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Two Deadly U.S. Strikes in Pakistan; Women & President Obama; President Obama's New High-Tech Device
Aired January 23, 2009 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not our money to spend. We're borrowing this money from our kids.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): Even after a personal meeting, some GOPers not swayed on the Obama stimulus plan.
Meantime, Pakistan's jump into the president's plate with the first U.S. missile strikes of its tenure.
Plus, what the women want from the White House. And why some are already ticked off on day four of the Obama administration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Hello everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We've got a packed newscast this hour with a ton of stuff to get to. But first we had to share some headlines that we couldn't get out of our heads. Holy website. You don't have to go to Rome to enter the Vatican. That's because the pope is online. We're going to show you his new slick site.
Plus a Georgia couple goes online to offload everything they have, I mean, everything. And they're doing it for their kids.
But first, if the first four days have been this busy, imagine how eventful the next 96 will be. We're talking about the first 100 days of the Obama administration. There is no TGIF, by the way, every day is Monday. Already today the president has met with lawmakers from both parties. He urged them to get an economic stimulus package on his desk by President's Day.
Also, on the president's plate, budget talks. We're expecting more on that this hour. We're keeping an eye out on all your money, after all. And later, female voters helped him get into the White House. Now some are asking the president where's the payback?
Let's get to the show on the road. CNN White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux, has the busy, busy Friday on Capitol Hill to covered for us. Hey, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra, there is no such thing as TGIF anymore. It does seem like this administration is working 24/7, now. Obviously, we saw the president earlier today in the Roosevelt Room, he met with both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, essentially trying to push forward that $825- billion economic stimulus package, saying that it is not just about the money, but there are other aspects he's going to take a look at.
Accountability, as well as reform, making sure we can actually track those dollars. There are a lot of naysayers, however, Kyra, they're not necessarily sure this is even going to create the kinds of jobs, the 4 million jobs that Barack Obama, the president now, is now talking about. Now, here is how he laid out the argument to those members of Congress.
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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know that it is a heavy lift to do something as substantial as we're doing right now. I recognize that there are still some differences around the table, and between the administration and members of Congress, about particular details on the plan. But what I think unifies this group is recognition that we are experiencing an unprecedented, perhaps, economic crisis that has to be dealt with, and dealt with rapidly.
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MALVEAUX: One of the things that some Republicans are concerned about, they talked with me about it, is the fact that they don't know whether or not the government is going it be able to spend that money quickly enough to actually be able to create those jobs that President Obama is talking about.
We just heard from the Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, in the briefing, that he says that within this legislation, he says, that 75 percent of that money will be able to be spent in the next 18 months. Kyra, is that going to satisfy the Republicans? It is not certain. I want you to take a listen to Representative Boehner.
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REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R-OH) MINORITY LEADER: I think at this point we believe that spending nearly $1 trillion is really more than what we ought to be putting on the backs of our kids and their kids. At the end of the day, this is not our money to spend. We're borrowing this money from our kids. And so we've got to -- we have to find a package that's the right size.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: But Senator Mitch McConnell, also a Republican, says that he believes despite the concerns, that they have about this huge stimulus package, Kyra, they believe they're going to get this legislation on the president's desk by mid-February. That is the goal that President Obama set out for them. They believe that they're going to come together. We don't know how exactly the legislation's going to believe, but they believe they'll have it on his desk in a couple of weeks, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Suzanne Malveaux from the White House, thanks so much.
A lot of people in her home state have never even heard of Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand. She just started her second term in Congress, but today she stepped into the spotlight as the state's new senator. She's been named to succeed Hillary Clinton, a woman, Gillibrand says has inspired her career in public service.
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REP. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-NY) NEW YORK SENATE DESIGNATE: I'm so grateful to so many of you who are here, for your leadership and your service to our great state. Perhaps most significantly, I look to Secretary of State Clinton, whose seat with which Governor Paterson has now entrusted me, with extraordinary appreciation and humility. I aspire to follow in her footsteps, knowing her shoes, I can only hope to fill.
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PHILLIPS: President Obama is among those praising the choice of Kirsten Gillibrand. Mr. Obama issued a statement calling her a wonderful choice. He said he's confident Gillibrand will continue Hillary Clinton's record of distinguished service.
So, who exactly is Kirsten Gillibrand? A Democrat who was just sworn in for her second term as a New York representative. She serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the Agricultural Committee.
Gillibrand worked as special counsel for then-Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo, during the Clinton administration. Cuomo is now New York's attorney general and was thought by some to be the front-runner for the open Senate seat.
The woman that Kirsten Gillibrand is succeeding continues to get settled into her new position as secretary of State. Hillary Clinton, today, told staffers at the U.S. Agency for International Development, that she plans to give her full support to their efforts as they assist people in need all around the world.
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HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: As we look toward the future, it is essential that the role of USAID, and our other than foreign assistance programs, be strengthened and be adequately funded, and be coordinated in a way that makes abundantly clear that the United States understands and supports development assistance.
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PHILLIPS: Today's speech follows yesterday's remarks at State Department headquarters, where Secretary Clinton was joined by the president and vice president.
And a couple of key administration posts, attorney general and deputy Defense secretary are on hold for the moment. The Treasury secretary will be up for a vote on Monday. But four more of President Obama's high-level picks have received final Senate approval. Shaun Donovan, a New York City housing commissioner, now heads the Department of Housing and Urban Development, former Illinois Congressman Ray LaHood, a Republican. He won unanimous approval for Transportation secretary. Also confirmed late yesterday, Susan Rice as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and Mary Shapiro as Securities and Exchange Commissioner.
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is taking his defense to the radio airwaves. He told listeners at WLUS AM, today, that everything he's done as governor has been in the best interests of the people. The governor insists the rules for his upcoming impeachment trial are unfair because they don't allow him to subpoena witnesses, who may be called later in a potential criminal trial. The impeachment trial starts Monday in the Illinois senate. Blagojevich and his legal team are refusing to participate. As you may know, he is accused of trying to sell President Obama's vacated seat.
Well, take a look at this map. President Obama probably taking a long look at it today. Pakistan is on the White House global radar amid suspected U.S. air strikes. We'll go live to Islamabad.
Plus, out of the lab and into the public arena, stem cell research takes and unprecedented step. Will it pay off?
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PHILLIPS: Well, it's been one of the most controversial medical fields ever. Today it just got more controversial, talking stem cell research. The FDA has cleared the way for the first-ever known human embryonic stem cell trials in people. Those tiny cells have been the root of massive controversy for years now, spreading beyond the lab and into the highest levels of politics and religion.
The people getting the upcoming stem cell treatment are paraplegics who can't use their legs. Do they have any hope of walking again? Let's try and get some answers here from CNN's Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.
I tell you what -- I'm interested to know how they got selected to do this. And what's going through their minds. I would love to interview one of these paraplegics.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. I've already asked. So, I get them first.
PHILLIPS: Well, good. All right. All right, well, then you can bring it to us.
COHEN: There you go. They actually haven't been selected yet.
PHILLIPS: Oh, OK.
COHEN: Because what they're looking for, Kyra, is they are looking for folks who have very recent injuries. So they can't select them now. So, in other words, if someone, let's say, gets into a car accident and becomes a paraplegic, then they would become eligible. They want people whose injuries are fresh, between seven and 14 days. So, they don't want to select anyone now. They're going to wait until they become injured and then offer them participation in the clinical trials.
PHILLIPS: OK. That will be interesting. I know you will probably score that. But of course, this comes with controversy. And it is the whole, is this - you know, what do you do with these embryos. Is it life, is it not life, I mean, it goes into that whole ethical discussion.
COHEN: Oh, absolutely. Because if you believe that an embryo, in a lab, is life, you're against this research. It was interesting, because I just got off the phone with someone who belongs to a right- to-life group, an anti-abortion group. And I said to her, Judy, her name is Judy Brown. I said, Judy, if your child were in a wheelchair and this became a treatment. And this treatment could get your child out of a wheelchair, would you give it to your child? She said absolutely not. She did not hesitate for a second. She said in order to make this treatment, you have to destroy an embryo. She said she considers an embryo a person, like you and me. And she said I wouldn't want to kill one person to help another person.
PHILLIPS: There's a lot of history behind this as well.
COHEN: Yes, there certainly is a lot of history. It's important to remember that for many, many medical technology developments, there has been resistance and protests. This is not the first time. And I actually asked Dr. Thomas O'Karma about that earlier. He is the CEO of Geron, the company that's going to be doing these trials. Let's listen to what he had to say.
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DR. THOMAS O'KARMA, CEO, GERON: This is a new idea. And any new idea as big as this one always generates controversy. So the first corneal transplant, the first use of anesthesia to achieve painless childbirth, historically these were always met with concerns from the religious right. So, we hope to demonstrate that using an embryo that would have been destroyed or discarded to treat millions of patients with chronic disease is a very ethical step forward.
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COHEN: I will say it's interesting that I covered this controversy in 2001 when President Bush made his historic decision, and religious groups were sending me e-mails constantly, posting things on their web sites. They were calling me. I've heard pretty much nothing today. It's interesting. Nothing on their web sites. Haven't been getting e-mails and phone calls. I sought Judy Brown out. They're not calling to protest. I'm not quite sure why.
PHILLIPS: That's interesting.
COHEN: Yes, it is.
PHILLIPS: Well, I look forward to the exclusive interview with one of the paraplegics that follows this.
COHEN: You'll see it here.
PHILLIPS: Yes, we'll see what happens. Thanks, Elizabeth.
Well, issues of faith and religion, they help define President Barack Obama's campaign for the highest office in the land. They played a prominent role in his inauguration. Take a closer look at the issue. We'll also speak live with the author of "God in the White House."
Check this out. President Obama isn't the only one who is tech savvy.
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PHILLIPS: In case you don't speak Italian, Father Lombardi there is saying, Hey, welcome to checking out the pope there on YouTube. It's pretty hip, huh? Benedict XVI unveiling his own channel on the YouTube, with high-def videos to get his message out. The Vatican says that the site is for everyone, from devout Catholics, to the casual web surfer. Just go to YouTube.com/Vatican.
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PHILLIPS: (INAUDIBLE) very much in the spotlight Tuesday as Barack Obama was sworn in. CNN's Jim Acosta takes a look at what we might see from the new president on the religious front.
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JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The Obama presidency wasn't the only first this inauguration week. Sharon Watkins became the first woman to lead the national prayer service, a ritual that dates back to George Washington .
REV. SHARON WATKINS, PRESIDENT, DISCIPLES OF CHRIST: It's good that we pause to take a deep spiritual breath.
ACOSTA: At the inauguration's kickoff at the Lincoln Memorial it was the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, Gene Robinson, delivering the invocation.
RT. REV. GENE ROBINSON, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF NEW HAMPSHIRE: And the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.
ACOSTA: Choices that illustrate Mr. Obama's desire for inclusiveness.
JIM WALLIS, PRESIDENT, SOJOUNERS: I've known Barack Obama for about 10 years and he's always been a good listener. He wants to know what you think. And he wants strong opinions around him, and then he listens and he then decides what he thinks.
ACOSTA: That could explain why controversial evangelical Pastor Rick Warren was asked by the president to give the invocation at the swearing in.
PASTOR RICK WARREN, SADDLEBACK CHURCH: Help us, oh, God, to remember that we are Americans.
ACOSTA: Warren was both praised for his inclusive tone and criticized by some for invoking the name of Jesus.
WARREN: I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life, Jeshuah, Issa, Jesus, Jesus.
ACOSTA: Religious scholars are parsing everything about the president's handling of faith this week. He was quoting from the Bible --
OBAMA : The time has come to set aside childish things.
ACOSTA: To the support he picked up from Kirby John Caldwell, the Texas pastor who presided over the wedding of former first daughter Jenna Bush, author of "God In The White House," Randall Balmer says it all adds up to a new kind of presidential faith.
RANDALL BALMER, AUTHOR, "GOD IN THE WHITE HOUSE": There is a new way of doing business in Washington. Obama clearly means to send a signal that he's willing to reach out to a wide array of individuals.
ACOSTA (On camera): Even though Democrats criticized President Bush's office of faith-based initiatives, President Obama has plans to overhaul and expand the program. During the campaign, then-Candidate Obama insisted he would keep this office and still maintain a separation between church and state, a principle value here in this country. Jim Acosta, CNN, Washington.
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PHILLIPS: All right. So, let's dig a little deeper here. John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic president, asked voters to disregard a candidate's religion. On the other hand, George W. Bush said, I believe that God wants me to be president. "God In the White House", how is President Obama's faith going to guide this country? Randall Balmer wrote the book, so let's ask him. He's joining me live now from New Haven, Connecticut.
Great to see you, Randall.
BALMER: Thanks, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So, the picture I cannot get out of my head is the one taken for "Time" magazine, of him standing there, just before he's going to walk out onto the capitol steps, and take the oath of office. And I'm just curious, when you look at this picture, if you could hear his prayer, what would you want to hear from him at that moment?
(LAUGHTER)
BALMER: He's probably thinking, God help me!
PHILLIPS: Yes, really.
BALMER: Somebody help me.
PHILLIPS: God fill my heart and soul.
BALMER: Right.
PHILLIPS: What do you think was going through his mind? From what you've read about him, from what you know of past presidents and the way they look at faith? What does that moment usually mean?
BALMER: Well, I think there's good evidence to believe that Barack Obama is somebody for whom his faith is important to him. One of the interesting facets of the 2004 campaign was that for the first time, in recent memory, we had the Democratic candidate, who was very comfortable, even fluent talking about his faith, and the way the faith guides his policies. And the Republican candidate was clearly uncomfortable. In fact, there was some who question whether he was a Baptist or Episcopalian.
PHILLIPS: Wow. All right, I want to get more into Obama, and faith, and how that's going to play out in the next administration. But I want to ask you just for a second, looking back at President Bush, just for a minute, David Kuo, who is second in command of President Bush's faith-based initiative, back in 2001 to 2003, here's a quote from his book, "Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction". He said, "National Christian leaders would receive hugs and smiles in person and then were dismissed behind their backs and described as ridiculous, out of control, and just plain goofy." Did Bush and the Republican Party use religion in the White House to manipulate voters, to, I don't know, come across as moral superiority? Was it fake?
BALMER: Well, obviously David has the inside track. I wouldn't be prepared to contradict that. But I think there probably is some evidence that there's a lot of rhetoric in the campaign trail, and by the way, it's not just republican or even George W. Bush. Presidents, or our presidential candidates talk about their faith a great deal on the campaign trail. And I'm hard pressed to see, with the exception of Jimmy Carter, over the last 50 years, where a candidate's faith or his professions of faith actually influenced his policies as president.
So if that's sort of cynical view is coming out of the Bush White House, I think we probably should pay attention to it.
PHILLIPS: So how important is it that our president is God centered? How does that translate into running our country?
BALMER: Well, I think, again, over the past half century, it has not translated all that obviously, or apparently. But I think the reason that we voters keep asking the question, is that for Americans, in a place where we don't have a state church, or established religion, religion is a proxy for morality. So that when we have a presidential candidate come along, we want to know whether or not that person is a good guy, or good woman, or somebody who is a moral person. And the way we ask that in a kind of shorthand way is, do you go to church? Are you religious? It's not a very good way of answering the question. And in fact, we haven't gotten very good answers, I think, over the last 50 years.
PHILLIPS: Let me ask you this, Randall, Lyndon Johnson, right? He wasn't necessarily a religious man.
BALMER: Not at all.
PHILLIPS: He was pro civil rights. He did all kinds of incredible things for the sake of diversity. You would probably see him as a pretty moral guy, right? Can there be a president where faith is not a priority, and they can still lead the country in a moral way?
BALMER: Absolutely. Absolutely. And Lyndon Johnson is fascinating. I became newly intrigued by him when I was doing the research. Lyndon Johnson, as you said, was not an openly pious or religious man. Yet his mother had taught him one simple moral principle. The strong had an obligation to care for the weak. And that helps to explain why Lyndon Johnson, a white Southerner, helped to push through this landmark civil rights legislation, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, because the strong had an obligation to care for the weak. It also explains what animated his Great Society ambitions. Tragically, he also applied that to Vietnam to tragic ends.
PHILLIPS: Well, you mentioned Carter. You know, I guess he could only kind of be on the rise whether he was a Christian or not. He was coming out of the Nixon era and he was pretty much looked at as the devil. Carter was sort of the redeemer president.
BALMER: He was.
PHILLIPS: Which is sort of where Barack Obama is, right, Randall. I mean, final thoughts here. Barack Obama's a human being. He's not the messiah. But he is sort of being looked at as this sort of redeemer president, coming in to save the world.
BALMER: Absolutely. I think three times in the past 50 years, in the case of Jimmy Carter in 1976, George W. Bush actually himself, in 2000, after the Clinton indiscretions, and now I think Barack Obama after the Bush presidency. All three times, we as voters have looked to these candidates as redeemer presidents, trying to set us back on a more moral course.
PHILLIPS: Well, your book was fascinating, "God In The White House". Randall Balmer, what a pleasure to talk to you. Thanks for your time.
BALMER: My pleasure. Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Barack Obama won over lots of women voters. But some are already unhappy with him. What's he done, or not done four days in?
One thing he'll definitely have to do, deal with this region, right here. Pakistan's definitely on the map today after suspected U.S. missile strikes. We'll take you straight to Islamabad.
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PHILLIPS: Pakistan right there on the map today, in a very explosive way. The Pakistanis report two deadly U.S. missile strikes in the tribal region near the Afghan border. The first such strike since President Obama took office.
Let's get straight to Reza Sayah. He's in Islamabad.
Reza, what do you know?
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, this looks like a very loud and emphatic message by the Barack Obama administration. A lot of people here in Pakistan, in the region, curious to see if these suspected U.S. missile strikes on Pakistani soil would continue under the Obama administration.
The answer came here on Friday night. And the answer is yes.
CNN confirms two separate suspected U.S. missile strikes in Pakistan's tribal region right along the Afghan border. Two Pakistani military officials and a political official in the tribal region tell CNN the first strike happened at 5:15 p.m. local time here in Pakistan at a village in north Waziristan.
In that strike, officials tell us, 10 people died. We should note that this is a village that's frequented by Taliban commander Molvi Nazir (ph). This is a commander accused by U.S. military officials of training and recruiting fighters on Pakistani soil, sending them over to Afghanistan to attack U.S. and NATO forces. That was the first missile strike.
Two hours later, in south Waziristan, officials tell CNN there was a second missile strike in a village near Wana. In that attack, seven people died.
North and south Waziristan, two districts in Pakistan's ungoverned, semiautonomous tribal region, a region described as a safe haven by U.S. government officials. This week, President Obama himself described this as an area where al Qaeda remains at large and planning attacks.
These attacks, these missile attacks that have been the U.S. strategy, have been very controversial in Islamabad. The Pakistani government has condemned them.
Earlier today, we spoke with a top spokesman of the Pakistani army. Here's what he had to say about these missile strikes.
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MAJ. GEN. ATHAR ABBAS, PAKISTANI MILITARY SPOKESMAN: Drone strikes, if they are killing one, two, or three, let's say militants, or hard-core militants in the area, but it also results in collateral damage. That affects our operation there. Now, in 50 strikes, if you have killed five, let's say, hard-core militants, is it worth it? This question must be asked.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAYAH: Despite that criticism and condemnation, those missile strikes have continued over the past year. Thirty in 2008. And the first two, Kyra, under the Barack Obama administration on this Friday night here in Pakistan.
PHILLIPS: Reza, thank you so much.
And CNN's Wolf Blitzer has an exclusive interview with former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf later this afternoon. Be sure to watch "THE SITUATION ROOM" starting at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.
Well, in addition to the foreign policy challenges facing the president, he's also dealing with the huge job of repairing the nation's economy. On his agenda today, a daily briefing on the economy, a budget meeting scheduled this hour. And later this afternoon, a meeting with Timothy Geithner, his nominee for treasury secretary.
Now, the Senate has scheduled a Monday vote on Geithner's nomination. He's expected to be confirmed.
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PHILLIPS: Well, if you believe the old saying "A woman's work is never done," and if you believe some women's groups, President Obama has got a lot of work to do if he wants to keep ladies on his side.
CNN's Christine Romans explains.
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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He is a president surrounded by women.
OBAMA: How good looking is my wife?
ROMANS: The Harvard-educated wife, two young daughters. His mother-in-law lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. On the campaign trail, he invoked the hard work of the woman who raised him and promised equal pay for women.
OBAMA: Because I think about my grandmother and what she could have done if she had been treated equally.
ROMANS: He named Hillary Clinton his secretary of state, Janet Napolitano to head Homeland Security. So far, six cabinet level positions to women.
So why are women's organizations like NOW and The New Agenda disappointed?
AMY SISKIND, THE NEW AGENDA: We had high hopes for President- elect Obama going into this. And it's been very discouraging.
ROMANS: Just six out of 21 cabinet positions, they say, is not enough. Women are 52 percent of the population and 54 percent of voters. And 56 percent of women voted for this president.
SISKIND: We're clearly not getting the respect or the amount of power that the women in this country deserve. And it just shows you that Obama does not take this constituency very seriously.
ROMANS: Unfair, says author Naomi Wolf.
NAOMI WOLF, AUTHOR: I personally feel strongly that it's more important to have the right policies than a certain litmus number for gender.
ROMANS: But there's also a nagging concern that men will be favored in the 3.7 million jobs Obama wants to create, jobs building bridges around roads, alternative energy, and health care technology, fields dominated by men.
WOLF: What he could certainly do is make sure that his policy advisers invest as much in hospitals and schools and the kinds of sectors where women predominate.
ROMANS: A message the president's team has heard, loud and clear, recently estimating Obama's stimulus will save or create about 1.5 million jobs for women over the next two years.
(on camera): Many agree it will be a challenge for this administration to create jobs for women. There will be heavy emphasis on construction jobs. Just three percent of that industry is female. Engineering and technology also largely dominated by men.
Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: All right. We just heard from author Naomi Wolf in that piece there. Her latest book called "Give me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries."
She joins me now with a bit of a handbook for President Obama in dealing with women's issues.
Well, the first thing I'm thinking, Naomi, maybe you and I should go start building houses. It looks like we need to infiltrate the construction world.
WOLF: You know, those jobs are certainly better paying than traditional women's jobs. And one of the things I spoke to your producer about is that a lot of the stimulus package seems to be directing money, understandably, into rebuilding infrastructure and developing green energy.
That will tend to benefit traditionally male occupations. And there's some creative things Europe is doing in creating government programs to train women to take those high-paying jobs with good benefits as well.
PHILLIPS: All right. I wanted to talk to you, because I wanted to talk specifics. I want to hit as many as I can in our short period of time.
Let's forget numbers. He could appoint the entire administration to be all women. That's not what it's about. It's about policies.
One thing you point out, raise the minimum wage. Correct?
WOLF: That's absolutely right. Disproportionately, women -- disproportionately, people who hold minimum wage jobs are women, and often they are the sole support of families. And all over the world people who are involved in developing strong societies know that the quickest way you support an economy, build up an economy, is by investing in women and children. So strengthening, raising the minimum wage and attaching benefits to part-time work are going to support women and help us build up the economy as well.
PHILLIPS: Number two, bringing the soldiers home.
WOLF: Yes. Well, I'm delighted to see he's already moving forward aggressively on that.
Let's not forget that a substantial percentage of the brave young people who are holding the line in Iraq and Afghanistan are women. And it's very hard on families when mom or dad are gone for six months, and then another six months, the stop-losses we've seen under the Bush administration. Kids suffer and family structures suffer. And it's also not good for the economy. And so drawing down those soldiers in a way that's consistent with supporting our national security is going to bring a lot of women home to develop infrastructure here at home, to bring the military where it needs to be more strategically, and will support again those family structures.
PHILLIPS: You know, that leads perfectly into health insurance for part-time work, because women take on part-time jobs because they're raising the children as well. They can't all do full time. And you know, we've got to have insurance.
WOLF: You're absolutely right. And again, it's tough to look at the fact, but I think Obama and all of us are ready to look at some hard truths about America.
We are way down at the bottom of the list of industrialized nations in terms of policies that support flex time and family leave, policies that women disproportionately need because they're often primary caretakers of small children. And frankly, it's going to be a tough fight, because we're wrong to think that any president, Obama or Bush, or anyone to come, alone has the power to wave a magic wand and give women and dads and families those work family balance policies.
The chambers of Congress object, business interests object. It costs money for business interests to support those kinds of policies.
And so what Obama is going to need, or any president will need, is for moms and dads to form a lobby, to force Obama to be able to say to business interests, look, I have no choice. I have got to give proper work family policies. I've got to give real family leave to new moms and dads the way they do in Holland and in Canada and all over northern Europe.
So it's up to us. And by the way, there's a great group called Moms Rising, which is the only lobby I know of moms and dads successfully organizing to be a pressure group for these kinds of policies, and they've driven a lot of important state legislation.
So, you know, there are hundreds of millions of moms and dads in this country who stand to benefit from balanced work family policies. And it's up to us to organize. And you can find out ways to do it concretely by going to myamericaproject.com.
PHILLIPS: You got it. We'll also be looking to, you know, the co-chairs of the Senate Small Business Committee, Olympia Snow, Mary Landrieu, two very strong women there, senators. They'll be talking about investing in small businesses.
WOLF: Good.
PHILLIPS: Women run a lot of small businesses. I know that's important, too.
Naomi Wolf, we'll be talking again. Let's do a status check. What do you say?
WOLF: That would be great. Any time. Thank you.
PHILLIPS: OK. We'll do it. Naomi, thanks so much.
WOLF: A pleasure.
PHILLIPS: Well, in west Texas, firefighters get a handle on a big wildfire that's burning near Abilene. But another big blaze is still spreading. We're going to find out where things stand right now.
And they're selling everything they own on eBay. But they're not doing it for love, not money. Wait until you hear their story.
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PHILLIPS: The XTC strip club -- hot babes, cold brew, and a rogue heel. Got to hear about the pole dancing experience. So painful, one man just could not go back.
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PHILLIPS: Well, for years we've been hearing about the nation's crumbling and outdated electric grid; right? Now the Obama administration is calling for an upgrade.
CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow has our "Energy Fix" from New York.
Poppy, I can't tell you how many times we've had breaking news where all electricity -- I mean, places have gone dark.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: It's true. Remember New York City in 2003? I mean, the entire city went black.
PHILLIPS: Yes.
HARLOW: And Obama's promising to do something hopefully to change that from happening in the future. Maybe not the most inspirational topic of the inaugural address, but he really did address just this, the need for a new electric grid.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Well, he's talking about a smart grid, and building that uses digital technology. It could change the way each and every one of us uses electricity.
It's self-monitoring. A smart grid prevents those system overloads that cause blackouts. It could also utilities also to set prices based on the time of day that you're using your appliances, rather than charging you a flat fee. It could save you money.
Think about a smart dishwasher, for example. You could run it at midnight automatically, pay less than someone who runs it at high usage times during the day.
But building this, Kyra, we know it doesn't come cheap. Some say it could cost $2 trillion, with a "T," over the next 20 years. And we know Uncle Sam is ponying up a lot of money right now, but not that kind of cash.
The stimulus bill put forth by House Democrats a few weeks ago, that sets aside $11 billion for this project. Nothing like $2 trillion.
It's not being used very widely right now. Some pilot programs across the country. A big utility company, Xcel Energy, working in Boulder, Colorado, trying to make that city the first smart grid city in the country. By the end of the year, the company says 45,000 homes could have smart meters installed in them.
So a very interesting idea. We'll see if though if it's actually going to be used by the masses -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, we'll be tracking it. That's for sure.
Thanks, Poppy.
HARLOW: You're welcome.
PHILLIPS: Too bad there isn't any gum to help kick the BlackBerry habit. President Obama's smart phone addiction is well known. There was a chance he would have to turn it off permanently because of security concerns. But now it looks like he's got the situation well in hand.
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PHILLIPS: Now, as always, team Sanchez back there working hard for his money.
What have you got?
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: We are putting together an unbelievable newscast for today.
PHILLIPS: Unbelievable?
SANCHEZ: I mean, think about this. Just two days ago, he was talking about ethics and his staff, and rules that they had to follow. Then yesterday he came in hard with foreign policy, saying this country will not torture. And today he's talking about Gitmo and the economy.
And, you know, it's interesting that he would be spending so much time talking about the economy, because we're going to be spending a lot of time, or plan to, except we were now told -- you're not going to believe who's having a news conference at 3:00.
PHILLIPS: Who?
SANCHEZ: Blagojevich.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Oh! He's back.
Is he going to announce that he should be running for the president of the United States?
SANCHEZ: Some people think they're good TV, and some people are good TV. I don't know. I'll leave you with that thought.
PHILLIPS: Well, you're fun TV. See you in a little bit.
SANCHEZ: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: All right.
Well, they say that they're selling everything they own, and they mean everything. All except for the house and the kids, by the way. And the kids are why they're placing all of their possessions on eBay. Greg (ph) and Brittany Peters (ph) say they need the money to pay their medical bills for two of their three children who have serious health conditions. So they're telling their story, putting their possessions up for sale, and they say that their family will be stronger and they'll simply make do with less.
Wow.
Well, let's face it, a strip club is sort of a fantasy world for guys; right? Like kind of Disney World in a G-string. But for one patron in Ohio, fantasy hit him right smack in the face.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YUSUF EVANS, FILED LAWSUIT: I had seen her run, and as she grabbed the pole and flung her whole bottom half of her body around the pole, and her boot flew off. And it just hit me on the nose. And it hurt bad. All I could do is drop my head, hold my nose and holler.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, Yusuf says the rogue shoe broke his nose. He wants the club to pony up $25,000 for his trouble.
And this part is great. His lawsuit claims that the club let dancers wear improper attire. Really? In a strip club?
Oh, and by the way, we don't think Tiara (ph) is really the dancer's real name.
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PHILLIPS: Well, surely you've seen Barack Obama using his BlackBerry, or CrackBerry, as we like to call it. You might even say that he's addicted to it, can't do without it, despite all the security concerns that it raises. It seems though that the president is getting what he wants, a new high-tech device.
Brian Todd gets to tell us all about it.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's official. The new president won't have to kick his tech habit.
ROBERT GIBBS, PRESS SECRETARY: The president has a BlackBerry through a compromise that allows him to stay in touch with senior staff and a small group of personal friends.
TODD: A group that White House officials indicate will be very limited. Published reports say the president's new device could be the Sectera Edge, made by General Dynamics. It's not available to the public, and the company says the $3,300 portable has to be approved by the National Security Agency before government officials can use it.
Why? A General Dynamics official took us through the capabilities of this personal digital assistant, or PDA.
MICHAEL GUZELIAN, GENERAL DYNAMICS: It's an unclassified PDA that can go out to a Web site, like weather.com, or Check Flights. And then, with one push of a button, you switch over to a classified PDA, which would allow you to access secret e-mail or secret Web sites.
TODD: Phone calls are made by pressing that telephone button. But hit the button for the red background, and it's a top-secret phone call.
(on camera): We e-mailed the NSA, asking whether it approved the Sectera Edge for Mr. Obama's use. The agency referred us to the White House, which wouldn't say which specific device the president has.
(voice-over): But Press Secretary Robert Gibbs did talk about why the president feels he should have a portable device.
GIBBS: He believes it's a way of keeping in touch with folks, a way of doing it outside of getting stuck in a bubble.
TODD: But security is still a concern. Some Internet security experts have told us no device is hack-proof. The General Dynamics official wouldn't say that this device is a veritable Fort Knox, but he said the NSA wouldn't certify technology that was easily hacked.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Rick, I wish everyone could see the red phone in our control room. It still has the dial.
(LAUGHTER)
