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Countdown to Election; Drill Close to Reaching Miners in Chile; Search for Man's Body in Lake Falcon; Bank of America Stops U.S. Foreclosures; President Obama on Latest Job Numbers

Aired October 08, 2010 - 11:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, there, everybody. Live from Studio 7 at CNN world headquarters, we'll give you a look at what are the big stories of the day on this Friday, October the 8th.

And it doesn't get any bigger than this, the economy. And we got the last big unemployment report before Election Day, the numbers that voters will go into the voting booth on their minds.

These numbers came out today and the overall economy loses jobs in September. The president is set to talk about it live this hour. We will have those comments for you when he starts to speak.

Of course, "CNN Equals Politics."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joe's not bad as governor, but when he's with Obama --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He turns into "Washington Joe."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And "Washington Joe" does whatever Obama wants.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we better keep Joe Manchin right here in West Virginia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Away from Washington.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. It's the only way we're going to stop Obama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Do those look like hicks to you? Critics say a Republican Senate ad in West Virginia plays into what they call "a hick stereotype."

"The Best Team on Television" puts the ad front and center.

Also, some excitement is building, building finally for those trapped Chilean miners. A drill may be able to reach the men soon. At any moment it could break through. The rescue would follow in the days after that. We have a close eye on that. Those are some of the big stories we're keeping an eye on here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes, in for my good friend Tony Harris.

Those stories, your comments, and a whole lot more, right now in the CNN NEWSROOM.

But of course let's start with the new numbers that are out just a bit ago, new numbers on the struggling job market. The September unemployment report comes now just 25 days before the midterm elections. Jobs will be the big issue, and now this report is what voters will walk into that voting booth with.

Going to get into the raw politics on jobs. Let me just break down these numbers for you first.

The Labor Department says the unemployment rate is 9.6 percent. That holds steady from the month before. So that number did not change, but the job market took a hit from government layoffs and also a weak business hiring. The economy lost some 95,000 jobs.

Now, for the most part, that was due to government cutbacks. The private sector did add about 64,000 jobs. So that makes it about the ninth straight month we have seen the private sector at least add jobs.

Want to head to Wall Street right now. Carter Evans keeping an eye on things for us there.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

HOLMES: And of course with the unemployment rate now close to double digits, the economy shedding more jobs, it's hard to find any bright spots in a lot of these numbers, all this data. Some businesses, however, would you believe they're hanging out help wanted signs? So many people are looking for work, of course, and now employers can essentially pick from a whole host of applicants.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES ANGELO, CANINE COUNTRY CLUB: We are actually taking our time hiring people because we can. We have a huge stack of resumes that we didn't have four months ago. Number two, the type of person coming in are more full-time professions out there like a realtor, because that market has fallen off, bankers that were laid off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And our Poppy Harlow of CNNMoney.com, she'll have more on small business hiring. That's coming up in the next hour here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Also, we are counting down to the elections, just 25 days away now. Issue number one will be the economy, will be jobs. The president knows that. We're going to be hearing from him shortly, hearing from him this hour, at 11:45 Eastern Time. He's going to be visiting a factory in Maryland. We'll have live coverage of his remarks, again, 11:45 Eastern Time, just about 40 minutes from now.

Also, next hour, a bit of a response to the president and a response to these economic numbers. You'll hear from the House minority leader, John Boehner, who wants to be the majority leader in the House. He's going to be giving a campaign speech focused on, you guessed it, jobs. You can see that right here, 12:40 Eastern Time.

(NEWSBREAK)

HOLMES: We mentioned 25 days now until Election Day. This is one of the most important midterm elections we have seen in some time. Things can really be shaken up and turned on their head depending on what happens 25 days from now.

CNN, of course, is your place for all of that political coverage.

Now, aside from the midterm elections, there is another political battle, if you will, that's going on, or will be happening right after the election. The House Ethics Committee has announced two Democratic lawmakers will face ethics proceedings, but not until after Election Day, as I said.

Republicans wanted the trials for New York's Charlie Rangel and California's Maxine Waters to happen before the election. The proceedings though will take place November the 15th for Charlie Rangel, November the 29th for Congresswoman Waters. Both are accused of financial improprieties, unrelated cases though. Both say they did nothing wrong.

Well, it's the political season, so, of course, political ads that are supposed to get our attention, help influence our vote, sometimes they do so for the most unflattering of reasons.

Let's bring in our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash.

Dana, we see this time and time again. We're not seeing anything in ads we haven't seen before, are we?

DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're not really, but there are some interesting twists. And you know how at the end of those political ads you hear something along the lines of, "The National Republican Senatorial Committee is responsible for the content of this ad." Well, taking responsibility meant taking one of their ads off the air in West Virginia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice-over): A GOP ad aimed at many West Virginia voters' concerns about Democratic Senate candidate Joe Manchin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, NATIONAL REPUBLICAN SENATORIAL COMMITTEE AD) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joe is not bad as governor, but when he is with Obama.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He turns into Washington Joe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Washington Joe does whatever Obama wants.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Well, we better keep Joe Manchin right here in West Virginia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: But get this. Those men are not in West Virginia. They are actors 250 miles away in Philadelphia.

Republicans paid a talent agency to hire them for the ad, and the casting call obtained by CNN asks for a "hickey, blue-collar look. These characters are from West Virginia, so think coal miner, trucker looks."

(on camera): Not only that. It asks the actors to bring specific wardrobe items, including a trucker hat, not brand-new. It says preferably beat up. You can see that here. Flannel shirt, check. And a Dickies-type jacket with a T-shirt underneath. Well, here's the T-shirt.

(voice-over): A spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee says they did not know about the casting call language and pulled the ad.

The irony is, Republicans didn't have to use actors in Philadelphia to capture concerns about Manchin. We went to this real West Virginia diner this week and heard the sentiment unscripted.

NATHAN ROSE, WEST VIRGINIA: Seem to be generally happy here in the state, but I won't be voting for him for senator. I would be more voting for someone who is just going to straight-up oppose Obama's agenda.

BASH: No trucker hat, no flannel. In fact, the real foul play with this ad seems to be stereotyping West Virginians.

TODD WEBSTER, DEMOCRATIC MEDIA CONSULTANT: Somehow they were hicks and rednecks.

BASH: Even Democratic ad-makers admit both parties use actors.

WEBSTER: If you have to go to paid actors as a second or a third resort, then, because of tight timelines, you may have to go there.

BASH: Take this Democratic Senate ad now running against Missouri Republican Roy Blunt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Roy is the life of the party on TV. His wife, great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: That woman is an actress.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Now, back on the Republicans' West Virginia ad, the NRSC provided us with an e-mail to underscore their point that they didn't know about or authorize the request for "hickey" attire. And, in fact, it was a subcontractor who used that language.

And in this e-mail which we got, the original request for the casting call, T.J., actually said they're looking for a male 55, another 45, middle class, and should "represent the middle of the country" -- T.J.

HOLMES: I don't even know what to say. We need to define, I guess, "hick" and "hickey" these days now. But, you know, you're making an ad, you want someone to look like they're from that area, you need actors.

It sounds like a natural thing to do, but still, are the folks in West Virginia making as big of a deal of this? Are they offended by this ad and how they wound up finding these actors?

BASH: Well, you can bet the Democratic governor who's the candidate for Senate, Joe Manchin, he sure is making a big deal out if it, the Democrats are, in a big way, because they feel that this works to their favor in that it plays into their biggest argument against the Republican down there, John Raese.

John Raese is a very wealthy businessman. He is somebody who they are trying to paint as not really in touch with people of West Virginia both on a personal level because not only -- he's wealthy, they say his family doesn't even live in West Virginia. But even with regard to the issues, he's somebody -- I was down there this week interviewing him. He says he doesn't believe the minimum wage should exit, he wants to get rid of it.

So Democrats are hoping that this "stereotyping" feeds into the whole concept that this is not the guy that West Virginians want representing them in Washington.

HOLMES: And amazing, too, Dana, this is not even supposed to be a competitive race, as popular as the governor is there in West Virginia. It's amazing it's as tight as it is.

BASH: Sure is.

HOLMES: Dana, appreciate you, as always.

BASH: Thanks. Great to see you, T.J.

HOLMES: We'll talk to you plenty. Always good to see you. Thank you so much. Well, they are closing in on a breakthrough. A drill could reach those trapped miners in Chile by tomorrow. We'll get a live update from the scene.

But right now, let me get a live update from over there, Rob.

What's going on, buddy?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, T.J.

Well, listen, we've got another hurricane, Hurricane Otto, upgraded from a tropical storm earlier this morning -- or just a little while ago, as a matter of fact. The eighth hurricane of the season.

We'll have that updated forecast track, plus a forecast for your fall weekend. That's still to come.

CNN NEWSROOM is coming right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, they have spent some 64 days now buried deep underground, but a breakthrough could be just a day away for those 33 trapped miners in Chile. A drill is inching closer and closer to the chamber where the miners have taken refuge.

Our Karl Penhaul joins us now, live from the scene where the work is going on.

Karl, tell us, just how close are they?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: T.J., we certainly get the impression here that the beginning of the end is upon us, and talking to one of the drill engineers last night, he said that drill bit was just 180 feet away from the miners. Now, taking into account that drill has been going all night, it continues around the clock, we could be in literally the final few feet now.

And in fact, over my shoulder there is a red rig now in place which will be used to possibly put steel casing down part of that rescue shaft to make it more stable. That will also be used to hoist the rescue cage dubbed the "Phoenix Capsule" up to the surface.

But as the rescue operation proceeds, anxiety amongst the families increases.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL (voice-over): Day fades into another night.

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

PENHAUL: But at last, the anguished wait may be drawing to a close for families of the 33 trapped miners. "Waiting is like a bad itch that bothers you every minute of every day. You get a knot in your stomach thinking this is the final phase. The only thing I want to do is take my husband home and forget this ever happened," she says.

She's waiting for veteran miner Mario Gomez (ph), the oldest of the 33.

Close by, Jessica Yanez mounts a vigil for her husband to be, Esteban Rojas (ph).

"All of this time, I feel I've been dreaming, but when I wake up, I see it's all reality. My stomach hurts and my head hurts, thinking I have no choice but to carry on waiting," she says.

The roll call of all 33 names is painted on this rock. The families of miners Claudio Yanez, Santario Segovia (ph) have huddled here every night for two months to sprinkle the embers with sugar, a ritual to bring them luck.

"This is an eternal wait, but I must be patient. There's only a little while left," she says.

The rescue may be just now days away, and Alberto Segovia isn't sure he can find the words to welcome his brother home. "When the moment comes, I think I'll forget everything I planned to say. I'll just tell him what I feel in my heart," he says.

But Jessica knows there are two things that cannot go unsaid. "The first thing I will tell Esteban is that I love him and that he must never go back into the mine," she says. "There are many ways to earn a living without killing yourself."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL: Now, at current speeds, that Plan B drill could theoretically achieve breakthrough sometime today. That is, of course, if there are no more technical difficulties, if they don't need to change those drill bits. And also, in the last few moments, what the health minister has said is, that if it all goes to plan, the actual process of extracting the miners, hoisting them back to earth, could begin as early as Tuesday -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Karl Penhaul, who has been on this story for us.

We'll continue to check in with you, Karl. Thank you so much.

Well, coming up, hear from an American woman who says her husband was gunned down by Mexican pirates. The search now continues for a body in dangerous waters.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, it's been eight days now since an American man went missing in a lake on the Mexican border. Tiffany Hartley says her husband David was shot by Mexican pirates while jet skiing. There have been some questions now raised about her story. She told her story to our Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "AC 360": We heard a sheriff say that if you wanted to take a polygraph test to back up the story, that he'd support that. Is that something that you would want to do?

TIFFANY HARTLEY, WIFE OF VICTIM: Possibly, but I don't really think I need to, because I know my story and I know what the story is, but if, you know, that's what the authorities think I need to do, then that might be an option.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, the Mexican side of Falcon Lake is known to be controlled by drug cartels.

Our Gary Tuchman takes us out in those dangerous waters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We have an armada of armed protectors as we head out for a short voyage on what may be North America's most dangerous lake. This is the sheriff of Zapata County, Texas.

(on camera): Are you 100 percent convinced she's telling the truth?

SHERIFF SIGI GONZALES, ZAPATA COUNTY, TEXAS: Well, we can never be 100 percent. 99.9 percent, yes.

TUCHMAN: So 99.9 percent?

GONZALES: Sure. Yes.

TUCHMAN: Would you be willing to have her take a polygraph test just to aid in the investigation, just to be 100 percent sure?

GONZALES: I cannot force her to do it.

TUCHMAN: Would you like her to do it?

GONZALES: Well, if she wants to do it on her own, sure.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): This is what Tiffany Hartley said at a news conference about suggestions by some she's not telling the whole truth.

HARTLEY: I know what I know. I know what I saw. And I can just tell you what I know.

Unfortunately, he's not here to -- you know, David's not here to verify, yes, we were chased and we were shot at. And so it is hard to be judged.

TUCHMAN (on camera): What's the main reason you think that the story is 100 percent true?

GONZALES: Well, I look at it as what is there to indicate that it's not true?

TUCHMAN: There's no jet ski, there's no body, but you're saying that blood was found on a life preserver?

GONZALES: Yes, sir. Yes sir.

TUCHMAN: And what do we know about the blood?

GONZALES: Well, we're working on trying to get it analyzed.

TUCHMAN: The sheriff's department here desperately wants to believe Tiffany Hartley's story, but the fact is that public officials we've talked to in this county who don't want to go on camera are doubting it. Also, the state police commander in the Mexican state right across the border also publicly doubting it.

It's a tragedy. It's also quite the puzzle.

GONZALES: We're really living yards away from actual war in a country, in a foreign country.

TUCHMAN: And it's you're feeling that the Mexican half of this lake is not under any authority control, it's the cartels who are controlling them?

GONZALES: It's not just my feeling, sir, it's reality. It's controlled by the Mexican drug cartels.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): The lake is huge, more than 80,000 acres, some of the best bass fishing in North America. But on the other side of this border marker, where Mexico begins, is now a no man's land.

(on camera): Do the people know who come out on this water that this is the border marker? Do boaters generally know?

GONZALES: Yes.

TUCHMAN: Is there any chance --

GONZALES: I mean, boaters that fish, they know.

TUCHMAN: Is there any chance this woman didn't know she was in Mexico?

GONZALES: No, she has said that she knew they were in Mexico.

TUCHMAN: OK. But why would she do that?

GONZALES: She is saying that since the threats were in April and May, she's saying that she thought the threats were over with.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): The Mexican waters were barren while we were there. The threat is certainly not over with.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Zapata, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, coming up, a former NBA all star telling us how one everyday hero is changing the world by building bridges.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: American politics. Here we are, 25 days now until Election Day, one of the most important midterms in recent memory. Some think our politicians are pushing the limits on nasty this campaign season.

And a French writer and rock star philosopher, if you will, Bernard Henri Levy, he has the perspective of an outsider looking in. And on CNN's new primetime program, "PARKER/SPITZER," he calls America more loveable than ever, but a little bit crazy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHLEEN PARKER, CO-HOST, "PARKER/SPITZER": I want to ask you something I heard you say, that this was actually -- this is a period of brainstorming, which is a nicer way of describing current events. Can you talk about that a little bit? When you say "brainstorming," what do you mean?

BERNARD HENRI LEVY, FRENCH AUTHOR AND PHILOSOPHER: I mean that today, nobody knows exactly what are the solutions. We are, all of us, Europeans, Americans, right, left, in a sort of black hole, of course. All of the old ways of thinking are dead -- old ideologies. So, we have to reshape and to reinvent. But to reshape and reinvent does not mean to let a person speak and to say, I know, we all know that 70 percent of the Republican voters believe that Obama is Muslim. They do believe that he was born in Kenya.

He's more American, more American, than a lot of them. Obama is more American than Mrs. Palin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Palin, do you like that? Sarah Palin. I watched him last night say that. He was referring, of course, to Sarah Palin there.

That was "PARKER/SPITZER." You can check them out, new primetime home for political talk, 8:00 Eastern, weeknights, only right here on CNN. And each week, we're calling on friends of CNN heroes to tell us more about our top 10 honorees. And today, former NBA star and Congolese native, Dikembe Mutombo, introduces you to a man who is bridging the gap in Kenya.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIKEMBE MUTOMBO, FORMER NBA STAR: I'm Dikembe Mutombo. As 2007 CNN Heroes Blue Ribbon panelist, I have recognized the extraordinary work of everyday people who are changing the world. As the founder of the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation, which works to improve the health, education and quality of life in my homeland of the Democratic Republic of Congo, I see just how much the world needs heroes.

Now, I'm thrilled to help CNN introduce one of this year top 10 honorees.

HARMON PARKER, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: What strikes me about this place is the beauty and the feeling of being insignificant. The beauty of this place also becomes dangerous because of these mountains when it rains. I've worked all over Kenya. Every community has the same story of people drowning. Crocodiles and hippos and loved ones lost.

Oh, look at this. Here comes some kids helping.

The very first bridge I built, I saw how it could change lives and transform communities. So, I carried on. And I love what I do.

My name is Harmon Parker and I build bridges to transform people's lives.

The community has to initiate the project. They have to participate and make some sort of financial contribution. It's hard and it takes a lot of determination.

Get it! Get it!

A bridge is a beautiful metaphor for many things. I feel I'm privileged to do what I'm doing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Just in. Let's just go ahead and put the board up if we can.

We have been flirting with this number for the past couple of days here. And now, we have hit it. So, I'm going to bring in Carter Evans, who's down at the New York Stock Exchange again for us.

Carter, I was asking you a little earlier how the markets were reacting to the jobs numbers. That's one thing. Not up a whole lot, but up over a significant milestone here, the Dow is. CARTER EVANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, this is one of those psychological barriers that we talk about, Dow 11,000. We've been flirting with this number all week long and we just crossed that point a few minutes ago.

And today, of all days, when we get this unemployment report that's kind of an ugh, I guess the best you can say for this employment report, it shows that the private sector gained 64,000 jobs, but the public sector lost almost 160,000. Overall, we lost 95,000 jobs in September, not what economists were expecting.

But I think the private sector gains are encouraging. That shows that people are putting some faith in our economy. That could be one thing that's affecting these numbers.

Another thing that is certainly affecting the number today is it Dow component: Alcoa. Alcoa reported earnings after the closing bell yesterday. Those earnings were better than expected. Currently, Alcoa stock is up 6.25 percent. That is definitely giving the Dow a big boost.

Another thing that's giving the Dow a big boost today is the fact that the value of the dollar is falling. That means that stocks are worth a little bit more. So, that's just another factor in there for you.

Also, other big news just breaking now, on the foreclosure crisis that is ongoing, that we've been talking about -- Bank of America, T.J., now halting foreclosures in all 50 states because of those potential paper work errors.

Back to you.

HOLMES: Well, Carter, why did they decide to go ahead and expand, because Bank of America and I think JPMorgan Chase was the other, they had stopped or halted foreclosures in certain states, several states. I think up to 20-plus. But now, Bank of America, why take the step to saying, they're halting everything, everywhere in the country.

EVANS: Well, you know, it's very interesting to see this, and I think that the bank is being just extra careful, wanting to cross every T and dot every I now, because it does appear that these foreclosures could face legal opposition.

Now, in those 23 states that you mentioned, those are the states that require a judge's signature to sign off on the foreclosures. And that's why those were the first states to be where foreclosures were halted. But, yes, Bank of America today taking that extra step, apparently looking at everything now in every state and halting foreclosures in all 50 states. I believe that is the first bank in this country to do so.

HOLMES: All right. Carter Evans, keeping an eye on things -- a busy day so far.

EVANS: Very.

HOLMES: And we are just getting started, really.

Carter, we appreciate you as always.

EVANS: Sure.

HOLMES: And you heard Carter talking about their some of the jobs number. The new report we got just a couple of hours ago, we are staying steady at 9.6 percent in unemployment, but the economy lost jobs, more than many economists had predicted, thought it would remain flat. A lot of government jobs went away. We were expecting that, but still, not the robust kind of private sector growth.

Well, the president is going to be talking about that today. We are standing by to hear from him in the next seven minutes or so. You can see they have set up a podium there for the president. This is in Bladensburg, Maryland, not too far outside of D.C., a suburb there at this masonry block manufacturer. He is going to make some comments there. He's taking a tour of the place as well. We'll get those pictures later.

But the president is expected to speak in the next five minutes or so, going to be addressing the economic situation and this latest jobs report. It's going to be the last one we get before you walk into that voting booth 25 days from now.

Stay with us. You'll hear the president live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: I want to take you right to the president of the United States standing by or making comments right now about these new jobs number in Maryland.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- family business that's been here over 80 years. They believe in investing in their workers. They care about the environment, so they collect and process using cooking oil from local restaurants to power some of their equipment.

Their community cares about them, so business is growing. Brendan has hired folks this year and with the smart investments he's made he hopes to continue that growth.

Small businesses like this one are the bricks and blocks of our entire economy. And over the past two years my administration has been doing everything we can to help encourage more success stories like this, because it is small businesses that will power our growth and put our people back to work.

This morning we learned that in the month of September our economy gained 64,000 jobs in the private sector. In July and August, private sector job numbers were revised upwards. So we've now seen nine straight months of private sector job growth; in all, more than 850,000 private sector jobs gained this year, which is in sharp contrast to the almost 800,000 jobs that we were losing when I first took office.

But that news is tempered by a net job loss in September which was fueled in large measure by the end of temporary census jobs and by layoffs in state and local governments.

I should point out that these continuing layoffs by state and local governments of teachers and police officers and firefighters and the like would have been even worse without the federal help that we provided the states over the last 20 months, help that the Republicans and Congress have consistently opposed.

I think the Republican position doesn't make much sense, especially since the weakness in public sector employment is a drag on the private sector, as well.

So we need to continue to explore ways that we can help states and local governments maintain workers who provide vital services.

At the same time, we have to keep doing everything we can to accelerate this recovery. Yes, the trend line in private sector job growth is moving in the right direction, but I'm not interested in trends or figures as much as I am interested in the people behind them -- the millions of honest, hardworking Americans swept up in the most devastating recession of our lifetimes.

As I've said before, the only piece of economic news that folks still looking for work want to hear is, "You're hired." And everything we do is dedicated to make that happen.

Last week, for example, I signed into law the Small Business Jobs Act, a small-business bill that does some big things. And I want to mention three of them today.

First, within the 11 days since it took effect, more than 2,000 small-business owners have already received more than a billion dollars worth of new loans, with more to come.

And beginning today, the Small Business Administration is offering larger loans for folks who need them.

Second, it expands the tax cut for all the equipment investments small businesses make this year, something that Brendan is planning to take advantage of here at Maier Block.

And we were just talking about his belief that the more we can accelerate depreciation, the more likely we're going to see businesses like his make these investments. That's going to help small-business owners upgrade their plants and equipment. It'll encourage large corporations to get off the sidelines and start putting their profits back into the economy. And it will accelerate $55 billion in tax cuts for businesses that make job-creating investments over the next year. Third, it creates a new initiative to strengthen state programs that spur private-sector lending to small businesses, a step that will support $15 billion in new small-business loans across the country.

Maryland, for example, will be able to support $250 million in new lending for businesses that are expanding and creating jobs in communities like this one.

Thousands of small-business owners across America had been waiting for months for this bill to pass, for the loans and tax cuts they've badly needed to grow their businesses and hire new employees.

Unfortunately, it was held up all summer by a partisan minority until a few courageous Republican senators put politics aside. Just imagine the difference it could have made for small businesses in our economy had it happened months before.

Putting the American people back to work, expanding opportunity, rebuilding the economic security of the middle class is the moral and national challenge of our time. It is too important to fall prey to pure partisanship or blind ideology.

And this bill's rapid results prove that when we work together we can get a lot done. And that's what the great debate we're having today is all about.

I believe that instead of extending tax loopholes that encourage investments in overseas jobs, we should permanently extend the tax credit that goes to companies for all the research and innovation they do right here in America. I believe that instead of borrowing another $700 billion we don't have to give tax cuts to the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans who don't need them, we should permanently extend the tax cuts for middle-class families.

They're the folks who saw their wages and incomes flatline over the past decade, and they're the ones who deserve a break. And I believe that instead of sitting still we should invest in rebuilding America's roads and railways and runways.

Too many American workers have been out of work for months, even years. And that doesn't do anybody any good when there's so much of America to rebuild. Our infrastructure is falling far behind what the rest of the world is doing, and upgrading it is vital to our economy and our future competitiveness.

This is a project worthy of America's efforts. It's something that engineers, economists, governors and mayors of every political stripe support, and many of them issued a sobering report about this challenge last week. And on Monday I will be meeting with some of them at the White House to discuss how we can put Americans to work doing what they do best: building America.

As I've said many times before, it took us a long time to get out of where we are right now. And the damage left by this recession is so deep that it's going to take a long time to get out. It will take determination, persistence and, most importantly, the will to act -- all elements that the American people have in abundance.

And if we summon that spirit now, if we keep moving forward, I'm absolutely convinced that we will rebuild our economy. We will put our people back to work. And we'll come through these tough days to brighter and better days ahead.

And I want to thank Brendan not only for his hospitality here today, but somebody who's got the courage and the foresight and the skills to create a terrific business that's supporting so many families.

Thank you very much.

HOLMES: Hi, we have been listening to the president there in Bladensburg, Maryland, just outside of Washington D.C., shaking the hands now of workers at a Earnest Mayor Company. This is a masonry block company, manufacturer there. It's been around since 1926, family-owned business that's been there for quite some time.

He said, they are going to be taking advantage of some of those tax cuts in that bill the president signed not too long ago that was going to extend billions and billions of dollars, making it easier for small businesses, it's supposed to, to get loans. He said that's already been in place and some 2,000 businesses have taking advantage of billions of dollars in loans already since he signed that in just at the end of September.

The president, of course, talking about the numbers we saw today just a few hours ago, these numbers out that show that the unemployment rate stayed flat, we're still at 9.6 percent, but also showed that we gained 64,000 private sector jobs. That's good, everybody wants to know that private business is hiring.

At the same time, we still lost 159,000 jobs. So we didn't necessarily have a net gain in this country, but the employment rate stayed right at 9.6 report.

This was important because today's jobs report is the last major report we are going to see before election day. So the numbers that people will go into the voting booth with are the numbers we got today and to have 9.6 on their minds and another loss of jobs on their minds is not good for the president and his party.

Once again, the president went at Republicans talking about them for holding up that billions, the one I just mentioned that gave tax cuts to small businesses. Also saying Republicans painting them once again as begin obstructionists to get the economy moving in the right direction.

We'll of course keep an eye on politics here on CNN and we are going to keep an eye on these numbers today, because we're going get a bit of a response in response to what you just heard the president say, a response to the numbers today. We're going to be checking in with John Boehner, he of course is the minority leader right now in the House. He hopes to become the majority leader if Republicans are able to take back the House of Representatives.

He is going to be on the stump, if you will. He'll be out there on the campaign trail, he'll make a speech today 12:40 Eastern time. Going to be making it from his district, the 8th District in western Pennsylvania -- excuse me, western Ohio. Forgive me, Mr. Boehner. But when he makes that speech, you will hear that live right here. So stick around CNN, this is your spot for politics.

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HOLMES: Just 25 days, that's it. That's all we've got to go until one of the most important midterm election in recent memory. We are going to be hearing from the House minority leader, John Boehner, who, of course, hopes to become the majority leader. He's going to be delivering a major campaign speech. That's expected -- what? -- about 50 minutes from now. We'll take you there live when it happens, happening in his home state, his home district of Ohio.

Right now, Brianna Keilar with "The Best Political Team on Television" joins us now live from the CNN Political Desk with an update.

Brianna, good to see you as always. Hello.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, T.J.

Trending on the Ticker right now has to do with that speech that House Minority Leader John Boehner, who would presumably would be speaker of the House if Republicans managed to take over the House of Representatives, just some information about what we are expecting him to talk about.

In short, he's going to be slamming Democrats on their economic policies and promising that Republicans are going to be more responsive to Americans.

And then take a look at this election story that we're looking at, this has to do with Governor Rick Perry of Texas. He is really interesting, because he's managed to kind of rise above the fray of this anti-incumbent fervor by tapping into it. He's been a politician for 25 years, he's actually been governor since the end of the Clinton years.

And yet here he is still, he's in a reelection bid against Bill White, the former mayor of Houston. But it's looking like maybe some of the anti-incumbent fervor that he's kind of aligned himself with really bucking Washington that that may really come to his aid. So you can learn more about that at CNNPolitics.com.

And then here at CNN we've been profiling a race every day, "CNN 100" we call it, taking a look at the different races that are really going to matter in this midterm election. Today, we're looking at South Dakota, and this is Stephanie Herseth Sandlin who is going for a fourth term. She is up against a state legislator, Kristi Noem. And even though Herseth Sandlin has really bucked democratic leaders on some major issues, she's still really facing an uphill fight. So we're going to break that down for you and just show you how that really is sort of emblematic of everything that you're seeing across the country in this really tough election season for Democrats T.J.

HOLMES: And only 25 days to go.

KEILAR: Twenty-five.

HOLMES: Brianna Keilar, we appreciate you as always. Thanks so much.

And your next political update coming in your way in about an hour. And for the latest political news, you know the spot, CNNPolitics.com.

Now overall the economy lost 95,000 jobs last month, but small business owners are hiring. We'll take a look at who's adding jobs, who's applying for them. That's coming your way in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM, and you may be surprised at who's showing up with resume in hand.

Also, the picture that launched an Internet manhunt. Jeanne Moos brings us the story behind a cigar guy and why he's what's hot on the Internet.

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