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President Obama Reaching Out to Base for Help on Health Care Reform; Terrorist Convicted in Lockerbie Bombing Released from Scotland to Libya; Afghanistan Holds Second Ever Presidential Election; D.C. School Voucher Program Ending Due to Lack of Funds; The Battle to Get a Business Loan

Aired August 20, 2009 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Live pictures from the White House. We're waiting for the briefing to start any minute now. We will take that live as soon as it begins.

Meanwhile, phone calls, e-mails, the Web and talk radio, questions and gripes from conservatives, moderates and liberals, all aimed at President Obama and all about health care. It's a multimedia, multifactional push in a make-or-break month. Last hour, we saw the president's guest appearance on a call-in radio show where he talked about his preference for bipartisan reform.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: And I'm confident we're going to get it done. And as far as negotiations with Republicans, my attitude has always been let's see if we can get this done with some consensus. I would love to have more Republicans engaged and involved in this process.

I think early on, a decision was made by the Republican leadership that said, look, let's not give them a victory. Maybe we can have a replay of 1993-'94 when Clinton came in. He failed on health care and then we won in the midterm elections and we got the majority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: This hour the president tends to his base, the Democratic group that got him elected, now called Organizing for America. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux will have that for us in just a second.

Meanwhile, Robert Gibbs stepping up to the mic. Let's go ahead and listen in to the briefing. Reporters obviously have a lot of questions today.

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Hold on one second, a little disorganized.

Just one quick announcement to read before we get started. The president spoke today with King Abdullah of Jordan. They discussed efforts to advance Middle East peace and how the U.S. and Jordan could work together to achieve this goal. The president and the king agreed on the need to launch Israeli- Palestinian negotiations as soon as possible. They also agreed that all parties, Israel, the Palestines, and Arab states should take steps simultaneously to create a context in which these negotiations can succeed.

The president underscored his strong support for Jordan's efforts to work with other Arab states to reach out to Israel and undertake gestures that would demonstrate the meaning of the Arab peace initiative.

The president said that Special Envoy Mitchell would follow up with the parties in the next few weeks to finalize the steps they would take and lay the groundwork for the resumption of negotiations.

And with that...

QUESTION: Now that you've brought it up, did King Abdullah agree in any way with the president's call for the wider Arab world to show some goodwill?

GIBBS: Well, look, I think in many ways that's the role King Abdullah has played in helping to foster an environment where peace is possible.

I hesitate to characterize their side of a conversation. We're always a little leery to do that. But the president is hopeful that the meetings that he's had here this week and the phone call, the Mubarak meeting and the Abdullah phone call today, that we continue to make progress on the path toward Middle East peace.

QUESTION: Does that optimism rise or fall after this call?

GIBBS: I think the optimism continues to rise. We're hopeful and understand that the road ahead will not be easy. It's a complex and emotional set of issues that we look forward to working through.

Yes, sir?

QUESTION: Two questions on the budget.

GIBBS: Yes, sir.

QUESTION: First of all, what does the administration's decision to remove $250 billion place-holder from the budget say about your take on the banks' health?

GIBBS: Well, look, I think when we met in this room months ago at the introduction of the budget, I think there was some concern based on the health and stability of our financial system that more money might be required.

And the president and the administration felt in order to be transparent about our budgeting process that we should include that marker in there. Removing it, I think, underscores the efforts that have been taken to rescue and rebuild the economy through financial stabilization.

Another conversation that we had as part of this was at the introduction of the bank stress tests. There was a lot of consternation that at the end of these we would likely need hundreds of billions of extra dollars that -- we now realize that banks were able to take steps and actions to raise almost all of that money from private capital, which I think is obviously a good thing.

We've discussed pulling the economy back from the brink, and particularly, the financial sector back from that brink in order to restore some confidence. We've even seen banks pay back with interest the money that taxpayers used to stabilize the system.

And one of the -- I think one of the results of this is the midsession review. We would expect the deficit to be $1.58 trillion rather than the $1.8 trillion that the administration and the Congressional Budget Office believed would be the case just a few months ago.

Part of that is the $250 billion that is not needed because of the stability as a result of the actions taken on the financial system and outlays that are $78 billion lower for FDIC.

QUESTION: Taking those out, that makes sense that it would show some confidence in the financial industry, but how would you describe the budget situation itself? Is the budget situation improving or is the budget situation...

GIBBS: I think the budget situation continues to be a great challenge, obviously.

I've talked in here about one of the best ways to bring down our budget deficit and to get fiscal responsibility is to get our economic house in order and get the economy back on track.

I think it's no surprise if you look back over the course of the last six or seven months, for a great period of that time we have seen the economy in a very, very steep decline, in some ways in a steeper decline than anybody had predicted. And I think the budget picture in many ways will demonstrate that resulting deterioration.

QUESTION: That it's continuing, that...

GIBBS: It continues to be a hefty challenge. Hefty challenge, yes.

QUESTION: The budget deficit.

GIBBS: Yes.

Yes, sir?

QUESTION: The spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that while they intend to -- their hope is that it will be a bipartisan health care reform efforts, they will get health care reform accomplished, quote, "by any legislative means necessary."

And I'm wondering if you could walk us through -- obviously, people in the White House have been talking to each other, strategizing about different ways that this can be done.

First of all, could you comment on today's "Wall Street Journal" story about the discussions about possibly splitting up the bill, but also, what are the thoughts? Obviously, we all know that your intention is that it be a bipartisan bill. But beyond that, what are you planning for?

GIBBS: Well, and I said this morning, I have read the story in the "Journal." I've tried to get guidance from people. I have not been able to, largely because many people I get that from are on vacation. We'll try to get you better guidance on that in terms of splitting up bills.

QUESTION: ... the numbers. That'd be good.

GIBBS: The story also had in there that the president is going to meet next week with advisers on this. And I said unless in the gaggle this morning, unless that is a meeting that includes Marvin on a golf course, that's -- could someone go get...

QUESTION: ... beyond the budget. That was supposed to be on the budget.

GIBBS: Maybe. Maybe Jonathan could clear it up for the both of us.

QUESTION: Are you going to take questions?

GIBBS: Look -- sounds like he needs to.

(LAUGHTER)

No, let me discuss, discuss a little bit. Obviously, our focus, as I said yesterday, is on continuing this process in a bipartisan fashion. You heard the president say that again today. He's reached out and spoken with members of Congress, including members of the finance committee, over the past several days.

QUESTION: Republicans members of the committee?

GIBBS: Yes. He talked with Senator Olympia Snowe yesterday, talked with Senator Conrad yesterday, and, as we've discussed, talked with Senator Baucus on Friday.

That's our focus is continuing to work this in a bipartisan way. I know the six senators on the finance committee have a conference call slated, according, I think, even to Jonathan's report and others, that they have a conference call tonight.

PHILLIPS: We'll continue to follow Robert Gibbs there at the White House briefing, in particular when he talks more about health care.

But later this hour, the president intends to meet his base. The Democratic group that got him elected, now called Organizing for America, will be holding a live event. We will have live coverage of that. It should happen about 2:45 eastern time.

In the meantime, check out the health care in America Web site on CNN.com. You'll find the fact-checks, iReports, all the latest health care news on demand. Just go to CNN.com/healthcare.

This is the only man convicted in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing responsible for killing 270 people, many of them Americans headed home for Christmas. Well, now he's a free man.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN COHEN, LOST DAUGHTER ON PAN AM FLIGHT: And that was a plane full of young kids, a family with three little girls, young students, the average age of the plane was 27.

It sent ripples of horror and pain and grief which have continued and will continue as long as I am alive and the other family members are alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And today that convicted killer is heading home to Libya, terminally ill with cancer at the age of 57. The Scottish justice secretary says he made the decision to release him out of compassion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: It is absolutely sickening. When you say "compassion," I feel ill, I feel physically ill. That is the most misplaced compassion I can imagine. I mean, we could weep, couldn't we, for poor old Adolf Hitler there, and maybe Mussolini. So we should feel sorry for these people, I guess.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And just a short time ago in a national radio talk show, President Obama had this to say about the release.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: We thought it was a mistake. We're now in contact with the Libyan government and want to make sure that if, in fact, this transfer has taken place that he is not welcomed back in some way but instead should be under house arrest.

We've also, obviously, been in contact with the families of the Pan Am victims and indicated to them that we don't think this was appropriate.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: Well, here are some of the tweets that you sent us on the release of the Lockerbie bomber.

"The Lockerbie bomber should die in prison. The fact that he only served eight years of a life sentence is sad." And "They should have showed the same compassion that he showed when bombing the plane." "I think every person deserves to see their family and say their last words before they pass on."

Keep your comments coming. You can find me on twitter, KyraCNN.

They voted for ten plus hours. Now they're being counted deep into the night. Afghanistan holds its second ever presidential and parliamentary election, and you can bet U.S. officials are watching it closely.

After all, American lives, American money and American hope have all been invested and sometimes lost in Afghanistan, a country that's still very much at war today.

Our Atia Abawi joins us now live from Kabul -- Atia?

ATIA ABAWI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kyra, nearly eight years later the Afghan people held their second ever presidential elections today. And we saw actually a smaller turnout than many would have wanted at the polling station that we were at here in the capital of Kabul.

We saw people trickling in, some civilians, primarily government officials and candidates themselves for the presidency as well as provincial seats.

In northern and western Afghanistan where we've seen less and less Taliban control, there were lines. But in the south and east, the Pashtun belt where the fighting is going on, many Afghans still in fear, not wanting to come out because of Taliban threats -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: And Atia, just to put it in perspective, this is -- we go back to 9/11, and this was a country that created the Usama bin Laden and the likes that came here to our country and killed thousands of innocent people.

So, everybody's paying close attention to see who is going to win this election and who's going to be leading this country. Very important for whoever that is to get along well with the U.S.

So is the pressure really on U.S. troops? Or who is the pressure building upon in order to make sure that these allegations of corruption don't turn this into a complete nightmare for the people there in Afghanistan?

ABAWI: Well, if we look at the low turnout here, we have to also see this as a cry for help. Many of these people stayed behind because of fear, fear of violence.

In the end, 26 people did die due to election-related deaths because of threats, because of the Taliban, because of bombings.

And also, we have to look at another reason why the Afghan people stayed behind. They didn't feel like it was a risk that they wanted to take to go out and vote because they don't have very much faith in their government right now. They have been disappointed by democracy right now the way they have seen it. They have not seen it the way that America sees it or the way that Europe sees it. When we speak to the average Afghan, they see a government -- some people in the government, I should say, that have had the donor money coming in and they have pocketed it. That's what the Afghan people say.

And when you talk to them that really upset them, because security is not their main concern. It is a huge concern, but their biggest concern is poverty. And they're crying for help at the moment. These are people who are afraid to head to the polls and these are people who died because of the elections as well -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Atia Abawi, we'll continue to follow it, thank you.

And 41 contenders are the presidential ballot, including the incumbent Hamid Karzai. He has led Afghanistan since the Taliban regime was ousted, but now allegations of corruption are plaguing his government.

Among those doing the allegations, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah. He says to be Karzai's strongest challenger, by the way. Abdullah was also a spokesperson for the Northern Alliance, which helped the U.S. topple the Taliban.

Also in the running, Ashraf Ghani, a former Afghan finance who broke with Karzai ad left his government in 2004. Ghani is western educated, counts U.S. political strategist James Carville among his campaign advisers, by the way.

And the last contender, lawmaker and former cabinet member Ronosan Bashardost, a voice for Afghan's poor whose campaign office is a tent pitched outside parliament.

The voice of the Afghan people is being heard louder than ever here in the U.S., especially with this year's build-up of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. We're hoping for election results by early September. Official results might not come until mid-September or later.

Dozens of needy kids depending on a scholarship program to get through school, but now they're still in need, and their parents want to know why. We're going to talk to one mom who took her case to some Washington big wigs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Afghanistan very much a war zone, but also a budding democracy. We're about five hours into the vote-counting in Afghanistan's second ever presidential and parliamentary election.

We're hearing more than two dozen civilians and security forces were killed in election-day violence, but NATO calls the vote a success. The first results probably not until early next month.

One of our other top stories -- a week after feds toured the local prison, a Michigan town still torn about hosting Guantanamo detainees. Folks in Stannish (ph) meeting today and kind of making a pro-and-con list -- pro, the 229 terror suspects would have 300 jobs at the maximum security prison. Con -- well, they are terror suspects.

And Canadian police join the search for a person of interest in a model's murder. Ryan Jenkins apparently slipped across the border from Washington State yesterday. He is the ex-husband of the victim Jasmine Faraway, whose body was found stuffed in a suitcase over the weekend in California.

And Organizing for America pushing for reform, health care reform, that is. A grassroots movement that helped elect President Obama hosts an Internet forum, and guess who will be there? Live coverage later this hour.

Today, parents and kids protested outside the U.S. Department of Education. They say that their children were cut out of a program critical to their future.

Latasha Bennett was among those protestors. She's a single mom with two kids. She makes $12,200 a year and has been working since she was 14. And because of her situation, both of her kids qualify for a special voucher program that gives them a private education that Latasha never had.

It's called the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, and her eight-year-old son Niko loves it. Latasha thought her four-year-old daughter Nia was also going to get one until she got a letter from Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

Nia is one of the 216 Washington, D.C. kids now who got the same letter saying, sorry, no scholarship and no private school for you.

The reason -- funding. So, no new kids are allowed in.

Secretary Duncan did release a statement, though, saying "Vouchers are not the solution to America's educational challenges. Taking a tiny percentage of the kids out of the public school system and putting them in private schools is not the answer. We need to be more ambitious. We need to fix all of our schools."

He did say, however, that kids who are currently getting vouchers will still get them through high school, but that means little Nia is out of luck.

She and her mom Latasha join me now live from Washington. And Latasha, your son is a prime example of how important this is. I mean, the secretary may say it only affects a small percentage of kids, but this is your kid, and he's excelling, correct?

LATASHA BENNETT, MOTHER: Yes, he is excelling. He gets all as. He loves his school. He loves his teachers. He loves the security of the school. This shows that low-income children can excel.

PHILLIPS: And he is such a little fireball, too. I wish he would have joined us today. We understand he's with his dad, and that's great. We can still brag about him.

But Latasha, you know, if he didn't have this scholarship and couldn't go to this private school, what other option would he have and why does that scare you so much?

BENNETT: Well, the option he had, which I had put him in pre-K, a public school.

And the public school that I had chosen to put him in, he wasn't learning anything in a pre-K. And I say that because Nia was little and I could often visit the class. And I would just often walk in the school at different times of day and they would be playing all day long.

And I talked to several of the teachers and used to be like, well, when is school time going on? And they would give me different answers. But if he didn't get this opportunity that he has now, he wouldn't be as productive and as excelling as he is.

PHILLIPS: Well, I understand, now, Nia, you're not going to be able to go to this school with your brother now, and I know you were really excited about kindergarten. Tell me why you were so excited about going to this private school also with your brother?

NIA THOMAS, CUT FROM VOUCHER PROGRAM: Because it -- it would be cool to go with my brother and because, because...

PHILLIPS: Well, you told me you were excited about learning some things. What was it you were excited about learning in kindergarten?

THOMAS: Spanish.

PHILLIPS: Spanish.

THOMAS: And English. And...

PHILLIPS: Well, that's quite a challenge right there, my dear, Spanish and English. I don't think I ever remember in kindergarten learning Spanish and English, Latasha.

But you know, I know you're concerned about the public versus private from a disciplinary aspect and what the kids are learning and how they're held accountable, and you've been so thrilled with what your son has been able to do.

But I also understand you're concerned about the safety of your children as well. You had a personal experience that was pretty heartbreaking in the public school system, right?

BENNETT: Yes. I had a nephew, February the 4th, 2004, my nephew James Richardson was gunned down in the school, my sister's son. And I thought back and a lot of times wondered if he had the opportunity to get a scholarship, because he was a star football player, would he still be here and not gone?

And I just feel like someone needs to say, the 216.com program, we need to save our children. And I have a fear of the un-safetiness of D.C. public schools. And the school I elected is so secure, and I just know my children will get what they need.

PHILLIPS: Well, your son Niko has sure been getting what he's needed, and I'm sure glad that he'll be able to finish out high school.

And Latasha, thank you. I read your letter that you wrote to Arne Duncan. It was very impressive.

Now, Nia, you listen to your mom and you do well. Wherever you end up in school, you do well and you listen, OK?

BENNETT: Can I say one more thing, Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Sure, go ahead.

BENNETT: I want to tell everyone, even President Obama, have a heart. Save the 216. Go to the Web site.

PHILLIPS: I'm going to take them right now. Latasha, perfect timing. Robert, let's shoot the Web site right now. Latasha, I'm glad you led me there.

Saveschoolchoice.com is the Web site. Here it is. I'm glad Latasha took me there. You can actually plug onto the Web site and you can go down to the bottom here, as you can see.

And all you've got to do is tap on "Contact President Obama," "Contact Secretary Duncan," "Contact Mayor Fenty." You can write a letter and support continuing the D.C. opportunity scholarship program. It needs your help, it needs your money, and it helps kids like Latasha's kids, as you can see, get an opportunity to private school and do well.

The U.S. out-sources a whole lot of things, even assassins. We told you earlier about a top-secret program to hunt down Al Qaeda. Now we found out who was supposed to pull the trigger. More on that right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Remember the CIA's Al Qaeda assassination program we found out about last month? Well, here's why it was a big deal. Turns out the agency secretly hired some help to go after the terrorists in 2004 -- Blackwater, the controversial contractor, later booted out of Iraq -- turns out, the program never got off the ground, and current CIA chief Leon Panetta scrapped it.

Baghdad is under much tighter security today, and you're seeing the reason why. The Iraqi government is cracking down a day after a string of bombings killed at least a hundred people and wounded hundreds more. Today there are more security checkpoints, more thorough vehicle searches and random security stops. Also, Iraqi authorities are investigating 11 high-ranking Army and police officials in charge of two of the areas targeted in yesterday's bombing.

And a little bit of a thaw. New Mexico governor Bill Richardson sizes up North Korea after meeting with two of its diplomats in Santa Fe. He says the communist country is tired of the six-party talks aimed at clearing up the global dispute over its nuke program.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: They don't like the six- party talks. They felt that it's produced sanctions on them. They want a new format, and the format they want is direct talks with the United States.

Now, maybe a compromise might be some kind of direct talks within the six-party format. But again, this is something that diplomats should negotiate. I'm not negotiating on behalf of the Obama administration. They called me...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The White House confirms it had nothing to do with the meetings, and it's still rejecting one-on-one direct talks with North Korea.

Outrage in the U.S. after the release of the only man convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The bombing happened in 1988. Two hundred seventy-eight people killed, many of them Americans heading home for Christmas. Today, Scotland's justice minister released the convicted bomber, allowing him to return home to Libya. He suffers from prostate cancer and apparently has only a short time to live. The U.S. government, many of the victims' families are blasting the decision to release him.

Here's a look now at that deadly day in 1988 in Lockerbie, Scotland.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Two hundred fifty-nine died on the plane, 11 more on the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's dead bodies falling everywhere. I thought the whole roof was going to cave in on us at the time.

UINDENTIFIED MALE: First it sounded like thunder, then it started to shoot and I seen the engine coming down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fields and houses and everything were all on fire. The whole place, you couldn't tell what was what.

UINDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the air, the noise. (INAUDIBLE) He went to the door and I go, shut it. It's too frightening. Oh, my god, it's terrible. Then sparks, and then the whole thing went down. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All we saw of the plane was just bits, holes, that's all. I wouldn't think there would be anybody left from the plane. I wouldn't think so, anyway. To say there's a crater, maybe, 15 foot deep and maybe 100 yards long. There's nothing in there. It's just burning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Out of my way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Excuse me.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: About 25 people came to greet Pan Am Flight 103 at New York's Kennedy Airport, unaware it had crashed some six hours earlier. The flight would have landed after 8:00 p.m. local time. An information manager advise those wishing news on the flight to see an airline agent. Shocked relatives and friends were met by airline personnel and taken into a private room. At least three priests comforted them.

FATHER FRANK RAFTER, COMFORTING PEOPLE WHO CAME TO GREET PAN AM 103: The people are very -- they're hartened, and they just need to vent their pain and their suffering. Each one is comforting each other.

MARGARET THATCHER, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINITER: It is almost unbelievable. It's almost unbelievable. You have to go see it to believe it.

UNIDENTIFED REPORTER: Within a week, it was clear this was no accident.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It has been established that two parts of the metal luggage framework show conclusive evidence of a detonating, high explosive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Coming up this afternoon on "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer, Scottish justice secretary Kenny MacAskill.

We're in between presidential health care reforms, and last few -- last hour, rather, the president sat down with radio host Michael Smerconish for a 30-minute show broadcast live from the White House. Minutes from now, he'll take part in an online forum at Democratic party headquarters. The group Organizing for America is soliciting e- mails and tweets right now, and you'll see it live right here on CNN.

A layoff can be tough, it can be infuriating, and it can also be embarrassing. So much so that some people try to hide it. Our upcoming guest did, but now he's out in the open, and he's our "30- Second Pitch."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Losing a job is tough. The layoff notice comes, and suddenly your world is turned upside down. It happened to Dave Lotocki. He and his wife live in an upscale neighborhood in suburban Washington, D.C. They decided to keep the layoff a secret from friends and neighbors, pretending everything was okay for two months, but Dave has certainly opened up about his layoff, because he's joining us today to do this "30-Second Pitch."

Dave, tell me why you wanted to keep it a secret.

DAVE LOTOCKI, JOB SEEKER: Well, it was just a matter of privacy and not wanting to cause undue concern among family and friends. We've been through it before, and we knew we would come through it okay.

PHILLIPS: But that's the time that, you know, your friends should be there for you. And so, was there something else that just made it tough for you to come forward and say, well, this is the deal?

LOTOCKI: No, nothing in particular. The circumstances under which I lost my job were certainly typical of what's happening today. A massive layoff with my company. So, there really wasn't anything particular about the circumstances that should have made us keep it secret.

PHILLIP: So, how did you get over it? How did you finally decide, that's it. I've got to face this, I've got to move forward?

LOTOCKI: Well, a next door neighbor, in fact, asked me rather innocently, how's work? And when she did that, I realized that it was silly to any longer keep it under wraps, so I said, well, I'm unemployed, as a matter of fact, and looking for my next opportunity. And from that point on, my wife and I just simply reached out to a lot of other people.

PHILLIPS: Well, there's probably a lot of people that are feeling like you did, and so maybe they'll be encouraged now to come forward and know they just have to do something about it, and maybe they'll call us and we can give them a "30-Second Pitch." Are you ready for it?

LOTOCKI: I am.

PHILLIPS: Okay, here we go. I'm going to start the clock. Dave, it's all yours.

LOTOCKI: Good afternoon, everyone, I'm Dave Lotocki. I have a broad background in human resources but I specialize in employee benefits, including plan design, vendor management and wellness programs that can lower costs and improve the quality of life for both employees and their dependents. Benefits are a significant cost to most employers, so they have to be managed carefully, yet still deliver value to employees. I approach my work with a sense of urgency, integrity, and a focus on quality and customer service. I'm available immediately to work in the Washington area.

PHILLIPS: Boom, and the email, dave.lotocki@gmail.com. And we've all decided you have a fabulous radio or TV voice. Would you be open to that?

LOTOCKI: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: Okay. I would love to wake up and listen to you as I'm driving in to work in the morning.

LOTOCKI: Well, thank you so much.

PHILLIPS: Well, Dave, you keep us posted, OK?

LOTOCKI: I will.

PHILLIPS: Sure appreciate it.

LOTOCKI: Bye-bye.

PHILLIPS: Want to create jobs? Well, one North Carolina restaurant owner says he'd create 35 jobs within three months if you send some stimulus money his way. He just needs a loan. But as CNN's Christine Romans reports, it's a new, tougher world out there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Dinner time in Lumberton, North Carolina.

ROB REDFEARN, BLACK WATER GRILLE: Everything's good.

ROMANS: Restaurant owner Rob Redfearn.

REDFEARN: We did $1.2 million in 2007. It's not bad for a small town, small restaurant.

ROMANS: He's got 35 employees, a crowded bar on weekends, a dependable banquet business. Five years ago he turned a century old mule stable into this.

He's confident he's got the ingredients to open another restaurant here, 35 miles north on I-95 in Fayetteville.

REDFEARN: I'll hire 50 people in three months if I get the money I'm looking for.

ROMANS: $150,000 to be exact.

REDFEARN: My issue is that stimulus money that everybody's talking about needs to flow through to small businesses like this one. I don't want a bailout. I just want -- open the door. I'll walk through it myself.

ROMANS: But so far, that door is shut. We called BB&T Bank, the area's biggest small business lender, and asked them why. Turns out Redfearn's credit score doesn't match his confidence.

A spokeswoman for BB&T, who recently paid back its own $3 billion bailout, said "We would've turned him down based on his credit history." Redfearn admits to bumps in the road that have dinged his credit. This is the new world of lending. LEE CORNELISON, DISTRICT DIRECTOR, SBA, NORTH CAROLINA: A return to the old-fashioned lending standards, you know. They're making loans with the expectation that all of them are going to be repaid.

ROMANS: That means making fewer loans to only the best applicants. Even small business owners like Redfearn who have had no trouble borrowing in the past are being turned away.

STACY COWLEY, CNNMONEY.COM: We've sort of ended up in the chicken and egg situation here where the banks don't want to make the loans because the small business sector as a whole has been having such trouble, but then small business owners can't get the financing they need to run their business normally, to expand.

ROMANS: The number of new small business loans is less than half what it was before the recession. But the stimulus has helped. The amount of money loaned through the SBA's programs has risen 50 percent since February.

Ever the entrepreneur, Redfearn doesn't have the loan, but he still has the vision.

ROMANS (on camera): And you look at this parking lot and you see cars?

REDFEARN: I see it full.

ROMANS: And you see a successful restaurant.

Christine Romans, CNN, Lumberton, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And watch for more "Money & Main Street" reports, tonight 8:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN.

And we're just getting word that the sole man convicted in the Lockerbie bombing of 1988 has arrived on Libyan soil now. We've been talking about this since this morning. The 57-year-old man found guilty of this bombing is terminally ill with prostate cancer. As you know, there was a lot of controversy on whether he should be freed from jail or not.

The judge did decide to release him on signs of compassion. That, of course, infuriated a lot of victims' families when his release was made public and they actually saw him for the first time walking out of jail free, as he is now. We are told, landed on Libyan soil, his home where he will spend the rest of his life, as he is terminally ill with prostate cancer at the age of 57.

Organizing for America, pushing for reform. Minutes from now, President Obama is going to talk health care with that group that got him elected and we will take it live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Quick look at top stories before the president starts speaking. The only terrorist convicted in the bombing of Pan Am 103 is home free. Even though Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi was sentenced to life in prison, Scotland decided to grant him a compassionate release because of terminal cancer. He just arrived in Libya. Two hundred seventy people were killed in the Lockerbie bombing, just before Christmas 1988.

Afghanistan, very much a war zone but also a budding democracy. We are six hours into the vote counting in Afghanistan's second ever presidential and parliamentary election. We're hearing more than two dozen civilians and security forces were killed in election-day violence, but NATO calls the vote a success. First results probably not until early next month.

Hurricane Bill's chilled a little, down to Category 3. Even so, Cape Cod bracing for a rough weekend. Right now, the storm's off Bermuda. Where it will track after that, still not clear, but Massachusetts coast falls within the cone of uncertainty. Chad's always ready to talk about that.

A world-champion runner faces a new hurdle. The sports-ruling body wants to know if she is really a he.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We're getting word now that the man you're seeing here, the freed Lockerbie bomber who has just returned home to Libya to die, apparently right now -- this is tape, obviously, as he was getting onto the plane earlier today to head to Libya. He has now touched down in Libya, and we're being told, apparently, thousands of people are there at the airport to greet him.

You know, this was the only terrorist that was convicted in the bombing of the Pan Am 103 flight. He's home now. He's free. And as you can imagine, that created quite a stir among the victims' families. Two hundred seventy people died in that bombing, a number of them Americans who were heading home for Christmas back in 1988.

He is dying of prostate cancer. He's 57 years old. And he was freed earlier today, released from jail by what the judge says on compassion. As you can imagine, that outraged a number of the family members, and they have spoken out about this.

And Rick Sanchez is going to be talking a lot about that coming up in the next hour. He's joining us now. Rick, this is all developing. Thousands of people there in Libya at the airport greeting this terrorist.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: President of the United States says he wants him under house arrest. The State Department is saying that they have contacted the Libyans and have told them in no uncertain terms exactly what their expectations are. The State Department of the United States is also saying at this point that this could affect U.S. relations with Libya if they don't respond to what the United States is asking them to do. So, look, this thing could have some real geopolitical and international implications. We're going to be following that story as well. It was during that interview, by the way, with that radio reporter, whose name I could never pronounce in a million years, can you?

PHILLIPS: You're saying -- pronounce whose name? I'm sorry, Rick.

SANCHEZ: Say it again? Smerconish. Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: Oh, are you talking about Michael Smercornish -- Smerconish? No, it Smerconish.

SANCHEZ: Well done. Anyway, it was the interview the president did with him where he said he is telling the Libyans he wants him under house arrest. He doesn't want him just -- I mean, this guy's a terrorist! This guy killed 270 people. And the idea that he would just be allowed to go to his home -- and then there is the question of prostate cancer.

I mean, Rudy Giuliani dropped out of a race four years ago because of prostate cancer. Maybe it was more than that. He seems fine to me these days. So, when they say two months, is it really two months? Not that I'm denying the guy may actually die in two months, I'm just questioning it, as any good reporter would, whether he should be let out because he's on the, you know, on the brink of death or whether he's really getting a pass here.

PHILLIPS: Bottom line, you know what? There is something to talk about. You know what we should be talking about? Is why anybody would feel compassion for a convicted terrorist. And that's what -- that's the bottom line here. That's why there are innocent people dying on a regular basis. That's why there is terrorist training camps. That's why it is still a problem because there are people that are still compassionate about terrorism.

SANCHEZ: You raise a great point. The only thing that could possibly counter that, which becomes a part of the discussion, is as Americans, we have a different way of viewing this than Europeans do. This is a long-standing tradition in Europe that in cases like this, when they are convinced that the person has a month left to live or weeks or days left to live, that they let them out for that reason, something we don't see here in the United States. Again, not to go one way or another, but it's an important part of the discussion.

One other thing I've got to tell you before I let you go, because I know we could talk about these things forever because we enjoy each other's conversation. I know you're a big fan of John Madden's. We've contacted John Madden, and John Madden will be live with us on our show today at 3:00. Is that cool or what?

PHILLIPS: That is pretty cool, and you're right, I am a big fan of John Madden. I'll be watching, Rick. See you in a minute.

See you, Kyra. A world champion runner faces a new hurdle now. The sports ruling body wants to know if she is really a he.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: She's got a deep voice and muscular build, and now that's gotten South African runner, Caster Semenya, in the middle of a controversy. She won the women's 800 meters gold medal yesterday at the World Athletics Championship in Berlin. Now, the sport's governing body is running tests to see if she is actually a woman. Semenya's family and friends are defending her with her father saying, quote, "She is a woman, and I can repeat that a million times."

That does it for us. We'll be back here tomorrow. Rick Sanchez takes it from here.