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Snowstorm Hits Washington D.C.; Ten Americans Detained Without Bail in Haiti; President speaks at DNC Gathering
Aired February 06, 2010 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there, everybody. From the CNN center, this is CNN Saturday morning for this February the 6th. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Brooke Baldwin in for Betty Nguyen. She has the weekend off. Thank you for starting your Saturday with us. A whole lot going on, including a big talk in about half an hour.
HOLMES: The president, he is not taking a snow day today on this Saturday. He is going to be stepping out. Is he going to make it over to that event happening right there? The DNC holding their winter retreat in the midst of a winter storm right now.
But the president is going to venture out of the White House. His motorcade is going to make its way up the street to where they're having their little get-together in D.C., where, of course, they have a whole lot of snow. When the president steps up to speak live, w will bring it to you.
BALDWIN: We will bring that to you, and that's about the only thing going it seems going on in Washington other than the snow. Look at it coming down. These are pictures from Washington. We also have pictures from Philadelphia we've been showing you this morning.
The big headline, they're expecting two and a half feet. Some people driving in it, many people encouraging you not to. We will check in with that, airport statuses in the different cities and let you know what to look out for if you do choose to venture out this snowy Saturday.
HOLMES: And another big story we're keeping an eye on this weekend, getting a lot of attention in Nashville, the tea party convention, the first of its kind happening over the past couple of days. They're wrapping up today, and their big keynote speaker none other than Sarah Palin. You'll see that live later on, but we will tell you about that convention this morning.
But first, again, the big story, that blanket of snow, also possible blackouts at your house. We're talking about thousands of people without power right now from northern Virginia to Baltimore. This is a picture here we're showing you, a live one out of D.C. The nation's capital could get two and a half feet of snow today. That would set a record. BALDWIN: Yes. And back on the power outages -- we're hearing hundreds of thousands for the mid-Atlantic area. Blame it on this powerful blizzard hitting this mid-Atlantic area.
Flights in and out of the region's airports, they're just not happening today. Travel by car is certainly a challenge, and all those snowy roads in Pennsylvania, a lot of interstates closed just because of the snow.
But also you see these power lines. Those aren't down, but others are. Some of them are blocking highways. So again, a lot of officials saying if you if you don't have to go outside, don't go.
But one guy we decided to send outside -- we'll check in with him in a minute, Reynolds Wolf. But again, live pictures in Philadelphia. It looks a plow coming through there. And the good news is no one else is trying to drive. That's happening in Philadelphia, probably also happening in Washington as well, where Reynolds Wolf is standing by braving the elements for us on a very snowy, snowy national mall.
(WEATHER BREAK)
BALDWIN: Since D.C. is seeing about two feet of snow right now, you think the president probably won't make it to the DNC meeting after all, right? Wrong. Thirty minutes from now, Mr. Obama will be at a very snowy Washington hotel giving his address right around 10:30 eastern.
I want to go live to CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux who is tracking the president this morning at a very, very snowy White House.
And Suzanne, before we talk serious stuff with this speech, let's talk about the president and the fact that he was given a little bit of snow smack talk to some Washingtonians saying, hey, this is nothing compared to Chicago.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, the reason why we're out here is because the president's going to be out here, and he was giving D.C. folks a hard time about the snow last year, saying we needed to toughen up and we're wimps.
Well, we're out here today. We're out here today, flipping the script a little bit. In front, this is our studio, but we -- this is Pebble Beach here on the White House lawn. You can see this is all our competition. There is no competition. They're not out here today.
But it's gorgeous, as you can see just the trees. We're right in front of the west wing of the White House. They cleared it just a little built to get up here to the front of the West Wing.
And if you swing over, this is really the front door of the White House, and you can see these guys, the presidential snow blowers as well as the plows, they've been working all morning. You can see the guys literally with the shovels digging out, making sure that the president and his motorcade gets under way in about 10 or 15 minutes.
We're told that the president obviously is going to be in a supped-up suburban. He can get through any kind of weather, any kind of show. Some of the support vehicles, the ones the press is in, they're replacing the vans and putting them in what we say are Aspen Chryslers with four-wheel drive to get to that DNC meeting.
BALDWIN: So as he hops in that supped-up SUV and goes a couple blocks to this hotel, as we wait for him and watch for him in about 20 minutes from now, what should we be looking for? What will he be talking about?
MALVEAUX: Certainly, jobs is the number-one issue, and he'll focus on bucking up the party, the Democrats there who are in attendance. He's going to be saying, look, I want you guys as early as Monday to try to at least introduce this bipartisan jobs bill on the Senate side to get something going here.
He'll talk about the unemployment rate, 9.7 percent, dipped just a little bit in January, so that's good news for the president. But he wants to make sure that there is a bipartisan bill that is in motion that's moving here so that he can show that he is doing something for the American people when it comes to the economy.
And, Brooke, a new idea, he's going to try to use some of that money they gave to the banks to bail out the banks to help provide some loans for small businesses. It's a controversial proposal, but it's something that he'll push for today. Brooke?
BALDWIN: All right, Suzanne, we'll look for that hopefully right around 10:30, snow permitting, I suppose. Suzanne, thank you.
Also, this Tuesday on CNN, a "LARRY KING LIVE" prime time exclusive with first lady Michelle Obama on the first family's first year in the White House. Larry King, Tuesday night, 9:00 p.m. eastern, right here on CNN.
HOLMES: Well, a little bit away from Washington, another political message is being heard. The tea party will wrap up its first national convention tonight in Nashville with Sarah Palin as the keynote speaker.
Tickets to that dinner are about $350, so I assume that our Paul Steinhauser will not be attending. He's our deputy political director.
(LAUGHTER)
No, hopefully they'll let you in to cover the speech at least as a member of the press. But again, that's kind of pricey. I mean, has there been any talk about this thing is a little too expensive for some of those young voters and some of those grassroots folks who want to be a part of this movement?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, that was one of the controversies, T.J., when Tea Party Nation, the group that organized this, when they started this there was some pushback by other tea party groups that it was a for-profit corporation and that they were going to be charging about $550 to attend the three-day conference and $350 to listen to Sarah Palin.
But the organizers say any money they make they will put back into the movement.
And T.J., they have announced that, you know what, this convention is not even over yet and they'll hold another one in July because things have been going so well and there's a demand for another convention, T.J.
HOLMES: I know a lot of us, a lot of people on the outside looking in, trying to see more and hear more about what's happening with this convention and these people. I know you've been talking to a lot of folks there now giving perspective. And I think you have another perspective you can give us this morning.
STEINHAUSER: I sure do. And you're absolutely right, this convention is really all about workshops and seminars for tea party activists across the country to come here and learn how to form their own groups and strengthen their own groups.
And joining me now is Jordan Marx, a tea party activist and also the executive director of young Americans for freedom. He's not only attending the convention, he also led a workshop yesterday. Tell me about what the purpose of that one was.
JORDAN MARKS, YOUNG AMERICANS FOR FREEDOM: The workshop I led was on how to reach out to young conservatives in the movement, how to bring more young people into the tea parties and how to involve them in the process -- education, engagement, and also working and building for the next generation.
At my workshop, I'm with an organization called Young Americans for Freedom, and we had three generations at the front. I had somebody from the '60s, somebody from the '80s, and somebody from myself, from 2000. And I showed when you invest in the youth, when you have a great grassroots organization, you can own the future.
And that's what the tea party wants. We want to own the future, make America better, and this is the way. You have to invest now so that it's there and working for the next generation.
STEINHAUSER: What are some of the goals you would like to see take place here and then in Washington as well?
MARKS: I think what everybody in the tea party is working for and Young Americans from freedom strongly believes in is smaller government, less taxes, and a strong national security. It's very important for this country.
And young people today and the voice that I wanted to represent, and I think we're hearing, is jobs. We want jobs. We went to school. We went through the system, and we're graduating, and there's no jobs for the future. And that's what we're saying -- where's the hope, where's the change when you can't find employment?
STEINHAUSER: Jordan, thank you very much. I think everybody will agree the economy is the number-one issue with Americans here and everywhere. T.J., back to you.
HOLMES: We appreciate that, and we know we will check in with you later. Again, the keynote wrapping up this evening -- thanks so much, Paul -- and that keynote, Sarah Palin this evening. You can see it here live. Our coverage of it begins around 9:00 eastern time. She's wrapping up. Again, the keynote address, this evening by Sarah Palin.
BALDWIN: Well, the five men are in a penitentiary and women in a prison nearby.
HOLMES: These ten folks we talked about, the Americans being held on kidnapping charges in Haiti. They're still waiting to find out if they'll be granted bail. We're live in Haiti. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Ten Americans jailed in Haiti on child kidnapping charges have a bail hearing set for Monday. The Americans are accused of trying to take 33 children out of Haiti.
BALDWIN: Haiti's attorney general is telling CNN the charges are too serious for bail. Live now is our own Karl Penhaul all over this story there in Port-au-Prince.
And Karl, I guess the first question is really regarding the bail in Haiti. If you're charged with kidnapping, you are not eligible for bail but these American missionaries are petitioning that.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, and that's what their lawyer, their Haitian Edwin Caucus told us, that he's already handed over that petition to Haiti's examining judge.
Now, we don't expect him to actually rule on that until about Wednesday. Why? Because he said that he wants to continue questioning the Americans.
He's going to question one group of five on Monday and then bring in the other group of five on Tuesday, and then by Wednesday he says he should be in a position to rule on that petition for bail.
But what the attorney general has told us is that essentially these crimes are considered too serious, that bail should not be granted for this. Again, it's a little bit of a different bail than in the U.S., but the attorney general doesn't seem to mind that that can happen right now, Brooke.
BALDWIN: One of the questions we saw the U.N. envoy and former President Bill Clinton. He's in Haiti, and he was asked by our own Joe Johns if he would perhaps involve himself in helping these ten Americans in this petition. What are you hearing? Is that getting any progress? PENHAUL: Well, we have heard that the U.S. consulate right now has really given consular services but doesn't seem to have gotten mixed up in trying to make any representation to the Haitian government. We have seen the comments from both Hillary Clinton, also from Bill Clinton.
But right now the two governments seem to be kind of respecting this process, Haiti's sovereignty in this case, and America taking, not a hands-off approach, but certainly allowing the course of law to run that course because of the seriousness of these crimes.
These are not any old charges. This really goes to the core of one of the key problems of Haiti, which in the past has been child trafficking and trafficking of orphans.
And both the Haitian and the American authorities really want to get to the bottom of this because what we do know is that Laura Silsby, the team leader of this group of ten American missionaries, clearly knew at every step of her way that what she was doing was illegal.
She was told by the Haitian authorities -- just four hours before she was arrested, in fact, she was warned again by the Dominican authorities that she couldn't take these kids out of the country, otherwise she would face arrest for child trafficking. She's pushed ahead with her plan regardless.
But what even the defense lawyer now is saying now is that he believes that the nine other American missionaries along on this trip may have been just innocent and caught up in Laura Silsby's plan.
That said, a little hard to believe that if you suddenly end up on a bus with 33 Haitian babies and children that you didn't know what was going on and you weren't aware of your team leader's plans. And so these are the kind of questions that the examining judge is going to be answering on Monday and Tuesday and as this process continues.
BALDWIN: And now we know the men are in one prison, the women are in the other prison, and we will certainly be checking back in with you. We'll look for that hearing with the judge Monday in Port- au-Prince. Karl Penhaul for us, thank you.
And the other big story, snow, snowing like crazy in Washington, Philadelphia, Baltimore. But President Obama says, or his aides, we should say, say that he will still be on schedule to speak in about 15 minutes.
HOLMES: We're taking a picture here of the DNC, their winter retreat, if you will, their winter meeting not too far -- happening in a hotel not too far from the White House. The president will hop in a motorcade that will take him through about a foot or so of snow and making his way over, expecting him around 10:30. When that happens we certainly will bring that to you live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: And I want to remind you we're keeping an eye on that podium. You see Eleanor Holmes Norton speaking there now. But this is the DNC winter meeting that's happening in Washington D.C. expecting President Obama in Washington D.C. to take that podium a short time from now and of course talk about some of the issues of the day, which the major issue, I guess we should say, is the economy and jobs right now.
The president when he steps up to that podium, we will take that live. And yes, we know it's snowing a lot there in D.C., but the president is venturing out, his motorcade going to get him there I'm assuming just fine.
The president says small business will play a key role in rebuilding the economy, and during his weekly address released just this morning, the president urged lawmakers on both sides to pass a series of proposals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Last year the steps we took supported over 47,000 loans to small businesses and delivered billions in tax relief to small business owners, which helped companies keep their doors open, make payroll, and hire workers.
But we can and must do more. That's why I've proposed a series of steps this week to support small business owners and the jobs they create, to provide more access to credit, more incentives to hire, and more opportunities to grow and sell products all over the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Among the president's proposals is a plan to take $30 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, TARP, and create a small business lending fund. The president also wants to give a tax credit to small business that hire employees or raise wages.
The president's remarks came one day after the Labor Department reported a drop in the nation's unemployment rate, fell to 9.7 percent in January. That's from 10 percent in December. A lot of analysts hoping that the worst is over now and the jobless rate so far seems to have peaked in October at 10.2 percent.
BALDWIN: Well, you know, jobs top of mind for the president, but if you are looking for a job, we have some advice for you that you won't find in the help-wanted ads. Here's a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a bear business that's gone to the dogs. What company lets you work side by side with your four-legged friend? Find out after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What company lets employees bring their dog to work? Build a Bear Workshop. And kids are welcome too.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel so well taken care of here because of the family environment that we have.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At the toy store's headquarters in St. Louis, employees can opt for a compressed workweek, but other benefits also make working more bearable. A concierge takes care of dry cleaning, on-site oil changes, and even Fido can be picked up for doggie daycare.
Build a Bear Workshop is 80th on "Fortune" magazine's list of the 100 best companies to work for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And a reminder to our viewers -- well, ignore the Miller part here for a second, but we are waiting on the president to come out and speak in D.C. He's at the DNC event that's happening right now.
So I'll explain the Miller to you now, but when the president steps out -- there you go, the head of the DNC right now. He is up on the podium. But we're told the president is in the building. When he steps out to address them, we'll go to it live.
In the meantime, a lot of people talking about the Super bowl tomorrow. A lot of people always talk about the Super bowl ads. But one of the most memorable ads is an ad that only one second last year. Check it out. See if you remember it from last year. Don't blink.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: High Life!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: That was Miller, of course, playing on their everyman, their blue-collar brand of beer. And that guy, Wendell Middlebrooks, is the pitchman, and he joins us this morning with a smile on his face and a shirt on this morning, the Miller man himself.
Good to see you. We want to talk about the campaign you guys are doing this year as well, still playing on that everyman, that blue- collar kin d of a beer.
But first, I just want to ask you, did you ever imagine that this would turn into what it is? You're the face. You're a very recognizable guy.
Wendell, I'm sorry. Stand by. I'm told the president has just stepped out. So hang tight right there. The president stepping up to the podium at the DNC addressing Democrats there. He's there to talk economy, talk about jobs, talk about new tax credits for small business as well. This is the DNC, their winter meeting that's taking place in D.C. at the Hilton not far from the White House. He ventured out, going through that snow with his motorcade. So let's go ahead and take a listen to the president.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Thank you, thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Grab a seat. Thank you. Oh, it is good to see you. Good to be among friends so committed to the future of this party and this country that they're willing to brave a blizzard.
(LAUGHTER)
"Snow-mageddon" here in D.C. I notice somebody had Californians for Obama, and I was thinking you guys are not used to this.
(LAUGHTER)
I've got some special thanks to the folks here. First of all, I want to thank Eleanor Holmes Norton for fighting the good fight here in the District of Columbia.
(APPLAUSE)
Ray Buckley, our DNC vice chair from New Hampshire, Alice Jermon, DNC secretary, Andy Tobias, DNC treasurer. Thanks for the great work you guys do.
I want to thank Tim Kaine, who's not only an outstanding former governor but an outstanding leader of this party, busy building the best online and infield grassroots organization we've ever had. Give Tim Kaine a big round of applause.
(APPLAUSE)
And if I'm not mistaken, we've got a couple of terrific members of Congress here, Mike Honda, vice chair of the DNC. Mike, are you here? He's on his way. He's still shoveling.
(LAUGHTER)
And how about Barbara Lee? Is Barbara here? Well, we love Barbara anyway. Give Barbara and Mike a big round of applause.
(APPLAUSE)
I want to thank the governors, the legislators, the mayors from across this country for working to move their states and local communities forward in extraordinary challenging times. They've done heroic work. I want to thank the DNC members, state party leader.
And most of all I want to thank the millions of Americans who have taken up the cause of change at the grassroots level in all 50 states. Now, Tim alluded to this, but I just want to remind everybody. We knew from the beginning that this would not be easy. Change never is. But that's especially true in these times, when we face an array of challenged as tough as any we have seen in generations. President Kennedy once said "When we got into office, the thing that surprised me most was to find that things were just as bad as we'd been saying they were."
(LAUGHTER)
The truth was things were worse.
We took office facing a financial crisis that was something we hadn't seen since the Great Depression, an economy that we now know was bleeding 750,000 jobs a month, a $1.3 trillion deficit, and two wars that were costly in every sense of the word.
From the specter of terrorism to the impacts of globalization, we face tremendous new challenges in this young century. And all of this comes on top of one of the toughest decades our middle class had ever faced, a decade where is jobs grew more slowly than during any prior expansion, where the income of the average American household actually declined, where the costs of everything seemed to keep going up.
Everything we've done over the past year has been not only to right our economy, to break the back of this recession, but also to restore some of the security of middle-class families had felt slipping away for over a decade now.
Some of the steps we took were done without the help of the other party, which made a political decision all too often to jump in the backseat, let us do the driving, and then critique whether we were taking the right turns.
That's OK. That's part of what it means to govern. And all the steps we took were necessary. None of us wanted to throw a lifeline to the banks. But the outrage shouldn't be that we did, because it had to happen in order to prevent millions more from losing their jobs, millions of businesses and homes foreclosed.
The real outrage is that we had to do it in the first place in order to fend off the collapse of the financial system. That's the outrage.
(APPLAUSE)
Then we passed almost $300 billion in tax relief, tax cuts for small businesses, tax cuts for 95 percent of working Americans. We put Americans to work building the infrastructure of tomorrow, doing the work America needs done. We passed a credit card bill of rights to protect consumers from getting ripped off by credit card companies.
(APPLAUSE)
We put the law behind the principle of equal pay for equal work.
(APPLAUSE)
We extended the promise of health care to 4 million more children of working families. We protected every child from being targeted by tobacco companies.
(APPLAUSE)
We passed a service bill named for Ted Kennedy that gives young folks and old folks new ways to give back to their communities. We appointed Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court.
(APPLAUSE)
And we've begun working with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country that they love because of who they are.
(APPLAUSE)
Overseas -- overseas we've begun a new era of engagement. We're working with our partners to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and to seek a world free of nuclear weapons. We banned torture. We have begun to leave Iraq to its own people. We charted a new way forward in Afghanistan and Pakistan and made good progress in taking the fight to Al Qaeda across the globe.
I went to Cairo on behalf of America to begin a new dialogue with the Muslim world. And we are living up to a moment that demands American leadership by standing side by side with the people of Haiti.
(APPLAUSE)
So if you look at a tally of the things we said we would do, even in the midst of this extraordinarily challenging economy, we've kept our promises. We've kept our commitments. We have moved forward on behalf of a more prosperous and more secure future for the American people.
But for all our efforts, we have to acknowledge change can't come fast enough for many Americans. In recent weeks I visited Allentown, Pennsylvania, Tampa, Florida, Nashua, New Hampshire, talking with workers in factories and families in diners.
They want to know how are they going to find a job when they only know one trade in their life, or how are they going to afford to send their kids to college? How are they going to pay their medical bills when they get sick? How can they retire with their 401(k) so banged up?
Most of all, they're wondering if anyone can or will do anything about it, especially here in Washington.
Now, I understand their frustration. You understand it, as well. I was talking to Michelle the other day, and Michelle is always a good barometer. (LAUGHTER)
And, you know, the front page was, oh, you know, what's Obama going to do to get his poll numbers up, and are the Democrats all in a tizzy and this and that.
And she said, you know, listen -- if you're the average family, if I'm a mom out there and I'm working and my husband's working but we're worried about losing our jobs, our hours have been cut back, the cost of our health care premiums just went up 30 percent, you know, credit card company just jacked up our interest rates 39 percent and our home values have gone down by $100,000, our 401(k) is all banged up, and suddenly someone calls up and says, so, how do you think President Obama's doing right now? (LAUGHTER)
What are they going to say? What are they going to say? Of course people are frustrated. And they have every right to be.
And I know that during the course of this gathering, some of the press have been running around, well, what do you think you should be doing and this and that and the other, and, you know, what's the strategy and.
Look, when unemployment is 9.7 percent, when we are still digging ourselves out of an extraordinary recession, people are going to be frustrated. And they're going to be looking to the party in power to try to fix it.
When you've got another party that says we don't want to do anything about it, of course people are going to be frustrated.
Folks are out there working hard every day trying to meet their responsibilities. But all around them during this last lost decade, what they've seen is a wave of irresponsibility from Wall Street to Washington. They see a capital city where every day is treated like Election Day, and every act, every comment, every gesture passes through a political filter.
They've seen the outsized influence of lobbyists and special interests who too often hijack the agenda by leveraging campaign money and connections. Of course they wonder if their leaders can muster the will to overcome all of that and confront the real problems that touch their lives.
But here's what everybody here has to remember -- that's why I ran for president. That's why you worked so hard to elect a Democratic Congress. We knew this stuff was tough, but we stepped up because we decided we were going to take the responsibility of changing it. And it may not be easy, but change is coming.
(APPLAUSE)
Look, I believe so strongly -- I believe so strongly if we're going to deal with the great challenges of our time, if we're going to secure a better future just as past generations did for us, then we're going to have to change the prevailing politics in this town.
And it's not going to be easy. We're going to have to care less about scoring points and more about solving problems that are holding us back.
(APPLAUSE)
At this defining moment, that's never been more important. We can continue, for example, to be consumed by the politics of energy, but we know that the nation that leads the clean energy revolution will lead the 21st century global economy.
We know that a failure to act will put our planet in deeper peril. We know that China isn't waiting and India isn't waiting and Germany isn't waiting to seize that future, and America can't afford to wait either.
(APPLAUSE)
And I don't intend to spend all my time taking polls to figure out whether we're going to seize that future or not.
We can continue to spin our wheels with the old education debates, pitting teachers' unions against reformers, and meanwhile our kids keep trailing their counterparts from South Korea to Singapore. But we know that the countries that out-educate us today will out- compete us tomorrow.
(APPLAUSE)
We know that kids who are consigned to failing schools today will be condemned to lifetimes of lower wages and unfulfilled dreams. America can't afford to wait. And I'm not going to take a poll to figure out whether or not we're going to tackle education.
We can continue to allow the same special interests who stack the deck in favor of financial speculators in the last decade to block reform again in this decade. But if we've learned anything from the devastating recession, it's that we know that wise regulation actually can enhance the market and make it more stable and make our economy work better.
We can't return to the dereliction of duty that helped deliver this recession. We know that to do so would be to put at risk our job, our families, our businesses, and our future. America can't afford to wait. And we can't look backwards.
And yes, we could continue to ignore the growing burden of runaway costs of health care. The easiest thing to do right now would be to just say this is too hard. You know, let's just regroup and, you know, lick our wounds, try to hang on.
We've had a long and difficult debate on health care. And there are some, maybe even the majority in this town, who say perhaps it's time to walk away. But here's thing, Democrats -- if we walk away, we know what will happen. We know that premiums and out of pocket expenses will skyrocket this decade and the decade after that and a decade after that just as they did in the past decade.
More small businesses will be priced out of coverage. More big businesses will be unable to compete internationally. More workers will take home less pay and fewer raises.
We know that millions more Americans will lose their coverage. We know that our deficits will inexorably continue to grow because health care costs are the single biggest driver.
So just in case there's any confusion out there, let me be clear. I am not going to walk away from health insurance reform. I'm not going to walk away from the American people. I'm not going to walk away on this challenge. I'm not going to walk away on any challenge. We're moving forward.
(APPLAUSE)
We are moving forward.
(APPLAUSE)
Sometimes, sometimes we may be moving forward against the prevailing winds. Sometimes it may be against a blizzard.
(LAUGHTER)
But we're going to live up to our responsibility to lead. And I'm confident that if we stay steady, if we stay focused on all the people that we meet each and every day who are out there struggling, if we've got them in mind and we are working to deliver on their behalf, that in the end that'll be good politics as well as good policy. It will be good for America, not just good for Democrats.
But in order to get any of these battles done, we're going to have to change the way that Washington works.
Now we may not get a lot of attention for it, but we've actually already begun to do that. We've reined in the power of the special interests with the toughest ethics and transparency rules of any administration in the modern era.
We're the first White House ever to post our visitors online. We've excluded lobbyists from policymaking jobs or seats on federal boards and commissions. I've called on Congress to make all earmark requests public on one central website before they come up for a vote so that you know how the money is spent.
We're going to have to confront the gaping loophole that the Supreme Court recently opened in our campaign finance laws that allow special interests to spend without limit to influence American elections.
(APPLAUSE)
We also said that, as we worked to change the ways of Washington, we'd also change the way we do things as a party. This committee is the first to ban contributions from political action committees and lobbyists.
And I'm pleased to see the recommendations submitted by the Change Commission aimed at improving our nominating process, because I believe that the more Americans that get involved in this party, the stronger this party will be.
And yes, we need to change the way we work with the other party, as well. Now, I'm proud to be a Democrat. I'm proud to be a leader of this great party. But I also know that we can't solve all of our problems alone.
So we need to extend our hands to the other side. We've been working on it, because if we're going to change the ways of Washington we're going to have to change its tone.
Now, as a step in that direction, I went and visited with the House Republican caucus last Friday and we had a good --
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-- we had a good discussion about the challenges -- we had a good discussion about the challenges facing the American people and our ideas to solve them. It was good for the country to see a robust debate. I had fun.
(LAUGHTER)
And we had to acknowledge there are going to be some issues that Democrats and Republicans just don't see eye to eye on. That's how it should be. That's how democracy works.
But there have to be some issues on which we can find common ground. It's one thing to disagree out of principle. It's another to simply stand in the way because of politics.
Now is not the time for sitting on the sidelines or blocking progress or pointing fingers or assigning blame. Now is not the time to do just what's right for your party or your poll numbers. Now is the time to do what's right for the country. Now is the time to do what's necessary to see us through these difficult times.
Now is the time to do everything in our power to keep the American dream alive for the next generation. And that's our mission, Democrats.
I know we've gone through a tough year, but we've gone through tougher years. We're the party of Thomas Jefferson, who declared that all men are created equal, and we had to work long and hard to ensure that those words meant something.
We're the party of Franklin Roosevelt, who in the midst of depression said all we had to fear was fear itself to save freedom and democracy from being extinguished here on earth. And that was hard because the natural impulse was to fear. But we as a party helped to lead the country out of that fear.
We're the party of John F. Kennedy, who summoned us to serve, who called us to pay any price and bear any burden.
And we're the party of Edward M. Kennedy, whose cause endures, who said that here in the United States of America the promise of health care should not be a privilege but a fundamental right. That is who we are, Democrats.
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That's who we've got to be today. For all the stories we've heard, after all the campaigns we've waged, after all the promises we've made, this is our best chance to deliver change that the American people need.
And if we do that, if we speak to the hopes of the American people instead of their fears, if we inspire them instead of divide them, if we respond to their challenges with the same sense of urgency they feel in their own lives, we're not just going to win elections. Elections will take care of themselves. We will once again be the party that turns around the economy and moves this country forward and secures the American dream for another generation.
Thanks very much, everybody. God bless.
(APPLAUSE)
HOLMES: The president of the United States there, striking a fiery tone at some point, speaking to a very familiar and also a receptive audience, an audience full of Democrats at the DNC in D.C.
Again, we're talking about the president venturing out from the White House today, taking a short ride to the Hilton where they're having their winter meeting.
But the president started up and really sounds like he's ready to fight in some parts of that speech. He was out touting the record for the year, in a lot of way essentially saying in his first year how much they had gotten accomplished, went back to talk about Sotomayor, getting her onto the Supreme Court, talked about the Ted Kennedy service bill.
Also a new era of engagement overseas, talking act several things that they have done well, even some of the big-ticket items many people think about including job, stimulus package, health care that didn't get done, didn't seem to be working, but he was talking about what has gone well.
Essentially firing up Democrats saying, hey, we have a record to lean on, we have a record here to talk about, we have a record to tout. Elections, as you heard at the end there, are going to take care of themselves. Good politics equals good policy. BALDWIN: And I found it interesting, the one point when I was taking my notes, when people really got on their feet and there was a rousing applause was the idea of health care and when he did bring up former Senator Ted Kennedy, really a champion of health care.
I know we have CNN's Suzanne Malveaux standing by to perhaps chat with her about perhaps what her takeaway was with this whole speech. Suzanne, there you are in the snow. I know he sort of used the snow as a metaphor in his speech. What was your takeaway when you were listening?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He certainly did. He talked about it being a blizzard, a "Snow-mageddon," and that people are so committed to come out in this blizzard and to listen to this speech, but obviously to take the message back home.
And what you're seeing is a president who clearly recognizes that his party really needs to get bucked up here, to get motivated, and to be encouraged, because after the first year or so, very ambitious plans. As he had mentioned, he got some things done in the administration that had never been done before.
But clearly there's a frustration, a frustration from the Democratic base that wants to see definitely more action from this president, and also that health care reform legislation. That was the top agenda, top of his list that just kind of died by the wayside.
He wants to once again reform in some sense, bring reform to insurance companies to help with the health care problems that plague this country. So he's saying we're not giving up here. I don't want you to give up, as well.
The Republicans are even stronger than they were last year, the Democrats losing their supermajority, and a lot of Democrats really fearful. Should they actually tie their future to this president looking at those tough reelections that they are facing, midterm elections here?
He is saying it's OK to embrace the Democratic agenda. It is OK to embrace the White House, the administration's agenda, even if parts of it have failed, that it's essentially the right thing to do. So that's what you're hearing from the president this morning.
And he's clearly trying to push forward some legislation that's going to be key for him if he's going to get anything done here, that jobs creation bill, bipartisan bill he's hoping at least to introduce in the coming week as well as health care reform.
HOLMES: And of course, Suzanne, as we still watch the president leaving the DNC meeting there and the picture there on the right of your screen, Suzanne, you hit on this a bit, but the president -- I guess it's weird to think who needs who more.
Of course, the president is the head of the Democratic Party. It's hard to imagine any Democrat running for reelection would be shying away from this president, given what we saw -- I mean, as early as last summer, maybe, with great approval ratings for this president.
It's hard to think now that we imagine some Democrats are scratching their heads about how closely they want to be aligned with the president. So how desperately do they need him to be doing well, and how desperately does he need them as well, like you mentioned, to get his agenda through?
MALVEAUX: Absolutely. He doesn't beneath need them as much so when he looks at his own reelection possibilities in three years or so, so he certainly has a larger window and more time to work with to turn things around, essentially, to make sure that he's getting things done and everybody likes him and they decide, OK, well, maybe we'll vote for him again for a second term.
But there are a lot of nervous Democrats, the moderates and fiscal conservatives, who are going back to their districts, particularly in the more conservative districts in the south and Midwest, who are very wary about aligning themselves too closely when it comes to the health care reform legislation, when it comes to some of his economic policies.
They want to bridge the difference with Republicans and with the fiscally conservative Democrats. The president wants to do that. So you see the kinds of things he's offering when he talks about job creation, when he talks about cuts in taxes for small business, things that Republicans as well as fiscally conservative Democrats can hold onto and embrace. And that is very important for those Democrats who are worried.
BALDWIN: All right, CNN's Suzanne Malveaux in the elements. Suzanne, thank you. I'm sure we'll check in with you in the 11:00 hour.
MALVEAUX: All right.
BAIER: And in case you missed the president's speech, we'll bring you some snippets in the CNN NEWSROOM. Stay right there, CNN Saturday Morning rolls on.
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BAIER: With all this winter weather we've been talking about today, you know airlines, a whole bunch of them are canceling a lot of flights today because of the weather. Before you head out on your next trip, CNN's Ayesha Tejpar has some information you need to know.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AYESHA TEJPAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Winter brings cold, snow, and of course flight delays. But you have rights as a traveler. First off, find out if the delay is because of weather or something else.
KATE HANNI, FLYERSRIGHTS.ORG: If a flight is canceled or delayed and it's a mechanical problem, the passenger has the right to receive hotel vouchers, taxi vouchers, and food vouchers. If your flight is oversold and you're bumped from a flight, know that you are due cold, hard cash, either $400 or $800.
TEJPAR: If you used a credit card to book your travel, it can help.
HANNI: If you don't get the service offered or the compensation you're due, challenge it with your credit card company and they'll fight the fight for you.
TEJPAR: You also have rights if you get to your destination but your bags don't.
HANNI: If your baggage is lost, you're able to get compensation up to $3,000.
TEJPAR: If weather cancels or delays its flight, it's out of everyone's control, but don't give up.
HANNI: If you have a problem with your flight, get up and get over to the customer service desk. You do need to be persistent to make these things happen.
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