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McCain Campaign Accuses Obama of Being Socialist; Fed Chief Suggests Second Stimulus Package; Obama Stumps in Florida

Aired October 20, 2008 - 13:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't believe it's even happening.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: are you going to go to the polling station?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I am. Yes, I am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like they're trying to kick you when you're down.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): When you lose your home, do you lose your right to vote? It sounds outrageous, but Democrats in Michigan are worried.

A voice for peace in Iran. A Nobel laureate speaks out on women in power, the U.S. election and the prospects for war, another war in the Middle East.

And when the soldier's away, the homeowners association sues?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't give an expletive where he is or what his problem is.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If he could have just did it nicer, you know. But he was so, so mean about it.

PHILLIPS: We're in Kennewick, Washington, where they measure support for the troops by the yard.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live in the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, and you're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Let's get right to it. Fifteen days, 5 points, two weeks and a day before Americans choose the next president. Barack Obama leads John McCain by five points in the latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll. A couple weeks earlier, Obama's lead was 8.

Our latest poll of polls, an average of the latest surveys, shows Obama up by 6, with 6 percent still undecided.

Now, the Democratic candidates are in Florida, where election day is now. Early voting starts today in a state where Obama leads McCain by three points in CNN's latest poll of polls. First stop, Tampa. Then a trial (ph) to -- or a trip, rather, to intersect Ford, Orlando where Hillary Clinton expected to campaign with him.

Now, John McCain's in Missouri, one of just a half dozen states still considered tossups in CNN's analysis. And at a rally this morning in St. Charles, just outside St. Louis, the GOP candidate said hard times call for lower taxes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: McCain/Palin tax cut is the real thing. We're going to double the child deduction for every family. We'll cut the capital gains tax. We'll cut business taxes -- taxes to help create jobs and keep American business in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, McCain's heading west towards Kansas City, with a stop next hour in Columbia. We'll listen in as soon as he comes there.

And how's your piece of the pie? One of McCain's latest attack lines accuses Obama of socialism, an economic model that many Americans consider un-American.

CNN's Jim Acosta looks at the slams and the substance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the sound of it, John McCain is running against a Euro-style socialist.

MCCAIN: He believes in redistributing the wealth. Senator Obama is more interested in controlling who gets your piece of the pie than he is in growing the pie.

ACOSTA: Ever since Barack Obama defended his tax plan to plumber Joe Wurzelbacher...

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody. But look...

ACOSTA: ... and Joe the plumber's comeback...

JOE WURZELBACHER, VOTER: That's a very socialist view.

ACOSTA: ... McCain has been seeing red, accusing the Democratic nominee of pursuing socialist economic policies.

MCCAIN: He said it himself: "We need to spread the wealth around." Now, that's one of the tenets of socialism.

ACOSTA: It's red meat that may be connecting with some red state voters. Florida senator and McCain supporter Mel Martinez likened Obama's economic plan to that of Castro's Cuba.

SEN. MEL MARTINEZ (R), FLORIDA: Where I come from, where I was born, they tried that wealth redistribution business, and it didn't work so good down there. Let me tell you. We don't want it here in America. That's called socialism. That's called communism. That's not what Americanism is about.

ACOSTA: It's a label Obama says won't stick.

OBAMA: Lately, he and Governor Palin actually accused me of socialism.

It's kind of hard to figure how Warren Buffett endorsed me, Colin Powell endorses me, and John McCain thinks I'm practicing socialism.

ACOSTA: But political analyst Larry Sabato say there's just one big $700 billion problem for McCain.

LARRY SABATO, POLITICAL ANALYST: The fly in the ointment for this socialism argument is the recent Wall Street bailout. That's the most egregious example of socialism, probably, in all of American history.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: In fact, much of what the U.S. and many other countries are doing to help save capitalism is textbook socialism. Merriam-Webster defines the term as, "Economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership."

As Karl Marx would have it, socialism falls somewhere between capitalism and communism and distributing goods and pay accordance to work done.

Florida's not the only state where votes are already being cast. By now, votes -- or voters, rather, in every state can either cast ballots in person or vote absentee. Nationwide, about a third of the electorate is expected to beat the lines on November 4.

In 2004, 22 percent voted early.

And voting also starts today in Arkansas, where overall turnout could be the highest since 1992, when native son Bill Clinton won the White House.

No Monday morning blues for the markets. They started up and kept going on the Fed chief's talk of a second fiscal stimulus package. Ben Bernanke testifying before the House budget committee. And his main focus was the bailout and how soon it would have a noticeable effect on the economy.

Now, in his words, we're at risk of a protracted slow down. Some are suggesting Congress may want to do a stimulus sequel. Seems like ages ago now, but most taxpayers got checks of up to 1,200 bucks just a few months back.

And for more on all that, plus the latest market numbers, Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange.

Hi, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Well, we're actually coming off the best week for the market, for the Dow, particularly, in five years. Even though we ended with a sell-off on Friday, positive momentum continued at the open today, Kyra. But really gained momentum was Bernanke's statement became public.

And yes, he said that, with the odds of the economy staying weak for at least several quarters, yes, that at the very least, a second stimulus package should be weighed. So that's helping out.

Also, we got a better than expected economic report today that's reading economic indicators better than expected numbers from Halliburton. This is corporate earnings season.

And we have a nice rally going on to start out the workweek. Right now, Kyra, the Dow is up 133 points, or 1.5 percent. The NASDAQ is up 1/3 of a percent. We're hearing from Yahoo! tomorrow. And there is a little bit of anxiety about what will happen there. Yahoo! shares are down 3 percent.

But a nice start to the workweek and the thought of a stimulus, another stimulus package, helping to stimulate the board (ph) -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. We do hope it keeps getting better. Susan, thanks.

Forget coffee. It's gas prices that are good to the last drop. They've been declining for more than a month now. AAA putting the national average for a gallon of regular at $2.92 today. In Oklahoma, they're paying about $2.49, the cheapest gas in the country, by the way. And at the under end of the spectrum, 16 states still above the $3 mark.

Now President Bush likely hearing some unhappy people this hour. He's in Alexandria, Louisiana, for a round table with local business owners and bankers. The focus: their financial fallout from the nation's economic crisis. And the area has actually been hit by a double whammy. Last month, Hurricane Gustav, you might remember, caused tens of millions of dollars worth of damage to homes and businesses there.

President Bush had opposed another stimulus package, but clearly, with his Fed chief touting one today, something has changed. We were just talking about that a little bit with Susan Lisovicz.

Brianna Keilar joins us now, live from the White House, following up on that.

Hey, Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Kyra. White House Press Secretary Dana Perino, who is traveling with the president in Louisiana, said that he is open to a second stimulus.

I just spoke just minutes ago with Tony Fratto, White House spokesman here at the White House today. And he said, really, this language is nothing new. And it's true. The White House has been keeping a door open to the idea of a second stimulus for some time now, but what's different is that these comments from Dana Perino do come on the heels of these comments from Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke.

And they also come on the heels of some comments from Ed Lazear, one of the president's top economic advisers, saying yesterday that some parts of the country could be considered to be in a recession.

So this is still a big "if." If there's going to be a second stimulus. But the big question is if there is this stimulus, what shape would it take? And that question is certainly not settled.

Some Democrats in Congress calling for things like increased funding for states who are facing budget shortfalls, calling for things like infrastructure spending.

And we've heard the White House, even while keeping an open door to the idea of a second stimulus, saying that those aren't necessarily stimulative ideas. And Tony Fratto told me a short time ago, Kyra, that for instance, infrastructure spending, not something that would cause a lot of stimulus here in the short run. So you can see there's a lot of unsettled details.

PHILLIPS: All right, Brianna. Thanks so much.

And when it comes to the housing market, well, it seems that there's gloom in every room right now. But hold on a second. could the glass be half full? One real estate developer says you bet, and he's got some real estate secrets to share.

Plus, this little boy back in his father's arms after he was snatched from his home. The question is, what did the child's grandfather know about the kidnappers?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The grandfather of an abducted Nevada boy who's now safe heads to court today. Police believe that Clemens Tinnemeyer's grandson was kidnapped at gunpoint by drug dealers to send him a message. They suspect that Tinnemeyer may have stolen millions of dollars from a drug cartel.

Six-year-old Cole Puffinburger was found in Las Vegas Saturday night, four days after being snatched from his home by men posing as police officers. Now, Cole's father is relieved and grateful.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT PUFFINBURGER, FATHER: It's undescribable [SIC]. I -- I thank this whole community. I can't -- I can't thank you enough. This police department, like he said earlier, they have worked non- stop. And I can't give enough gratitude to this -- this entire city, actually, entire country. I mean, it's been everywhere, you know. And you didn't stop and thank you so much for helping me find my son.

We had stopped passing out fliers for the night, you know, because we wanted to catch some news and stuff like that. And we're just sitting down and just got the call, and we got him. I was, "You got who?"

"Your son."

"All right," and then I just booked it.

I'm just glad he's safe and he's -- and he's back home and in the right hands. And I can't wait to see him.

Cole's home. Cole's back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Nevada police are now looking for this man, Jesus Gastelum, in connection with the kidnapping. The Mexican national is believed to be in Las Vegas or Southern California.

Opening statements are underway in the trial of five men accused of plotting to kill soldiers at Fort Dix in New Jersey. The suspects are all foreign-born Muslims who grew up in the suburbs of New Jersey in Philadelphia. They're accused of turning paintball games into terrorist training sessions in 2007. No attack was ever carried out. Federal prosecutors say the case is one of the most frightening examples of home-grown terrorism since 9/11.

The defense says that there was no plot.

His answers were curt; his attitude seemed testy. That's how Senator Ted Stevens wrapped up his testimony in his corruption trial last hour. The Alaska Republican is accused of lying about $250,000 worth of renovations to his home. Stevens says that he paid every bill, but prosecutors say he used his oil services contractor as his personal handyman.

Closing arguments are now scheduled to begin tomorrow. Stevens hopes an acquittal will help him win his tough reelection fight.

Turning to your forecast now. You might want to keep a sweater handy, especially if you live in the Northeast. Let's go ahead and bring in meteorologist Chad Myers.

What switched, Chad?

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: I love it. I love this crisp weather.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is awesome.

PHILLIPS: Yes. A little fireplace action, I'm with you. Thanks, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: Well, if your name's on a list of foreclosures, should that be a red flag when you got to vote? It's now an issue that both Republicans and Democrats have agreed on.

And a brave Iranian woman who dared to challenge her government and was jailed for efforts, and a Nobel Prize winner, speaks out to CNN on the U.S. election and much more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, count Colin Powell as an Obamacan. The former secretary of state, retired general and Republican has officially endorsed Barack Obama. Powell says that he's known John McCain for years, respects him and likes him, but he calls Obama a transformational figure and who's met the standards for being an exceptional president.

He also said he's upset with the negative turn that McCain's campaign has taken.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: We have two wars. We have economic problems. We have health problems. We have education problems. We have infrastructure problems. We have problems around the world with our allies. And so those are the problems the American people wanted to hear about, not about Mr. Ayers. Not about who is a Muslim and who is not a Muslim.

Those kinds of images going out on Al Jazeera are killing us around the world. And we have got to say to the world, "It doesn't make any difference who you are or what you are. If you're an American, you're an American."

And this business of, for example, a congressman from Minnesota who's going around saying, "Let's examine all congressmen to see who's pro-America or not pro-America," we have got to stop this kind of nonsense, pull ourselves together and remember that our great strength is in our unity and in our diversity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, Senator McCain said he's not surprised. He noted yesterday that he has the endorsements of four former secretaries of state and more than 200 retired Army generals and admirals.

Let's get straight now to that rally in Tampa Bay, Florida, where Obama is speaking.

OBAMA: ... payroll to the workers they have; 115,000 workers lost their jobs in Florida just this year, more than any other state in the country. Wages are lower than they've been in a decade at a time when the cost of health care and college have never been higher. It's getting harder and harder to make the mortgage or fill up your gas tank, or even keep your electricity on at the end of the month.

At this rate, the question isn't are you better off than you were four years ago. It's are you better off than you were four weeks ago?

So -- so I know these are difficult times. I know folks are worried, but I believe we can steer ourselves out of this crisis because I believe in this country, and I believe in you. I believe in the American people. We are the United States of America.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can!

OBAMA: We're -- we're a nation that's faced down war and depression, great challenges and great threats. And at each and every moment, we've risen to meet these challenges, not as Democrats, not as Republicans, but as Americans. With resolve, with confidence, with that fundamental belief that here in America, our destiny is not written for us; it's written by us. That's who we are. That's the country we need to be right now.

But Florida, I know this. It will take a new direction. It will take new leadership in Washington. It will take a real change in the policies and politics of the last eight years, and that's what this election's all about.

Now, my opponent, he's made -- he's made his choice. Senator McCain's campaign actually said a couple of weeks ago that they were going to launch a series of attacks on my character, because they said, "If we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose." Now that's one promise John McCain has kept. He's been on the attack. That's what you do when you're out of ideas, out of touch and running out of time.

Well, I can take a few more weeks of John McCain's attacks, but the American people, they can't take four more years of the same failed policies, the same failed politics. That's why I'm running for president of the United States of America.

We have tried it John McCain's way. We've tried it George Bush's way. It hasn't worked. It's time for something new. Time to turn the page on the eight years of economic policies that put Wall Street before Main Street but end up hurting both.

We need policies that grow our economy from the bottom up so that every American everywhere has the chance to get ahead. Not just the person who owns the factory, but the men and women on the factory floor. Not just the CEO of the company, but the janitor and the secretary, because if we've learned anything from this economic crisis, it's that we're all connected. We're all in this together. We rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Now the financial rescue plan that passed Congress, that was a necessary first step to easing the credit crisis that has gripped the nation. And I know a lot of people were concerned about this. I'm concerned about it. We shouldn't have been in this situation in the first place. But we could not afford to have the banking system and the financial system collapse, because then nobody could get loans. There wouldn't be any loans for small businesses. People would be shutting their doors. The economy would get even worse.

But if we're going to rebuild this economy from the bottom up, then we also need an immediate rescue plan for the middle class, and that's what I'll offer as president of the United States.

You know, last week -- last week I laid out a plan that will jump-start job creation and provide relief to families and rebuild our financial system. It's a plan that would also help struggling homeowners stay in their homes, something that's particularly important here in Florida, where foreclosures are up 30 percent over the last year.

All across this state there are families who have done everything right but who are now facing foreclosure or seeing their home values just plummet because of the bad decisions on Wall Street and on Washington.

The other week, Senator McCain came out with a proposal that he said would help ease the burden on homeowners by buying up bad mortgages at face value, even though they're not worth that much anymore.

So here's the thing, Florida. His plan would amount to a $300 billion bailout for Wall Street banks. And guess what? It would be paid for by all of you, the American taxpayers. And that might sound like a good idea to the former bank lobbyists who are working on Senator McCain's campaign, but that's not the change America needs.

We have to act quickly to address this housing crisis. That's why last March, I was calling for us to help innocent homebuyers. That's why I fought to make sure the recent rescue package gives the Treasury Department the responsibility and authority to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.

But we should not put your tax dollars at unnecessary risk. We should not let banks and lenders off the hook when it was their greed and irresponsibility that got us into this mess. We should not be bailing out Wall Street. We should be restoring opportunity on Main Street. And that's what I'll do when I'm president of the United States of America.

PHILLIPS: We heard from John McCain and his rally in the last hour. Now, we're listening to Barack Obama in Tampa Bay, Florida. You can always go to CNN.com/live if you want to watch it in its entirety.

Meanwhile, if you based the election on newspaper endorsements instead of votes, the Straight Talk Express might be approaching a steep hill with the low fuel light on. A trade paper that covers the newspaper industry has John McCain getting 33 endorsements so far and Barack Obama, 106.

The Democrat has won over his hometown paper, "The Chicago Tribune." It hasn't endorsed a Democrat ever. Other papers supporting Obama -- "The Houston Chronicle," "Denver Post" and "Salt Lake Tribune." All of them supported President Bush four years ago.

And Senator McCain has picked up nods from the "Columbus Dispatch," "San Diego Union-Tribune," "Dallas Morning News," "Las Vegas Review" and "Tampa Tribune."

A scrap between Republicans and Democrats in Michigan has finally been settled. Democrats had sued the GOP and claimed that they planned to use a list of foreclosures to keep the foreclosed from voting, or at least to make voting a hassle for them. A settlement says that both side agree that having your name on a foreclosure list is not a reason to challenge your voting eligibility.

And you've heard about the foreclosure nightmares, and you've heard your homes probably are worth less, but there are things that you haven't heard about the real estate market, things that could save you or make you money.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live in the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. And you're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

1:32 Eastern time. Here are some of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Fifteen days and counting to Election Day. Barack Obama is riding the wave of former Secretary of State Colin Powell's endorsement yesterday. He's on the stump in the battleground state of Florida. John McCain, dismissing Powell's endorsement, hard at work in the swing state of Missouri.

Now, Obama's running mate Senator Joe Biden releases his medical records today. Aides say Biden is in excellent health. He suffered a brain aneurysm 20 years ago.

And Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, completed his testimony today at his corruption trial. The Senate's longest serving Republican is charged with lying on Senate financial disclosure forms. Stevens denies any wrong doing. Closing arguments are set for tomorrow.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

PHILLIPS: Well, if you were drowning in debt and desperate, would you pay to get debt free? Plenty of companies out there promise you relief. But, our Deborah Feyerick says, they might just add to your burden.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Many people want to get out from under their debt. That makes them especially vulnerable. And some debt-settlement agencies are taking advantage of that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You guys get your homework done?

FEYERICK (voice-over): $25,000 in debt and struggling to make ends meet, Debra Hurley went online looking for help. There were plenty of choices.

(on camera): What are some of the words that jumped out at you, that really kind of enticed you?

DEBRA HURLEY, VICTIM OF DEBT SETTLEMENT: That I would be debt free.

FEYERICK (voice-over): Hurley contacted a Florida company that promised to deal with the creditors and settle her debts for pennies on the dollar. She would pay $600 up front, plus $25 a month in fees, then deposit some of her paycheck in an escrow account for the company's use.

FEYERICK (on camera): Did they deliver what they promised?

HURLEY: No, they did not.

FEYERICK: Did they even come remotely close?

HURLEY: No, they did not.

FEYERICK: That's got to be so hard for you.

HURLEY: Yes. You can't put your trust in people.

FEYERICK: In the last few years, the number of debt settlement companies around the country has exploded. So, too, has the number of complaints. Up more than 60 percent this year in Florida, alone, where some two dozen companies are under investigation by the state's attorney general.

BILL MCCOLLUM, FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL: They're just out there scamming people and taking their money and then they walk away. You just never hear from them again.

HURLEY: They're telling me if creditors call, use caller id.

FEYERICK: Hurley says the debt relief agent told her to stop paying her creditors and avoid their calls while he negotiated with them to accept less money. But, the creditors kept calling. The interest and late fees kept growing. And she fell deeper in debt.

GERRI DETWEILLER, CREDIT.COM: Some creditors will not work with debt settlement companies and your credit is going to be absolutely trashed while you're in the program. FEYERICK: But, Robby Birnbaum, with the Association of Settlement Companies says, there are many reputable firms, you just need to look carefully.

ROBBY BIRNBAUM, THE ASSN. OF SETTLEMENT COMPANIES: What they don't see are the good companies in the industry, the ones protecting consumers, the ones that are charging fair and reasonable fees the ones that are actually providing very important and crucial services that help keep consumers out of bankruptcy.

FEYERICK: Too late for Deborah Hurley, who says she shelled out nearly two months salary with nothing to show for it.

HURLEY: I had to declare bankruptcy without my creditors coming and taking everything I own..

FEYERICK (on camera): These companies are not licensed and there's no federal regulation. If you want debt counseling, you need to do your research. Ask the company to provide proof of the number of debts settled. Check with the Better Business Bureau for complaints against the company and go to web sites like credit.com, to get tips on the most common traps.

Debra Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: All right. Back to politics. How fit is the number two man on the Democratic ticket? Senator Joe Biden's health records have just been released. CNN Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins me now to talk about what we need to pay attention to, what we need to point to.

I mean, you've just been looking over these.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Well, actually, I wasn't looking over them because they're in Washington. And so we have a producer doing that. I couldn't zip back in that quickly.

PHILLIPS: You're so humble.

COHEN: Well, you know, I want to be exact. I want to give CNN medical producer Val Willimham (ph) what she is due. What I did do is I was on the phone with a doctor who went over Mr. Biden's health records. And he has had a number of health problems over the years.

Let's go through them. He had an aneurysm in 1988. That is a vessel that burst in his brain. He has also been treated at least once for an abnormal heart rhythm. He felt like his heart was beating strangely. He felt very tired. He went to the doctor. They said that it was just sort of a -- they said that it basically wasn't all that important. That it was just that he was dehydrated and stressed out.

He also has an elevated PSA. Not all that uncommon for a man in his 60's. An elevated PSA can mean anything from higher likelihood of getting prostate cancer, to just having an enlarged prostate. Also, he has high cholesterol and takes drugs for it. He also takes an aspirin a day as a blood thinner. And they also mentioned he has a partially clogged jugular vein. And they didn't give much more detail about that. This was a problem that Senator Ted Kennedy had at one point. And that's certainly something we're going to try to follow up on.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, the aneurysm though happened 20 years ago. So, what's happened since then?

COHEN: This is the interesting part of this, Kyra. Several reporters on the phone said, what's happened since 1988? And the spokeswoman for the campaign said, we don't really know. We don't know if he's had follow up MRIs over the past 20 years. We don't know if he had and what those MRIs said. It was -- some of us thought that was a little strange. We thought that he certainly would be followed up with MRIs following an aneurysm, but we just don't know. The campaign said they would try to get more details for us.

PHILLIPS: Got it. We'll track it.

Elizabeth Cohen, thanks.

COHEN: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Well, attention CPAs, the FBI wants you. The bureau needs bodies to deal with a mountain of financial fraud cases. Next hour, we'll ask a former agent what's going on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, the real estate situation right now is super cloudy as we all know. But what most of us don't know is how to find that silver lining. And if there even is one. That's where Don Peebles comes in. He's a big time developer and the author of "The Peebles Path to Real Estate Wealth: How to Make Money in a Market."

Don Peebles, live from New York. OK, Don. We heard the pitch and we all were very skeptical. But then we started thumbing through your advice and thought, OK. He might be able to help folks that totally think they are totally down under.

Tell me why you have so much, I guess, confidence, on different levels right now while everybody else is just completely losing their mind.

R. DONAHUE PEEBLES, REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER: Well I believe fundamentally in the American economic system. And also, history has shone me that real estate always bounces back.

We look in the 1970's, real estate declined in the big recession. And then in the early 1990s, when we were transitioning from the Bush administration to the then Clinton administration, we also were undergoing recession nationwide and real estate values had plummeted. And we had a financial crisis and that time it was at the savings and loans and other banks. And in fact, during that time period, over 800 banks were closed by the federal government. But yet, anyone who bought real estate during the early 1990s, I can assure them that even today that property is worth more than what they paid for back then.

PHILLIPS: Wow. All right. And you've got some good advice. Let's just -- I picked a couple of things here. Let's talk about this. You say homeowners who are struggling should renegotiate their mortgages.

How do you know where to go, how do you how much you can renegotiate for, how do you know if it can even work for you?

PEEBLES: Well, first of all, I think the fundamental is that everything's negotiable. And commercial real estate, developers and investors like myself and others around the country, always know that when circumstances change, there is an opportunity to renegotiate. Because the lender doesn't want their property back.

So, what homeowners have to do is recognize the same thing. Lenders don't want the property back. The government doesn't want them to take it back. And so now, we just have to find out what is the property worth today. They can find that information out by going through public records, going on the Internet and then taking that information and making a determination as to what they're property's worth.

And then go to their lender and talk to their lender about the fact that their property is worth less than what the loan amount is and they want to continue paying debt service but that there needs to be an adjustment in the principle amount. Or, renegotiating the interest rate to lower the payment down. But right now is a time where homeowners can take control of their lives and take control of their property by communicating with their lenders.

PHILLIPS: What about renters? I mean, you say they can actually renegotiate their leases. We had not even ever heard of that.

PEEBLES: Well, think about it. If a property owner who has a condo that they're renting, or a landlord who's apartment building is under rent. And four months from now the lease is coming due. They can either run the risk that when the lease comes due, that the apartment is vacated, the tenant goes somewhere else and finds a better deal. And then they have to incur the cost of re-letting the apartment at undoubtedly, a lower rental rate.

Or, save that exercise by locking in the current tenant, who they know, who's been performing and paying them and lock them in longer terms, maybe for another 16 months at the current market prices. And so, it's a win for the landlord and it's a win for the renter.

And then also, if you're renting from an individual owner, renting an individual condo or house from a private owner, then also insist on an option to purchase. An option to purchase based on some reflection of current market value. So if the real estate market goes up, then you can elect the purchase of property that you're living in. PHILLIPS: So, Don, you also said that out of -- and I don't know if these are just your top two, But, you said Florida, and Las Vegas were the first markets to fall. We monitored that. But, you also said they're probably going to be the first to recover. Why?

And should people start moving to Florida and Vegas that are in big trouble?

PEEBLES: Well, look. First of all, I think that Florida's probably going to undergo a bit of a population increase, especially on the higher end because it has what's called a homestead exception. So, if you own a home there, even if you file bankruptcy, the government can't take it for you.

But, Vegas went down first because it had a lot of over building and the perception of over building. But the reality is, is on the residential side, on the that on the high rise residential, there wasn't a lot of home overbuilding. There was more overbuilding on single-family homes. But now since construction has stopped, but every month, 8,000 new people are moving to Las Vegas. And in fact, Clark County expects to have an increase of population of nearly 1.5 million people -- an increase -- by the year 2025.

So you've got great fundamental growth there. Jobs generating still. They're new hotels and new casinos that are opening now that will make it so that their job growth continues.

So there will be a demand for product. And as prices have gone down, and interest rates have gone down, the affordability index for these new workers and new people coming to Las Vegas. Florida, also has now become more affordable. It was a retiree capital of the world. The place to go for the East Coast residents and East Coast Americans to live the great life. And it became unaffordable because of the high cost of housing, high property taxes and high insurance and also the challenges of the storm.

Well, very few hurricanes have taken place. Taxes are going down. Real estate values have plummeted. And the cost of money to buy has gone down as well. And so consequently though, affordability index is more accessible. So, we'll see more retirees coming back to Florida. And then of course, it's a gateway -- South Florida's a gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean. And the Latin-American economy is running contrary to the U.S. economy right now and is doing well. And they will look to spend more time and invest more in the U.S., as well. And South Florida will be the place they do that.

PHILLIPS: Don Peebles. The book is "The Peebles Path to Real Estate Wealth: How to Make Money in any Market."

Appreciate the tips.

PEEBLES: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, she defied her government by defending the rights of women and children. Find out what Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner has to say about Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin. That's next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A lawyer, a mother, an outspoken champion for democracy and human rights in Iran. For her courageous efforts, Shirin Ebadi won the Nobel Prize in 2003, and recently she sat down with CNN "Headline News" senior writer Asieh Namdar. Asieh joins us now to talk about what she had to say, specifically about the U.S. elections.

This woman is brilliant, educated. She has fought against the government. She stands up for what she thinks is right. Does she think that a certain candidate would do better than another when it comes to Iran?

ASIEH NAMDAR, SR. WRITER, HEADLINE NEWS: Sure, it's interesting. She's absolutely fearless when it comes to her criticism of the Iranian government. When I asked about U.S. elections, she was more diplomatic. But one thing she definitely is against is a U.S. military invasion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIRIN EBADI, WON NOBEL PEACE PRIZE IN 2003 (through translator): I want to express my personal belief -- that being, war does not solve any problems. The military invasion of Iraq proved that already, that war is not a good alternative, neither for the Americans nor for the Iraqis. So this mistake must not be repeated in Iran because it will not favor the Americans nor will the Iranians like it. And they will stand up to defend their country. They will not allow that attack to happen. So if we rule out war as an alternative, whether we like it or not, we have to move in the direction of negotiations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Interesting. Negotiations.

NAMDAR: Negotiations.

PHILLIPS: All right. Now, she, of course, received the prize, the Nobel Peace Prize, for everything she's done for human rights. How does she feel about that?

NAMDAR: Human rights, childrens' rights, womens' rights, but she says as educated and as smart and outspoken as Iranian women are, Iranian laws are a huge problem. Listen to what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EBADI (through translator): I mean, if they really are concerned for people of the world to hear about their laws, why don't they just change those laws?

For example, in Iran, as you're aware, the value of the life of a woman is half that of a man. If my brother and I, for example, are walking on the street and then somebody attacks us and our legs are broken, the damage paid to my brother is twice that paid to me. (END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Interesting. So whether it's Ahamadinejad that's in charge or somebody else, the laws have to change.

NAMDAR: The problem are with the laws imposed after the 1979 Islamic revolution, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. I've got to ask you about Sarah Palin, Hillary Clinton. She's this innovator on so many levels as a woman, what does she think of those two?

NAMDAR: Again, she was -- she carefully chose her words. She basically said she thinks women make much better leaders. Listen to what she had to say on that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EBADI (through translator): I believe that women, because of their subtle spirit and their role as mothers, are able to move things forward without resorting to violence. This has been demonstrated before. When women have ruled, oftentimes they're more moderate. At the same time, we have to remember that even in the United States women have not really achieved the levels that they deserve because they're not viewed at the levels they deserve.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NAMDAR: So basically, Kyra, she's saying women around the world, technically, have not deserved the recognition they really, really deserve, whether it's Iran or the United States. Of course in the United States they've made much bigger strides. But that was her point.

PHILLIPS: We're all strong women. We can identify with that.

NAMDAR: That's right. That's right.

PHILLIPS: All right, finally, U.S./Iranian relations. It's going to have to be dealt with, whoever the next president is. Bottom line, what is her solution?

NAMDAR: Bottom line, she's optimistic and hopeful. She says two things need to happen. America needs to forget a very dark chapter with Iran's history, the 1979 hostage crisis. And Iranians need to forget the 1953 coup in Iran that overthrew the then prime minister, Mohammed Mosaddeq. She said put the past behind you and have fresh beginnings -- bottom line.

PHILLIPS: Fabulous interview. Asieh Namdar, thanks so much.

NAMDAR: Thanks, Kyra, for having me.

PHILLIPS: Well a soldier facing a difficult task and an angry neighbor get a little help from this community.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)