Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Daschle Withdraws as Cabinet Nominee; Interview With Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe
Aired February 03, 2009 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: There is developing news, a huge stumbling block for Obama's Cabinet.
I'm Rick Sanchez. Let's cut to the chase.
President Obama -- nobody said it was going to be easy, and, today, it is not. Not one, but two of his nominees for powerful positions are out. We have been watching this since early this morning, the latest, as you heard from Kyra, Tom Daschle. What is going on here? We are getting to the bottom of this one.
Cutting to the chase two -- today, finally, the president's pick for attorney general is sworn in. Never before has the nation had a black A.G. And maybe never before has the Justice Department been such a mess.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Cutting to the change, and boy, do they want change at the Justice Department. Listen to the reception for the new guy.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
SANCHEZ: Mr. Holder, meet your staff. Now what?
Fixing the Gitmo mess called by some America's black eye. But this Republican senator says, leave it alone; don't close it.
SEN. JAMES INHOFE (R), OKLAHOMA: Probably not the only one up at this table that is more outraged by the outrage than we are by the treatment.
SANCHEZ: James Inhofe joins me live to take on the tough issues.
Venezuela's Hugo Chavez says he wants to be friends with President Obama.
HUGO CHAVEZ, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Perhaps we can start a new period of respect and relations that would be constructive.
SANCHEZ: But he says Obama doesn't get the energy issues.
And Ann Coulter's diatribes, are they endangering America's president? Her response.
Your comments, participatory journalism, this national conversation begins right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: And hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez. Let's cut to the change.
Yes, this is participatory journalism, so we want you to get involved in the discussion, really the worst day so far for Barack Obama. There may be worse coming, obviously a bit of an embarrassing situation tax wise, something he's going to have to explain.
And, yes, he is accepting -- the words of Robert Gibbs, the president is accepting responsibility for this tax mess.
In fact, let's go to Robert Gibbs explaining what happened today with not one, but two of his Cabinet appointees.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: They both recognized that you can't set an example of responsibility but accept a different standard in who serves. They both decided and recognized that their nominations would distract from the important goals and the critical agenda that the president put forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: This has been a weird day.
Patricia Murphy is joining us. She is with CitizenJanePolitics.com.
Mark Preston is joining us as well. He's with "Preston on Politics."
Murph, I want to begin with you.
First, Tom Daschle, what happened?
PATRICIA MURPHY, EDITOR, CITIZENJANEPOLITICS.COM: Well, they say in weather that conditions start to deteriorate. Conditions began to deteriorate really quickly for Tom Daschle in Washington.
The news came out about him at the end of the week. Then he met on Monday with members of the Finance Committee. We heard from the senior Republican on that committee. He was worried not just about the tax problems of Daschle, but conflicts of interest over health companies he might regulate.
Then "The New York Times" this morning calling for Daschle to step aside, huge influence over Democrats with that. And then Nancy Killefer, a woman nominated to be number two at OMB, stepped aside for what is a relatively small infraction on taxes, $298, in fact, not a whole lot compared to Daschle.
When she stepped aside and said she didn't want to be a distraction, it was impossible to see how Daschle could stay where he was.
SANCHEZ: Let's bring in Ed Henry. I understand we're joined now by Ed Henry, our White House correspondent, there at the White House.
Ed, look, it looked like Democrats were willing to give this guy a pass. There was really no reason for him to resign. It's not like he wasn't going to get the gig. So, the obvious question is, is this his decision or President Obama's decision?
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the White House is insisting it was Tom Daschle's decision. And I think one of the major factors had to be that the political climate has changed radically just in the last couple of weeks.
I asked Robert Gibbs about that standard in that sound bite you just played about how the president's nominees, he said, realize that as the president tries to usher in what he called a new era of responsibility, they have to live up to new standards of responsibility.
And so I asked, well, if that applies to Nancy Killefer and Tom Daschle, why didn't it apply to Tim Geithner, the treasury secretary, who, at Patricia points out, he had a lot more in unpaid taxes than Nancy Killefer did.
Robert Gibbs basically said, well, the process moved forward. He was already confirmed by the Senate.
And so I think the question becomes now, is it a process issue or is it a principle that this president is laying out that you have to have a new, you know, sort of standard of responsibility? And I think what changed over the last couple weeks, since Tim Geithner's nomination went through and when Tom Daschle ran into this trouble and finally decided to chuck it aside, and realized it was going to be a difficult battle, is look what happened on Wall Street with those bonuses of over $18 billion.
The president here at the White House called in reporters late last week to lash out at people, you know, spending all -- getting all those bonuses while they had their hand out to the government. And the next day, the Tom Daschle's story breaks that he had a car and driver and didn't pay taxes on it.
That, in this political climate, really tripped up Tom Daschle because it looked awful politically for this White House, Rick.
SANCHEZ: Exactly.
And Mark Preston, you know what's interesting about this? On this show, later on on this show, you know what you're going to hear? You're going to from Ann Coulter. We have sound of her talking this morning where she is blasting Tom Daschle and blasting President Obama -- maybe she was prescient about this -- before this even happened.
So, is Obama trying to cut away the ammunition from Republicans here, so they can't do that kind of thing? That's why it's ixnay- nixay on Tom Daschle?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: I think that Tom Daschle probably came to the conclusion himself, though, Rick. He has a history of making 11th-hour decisions, congressman to soul -- really doing some soul searching and coming to terms with what the reality is.
Just six years ago, he was thinking of running for president. He was all set to go. And in January of 2003, he decided not to run at the 11th hour. I think the Tom Daschle we saw yesterday, you know, was all set to go.
And, then, you're right, the pressure started mounting, the pressure started mounting, and then he decided to pull out.
Now, as far as what Republicans are going to do...
SANCHEZ: Mounting on him or mounting on President -- I hate to come back to this again and again, but who's the pressure really mounting on here, a president who's going to have some people who may be perceived to have cheated on their taxes, or a guy who was going for a gig that everybody was going to vote him in for who decides to pull out mysteriously at the last minute on?
PRESTON: Well, I think the pressure is on both. But I think that Tom Daschle probably looked inward at himself and said, you know something? I had such a great run in Congress. I was the Democratic leader for a number of years, while I was defeated back in 2004. Do I really want to go through a bruising confirmation process?
So, inward, I think that Tom Daschle said I'm not going to do this to my family. But I also think he had a sense of loyalty to Barack Obama and realized he would be a punching bag. One thing to keep in mind, Rick, is that Republicans seem to have gotten their voice back. We have seen that on their opposition to the stimulus package and we started to see that with the Tom Daschle nomination.
So, even he probably would have made it through the Senate, he would have got beaten up. You would have seen Republicans come out against him. And I don't think Tom Daschle wanted to be part of the .
SANCHEZ: I have got to tell you, my journalistic instincts tell me that Barack Obama had a hell of a lot more to do with this decision than Tom Daschle did. But let's leave it at that.
Let's talk about the other part of this, the other shoe to fall today. This is Nancy Killefer. She quit as the chief performance officer, whatever that is, by the way. I think a lot of Americans are still kind of confused as to what this job was going to be, or will be.
But, Murph, here's what's interesting about this. In her case, it was less than $1,000, apparently, this tax issue, if we're going to believe the report that initially has come out. In Daschle's case, it was $120,000 and a bunch of limousine rides for free.
He couldn't have kept Daschle and let her go, right? If one was going to go, the other one had to go, right?
MURPHY: I think that whether it was Obama's decision or Daschle's Or Killefer's, there was no way that she could resign this morning and not have enormous pressure on Daschle to do the exact same, because her offense, if that's the only offense that she's talking about, she's only talked about personal tax issues, but if that's it, the original offense was $298.
So, for her to take herself out of the running because she didn't feel like she could restore integrity to this office that Obama has said this is the job that is going to restore integrity to the White House and the congressional budgeting process, if she didn't feel like she could do that, it would have been impossible for Daschle to stay where he was.
SANCHEZ: Oh, there's no question. Transparency is a big part of this and the message that you send out from the White House. Some people are criticizing this, but this may be decisions that need to be made at this point, hey, rather now than four years down the road, or perhaps even eight years down the road.
Here's a Twitter that we're getting now. Let's go to our Twitter board, if we can. I want to bounce it off of these guys.
Let's go to Brat2. He's watching the show. He says: "I'm mad. Daschle was the perfect man for the job. And then we find out he's just like every politician. What a surprise."
There's a lot of people out there -- you know what I sense, Mark, and Murph? There's an upset populace out there. They're upset that they're finding out all of a sudden, all this change, all this hope that Obama was bringing in, and now they're seeing at least these first couple of weeks that there are a bunch of guys out there who are acting just like their predecessors did.
Either one of you.
PRESTON: Well, let me just take that.
This was supposed to be a great day for Barack Obama, right, Rick? He had Judd Gregg, a very conservative Republican, who he is bringing into his administration, who's going to help him on economic matters, taking over the Commerce Department. And guess what? He is sidetracked by these tax issues.
The fact is, is that Barack Obama really had a very long honeymoon. Republicans didn't know how to deal with it. And, really, he set the bar very high for his own administration: I'm not going to bring lobbyists in.
Next thing we know, we see him give a waiver to his undersecretary of defense. We have these tax problems show up.
I think that Barack Obama probably created -- or at least set the bar a little bit too high to get things done here in Washington. And now he's having to deal with it. SANCHEZ: Patricia Murphy, Mark Preston, our thanks to both of you. This political stuff is fantastic. I'm glad you guys are on it for us.
You have seen exclusive interviews on this show telling us that Gitmo should be closed from people on the inside who say, there are maybe really just 15 hard-core terrorists there. Think about that, just 15 of 245.
Coming up next, right here, a Republican senator who has just returned from Gitmo, and he says, look, that's wrong. And he's willing to take on President Obama's position on Gitmo. Talk about headbutting.
Arianna Huffington is going to be coming up in just a little bit. She's going to be taking on Richard Quest, live -- both when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Yes, welcome back.
We have got some breaking news. This is one of those that leaves you shaking your head as you read it, especially given the mood of the populace, as I said moments ago, in the United States.
Listen to this. Bailed-out banking giant Wells Fargo is planning more than a week of corporate junkets at Las Vegas casinos. Wells Fargo, that's right. They received, what, $25 billion in taxpayer money. They have booked 12 nights at the Wynn and Encore hotels starting on Friday. Some of that is for a company conference honoring the top mortgage lenders. This is a report that's coming in to us now from the Associated Press.
We're expecting to get more information on this story. Obviously, as we get it, we are going to be sharing it with you. We're going to be digging deep into this. And, to be fair, we don't know. Maybe this is a money-making venture of some kind for Wells Fargo. Maybe it is something that they had booked so far in advance it would have been more costly to eliminate it at this point, all fair questions that need to be asked.
But on its face, as you look at it, as a citizen of the United States, as somebody who's helped this bank get that $25 billion, as somebody who pays taxes, you do go, what? I want to know more.
And that's what we're going to do for you. We are going to try and get more information on that.
Let's bring in somebody who wants to talk about Gitmo right now.
The situation in Gitmo, as you heard on this newscast, is one that's extremely perplexing, lots of problems, and you have heard from guests here who say just how problematic it is.
Let's show some video of the area that we're talking about. This is the prison that's said to hold something like 245 inmates still, people who have been rounded up around the world. Is it a huge problem for the United States or is it something that is worth keeping?
Let me introduce you now to Republican Senator James Inhofe from Oklahoma. He's a member of the Armed Services Committee.
Senator, thanks so much for being with us, sir.
INHOFE: Nice to be with you, Rick.
SANCHEZ: You just got back. You can probably tell us, how many inmates are actually there? Because we're having a tough time wrapping our heads around some of these numbers.
INHOFE: Well, OK. Let me categorize it for you.
There are a total of 245. Of the 245, 170 are detainees whose countries don't want them back. In other words, they don't have a place to go. Of the 170, 110 are really hard-core terrorists.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Well, we talked to a prosecutor on this show last week. I mean, this is a former prosecutor who worked there inside, who really knows the place in and out, who told us, in his opinion, after looking at this case load, there were only 15 hard-core terrorists in there, at most.
INHOFE: OK. I think he's wrong. I think there are 110.
SANCHEZ: Where do you get the 110?
(CROSSTALK)
INHOFE: Well, I just got back last night, late last night. And that's the figure I came back with.
SANCHEZ: Well, who told you that, though? Who told you that?
(CROSSTALK)
INHOFE: Well, that's what I got from everybody who was down there, the crew. I was talking to all of them.
But I'm talking about, you know, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. We saw him. He's down there. Four of his co-conspirators are there. And, so, we have got a lot of them down there that we don't want to turn loose on society.
One of the problems...
SANCHEZ: But, you know...
INHOFE: Go ahead.
SANCHEZ: But here's the issue. And I really don't mean to interrupt.
But it's like, as we wrap our heads around this thing -- well, here is what the president is saying. The president is saying, this is such a huge black eye for the United States, that it becomes a recruiting tool for the people who want to kill us, al Qaeda and the likes of al Qaeda.
So, if you keep it open, aren't you doing more damage to the United States?
INHOFE: No.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Especially for a longer period of time than just taking the bad apples there and putting them in Leavenworth or putting them in Bagram?
INHOFE: Well, you can't put them in Bagram, because they are out of capacity, and they will be out of capacity as we accelerate in Afghanistan.
Where you're dead wrong is, it's a great resource for the United States of America. We have had Gitmo since 1903. It's a place that we can use that we don't have to use our own soil.
Now, as far as the individuals there, what...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: But why...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: You just said a place -- I was born there, by the way. I'm Cuban.
INHOFE: OK.
SANCHEZ: I don't understand what the huge advantage is to have them in Cuba, as opposed to have them in a decent, well-run, secure prison in the United States. It's not like we get guys breaking out of Supermax every day, is it?
INHOFE: OK. If you will let me answer, I will.
SANCHEZ: I will. And I apologize.
INHOFE: All right.
First of all, I don't know of any prison that I have inspected in the United States that treats people better or has better resources than they have right there in Gitmo.
They have, right now, seven camps, ranging all the way from people who are not so dangerous, all the way up to the Mohammeds, really bad guys. And if you think people are mistreated there, pull up the Red Cross inspections of that area, because they're not mistreated. It is a resource that I think we can use.
Now, in the event that we lose it, if we lose it, what's going to happen? If we can't have tribunals, with a totally different set of circumstances to try them under, and they go into U.S. courts, which is conceivable, they could actually be released into society.
Now, the other thing they're talking about is using one or two of some 17 installations in the United States of America. The problem with that is, once they get -- we would have terrorist targets in Oklahoma or Kansas or wherever they would put these individuals.
Now, the other problem we have is, as we accelerate in Afghanistan, the two major prisons in Afghanistan, they will only accept people who are Afghans. Now, if you have them from Yemen, Saudi Arabia, we have got to put them someplace. And where do you put them?
SANCHEZ: You represent your point very well, sir.
Senator, my thanks to you.
You know, let -- can we get you back? There's a couple of areas in here I would like to continue discussing, and a lot of questions that a lot of folks who watch this newscast would probably want to have answered as well, especially given your expertise in this field.
INHOFE: I would be glad to.
SANCHEZ: Thank you, sir. We appreciate you taking the time to join us. Appreciate your time.
Why did the new attorney general get a rousing ovation the moment he walked into the room? This is amazing, as you watch it. He's the nation's very first black attorney general. But that's not why the people in the room were clapping. We're going to put all this together for you when we come back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: All right, this is all about the participatory journalism, so let's try and let you participate.
We just told you a little while ago, and you heard the interview I did moments ago, but this is a story that seems to be affecting a lot of people. It's a story that we reported to you moments ago that hopefully we will get more information on. It's about Wells Fargo planning a junket, of all things, to Vegas.
And they're going to be attending casinos. They have booked 12 nights. And there's a lot questions about what they're going to be doing. Remember, the reason this is a story is, Wells Fargo got $12 billion of your tax money in their bailout. What did I say? I said $12 billion?
Twenty-five billion of your tax money. I apologize for that.
So, we get a comment coming in on that right away. In fact, this one's kind of funny.
This is CrazRedhed. She's watching our newscast and says -- she says: "Since it's our money, we should all be heading to Vegas with them. Road trip!"
And then Linda is writing to us over here. Linda's on Facebook and she says: "Rick, remember Leona Helmsley and her famous 'taxes are for little people' quip? Daschle and all his defenders, especially those in the club, the Senate, sound a lot like Leona to us. Ditto for the Wall Streeters and bankers."
That seems to be the mood of the populace, a very bad day for President Obama, with two of his nominees withdrawing today.
But, to be fair, we should look at the other side. Some people said that Eric Holder's nomination would go down in flames because he was involved in President Clinton's pardon for Marc Rich. Holder apologized for that, called it a mistake.
And today he was sworn in as the first African-American attorney general. There it is, leader of the Justice Department that needs change and wants it. Just listen to that applause.
Also today, by the way, President Obama nominated his New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg for commerce secretary. Now, remember, New Mexico's governor, Bill Richardson, was supposed to be commerce secretary, but he had to withdraw because of a corruption investigation. If Gregg is confirmed, he will be the third Republican in the Obama Cabinet. And that can only strengthen the president's bipartisan credentials.
That's kind of like a case of making lemonade out of lemon. And it might be something for his president and his critics to remember as well, the failed nominations. It's how you respond that may make the difference in this case. We will watch and see how this plays out.
What you think, by the way, at CNN.com/ricksanchez, CNN.com/ricksanchez, where you can read more of these.
When we come back, two years ago, a former FBI agent disappeared in Iran, hasn't been seen since. Where is he? What was he doing in Iran is also a good question. His wife is going to talk to us coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Twenty-six minutes after the hour. I'm Rick Sanchez. Welcome back to the world headquarters of CNN here in Atlanta.
Let me show you a picture of somebody. This is Bob Levinson. Bob Levinson is a businessman. He went to Iran two years ago. He disappeared in Iran, hasn't been seen since. His wife is crazy trying to figure out what happened to her husband. She has very few, if any, answers.
And she's good enough to join us now.
Christine Levinson, thank so much for being with us.
CHRISTINE LEVINSON, WIFE OF MISSING AMERICAN: Thank you for having me.
SANCHEZ: Do you have any idea where he is? Have you heard anything? Do you have any clues?
LEVINSON: No.
But what I believe is that he is still in Iran somewhere. That's the last time he was seen, was in that country. And his passport has not been seen since.
SANCHEZ: Senator Bill Nelson says that he's in a secret prison. Why is the senator saying that, and has he shared any information about how he knows that with you?
LEVINSON: No.
SANCHEZ: Do you think he might be?
LEVINSON: I have no idea. All I know is he's probably in Iran somewhere. And I'm hoping that he will be able to come home very soon.
SANCHEZ: Why do you think whatever happened to him happened to him?
LEVINSON: I think he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
SANCHEZ: So you think it was just like -- you don't -- it sounds like you're not saying it was political, like it was just maybe a common crime that could have happened here in the United States?
LEVINSON: Well, I'm looking for my husband. It's not a political situation for me. It's just a wife looking for her husband. And all I care about is getting him home.
SANCHEZ: Your husband worked for the FBI.
Did -- have you -- this is a tough question to ask, so bear with me here. Have you checked with any U.S. agencies to see if maybe he was doing something that he hadn't told you about?
LEVINSON: I don't believe my husband would do anything behind my back. We have been married for more than 34 years now. And we talked about everything. My husband's a wonderful man and a terrific father. And I just believe he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
SANCHEZ: You know what I mean, though, right, the idea that, you know, sometimes guys do things for their government. Sometimes, it involves, you know, espionage. Sometimes, it involves finding things out, and sometimes they're just carrying out orders, and they're not allowed to tell people.
Could your husband have worked -- since he was an FBI agent and he's in Iran, could he have worked for the CIA? Could he have been involved in something like that?
LEVINSON: My husband was retired from the FBI for nine years before he went on this trip. He had never been to the Middle East before, was only supposed to be there 24 hours. I don't believe he would keep secrets from me.
SANCHEZ: It must be tough for you. I can't even imagine what I would go through if I was in your situation. You're a tough woman. And you're reaching out to everybody you can.
What's it like to walk in your shoes day-to-day?
LEVINSON: It's very difficult.
Every day, I get up in the morning hoping that today will be the day that I hear he's on his way home. I traveled to Iran, tried to get information on his welfare and whereabouts at that time in December 2007. I haven't heard anything since then.
And I continue to push and try and get answers about where he is and when he will be home.
SANCHEZ: When you talk -- when you went to Iran, did you speak to Iranian officials, and, did you ask them -- did you say, look, give me some answers? What do you know? Or what are your police telling you?
LEVINSON: Yes, I did. And what they told me was that their religion obligates them to help all people and that they would continue to search for my husband, and, when they finished their investigation, they would let me know what they had found out.
And since December 2007, I have not heard anything from them.
SANCHEZ: Boy, it's a tough situation.
Christine Levinson, my thanks to you. I know it's a difficult situation. And we will be checking back with you. God bless. Appreciate it.
LEVINSON: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: When we come back, we will take a look at these two, Arianna Huffington and Richard Quest. A more entertaining and delightful pair, you could not imagine.
She says, look, we may just have to get rid of all the bad banks altogether. He says, hold on a minute. But he says it with a British accent. This is going to be good.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: There are so many comments coming in on Wells Fargo and also on what's going on with Mrs. Levinson, the interview we did moments ago.
Let's hold off on those real quick.
I want to bring in our two guests and then maybe we'll be able to share some of those fellows.
Arianna Huffington and Richard Quest are joining us now -- one from the other side of the pond and the other one from -- where are you, Arianna?
ARIANNA HUFFINGTON, EDITOR, HUFFINGTONPOST.COM: Los Angeles.
SANCHEZ: Are you out in L.A. ?
HUFFINGTON: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Of course. I should have known. This will be good. Last night I was getting ready to go to bed and I decided to check the blogs before I go to bed and see if there's anything out there I needed to check. And when I got to the Huffington Post, I read a column that you had written.
And in it, you say something interesting you say a lot of stuff interesting, but this is one of the things you say. You say: "It's time to start new banks. The old ones need to be completely restructured."
I mean -- and I've heard a couple of economists say this. The fact that we're taking these things that seemingly don't -- work bad products -- and trying to prop them up is a bad idea.
Is that what you're saying?
HUFFINGTON: Absolutely. The fact that we are continuing to pay out dividends, let alone bonuses -- redecorating offices, Super Bowl parties, stadium naming deals, Wells Fargo Las Vegas expeditions. All that is part of a denial -- living, really, in a state of denial about the fact that the interests of many of the existing banks are no longer aligned with the interests of the American taxpayer.
SANCHEZ: What do you think, Richard?
I mean the idea is, look, you've got a bad company, why help them survive?
Let them go under. To hell with them.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You've taken a leap of faith once again, Rick and you've managed to jump right out of the window. There's a huge difference between actually saying let's get rid of the banks and let them go under. Oh, no. The word that neither of you are prepared to utter, the word that dare not be uttered is nationalization.
Arianna, you and I saw each other in Davos last week.
That's the word you really hate looking for, isn't it, the nationalization...
SANCHEZ: Are you?
QUEST: ...of some of the banks.
SANCHEZ: Are you, Arianna?
HUFFINGTON: Not at all. That's not -- that's not...
SANCHEZ: You communist you.
(LAUGHTER)
HUFFINGTON: That's not at all what I said. Actually, Gordon Brown, your prime minister, is talking more about nationalization.
What I'm saying is that our first priority as taxpayers is not to the equity holders of banks. If the bank has failed, it is not our responsibility to spend billions of taxpayer money to prop it up. And especially -- look at what happened with the first lot of bailout money. They're not increasing liquidity. They are not giving the kind of credit that we hoped they would give.
We need different kind of banks that are more local, more connected to the community and focused toward investment.
SANCHEZ: Go ahead, Richard.
I'm staying out of this.
QUEST: It's a -- it's a wonderful theory in a utopian world. However, we live in the real world. Look, the "Financial Times," in its superb editorial just two weeks ago, summed it. The "F.C." Said we are bailing out the banks because the banks are essential to the global economy, not because bankers are a protected species.
And whilst it is marvelous to think of having some sort of Islamic banking network or perhaps having some community banks -- look, just remember the savings and loans crisis in the 1980s in the United States. Those were community banks that went wrong.
The reality of this situation -- it's unpalatable, it's unpleasant, it's like getting the sewers up when the drains are blocked. But you've got no choice, Rick. And the only alternative is either a bailout or nationalization.
SANCHEZ: My thanks... HUFFINGTON: No, no, no. Let me just very quickly say (INAUDIBLE)...
SANCHEZ: All right. You've got -- you've got 20 seconds to close this out here, Arianna.
HUFFINGTON: Very quickly, the difference is between bailing out water out of a sinking ship or rebuilding the ship. I want us to rebuild the ship. We need banks, but we need the right banks.
SANCHEZ: We've got 50,000 people on my Twitter account that are listening to your conversation. Let's see who they agree with. It will be interesting to take score.
My thanks to both of you. You're both number one in my book.
Richard and Arianna, thanks again.
HUFFINGTON: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Appreciate it.
QUEST: Thank you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANN COULTER, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: This is outrageous -- the second Democrat who cheated on his taxes. And, moreover, on what he's been doing for the past few years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: We couldn't pass up an opportunity to interview Ann Coulter. And of course, she did not disappoint.
Did she know that Tom Daschle was going to step down today?
Wait until you hear what she says. And she says this -- keep in mind -- before he steps down.
And the latest on what's going on with this Well Fargos -- Wells Fargo story that I told you about.
Twelve rooms in Vegas for a junket?
They got $25 billion of your tax money?
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: This is kind of cool. You know, we get thousands and thousands of you who respond to us while you're watching this newscast, because it's probably one of the only newscasts anywhere that is really a participatory event.
But look at this tweet that we just got moments ago from somebody who -- this is great. Is this great, Michael?
Is this great?
This is cool: "Forget about the Obama cabinet drama. The news is that I just proposed to my girlfriend watching your show, Rick."
Badum bump. There you go.
Isn't that cool?
We've got to reach out and find out who that person is. Something else to take note of here now.
Congratulations, Mr. XX19826.
Something else to take note of.
Let's talk about this. Let's talk about Ann Coulter. I promised I would. We had a chance to interview her today. But I passed on the opportunity -- not that I don't think that she's interesting, often noteworthy, occasionally newsworthy. It's because my colleague at CNN International -- and we met this morning having breakfast -- is already interviewing her. And I decided that I could just kind of piggyback or monitor what Jim Clancy had said to her -- or she said to him -- when they were done. So that's what we decided to do.
So here's the news. Listen to this. This is interesting. It's a comment that Coulter makes about Tom Daschle. But she makes this comment -- she makes this comment even before Daschle announces that he's withdrawn his name as an Obama cabinet nominee, which is curious.
Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COULTER: This is pretty outrageous -- the second Democrat who cheated on his taxes -- and, moreover, I mean what he's been doing for the past few years. You talk about these Wall Street bonuses, these guys from the government go out and get paid millions of dollars by law firms and health care industries. I don't think that's because Tom Daschle honed his legal skills to a Holmesian level over the past few years being a party hack. It's to peddle influence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: That's interesting, because it was about an hour after that interview when she said that that the decision was made that Daschle would be out -- whoever made that decision. Apparently Daschle.
Maybe this is the type of thing that Daschle and President Obama would have heard repeatedly if Daschle hadn't pulled out. Maybe -- maybe that's why they did it.
So it was prescient of Coulter to say what she did when she said it. Fair enough. Check, Coulter.
But her whipping boy, Daschle, has now been taken away from Barack Obama. Checkmate, Obama.
And the game continues.
For more information, by the way, on this or any other object of this newscast, CNN.com/ricksanchez.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. HUGO CHAVEZ, VENEZUELA (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Perhaps we can restore the relations to the same level that we had with the Clinton administration. Perhaps we can start a new period of respect and relations that would be constructive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: You say Hugo, I say Hugo. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is hopeful that he can somehow rebuild good relations with the United States -- make friends, even, with Barack Obama.
However, he's critical of President Obama's energy plan.
This is an exclusive interview CNN has done with Hugo Chavez. He's in our show. He's coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: And we welcome you back.
I'm Rick Sanchez.
Boy, one thing I've learned since doing that bit with Ann Coulter, you guys don't like her -- at least many of you don't like her. We thought it was a valid news story. But that's not what you guys are saying about it.
Let's go to the Twitter board, if we can. And then let's book from Twitter. But let's start there. Mellicious says she thinks that I'm giving Ann Coulter way too much credit.
There's a ton of these.
"Ann Coulter would throw her own mother under a bus if she thought she was a Democrat."
"Rick" -- richpics. Thank you. "Who cares what Ann Coulter thinks?"
And like those three, there's about 40 others that have just slammed into us just during that break.
Let's go over to Facebook, if we possibly can.
Flip it around, Johnny B. Good.
"Why did that senator from Oklahoma, Rick, call the really bad guys at GITMO Mohammeds?"
Talking about James Inhofe, my interview with him about 20 minutes ago: "That's pretty bad, Rick. That is more -- one more reason why Obama means change. He makes an effort to respect Muslims. What that man just said was reminiscent of the fear-mongering that happened after 9/11."
Well, there you go.
We'll continue to follow that for you, as well.
We'll bring in somebody else now, Glenda Umana.
She's at CNN Espanol.
GLENDA UMANA, CNN EN ESPANOL: Ola.
SANCHEZ: And the reason we bring her in today is because CNN Espanol did an interview with Hugo Chavez.
UMANA: Right. We did this interview with President Chavez regarding the tenth anniversary...
SANCHEZ: What's to be...
UMANA: ...anniversary of his presidency, Rick.
SANCHEZ: Wants to be Barack Obama's buddy, huh?
UMANA: Well, that -- that's what he said.
And let's listen what exactly he said. He talks about the future goal for Venezuela, but also about the relations with the new U.S. government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHAVEZ (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I'm ready to talk with the U.S. president. Let's hope -- and I have said this -- perhaps we can restore the relations to the same level that we had with the Clinton administration. Perhaps we can start a new period of respect and relations that would be constructive. I have the faith that that is maybe possible. But it would depend on the U.S. and the president's attitude, the attitude of the secretary of State and the administration. We will not accept a lack of respect from anybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Well, and I guess he can't because -- or he can afford to say that because of all the oil that he has.
UMANA: Well, but listen...
SANCHEZ: And the fact that the United States needs it.
So he goes on to make a comment, right, about...
UMANA: Yes. But...
SANCHEZ: ...about that?
UMANA: But, you know, President Obama and President Chavez could meet this year in April at the Cumbres de las Americas, or the Summit of the Americas, in Trinidad. Well, there probably won't be any hug -- big hugs between them, but only a polite distance. That's what experts say.
SANCHEZ: What about -- what did he say about the situation with oil?
I understand he started kind of criticizing Barack Obama for not knowing anything about energy policy.
UMANA: Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHAVEZ (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I think President Obama is being -- the wool is being pulled over his eyes. He has just arrived -- because he doesn't know a whole lot about energy issues. I don't know how he's going to achieve what he has announced. But it is very difficult for the U.S. to lower its dependency on oil. The ones that produce and import oil, I think that we should all agree to respect our sovereignty with the U.S."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UMANA: And, Rick, let me tell you, there are two important elements here. One is that dropping oil prices are affecting the Venezuelan economy, although President Chavez says the lowering won't impact his social programs. Many believe his policies could take a hit.
And, by the way, Venezuela has seven oil refineries and 12,000 gas stations in the United States.
So it will take some time before the United States breaks their dependence on Venezuelan oil.
SANCHEZ: Good job.
And I love the way you say hit, like heat.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Love that.
UMANA: Hit.
SANCHEZ: Glenda, you're great. Mucha gracias.
UMANA: Ciao.
SANCHEZ: Ciao.
A wife who has no idea where her husband is, why he disappeared or why he was in Iran.
We're going to have more on that, because Senator Bill Nelson, who I mentioned earlier in my interview with her, is the one who made the point about him possibly be in a secret prison. He joins me next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Our thanks to you to come -- for returning.
I'm Rick Sanchez here at the World Headquarters of CNN.
Let's -- by the way, to be fair we told you that a lot of people were immediately -- after doing the bit with Anne Coulter -- had gotten into our social media participatory journalism bit and had something to say, mostly negative.
Here's one who likes her. Listen to this. This is on MySpace: "Rick, read my comment." OK, I'm reading your comment: "I like Anne Coulter."
So there you go.
Let's do a follow-up now. We were talking just a little while ago about what's going on with Bob Levinson. He's been in Iran for two years. Nobody knows where he is. One day, he just suddenly disappeared. His wife -- you just heard us do an interview with her moments ago. She says that she's desperate to get any information, but she has almost no information.
In that interview, I mentioned to you that a U.S. senator has said that he thinks he's being held in a secret prison.
The man who's on the record saying this is Senator Bill Nelson from the Sunshine State, my home state.
SEN. BILL NELSON (D), FLORIDA: Your home state.
SANCHEZ: I've known the senator for a long time.
Senator, I'm glad you're here.
Good to see you, sir.
NELSON: Thanks, Rick.
SANCHEZ: What -- what makes you think that he's in some kind of secret prison? NELSON: Reasonable man test on all the evidence that we have thus far. About six weeks after Bob disappeared, the official press arm of the Iranian government issued a press release that said he was in their custody and they expected to release him within 30 days.
Reasonable man test -- a guy that he met was subsequently arrested by the Iranian government, is now living in Iran and has said publicly that Bob is being held in Iran.
So you put all of that together...
SANCHEZ: Let me ask you the question that I asked Christine when I was interviewing her about this because, you know, it's just obvious. And I don't mean to, you know, be presumptuous here. But, hell, you're a U.S. senator. You can probably answer this.
Was he working for the CIA?
Was he working for the U.S. government?
Was he doing something that would lead the Iranians to want to take him?
NELSON: He was a former FBI agent who had been retired from the FBI for nine years. He was working for a private company concerning cigarette smuggling, which is rampant in that part of the world.
Now, we think that -- every time his name has been brought up with an Iranian official, they say -- the standard line -- we don't know anything about this. But then they change the subject and they talk about the Iranians that are held by the U.S. in Erbil, Iraq.
So is there the suggestion of a swap?
SANCHEZ: What is President Obama going to do?
I mean, I'm sure you're going to probably, when you get a chance, bend his ear, if you haven't done so already.
NELSON: Yes.
SANCHEZ: This guy needs to be returned, if they haven't.
NELSON: Yes. Yes. And what I've said and Secretary of State Clinton, Obama and Biden have both been briefed on this. Secretary of State Clinton is working very hard on this.
But what we're saying is that here is a wife and seven children.
If you want a new chapter between Iran and the U.S. what better gesture could Iran offer than a humanitarian one of returning this husband and father to his family?
SANCHEZ: Well, you're doing a good job helping this family out with this situation.
Senator Bill Nelson -- my thanks, sir, for you taking time to take us through this.
And hey, we're going to keep tabs on this, so we'll check on you from time to time to see what's going on.
And if anything -- if anything else develops, would you let us know?
NELSON: I sure will, Rick.
SANCHEZ: I appreciate it.
Again, Senator Bill Nelson.
When we come back, some of your comments, as well as checking in with Wolf Blitzer.
As a matter of fact, here he is right now -- Wolf Blitzer, what do you got?
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Thanks very much, Rick.
Straight ahead, more on the latest embarrassments for the Obama administration. Tax problems sinking the nomination of Tom Daschle for Health and Human Services secretary and another nominee.
How will the White House recover?
Anderson Cooper -- he's getting ready to interview the president of the United States. You'll see the interview here in "THE SITUATION ROOM" first. That's coming up. Stand by for that.
Also, Iran celebrates a new satellite launch.
But is it a new worry for the Obama administration?
We're going to tell you all about it.
And are President and Mrs. Obama feeling a bit pent up in the White House?
They made a surprise outing today. You're going to see that, as well.
Stay with us.
Lots coming up at the top of the hour in "THE SITUATION ROOM" -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Maybe he needs to buy a ranch or something.
Thanks so much.
Wolf Blitzer following that for us.
We watch a lot of television around here, most of it serious. Sometimes it's not. Our favorite comedians take aim at taxes. They take aim at the stimulus plan. The Fix is next and you'll want to see it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Producer Jim Reid and editor Johnny B. Good put this one together for you.
Here's The Fix.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART," COURTESY COMEDY CENTRAL)
JON STEWART, HOST: You want Barack Obama, America?
Fine. Republicans see your Obama and you're about to get raised.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The final ballot for chairman is Michael Steele, 91; Katon Dawson, 77.
STEWART: Remember when your kid really wanted a Tickle Me Elmo for Christmas, but all the stores were sold out?
So you went to Chinatown and got him a Giggle Time Almo?
(LAUGHTER)
STEWART: Michael Steele is the Party's Giggle Time Almo.
(LAUGHTER)
STEWART: I do want to say a quick word to anyone out there who wants to bring change and hope to a deeply divided and suffering American. Pay your (EXPLETIVE LANGUAGE) taxes.
(LAUGHTER)
STEWART: We're not asking you to be perfect -- $120,000 in taxes. That's not $120,000 for a car and driver. That's $128,000 in the taxes on like 400 thousands of drivers.
(LAUGHTER)
STEWART: That's how much money it would be for Miss. Daisy if her driver was actually Morgan Freeman.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE VIEW," COURTESY ABC)
WHOOPI GOLDBERG, CO-HOST: The Democrats plan a big increase in highway funding, you know, as part of the economic recovery.
JOY BEHAR, CO-HOST: Right.
GOLDBERG: I pay tolls. I have -- what's that thing -- E -- what is it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: EZ Pass.
GOLDBERG: EZ pass.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: EZ pass.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
GOLDBERG: Where does that money go?
Do you know how many people are going over the roads in this country every day paying tolls?
Whose got all that money?
ELISABETH HASSELBECK, CO-HOST: Well, I'll tell you who does. Maybe the...
GOLDBERG: Tell me.
HASSELBECK: I'll tell you. Tom Daschle has a lot of that money, who's -- that needs to be paid.
(LAUGHTER)
HASSELBECK: So if they'd just collect his money, they could fix the road.
GOLDBERG: Isn't this supposed to go into infrastructure?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's supposed to go to road construction.
GOLDBERG: Isn't it supposed to go to fix it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it is.
(CROSSTALK)
GOLDBERG: I want my money back. I want my damn money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: And there you go.
We're out of time.
Our thanks for you being with us.
We'll look for you again tomorrow right here -- same time, same station -- when we cut to the change.
Here's Wolf Blitzer.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Rick.
Happening now, breaking news -- a stunning setback to President Obama's plans to reform health care. Tom Daschle withdraws his nomination as the Health & Human Services secretary -- why a powerful Senate insider did not survive his tax troubles.
