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Swine Flu Outbreak a Threat For Pandemic? Too Soon to Tell; Hillary Clinton Takes an Unannounced Visit to Baghdad; Speed Networking to Get a Job; Is President Obama Keeping His Campaign Promises?
Aired April 25, 2009 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Lots straight ahead. A pretty serious topic that this nation is now grappling with. As doctors of the World Health Organization in Geneva are holding an emergency meeting today about something that could apply to the U.S. and neighboring states. The agency's director is warning a swine flu outbreak in Mexico and the U.S. could turn into a pandemic. But it is too soon to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. MARGARET CHAN, DIRECTOR GENERAL, WHO: The viruses causing cases in some parts of Mexico and some parts of USA are genetically the same. This is an animal strain of the H1-N1 virus and it has pandemic potential.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: From Los Angeles, CNN's Casey Wian's reports on the urgent threat.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mexican health officials closed schools and universities indefinitely Friday, to stop the rapid spread of a deadly Swine Flu Virus that's killed at least 60 and sickened nearly 1,000. The majority of the deaths occurred within the past three weeks near Mexico City, where some people are now covering their faces with masks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dangerous. Just dangerous. And they don't have any information.
WIAN: Two victims were from northern Baja, California. In the United States, six cases of Swine Flu in southern California, and two in Texas are perplexing health officials, because they involve people with no known recent exposure to pigs.
DR. WILMA WOOTEN, SAN DIEGO COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICER: We don't know what the source of the virus is.
WIAN: Each of those victims, age nine to 54, has recovered. The Centers for Disease Control says at least one case involved a person who recently traveled to Mexico. The CDC says preliminary tests indicate the Mexican virus is the same as that found in victims in the United States.
DR. RICHARD BESSER, ACTING DIRECTOR, CDC: We do not have enough information to fully assess the health threat posed by this Swine Flu Virus. However, scientists around the world continue to monitor the virus and take its threat seriously.
WIAN: The CDC is not recommending travel restrictions to either Mexico, Texas or California at this time. It says it's too early to determine if a vaccine should be developed. U.S. and Canadian health officials asked doctors to look for flu systems, especially among recent visitors to Mexico. They include President Obama.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Has the president been told of any risk to him or any of the people traveling with him when they went to Mexico City?
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: None that I'm aware of.
WIAN: Swine Flue is normally transmitted to humans through direct contact with pigs, but not from eating pork. The CDC says there have been some previous cases of human-to-human transmission.
(on camera): The CDC is recommending that people, businesses and public officials begin preparing in case the swine flu outbreak does turn into a pandemic, which would mean the virus is spreading rapidly across different populations. The World Health Organization so far has not raised its pandemic threat level, which stands at three on a scale of six. The WHO says the world is now closer to an influenza pandemic than at any time since 1968.
Casey Wian, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And results are expected today in New York, where 75 students are sick with these flu-like symptoms. Let's stress this cluster has not been confirmed as the Swine Flu strain. CNN's Susan Candiotti is outside St. Francis Prep School in Queens.
So, Susan, while it hasn't necessarily been verified, it still is alarming a number of people, particularly parents of those children, who are in the middle of these tests. Give us an idea of where we are in this testing.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, parents who have shown up at the school, a couple of them, have tried to find out what's going on, and are understandably concerned as they wait for these test results to come through. Back on Thursday, according to the school, and according to parents and one student here -- he said that, quote, some of the students were, quote, dropping like flies.
Then on Thursday, they were lining up outside the nurse's office and -- to get some attention. And that's when the school contacted the Health Department. They came out to the school on Friday. Blood tests were taken from these students, who had taken ill. And we're waiting for those results, which could come back as soon as today.
Now, the school also took some additional steps. They were advised by the Health Department to cancel a Friday night event at the school. There is also an alumni reunion that is scheduled for tonight, a dinner here at the school. We don't know for sure whether that will also be canceled. It likely will.
But in any case, the school also tested air quality on Friday, and the school reports on its Web site that they found no problems whatsoever. Also they have taken steps here at the school to sanitize the building.
We are told by one of the youngsters that goes to school here that on Spring Break a number of the students did go to Mexico. But it is unclear at this time whether any of those students are among those who fell ill on Thursday. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: Now, what about staff?
CANDIOTTI: I'm sorry? What is that?
WHITFIELD: What about staff? If indeed there were some students that went to Mexico, were there staff members, chaperones likely that would have been part of that, if there is any connection between their flu-like symptoms and these travels?
CANDIOTTI: That of course is a good question, but unfortunately no one from the school has been available today. And we're still trying to reach out to them to see what else we might be able to find out about that.
So far, that information is only coming from a couple of parents.
WHITFIELD: All right. Susan Candiotti, thanks so much. Keep us posted on the test results there.
In the meantime, our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta talked with CNN's Anderson Cooper about this Swine Flu outbreak.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: There are criteria, Anderson, to sort of call something a pandemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control. One of the things you've got to ask, is this something that is new? We answered that question. It is new. This is a virus the world hasn't seen before.
Does it cause severe disease? It's killing people. It's caused the death of 68 people now in Mexico, as you mentioned.
Is it easily transmissible and sustainable in a population? That is a bit of a question mark still. It does appear to be transmissible. How sustainable is this? Is this something that's just going to fade away over the next couple days? Or are we going to be talking about this next week? We don't know the answer to this. But this is a true medical investigation. People are working on this right now. After they figure out what it is, now they've got to figure out where it's going.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: We don't want to freak anyone out. In terms of symptoms, what should somebody be looking for? And what should they do if they feel like they've got a flu? And how do you separate from just a normal flu?
GUPTA: It's going to be hard. As you just reported what's happening in New York City, if several people in a certain community start to come down with flu-like symptoms -- and these are the same sorts of things that are different than just a cold. In addition to having a runny nose, headache, fever, you might get the muscle aches, overwhelming fatigue. It's going to come on pretty quickly. The fever is going to be pretty high, usually over 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit.
And also, if people around you are also getting sick, it sort of speaks to this person to person transmission. You're absolutely right to sort of urge people not to be freaked out here. It's unlikely to happen to anybody who's watching right now. But it may happen in clusters. If it does, the public health officials are going to need to be on top of that and possibly sterilize the school, like they're doing in New York City, and try to get people treated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: In the meantime, we're hoping to hear more about this. The CDC, the Centers for Disease Control, is holding a teleconference about the Swine Flu situation at 1:00 Eastern. Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen will be monitoring the conference and bring you details as they come.
Right now, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Iraq. Her unannounced visit to Baghdad comes one day after dual suicide bombers killed at least 65 people. Despite those attacks and others in recent days, Secretary Clinton said she does not think that sectarian violence is on the rise. And at a town hall meeting, she reiterated America's pledge to Iraq's democracy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: We are committed to Iraq. We want to see a stable, sovereign, self-reliant Iraq. But we know we're coming into office when there is a transition underway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The secretary also has been getting the lowdown from Iraqi leaders, and, of course, U.S. commanders there.
The town of Underhill, Vermont is holding an all-American style picnic today for its all-American hero. And it is BYOP, bring your own picnic. Captain Richard Philips and his family are the town's guests of honor. Philips was held, of course. by pirates of the coast of Africa this month before Navy SEALS actually rescued him.
The captain tells NBC that there were times that he was sure he would not make it out alive. We'll keep you posted on that picnic scheduled for today.
A speedy way to actually get a job, or make a new business friend. I head to a speed networking event.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Turning to issue number one, folks are getting very creative to nab a job these days. You've heard of speed dating, right? Well, now there's an event for the jobless called speed networking. Recently, I checked out one of those events in Atlanta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And go!
WHITFIELD (voice-over:) These 40 professionals just began something of a matchmaking game. Each time the whistle blows ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rotate one seat, please.
WHITFIELD: ...they move on to the next round.
This is high-speed networking.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here's what we're going to do. You get four minutes with the person across from you.
WHITFIELD: They have just minutes to sell their business.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I work for Offices Plus. We provide executive offices, as well as virtual offices and meeting rooms and guest offices.
WHITFIELD: Or sell themselves.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What I'm trying to do is I'm trying to make sure that we have ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Move one seat, everybody.
WHITFIELD: Keith Trimble was laid off from his job as an airline manager last year.
(on camera:) What are you looking for, and, you know, what did you discover?
KEITH TRIMBLE, JOB SEEKER: I'm looking to make contacts, obviously, and make sure that I use my time wisely and get everything I can out of it in the four minutes that you're given to talk to somebody.
WHITFIELD: So how do you try to distinguish yourself? Because they're seeing 20 people, 30 people in one evening. And then they've got a stack of business cards. What are you hoping they're taking note of you?
TRIMBLE: Well, I'm hoping that they look at me and say that I'm intelligent, hopefully, and that I am able to adapt to the setting.
WHITFIELD (voice-over): And then there is Lynn Harter, a former commercial banker looking for a new job.
LYNN HARTER, JOB SEEKER: I moved from Michigan nine months ago. And my skills are very transferable. I do not have to work in commercial banking.
WHITFIELD (on camera): Is it strange or fun?
HARTER: It's fun. It's fun. I was a little apprehensive at first because I thought, I don't know these people. But it's been very -- a lot of fun.
WHITFIELD: So the whistle goes off, you have a seat, then what?
HARTER: Then you exchange information with the person across from you. And I mean, some people are looking to build their businesses. Some people are looking for a job. So it's an interaction. I've been able to help a couple people, and a couple of people have helped me. So it's really good.
WHITFIELD: So you feel like by the end of the evening there really might be a match.
HARTER: Yes. There might be. There might be.
WHITFIELD: You're feeling confident.
HARTER: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rotate!
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I worked with the "Atlanta Journal" for the past 19 years. And I got laid off back in June. So I'm looking for something else in the field or try something new.
WHITFIELD (voice-over): After a grueling 18 rounds, everyone hopes their stack of cards holds the right connection that will lead them to their perfect job match.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have met people that have given me leads to other jobs. So -- and I met people that will be interested in hiring graphic artists in the future. So I'm feeling good about this.
WHITFIELD: And it looks like Keith Trimble found a lead too.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Definitely, I have a contact for you. It isn't health care. TRIMBLE: That's OK. I'm willing to do anything at this point.
WHITFIELD (on camera): So you say to yourself when you come to this setting, and you say, wow, this is what it has come to, in terms of looking for a job. It's social networking to a whole new level. And it's not just socializing, it really does mean open the doors to an opportunity.
HARTER: Yes. Yes. Because someone might know someone who needs you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, can I have your attention, please. Give yourselves a round of applause. You've just completed high-speed networking.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Congrats to them and best of luck in their search to land this job. The group which held this event is called Networking for Professionals, and it holds events like this around the country. Just log on to the Web site at the bottom of your screen: www.NetworkingForProfessionals.com. Good luck.
This week, President Obama released Bush administration memos that outlined torture. The question now, could some people go to jail for this? Our legal guys are here. There they are. Get ready to hear them argue this case.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Welcome back to the NEWSROOM. Lots of legal cases we want to delve into on this Saturday, everything from potentially prosecuting former Bush administration folks, to Miss California now making a case, potentially a legal case, about alleged harassment of her. So let's turn to our legal guys, Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor, good to see you, and Richard Herman, a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor. Good to see you as well.
Let's deal with what the Justice Department is now trying to tackle, saying, wait a minute. Bush administration folks, whether it's those who made the orders or those who followed the orders of torture -- so, Avery, do they have a case? Meaning does the Justice Department have grounds to pursue former Bush administration folks?
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Well, if there's a crime, Fredricka, it would be conspiracy to commit a felony, and the felony would be torture. The question here -- and this is really a really unprecedented referral to the Department of Justice. If indeed these members of the Office of Legal Counsel, the Department of Justice, tried to -- or participated in a conspiracy by using torture logic, which it seems to be here, 240 pages worth, then these guys are in a little bit of trouble here.
WHITFIELD: So, Richard, how do you see it? Do you see those who actually crafted the mandate being held actable or those who carried out the orderers?
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I see nobody being held accountable here, Fred. What a chilling effect to prevent lawyers from writing their legal opinions. Unless you can prove the lawyers, including now a federal Judge Bybee -- unless you can prove they intentionally, with specific intent, misled President Bush and his administration.
FRIEDMAN: Yes.
HERMAN: Then maybe there might be some sort of case for prosecution. Avery is right. It's unprecedented. It's never been done. Look, they didn't go after President Truman after the end of World War II. There was a panel of eight Congressmen who were advised of what was going on here. To feign surprise at this point in time is ridiculous.
WHITFIELD: Why would the Justice Department want to tackle this if there really isn't any precedent?
HERMAN: Holder's not going to do it.
FRIEDMAN: But there's also a difference in this, too. The question you asked, Fredricka, is the upper level, high level Bush officials. But what about the people that actually engaged in the behavior. And the president is not referring that to the Department of Justice. But what's really mind blowing to me is that Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chair Dianne Feinstein said to Wolf Blitzer on "SITUATION ROOM" that the committee is going to look into the individuals on the question of whether or not there's personal liability.
That actually blew me away. And believe me, when you're talking about unprecedented moves, that would be unheard of in American ...
WHITFIELD: Quickly, because I see you shaking your head, Richard.
HERMAN: Not going to happen. President Obama said he's not going to prosecute the people that carried out or who relied on the directives of their superiors. It's the Nuremberg defense that he's buying now. We're going to insulate these people who carried out the tactics.
WHITFIELD: Let's talk about U.S. Supreme Court, majority opinion. Justice John Paul Stevens saying that warrantless searches certainly have limitations. What is he talking about and why?
FRIEDMAN: This is a great decision where you have two conservatives, Scalia and Thomas, joining two liberals in the opinion, along with Justice Stevens. Bottom line is that you must have a warrant once the suspect is locked in the backseat of a car. Makes all the sense in the world. Hooray for the Bill of Rights and hooray for the Supreme Court.
WHITFIELD: And there must be probable cause, that being underscored one more time. If you're going to stop someone, there has to be probable cause, which means you can't go as far as searching the glove compartment, et cetera. Am I getting that part right?
HERMAN: It used to be you were able to search a vehicle incident to a vehicular traffic violation. You were able to arrest someone for going through a red light and then take a look around the car. Now they're saying you can't do that unless there's a weapon there or there's evidence that can be destroyed, or unless the officer believes there's evidence incident to the crime. Not going through a red light?
You know, there's going to be a motion practice here, you know, for people ...
FRIEDMAN: You must love this opinion, Richard.
HERMAN: It's a great opinion. Great opinion.
WHITFIELD: Your neighbors in Connecticut now, Richard, some of the fire fighters making a case -- saying we have a case of reverse discrimination. What are they talking about and do they have a case?
HERMAN: Apparently there was this examination prepared for the firemen for upward mobility, and it was supposedly -- it was race neutral. They had said they prepared it race neutral. Only white members of the fire department passed it. No black members passed it. So they just ripped it up and threw it away, the results and said, no.
Up to the Supreme Court right now. And what's interesting here, there was never a trial. There was never a real fact finding, so the solicitor general has recommended the case go back down for some discovery and fact finding.
WHITFIELD: Now Miss California, in the Miss USA contest, says, you know what, the question and now, I guess, the consequential harassment, is how she is characterizing it, from one of the contest judge's questions and her response about gay marriage. Now, Avery, she says, wait a minute, I'm being harassed about this so much so that I am going to pursue a legal case. Does she have grounds in which to do so?
FRIEDMAN: This is going to be number one for 2009. It's only April. Absolutely. I'm hearing commentators saying there's a basis under Title Seven of unemployment law. This is a beauty contest. She's got nothing, nothing.
WHITFIELD: Any question can be asked. She's got to answer it. And whatever fallout comes from it, no legal grounds to challenge it. Richard, do you agree with that?
HERMAN: Yes, Fred, you're a lawyer. And I agree with you and Avery.
FRIEDMAN: Three-judge panel here, apparently.
HERMAN: Do we even know what the winner looks like? No. But this woman is getting so much publicity. She loves it. She believes the question came from above. She was proud to tell millions of people what her position is. And the big winner here is Donald Trump, the owner of the pageant.
WHITFIELD: Interesting.
HERMAN: For next year.
WHITFIELD: We're out of time. But got to ask you about Rod Blagojevich, real quick. You all both called it. He's not going to be allowed to travel to Costa Rica to do this reality TV show. And that's what the decision was. So no reality show for Rod Blagojevich.
HERMAN: The judge questioned -- I think he's a tenet of the secret, you know? I believe I'm innocent, therefore I am innocent. I think that's kind of idea.
WHITFIELD: Maybe he'll find another way to get on the tube.
FRIEDMAN: It is going to be creative. If anyone can do it, Rod can do it.
WHITFIELD: Avery, Richard, thanks so much. Good to see you all. Have a great weekend.
All right. Let's talk about protecting the president's image. How is it done?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Half past the hour. And happening right now, the head of the World Health Organization says the case of the Swine Flu that we have been seeing could develop into a pandemic. Right now, it is at level three, which is no or very limited human to human transmission. That's a translation. The virus has killed at least 68 people in Mexico, and more than 1,000 others have fallen ill in that country. Eight patients who have caught it possibly in the U.S. have recovered. And we're awaiting a teleconference by the CDC at the top of the hour.
And U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Baghdad holding town halls and high-level meetings. Clinton's unannounced visit comes after several days of deadly suicide attacks in that country.
President Obama has made a lot of promises, both on the campaign trail and now in the oval office. So, is he keeps his promises? Josh Levs is checking on all of that right now, as we encroach upon that 100 first days of his presidency. What are we learning?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's coming up fast.
WHITFIELD: Right around the corner. Hard to believe.
LEVS: It is a little scary how fast time flies. Got to do something about that. So here's the thing, best place to look for that kind of information, PolitiFact.com. They do a great job, just won a Pulitzer. They do a really good job of following all of these promises. They call it the Obameter.
So, I got a chance to talk to the head of PolitiFact, and I asked him when it comes to those campaign pledges, how is this president doing?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL ADAIR, POLITIFACT.COM: He is off to a pretty energetic start. Just 100 days into his presidency or nearly 100 days, he has, by our calculation, broken only six. So, of -- now, it's important to note, that's of 514 promises total that are in our data base. So, he has a lot more to go. But he has made some progress on some pretty significant ones. And so, he -- I think he's got some early momentum here.
LEVS: Still, the truth is people vote when promises are made. Promises should be kept. And obviously, there's changing circumstances. But if it's a promise and you guys have declared that it's broken, that means it truly is broken, not just the result of an outside situation. So talk to me about these broken ones. What should people know about that category?
ADAIR: You bet. Of the six promises broken, they include things like a promise that he made that he was going to post bills on the White House Web site and give people five days to comment. He didn't do that. He wanted to sign bills immediately after they were passed by Congress. And so, we rated that one a broken.
Another one that earned a broken was his promise about putting restrictions on lobbyists who wanted to serve in his administration. He claimed that he was going to end the revolving door for lobbyists, but we found he put in so many loopholes into his policy that it really made the policy not what he said it would be. So, he earned a promise broken on that.
LEVS: You also did something interesting, you all rated what you think are the most important promises. And when I look specifically at that list, it looks like he's doing particularly well on that list, right?
ADAIR: When you look at overall at the major things and the themes that he had during his campaign, ending the War in Iraq, beefing up the presence in Afghanistan, those are things that he has made progress on. In the case of Afghanistan, we've rated that a promise kept because he's sending additional brigades to Afghanistan.
On some of his other things, though, he's got some work to do. One of his big promises was a cap and trade program to create a system to limit global warming. And he's going -- he still has to push that through Congress and that's going to be a tough one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: But of course, he is only close to 100 days into his administration, he has plenty of time to do a lot more. You can get a lot more information here, politifact.com. And also, Fred, we're hearing from our viewers. Let me show everybody where everyone's contacting us today. We're having this conversation online ...
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LEVS: ...about this whole idea of the first 100 days. People e- mailing us, also Facebook, Josh Levs CNN, the brand new Twitter page, I'm learning how to use that thing. Twitter.com Josh Levs.
WHITFIELD: You're all over it, Josh.
LEVS: You know, it makes me feel like an octopus. It really does. I -- next, it's going to be something else and I'll literally have eight tentacles out there.
WHITFIELD: Keep that reach going.
LEVS: We're working on it (ph).
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Josh. Appreciate it.
Well, of course, we're not done with analysis of the first 100 days for the Obama administration. Tonight at 6:00 Eastern, a special "SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer and the best political team on television count down to Wednesday's big event, President Obama's 100th day in office. And then of course, on Wednesday, you can help grade the president in CNN's "National Report Card," a special primetime event beginning at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.
All right, well, as we close in on the first 100 days of President Obama's administration, protecting his image is becoming a priority at the White House.
CNN Entertainment correspondent Brooke Anderson shows us how it is done.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Obamas' love story. The Obamas at home. Even grandma. First Family headlines dominate magazine covers, much of which the results of a well-oiled P.R. machine inside the White House, doing its best to control how the public perceives the Obamas.
RAPHAEL SONENSHEIN, POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR: If the White House did not try to influence the coverage of the First Family, they're asking for a terrible invasion of privacy.
ANDERSON: But the May issue of lifestyle publication "Washingtonian" proves not all exposure can be controlled. This image, for example, taken last December in Hawaii had been published before and the magazine did not contact the White House before using it after slight alteration.
SONENSHEIN: The notion of using a telephoto lens to get a picture of the president or president-elect on the beach in a bathing suit I think is intrusive.
ANDERSON: The "Washingtonian" tells CNN the picture illustrates a golden age of D.C., a hot city matched with a hot president. For its part, the White House has no comment.
But political science professor Raphael Sonenshein expects publication of images like these to be the exception, not the rule.
SONENSHEIN: They put a lot of photos out already on their own, trying to pre-empt the paparazzi. And if 90 percent of the images you're comfortable with, well, you know, the other 10 I don't think you're going to sweat that.
ANDERSON: Pretty good odds for a man used to keeping score.
Brooke Anderson, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, talk more about the First Family, the image and how influential they have become as individuals and really as a group, we're joined now by Liza Mundy. She wrote a biography on the First Lady Michelle Obama. Good to see you, Liza.
All right, before we talk about the First Lady, let's talk about the president and his image and what kind of influence he may have had as an individual on this country. How do you see it? Not just as president, but as the man.
LIZA MUNDY, AUTHOR, "MICHELLE, A BIOGRAPHY": Well, I think, you know, as a father and the image of the Obama family is very much part of his image, as a family man, as a husband. I think, you know, we see the family looking very happy together and I think part of it is because they are enjoying being under the same roof, which hasn't been the case for the past, you know, for the past several years most of the time.
WHITFIELD: And really, this family exudes a youthfulness that perhaps we haven't seen in a long time. We're looking at the images of the dog, Bo, and the whole family together. But we have seen President Obama when he's by himself, whether he is kind of jogging to the jetway of Air Force One or that first image of he with the dog, walking and running on the White House property. How dynamic has that been in your view?
MUNDY: Yes, well, I think the photos that we've seen are very dynamic. And there's a number of them up on the "Slate" Web site, of this, really sort of candid shots that he sees all the time in the White House, and I think we do see dynamism and we see him being reunited with his children, you know, after trips and all conveying an image of sort of ease and grace.
WHITFIELD: And we're looking at pictures now of the couple now, Michelle and Barack Obama together. How do you see that what they exude as a couple, a real power couple, and a couple that really seems to enjoy each other's company and intellectually, they just seem to be a match made in heaven. How do you see them influencing couples or maybe even helping couples kind of re-evaluate what they have or what their goals need to be as a couple in America?
MUNDY: Well, I do think there's probably a lot more couples going out on date night, a lot more married couples going out on date night. There may also be married couples saying why don't we have that sort of chemistry after 20 years? I mean, it has been actually 20 years this year since they met. So, they're not newlyweds.
But again, I think that, ironically enough, as busy as this administration is, it is offering them more family time than they've had in the past five or six years when he was running for the U.S. Senate, and then very quickly after that, running for the presidency.
WHITFIELD: Do you think they worked hard to try to share this view of who they are with the public, or is it that the public is simply become eyewitness of something that is very natural to them?
MUNDY: Well, I think that's probably both. I mean, they've talked about the fact that the hard times in their marriage, and this is familiar to many people, were when they were both working and when their children were young and when he was gone all the time. They've obviously come through that period. They've weathered the stresses of the presidential campaign. It would be, you know, an exaggeration to say that they're able to take a breather, but at least they're able to be together.
WHITFIELD: Yes. And you know something fascinating, the two girls, Malia and Sasha, how influential they have really become really by default. I mean, everyone agrees they're just the cutest things ever, and they're so poised and seem to be managing all of this so well. We've heard and read about the many quotes from Michelle Obama, who says she wants to protect them.
Yet there was a fascinating article in last weekend's the "Washington Post" which talks about how these two girls, whether it be inadvertently or not, really seem to be the envy of tweens, particularly in the Washington area and every young girl wants to emulate them in so many different ways. How do you suppose that came to be?
MUNDY: Well, I think in part, it may be because the Obama family is out and about in the city of Washington, and you know, there are sightings at movie theaters, and you know, children's events. And so, I think children in the Washington, D.C., area, it does seem realistic to them that they might run across the Obama daughters.
And I think, you know, they certainly have an exaggerated sense of how likely that is, but -- and the images that have been released, I -- just as you say, the article was about the fascination that a lot of ...
WHITFIELD: Yes.
MUNDY: ...tweens have with these girls, pictures on the walls and fantasizing about them as best friends. Which I guess suggests, you know, that the family has been quite successful in projecting an image of normalcy and, you know, being sort of like the family next door.
WHITFIELD: Yes, they've kind of become the pint size rock stars as well. So, that's what we've seen in the first 100 days. What's your guess on how we're going to see this family evolve throughout this first-term presidency?
MUNDY: Well, I think the family is still figuring out -- the Obamas are still figuring out how often to ...
WHITFIELD: Yes.
MUNDY: ...sort of make public images of the girls and under ...
WHITFIELD: OK.
MUNDY: ...what circumstances, and I think they're still figuring that out.
WHITFIELD: Liza Mundy, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
MUNDY: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right, the days of analog television, apparently they're numbered. What can you expect to see when the move to digital is official? The future of television.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, it won't be much longer before the days of analog TV transmission is history, gone, kapoot. So as the digital age moves ahead, it's offering more choices for you to watch your favorite television shows. So, one pick that's still popular among many Americans, of course, is cable.
Well, joining us to talk about the challenges and the benefits facing the industry is the chairman and CEO of Comcast, Brian Roberts. Good to see you.
All right, well, before we talk about ...
BRIAN ROBERTS, CHAIRMAN & CEO, COMCAST: Well, I'm here at ...
WHITFIELD: Oh, go ahead.
ROBERTS: Well, I'm out at Dunwoody Nature Center right near you in Atlanta, where Comcast Cares Day, but go ahead.
WHITFIELD: Yes, well, I was going to say before we get to the challenges of digital TV, let's talk about what Comcast Care Day is all about and why you are here and how this is your stab at recognizing Earth Day.
ROBERTS: Well, we've got 500 locations today, like Dunwoody Nature Center where I'm at right now, where we're cleaning up and planting trees and planting gardens. We've got almost 60,000 volunteers, all Comcast employees and their families, at 500 locations, whether they're rec centers, or hospitals, or food shelters or nature centers, and it's fantastic.
We're donating 300,000 hours of service today and a $1.5 million in cash. It's maybe the largest day we've certainly ever had at Comcast Cares, but maybe any corporation's ever had with that much volunteerism. And at this economy, at this time, I'm very, very proud of our employees. It's all volunteers, on a Saturday, and they bring their kids. And it makes you feel wonderful. And it's all in the communities where we have cable and broadband services.
WHITFIELD: So, it is really important for a lot of corporations to kind of state their case on what their commitments are to the community. Well, a lot of folks hear Comcast and they start immediately thinking about how much I pay for my cable and what's the future of the many hundreds of channels that are already available. What's going to happen when digital TV is sort of a mandate.
So how do we begin, there's so much, you know, under the big umbrella. So, as it pertains to digital television and analog TV making its way out, what can we as Comcast subscribers expect? What's going to be different?
ROBERTS: Well, I think it's going to be a very exciting era. First of all, if you're already a Comcast customer, then the digital transition is really not relevant to you, if you've got cable on all your TVS in the household. For those that have some cable and some without, or folks out there who might be somehow seeing this who do not have cable or satellite, then you're going to need to do something for the digital transition.
We think that's an opportunity for people to take a look at all the benefits from multi-channel television and sign up.
WHITFIELD: OK.
ROBERTS: But what's the future, the question you really asked, that's so exciting is hundreds of high definition channels, faster Internet, and getting it on any device you want when you want it. And that's really our vision to be the best in television, the fastest Internet, and the best value when you take our triple play.
WHITFIELD: And particularly at this time, you know, we're talking about a recession. A lot of folks who have, you know, tight means on which to get by, but cable television is their outlet and -- or it's their means of staying connected via the Internet. Is there any incentive or anything you're offering to people, given these tough times for so many people, whether it means some low rebates or cuts in their monthly cable bills? What can you promise or what can you do as a direct response to the recession for your customers?
ROBERTS: We're doing a lot of things. Great question. We're doing a lot of things. First of all, one of the things we're doing in communities is our volunteer efforts that's we talked about, like Comcast Cares Day, where I'm at now. Secondly, we have created different packages. We have more options for consumers. We have an economy video, economy data, high speed data service. We have added phone and features that we're offering, all sorts of special packages. Each customer is different. Some really want to get a DVR, and high definition ...
WHITFIELD: So, you made -- you have made some ...
ROBERTS: ...others say ...
WHITFIELD: ...changes, you're saying, you made some as a result of this slumping economy? And you're offering better incentives to people?
ROBERTS: I think companies have to -- absolutely. Companies have to adjust ...
WHITFIELD: Yes.
ROBERTS: ...how they're operating for the times we live in and Comcast certainly is no different.
WHITFIELD: All right, chairman and CEO of Comcast, Brian Roberts, thanks so much. And good thing you got a beautiful day for Comcast Cares.
ROBERTS: Thank you. It is a beautiful day.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much.
more of the NEWSROOM right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: More now on swine flu, which has become our top story which kind of fell into the laps of a lot of folks in America, pretty surprised that this is going on. What can it mean for you and your family?
CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us for the swine flu 101, kind of primer, really because a lot of folks had never heard of this before the last 24 to 48 hours, and there's a lot of alarm now.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Swine flu made headlines in 1976 when there was an outbreak in Fort Dix and really ...
WHITFIELD: So long ago.
COHEN: ...it has been -- right, very much. You and I weren't even born yet. Right?
WHITFIELD: Oh, right.
COHEN: Right, right. So, a lot of people might not know much about swine flu and we were talking before, or I was talking with Fred about how concerned should we be. And so, I want to try to put some of this in context. The eight cases in the United States, there's some in California and some in Texas, all of those people recovered without having to take anti-viral medications. I think that's an important point to make. And as a matter of fact, out of the eight, only one of them had to be hospitalized.
Now, I'm not trying to downplay it and to say that this isn't big and important, because obviously it is, but I think it is important to know about these eight cases in the United States. Of course, the situation is very different in Mexico, where you have 60 deaths and some thousand people ill. But in this country, it has not turned into that. The people here have recovered relatively easily.
WHITFIELD: But the feeling is it is the same strain?
COHEN: That at least some of them are the same strain.
WHITFIELD: OK.
COHEN: It's not known that every single case is the same strain ...
WHITFIELD: OK.
COHEN: ...but there's some indication that they are the same strain.
WHITFIELD: Got you. And I guess what make it's pretty alarming for a lot of folks in this country because some of the symptoms can be very similar to the regular flu, something we are accustomed to.
COHEN: Right.
WHITFIELD: But then what happens?
COHEN: The symptoms can be similar to regular flu. But you know what, before I talk about symptoms, I want to talk a little bit about what exactly a swine flu virus is, because as Fred was saying, this is so new. A swine flu virus isn't one virus, it's not just one chunk of DNA, it's several different chunks of DNA, it's four things put together. It's kind of like a recipe, if you want to look at in sort of a warped way, like you're going to cook something.
You have in here a North American swine influenza, an avian influenza. a human influenza and a form of swine influenza that you normally find in Asia and Europe. So, it's all four of those things put together. Now, the only good news, if you can look at it that way is that some of us have seen at least one of these before. Nobody's seen all four put together. This is new, having it all put together.
But your body may have seen one or two or three of these things before. And so, your body may be able to mount some kind of a defense to it. So, I think that that is really quite interesting, is that this is ...
WHITFIELD: The influenza in particular, your body has probably seen that.
COHEN: Yes. Your body has probably -- you may have seen some of these. And the older you are, the more likely it is, actually, that you've seen some of these things.
WHITFIELD: OK.
COHEN: So, all of these four things put together as one, we haven't seen this before, but your body may be able to say, oh I recognize that, I think I can fight off at least part of it.
WHITFIELD: This is part of what I do (ph).
COHEN: Right.
WHITFIELD: OK, so I got a little ahead of the game.
COHEN: That's OK.
WHITFIELD: So now, what are the symptoms besides, you know, what we're familiar with with influenza?
COHEN: OK, well actually, unfortunately they are kind of similar to what you find with influenza. So, let's quickly go through those, what all the symptoms are. Fever, cough, sore throat, body aches and headaches. Also, chills, fatigue, diarrhea and vomiting. This probably sounds pretty familiar.
WHITFIELD: Exact.
COHEN: Right, I mean, how would you know and the problem is you wouldn't know. And that is why it is so crucial that if you have these symptoms and if you've been traveling to Mexico or if you've had close contact with someone who's traveled to Mexico, go see your doctor and tell them right away because they might not ask you. Hey doctor, just got back from Mexico.
WHITFIELD: Oh boy.
COHEN: So that they'll be on the lookout. That's an important thing to tell your doctor.
WHITFIELD: Nobody wants to hear the word pandemic or epidemic yet, but loosely, pandemic, some are saying we could be close.
COHEN: Right. Yes, this is not a -- pandemics are worldwide. Pandemics are an enormous number of illnesses and deaths.
WHITFIELD: OK.
COHEN: This is not worldwide yet.
WHITFIELD: OK, good, let's keep it that way.
COHEN: Let's keep it that way, exactly. Let's keep it in this, to this continent. Right. WHITFIELD: Yes, they're very frightening, but thanks for adding the context to it.
COHEN: OK.
WHITFIELD: So, at least I'm not as alarmed as initially, right.
COHEN: That's right, not quite there yet. OK.
WHITFIELD: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
So, when you travel abroad and check your bags and your itinerary, don't forget to check your etiquette. Richelle Carey explains in this latest edition of "On the Go."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHELLE CAREY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's easy to miscommunicate when traveling abroad.
STIRLING KELSO, TRAVEL+LEISURE: Affection and personal space is something that is very different from one culture to another. For example, in a lot of countries surrounding the Mediterranean, a kiss on the cheek or two kisses is a common way to say hello.
CAREY: Eye contact also varies across the globe.
KELSO: In Germany there's actually a tradition, when you raise a beer and toast someone, you have to make eye contact with everyone or else it means you're going to have seven years of bad luck in the bedroom.
CAREY: But in Asia, it may be more respectful to simply be quiet.
KELSO: In Thailand, people keep their voices down in temples, and that's the same in churches and other religious institutions all over South America, Europe, and the United States. If you're concerned about cultural misunderstandings when you travel, observe the locals and study up on the destination before you go.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: We want to continue to update you on the swine flu situation. The CDC is actually holding a teleconference about the swine flu at this hour. Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen will be monitoring the conference and she'll be bringing us the latest details as she gets them. Stay with CNN throughout the day for the latest breaking news on that and other matters.
In the meantime, "YOUR MONEY" starts right now.
