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Reaching for a Compromise; Critical Health Care Speech; Health Reform Voices and Views; Health Care's Costly Battle; Baucus Announces He's Willing to Push Forward on Health Care Reform Sans Bipartisan Support; Constitutionality of Campaign Finance Laws Before Supreme Court; Remembering Walter Cronkite
Aired September 09, 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: It is time for your midday reset. I am Tony Harris in the CNN NEWSROOM. High noon in Washington where President Obama will try to rescue health care reform tonight? A primetime address to Congress and the nation.
It is noon at New York's Lincoln Center, where dignitaries and journalists are paying tribute to the most trusted man in America, Walter Cronkite.
And it is 12:00 at the United States Supreme Court, where justices reconsider a case today that could be a game-changer for political candidates.
Let's get started. A make-or-break moment, a critical speech, whatever you want to call it, the stakes are high, as President Obama goes before Congress and the country tonight to try to revive health care reform.
We get a bit of a preview from White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He will outline some very specific ideas that I think will leave people with a couple of thoughts when they walk away from the speech. One, they'll know that this plan provides safety, security, and stability to the millions of people that have health insurance each and every day, but are watching their premiums skyrocket and double every few years.
Secondly, for those that don't have health insurance but need affordable coverage, he'll lay out a plan for how people can get that as well. He'll talk about the crippling costs of health care on government, and why we just can't afford to wait any longer. We have to act now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And while the clock is ticking toward the president's primetime speech, the so-called Gang of Six senators on the finance committee is still searching for a bipartisan compromise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. KENT CONRAD (D), NORTH DAKOTA: We've never had a specific deadline. Our position has always been the most important thing is to get things right, rather than some arbitrary deadline. But I do think we very much want to reach conclusion, and we're getting close.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: We will break down this story in just a couple of moments.
A scathing documentary about Hillary Clinton is getting Supreme Court attention today. Justices are rehearing what may turn out to be a landmark case on campaign finance laws. Specifically, whether to ease restrictions on the ways corporations spend money and sway voters.
The case centers on television commercials promoting a 90-minute film about then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Lower courts ruled the ad violated campaign finance laws. Critics argue on corporate speech violates the First Amendment.
This was the first appearance on the bench for new associate justice Sonia Sotomayor. She dove right into the questioning.
All right, Walter Cronkite is being remembered at a memorial service right now. President Obama and former president Bill Clinton among the dignitaries paying tribute at the ceremony in New York's Lincoln Center. We will bring you the president's remarks live.
Earlier we brought you the tribute from former president Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That he had the most trusted news program because he had an inquiring mind and a caring heart and a careful devotion to the facts and because you really sensed that in the words of his own autobiography, he had a deep aversion to group conformity. He was always looking for the story, not the story line. And there's a big difference.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Walter Cronkite died in July. He was 92.
President Obama goes before the cameras tonight, but talks are going on behind closed doors right now on health care reform. Can't wait for this conversation. Senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, staking out the meeting on Capitol Hill.
Dana, tell us where you are, and we understand we might be getting some news this hour. Fill us in.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. CNN has learned that we expect a significant announcement from the Senate Finance chairman, Max Baucus, about how and when he intends to move forward on his health care plan. In what is perhaps the most important committee when it comes to the president getting what he wants, which is a health care reform proposal. Now, you probably see a group of people behind me. This is a meeting that is going on in Max Baucus' office. It's with Democrats on the finance committee.
They're just going over the proposal that we talked about yesterday that he put forward for the bipartisan negotiators. Now, what we know from Max Baucus yesterday is that he made very clear to those other five senators, the six senators total, who have been negotiating for months in a bipartisan basis, that time is running out, and it is almost up, and that he's going to have to move forward at some point.
So, we expect, probably in the next 15 to 20 minutes, if all goes as planned, Tony, to hear exactly what Max Baucus' plan is with regard to that timeline and his health care plan.
HARRIS: And a couple of things here jump out at me immediately. We just played a sound bite just moments ago from Democratic senator, Kent Conrad, saying look, enough with the time restrictions here. We are under no time requirement here. And yet it is really clear from your reporting that Max Baucus wants some movement here.
Walk us through the push/pull here.
BASH: It is a push/pull. Look, Senator Conrad, who actually is inside that group of reporters behind me, talking to them, he is somebody who has said forever don't rush us.
HARRIS: Yes.
BASH: And frankly that has been much to the chagrin of the White House and the Democratic leadership. It had been really the feeling of all of the senators, because they felt like they were making some significant progress in a bipartisan way for months towards getting a bipartisan health plan.
However, look, to quote Max Baucus, the rubber has hit the road now.
HARRIS: Yes.
BASH: And he has gotten so much pressure from the White House and from the Democratic leadership that time is up, and the speech tonight is certainly is kind of an indicator and another deadline that he's going to have to make a decision on when to move forward, and that is the reason why we're going to hear it now.
HARRIS: OK. So that gaggle is starting to break up just a bit. I want to ask you one more quick question. Do we know whether or not, the suggestions, the recommendations, from Republican Chuck Grassley, are being considered right now in that meeting?
BASH: Not in this meeting in particular. This is a meeting just among the Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee. However, you raised an important point. What Senator Baucus did announce yesterday is that he wanted all of the other five senators who have been negotiating, that Gang of Six, to come to him with counterproposals.
That did happen this morning. They were due by 10:00 a.m. this morning. That group, that bipartisan group, is going to meet again this afternoon, but before that we are going to get an announcement about Max Baucus' intentions with regard to Republicans and the bipartisan group. Whether or not they will move forward...
HARRIS: Yes.
BASH: ... with them or without them.
HARRIS: That's terrific. All right, our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, for us. Dana, appreciate it. Thank you.
BASH: Thank you.
Let's talk about plans here. We will bring you President Obama's primetime speech on health care reform live, of course. His address before the joint session of Congress begins at 8:00 p.m. with the best political team on television right here on CNN.
Members of Congress and the president trying to work out a health plan. I am going to talk to some of the real people, all of us, who will feel the impact of their decisions. That's coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. Nine minutes after the hour. Welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
If a company spends money on an election campaign, is its message considered free speech? The Supreme Court will decide whether decades of election law are out of date.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: President Obama preparing to tell Congress just what he wants in a health care reform bill, and to tell you what -- you know delivers a primetime address before Congress tonight.
Our White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, is live with a preview. And, Suzanne, is the president tonight -- what are you hearing -- offering something to both Democrats and Republicans?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He really is, Tony, at least he is trying to do that. We are told that he's still tweaking the speech. Obviously he's going to speak at Walter Cronkite's memorial service. But the speech is not yet done. It's about 45 minutes without applause. It's expected something for both sides here.
Even though it is not seen likely that lawmakers are going to support this public option idea, the president is still going to push for that, at least in part, during this speech tonight. Essentially, he is going to try to make the case here that this is something that is critical, but it's important to a rather specific group of people.
This is small business owners, who are seeking insurance for themselves and their families, perhaps rejected by a private insurer. They have to go with the public option, they need some sort of other alternative, competitive alternative.
It does not apply to a lot of folks who are nervous about losing their insurance. That's 180 million people who get their insurance through their employer or get their insurance through, say, the VA or Medicaid, that type of thing.
So, he's going to put this into perspective. This is really a nod for the Democrats, for the liberal left who have been really pushing for this. Whether or not he gets it, well, that's another story. But he is not going to push forward and draw lines in the sand. I spoke with Robert Gibbs earlier today, and here's how he put it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIBBS: The president is going to talk about the public option and talk about the value of bringing through a public option choice and competition to the private insurance market. I think that's going to be a big part of what the president's talking about. It's not going to be all of what the president talks about, because it's not the totality of health care reform.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So, another part of this, Tony, that he's going to talk about, which is really a nod to the Republicans and to some doctors who have been involved in this debate is the need for medical malpractice reform. Essentially a lot of doctors saying that look, the reason why health care cost is so expensive is because they're practicing what they call defensive medicine.
They're worried about being sued, that they prescribe these tests that aren't necessary, procedures, that type of thing. There needs to be some real reform on that side. That's a nod to the Republicans. And Robert Gibbs told me this is not a speech where he's going to necessarily threaten to veto anything. He is still going to say he's got some specific ideas about health care reform, but he is also still open...
HARRIS: Yes.
MALVEAUX: ... to both sides trying to work this thing out, Tony.
HARRIS: OK, so, Suzanne, no threats from the president tonight, which brings us to the question of tone. What is the president's tone likely to be? How will that tone be set tonight?
MALVEAUX: Well, one of the things -- we saw Dana's report that Senator Max Baucus is going to come out with an announcement.
HARRIS: Yes. MALVEAUX: The president has been in touch with Max Baucus. He was on the phone with him yesterday. He will continue to be on the phone in touch with him today. Robert Gibbs said something quite interesting, which is he has -- he's expecting Congress, by the end of the year, to come up with something and put it on the table.
On the one hand, they're doing some private arm-twisting here. On the other hand, publicly they're saying they're giving themselves a little bit of wiggle room, saying, OK, we still have some months to go.
But you know, chief of staff Rahm Emanuel has been stressing to those Democrats in particular, those who are butting heads with each other, that look, this is -- you're in the majority, you risk losing that majority next year if you don't come up with something.
And it seems as if they're giving them this timetable here. This speech really meant to try to put some pressure on those Democrats to come up with some sort of agreement.
HARRIS: So much on the line tonight. This is really compelling stuff at the White House. Suzanne Malveaux for us -- Suzanne, appreciate it. Thank you.
Let's do this. Let's bring in some of the voices and views on health care reform. People with a stake in what the president says tonight and what happens with the legislation. Of course, all of us have a stake in this.
On our panel, Dr. Brian Hill, a urology specialist of Atlanta.
Brian, good to see you. Thank you for being here.
DR. BRIAN HILL, UROLOGY SPECIALTIES OF ATLANTA: Thank you for having me.
HARRIS: Kathie McClure, founder of VoteHealthcare.org which promotes guaranteed affordable health care.
Kathie, good to see you.
KATHIE MCCLURE, FOUNDER, VOTERHEALTHCARE.ORG: Thank you for having me.
HARRIS: And Kristan Hawkins, her son was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. She is with us from Washington.
Kristan, good to see you as well.
KRISTAN HAWKINS, AGAINST PROPOSED HEALTH CARE REFORM: Thanks for having me.
HARRIS: Doctor, I'm going to ask you a quick question. I understand my mike is dying a bit. So, take your time with the answer this, as I switch out, and then I'll be rude and cut in. What do you want to hear from the president tonight on the critical question of a public option? We're talking about a government health insurance plan.
HILL: Well, the thing I want to hear is, I actually want to hear ways that we're going to truly improve this health care system for our patients. And the problem that I have with the public option is that we say we practice evidence-based medicine. That means that we look at evidence outcomes from research trials to find the best way to treat patients. And we take the research trials and we take that data and we apply that to our treatment options.
Well, if you do the same thing to this public option plan, if you look at prior trials where they've tried a public option, it's failed miserably. If you look at Maine, if you look at Massachusetts, if you look at Tennessee, Oregon, Hawaii, all of these are places where they've tried a public option plan and it's failed.
HARRIS: Got you. Brian, you're not in favor of the public option, correct?
HILL: It's not working.
HARRIS: OK.
HILL: It doesn't -- has not been shown to work.
HARRIS: So...
HILL: So, why are we voting for it? Why are we accepting it? Why are we looking at that?
HARRIS: So, what do you want? What do you want? What do you want? What do you want to see here?
HILL: So, I want to see our patients actually being put first. I think we need to start changing the dialogue. I think we need to start focusing on patient-centered health care reform. It doesn't happen by bringing the government in. It doesn't happen by bringing more interns in.
It happens by putting the patients at the center. We need to start freeing up, and we need to start creating more mobility and affordability within our health care.
HARRIS: Brian, forgive me, but what does that mean practically?
HILL: Yes.
HARRIS: We've got to write a bill here. We have to write a bill here.
HILL: Yes. Very easy. Actually let's start doing things that work. Let's actually truly open up interstate commerce. How come I can only buy -- my patients can only buy insurance from Georgia?
HARRIS: Yes. Yes. OK.
HILL: Why aren't we doing it across the United States? Why aren't we changing our tax codes and our tax laws that my company...
HARRIS: To do what? To do what? To do what?
HILL: I'll tell you. To do this, why aren't we allowing our companies to buy health insurance in pretax dollars and our people when they don't buy it through the companies have to pay out post tax dollars after that?
That's ridiculous. Let's add some more affordability. I tell people, how great would it be to make this like Geico where we've got Blue Cross and Blue Shield on TV going, I've got the best rates, you come and buy my rates. And then you see (INAUDIBLE) on TV.
HARRIS: Yes.
HILL: We've got to start changing this so that it's patient centered and patient focused because we need to fix the system.
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: Let me shut you down for just a moment here. Kristan, let me come to you to for a second. You know what? Let me do this, because I know, Kathy, you have a different view of this. Kathy, what's your view? You heard from Dr. Hill. He says no, the public option, the way we're discussing it now, it doesn't work. What's your view?
MCCLURE: I disagree completely. The public option as it's presented in the bills, the actual bills that are before Congress, do something quite different from what Dr. Hill is advocating.
Basically, the public option as it's drafted today would provide an option for small business owners, for -- for people who are out there at sea in the private insurance market.
HARRIS: Mm-hmm.
MCCLURE: It has nothing to do with the whole question of -- of medicine where you -- evidence-based medicine. It's not based on that at all.
HARRIS: Well, Kathie, let me move you ahead a little bit, because, I mean, look, here's a little bit of your backstory, and Dr. Hill, listen to this as well, and then Kristan as well.
You know, look, you're advocating for your two children who have essentially pre-existing conditions and are essentially at sea here trying to find affordable health care. So pick up your discussion from there.
MCCLURE: Sure.
HARRIS: And then I want you both to talk about this as well. MCCLURE: Yes. So the problem with my kids is they're chronically ill. My son has type I diabetes which is a disease, it's genetic, it's due to no fault of his own. My daughter has epilepsy, because she was hit in the head with a soccer goal. Both of my kids are in their early 20s, and both of them are uninsurable in the state of Georgia because of their, quote, "pre-existing conditions."
If there were a public option, they would be able to purchase insurance out there that's affordable for them. And it would provide a guaranteed backup for Americans in their shoes -- in their shoes.
HARRIS: And let me stop you right there. And let me bring in Kristan, because, Kristan, your young son has cystic fibrosis..
HAWKINS: Yes.
HARRIS: ... and you don't believe that a public health system is a backstop at all for you?
HAWKINS: No. Actually, my husband and I started researching what a public government, nationalized health care system would mean for people like Gunner, who have cystic fibrosis. It's a lifelong very expensive disease and it will be fatal for him.
And what we found that countries that have nationalized health care like Great Britain, we have a lot of rationing going on in the health care system. In Ireland, the survival age for somebody with cystic fibrosis is 10 years younger than it is here today.
HARRIS: OK. Now can I stop you for just a second? You're making an assumption that that's the way that you would see that kind of a system, it would work that way.
HAWKINS: Sure. Yes.
HARRIS: Here in the United States. That's the assumption that you're making.
HAWKINS: Yes, that's exactly what will happen. Listen to Dr. Zeke Emanuel, the president's trusted advisor on health care. He's on the president's Comparative Effectiveness Research Council.
Zeke Emanuel has said that doctors take the Hippocratic Oath too seriously. And all these cost cutting measures that the president is talking about, doing technology and medical records prevention are merely lipstick and are just for show and public relations and he's advocated a system of rationing.
HARRIS: Got you.
HAWKINS: Saying people 15 to 40 should get the best care.
HARRIS: Well...
HAWKINS: It's unbelievable. HARRIS: I'll jump in just a second, because I don't want to run out of time before I get to this last point that Dr. Hill would probably agree that there is some rationing of care going on right now in the system.
All right, so -- but let me move to this. Kristan, you don't want -- you don't want a public option. Dr. Hill, you don't want a public option.
HILL: No.
HARRIS: What makes private insurers more responsible moving forward? Stops the practice of dropping people who get sick. You know, charging outrageous rates for people with pre-existing conditions, which -- which is what Kathie's point is.
HILL: Mm-hmm.
HARRIS: What changes the game here for insurers? And I'm going to give you the last word on this, Doctor, maybe?
MCCLURE: May I have a word, too?
(CROSSTALK)
HILL: So, very easy. I'm going to go actually back to Kathie real quick because I agree 100 percent we've got to fix this health care system, we've got to fix the pre-existing clauses but the public option is not going to do it.
Look at Massachusetts, the costs in Massachusetts have gone up 42 percent since they bought a public option plan in place in 2006.
MCCLURE: Yes, but they're not...
HILL: The rest of the United States...
HAWKINS: Introduce competition.
HARRIS: Hey, hey...
HILL: The rest of the United States has gone up 18 percent in that time, so if our goal is to bring down costs, we're failing miserably there. So what we need to do is we need to make patients the center and the focus of this.
HARRIS: Guys, stand by. Stand by for just a second. Stand by. We've got breaking news. Stand by. You'll want to hear this.
Let's get to our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash. Dana, what are you learning?
BASH: Well, we reported first at the top of the hour, Tony, that Max Baucus, the Senate Finance Chairman, is going to make a significant announcement in a matter of minutes. Well, we now have approval from our sources to tell you what that is. And that is he just told a group of Democrats on his committee that he is going to say he intends to move forward with the health care proposal with or without Republicans, and his plan is to formally have a bill ready next week and to formally mark it up or bring it before the committee and have it open for amendments the week after that.
So, this is -- this is significant, in that this chairman, this senator, Max Baucus, has been working with a group of six senators, including him, three Republicans, three Democrats, for months and months. But as we heard from him yesterday, and we continue to hear from his aides today, he realizes that the pressure is on from the White House to move on.
And he's still, I think, is going to say he hopes to get Republican support. But he's not banking on it, and he's going to move on with or without them.
HARRIS: I think the end of that is the important piece here, Dana. The -- chairman has concluded that he can't, after all of this time of working on this, that he does not believe that he can win, even the support of the members who are part of this -- the Republican members of the Gang of Six?
BASH: He thinks -- he hopes he can. I think that is probably what we are going to hear him emphasize, that he hopes he can get support from them, but that he can't bank on it, and that is why he is going to set a timetable for the next couple of weeks.
Now I'm just going to tell you I may have to move out of the way...
HARRIS: That's good. That's good.
BASH: ...because the senators who are in this meeting are coming out.
HARRIS: Awesome.
BASH: In fact, I see Senator Rockefeller...
HARRIS: We will let you do that.
BASH: ... in the corner there and we are expecting Max Baucus to come and stand where I'm standing to make this announcement formal. But, you know, the reason why it is significant is because, you know, we've been standing outside this hallway for a very long time.
HARRIS: Yes.
BASH: And this has been the hope for a bipartisan agreement. It's not over. It's not -- it doesn't mean a bipartisan agreement is dead, but it does mean that the Democratic leadership and, most importantly, Max Baucus, understands that the time to move forward is now and he's willing to do it ultimately without Republicans. I think that you'll probably going to hear him emphasize that the proposal he has put out and the one that he will formally unveil, the legislation next week, is filled with Republicans ideas. So I think that in terms of his rhetoric he's going to talk a lot, still, about consensus and Republican help.
HARRIS: Significant, significant developments here. Our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, for us. Dana, appreciate it. Thank you.
Let's bring the panel back just enough time to say thank you to Dr. Brian Hill, Kristan Hawkins and Kathie McClure. Thank you. That was spirited. Appreciate it. Sorry we don't have any more time.
MCCLURE: Darn.
HARRIS: And I...
HILL: Thank you.
HAWKINS: Thank you.
HARRIS: Darn will have to stand as your final word. All right.
(LAUGHTER)
Appreciate it, thank you all.
HILL: Thank you.
HARRIS: And still to come in the NEWSROOM, a question for you. How much money is being spent to influence the outcome of the health care debate? And who is spending it? We've got some answers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Boy, we have been rocking today. Chad Myers, I was going to ask you if you've had an opportunity to watch, but you've got your hands full over there with Fred.
(LAUGHTER)
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, hey, Tony, we got another Category 3 hurricane.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes. A little busy.
MYERS: It's like, whoo, let's get these out of the way, don't hit anything, huh?
HARRIS: Yes, right.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Outstanding. All right, Chad, appreciate it. Thank you. MYERS: You got it, Tony.
HARRIS: I got to tell you, the health care debate is quickly, quickly becoming the most expensive fight ever to hit Congress. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent so far in the battle.
Our Josh Levs is here with details, and that's so far.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Because Tony, we knew it was big.
HARRIS: Yes.
LEVS: But then this morning, I said you guys got to see this from CNNmoney because it's even bigger than a lot of us realize. It is a red -- it's huge. It's huge.
HARRIS: Show-and-tell, Doctor, I can't wait.
LEVS: Show and tell. Yes, well, this is what CNNmoney is trumpeting today. They're calling it the most expensive fight ever to hit Congress, or very closely on our way to that.
Let's go straight to the graphics, because we're talking about $375 million that's been spent in this battle. And Tony, you can see the breakdown from Center for Responsible Politics, which is a group that track political...
HARRIS: Man, that's a lot of money.
LEVS: $280 million in lobbying. Then you have all these TV ads we've been seeing, about $75 million spent on those, paying for all the airtime. Then you've got $23 million on health sector political donations for 2010 for next year's races.
And let's break down the $280 because I want you to see where this lobbying money is on this next screen. Check it out. You've got the drug makers and makers of health products have spent $134 million lobbying this year. This is just 2009. In this health care effort. Hospital and nursing homes, $50 million. Health professionals, $39 million.
HARRIS: Oh, my goodness, look at this money.
LEVS: And that, you know, the insurers, most people hear about lobbying, their first guess is insurers. The insurers, actually, not one of the biggest in this respect. Still, $16 million spent on lobbying in order to try to push what is seen as their agenda here in this respect.
So, Tony, we're talking about a massive sum of money. More details, obviously, CNNmoney.com/healthcare.
HARRIS: Terrific. $280 million in lobbying, and we wonder why this has been such a contentious debate and why it's so difficult to get a deal on health care reform.
LEVS: Yes.
HARRIS: We are also hearing from a lot of viewers on this, aren't we, Josh?
LEVS: We are. Big time. First of all, that 280 you were saying, let's keep in mind, that's just the beginning.
HARRIS: Exactly. Exactly.
LEVS: You can look at the predictions. You know, it's a guess, but what's going to happen between now and the end of next the year. Maybe even into next year. We'll see how long this debate goes. Massive.
Really quick, though, I'll just show you. Yes, we're having discussions on this at FaceBook and Twitter. What have we got here. Facebook.com. We have Jenny Stark Alexander (ph). "I wonder if those who were screaming at town hall meetings realized the myths they were upset about were part of the lobbying of health insurance companies she's saying.
Over here at Twitter, Dragon Tattoo (ph). "Professional lobbying ought to be banned" he's saying.
Down here, Dweaver saying, you know what, the amount to be spent is going to be high. Of course the question is if it is worth it."
And that, of course, Tony, depends on where you stand in all this and how it ultimately plays out. And for the next step on that, we'll keep an eye on tonight.
HARRIS: Awesome. Thank you, sir.
Sounds of New Orleans right now at the memorial service in New York for Walter Cronkite. We are back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Oh, this is pretty good. Wynton Marsalis (ph). This is a taste of New Orleans at the memorial service for Walter Cronkite in New York City. Oh, give me just a little bit. Sound up, please. How good is that?
OK. We are waiting to hear from the president. When the president makes his remarks at the memorial service, we will take you back to -- oh, get down, brothers. Get down. We will take you back to New York City.
The Supreme Court got a jump-start on its fall term today. Justices reheard a case that may lead to a landmark decision on campaign finance laws. Here's CNN's Elaine Quijano.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, TELEVISION AD: Who is Hillary Clinton? ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It started small. During last year's presidential primaries, a federal court said campaign finance laws barred this ad for an anti-Hillary Clinton movie by an advocacy group, a non-profit corporation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, TELEVISION AD: If you thought you knew everything about Hillary Clinton, wait till you see the movie.
QUIJANO: But now the Supreme Court could make a monumental change in how money influences politics. Deciding in the name of free speech whether there should be any limits at all on corporate campaign spending.
FRED WERTHEIMER, DEMOCRACY 21: Allowing corporations to flood our elections and use campaign expenditures to buy influence would fundamentally undermine our democracy.
QUIJANO: Fred Wertheimer of Democracy 21 warns overturning a century of precedents would shut average citizens out of the political process.
WERTHEIMER: The little guy would have no role here because the dominant force in our politics, the dominant force in Washington decision making would become corporations.
QUIJANO: But David Bossie, of Citizens United, the group behind the anti-Hillary Clinton movie, argues that anyone pooling resources, including unions, the health industry, advocacy groups like the National Rifle Association, has free speech rights.
DAVID BOSSIE, CITIZENS UNITED: I actually went out and looked for this fight because I don't believe that the government's position -- I don't believe the government should have the right to impede people's entry into the process. And that's what the Federal Election Commission is trying to do here, squelch our First Amendment rights.
QUIJANO (on camera): Interestingly, the American Civil Liberties Union agrees. A final ruling is expected in a couple of months and legal observers say conservatives could hold the key with enough votes to possibly declare much of current campaign finance law unconstitutional.
Elaine Quijano, CNN, the Supreme Court.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Back to New York City now and the memorial service for Walter Cronkite and the president of the United States, Barack Obama.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And all who consider him a hero, to the men of the Intrepid, to all of you who are gathered here today, I am honored to be here to pay tribute to the life and times of the man who chronicled our time.
I did not know Mr. Cronkite personally. And my regret is made more acute by the stories that have been shared here today. Nor for that matter did I know him any better than the tens of millions who turned to him each night in search of the answer to a simple question -- what happened today?
But like them, and like all of you, I have benefitted as a citizen from his dogged pursuit of the truth, his passionate defense of objective reporting, and his view that journalism is more than just a profession. It is a public good vital to our democracy.
Even in his early career, Walter Cronkite resisted the temptation to get the story first in favor of getting it right. He wanted to get it first, but he understood the importance of getting it right. And during one of his first jobs in Kansas City, Walter's program manager urged him to go on the air reporting a massive blaze -- and we just heard how much he loved fires -- a massive blaze at city hall that had already claimed lives.
When Walter reached for the telephone, his boss asked, what are you doing? Get on the air. Walter replied that he was calling the fire department to confirm the story. You don't need to confirm it, the manager shouted. My wife's watching the whole thing!
Needless to say, Walter made the call. And even as the program manager took the air himself to broadcast the unfolding tragedy, Walter discovered that it had been nothing more than a small fire that hadn't resulted in any injuries. He lost his job, but he got the story right.
Walter wasn't afraid to rattle the high and the mighty, but he never dared compromise his integrity. He got along with elected officials, even if they were wary of one another's motives. One politician once remarked, Walter, my friend, you've got to believe me fully. Eighty-five percent of everything I told you today is the absolute truth.
He shared a complicated relationship with presidents of both parties who wanted him on their side, even as they were convinced that he wasn't. President Johnson called Walter after the "Evening News" from time to time to voice his displeasure over a certain story, but Walter knew that if he was receiving vociferous complaints from both sides, he must be doing his job.
His endless inquisitiveness about our world -- I can imagine -- came from a mother who sold encyclopedias for a living. As a boy, Walter spent countless hours getting lost within their pages, endlessly sidetracked by new and interesting entries that branched off from one another. Fascinated by the world around us and how it worked. And that's the way he lived his life, with curiosity, exploring our planet, seeking to make sense of it and explaining it to others.
He went everywhere and he did everything. He raced cars and boats. He traveled everywhere from the Amazon to the Arctic. He plunged 8,000 feet below the sea, trekked 18,000 feet up into the Himalayas, and experienced weightlessness in the upper reaches of our atmosphere, all with one mission -- to make it come alive for the rest of us. And as our world began to change, he helped us understand those changes. He was forever there, reporting through World War and Cold War, marches and milestones, scandal and success, calmly and authoritatively telling us what we needed to know. He was a voice of certainty in a world that was growing more and more uncertain.
And through it all, he never lost the integrity or the plainspoken speaking style that he gained growing up in the heartland. He was a familiar and welcome voice that spoke to each and every one of us personally. So it may have seemed inevitable that he was named the most trusted man in America.
But here's the thing. That title wasn't bestowed on him by a network. We weren't told to believe him by some advertising campaign. It was earned. It was earned by year after year and decade after decade of painstaking effort. A commitment to fundamental values. His belief that the American people were hungry for the truth, unvarnished and unaccompanied by theater or spectacle. He didn't believe in dumbing down. He trusted us.
When he was told of this extraordinary honor, that he was the most trusted man in America, he naturally downplayed it by saying that people had not polled his wife. When people of both political parties actually tried to recruit him to run for office, without even asking for his stances on the issues, he said no, to the relief of all potential opponents. And when, even a decade and a half after his retirement he still ranked first in seven of eight categories for television journalists, he was disbelieving that he hadn't won the eighth category, attractiveness!
Through all the events that came to define the 20th century, through all our moments of deepest hurt and brightest hope, Walter Cronkite was there, telling the story of the American age. And this is how we remember him today. But we also remember and celebrate the journalism that Walter practiced. A standard of honesty and integrity and responsibility to which so many of you have committed your careers.
It's a standard that's a little bit harder to find today. We know that this is a difficult time for journalism. Even as appetites for news and information grow, newsrooms are closing. Despite the big stories of our era, serious journalists find themselves all too often without a beat. Just as the news cycle has shrunk, so has the bottom line. And too often we fill that void with instant commentary and celebrity gossip and the softer stories that Walter disdained rather than the hard news and investigative journalism he championed.
What happened today is replaced with who won today. The public debate cheapens. The public trust falters. We fail to understand our world or one another as well as we should. And that has real consequences in our own lives and in the life of our nation.
We seem stuck with a choice between what cuts to our bottom line and what harms us as a society, which price is higher to pay, which cost is harder to bear. This democracy, Walter said, cannot function without a reasonably, well-informed electorate. That's why the honest, objective, meticulous reporting that so many of you pursue, with the same zeal that Walter did, is so vital to our democracy and our society. Our future depends on it.
And Walter was no naive idealist. He understood the challenges and the pressures and the temptations facing journalism in this new era. He believed that a media company has an obligation to pursue a profit, but also an obligation to invest a good chunk of that profit back into news and public affairs. He was excited about all the stories that a high-tech world of journalism would be able to tell and all the new -- newly emerging means with which to tell it.
Naturally, we find ourselves wondering how he would have covered the monumental stories of our time. In an era where the news that city hall is on fire can sweep around the world at the speed of the Internet, would he still have called to double-check? Would he have been able to cut through the murky noise of the blogs and the tweets and the sound bites to shine the bright light on substance? Could he still offer the perspective that we value? Would he have been able to remain a singular figure in an age of dwindling attention spans and omnipresent media?
And somehow we know that the answer is yes. The simple values Walter Cronkite set out in pursuit of, to seek the truth, to keep us honest, to explore our world the best he could, they are as vital today as they ever were.
Our American story continues. It needs to be told. And if we choose to live up to Walter's example, if we realize that the kind of journalism he embodied will not simply rekindle itself as part of a natural cycle, but will come alive only if we stand up and demand it and resolve to value it once again, then I'm convinced that the choice between profit and progress is a false one and that the golden days of journalism still lie ahead.
Walter Cronkite invited the nation to believe in him and he never betrayed that trust. That's why so many of you entered the profession in the first place. That's why the standards he set for journalists still stand. And that's why he loved and valued all of you, but we loved and valued Walter. Not only as the rarest of men, but as an indispensable pillar of our society.
He's reunited with his beloved Betsy now watching the stories of this century unfold with boundless optimism. Every so often punctuating the air with a gleeful "oh, boy." We are grateful to him for altering and illuminating our time and for the opportunity he gave to us to say that, yes, we, too, were there.
Thank you very much.
HARRIS: President Obama at the memorial service in New York City for broadcasting legend Walter Cronkite. The president now heads back to Washington to prepare for his critical speech tonight on health care reform before a joint session of Congress. Just moments ago, the chairman -- the all-powerful chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus, talking about health care reform. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MAX BAUCUS, (D) CHAIRMAN, FINANCE COMMITTEE: OK. The time has come for action, and we will act. We must move forward if we're going to get this bill done by the end of the year. I just met with my Finance Committee colleagues and laid (ph) a path for moving forward.
I will put out a chairman's mark early to mid next week. I will move the Finance Committee forward and will move that Finance Committee mark to mark up on health care reform the week after next.
This is our moment. We have spent many weeks and months on this crucial issue and now is the time to move forward.
QUESTION: Senator, you willing to do this with or without Republicans?
BAUCUS: We're -- I very much hope, and I expect, there will be some Republicans. And I issue the mark next week. And when we go to mark up the following week. My door's open. But irrespective of whether or not any Republicans -- and I do think that there will be -- I'm going to move forward anyway. We have to move forward. And I've -- I told Chuck Grassley that just about an hour ago. I mentioned that to other key senators a short while ago.
So we will have a mark. I will put out a mark next week. I very much hope and do expect Republicans will be on board. I don't know how many. But if there are not any, I'm going to move forward in any event.
QUESTION: How close will it be to what you've put . . .
QUESTION: Does that mean (INAUDIBLE) one more week to go -- does that mean one more week to go with (ph) bipartisan (INAUDIBLE)?
BAUCUS: Well, it means there's a -- there's -- it means there's quite a bit of time left for bipartisan support. That is, I very much hope and expect to find some number of Republicans, but how many, to be on the mark.
But then after the mark, we go to mark up. That's the following week. And there's still plenty of time for any Republican senator to join at mark up. Maybe a senator -- a Republican senator might want to offer an amendment in order to support the bill. It's hard to say.
But the main point is -- it's really twofold. The main two points. One, I'm moving forward. We have the mark and we have the mark up the following week. And I very much look forward to having some Republicans participating.
QUESTION: What do you think you'll be marking up? Is the door still open for a public option coming back in two years?
BAUCUS: I'll probably put down a mark that is -- it's somewhat similar to the proposal that I issued late Saturday night, Sunday morning. Fairly similar to that because I think that is close to a measure that will pass both the committee and the Senate. I'm not about to put in provisions which I -- which are so problematic that it will -- it could not pass the full Finance Committee or the Senate. So the answer is, it will be fairly close. There will be some adjustments. There will be some changes.
QUESTIONS: It sounds like -- it sounds like there . . .
BAUCUS: But pretty -- it will be pretty close -- it will be pretty close to what . . .
QUESTION: Did you get suggestions this morning by 10:00 from some of the Republican senators (ph)?
BAUCUS: Oh, yes. Yes. Senator Enzi submitted proposals. In fact, they all did. All the other five did give me some ideas. We're going through those right now. We're going to meet this afternoon, our group of six, to go over those changes that they've all proposed to us, to the degree to which they work.
QUESTION: Senator, you've been working for so many months -- you've been working for so many months on a bipartisan basis.
BAUCUS: Sorry?
QUESTION: Are you disappointed that you came out here to say we're moving forward with or without Republican consent of (ph) saying we have a deal with Republicans?
BAUCUS: No, no, no, no. I'm not disappointed at all. Why? Because I know that almost all negotiations, you have to almost wait until the last instant before things tend to break for (ph) everybody. We've all invested so much time and effort in this. I know that several of my Republican colleagues very much want to be part of this. They want to be. And they know, and I know, there's still time. There's still time between now and when we vote on the final bill that's marked up, you know, in a couple of weeks.
So, no. It's -- there are a lot of sayings, different languages, different ways of saying it, the last inches in darkest and whatnot, darkest before the dawn, you know? You know, I do expect some there will be -- some will come on board later. But earlier is better than later, but so I'm not disappointed.
QUESTION: What are some of the . . .
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK. Major developments -- is there a bit more here? OK. Major developments here. There you hear the -- you just heard from the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee saying it is time to move forward. We have to move forward.
We want to bring in our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash.
And it must be said, at the outset here that, Dana, your reporting, the reporting of Brianna Keilar and the other members of the best political team there in Washington and the producers on your team and other teams have been all over this story bringing us the developments, the proposal, from Senator Max Baucus. And now he is saying, look, the time window is too short. If we want to get this done, it is time to move forward now. And it looks like that's exactly what's going to happen.
BASH: That's right. With or without Republicans. And that really is the key. And that's a question that I asked him because he wasn't entirely clear when he came out, but he certainly was in response to the question that, you know, he has been working for months -- months and months -- behind those doors, Tony, with Republicans, that group of six senators, three Republicans, three Democrats, to get a bipartisan deal. He was hoping that the fruition of that would be an announcement that he had a deal.
That has not happened. And he has made clear he does hope to get Republicans ultimately, but he's not banking on it. And so the idea is that he is going to take the 18-page proposal that we talked about, that he has given to every member of this committee, and he is going to work it -- work on it and make it a bill. He's going to do that next week or the week after that. He's going to move forward with a -- with a vote on this committee.
You know, it's very interesting. He downplayed the idea that this is a failure in terms of bipartisanship.
HARRIS: Yes, yes.
BASH: But the reality is -- and we've been talking about this for days, even weeks, now -- that from the White House, where this is by far the most important thing to the president's term right now, getting this health care bill through, they frankly have given up on the idea of getting at least two of those Republicans that he's been working with on board.
HARRIS: Yes.
BASH: And that's why they made very clear to the chairman, you got to move on. That was made clear by the Democratic leadership as well.
HARRIS: Dana, what about the reaction? I'm just trying to imagine it in my own head from Senator Enzi, Senator Snowe, Senator Grassley. There was another meeting of this full committee coming together this afternoon, isn't there?
BASH: There is. And that meeting is still on. It is going to happen right behind me at about 3:30 this afternoon. I already got an e-mail from a source close to Charles Grassley, the ranking Republican on this committee, saying that certainly that announcement will change the dynamic in that meeting significant this afternoon.
HARRIS: Yes.
BASH: But Max Baucus did call his Republican counterpart and give him a heads up on this. But it will be quite interesting to see their reaction, particularly -- particularly, Tony, because there was one Republican that maybe is most important in terms of the White House's perspective in getting a bipartisan deal.
HARRIS: Olympia Snowe.
BASH: That is Olympia Snowe. She told our Ted Barrett yesterday that she does not want this to be rushed. She does think it is possible to keep working and keep talking. So there is a risk of alienating her in doing this.
HARRIS: Yes.
BASH: So we're going to be trying to find her and talk to her to see what she thinks of this.
HARRIS: Dana, appreciate it so much. I know you're going to be talking to Kyra in just a couple of minutes.
We're pushing forward with the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM with Kyra Phillips after a quick break.
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