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The Great Sexperiment; Wildfires Destroy Lives in California; Obama Meets with McCain; No Peace Talks for the Taliban; Similarities of Obama and FDR

Aired November 17, 2008 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get it on. The great sexperiment is under way at a Texas church. Spouses told to know each other biblically for seven days in a row. Will it work?
Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta and you're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

It's seems the $700 billion bailout isn't burning a hole in the Treasury's pocket. The Associated Press is reporting the Bush administration doesn't plan to touch the second half of that money which Congress approved to keep the U.S. financial system from collapsing. It's passing the bucks, as it were, to the Obama administration.

Already the president-elect and many Democrats want to spend a portion of the bailout on the struggling Big Three automakers. Many Republicans don't. Hemorrhaging money, GM plans to raise some $230 million by selling its stake in the Japanese automaker Suzuki.

The Japanese economy meanwhile is suffering just like everybody else. Tokyo is reporting two straight quarters of negative GDP, the textbook definition of recession. And Citigroup keeps getting smaller. That Titan of Wall Street plans to cut another 53,000 workers largely by selling off more of its businesses.

Let's start with the potential jump start for the U.S. auto industry. CNN's Kate Bolduan on Capitol Hill for a lame-duck session that may end up going nowhere. Hey, Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's not dead yet.

PHILLIPS: Let's not be too negative? OK.

BOLDUAN: Right. You never know. We can honestly say there's not a lot of air of compromise we're hearing here on Capitol Hill. Democrats, specifically in the Senate, they're expected to put forth their version of a bailout bill for the auto industry. What that could include is $25 billion of loans for the Big Three. And the important part about their bill is that they're hoping they are -- they want that money carved out of the $700 billion financial package.

There's the sticking point. There's been quite a bit of strong vocal opposition from Republicans as well as the Bush administration on that point. They don't think that that is what the financial bailout package is intended for. And that's really where the debate is centering around right now, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. So where do things stand on the auto bailout and then what's next?

BOLDUAN: What we hear right now, we're still waiting for that Senate bill to be unveiled, to be introduced. And the schedule, as it always is on Capitol Hill, it can move around. But what we can hear is there could be a test vote on Wednesday. That really will gauge if there's enough support for this bill to move forward. If not, well, people aren't really talking about what next if there is one. Because this is a one-week lame-duck session. If they can't pull it together this week, it may be pushed all the way to the next administration. One top Democrat that we've heard from last week, Democratic Senator Chris Dodd, he said simply that they may want to hold off until an Obama administration comes in because Obama would be more open to putting through kind of the idea for a bailout that they're pushing. So right now we're kind of waiting for that debate to start.

PHILLIPS: OK. We'll follow it. Kate Bolduan, thanks so much.

We also want to hear from you. Should Congress bail out the U.S. auto industry? E-mail us. CNN NEWSROOM at cnn.com. We'll be reading your comments later on in the hour as well as talking to Kate again about what's happening there on the Hill.

Well, there's certainly a lot of controversy about an auto sector bailout. GM is taking no chances. However, it's working hard to set the general public on its side. Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange with details from there.

Hey, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra. Well, there are a lot of companies and there's even cities now that want help from the federal government. GM is certainly not taking this lying down. It's taking its case directly to the people. The automaker has created a new Web site, a Facebook page, and posted a video on YouTube.

On those sites GM says this isn't just an automobile problem, it's a U.S. problem. Because one in 10 Americans has an auto-related job and the U.S. automobile industry supports U.S. jobs in all 50 states.

GM points out that the carmakers are the biggest purchasers of plastic, steel and even electronics. So if GM goes bankrupt, those industries could also see big cuts. GM shares are rallying today. Right now, up 6.5 percent. Still only trading about $3 a share. The Dow Industrials, well, they're lower, though. Right now down 89 points or one percent. The NASDAQ is down one percent as well. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Well, all right. So is the old saying true, as GM goes, so goes the nation?

LISOVICZ: Well, GM, of course, is a shadow of its former self. But there is no question that if GM fails, it will hurt the broader economy. The auto industry, Kyra, contributes four percent to the nation's GDP. So the Senate debate will focus on whether GM is too big to fail. We've heard this argument before. Or too expensive to keep alive. All of this comes as the overall economy is shrinking.

The regional Fed Bank says economists surveyed expect the unemployment rate to climb from its present 6.5 percent to 7.6 percent next year. A GM bankruptcy would surely contribute to that. Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Susan Lisovicz, thank you so much.

Well, the world's second biggest economy has taken a big hit in the financial meltdown, and Japan now says it's officially in the recession. Companies there cut spending sharply in the third quarter and Tokyo says that's part of the reason for the downturn. It's the first recession in Japan since 2001. And experts warn of more troubled times in the months ahead.

FDR's New Deal. It helped the U.S. pull out of the Great Depression. Will President-Elect Barack Obama need a similar program? We're going to speak live with a man who's an expert on the late President Roosevelt and his policies.

Has the Big Three hit the end of the road? Not if the president- elect has anything to do about. And guess what, he does.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Putting their battle for the White House behind them, President-Elect Barack Obama and Senator John McCain sat down together in Chicago. They talked about ways to move the country forward on issues where they have some common ground. CNN's Ed Henry joins us now from Chicago with the real conversation that took place behind the scenes. I guess we didn't get any of that, did we, Ed?

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good afternoon, Kyra. What we're hearing from people on both sides that this was a cordial conversation. They were trying to come together. But let's face it. They -- last time they were together, it was pretty rough in that third and final debate in New York. John McCain raised the issue of Bill Ayers in association with Barack Obama. And so this conversation had awkward written all over it.

So what do men do when they've got an awkward conversation and all else fails? They talk about football. In fact, John McCain, who lost the presidential race, seemed to relish talking about Barack Obama's beloved Chicago Bears. Now they lost by 34 points yesterday. They had a little bit of a laugh about that. Then they got serious. The president-elect saying that he thinks now is the time for them to come together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT-ELECT: We're just going to have a good conversation about how we can do some work together to fix up the country. And also to offer thanks to Senator McCain for the outstanding service he's already rendered. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now, the two men just put out a joint written statement calling it a productive conversation and ending it by saying, quote, "We hope to work together in the days and months ahead on critical challenges like solving our financial crisis, creating a new energy economy and protecting our nation's security."

But we're told by people close to both men that a Cabinet post is not really in the offing for John McCain. So apparently the whole concept of team of rivals we've heard so much about goes only so far. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: All right. Ed Henry, live from Chicago, Ed, thanks.

As we've been reporting, the lame-duck Congress is taking up an auto industry bailout bill this week. President-Elect Obama speaking on "60 Minutes" last night said he supports emergency loans for Detroit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: For the auto industry to completely collapse would be a disaster in this kind of environment. Not just for individual families, but the repercussions across the economy would be dire. So it's my belief that we need to provide assistance to the auto industry. But I think that it can't be a blank check.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, nobody denies domestic automakers are in terrible trouble. The arguments center on whether and how the government should step in. Few people know the industry better than our old friend, Csaba Csere, long time editor in chief of "Car and Driver" magazine. Good to see you. It's been a while.

CSABA CSERE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "CAR AND DRIVER": Happy to be back.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about this bailout. What is your take? Good thing, bad thing? Does it need to happen?

CSERE: Well, it needs to happen because there's no way the domestic industry is going to survive without it. You know, GM is down to a level of cash that's probably only going to carry it another couple of months or so. That barely takes us to the inauguration. They really can't wait that long. And the fact is Ford is in a little bit better shape than GM is, but they're not in great shape either. If GM goes down and goes bankrupt, it's going to drag Ford down, it's going to drag Chrysler down, and it's also going to drag the huge network of suppliers down. And I don't think we can afford that.

PHILLIPS: So you're saying definitely if there is not a bailout plan that the industry is completely hosed? There's no way to come back strong? CSERE: Well, yes. And the reason is that the domestic industry has been hurting for a while. And they came into this recent economic crisis as weakened players. They had turn-around plans. I think GM was making good progress on its plan. But it needed a few more years of good economy and didn't get it and it simply doesn't have the cash reserves to carry it through this downturn.

PHILLIPS: All right. So if the government -- well, looks like the government is going to do something. You put this bailout money forward. Can the government force these companies, Csaba, to make more fuel-efficient cars? Like, OK, if we give you this money, no longer can you make these cars that get two miles to the gallon.

CSERE: Well, I think the government could do that. I think it would be a big mistake. Because, you know, we don't know what people are going to want to buy. I mean, ultimately these companies ended up in trouble because they made the wrong kind of vehicles. And they weren't necessarily the wrong kind of vehicles because they weren't fuel-efficient enough.

Six months ...

PHILLIPS: But if you're in charge of the supply, Csaba, won't the demand follow? Isn't that the mentality? If they don't make those expensive cars that aren't good for the environment or the economy or the gas costs too much and you only have a certain choice, won't Americans be forced to buy those cars or will they say, forget about it? I'm just buying cars from other companies overseas?

CSERE: I think you cannot force the demand to follow the supply. You know, for 25 years, we had inexpensive gas in this country, and people happily bought vans and pickups and SUVs along with a bunch of cars, but steadily more powerful cars. If fuel is inexpensive, people are going to want to buy large, luxurious vehicles. And we don't know where fuel is going to go. Certainly the car companies have to have a balanced portfolio of products.

But if they show up with only small cars and gas stays cheap, then even a bailout isn't going to save them.

PHILLIPS: I want to -- while I have you, I want to ask about NASCAR. It makes so much money. More people watch NASCAR than football. And we're hearing about all of these lay-offs. Are you surprised about that?

CSERE: Well, not totally. You know, NASCAR is the most successful form of motor sport in America, but it's kind of topped out. It's had a tremendous amount of growth the last several years and it's perhaps stopped growing at this point. The economy is slowing down. Attendance is damaged by this. It costs a lot of money to go to a NASCAR race with your family when times are hard, that's a discretionary thing. It's the first thing that falls off the table.

A lot of the sponsors in NASCAR are large corporations whose profitability is going down. Again, they're going to take a good, hard look at whether this is the best way to spend their marketing dollars. And of course the car companies support NASCAR as well and they don't have a lot of excess cash. So NASCAR is going to be feeling this for sure.

PHILLIPS: Well, if NASCAR is feeling it, you know there is something going on in our economy right now. Csaba Csere, great to see you.

CSERE: My pleasure.

PHILLIPS: Well, we asked you earlier this hour for your thoughts on a bailout for automakers. Here's what some of you had to say.

Here is what Bud writes, "If we can give money to financial institutions who sit behind desks all day long, why can't we help companies that provide the manual labor jobs? Is this just another case of the rich get richer and the middle class suffers?"

And Tina writes this. "Ten percent of the jobs are tied up to the auto industry, so a bailout is necessary. However, the bailout money should not be managed by the same leaders who drove the industry into the ditch. All the auto top executives should resign if they get a bailout."

And Bernetta put it this way. "I would rather see the carmakers file for bankruptcy and let tax money go for unemployment. The dollar should start at the bottom and trickle up because this starting at the top and coming down is not working."

And Judy had this to say about bailing out the auto industry. "No, no, no. And just to be clear, no."

Thank you all for writing in. Keep those e-mails coming. Just send them to cnnnewsroom@cnn.com.

And the bad economic news just keeps coming. Citigroup has announced another round of job cuts. This one is a big one. We're going to tell you what's going on.

And it could be just the break that firefighters need, but will it last long enough for them to extinguish the raging blazes in Southern California?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Call it a boost from Mother Nature. California firefighters getting a much-needed break from the fierce Santa Ana winds today. Those winds were gusting up to 70 miles an hour. Now down to just 20. The biggest blaze is the so-called Triangle Complex Fire also known as the Freeway Fire. It's destroyed more than 100 homes and charred thousands of acres across Orange County. And in northern Los Angeles where raging flames it the Somar (ph) area hard, well, anxious evacuees are being allowed to return them there.

And many are seeing for the first time what's left, if anything, of their homes. Our Kara Finnstrom is there in northern Los Angeles. Kara? KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, what you see behind me here is the bulk of the devastation caused by this fire. Just a couple of days ago, if you were standing here, what you'd see were row after row after row of mobile homes. Now it's just a scorched clearing all the way to the base of those mountains. There were some 600 mobile homes here. Nearly 500 of them were completely destroyed. What's happening today is fire officials have organized a group of vans to go inside. They're taking homeowners back for the first time to see what remains of their homes.

About 120 of those homes remain standing. Those homeowners are being given time to go in and maybe gather their belongings. Everyone else is being asked to stay on the van as they drive through. But the hope is that this may give some of those homeowners some closure just being able to see what's left.

We did speak with one of the fire chiefs that's involved with organizing all of this. And he gave us a pretty good explanation of what's taking place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BATTALLION CHIEF RONNIE VILLANUEVA, L.A. FIRE DEPT.: They just kind of what to I think just absorb that moment and kind of just start to digest what's been going on. So that's really what we're doing. It's taken a while. We're bringing them in slowly. They have escorts. We also have medical escorts around by them, too, just in case anyone is a bit distraught.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FINNSTROM: And we've also spoken with some homeowners who lost everything. Who decided not to go on those vans today because they want the time to get out and really kind of look through what's left. They should get an opportunity to do that, we're hold, in the next couple of days.

Kyra, also about a dozen water and power vans going in. Because as we said, there still are about 100 homes standing there. They'll begin that long process of cleaning all this up and making sure that it's safe.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll follow the process with you. Kara Finnstrom, thanks so much.

Well, who says it isn't winter yet? Look at the mess in the Great Lakes area. This is the lake-effect snowfall in northeastern Ohio yesterday. As much as two feet fell in shoreline areas from Ohio to Pennsylvania and New York. And the early season storm closed some schools today. Slippery roads are creating lots of accidents. And it may not be over anytime soon.

Lake-effect snow still pelting some areas. Meteorologist Chad Myers in the CNN Weather Center following it all for us. What do you think, Chad?

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: OK. You mentioned the NASA satellite, able to track the smoke which is pretty incredible.

It's unpacking day, Chad, at the -aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor. Astronauts are actually unloading the ship's cargo bay. Among the new deliveries for the International Space Station? Well, new exercise equipment, a kitchenette, two new sleep chambers and a second toilet. That's good news. They are excited about that.

There is also have a new contraption that purifies, you'll love this one, Chad, purifies the urine and the sweat into drinking water. How do you like that? We're watching live pictures. I definitely don't want to see that live.

And this special delivery will allow the floating outpost to double its occupancy. Instead of just three crew members, up to six can stay at the space station next year. And toast those champagne glasses with their purified urine.

FDR helped pull out the U.S. from the Great Depression. Will Barack Obama need a New Deal of his own? That's a question we're going to put to an expert on the late President Franklin Roosevelt.

And burned because they wanted to learn. Afghan schoolgirls doused with acid. We're going to take a look at the aftermath of this hateful attack and get reaction from the White House. Our Elaine Quijano gives us the special report.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: 2:29 Eastern Time. Here are some of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM. Stocks gain and lose ground as investors digest new signs of the sluggish economy, including word that Citigroup is cutting more than 50,000 jobs.

California fire crews are getting their second wind now that the Santa Ana winds have died down. They'll need it. They're battling three major blazes that have destroyed hundreds of homes.

And a familiar face returns to Capitol Hill. Senator Ted Kennedy, battling a malignant brain tumor. Today was his first appearance on the Hill since July.

Lawmakers returned to work on Capitol Hill this week and at the top of their agenda, a possible bailout for the nation's auto industry. The debate is partisan, the crisis, undeniable. The Big Three are fighting for their very survival.

CNN's Brooke Baldwin explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Michael Candela is a third generation Ford employee.

MICHAEL CANDELA, FORMER FORD EMPLOYEE: There is life outside of the the big three, believe it or not.

BALDWIN: But, after 10 years of service at one of the car company's plants in Michigan, Candela called it quits.

CANDELA: I just knew that things were changing in the industry. And it wasn't necessarily the company that my grandfather moved here from Italy to work for. And my dad worked for.

BALDWIN: Candela settled for a buyout, opting to pack up his previous profession to run his own business instead. And as Detroit's Big Three teeter on collapse, other auto workers are considering shuffling careers as well.

RICHARD DUPREE, FORD EMPLOYEE: I work on assembly line.

Reporter: With layoffs looming, Richard Dupree, along with dozens of others autoworkers is pulling double duty, dealing cards at night at this local casino.

DUPREE: If full-time is offered to me at the casino, it's something I would have to consider it.

BALDWIN: Three million Americans would be forced to consider a career change as they would lose their jobs if one of the Big Three were to fail. That us according to a recent study conducted by the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor. Dr. David Cole served as the study's lead author.

DAVID COLE, CENTER FOR AUTOMOTIVE RESEARCH: I don't like the idea of government involvement. But when you consider the size of this industry, the importance in the economy and the fact that the cost of prevention HERE is much lower than the cost of calamity, it is the right thing to do in terms of what's best for this country.

BALDWIN: Not everyone agrees it's the right thing. Critics say the Big Three burned through billions, backing gas-guzzling vehicles. And as politicians point fingers at auto execusitives, the industry blames the economy. This former Ford employee has advice for American autoworkers.

CANDELA: If you're going to leave, you have to have a plan. Don't take the money and think you're going live forever off of it.

BALDWIN: Brooke Baldwin, CNN, Detroit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, the U.S. withdrawal plan from Iraq, now in its final stage. Today, Iraq's parliament is debating the deal that makes December 31, 2011, the deadline for all U.S. troops to leave the country. Combat troops would leave Iraq's cities and towns by June 30th of next year. Parliament is expected to vote early next week, and this is the last step in the approval process. It has already been signed on by U.S. and Iraqi officials and OK's by Iraq's cabinet.

Now in Afghanistan, a flat rejection by the Taliban of any peace talks unless all foreign troops are out of the country. Afghan President Hamid Karzai offered over the weekend to go to the great lengths to protect the Taliban's reclusive leader, Mullah Omar, if he would agree to the talks. A Taliban spokesman says that as long as troops from the U.S. and other countries are in Afghanistan, the Taliban will keep up its fight against them and Afghanistan's government.

Well, all they were trying to do was get to school. But in Afghanistan, that's enough. In a coordinated attack last week, suspected Taliban militants doused groups of young girls with acid. The viciousness struck a nerve around the world, even as far away as the White House.

CNN's Elaine Quijano has more. And just a warning -- her report does contain some disturbing images of those girls and their burns.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They were girls walking to school in a country struggling against Taliban militants. Extremists who believe girls should not be educated.

ATIFA BIBI, STUDENT ATTACKED WITH ACID (through translator): Two gunmen on a motorbike stopped the motorbike near us and sprayed acid on our faces. Then they ran away.

QUIJANO: In Kandahar, Afghanistan, men armed with water pistols filled with battery acid attacks the girls, blinding at least two of them.

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: I was sickened by the idea of it. It's just unbelievable. The brutality of attacking girls on their way to school.

QUIJANO: The story captured the attention of First Lady Laura Bush, who condemned the attack as cowardly and shameful.

BUSH: This sort of act shows us, again, the brutality of the Taliban. And it shows us how necessary it is for the world to stay involved and support the people of Afghanistan.

QUIJANO: As First Lady, Mrs. Bush has been a staunch advocate of Afghanistan's women and children, visiting the country multiple times and making personal appeals for more financial assistance from other nations. Mrs. Bush had this message for the international community and for the victims of Wednesday's attack.

BUSH: Well, I want them to know first that people around the world are watching and that people around the world send them our love and our sympathy. The girls who have been attacked and who are disfigured or blind now. And I think this sort of horrible act gives all of us, the rest of us in the world, a chance to speak out, to say that we're standing with the people of Afghanistan. And we want them to know that.

(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: Well, Elaine, that story is gut-wrenching. And obviously the goal here was to intimidate those girls into not going to school.

Do we know if any of them went to class the next day?

QUIJANO: You know, we do know, Kyra. The answer is none.

Out of the 1,500 girls and teachers from that all-girls school in Kandahar, we understand that none of them showed up for classes the next day.

However, there are reports today, Kyra, that a small number of opportunity students and teachers are trickling into that school. And in fact, interesting to note that over the weekend, one of the girls who was badly burned in these acid attacks, actually said, look, I am determined in spite of the violence to go to school. She said, I will continue going to school even if they try to kill me -- Kyra?.

PHILLIPS: Wow. Let's hope she does go to school, get that education, hopefully run that country some day.

Well, Mrs. Bush, she has two daughters. She's a former librarian who's championed education, as we well know. Did you get a sense that this struck a chord with her personally?

QUIJANO: Yes, absolutely, Kyra. You could really tell that, just the fact that she even agreed to sit down for an interview at all, really shows just how strongly she feels about this issue. She used words like heart-breaking during the interview.

And in her written statement in which she condemned the attacks last week, she called this a cowardly and shameful attack. And she also said in her interview with me that it was disappointing, but also understandable certainly that none of the girls actually showed up for class the next day.

But, at the same time, Kyra, she said that she hopes fathers in Afghanistan in particular, will stand with their daughters so that these girls can go to school and feel safe doing so -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Yes. The men that doused them definitely showed their ignorance.

Elaine Quijano, great reporting. Really appreciate it. Thanks.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We just look for any excuse to play that music on a Monday. We gave you a bit of a preview on Friday. But, that Texas church's great sex challenge is now officially under way. What does that mean? Well, basically if you're hitched, thou shalt not abstain.

More now from Michael Ray, of affiliate KDAF. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because we understand that sex comes from God.

MICHAEL RAY, KDAF REPORTER: Ed Young warned the congregation last week, this would kick off what he calls a sexperiment. The pastor challenged married church members to have sex for seven straight days to strengthen their bonds.

ED YOUNG, PASTOR: I think the church has allowed our culture to hijack sex from us and we've not really spoken boldly and honestly and openly.

RAY: 20,000 attend the Grapevine mega church. About half are married. Media attention on the church mandated week of sex has been intense.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In fact, 12:01, we've already started practicing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because the bible said so, OK?

RAY: This couple has been married for 16 years. They plan to take on the challenge.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's a great idea. And I think that he has touched on this before, not at this depth. But he's touched on this before and thinks that this is very, very important, obviously, in marriage and in keeping marriage strong.

RAY: Young has told couples to keep a journal to record their feelings during the coming week.

YOUNG: It's time that we allow God to lead us to a place of grace. Sex is reserved for the marriage bed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a great reminder to kind of clear the clutter out and really focus on my wife and our relationship and then the benefits that spring forth from that.

YOUNG: It's time that the church brought the bed back in because for far too long, the church has been strangely silent over a topic that God was not silent to talk about.

RAY (on camera): Some couples have already told us they won't be able to meet the challenge. Timing will separate them. It is, after all, hunting season.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a trip to Wisconsin planned. I'm leaving Wednesday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, we've got or journal and we're just going to do it on a different seven days.

RAY: In Grapevine, Texas, Michael Ray for CNN. (END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, good job Burlington, Vermont. It's been rated the healthiest city in the nation. I wonder if they're having lots of sex. Well, researchers say it has the largest population of people who are in good or great health.

The skinny on Huntington, West Virginia. Well, not so good. It's got the doobiest distinction of being the fattest and unhealthiest city in America. Nearly half the adults there are obese and it leads the nation in heart disease and diabetes. The Centers for Disease Control came up with those rankings, by the way.

Well, just what the U.S. economy doesn't need. More job cuts. Citigroup has announced it's shedding 53,000 jobs and cutting expenses. We'll find out why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: President-elect Barack Obama, he's inheriting an economy on the skids. Two wars, and has only 64 days until he's the leader of the free world. So, how do you prepare for that?

In an interview last night, Obama said he's been reading this book on President Franklin Roosevelt's first 100 days in office. Roosevelt came to power in the midst of the Great Depression. And the President-elect isn't the only one seeing parallels between himself and FDR. Check out this cover of "TIME" magazine, proclaiming the New New Deal.

Will Obama be as prolific as the presidents he's being compared to? Roosevelt managed to get 16 major pieces of legislation passed in his first 100 days, covering everything from legalizing beer, to mortgage relief for homeowners. The man who wrote the book on FDR's first 100 days, Anthony Badger, joining me now from Cambridge, England.

Good to see you, Anthony.

PROF. ANTHONY BADGER, AUTHOR, "FDR, THE FIRST HUNDRED DAYS": Good to see you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, what do you make of the fact that our President- elect is reading your book and taking advice?

BADGER: Well, if he has been reading it, I'm very honored. His election aroused tremendous interest in Britain. I don't think any presidential election has been greeted with such enthusiasm for many years.

PHILLIPS: Well, you know, as we read FDR's New Deal, he got 15 pieces of legislation passed in his first 100 days to deal with the economy in a depression. And we were making note of he closed banks, there was 25 percent unemployment, et cetera, et cetera.

Can you give me examples of Roosevelt's legislation or moves that Roosevelt made, that Barack Obama should basically mirror?

BADGER: Well, I think the important thing to remember is that Roosevelt had no template for action when he came into office and there were no great federal plans.

And I think that one of the things Obama has to do is to be flexible and to work with Congress and to work across the aisle. But above all, he has to do what Roosevelt did in his first fireside chat, which was to install confidence in the American people.

And Roosevelt told the American people that the next day they should go and put their money in the banks, which had been closed. And that was a tremendous gamble, because there was no plan B if they didn't put their money back in the banks. And it worked. And if Obama, who is a wonderful communicator, can equal that, that would be tremendous.

PHILLIPS: Now, well you also write, too, that there was a strong argument being made by economic historians and right wing commentators that that Roosevelt delayed economic recovery. They believe he priced jobs out of the market and increased business costs and deterred investment.

Are there risks in Barack Obama reading about what Roosevelt did?

BADGER: Well, I think the other lesson he has to learn is that doing nothing would be -- could be catastrophic. Right-wing economists and historians, when they look at Roosevelt and the New Deal, tend to assume that they could have allowed the conditions to get worse without any reaction from the unemployed, without any reaction from the farmers.

And in the world of 1933, that was an extremely dangerous policy. You risked complete social unrest and anti-Democratic turmoil. I don't think we'd necessarily get that today, but there are strong risks in doing nothing.

PHILLIPS: Well, let me ask you this, Anthony. If you had a chance to sit down with Barack Obama -- and I don't know, maybe you have. You'll have to tell me. And he said to you, you know, I've been reading your book, I've been reading about FDR. Advise me. You know this president better than I do.

What would you tell me I need to do? First step, second step.

BADGER: One of the first steps, I think is to say, that if you are going to try to rescue industry, you have to have measures that will actually create extra new jobs.

And one of Roosevelt's mistakes was not spending enough money on public works. And another of his mistakes was not having loans to businesses in his major recovery program. And if I was Barack Obama, I would say bailout the automobile industry.

PHILLIPS: Really? That would be your first piece of advice?

BADGER: Yes. Because he's got to be able to create confidence and he's got to be able to create new jobs.

PHILLIPS: Well, you know, he's talking about creating confidence with regard to creating a very diverse administration. And you point out in your book -- I mean, FDR, his cabinet had the first woman ever. She was the Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins. Also, he brought in a Republican as Secretary of Agriculture, Henry Wallace. It sounds like Barack Obama, in many ways, is taking that progressive approach just like FDR as well.

How important is that?

BADGER: I think it's very important.

In 1933, Roosevelt had to recognize that the Republicans had a strong progressive Midwestern element. And he was very anxious, he had a lot of that support in the election and he was very anxious to keep on securing that. But he also appointed people who really disagreed with what happened in the longer term of the New Deal. His budget director desperately wanted, as indeed did Roosevelt, desperately wanted to cut government spending and balance the budget. And it didn't work out that way.

PHILLIPS: Professor Anthony Badger, we all need to read your book, "FDR: The First Hundred Days." It will be interesting to see what Barack Obama does as he reads that book and goes to you for advice.

Thanks so much for spending time with us.

BADGER: It's a pleasure. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, as always, Team Sanchez, back there working on the next hour of NEWSROOM.

What have you got going, Rick?

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: I got Angie (ph) back.

PHILLIPS: Yay! Angie Massey (ph) is a star.

SANCHEZ: We (INAUDIBLE) her to Anderson Cooper last week so she could try and make his show really, really good, right, Angie?

Did it work?

PHILLIPS: She's one of the best.

SANCHEZ: Got to stop there. There was no harm intended there.

PHILLIPS: If she can handle you --

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: I'm getting all these boos --

PHILLIPS: Rick, if she can handle you, Anderson Cooper is going to be a charm. He's going to be easy. That's easy skating (ph).

SANCHEZ: Hey listen, here's what I want to do. A couple of interesting things. First of all, I'm going to interview Evo Morales. No, not Dr. Evil, Evo -- E-V-O. He's the president of Bolivia. He's a leftist. Some would say communist. And you know, this guy -- and Chavez and Kirshner and -- I could take you through all the countries, Ecuador, Cuba, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil.

PHILLIPS: And you're going to hold his feet to the fire?

SANCHEZ: Well what's going on is there's a lot of countries in Latin America that are going very much to the left, and it's gotten more that way during the Bush administration. He's the perfect example of it. I'm going to interview him in Spanish because he doesn't speak any English. I mean the guy is indigenous. He's the first indigenous president in the history of their country. But I speak a little Spanish, so, you know, this should be interesting.

This should be, you know, a real blow-out interview for us here at CNN. We're excited about it. And more Americans need to know what's going on south of the Rio Grande. Because we fail to understand that region at our own peril.

PHILLIPS: We'll be tuning in, Rick. Thanks.

SANCHEZ: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Troubled U.S. economy takes another big hit, stung by the mortgage crisis. Citigroup is cutting 53,000 more jobs in the months ahead. Here's CNN's Richard Roth from New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thousands of Citigroup employees listened to the bad news from CEO Vikram Pandit at a town hall meeting. 53,000 employees will be laid off in the coming weeks and months.

I spoke with one Smith Barney employee, a unit of Citigroup, who had just heard the news.

JANE OSIPOVA, CITI EMPLOYEE: Of course it troubles me. But -- I mean, it does, yes. It does trouble me, but it's not the first time that I -- if I would be out of a job, you know, so it's not the first time. So I will -- it's nothing that scary.

ROTH: Citigroup's staffing will now come down to around 300,000 people. The company announced that it would be selling some financial units in Germany and elsewhere, but did not reveal all of where the cuts would come.

I asked long-time stock market watcher Jim Awad to assess the Citigroup announcement.

JIM AWAD, MANAGING DIRECTOR, ZEPHYR: You get the feeling that the company was put together by an aggressive series of acquisitions that in retrospect were not put together as efficiently and coherently as they could have been. And that when the world went against them, they were slower to react in terms of selling businesses, divesting assets, restoring capital, and laying off people to get costs in line. So they're trying to catch up with some of the other players.

ROTH: Citigroup has had to cut costs due to mounting debt and huge losses in the mortgage industry collapse. Jim Awad, the stock analyst, says the average Citibank customer should not be affected.

Richard Roth, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well if you had the keys to the Treasury, what would you do for Detroit? We're reading your thoughts on a bailout for the Big Three.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, we asked you earlier for your thoughts on a bailout for automakers. And here's what you told us.

Allison writes and says, "I'd say to let them go under. They make bad cars. However, they employ a lot of people. For them to go under could be a cataclysm for the economy. Whatever happens, the upper managers need to be fired."

Fabian writes, "Enough is enough. Everyone but the unemployed is getting bailed out. I paid taxes for 35 years and now because of a lay-off I can't find work and my bills are going unpaid."

J.S. says, "I would be happy to give the Big Three funds to retool, re-educate its workforce and re-grow a productive American middle class. I would not be happy to fund the same old mediocrity, environmental apathy, and golden lifestyles for patently failed executives."

And David writes, "I don't want any of my tax dollars to go to the people who bought us the Hummer and the oversized pickup truck. Better we use this money to extend unemployment benefits and to create jobs in green energy and green transportation."

Thanks to all of you for writing in.

Rick Sanchez, don't you drive a Hummer?

SANCHEZ: Drive a what?

PHILLIPS: Don't you drive a Hummer?

SANCHEZ: Yes, exactly. A big one.

PHILLIPS: Take it away.