, I'll veto it, I'll make them famous and you'll know their names. You'll know who they are.

Vote for Barack Obama will guarantee higher taxes, fewer jobs and an even bigger federal government. These policies will deepen our recession. Vote for me, will guarantee the forces that have brought down our economy will be out of business. I'll end the corrupt practices on Wall Street and the backroom deals in Washington, D.C. I will hold those accountable for those responsible for the oversight and protection of consumers, taxpayers and homeowners. A vote for Senator Obama will leave this country at risk during one of the most severe challenges to America's economy since the Great Depression. You see, when it comes to growing the economy and protecting you from the corruption of Wall Street and Washington, Senator Obama just doesn't get it.

Americans have had enough of business as unusual. Americans have had enough of the cozy relationship between politicians and power brokers. The status quo will end on November 4th with a vote for me and Sarah Palin.

See, my friends, we've made the tough choices that make us unpopular in our own party. We've pushed for difficult reforms that leave special interests on the sidelines and give the little guy a seat at the table. We'll never forget who we work for. We work for you.

So that's how we see this election, country first or Obama first. And I have a feeling I know which side you're all on.

When it comes to cutting taxes for seniors, for working families, for small businesses, my opponent didn't put the hard-working people of this country first. When it came time to support our troops fighting to protect our freedoms and way of life, my opponent said he'd never deprive them of the funds they needed to fight and then he did just that. Senator Obama voted against funding the equipment our troops rely on as they fight to protect us. That's not putting the men and women of our military first.

And, by the way, Friday night, did you ever hear the word victory from Senator Obama? My friends, when I'm -- when we continue this surge under this great general, we will come home and our troops will come home with victory and honor and not in defeat. And not in defeat.

When it comes time to reach across the aisle and work with members of both parties to get things done for the American people, my opponent can't name a single occasion in which he fought against his party's leadership to get something done for the country. That's not putting the interest of the country first.

The country is looking for leadership and the country is hungry for change. They want a leader who will stand up to entrench special interests in Washington and on Wall Street. They deserve a president who knows when to put aside politics and act in the best interest of this nation.

The choice is clear. You have my word. You have my word. I will always, as I have my entire life, put this country first.

Thank you. And God bless you. And we need your vote. We need your vote.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: OK. There you have it. John McCain, Sarah Palin. Columbus, Ohio. A pretty raucous rally there in Columbus, as you heard. John McCain talking about the bailout proposal that is working its way through Congress right now on Capitol Hill and the House debate continues. Maybe a vote on the bailout plan next hour. It looks like about 1:15 or so Eastern Time.

John McCain blasting Barack Obama as being on the sidelines while he, McCain, was in Washington doing the heavy lifting, the really hard work on the bailout proposal. I suspect we will hear something in response to that from Barack Obama.

And speaking of the Illinois senator, Barack Obama is due in Colorado this afternoon for a rally. That rally at 1:30 Eastern Time. And, of course, we will bring you live coverage of that event as well.

We'd like to know what you think. A question for this afternoon's NEWSROOM program with Kyra Phillips. Are the vice presidential candidates hurting or helping their tickets? Send us an e-mail to cnnnewsroom@cnn.com.

We know what it will do for Wall Street. We're talking about the bailout here. What will it mean for you? Gerri Willis on the consumer impact of this massive plan.

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HARRIS: Wow. Take a look at the big board. New York Stock Exchange. Boy, I don't know that I've ever seen some of these numbers. As you can see, the Dow has been down, boy, better than that, 300 points in negative territory throughout the day. The Dow down 259 points at this time.

The Nasdaq. A difficult day for the Nasdaq. Down 99. Boy. And the S&P down 45. So just a down day for all of the major industries so far. We're going to keep an eye on that with Susan Lisovicz in just a couple of minutes from her post at the New York Stock Exchange.

We're also watching Capitol Hill, waiting for a vote on the $700 billion bailout. Lawmakers in the House poised to vote soon. While we wait, here's a look at some of the details of the rescue plan.

The money would be handed out in stages, with 250 billion available right away. There would be limits on salaries paid to executives who take part in the bailout. And a new board would be created to oversee how that massive pile of money gets spent.

Opponents of the bailout sounding the alarm over the $700 billion financial rescue. Backers say doing nothing would be worse. Here's some of the intense debate taking place in the House today.

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REP. MEL WATT, (D) NORTH CAROLINA: I'm convinced that the odds -- the odds are bad enough that if we don't do something today, we will regret it for a long, long time to come.

REP. JEB HENSARLING, (R) TEXAS: I fear that ultimately it may not work. I fear that it is too much bail out and not enough work out. I fear that taxpayers may end up inheriting the mother of all debts. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Let's talk about the taxpayers here for a second, you and me. If it really is a taxpayer investment, what can we expect to get in return? Here to break it all down for us, personal finance editor Gerri Willis.

But before we get to that -- Gerri, good to see you . . .

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, Tony.

HARRIS: A bit of news today from Wachovia. How concerned should we be about what's happening with Wachovia right now?

WILLIS: Well, the big news, of course, Citigroup buying Wachovia. The two institutions combining.

Here's the good news. I just got off the phone moments ago with Citigroup's press folks. They say Citi will honor the agreements that Wachovia has with its clients. So if you had a line of credit, if you had a CD with Wachovia, the same rates will continue to apply. You're OK. And, of course, the big questions, you know, is my account safe?

HARRIS: Yes.

WILLIS: Of course it is. You can still use your ATM card. You can -- that check is going to clear that you wrote last week. It's all going to continue working. This is a combination of institutions. This is not an FDIC bailout. You know, this is plain vanilla kind of coming together of these two institutions. Your money is safe.

HARRIS: All right. Let's pivot then to the bailout and maybe we can show everyone a shot of what's going on, on Capitol Hill right now as the debate continues. The latest word that we're getting is that we might get a vote about 1:15 or so Eastern Time.

Gerri, I've got to ask you . . .

WILLIS: That's soon.

HARRIS: Yes. What does it mean for all of us? This bailout. Hopefully it frees up the credit market so that at least there's some money available for student loans or car loans and everything else you might need a line of credit on.

WILLIS: You bet. You know, let's talk about those loans for just a second. We focused for so many days on the fact that banks won't lend to each other. Well, they sure weren't lending to consumers either. This should improve loan availability, though. You should be able to go out and get that auto loan, get that mortgage loan.

Now this isn't going change immediately. This isn't a tomorrow kind of thing or a next week kind of thing.

HARRIS: That's right. WILLIS: This is over the coming weeks. Mortgage rates should also come down here. That's what some folks are telling us this morning. We should see some improvement of rates for you.

And, of course, this should ease the market panic. You know, we've seen stocks selling off so much, folks are pulling their money out of mortgage -- or out of stock funds at a pretty fast clip here. We're on track for a pretty dramatic decline in mutual fund investments.

So, you know, at the end of the day, this market panic should ease. We should see some improvement in the stock markets. They should find a floor. You're going to see mortgage rates go lower. Banks are going to start lending again if they get the bill passed, the deal goes through.

HARRIS: Yes.

WILLIS: You have a lot of the anxiety in the markets right now. Folks should just sit back, take a breath. This isn't a time to be pulling your money out of the stock market or making major changes if you don't need that money right away.

HARRIS: Nice. Gerri Willis with us. As always, Gerri, thank you.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

HARRIS: Investors overseas giving the bailout deal the cold shoulder. World markets generally down across the board today. Stocks in Hong Kong tumbling 4 percent. London's FTSE slipped 5 percent. Investors drove down prices in Tokyo more than 1 percent.

All right. The administration showing concern over an impasse with North Korea. The State Department sending envoy Christopher Hill to Pyongyang later this week. His aim, getting North Korea back on track and dismantling its nuclear program.

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ROBERT WOOD, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: We encourage the north very strongly to submit that verification regime so that we can move forward on the other aspects. Positive aspects of the six party framework. And Assistant Secretary Hill will be, obviously, out in the region, looking for ways to work with our allies, to bring North Korea into compliance with its obligations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Well, North Korea recently began taking steps to restart its disabled nuclear program.

Drivers fed up -- we've got a live picture here -- on trying to fill up. You see those bags? The bags on the pumps. The vein (ph) of our existence here in the South. Gas, an illusive commodity in the Southeast. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Can't drive 55. Can't drive at all. There's no gas in the Southeast. Fifty-five, can't drive. Long lines at gas stations, tanks on "E" and patience running on fumes. Rusty Dornin live now.

Let me see. Can I see you here, Rusty? Live there in Atlanta.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony . . .

HARRIS: Yes, there you are.

DORNIN: Very different picture than the last time I talked to you. This gas station is now empty. At 5:00 this morning, they opened up for business. They only had 5,500 gallons of gas. OK. That's about half of what they normally get. And it looks like this now. About 45 minutes ago, they put the bags on. And, Tony, there were a few folks that ran out of gas, literally had to push their cars into the station to get in, only to find out there was no gas.

HARRIS: This is crazy.

DORNIN: I mean, how frustrating would it be if you waited in line.

HARRIS: It's very frustrating. No, no, no, it's very frustrating. And here's the thing. I'm driving to -- and, folks, it's a little inside baseball, south of Atlanta to Newnan, which is, what, about 25 minutes or so away from Atlanta Proper, to find gas. And my question is, we can't get the governor on the phone to talk about this situation. When is this situation expected to improve, Rusty?

DORNIN: Well, they're saying that there is gas within the system and there are more supplies, it's just that people are panicking. People are going in with a half a tank, filling up their cars and making runs on these stations, which is literally making the stations run out of gas in four, five, six hours. That sort of thing. They claim the supplies are going to keep coming online, but it's probably going to take two weeks, close to Columbus Day, before the Southeast really sees the supplies come back.

Now the governor of Georgia is coming under some fire for this because some are claiming that he should have asked for environmental waivers. That's asking for gas that does not have as much refinement as is required by law. Now apparently there are some that are saying, he should have asked for it a week earlier.

Some distributors here that I spoke with say they asked for a waiver on gas even before the hurricanes hit on September 11th. They were screaming for it right after the hurricane. And they've received a waiver on the 18th, but it wasn't enough to make any difference. And then it wasn't until the 22nd of September.

So there are some that are saying if the governor here had acted earlier, it might have helped. But you've got to remember, the other states, North Carolina, Tennessee, they're also out of gas or having trouble getting gas.

HARRIS: Well, the governor says here, in response to the criticism, the tip that we're talking about now, planned for months in advance. Hopefully some new jobs and investments. He's on a trip to bring more jobs to Georgia. But we can't get to the jobs because we can't drive our vehicles. And now we can't find parking lots to park for Marta (ph) when we go and try to take public transportation. It's just a whole lot going on right now and there's a lot of frustration out there, isn't there, Rusty?

DORNIN: That's right. I mean a lot of drivers are just so angry. I just talked to a woman going to pick her kids up from school and her car is on empty. She's saying, how can I go and pick my children up from school? What am I going to do? So people are really having to plan ahead. I mean the best advice is, start in the morning. A lot of these tankers go around and deliver their loads early in the morning. That's probably your best chance of finding something. Also, talk to your gas stations. Ask them the next time they're going to get a load.

HARRIS: Yes. Well, we'll continue to try to reach out to Governor Purdue and maybe get some more answers on this. That's a nice little statement, but we'd love to talk to him.

Rusty Dornin for us in Atlanta.

Rusty, great to see you. Thank you.

Well, the stations that do have gas, as you just heard, have lines. And you can sit there for hours. One of our producers shot this picture as she waited in line. Take a look at this. For as far as the eye can see. And people are twittering about gas. What's this twittering thing? I guess if you want to, you can vent your frustrations. You just go to twitter.com and type in ATL gas. At some point, one of the young folks around here can maybe explain this whole twitter thing to me.

An actor's legacy. Paul Newman will live on forever on the big screen. And so will his generous gifts to others.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH TAYLOR, "CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF": You know what I feel like? I feel all the time like a cat on a hot tin roof.

PAUL NEWMAN, "CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF": Then jump off the roof, Maggie. Jump off. Cat's jump off roofs and they land uninjured. Do it! Jump!

TAYLOR: Jump where? Into what?

NEWMAN: Take a lover.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: Wow. Paul Newman. Boy, Elizabeth Taylor as Maggie the Cat in the classic film based on the Tennessee William's play. "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" won Paul Newman his first Oscar nomination in 1958. Paul Newman would win his only Oscar in 1986. That's when he reprised the role of "The Hustler." Fast Eddie in "The Color of Money." Friends and family say acting was only part of Paul Newman's identity. His "Newman's Own" foundation has donated more than $250 million to charity. Newman also founded The Hole in the Wall camps for sick children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL NEWMAN: I've been very lucky and I try to acknowledge that by giving back something to those to whom luck has been brutal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, PAUL NEWMAN'S DAUGHTER: He was a beautiful person and the whole experience has really been difficult but lovely in its own way.

He is, was and always will be an incredible man. And, you know, I'm just blessed to have been part of him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: One of Paul Newman's daughters there. Paul Newman's family and friends talking about what a great man he was and how they will always remember him. And you are sharing your stories, too, with your I-Reports. We are taking you to where it all happens, the epicenter of I-Report operations. Kind of our I-Report nation.

And we will end up with the man who is in charge of it all. OK, one of the guys helping run things down there at our I-Report operation, producer Tyson Wheatley.

Good to see you, doctor.

TYSON WHEATLEY, PRODUCER, IREPORT.COM: Hey, Tony.

HARRIS: Hey. We've been trying to get this together and get you on the air here for a couple of weeks. Happy to do it today. And you're going to talk to us about that whole operation down there. We won't do it all today. We'll do it over the course of this week. But I understand you received a number of I-Reports from viewers remembering Paul Newman.

WHEATLEY: That's right. That's right. A huge response, actually. We had people who knew Paul Newman from -- had met him in Connecticut. People who had a chance to know him from his Hole in the Wall foundation. And people who knew him from the racing industry.

I wanted to point out one video to you guys today that comes from San Diego. It comes from a repeat I-Reporter. Her name is Chris Morrow (ph). And she was attending the San Diego Film Festival this weekend and she spoke to director Brad Mays (ph).

Check this out. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRAD MAYS, DIRECTOR: Paul Newman gave his time freely to the various theater artists who were there. He was funny. And, my God, he was a hell of a good looking guy.

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WHEATLEY: So, obviously, a big response from people. You know, this director had the chance to meet him and he says he was just he gave his life to the arts and, you know, just a huge, fantastic response.

So, listen, he's not the only thing that we've got going on today. We have a lot of people sounding off on the gas prices and the pain at the pump. I want to show you this incredible video that came to us out of Marietta yesterday. And check this out. Yes, roll that clip.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: September 28th and I'm in this crazy line, 2:30 in the afternoon. Marietta, Georgia, Atlanta. Take a look at this. Now look at my tank. My tank is almost 1/4 down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHEATLEY: So, Tony, that was shot this Sunday in Marietta. I can tell you, this happened near an intersection where I live and it created a huge mess. Just cars piled up.

HARRIS: Well, and, Tyson, you know, it's hard for folks around the country who aren't going through this with most of us in the Southeast to understand this, but you are literally -- the half tank line on your tank is now the new empty and you really have to try to -- you think of it in those terms and you're driving around burning gas trying to find gas. It is crazy.

Tyson, appreciate it. We've got to run. I'm getting the bums rush here. We'll see you tomorrow, all right?

WHEATLEY: Take care, Tony.

HARRIS: The debate is intense. The vote getting closer. An update on the $700 billion bailout bill before the House right now.

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