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Jobs, Economy Number One Issue for Voters; Help Wanted: 3.2 Million Job Openings; Hungary Continues Battles Red Sludge as Europe Watches, Waits; Countdown to Election Day; Drill Nears Trapped Miners/Boehner Campaigns in Ohio; National Security Adviser Stepping Down

Aired October 08, 2010 - 12:00   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. I'm T.J. Holmes in for my good friend, Tony Harris. Top of the morning to you, top of the hour to you here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Anything can happen here and it often does. Here are some of the things we are keeping an eye on, some of the people who are behind those top stories.

Jobs in America -- it's the number one issue for voters in the upcoming midterm elections. We are looking at who's hiring, who's looking for work, and how today's new jobless numbers affect who you vote for in just 25 days.

Also, trapped a half mile underground -- miners in Chile could be reached by tomorrow. We are live from that mine where families wait and hope.

Let's get you started though on this lead story, and it is the issue number one, has been for quite some time. Jobs, the economy, number one issue for voters heading into the midterm elections, which are just 25 days away. Fifteen million Americans out of work right now.

Just moments ago, President Obama tried to put a positive spin on the new unemployment report that was out just this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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 have 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: We are, of course, covering the developments affecting your job, affecting your vote. Our Christine Romans of our Money team, she's breaking down the unemployment numbers for us. Also, Mark Preston with "The Best Political Team on Television," talking about what this means for the elections.

Stand by for me, Mark. Going to Christine here first.

Christine, 9.6 percent. OK, the unemployment rate did not get any higher, that's some good news. But there's plenty in here to be disappointed about as well.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Look, 9.6 percent unemployment is rotten. It means too many people are being left out of what has been a pretty modest economic recovery here. Too many people are out of work, and that's something that is still a problem.

When you look within the numbers, 9.6 percent unemployment rate, it didn't get worse, but we did lose overall. We lost jobs in the month of September. We lost 95,000 jobs. But as the president pointed out, we gained 64,000 jobs in the private sector.

And many economists have been closely watching, T.J., will the private sector -- not the government, but the private sector start creating some jobs? And for nine months in a row it has.

There's a number in here though that I've really been zeroing in on, because you had a big screen behind you that said15 million out of work. Well, there's 9.5 million who are working part time but want to be working full time.

So 15 million out of work. Another 9.5 million are underemployed. They are not working up to their potential, and that means they're having trouble paying their bills, they're treading water trying to get a better footing so that they can try to grow in this economy.

And that's a number that's an all-time high. So that's something that politically is an interesting group to watch, this underemployed. So, you've got the unemployment rate at 9.6 percent and you've got an underemployment rate that is much, much higher, and that's something that means that people are still very uneasy about the economy -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Unemployed, underemployed, plenty of people out there who are part of this report who just -- they want to work, they're just not being counted because they're just so disheartened about the situation, they're not even looking for work.

But remind us, Christine, what were people expecting? What were those so-called experts and economists expecting in the private sector arena?

ROMANS: They were looking for a little more than this, actually. They were looking for 75,000 private sector jobs. And so it's in the ballpark of what economists had been expecting.

I will point out another area where you're seeing some consistent jobs growth, and that is in health care. You have seen this for more than a year now. You have seen health care continuing to grow jobs.

And how do we take this big report and boil it down to something that if you're looking for a job right now, you can try to figure out what this means for you? What it means, what many career experts tell me, is you have to take the skills you have right now and figure out if there's a way to apply those skills to health care, some way to use your accounting or your information technology, or whatever your other skills are into the health care that should be growing in the neighborhood where you live, because this is somewhere where we're consistently adding jobs.

HOLMES: All right.

Christine Romans for us in New York.

Christine, we appreciate you, as always.

ROMANS: Sure.

HOLMES: I want to turn to the political side. Our Mark Preston standing by for me.

Mark, I've been saying all morning, this is the last big report. These are the numbers people are going to walk into the voting booth with on their minds. That ain't good.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SR. POLITICAL EDITOR: Yes, exactly. You know, and Christine said too many people are out of work. What I'll say is too many voters are out of work and too many people know people who are out of work, and that is particularly devastating to Democrats, especially in states that have an unemployment rate that's over 10 percent, T.J.

We're talking about a national average at 9.6 percent, but some states such as Nevada, well over 10 percent. So candidates such as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has to really pay the price on that, or at least Republicans hope that he pays the price on that.

Let me tell you, in the last 24 hours, two Senate candidates have actually run ads just on jobs in the stimulus. We've already seen ads run so far on this. We've seen it out in Missouri just in the last 24 hours. Roy Blunt has an ad up. And up in Ohio, Rob Portman has an ad up.

Now, talking to Democratic and Republican strategists over the last 10 or 15 minutes, Republicans tell me expect to see more commercials. And what should we expect to hear from Democrats?

We are expecting to hear, T.J., from Democrats that, look, they're going to go up and talk to these voters and say are we happy with this? No. Is it fast enough? No. But it's Republicans that put us in this position -- T.J.

HOLMES: Yes. We will see if that works. Mark Preston, we appreciate you.

And speaking of the Republican message as well, we heard from the president just a moment ago on jobs. This hour we're going to be hearing from the top Republican, the House minority leader who hopes to be the House majority leader after Election Day. He's going to be talking about jobs, the economy during a campaign speech. That is set for 12:40 Eastern Time, about 35 minutes from now. We will take you there to live to his home district in western Ohio when that happens.

Of course we've got so many Americans out of work right now, it feels like nobody is hiring. But that's not necessarily the case, as CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow found out first hand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, we know that this economy is still reeling from job losses, but here in New York City and in small towns across the country, there are small businesses that are actually hiring. We're starting to see more "Help Wanted" signs outside the businesses. So we went in to see what they're looking for, who they're hiring, and what else they're dealing with right now.

When did you post that hiring sign outside?

JAMES ANGELO, CANINE COUNTRY CLUB: We've had it up and down for a couple of months. We are actually taking our time hiring people because we can. We have a huge stack of resume that we didn't have four months ago.

Number two, the type of person coming in are more full-time professions like a realtor, because that market has fallen off, bankers that were laid off.

HARLOW: What do you think small businesses need the most right now?

ANGELO: Financial support. But they have to be smart about it too. I mean, we can't depend on the government to fix all of our problems.

HARLOW: From your perspective as a small business owner, is the economy better now than it was a year ago?

AVI LEVY, AROMA ESPRESSO BAR: I can't say, to be honest with you. I don't feel that. I know there are some numbers out there, but we don't see it.

HARLOW: So why are you hiring? You just need enough staff?

LEVY: We don't have enough.

HARLOW: What would you tell the administration?

LEVY: I need helps through banks. I don't need the money from the government, but I need a way to get loans.

HARLOW: So you're actually hiring right now, even given the state of the economy.

ANDRIETTE FLEMINGS, ONLY HEARTS: Yes, we are. We are always looking for someone with good customer service skills. HARLOW: Has the economy turned the corner that it makes you more comfortable to hire as a small business?

FLEMINGS: I think so, yes. It seems like business has picked up. It has picked up in the past year. We're having a good year.

HARLOW: What kind of people are applying for jobs here right now, Roslyn?

ROSLYN RIVER, ROSLYN BOUTIQUE: Very, very sophisticated people. You know, a lot of people like doctors, teachers. I mean, I'm getting --

HARLOW: Doctors are applying to work here?

RIVER: Yes. Pre-med, they just left school. They want to work for a year or two and then go back to school.

HARLOW: Why are you hiring given the state of the economy right now? Are you confident that things are getting better?

RIVER: Things are getting better, and then you have to make them better. You have to be in the moment, be in today, and be hopeful for tomorrow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: All right. Let me bring in Poppy Harlow now, with me in New York.

Poppy, hello. We see they "Help Wanted" signs, you can find them in stores. But nationwide just how many jobs openings are we talking about that are out there?

HARLOW: You know, it certainly doesn't feel like it from the abysmal jobs report this morning, but the Labor Department says, look, there's 3.2 million officially open jobs out there. If you're looking for one, no doubt it's hard. That's because the competition is incredibly steep.

The latest numbers showed us that 4.6 applications go towards every single open position in this country. For other jobs that people want even more, the competition is much steeper. So, there are millions out there, but again, Americans still suffering -- 95,000 job losses last month alone, 83,000 of those from government, state and local jobs as well, which is a record high for that reading -- T.J.

HOLMES: Yes. And Poppy, is there anything to this train of thought some might have that with the unemployment benefits being extended, that sometimes people can depend on those and maybe they aren't as motivated as they should be to get out and get jobs? Any credibility to that train of thought?

HARLOW: I won't be popular at all for saying yes, but that's exactly right. I mean, I was out at a manufacturing company in New Jersey a few weeks ago. The guy said, "I've been trying to hire for six months. I can't get anyone on board, because they come and they have me sign their unemployment paper, and I call them for a second interview and they say, 'Well, I'm going to wait until my unemployment benefits run out.'"

That is certainly not the case for most people. That small business owner told me that, and a few of the folks you saw in that piece told me they have had the same issue as well, because if they're paying minimum wage, folks are making about the same, not much less, are getting those unemployment checks.

So, that's happening. I wouldn't say that it is the trend, but it's happening. And it's something that plays into that whole political debate of do you extend these benefits once again -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right.

Our Poppy Harlow.

Poppy, we appreciate you, as always. Thanks so much.

HARLOW: You got it.

HOLMES: And also, info we were just getting in a short time ago. Bank of America halting foreclosure sales in all 50 states. The bank is widening its investigation of its foreclosure proceedings.

Lenders are under intense scrutinize after claims surfaced they approved foreclosures without properly reviewing loan documents. A spokesman says Bank of America's review so far shows its past foreclosures were executed properly.

Well, coming up, she told us she was done with the national media, but Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell, she has a change of heart and talks to CNN.

But first, our "Random Moment." That's coming your way in 90 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, voters, you, are going to decide control of Congress in 25 days. A critical midterm election coming up.

Republicans hope to swipe a Delaware Senate seat from Democrats. The Tea Party-backed candidate Christine O'Donnell, you've been hearing a lot about her with the whole witchcraft thing and whatnot. Well, she had pledged no more interviews she was going to do with the national media, but nobody can resist CNN's Jim Acosta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Is Sarah Palin qualified to be president?

CHRISTINE O'DONNELL, (R) DELAWARE SENATE CANDIDATE: Is she running for president? ACOSTA: I don't know. You tell me.

O'DONNELL: Well, again, hypotheticals.

ACOSTA: I've heard you talk on the phone with her. Does she advise your campaign?

O'DONNELL: She does not advise our campaign.

ACOSTA: Does she give you advice?

O'DONNELL: She gives me, "You go girl" advice, don't listen to them.

ACOSTA: Does she rally tell you to speak through FOX News?

O'DONNELL: Well, she didn't tell me personally, but I heard her say something like that on "O'Reilly." You know, if anyone knows anything about the politics of personal destruction, it's women candidates, women politicians like Sarah Palin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Yes, he had quite an extensive interview with the candidate there, and her candidacy was part of the talk last night on CNN's new primetime program, "PARKER/SPITZER."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES TRAUB, CONTRIBUTOR, "NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE": Why are we so interested in her? We have to remember, she beat Michael Castle. Now, the entire professional Republican Party -- not the whole party, but the professional party was banking on this guy as this is how we're going to get to a majority Republican Senate. Nobody thought this was going to happen.

So, she became a poster child, and I think rightly so, whether you like her or not, for the immense transformation inside the Republican Party.

RALPH REED, CHAIRMAN, FAITH AND FREEDOM COALITION: I think the left and the media are making a huge mistake strategically, and I think Christine O'Donnell is the greatest decoy in American politics.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.

REED: While they're firing all their artillery at her, Sharron Angle is now beating Harry Reid not in one, but in two polls this week. Nikki Haley is going to be the governor of South Carolina. Susana Martinez is now up in New Mexico by eight.

These mama grizzlies, these women candidates who are attractive and tough and smart and able are going to win from coast to coast, and Christine O'Donnell may surprise some people and win, too.

TRAUB: I don't deny that part. I think that may be so. I don't know.

KATHLEEN PARKER, CO-HOST, "PARKER/SPITZER": There's no question, though, that when people gang up on an individual like Christine O'Donnell, it has the opposite effect. I mean, there's a lot of sympathy for her.

TRAUB: But it hasn't so far. The last poll showed her doing quite badly behind Coons, the Democratic nominee.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right, Democratic nominee.

TRAUB: So, she may be a casualty, but I think Ralph may well be right about the trend that she is a representative of.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And that's "PARKER/SPITZER." You can check them out at their new slot, our new primetime show for political talk, 8:00 Eastern, weeknights, right here on CNN.

We're going to turn next to that tragedy in Hungary that's playing out right now. Six people confirmed dead after toxic sludge burst out of a dam. Emergency crews are doing all they can to keep it from turning the Danube River into a disaster zone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We're going to turn to Hungary now, where there's a frantic effort to contain an environmental disaster that has so far killed six people. Toxic sludge is leaking, and it's made it to the Danube River now. Authorities say right now a test shows the waterway is still safe. Danube, Europe's second biggest river.

Chad Myers here with us first.

I know you're going to talk about the Danube, but what is sludge exactly? What is toxic sludge?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, this is a byproduct of making aluminum from bauxite. It is -- mostly, the red stuff is iron oxide, the same thing you would get in Sedona which makes the red rocks. It's just iron, right? It's not rust, but it's the idea.

The problem is, yes, this is going to get into the food chain. The problem is that there's other things in this other than the red stuff you see.

The red makes about 40 percent to 45 percent of what you see there. There are other things, including aluminum oxide, silicon oxide, and that will eventually dry up and turn into silica.

Well, being the homeowner that I am and the do-it-yourself guy, silica is something that you would get in the mix that you would make thin-set and grout in your home. If you inhale silica, you will get silicosis. It will get into your lungs and it will cause cancer. So, when you're mixing your thin-set and you're mixing your grout, when you see this cloud of dust coming out as you pour it in before you get your water and your mixer in there, you do not want to breathe that stuff, because that silica will get in your lungs and it will not come out.

HOLMES: And that's in the sludge now?

MYERS: And it's in the sludge. And when it's wet, it's OK. But it's not going to be wet forever. It is going to get on the roadways, it is going to dry out, people are going to drive over it, and this is going to be a cloud all over the place.

HOLMES: OK. It doesn't sound like that's what -- excuse me, in the stuff I've been reading, at least, that doesn't seem like the biggest concern right now. Nobody's gotten that far down the road.

MYERS: Because cancer takes time. We're not immediately worried about cancer yet, but it's going to happen somewhere.

I'm not saying everybody, but you get that idea. There will be people that will be exposed to this the same way people were exposed to the dust from the 9/11 tragedy.

HOLMES: What about the river right now?

MYERS: The river is full of this heavy metal stuff killing the fish. So now most of the rivers are being used for irrigation -- can't do that -- for drinking water -- can't do that. Even the wells are going to get this in it and you're not -- as this gets down into the ground water, and the fish are swimming in it. The animals are drinking it.

And it will be toxic all the way down until the rain gets enough to thin it out, because rain is -- and it's also alkaline, which means not acidic, the opposite of vinegar. And so this alkaline will also peel your skin. If you ingest it, it will kill you. It will also get in your lungs and it will kill you.

And although this was only a 64-acre site, only -- this was a tenth of a square mile -- so much sludge came out of there. It's still getting right down into the rivers, and they have a mess.

HOLMES: Well, we appreciate that breakdown. It goes well beyond just showing the pictures and saying there's sludge.

MYERS: Right.

HOLMES: It's a lot more to this, could have repercussions down the road. Chad, we appreciate it.

MYERS: Well, if that stuff stayed in the pond, there was no threat. But now it's out of the pond. It's a mess.

HOLMES: They've got a problem.

Chad, we appreciate you, buddy. Thank you so much.

MYERS: You're welcome. All right.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, a judge in Tupelo, Mississippi, sent a lawyer to jail for several hours on Wednesday. Why? The lawyer refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

Judge Talmadge Littlejohn, he said the criminal contempt charges could be dropped if Danny Lampley, the attorney, returned to court and recited the pledge. Lampley was eventually released so he could represent another client. The lawyer, though, he has been involved in our free speech cases in the past, including suing a school district to stop kids from praying over a school intercom, also a case in which he represented a Ku Klux Klan leader who was prevented from holding a rally.

Let me bring in our senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, on the line now.

Let's start with this, Jeffrey -- can a judge make someone in court recite the Pledge of Allegiance in his courtroom?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: T.J., you know, I sometimes worry that when I answer questions, I'm always like, on the one hand, on the other hand. This is one where there's a clear answer.

HOLMES: Yes?

TOOBIN: What the judge did here was outrageous. It was wrong. It was unconstitutional and a disgrace to the bench. So I think that's a pretty categorical answer.

HOLMES: That is. So how is the judge able to get away with this? Is it just a matter until someone challenges him? Because apparently he does this every day in his courtroom.

TOOBIN: Well, he requires the Pledge of Allegiance every day in his courtroom. I don't think he sends people to prison every day in his courtroom, fortunately.

But, you know, one of the ironies of this situation is that one of the most famous Supreme Court cases in history from 1943, a case out of West Virginia, involves almost this exact circumstance, except it was a school where Jehovah's Witnesses kids refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance. And they were expelled from school.

And the Supreme Court said this is the very definition of what we protect in the First Amendment. You are never required by the United States government to express a view that you don't hold.

And that applies to schoolchildren in a classroom, and it certain applies to a lawyer in a courtroom who is simply trying to do his job for his clients. And he wasn't being disruptive. He wasn't interfering with the proceedings. He was simply refusing to state the Pledge of Allegiance, which he was entirely entitled to do.

HOLMES: OK. I want to make sure I have it right as well. Is the judge really in violation of any law by requiring it in his courtroom, or is the violation for punishing someone who wouldn't go along with it in his courtroom?

TOOBIN: Well, that's a good question, T.J. I think, certainly, he is outside of his authority in putting someone in prison. I think that's an easy question.

I think he's also wrong in establishing this procedure. I've been in courtrooms my whole professional life. I've never heard a judge asking for people to say the Pledge of Allegiance. I think it's a very bizarre and unusual practice.

But I think if it were a voluntary practice, that would probably be permissible. But the fact that it was compulsory, and the fact that he imposed this really extreme sanction, that is completely outrageous and unlawful.

HOLMES: All right. Well, Jeffrey, we appreciate you. Like you said, sometimes you feel like, well, on this hand/on that hand. Well, you were very clear on this one today.

TOOBIN: Not today.

HOLMES: Jeffrey, good to talk to you, as always. Appreciate you hopping on the phone from Minnesota for us today.

You take care, buddy. Talk to you soon.

Well, 64 days trapped almost a half mile underground. A breakthrough seems imminent now for the miners in Chile.

We've got a live update on the rescue operation. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We are watching developments, as they develop minute by minute in Chile. A drill could break through to the 33 trapped miners just at any moment at this point now. The men have been stranded deep underground for some 64 days.

Our Karl Penhaul is following all the developments. He's there live for us. Karl, I understand there's a press conference going on right now. I know you're not able to be with that. You're here with us. So just give us the very latest that maybe coming out of that about just how close they are to breaking through.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you're right, T.J. The press conference is just going on over there about 50 yards from where we are. But one of my colleagues has just run through with the latest information. And that is that the plan B, the drill that is closest to the miners, is now just 150 feet away. And what the mines minister, Lawrence Goldborn (ph), has told us is that that means breakthrough into the tunnel where these 33 miners have been trapped could come later today or tomorrow.

But of course, that's only the beginning of the end. That's where, really, the final countdown begins because 24 hours after breakthrough, the engineers will decide whether they need to encase the whole rescue shaft with steel tubing to prevent cave-ins and rock falls or whether they just can go into an intermediate plan to encase just the first 100 yards. If they just go with encasing 100 yards of the rescue shaft, then that means that the miners could come out in the following two to three days. If they have to encase the whole lot, then that could mean that the miners will take whole week before they're hoisted to the surface.

But as the technicalities are ironed out, really, the anxiety for family members is increasing. And I want you to listen to a couple of comments, one from Lila Ramirez. She's the wife of the oldest miner down there. The second sound we're going to hear from is Jessica Yanez, and her partner, who is trapped down in the mine, has proposed marriage to her. But this is what they have to say about the waiting game.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LILA RAMIREZ, WIFE OF TRAPPED MINER MARIO GOMEZ (through translator): Waiting's 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.

JESSICA YANEZ, WIFE OF TRAPPED MINER ESTEBAN ROJAS (through translator): The first thing I will tell Esteban is that I love him and that he must never go back down into the mine, she says. There are many ways to earn a living without killing yourself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL: Now, of course, on the surface, as you can hear from those family members, it's really been a living nightmare for them. But make no doubt about it. For the 33 miners half a mile underground, every day and every minute has literally been a life-and- death struggle, T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Karl, we appreciate you. One thing, if you can quickly, when they break through -- just a reminder to our viewers here, just because they break through doesn't mean these guys are going to be just walking out of there or climbing out. It's going to take quite some time to pluck them out one by one.

How long of a journey do they have from where they are to get to the surface?

PENHAUL: Exactly. Breakthrough signifies the final countdown. The work that will have to be carried out encasing or not the rescue shaft, once that's encasing is in place, a process that could take 2 to 10 days, then the rescue capsule, a Phoenix capsule, will be put down half a mile underground. Once that capsule is underground and once the miner is on board, that journey up to the surface is expected to take 15 minutes. And I bet that is going to be the ride of their lives, T.J.

HOLMES: That is certainly one way to put it, the ride of their lives. Karl, we appreciate you. We're going to continue to check in with you throughout the day and throughout the weekend, as well, with major developments on this story. Thank you so much, Karl.

Well, coming up, a man wants African-American toss clean up their language.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After what I seen and looked at it, it's not a good thing to say.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People talked about it and I learned about it, but I never thought about it how he made me think about it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Talk about it, think about it. What is it? It is the "N" word. And one man says it's a word of weakness.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: And as promised, we want to take you to the House minority leader, John Boehner, making a campaign speech in his home district in Ohio.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), MINORITY LEADER: And I'm a small businessman at heart and always will be. Running a small business here in Westchester was one of the proudest times of my life. And it gave me a perspective on our country that I've carried with me throughout my time of public service. Family-owned operations like my dad's bar, like the business that I ran, or here with Mark's business -- that's what powers the American economy. They employ a quarter of the workers in our country and created the majority of new jobs over the last decade.

Small businesses like these are essential to the American dream. And right now, that dream is under siege. I ran for Congress back in 1990 because of what I saw happening to small businesses in America. I got tired of watching Washington choke the goose that was laying the golden egg. The federal government was getting too big, too intrusive and too expensive. And politicians who had no understanding of the private sector talked about the importance of creating jobs, and then forced policies on American small businesses that made their job of creating jobs even harder.

Elected officials with no understanding of how our economy works spent money with reckless abandon, running up the deficit and telling us we could pay for it all by raising your taxes. It was clear they believed the engine of prosperity in America was government itself.

The thinking went like this. If you want more jobs, then spend more money, collect more taxes, redistribute those taxes from the federal level and make government bigger. Now, if you've been paying any attention at all to the Obama administration, it's thinking like this that may sound familiar because it certainly isn't new. In fact, there's nothing new about it, and anyone who's ever created a private sector job in America can tell you that it's just dead wrong.

The truth of the matter is this. Our economy is built on freedom, and you don't get to prosperity by taking freedom away from the people who create jobs. You achieve prosperity by getting government out of their way.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

BOEHNER: The greatest threat to job creation in our country is the flawed idea that we can tax, spend and borrow our way to prosperity. The halls of power in government right now are filled with people stubbornly devoted to the tired old idea that the government can create prosperity by spending and borrowing. And for the past four years, they've been running Congress. For the past 20 months, they've controlled our entire government, from the White House to Capitol Hill.

Five hundred miles away from here in Washington, a spending binge is going on that threatens our prosperity, and small businesses, the engine of job creation in America, are gripped by uncertainly. Under President Obama and Speaker Pelosi, Washington has been throwing everything at them but the kitchen sink. First it was the stimulus, that shipped jobs overseas to China instead of creating jobs here at home. A few months later, (INAUDIBLE) came the threat of a new national energy tax that they called cap-and-trade. Then it was "Obama care" with its unconstitutional mandates, job-killing tax hikes and paperwork requirements.

And now President Obama and his team are supporting a tax hike that the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation says will raise taxes on 50 percent of all small business income. That means hundreds of thousands of private sector companies face the prospect of a job- killing tax hike on January the 1st. This company right here could be one of them.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is not what Americans asked for when they sent then Senator Obama to be our president in the Oval Office. And the pink slips shouldn't be going to workers here in Ohio, they should be going to the members of President Obama's economic team.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

HOLMES: Well, been hearing there an interesting juxtaposition to hear the House minority leader, Republican John Boehner, speak now, versus hearing the president of the United States speak just a short time ago live, as well, both men at small businesses in the places they were, the president in Maryland, the minority leader there in Ohio, the president standing at a business he said was helped by his policies, Boehner saying he's standing at a business that could be hurt without action by Congress.

We will continue to monitor the remarks there by the minority leader. It looked like he's looking a little under the weather there in the voice and also wiping his nose there. But we're continuing to monitor what's happening there.

A quick break here on CNN, always your "Place for Politics." We'll be right back.

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HOLMES: Just 25 days to go until the midterm elections, latest poll numbers suggests Republicans may have a slight edge over Democrats.

John King from "The Best Political Team on Television" joins us from the CNN Political Desk. John, what are you going to do, only 27 days left? What are you going to do in 27 days? You're going to be bored.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Then, we'll have to worry about government, T.J., because that's what happens. We have these elections, and then out of that, the American people make a choice, and hopefully, we'll have a clear essence of what they want from their government after that election. But, it's an interesting point. For you, T.J., and just for you, the sneak preview here of some items that aren't on the Ticker yet but will be in just a few minutes.

Just before the break, you were showing that live of that with John Boehner, the Republican leader in the house. He hopes to be the next speaker of the House. The Republicans hope to take the gavel away from Nancy Pelosi. Well, here are some new CNN polling numbers that suggests if the election were held today, he might just get that gavel. Look at this, likely choice for Congress among likely voters. Republicans 52 percent, Democrats 45 percent.

Now, that's a national number, but if that holds up on Election Day, Republicans were likely to pick up the 39 seats they need in the House to make John Boehner. That is one snapshot of what right now is a pro-Republican move in the electorate. Here's another way to look at it, T.J. We also asked in this poll who's the better president, George W. Bush or Barack Obama? And this is stunning if you look at the change over time.

Right now, the American people are essentially split. 47 percent picked Barack Obama, 45 percent picked George W. Bush. We asked that same question a year ago, and it was overwhelmingly in Obama's favor, 57 percent to 34 percent. So, that gives you a good snapshot there of the anti-Obama, anti-Democratic sentiment in the country right now.

One thing though, it's not all bad news for Democrats today. We do know, T.J., I'm going to ask Floyd to zoom in on the Ticker here, the Republican National Committee fell short of the Democrats this past month in the fund-raising battle. The Republicans raised $10.3 million in September. The Democrats had already reported they raised more than $16 million. So, the Democrats is getting a lot of money into the national committee right now.

Part of that is they're being aggressive raising money, and the president is helping them. Part of it is, though, T.J., a lot Republican money not coming into the national party instead going to all these third-party groups. And you've seen the big controversy about all that spending late in the campaign. Just three weeks plus a few days to go, T.J. A lot of excitement. Read the Ticker if you want to know more.

HOLMES: I know you got to countdown on your clock. An interesting poll there. We appreciate you bringing that to us, but to see that people thing about George W. Bush in his presidency versus Barack Obama. John, appreciate you as always. We'll see you tonight at 7:00 as always, right?

KING: Take care, my friend. I'll be there right tonight at 7:00. A lot to cover.

HOLMES: All right. Thanks so much, buddy.

Your next CNN political update coming up in one hour with a latest political news. You know the spot, CNNPolitics.com.

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HOLMES: A picture that was snapped some six days ago at the Ryder Cup has sparked a manhunt in cyberspace for a cigar-smoking internet star. Our Jeanne Moos brings us what's hot on the net.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): All he wanted was to watch golf, but now, he's a wanted man who even has an alias.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He called quite simply cigar guy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who is cigar guy?

MOOS: Answer that, and win 1,000. The cigar guy saw this started with this amazing golf photo. Tiger Woods flubbed a swing at the Ryder Cup, and the ball was captured midair headed strayed for a photographer's camera.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's taking a bit of a knock here, but it's absolutely perfect.

MOOS: For a brief moment, the shock was the story, but then --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one care. Almost immediately, they noticed cigar guy over on the side, his eyes all boggy. MOOS: And in the blink of an eye, cigar guy's image was being photoshopped into countless other pictures, replacing everyone from Muhammad Ali to Adam as in Adam and Eve, from Marilyn Monroe to Martin Luther King, to the cast of "Mad Men."

JON LAL, FOUNDER, BEFRUGAL.COM Bad asset. We love him.

MOOS (on-camera): The prevailing theory is that cigar guy was dressed up to look like a famous cigar-smoking Spanish golfer.

MOOS (voice-over): A flamboyant, Miguel Jimenez is known for chomping on a cigar even as he plays as well as his unruly hair. And though it may look like cigar guy is wearing a turban, this is actually a wig. And now, there's a bounty on his head. A $1,000 reward is being offered by befrugalblog for information about cigar man's identity. Befrugal wants him as their spokesman.

LAL: I can't just help, he is the cheapest man on the planet. Did you see his pants? Those are mighty cheap pants.

MOOS: Cigar man has even landed on the moon in the famous golf ball shot. He's been photoshopped onto everybody's head and even the ball. The web side, Deadspin, got a load of photographs from a California high school teacher who made it an assignment.

BARRY PETCHESKY, DEADSPIN.COM: They spent their entire class, the kids just creating photoshops.

MOOS: The kids dropped cigar man into photos ranging from Hitler to a streaker. And since a cigar figure so prominently in the Monica Lewinsky affair, no wonder, he ends up there. But who is cigar guy? The most common guess is it's Borat. It's Cheech from Cheech & Chong. No, it's a cigar.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, cigar man is not expected to show up at the White House here shortly.

We're expecting to see the president, however. They'll be making an announcement from the Rose Guard. We're expecting to hear the president announced that, in fact, his national security adviser, General James Jones, is going to be stepping down. Senior officials are telling our Ed Henry that at the White House.

We also expect to hear who that replacement is going to be. We're told deputy national security adviser, Tom Donilon. That is what we're told. We're expecting these comments. We're told at the top of the hour about four minutes till. We'll take a quick break here, but certainly bring you back when that happens live.

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