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Turkish Airlines Flight 1591 Crashes in Amsterdam; White House Calls President's Speech "Command Performance"; Reaction From Around the Globe to Obama's Speech; President to Name Commerce Pick; Rating the President's Speech in Real Time; President Obama's Education Goals; Higher Learning, Higher Debt
Aired February 25, 2009 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Message of hope. And a call for action. President Obama reaches out to Congress and the American people. This hour, reaction from Republicans, the pundits, and you. We're taking your e-mails.
Plus breaking news. A plane crash to tell you about. An airliner cracked into three pieces as it tries to land at Amsterdam's Airport, at least nine people dead. A live report coming up.
It's Wednesday, February 25th, I'm Heidi Collins. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: A message of hope for Americans who are feeling powerless. President Barack Obama vows to lead the nation out of its economic crisis. This hour, a much closer look. We'll hear his words, consider his message, and listen to the reaction on this morning after.
But, first, we want to begin this morning with a plane crash in Amsterdam. Airport officials say nine people died in the crash of the Turkish Airlines. It was a 737 that went down. 50 people were injured. About half of them have serious injuries. There were 134 passengers and crew on board. The plane broke into three pieces on impact in a field just north of Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport.
CNN's Ivan Watson is joining us now live this morning from Istanbul, Turkey, the beginning point, of course, for Flight 1951 -- Ivan?
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Heidi, Turkish Airlines is now flying loved ones and relatives of the passengers, the survivors of this flight, to Amsterdam from Istanbul. They're sending a couple of flights out, emergency flights where the Dutch are waiving visa restrictions for the Turks to get out there.
Now this flight, it took off from Istanbul this morning. And it was coming in for a landing. Survivors have already described that they were coming in for a landing. They felt something like harsh turbulence, and then wham, the plane slammed into the ground.
Some of those survivors were actually able to step away from their seats and walk away from the plane unharmed. Unfortunately, as you mentioned, nine people were killed according to Dutch authorities, and some 50 wounded in that crash.
COLLINS: Ivan, tell us what is going to happen next now. Obviously, as we know, and as we have unfortunately gained the experience as of late here in the United States, the NTSB usually comes, the FAA, an investigation begins.
WATSON: Yes, that's right. The investigation begins. Now the Turkish authorities have insisted, pretty early on from the get-go, that this plane, it had a clean maintenance record, that it had been inspected as recently as December of last year.
However, we don't have an explanation yet for how this accident took place, where the plane slammed into the ground, roughly 500 yards short of the landing strip. Right now, people are trying to find out whether their loved ones survived the crash. Turkish Airlines has posted a list of the passengers on board, about 50 of them were foreigners.
And this is between pretty important transport hubs, Istanbul, original transport hub, and Amsterdam. Some of these passengers were flying on to other destinations -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Sure. And quickly, probably important to mention as well, the last incident with Turkish Airlines. Again, at this point we don't have any idea what the cause could have been here, whether it was something with the aircraft, something with the pilot of the airline, who knows at this point. But I'm thinking of the Diyarbakir.
WATSON: That's right, Heidi. In 2003, a domestic passenger jet from Turkish Airlines slammed into a hillside in Diyarbakir. It was flying in fog and it was coming in for a landing. Turkish Airlines does, according to aviation experts, have a pretty decent safety record when it comes to flying accidents.
However, there have been incidents involving security attempted hijackings on board these flights. There's going to be, I imagine, a major investigation, and calls to understand what went wrong, what happened in this accident.
Also, why Turkish government officials and Turkish Airlines officials insisted there were no fatalities for the first three hours after the accident and then there was that abrupt reversal from Dutch authorities, which was probably very traumatic for loved ones, for relatives of the passengers of the victims, when the Dutch authorities suddenly announced that nine people were, in fact, killed, though Turkish officials insisted that did not take place, that there were no fatalities.
COLLINS: Absolutely. A very difficult reversal, obviously. Ivan Watson, keep us posted, if you would, as the investigation here, of course, continues, Flight 1951.
Ivan Watson for us live from Istanbul, Turkey.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: You don't need to hear another list of statistics to know that our economy is in crisis, because you live it every day. It's the worry you wake up with and the source of sleepless nights. It's the job you thought you'd retire from but now have lost, the business you built your dreams upon, it's now hanging by a thread. The college acceptance letter your child had to put back in the envelope.
The impact of this recession is real. And it is everywhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Sobering words and a rallying spirit, but can President Obama's message of hope move markets or save homes? We're going to be looking beyond the words to his very ambitious game plan.
We've got crews all over the place to cover the many angles of the president's speech. Dan Lothian is at the White House. In New York, Christine Romans with reaction among investors, and on the military front, Arwa Damon is in Iraq, Atia Abawi in Afghanistan, and here in the NEWSROOM, right beside me, Josh Levs is listening to our viewers.
But first, let's go ahead and begin this morning with Dan Lothian.
Dan, the reaction this morning now?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Heidi.
I was just talking to a senior administration official who told me that he believed that the president was able to deliver a -- rather, a command performance last night. He said that the president was able to lay out to the American people that he understands the big challenges that this country faces, and that he was able to also show that he has a clear way to get out of this crisis now.
And as you know, Heidi, there has been some mounting criticism over the last few days, one from former president Bill Clinton and others, who have said that the president has been using too much dark language and not enough optimism. Using "dire" and "catastrophic" when referring to the economy.
Well, last night, you did hear that dire language as well. But the president was also optimistic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: While our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken, though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this, we will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.
GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: Republicans want to work with President Obama. We appreciate his message of hope. But sometimes it seems like we look for hope in different places. Democratic leaders in Washington, they place their hope in the federal government. We place our hope in you, the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOTHIAN: There've also been questions after the president's speech that it was short on details and that the math to all these programs that the president wants to roll out simply doesn't add up. A senior administration official saying that the president will provide more details when he unveils his budget tomorrow and there'll be additional details rolling out in the days ahead -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. And we are going to talk a little bit more about both sides of the speech here, from Republicans and Democrats, later on in our show. But, Dan, also want to mention, the president is going to announce commerce secretary today. The third time's the charm?
(LAUGHTER)
LOTHIAN: That's right. The former Washington state governor, Gary Locke, will be announced as the next commerce secretary, the nominee for commerce secretary, later this morning.
As you know, the first up was Governor Bill Richardson. He dropped out, backed out, after there was this federal investigation in to a company that had done business with his state. He did not want to it be a distraction. So he pulled his name out.
And there was Senator Judd Gregg who earlier this month backed out as well, saying that sort of the bridge between Republicans and Democrats was too vast for him to be part of this administration.
And so now Governor Locke is the nominee for commerce. And as you mentioned, you know, the White House is obviously hoping that third time is the charm here.
COLLINS: All right, Dan Lothian outside the White House for us this morning.
Thank you, Dan.
And I want to remind everybody, that's right, less than two hours from now, President Obama will announce his nominee for commerce secretary. That announcement scheduled for 11:00 Eastern.
Vice President Joe Biden, in charge of implementing the economic recovery plan, and later this hour, he hosts the first White House meeting on that challenge. Several Cabinet members will also be there, and we're expecting Vice President Biden to offer some comments as well. And when we get them, we, of course, will share them with you.
We are hearing from you this morning, though. What did you think of the president's speech and the Republican response last night?
Our Josh Levs is joining us now with a little bit more on that.
Yes, Josh, what are people saying?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know what, Heidi, they were already waiting for us when we got in this morning. Lots of responses already coming in. And I'll tell you something, I want everyone to know the two major ways you can weigh in this morning.
Let's go straight to a graphic. I'll show it to you quickly. Following up on what happened yesterday, CNN hooking up with Facebook, we're doing it again today. You can send us your reactions via Facebook to "Josh Levs CNN" or through -- rather e-mail us at CNNnewsroom@CNN.com.
I'll show you a couple that we've got right here. Coming in, we got one right here from Ann Kropp, who says, "It was great. Lots of confidence. I think there was a real message to those people who don't have jobs and have kids, get your kids educated."
We'll show you some more later this hour, no matter where you are in the political spectrum, no matter what you thought of the GOP response or President Obama's speech itself, just let us know and we'll be back with those, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, very good, Josh, thank you.
LEVS: Thanks.
COLLINS: President Obama, will his message echo through Wall Street? That's the big question this morning. We're going to gauge that reaction of investors coming up in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Wall Street looks to extend its rally from yesterday. The Dow closed up 236 points after starting from its lowest open in 12 years. Overnight, markets went up in Asia. And Japan's Nikkei climbed more than 2.6 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rose 1.6 percent and markets in Europe have also enjoyed the day in positive territory.
The opening bell on Wall Street just a few minutes away now at the bottom of the hour, of course. So how will investors react to President Obama's message of hope?
CNN's Christine Romans is in New York for us this morning.
And Christine, always that's the big question, of course, when you are doing an address on the economy -- how will the market react the next morning.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, and he had to be realistic about the problems. We have soaring problems in this country as he pointed it out. He said, you know, you live it every day. I don't have to give a list of all of the numbers.
You live it every day, he said to the American people. But he also had tough love in there. He also had a warning, really, to the financial system that he expects a new era of responsibility from the financial system and from the people who will be getting taxpayer money.
And he basically promised that, holding up as an example, a Miami banker who got a $60 million bonus when the bank was sold and gave that bonus to the employees. Right down to the tellers, everyone there. Some people getting a bonus of about $100,000 sharing the bonus from the success of the bank with the employees. That was something that the president held up as an example of a new era of responsibility.
He also, you know, when I mentioned tough love, he said, you know, people bought homes they couldn't afford from banks and lenders who push those bad loans. He said we've been kicking our problems down the road and again and again and we haven't been critical when we should be in some of our judgments.
And he laid out in very near term, which is what Wall Street wants to hear. They want to hear about housing, they want to hear about the financial system, they want to hear that the president is committed to shoring up the financial system. He said that's not popular. You know giving more money to Wall Street isn't popular, but it's something we've got to do for the betterment of the entire country and the economy.
He talked about getting the lending going again, and the consumer lending, that's for student loans, that's for homes, for cars, for credit cards. He talked about that. That's incredibly important. Then he also talked about the bigger picture. He talks about the things that we do keep picking down the road, Heidi, and that's something that it seems as though this president, a lot of people on Wall Street are telling me, he's taking this crisis and using it as a time to try to get the attention of the American people to get some other things done, like entitlement reform, like energy independence, like renewable energy, healthcare, education. A lot of big picture...
COLLINS: Well, yes, that's...
ROMANS: It's a tall order, Heidi, it really is.
COLLINS: Yes, and it was interesting because those were the three areas that he said we'll be looking at for the future of America, and he laid them out in that order -- energy, health care, education.
ROMANS: And these are things that are the economy, quite frankly. I mean, the biggest part of -- of the American dollar that's spent every day, the biggest -- the share that's growing the fastest of that is health care. We're spending more and more every day on health care. Health care costs are out of control. Education costs are out of control.
And it's at a time right now when these are very two important parts of the economy, energy is as well. So...
COLLINS: Yes. Well...
ROMANS: It's a -- you know, he's a very good speaker. Now the skeptics on Wall Street will say, is he a doer ? And that's what only time will tell.
COLLINS: Yes. We talk about health care, we have no HHS director and no surgeon general. So we're still waiting to...
ROMANS: And three time's the charm on the commerce secretary, too.
COLLINS: Yes. All right, well, we're are watching very closely.
ROMANS: Yes.
COLLINS: Christine Romans in New York, thank you.
And next hour want to let you know, we'll have a snapshots of the economy, not enough jobs, not enough money, not enough business. We're going to be talking to several Americans who are living the struggles day to day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I am now carefully reviewing our policies in both wars. And I will soon announce a way forward in Iraq that leaves Iraq to its people and responsibly ends this war. And with our friends and allies, we will forge a new and comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan to defeat al Qaeda and combat extremism, because I will not allow terrorists to plot against the American people from safe havens halfway around the world. We will not allow it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: President Obama speaking last night saying the White House is still reviewing plans for Iraq. And just a few minutes ago, several U.S. military officials told CNN they believe President Obama is expected to approve a proposal to withdraw most combat troops from Iraq within 19 months.
But what do people who live there think?
CNN's Arwa Damon got some reactions now from Baghdad.
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Obama promising to end the Iraq war responsibly and that is the word that is key. No one wants to see a premature U.S. troop withdrawal that would result in the loss of the current security gains. The American military here has arguably been fighting to try to reverse the Bush administration's mistakes, entering Iraq without a proper post-war game plan to dismantling the Iraqi security forces that led to the bulk of the insurgency, rushing to seat an Iraqi government and rushing to establish Iraq's own security forces.
No one, not America, not the Iraqis themselves, are going to want to see a rush to pull U.S. troops out of here.
COLLINS: And from troop withdrawals to deployment, plans for Afghanistan, also a big part of the administration's agenda.
CNN's Atia Abawi has more now from Kabul, Afghanistan.
ATIA ABAWI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There hasn't been much of a reaction from Afghanistan just yet on President Obama's speech last night because many Afghans weren't able to watch it. Those who have televisions will see clips tonight in their evening newscast.
President Obama has promised 17,000 additional troops into the country in 2009. Afghans are very skeptical of this decision, saying that it will lead to more civilian casualties. Two thousand eight was the deadliest year in the war on terror in Afghanistan, and 2009 is expected to be much worse.
COLLINS: Taking control of your debt. Sounds like a good plan, right? Well, we're going to be telling you how to get it done.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I know that for many Americans watching right now, the state of our economy is a concern that rises above all others. And rightly so. If you haven't been personally affected by this recession, you probably know someone who has. A friend, a neighbor, a member of your family.
You don't need to hear another list of statistics to know that our economy is in crisis, because you live it every day. It's the worry you wake up with and the source of sleepless nights. It's the job you thought you'd retire from but now have lost, the business you built your dreams upon that's now hanging by a thread, the college acceptance letter your child had to put back in the envelope.
The impact of this recession is real, and it is everywhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: President Obama acknowledging the economy is bad, and people are hurting. But last night's address to the nation was upbeat as well, with the president saying America will recover and emerge stronger than before.
As a whole, Americans lost a lot of money last year because of the financial crisis. And we're getting deeper and deeper into debt. So how can we fix it? How can we pay our own debt?
Personal finance editor Gerri Willis is here now with some answers.
Gerri, how do you even begin...
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Good morning, Heidi.
COLLINS: I guess you have to know how much...
WILLIS: Yes.
COLLINS: ... you're in the hole, if you will.
WILLIS: Well, that's a good question. And the stats, of course, are very scary. That is nothing new to most of us. Get a handle on your debt by determining whether your debt problem is run-of-the-mill or out of control. One signal that you have too much debt is that you borrow from one credit card to pay off another credit card.
COLLINS: Gees.
WILLIS: You can only make minimum payments on your card. You don't know how much total debt you have. Now, if any of those describes you, it's time to get help. Then get your priorities in order. Pay -- paying it down requires making it a priority. If you have credit card debt, pay off the one with the highest interest rate first. You've heard that before.
Cancel any spending that's not essential and use it to paying down that credit card debt or other debt. Practice some tough love. You have special channels beyond basic cable, it's time to get rid of them. Save where you can. Reevaluate your memberships. If you only hit the gym once a year, why do you have a gym membership?
COLLINS: Yes.
WILLIS: Stop the hemorrhaging and get out of paying courtesy overdraft fees by as much as 30 bucks to 35 by linking your savings account to your checking account. It's a simple thing. Lots of ways to save. You've just got to work your way through them and think about how you spend.
COLLINS: Yes, and what do you tell the debt collectors? Because some people are really actually hounded by them.
WILLIS: Well, you've got to handle debt collectors the right way. If you're being asked to pay a debt you don't owe, think about writing a letter stating the facts. That will force the collector to investigate and clarify the debt.
Remember, there's a statute of limitations on debt in every state that's typically 7 to 10 years, but you should check with your state attorney general's office to see what the rules are where you live.
Now if you pay even a dime on debt that you're sure is not yours, the remainder of the bill becomes due and owing. You got to make sure the debt is yours before you pay it. Heidi?
COLLINS: Yes, absolutely. All right, personal finance editor Gerri Willis, thanks for that.
WILLIS: Thank you.
COLLINS: A program in Minnesota helping people stretch their food dollar during these tough times. Fair for All Express offers meat and produce packages, a savings of up to 50 percent off regular supermarket prices. The program is open to anyone, regardless of income.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any breaks we can get, it really helps.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's good for working families.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got meat deals, I can get some meat in my freezer and stuff. Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The program buys food in bulk and passes on the savings to customers. It's also a traveling grocery store, setting up shop in 16 locations in the twin cities.
Rating the president. We give some viewers the power, and all they have to do is turn the dial. So did the president's speech make the grade?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.
COLLINS: It has been a rollercoaster week on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Averages tumbled more than 200 points on Monday, only to gain most of it back on Tuesday.
Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange now with what we might see today.
Of course, Susan, everybody is kind of waiting to see what the reaction is from the president's address last night.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you can expect that to take place over a course of days, Heidi. That's the way Wall Street works. In the meantime, we're expecting a mixed open.
Yesterday, the street was calmed by Ben Bernanke's upbeat forecast. He's back on Capitol Hill today. The Fed chief said yesterday that the recession could end this year if financial markets stabilize. But the market first needs to find a bottom.
In the meantime several companies were preparing for more tough times. Auto insurer All-State doing what so many companies have already done. It's having its dividend, cutting it in half to save money.
Meanwhile the nation's 12th largest newspaper, "The San Francisco Chronicle," may be sold or shut down if the paper can't reduce expenses dramatically within the next few weeks. That could leave San Francisco, imagine that, without a daily newspaper.
And over at Ford, the company's top two executives, CEO Alan Mulally and executive chairman Bill Ford, are taking 30 percent pay cuts. Salaried workers and senior executives won't get annual performances bonus. And the AP is reporting that Ford will again offer buyouts to all of its 42,000 hourly workers.
Ford shares were up -- well, they're up 4.5 percent following bear surge in the premarket. The major averages, well, the Dow's giving a little bit back. Remember bouncing back from 12-year lows yesterday. The Dow has rebounded with its biggest since January 21st, the day after a 4 percent drop.
And investors business daily notes most of the biggest one-day surges in Wall Street history, Heidi, have occurred during bear markets. We're used to it by now. The white-knuckle process we're going through.
Meanwhile, the NASDAQ is down about one percent. At the top of the hour we're expecting a new report to show existing home sales, the biggest part of the housing market, increasing slightly so --
COLLINS: All right.
LISOVICZ: Well, we'll relay that to you in the next hour, Heidi.
COLLINS: Very good. A good point you make about seeing reactions from the president's address. It's going to take some time obviously. It doesn't happen just overnight. Susan Lisovicz, thanks. We'll check back later on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I called for action because the failure to do so would have cost more jobs and caused more hardship. In fact, a failure to act would have worsened our long-term deficit by assuring weak economic growth for years. That's why I pushed for quick action. And tonight I am grateful that this Congress delivered. And pleased to say that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is now law.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: President Obama keeping that focus on the economy today. At 11:00, he will name his third and hopefully last pick for Commerce secretary. This afternoon, he welcomes Democratic leaders to the White House. And that will happen at 12:30. And then later, at 3:00 p.m., the president will meet with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and members of the Congressional Banking and Finance committees. Just over an hour from now, President Obama expected to name that choice for Commerce secretary. It is his third time trying to fill the post. Administration officials say his nominee is former Washington Governor Gary Locke.
Locke, who is a Democrat, became the nation's first Chinese- American governor when he took office in 1997. Before that, he was a member of the Washington State House of Representatives. And he's a former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
The president's first Commerce nominee, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, dropped out, because of an investigation into how contracts were awarded in his state. And then New Hampshire Senator, Judd Gregg, changed his mind, citing conflicts with the Obama administration on economic recovery plans.
And this reminder -- President Obama will announce that choice for Commerce secretary this morning, 11:00 Eastern. You can watch it here on CNN, live.
People who watched last night are talking about how they felt while the president was speaking. A CNN/Opinion Research Poll finds 85 percent of people asked feel more optimistic about the future after the president's first address to Congress. Only 11 percent of people asked feel more pessimistic. But, more Democrats than Republicans agreed to take the poll.
Rating the president by cranking the dial. A polling firm using dial testing tried to gauge real-time reactions from a bipartisan group during the president's first address to Congress last night. Our Jim Acosta has the results.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OBAMA: While our economy may be weakened, and our confidence shaken...
JIM ACOSTA, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Time and again the president appealed directly to a public that is frustrated and frightened. So with the help of polling firm Luntz Maslansky, we watched as a focus group, half Republican, half Democrat, rated the speech. Turning up their dial testers during parts they liked...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I always get hope out of his speeches, because that's what he drives on, hope.
ACOSTA: And down for moments they could live without.
DAVID GRAY, FOCUS GROUP PARTICIPANT: No details. I mean, there was -- it felt and sounded good, big picture, but when you down, how you going to do it and what's it going to cost, I didn't hear any details.
ACOSTA: When the president sounded hopeful, laying out his agenda for the country, our group immediately responded. OBAMA: We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What I liked was the optimism that he provided.
ACOSTA: The meter spiked when there was talk of sacrifice and personal responsibility. The dial testers nearly went off the charts when he slammed Wall Street CEOs. But watch what happens when the president noted the massive deficit he inherited from the Bush administration.
OBAMA: Surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future.
ACOSTA: Republican meters in red plummeted, while Democratic green meters shot up. Our group reflected a nation that remains deeply divided. But the outrage was bipartisan when it came to those irresponsible homeowners singled out by the president.
GAIL NOREN, FOCUS GROUP PARTICIPANT: I don't think I'm the only one out here who is pissed off that, you know, foreclosures are happening, because bad loans were made and now I'm going to be paying for it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that he's on probation. It's a trial period.
MICHAEL MASLANSKY, CEO, LUNTZ MASLANSKY RESEARCH: This is a very political speech. It was a partisan speech. And a lot of ways it played out just like the stimulus vote.
ACOSTA: Pollster Michael Maslansky said the president gave voters the optimism they've been craving, even if only Democrats in this focus group were sold.
It seems like he just doesn't have them all on board yet.
MASLANSKY: He definitely does not. For the first bipartisan or post-partisan president, as he said in the summit the other day, he's got a lot of work to do. And he may get there. But there's a lot of skepticism among Republicans.
ACOSTA: But he hasn't won them over yet.
MASLANSKY: Definitely has not won them over yet.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: The president talked about a lot of change last night, whether it be the budget, health care, or education, but as we found, his audience hasn't changed much since the election.
And, Heidi, one lesson we can draw from last night, hope works, blame doesn't.
COLLINS: All right. Very good. Jim Acosta, appreciate that. Thank you.
Let's get some more reaction now to the president's speech. Joining me this morning, Democratic strategist Liz Chadderdon. And Ron Christie, former domestic policy adviser to President Bush.
Thanks to both of you for being with us this morning.
I want to go ahead and begin with this. And maybe you have already seen it, the both of you. I want to show you the headline for timemagazine.com. And here's what it says, "Obama Gives Team America a Pep Talk."
Liz, I'll start with you. Do you agree with that?
LIZ CHADDERDON, PRESIDENT, STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION COMPANY: I absolutely agree with that. I think the speech was phenomenal last night. I really do. But mostly I thought it was courageous, because he went out there and he told the American people the truth, after eight years of sugarcoating and half-truths and in some instances complete lies, we were told the truth. But then he went to optimism and hope. And then he gave a solution. And he started talking about how we were going to be better. We are Americans. We are a strong nation, and we will recover from this. I think it was a terrific speech. Full of optimism and pep.
COLLINS: OK, just to clarify, what lies are you talking about?
CHADDERDON: Well, I mean, after eight years of, oh, it's going to be OK, don't worry about the fact that mortgages are inflated, don't worry about that the economy is a little shaky, and don't worry about the fact that we don't really have the proof to go to Iraq.
I mean, we have heard a lot of sugarcoating and half-truths over the last eight years in the Bush administration and America's sick of it. I think it's a lot of reason Barack Obama won this election, and he is fulfilling his promise of telling the American people the hard, honest facts and truths, but then also offering good solutions.
COLLINS: So, Ron, is that right? Do you think that the president offered good solutions and detail in his speech last night about what is going to happen with this economic recovery plan?
RON CHRISTIE, FORMER DOMESTIC POLICY ADVISER: No, I don't, Heidi. I think he did a phenomenal job. I think people -- Republicans, Democrats, Americans recognized President Obama is a masterful orator. He does a fantastic job with cadence and talking about his vision.
The devil, of course, is always in the details. The president gave very narrow specifics other than saying that if the government hadn't stepped in, things would have been worse, but he didn't say how they would have been worse. The president said, well, there's not any bit of pork in this bill. We know that in the stimulus bill, $787 billion, there are many pork projects in that bill. So, I think the devil's in the details and the president did not clearly articulate, in my mind, how specifically his policies are going to help improve this economy.
COLLINS: In fact, let's go ahead and listen to that part of the speech, because they've actually pulled it out regarding the earmarks in this plan. Let's listen for just a moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I'm proud that we passed a recovery plan free of earmarks, and I want to pass a budget next year that ensures that each dollar we spend reflects only our most important national priorities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: I'm sure the both of you heard a little bit of reaction there from within the chamber.
Liz, absolutely zero earmarks in this plan?
CHADDERDON: Oh, I think saying "absolutely zero earmarks" might be putting himself out there a little bit. I know that they tried desperately to make sure that there were no earmarks, but Congress is Congress. And I think there probably is a little bit in this bill that at the end of the day, we wish perhaps it wasn't in there.
But in general, I think this bill absolutely spent money appropriately and there was very few pork projects in comparison to other big spending bills that we've seen.
COLLINS: Ron, according to Senator John McCain, who also spoke out on this issue after the speech, he says that the bill's actually going to be introduced with -- I'm sorry, 9,427 pork-barrel items.
CHRISTIE: Yes, Heidi. He was making reference to is just the other day, the Democrats and the Congress introduced a $410 billion supplemental appropriations bill. So you've seen $787 billion for a stimulus bill. You've seen hundreds of millions of dollars for a housing foreclosure bill. Now you have $410 billion for additional appropriations. The American people are saying, when is enough enough?
And my last point to this is that candidate Obama said that he was going to go line by line and look to make sure that there were no pork-barrel projects. I dare say the president of the United States or any member of Congress with this stimulus bill had a chance to read what was in there. I only hope the next go-round, the president and the Congress are more fiscally responsible and actually take time to see what's in the bill.
COLLINS: I want to talk a little bit, too, about the Republican response. Governor Bobby Jindal, of course, gave that response. And I think a lot of people would agree that one of the major differences obviously between Republicans and Democrats is how much government intervention there should be in our lives, as citizens. And he gave this example, one of them, about Katrina. Interesting, too, we didn't hear from the president about Katrina at all in this address. He talked about how the authorities at the time were there, telling people who had boats, who were trying to go and rescue people who were still on top of their roofs, told them, you can't go out in that water unless you have registration and insurance. Listen to what he said on that story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JINDAL: Sheriff, that's ridiculous. Before I knew it, he was yelling on the phone. Congressman Jindal's here and he says you can come and arrest him, too. They told the voters ignore the bureaucrats and go start rescuing people. There's a lesson in this experience. The strength of America is not found in our government. It's found in the compassionate hearts and enterprising spirit of our citizens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Quickly reaction from both of you.
Liz, too much or too little government intervention?
CHADDERDON: Well, I think it's always about a balance. It's always about moderation. I think certainly in Governor Jindal's example when you see someone drowning or in trouble, you reach out and you try to help them, absolutely.
COLLINS: Clearly, he was trying to make sort of an umbrella statement about this economic recovery plan, though.
CHADDERDON: Right, he was. And, actually, I mean, in the words of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, I think there's a lot to be said here in terms of if your neighbor's house is burning because they were smoking in their bed, you're going to put out the fire out in their house. That is a lot of what is happening here. In fact, in some ways what Governor Jindal said about helping people who are in trouble is exactly what is going on here. We are trying to help people who are in trouble.
COLLINS: Ron?
CHADDERDON: Obviously, we have differences of opinion, but in many ways it's the same thing.
COLLINS: Yes, we do. Ron, I'm going to give you the last word.
CHRISTIE: Absolutely, Heidi. I think what Governor Jindal said last night was spot on. He said the Republicans and Democrats look at hope in different ways. Republicans and fiscal conservatives look to the hope of their neighbors and the compassionate neighbors, I think what the Democrats are looking at right now is the government to help them out. That's the wrong solution. We need to strike a critical balance to make sure we don't have too much government in our lives.
COLLINS: Liz Chadderdon and Ron Christie, sure do appreciate the time from both you. Thanks, guys.
CHADDERDON: Thank you.
CHRISTIE: Thank you.
COLLINS: So what did you think of the speech. Our Josh Levs is checking your pulse now. Hey, there, Josh.
LEVS: You know what, Heidi, it's interesting. I've looked through more than 200 responses so far, and this is unusual. By far, viewers are sending one resounding message about last night. What's that? We'll tell you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: We are waiting for remarks from Vice President Joe Biden right now. He is leading his first meeting on oversight of the economic recovery plan. President Obama highlighted the vice president's role and sort of a watchdog for the plan's implementation during his speech last night. So we'll be watching for that.
What did you think, though, of the president's speech last night? Did it give you hope? And what about the GOP response?
Our Josh Levs is hearing from you this morning. Hearing from a lot of you, in fact, this morning. So he's got some time now to share some of those responses.
Hey, Josh.
LEVS: Hey, there to you. You know what, they did not wait. Some of these responses started coming in literally as President Obama was speaking last night, and then as Governor Jindal was carrying out his response. I'll tell you about some of them.
We're going to start off with the ones flying in on Facebook. We asked what you think of both these speeches. Let's start off right here. John Derek Campbell wrote this, "All I can say is that President Obama shows more ambition and promise in this one speech than President Bush in both his terms in office. It's also the first grammatically correct speech from a United States president in about a decade."
And, Heidi, I've looked through more than 200, as I said before, lots of people very much in support of President Obama.
Let's go back to Robert Hall here. "Obama was inspiring, confident and determined. I really want to see a real health care plan," he adds.
Now, something on Governor Jindal. Look at what we have here. Kaywood wrote, "Bobby Jindal sounded like he was talking to children."
So far not seeing positive remarks about Governor Jindal, although I'm sure we'll get some. And let's go over here. Here's something not entirely behind President Obama. Olufemi Elegbe wrote us this from Washington. "Well, I appreciate the message of hope and optimism that President Obama has come to engender. I can not but wonder if these will ultimately translate into action. The message of change is interesting, but aren't we trying to destroy the very fabric of that frame of our economic system."
And we can end this. Carol Anderson during the speech last night, "How fabulous was that?"
I'll tell you, Heidi, I've been doing this a long time, looking at viewer reactions. I can't remember the last time I saw 99.9 percent weighing in on one side.
Let me show everyone the graphic here. When no matter what you thought, no matter where you are on the political spectrum, you can send us your thoughts today. Your reaction to the president's speech and the GOP response. You can Facebook us by pages at joshlevscnn or send your e-mail, cnnnewsroom@cnn.com. And, Heidi, I'll be back with you next hour to read some of what we're getting in both places to see what kinds of responses people have the day after.
COLLINS: OK, great. Thank you, Josh.
LEVS: Thanks a lot.
COLLINS: I want to head over to Rob Marciano now, standing by in the severe weather center with a winter storm warning for the Dakotas, right?
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Yes, better than what they have been getting. And did you say substantial swaths?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, you know, we're big on alliteration here in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: That's good. I like that. Look at another one for next time.
MARCIANO: Just let me know if it's grammatically incorrect, because I've been known to do that or make up words.
COLLINS: OK. All right, Rob, we'll check back. Thank you.
Obviously, it costs money you may not have for a degree that may not actually land you a job. President Obama challenging more Americans to go to college, but is it even worth it these days?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: There is no program or policy that can substitute for a parent. For a mother or father who will attend those parent-teacher conferences or help with homework, or turn off the TV, put away the video games, read to their child. I speak to you not just as a president, but as a father. When I say that responsibility for our children's education must begin at home, that is not a Democratic issue or a Republican issue. That's an American issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Staying competitive in the global economy. President Obama says it starts in the classroom. Last night, he gave some bold education goals for Americans to live up to.
A high school diploma won't cut it anymore if you listen to the president. Last night, he challenged every American to get at least one year of higher education or career training. But will spending money on a degree actually pay off in this economy? CNN's Alina Cho with that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ask Michelle Destruge the cost of college, and she'll tell you. Six figures.
(on camera): Staggering.
MICHELLE DESTRUGE, COLLEGE GRADUATE: Yes, it is.
CHO: Her four-year education in University has saddled her with $119,000 in student loans.
DESTRUGE: When you think about it, it's the large sum. You start to feel -- I don't know, you start to feel hopeless.
Hi, there. How are you doing?
CHO (voice-over): The 25-year-old works as an administrative assistant, making about $40,000 a year. But more than half her salary goes toward paying down her college debt.
(on camera): You must lose sleep over this.
DESTRUGE: I did for a little while. I did lose sleep. And then when you start not paying your loans as well as you should, the companies make sure you lose sleep on it.
CHO (voice-over): According to the College Board, two-thirds of four-year college grads have student debt, more than $22,000, on average. And salaries are not keeping pace. After adjusting for inflation, those with bachelor's degrees are actually making less than they were in the year 2000, leaving many with debt they'll be paying off for decades. So is college worth the expense?
BEN KAUFMAN, BUSINESS OWNER: I learn more a day out of the classroom working in my business than I could learn in an entire semester. CHO: Ben Kaufman dropped out of college after one semester to start his own business selling iPod accessories. The 22-year-old is now starting a second business with no regrets. Yet experts say college is still a good investment.
LAUREN ASHER, INSTITUTE FOR COLLEGE ACCESS & SUCCESS: College is more important than ever for getting into and staying in the middle class in this country. In some ways, it's replaced the high school degree, even for entry-level jobs.
CHO: Destruge admits she probably could have gotten her job with an associate's degree. She is living with her parents again, hoping to pay off her debt in ten years. Her dreams, like buying a home, starting a business, even marriage, are all on hold.
DESTRUGE: Was it worth it? I have to say yes.
CHO (on camera): What do you really feel, though?
DESTRUGE: I feel that it was a mistake to leverage myself. But I have to say it was worth it in the end.
CHO: Experts say now more than ever it's important to shop around when you're looking for a college. Apply to a range of schools, and then once you've gotten your financial aid offer, compare it to the others, and then make a decision.
Michelle Destruge says if she could do it all over again, she would take a year after. Looking back, she said she probably could have started at a community college, worked her way through, and then transferred to a four-year institution. She says she still would have gotten a great education, but with far less debt.
Alina Cho, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Not enough jobs, not enough money, not enough business. We'll talk to several Americans who are living the struggles.
