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Finding the Right Prescription; Doctor's Exit From Cuba; The Help Desk

Aired June 16, 2009 - 12:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We were wondering if we would get a question at all from the White House press corps on Iran. Something to expand on the president's comments yesterday. Well, it took us a while, but we finally got the question. We finally got a response from the president. Let's circle back and then we'll move forward to the president's remarks on Iran. As you saw there, President Obama and South Korean President Lee on the occasion of the second meeting for the two men. First, I believe they're going off to have lunch now. There was a bit of an oval office meeting, and then the news conference there and joint statements at the rose garden.

As you would expect, the talks dominated by North Korea. The president wants a denuclearized North Korea. How is that going to happen? Well, we don't really know, but it seems that whatever is going to happen there will come by way of the six-party talks which North Korea says it will not participate in. So, it's hard to know how this moves forward. The president saying there is a path, other than isolation for North Korea. It is a path that is available to them that does not include threatening neighbors and violating international law. I see our White House correspondent there, Suzanne Malveaux. And I believe she's ready to talk about this. First of all, Suzanne, a couple of points here, and we're trying to turn around some sound from the president, that statement at the very end there on Iran. But it is -- the president and the South Korean president are talking about this time will be different in terms of dealing with North Korea. It's hard to know how, given that North Korea says it will not participate in the six-party talks. The two men seemed to be suggesting that the world community is more in support of the position that North Korea has to be denuclearized.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're certainly saying that. But, I mean, that's a very good question whether or not this really is going to be different at all. Because you do have a belligerent North Korea. We heard the president talk about the role of Russia and China, obviously very important in trying to influence North Korea, but so far, the six-party talks have really failed in terms of changing the behavior of North Korea. And the other question that came up that really -- you didn't really get a very detailed explanation as to how they're actually going to do this.

That was the question about interdicting -- intercepting some of those North Korean ships that they believe could have nuclear materials on board, that they might try to sell them for cash. It's a very poor country, or that they're trying to obtain these nuclear materials. That the U.S. navy so far, the commitment that it's made, is that it will go ahead and try to, in some way, intercept, but they're not going to board those ships. And so this is really kind of a conundrum for this administration. It's really going to be time is going to tell whether or not there's going to be real significant change here and whether or not there's going to be any more influence that you have from its neighbors, from South Korea, from China and from Russia and from the United States.

HARRIS: And, you know, the view from South Korean President Lee seems to be, you know what, I'm in this relationship with President Obama, we're going to be stronger on this. I have absolute faith that together, in addition to the United Nations we're getting stronger sanctions coming out of United Nations, and that will somehow, Suzanne, turn the tide here. But it's difficult to see how that works.

MALVEAUX: Well, he got a commitment from this administration, as we've seen before, that from -- the South Koreans get some sort of written statement and commitment, a communique, saying that the United States will come to its aid militarily if, in fact, it's attacked under those circumstances, and so President Lee was saying, he was confident as long as the alliance is strong with the United States, that that's not going to happen, the U.S. will come to its aid. But shy of that and short of that, there is a huge question mark here, Tony, as you know, as to whether or not any of these countries and these leaders can change the behavior of Kim Jong-Il. The hope perhaps is that his successor, that one of the sons, might have a different approach. But so far, there is no sign of that.

HARRIS: OK, let's do this, Suzanne, I know I have to let you get to CNN International in just a moment. But let's run the sound on Iran from the president, and then let's talk about it quickly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: About the election, and I think that the world has deep concerns about the election. You've seen in Iran some initial reaction from the supreme leader that indicates he understands the Iranian people have deep concerns about the election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK, and, Suzanne, here we go again with this delicate balancing act, the president wanting to show concern while not appearing to be meddling.

MALVEAUX: Well, his answer was very similar to the answer that he gave me on Friday, before the elections. That this is a very fine, delicate balancing act here. That the Iranian people, he respects the sovereignty of the country, but the real question here, the bottom line is, whether or not he believes that these elections are a fraud, whether or not he believes that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the legitimate president of Iran. Even if the people of Iran have questions and doubts about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's legitimacy, that is going to pose a real challenge to this administration, because he is consistently, President Obama said, "I'm going to engage in tough diplomacy, I'm going to try to talk to this leader." This maybe someone that even its own people don't believe talks on behalf of them, and represents their real interests. So, the administration is trying very hard to kind of step back a little bit and take a look at what's happening. But I do think that there is an understanding, certainly not publicly he's not saying it, but an understanding that they're going to have to accept Ahmadinejad as the leader, if things go the way that we see them going.

HARRIS: Yes, all right, our White House correspondent, very interesting. Suzanne Malveaux for us. Suzanne, appreciate it. Thank you.

Blocking out the media, Iran now banning all foreign journalists from covering post-election rallies. The government also blocking some online communication tools. Video coming out of Tehran today provided by government-run media. This one shows a demonstration supporting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Another rally held today showing support for challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi. We have video of that event from an amateur photographer. Iran's state radio says seven people died last night in post-election violence.

Hoping to calm the country, Iran's election authority is now offering a recount, two recount votes in the disputed presidential election. So, what exactly is this group of deciders known as the Guardian Council? Our Ivan Watson takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Street protests and riots have forced Iran's supreme leader to make a startling new turn. Forty-eight hours after he welcomed the result of Friday's presidential election, calling it a divine assessment, Ayatollah Ali Khomeini told Iran's Guardian Council to examine allegations of cheating. So, what is the Guardian Council? It's one of the most powerful institutions in Iran's Byzantine system of government, a group of 12 clerics and legal experts charged with overseeing elections and approving new laws. Council members all also happen to be either directly appointed by the supreme leader or by his deputies, says Iran expert Kareem Sadjadpour.

KARIM SADJADPOUR, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTL. PEACE: Historically the Guardian Council is supposed to have been an objective political entity in Iran. The problem is that in the last decade or so, under the reign of Ayatollah Khomeini, they've become much more of an arm for supreme leader Khomeini to assert his power.

WATSON: Over the past two decades the council has disqualified thousands of candidates from competing in presidential and parliamentary elections. In 2004 more than 80 reformist lawmakers staged a three-week protest in Iran's parliament against a council decision to disqualify more than 2,000 candidates from running in the 2004 parliamentary elections. In the end, more than 120 lawmakers resigned in protest. The Guardian Council chairman is one of Iran's most hard line, anti-western clerics Ayatollah Ahmed Jannati. He's promised to properly investigate last Friday's elections. BEHZAD YAGHMAIAN, IRANIAN AUTHOR AND ACTIVIST: The Guardian Council, its power and structure is one of the most important impediments to democracy in Iran.

WATSON: Monday's protest in Tehran, opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi told supporters he's not optimistic about the proposed recount. He accuses some Guardian Council members of supporting his opponent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a charge Iranian officials deny.

YAGHMAIAN: You're actually at a very important crossroad, the prestige of the supreme religious leader and the Guardian Council is actually at stake.

WATSON: The council has 10 days to decide what to do about the elections, buying time for the regime to figure out what to do about these protesters.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: CNN's Ivan Watson joining us now from Istanbul, Turkey, Ivan, how would you -- because we've been trying to get a handle on who these people are and we're talking about the Iranian opposition, how would you describe that opposition?

WATSON: Well, it's really interesting, Tony. It has changed over the course of the past decade. Almost exactly 10 years ago the Iranian government was battling street protests similar to what we've seen over the past few days. They were mostly university students and they were getting beaten up by militia forces, pro-government militia forces on motorcycles. What has changed since then is that that movement was closely aligned with a reformist movement led by the man who was president at the time, Muhammad Khatami. Today you have some very essential figures that used to be big leaders of the Islamic revolution in the 1980s and they have joined with this reformist movement, they have joined with these students, people like Mr. Rafsanjani who ran for president a few years ago against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. So now you have some former conservative leaders who are now uniting with some of the youth, some of the students, some of the reform movements and now they are going up against the very government that they used to be a major part of. Tony?

HARRIS: And just a quick follow-up, when you look at that kind of a coalition, it makes it far more difficult to simply dismiss this -- these demonstrators, doesn't it?

WATSON: It does, absolutely. Now, the line that you'd hear from supporters of Mr. Ahmadinejad, members of the militia who have interviewed in years past in Iran, the line that they will give you is that the people that are calling for reform and for more political and press freedom and social freedoms in Iran, that these people are traitors to the Islamic revolution, that they are perhaps backed by western powers. That's a common line that is used against the reform movement in Iran. But it's not solely these types of people now. Again, you have people like Mr. Rafsanjani.

And what we've seen President Ahmadinejad do in the election campaign, Tony, is that he tried to lump Rafsanjani in with what he called a corrupt clique of people who controlled big parts of the economy, he's going for the populist vote saying, you know I'm rooting for the underdog against people like Rafsanjani who control so much of the economy. The problem is that's what Ahmadinejad said five years ago when he was first elected to power and many Iranians haven't seen much of a change since then.

HARRIS: It is all so interesting. Ivan Watson for us in Istanbul, Turkey. Ivan great to see you, thank you.

Don't forget to check out our special coverage on Iran and the contested election online at cnn.com. You will find the latest on the events, videos and i-Reports from people inside Tehran.

President Obama has been reaching out to doctors as he tries to get his health care plan passed. I will get reaction from the head of the American Medical Association. That's next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A major health reform bill expected to come up for debate by a senate panel tomorrow. President Obama and democrats in Congress are pushing their plans for reform. CNN's Sandra Endo reports on the president's effort to convince doctors it's the right medicine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Barack Obama says this is his prescription to cure the nation's health care system.

OBAMA: Fix what's broken and build on what works.

ENDO: The president is trying to build support for his health care reform plan, pushing his ideas in a speech Monday to the American Medical Association at a conference in Chicago. He says his goals are to provide coverage for the 46 million Americans currently uninsured, through a government-run health care option, and he wants to cut the soaring costs of care.

OBAMA: If we fail to act, one out of every five dollars we earn will be spent on health care within a decade, and in 30 years it will be about one out of every three.

ENDO: But the president's plan is creating a deep divide along party lines. Republicans are taking issue with the idea of a new government insurance option.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: If we have a government option, then sooner or later it will have dramatically increased the costs, it will crowd out private health insurance.

ENDO: The American Medical Association opposes any public option plan that will require doctors to participate, expand Medicare or pay Medicare rates. But the AMA acknowledges health care reform is needed.

J. JAMES ROHACK, PRESIDENT-ELECT, AMERICAN MED. ASSN.: The goal that both the president and the American Medical Association has is to make sure that all Americans have affordable health insurance coverage.

ENDO (on camera): This week, democrats and republicans in Congress are working on their own health care reform plan. And already the independent Congressional Budget Office estimates the democrats' bill will cost a trillion dollars over the next 10 years, just to insure 16 million more Americans. Sandra Endo, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Well, the American Medical Association agrees on the need for reform. But the doctors' group disagrees with some of the president's ideas. AMA president Dr. Nancy Nielsen joins us from Chicago. How about this, on the day after the president's big speech before your body, here you are to answer some questions for us. Dr. Nielsen, we appreciate your time.

DR. NANCY NIELSEN, AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION: You bet, glad to be with you.

HARRIS: No, we're happy to have you. Our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is also joining the conversation. Good to have you here with me Elizabeth. Dr. Nielsen, let's start with you. Plans are coming to reform health care. Is the AMA on board? Is the AMA having its voice heard on reform? And I guess the real question is, what does health care reform look like to the AMA?

NIELSEN: Well, we've been working on this for a long time. This is not a new issue for us. It's not new this year. And we do have a plan. We really believe that all Americans should have affordable health insurance that's actually portable. Now, it's not our plan that is in play right now, but we will try to bring the principles that we believe in, that we believe are best for patients, to the table and to the discussion. And that was the import of the president coming yesterday. We wanted to hear directly from him, and we have a lot of common ground in what he said.

HARRIS: Well, before I get to, Elizabeth, what's the centerpiece of your plan that you're telling us is not in play. If you've got a good idea, heck, I'd like to hear it right now.

NIELSEN: Well, I'll be glad to tell you that. We think Americans should have choice and they should actually have their own insurance that is portable. But that's really not what's being discussed. We're going to for now at least have employer-based health insurance. So, that's the one part of our plan that is not in play.

HARRIS: Employer-based health care. All right, we'll get back to that. I know Elizabeth has a bunch of questions for you.

NIELSEN: Sure. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Dr. Nielsen, first of all, thank you for joining us today. One of the questions I have for you is, there's a strong possibility that with health care reform that doctors are not going to make as much money as they're making now. Are America's doctors willing to take that hit?

NIELSEN: You know, it's interesting, Elizabeth, that what's being talked about is more paying doctors differently. Paying them rather than for the volume of services, which is the way it's been until now, looking at other methods of payment. And we've been involved in looking at that. We think those methods should be piloted. And let's see what works. And if something works, then we'll spread it across the country. But we do need to try some new methodologies. Everybody agrees that just paying for volume is not the best way to get the value for the health care dollar.

HARRIS: Well, Dr. Nielsen, are you ready for this moment? Here's the big applause line, or at least one of them, from yesterday's speech by the president. And then I'm going to ask you a question about another moment from the president's speech. Here's the big applause line.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: You didn't enter this profession to be bean counters and paper pushers. You entered this profession to be healers. And that's what our health care system should let you be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK, first, Dr. Nielsen, a question on this point, what is the chief complaint that you get from your members? What are they most flummoxed about in terms of trying to provide care to the patients?

NIELSEN: There's a couple. One is what you heard embodied in what the president just said in that clip. Doctors really came to this profession to heal and to spend time with their patients. And what has happened is so many things have gotten in the way of that. And made them feel like they're on a hamster wheel, that they're, as the president said, bean counters or paper pushers. So, that one really went right to the heart of the doctor/patient relationship, and, you bet, that was one of the biggest applause lines.

HARRIS: He got a big reaction from those in the room. And then the president made a statement about malpractice insurance and not being in favor of capping awards. And then the president was booed. There was a smattering, I should say, of boos. That was -- did that feel like a less-than-dignified moment to you?

NIELSEN: Not at all. The president actually invited that. He knew exactly how we felt about that. We knew his position on that. He didn't have to say that at all. If he came there just to do happy talk, he wouldn't have even said that, so he did it and he paused, and he waited for that little smattering. And it was expected.

HARRIS: OK. All right.

COHEN: That's interesting.

HARRIS: Yes, it is.

COHEN: The AMA has talked a lot about Medicare reimbursement rates and Medicare reimbursement rates are not as high as doctors would like. Can you talk about how bad is it? How bad are these Medicare reimbursement rates, because I don't think a lot of people get this?

NIELSEN: They probably don't. And it is an issue that doctors go back to Congress every year to try to fight this fight. The Medicare reimbursement rates have not kept pace with the practice -- with the cost of practice. Our Medicare rates are back at 2001 rates. And the reality is, that's not where our rent is, that's not where the electricity is.

And the point is, this is a system, and the system for paying doctors is a broken system, and everybody acknowledges it, and the president acknowledged it as well. So we really have to redo that and shore up Medicare because we want Medicare to be -- to be strong and sustainable. And we know right now Medicare is headed for insolvency in a few years. So this is an issue where we all have to come together and figure out a way that we're going to make this sustainable and responsible.

COHEN: So, Dr. Nielsen, let's say that President Obama comes up with a way to do this public health insurance option, but paying you good rates, not at Medicare rates, but at good rates. Would that be OK with you then? Would you like the public health insurance option under those conditions?

NIELSEN: Well, you know, we figured out one thing, and that is you got to be really careful about the labels. When you say "public," and I notice you had just used the term "public health option," Elizabeth, when you use terms like "a public option," it means different things to different people. It's a polarizing term. So what we're asking people to do is take the label off, tell us what you're talking about. Let us analyze it and we'll give you an honest reaction. But I think that "public option" has become one that just is pretty polarizing and we're really concerned. We'd like to see the details.

HARRIS: And, you know what, Dr. Nielsen, we've got to wrap this up, but I've got to tell you something. One of the things that's a little frustrating for me is, there were a lot of people who were telling us what they're against and not necessarily telling us what they're for. I would love to get a position paper from the AMA and we will highlight it on this program, what it is you don't like and what your alternative is. Can we get that, that clearly, so that we can inform the American people of what the AMA is in favor of, so that we can at least share the views, clearly and distinctly, from a really important stakeholder in this debate? Can we do that?

NIELSEN: You bet. And, actually, we have that. It just sometimes doesn't make as good press as the controversy. What we're here about for the next two days is to make decisions that will articulate how we can help the country move forward to do better for our country and our patients.

HARRIS: I want the document that comes out of that.

NIELSEN: And so you have our promise. You bet.

HARRIS: Will you get us the document?

NIELSEN: You bet.

HARRIS: I'll give it to the really smart person here, Elizabeth.

Dr. Nielsen, we appreciate it.

NIELSEN: You bet.

HARRIS: Thanks for your time.

NIELSEN: Thanks so much.

HARRIS: That worked out pretty well if we get the document.

COHEN: That's right. I'm going to be waiting for it. I'm checking my e-mail.

HARRIS: Will you . . .

COHEN: Yes, absolutely. OK.

HARRIS: OK. All right.

And still to come in the NEWSROOM, a Cuban doctor is allowed to visit her family overseas. Are we seeing signs of a possible thaw on restrictions? I'll get the answer from Havana. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: She was separated from her family in Argentina for 15 years, but a Cuban doctor finally got an exit visa to visit relatives. CNN's Shasta Darlington reports on the doctor's journey from Havana to Buenos Aires and what it could mean for Cuba's future.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than a family reunion, this is the first time Nelga Molina (ph) has met her grandchildren. The first time in 15 years that the dissident Cuban surgeon has seen her son. The Cuban government had repeatedly denied her permission to leave the island and visit her family living in Argentina, until now.

"Look, look what they were trying to take away from me," she says as she arrives in Buenos Aires. Molina was once Cuba's most prominent neurosurgeon and a member of the national assembly, but she broke with the government in 1994 when, she says, they pressured her to treat foreigners who had hard currency at the expense of Cubans.

DARLINGTON (on camera): Molina's case caused considerable friction for Cuba and Argentina. Her departure eliminates a problem for otherwise friendly governments and it sends a conciliatory message at a time that both the U.S. and the European union are reviewing their Cuba policies.

DARLINGTON (voice-over): Argentina's president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, visited Cuba earlier this year when she announced last week that Molina had been given her exit papers, she thanked Cuban President Raul Castro for the gesture.

Molina herself was emotional as she boarded her airplane in Havana.

"It's too much, the children, my son, who I haven't seen in 15 years, the grandchildren who I've never met, and my mother who is ill, I'm desperate."

And in Buenos Aires, she said Cuba should eliminate the system of exit visas.

"I hope the government takes a step forward on this issue and gets to the final solution, which is allowing Cubans to be free to leave or enter the country without asking anyone's permission."

Finally, Molina will need no permission to be in the company of her family. Her grandchildren are no longer just faces in photographs.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And Shasta Darlington joining us live now from Havana.

And, Shasta, simply here, how significant is this development?

DARLINGTON: Well, Tony, on the surface, this was a fairly straightforward decision that benefits Molina and her family and Cuban/Argentinean relations. But beyond that it also sends a signal that Cuba is willing to be flexible. After all, it reversed the position that it had held for 15 years.

And the timing is important here. It's right now that the new Obama administration is taking a closer look at its Cuba policy. And, in fact, the two countries have already agreed to renewed talks on immigration that were broken off in 2003, to resume a direct mail service that hadn't been seen for decades. Washington lifted restrictions on Cuban-Americans traveling home. And at the same time, Cuban President Raul Castro has said repeatedly that he'd be willing to talk about anything, even taboo topics like human rights. So at this particular time, any signs and signals really are being taken very seriously. Tony.

HARRIS: All right, Shasta Darlington for us from Havana, Cuba.

Shasta, appreciate it. Thank you.

The latest on the fallout from Iranian's election, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All right. Let's get you to the big board now. And before we do that, we always want to remind you about our web page, cnnmoney.com. If you want the latest news, financial news and analysis, and, boy, am I interested in this one. Look at that, the lead story there at cnnmoney.com, "why oil is on the rise again." And you're going to hear all kinds of prattle about a weakening dollar. California paying $3 a gallon for gas right now. And the price for a barrel of oil at last check was over $70. $71. Maybe a little higher right now.

Let's swing you to the big board, the New York Stock Exchange right now. Better than three hours into the trading day. And as you can see, the Dow is down 54 points. We started clearly in positive territory and have been on a bit of a decline since. We'll follow these numbers throughout the day for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

New hints today about the direction of the U.S. economy and a recovery first. Wholesale prices barely budged in May. The Labor Department reports the Producer Price Index increased a modest 0.2 percent. And housing construction, wow, roared back in May. The government says housing starts rose 17 percent after hitting a post- war low just the month before. Still, new construction levels are about half of what they were in May of 2008.

And earlier today, on my blog, we asked for your comments about the story of a Tennessee lawmaker's aide who sent out an e-mail with a racist depiction of President Obama. We will share some of your responses next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Iranians are fired up today. Supporters from both sides of the political divide holding opposing rallies. Our Reza Sayah is in Tehran.

And, Reza, I wanted to ask you about the demonstration today, but you weren't there. Tell us why.

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're not there because the Iranian government, very emphatically, has told CNN and other members of the foreign media no more. You are no longer allowed to cover these rallies and demonstrations. Of course, it has been members of the foreign media, including CNN, who over the past four days have shown pictures, broadcast images of the really violent and often brutal crackdown on the part of riot police against Mir Hossein Mousavi's supporters, the disgruntled candidate that is calling the election a sham. So no more. We're not allowed to cover the rallies. State-run media is showing live images of a massive rally today that took place earlier this afternoon. Tens of thousands of people gathering in one of Tehran's famous square to condemn the Mir Hossein Mousavi supporters. And it really created a potentially dangerous situation because a couple of hours later you had a huge Mousavi rally. It was possibly a collision course between these dueling protests. But we haven't seen any violence. We're hearing from witnesses on the ground that the Ahmadinejad rally is over. Some of the Mousavi supporters still out on the industries of Tehran.

Tony.

HARRIS: All right, Reza Sayah for us in Tehran.

Reza, appreciate it. Thank you.

Another story we're following here and we put it on the blog here. Should a Tennessee state lawmaker fire her legislative aide over what many consider a racist e-mail? Plenty of people were shocked to open this e-mail from the aide. Take a look. It shows a collection of photographs of the U.S. president, but President Obama is shown as a set of ghastly eyes. Yes, some would say ghastly, certainly ghostly. Ghostly eyes, on a black background. So far the aide has been reprimanded by the state, but she still works for the lawmaker.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want people to know that the communication was sent without my knowledge and that I absolutely, this does not reflect my beliefs or my values or my opinions. And I won't tolerate those kind of communications coming from my office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: So we asked you to go to our blog and comment. And, boy, you have had plenty to say about the e-mail. Let's read a couple of your responses here. Jenni in Tennessee writes, "no one, regardless of race, should find humor in this picture. I am appalled that one of our legislative staffers thought this was chuckle-worthy and then had the gall to say she was sorry for sending it to the wrong people. If that is how she views the president, I don't want her on our state payroll. I can only hope that she is fired."

How about this from Dan in Tucson? Dan writes, "when blacks can find the humor in this pic, then we will have overcome racism. As long as these things are brought to our attention, racism will exist in our country. Get over it! Sticks and stones, remember?"

Our financial help desk team is answering your questions. One of our viewers wants to know what to do with his car company stock. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: So you say you've got stock in Ford? Well, should you hold it or sell it? Personal finance editor Gerri Willis and the folks at The Help Desk have advice on that, plus tips to help you find a legitimate work-from-home job.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We want to get you answers to your financial questions. Let's get straight to The Help Desk. Donna Rosato is a senior writer with "Money" magazine. And Stacey Bradford is a financial journalist.

All right, guys, let's get to work. Alan asks, "I have a lot of Ford stock. Should I take the profits now and leave the principal or just let it ride? I know it's going up in the next year. I don't need the profit at this time. I live and work outside the U.S., so I don't pay income tax."

Donna, I wish I could have this person's, you know, enthusiasm about the stock market. What do you make of Ford stock and would you be willing to roll the dice right now?

DONNA ROSATO, SENIOR WRITER, "MONEY": Well, you know, Ford has had quite a comeback. Unlike GM and Chrysler, it did not have to file for bankruptcy protection and was able to restructure its debt. And you're seeing some -- a bounce in its stock price. In as little time ago as March, it was trading for less than $2 a share and it's almost $7 a share. But what this person really should think about it, do you -- you know, do I -- how big of a role does this stock play in my portfolio and what price did he buy it at?

WILLIS: You know what I'm worried about, it sounds like he might have been a Ford employee at one time. And we often have that problem where corporate employees buy the company's stock, load up on it in their 401(k)s. Never a good idea.

ROSATO: That's right. And so if he has a really heavy concentration in Ford stock, and it sounds like he does, this might be a good time to say, you know, declare your victory and take your profits and move on. If he is really that confident and feels like it's going to rise, he could sell just part of the shares.

WILLIS: All right. Great answer.

Alice asks us, "I would like to know where I can find trustworthy work from home websites. I'm 56 and I've been struggling to find a job for more than a year now."

Stacey, this can be a problem.

STACEY BRADFORD, FINANCIAL JOURNALIST: I think that we're seeing more and more scams in the work-from-home space, lots of websites. And a big red flag to look out for is if someone asks you to make an investment before you're actually going to make any money. Now having said that, you can work from home. Lot of people do it. But these tend to be freelancers and contract workers. So you can go on to a website like elance.com or sologig.com and look for some jobs that way. WILLIS: Yes, a lot of people now are opting for that.

Donna.

ROSATO: I just finished a piece for -- looking at the growth in contract jobs over the next 10, 20 years. And it's expected to make up about almost 40 percent of the workforce in, you know, in the next decade or so. About 30 percent today.

WILLIS: That's a lot of people.

ROSATO: That includes part-timers, but there's a lot more opportunities like that.

WILLIS: All right, guys, thanks for those great answers.

The Help Desk is all about getting you answers. Send me an e- mail to gerri@cnn.com or log on to cnn.com/helpdesk to see more of our financial solutions.

And The Help Desk is everywhere. Make sure to check out the latest issue of "Money" magazine on newsstands now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Boy, check out some of the Iran election i-Reports we've been getting. This is from someone in Tehran who says he watched protesters set a motor bike on fire. The bike, he says, belonged to a member of President Ahmadinejad's forces.

We have also been getting pictures from protests around the globe, but these are from Paris over the weekend. Our i-Reporter estimates 300 people showed up to peacefully march.

And in Los Angeles, another huge sign of support for the protesters in Iran.

You, too, can be part of the story. Send us your i-Reports, ireport.com.

We are pushing forward now with the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM, and it is a packed show, with Kyra Phillips.