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Final Stretch to the Midterms; Banking on Charlotte; Foreclosing on God's House

Aired October 18, 2010 - 13:59   ET

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

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's a new hour and we have a new "Rundown" for you.

Imagine this. Osama bin Laden living in a house in relative comfort with another big-time terrorist as his neighbor. That might be true.

Plus, if your home is foreclosed, you might turn to prayer. But what if your church is getting foreclosed on too? It is happening more and more. We're going to show you how churches are trying to overcome a true test of faith.

And speaking of foreclosure, the CNN Election Express is in a community that's been especially hard hit by it. It happens to be the nation's second biggest banking center. We're going to hit the streets there.

Well, if politics were a horse race, we'd right now be in the final stretch. Fifteen days to go until the state/local elections that are going to really rewrite the national landscape.

The Tea Party Express is starting its fourth national road trip as we speak. We are going to get to that in a minute, but first let me show you how this all breaks down.

In the Senate, 37 of 100 seats are up for grabs. If Republicans pick up just 10, then they will get the majority in the Senate. Now, in the House, all 435 seats are up for grabs, and Republicans need to flip just 39 of those to gain control. Polls suggest they're probably going to do that.

Now, I mentioned 15 days, but the truth is, several states have started early voting already, and several more of the ones in blue start today. Also starting today, the Tea Party Express IV. It's called "Liberty at the Ballot Box" tour, I guess. That's the name of the cross-country zigzagging bus tour that kicks off this hour in Reno, Nevada, and ends on election eve in Concord, New Hampshire. The route, of course, anything but random.

In Nevada, the Tea Partiers hope to topple the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, himself. He is in the fight of his life with Sharron Angle.

In Kentucky, the Tea Party is backing Rand Paul against the Democrat, Jack Conway. And Delaware is home to Tea Party favorite Christine O'Donnell, who is fighting Democrat Chris Coons to take Joe Biden's old Senate seat.

Need I add "The Best Political Team on Television" is on the job? CNN's Shannon Travis is with the Tea Party bus tour in Reno. Our senior political analyst, Gloria Borger -- hi, Gloria. We're going to get to you in a second -- is in D.C.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: How you doing?

GRIFFIN: And the Election Express with T.J. Holmes. We've been talking to him all day today. He is in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the banking capitals of this country.

But we're going to start with Shannon, who is at the big event today.

You're on the phone with us, Shannon, from Reno, Nevada, where any second or maybe right now we're expecting Sarah Palin to kick off this tour.

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. No, you've got that right. Any second now, any moment, we're expecting for Sarah Palin to take the stage and essentially whip up this crowd.

We're standing in the back of the bus right now. She just got ushered in onto the bus. Organizers say that we're moments away from her actually speaking.

Tight security around her, but definitely lots of supporters, lots of fans outside. A lot of people saying her name.

A few people that we observed, some people in wheelchairs clamored around the bus trying to get a word in with her. They whisked her onto the bus. It's unclear if she'll actually stop and take some questions. We certainly have some questions for the former Alaska governor.

But she moments away from taking to the stage. This the person that a lot of people here at this rally came to see.

She, arguably, like no other Republican politician, can fire up the crowd and spread the Tea Party message. And one of them essentially in Nevada, as you just mentioned, is fire Harry Reid.

They want to get the most powerful Democrat in the Senate out of the Senate and put in Sharron Angle. So that's what Sarah Palin is here for. She lends her name. She lends considerable political star power to this movement. So that's why she's here and lot of her supporters as well.

GRIFFIN: All right, Shannon. Thanks a lot.

We'll stand by and maybe we'll get a picture of her as she comes up.

We want to move on now to Gloria Borger, who is in D.C.

Hi Gloria. How you doing?

BORGER: Good.

GRIFFIN: I want to check on this final stretch. The Democrats seem like they're just doing about anything to try to drum up their base. But am I just making that up? Doesn't this happen every election in the final stretch?

BORGER: No.

GRIFFIN: No?

BORGER: Yes, it does, particularly in midterm elections that -- where you don't have a presidential candidate on the ballot. It's all about turnout.

We've seen that in the primaries. And now you're going to see it in this election, because in general elections you may get 55 percent, 60 percent turnout like you did when Barack Obama was running. In midterms it's much lower. You've got to energize the base.

Right now, that's the big Democratic problem. You know, Republican voters, those Tea Partiers we just saw, even Independent voters who are angry at the administration, they're dying to get to the polls. Democrats, not so much.

And what Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, who has been with him, they're now trying to tell voters there's a lot at stake in this election. Barack Obama may not be on the ballot, but this is really important to Barack Obama, and they're trying to get their voters out there by telling them that message. Whether it sticks or not, we'll just have to wait and see.

GRIFFIN: Gloria, if the Republicans do what they say they're going to do, and probably take control of the House, potentially take control of the Senate, do the Democrats who support Barack Obama then say, hey, wait a minute, Mr. President, we've got a different mandate from the voters here, we may need to slow down on some of your agenda? In other words, do the Democrats come over to the Republican table and start negotiating more?

BORGER: Well, it's going to be interesting because it depends on what the Republican table looks like, because if the Democrats do lose the House, for example, you're going to have a lot of Tea Party candidates, anti-big government candidates in there, and they're not going to want to vote for any spending bill. Some of them may oppose spending for the war in Afghanistan.

So the Republicans have to figure out what they can agree on, on their side of the aisle. For example, on the deficit, are they willing to raise taxes to take care of the deficit? Probably not.

And then the administration is going to have to figure that out, and the Democrats are going to have to figure that out. I think, unfortunately, it's a prescription for gridlock more than anything else. GRIFFIN: And perhaps that's what some people want. I'm being totally honest with you.

BORGER: Exactly. No, I totally agree.

Some people say the less they do, the better, we have got to fix what they do. Some of them are going to want to say, OK, let's repeal health care reform. If we can't do that because the president will veto that, maybe they'll chip away at it piece by piece by refusing to fund it.

So I think you're going to see under any circumstances, no matter who wins, a bit of a retrenchment by the Obama administration, and certainly trying to figure out where Republicans are so they can agree on something. Because after all, Drew, if they win control of the House, they actually have to prove that they can govern, which is a burden they've not had the last couple of years.

GRIFFIN: Yes. Gloria, real quick, and why I got you, because these are rare moments I get to talk to you, but --

BORGER: It's fun.

GRIFFIN: -- Republicans take control, is it a slam-dunk that John Boehner is going to be Speaker, or is there any back channels going on or internal fight we might see?

(LAUGHTER)

BORGER: Well, I'll tell you what, I think right now it looks like Boehner will be Speaker. But he's going to be on a really short leash.

And there's lots of young turks who would like his job. Some new members are going to be watching him really closely because, after all, he's been a pretty establishment Republican, and this is a real anti-establishment election. So he's going to have to be responsive, shall we say.

GRIFFIN: All right, Gloria. Thanks a lot. Always great to talk to you.

BORGER: Sure.

GRIFFIN: Another political bus touring the country, it is our bus, the CNN Election Express. And today it's in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Hey, you think they've got a headliner out in Reno? We've got T.J. Holmes taking stock of a sour economy there, an equally sour electorate. He's going to explain it all when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: It's Monday. It's two weeks and one day before Americans elect a new Congress. The candidates are on the move, so are we.

The CNN Election Express, T.J. Holmes, is in Charlotte, North Carolina, the second biggest banking center in the U.S., which you could brag about just a few years ago, but today that means bad times, I guess.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. When people hear that -- and sometimes during election season people want to direct some of their venom towards the banking system and Wall Street. Oftentimes, they don't think to direct it towards downtown Charlotte necessarily.

GRIFFIN: Right.

HOLMES: And I don't think the mayor of Charlotte would like that. He's here with me though.

MAYOR ANTHONY FOXX (D), CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA: Good to see you, T.J.

HOLMES: Mayor Foxx here with me.

HOLMES: Has it been in this economic downturn, and certainly in the campaign season now, being known as "The Bank Town," can that be a gift and a curse?

FOXX: Well, I tell people that Wall Street and Main Street are tied together here in Charlotte. We definitely have a big footprint in that industry, but it's not been a burden on us. We've had hits, we've had unemployment in that sector. But we're seeing small companies come in and take up some of that talent and new companies starting in the area of financial services.

So we feel good about where we are.

HOLMES: Sometimes is it just not the numbers but sometimes the relationship? Because people direct some of their venom, quite frankly, toward banks.

You are a bank town. You are closely tied to banks. Can it sometimes feel like, well, we know those guys, but we don't know them that well?

FOXX: Well, you know, Charlotte has grown up around the financial services sector, but it's very different here than it is on Wall Street in the sense that the banks have been partners in our community. You look at how this community has grown up, it has been a very, very strong partnership between not only banks, but also our energy company like Duke Energy and our health care systems, and many of the sectors that are coming along. We feel very good about our economy.

HOLMES: How can you move past being known as a banking town? Do you want to?

FOXX: Well, we're doing it. We're strengthening and diversifying our economy. We're moving to become an energy cluster for the country. We've got Duke Energy, that's leading the way in trying to change how energy is delivered across the country.

We just announced that we're going to reduce the carbon footprint of all our of our downtown buildings, about 15 million square feet, by 2016. But we're going to keep working.

HOLMES: Where are those jobs coming back? You said some of banking jobs that were lost have come back here, but where else? I know you're trying to diversify, and I know that takes some time. But right now, you've got a quarter, by some estimates I saw, of the metropolitan area here -- a quarter of it is depending on the finance industry.

FOXX: Well, we're seeing some job creation in areas like -- like I said, Duke Energy has brought a whole supply chain of its companies with it. Siemens has just expanded a facility bringing 800 jobs into the area. We've had 4,000 announced over the last several years. And we're seeing smaller companies, CIT Systems, Zenta (ph) and others that provide back-office systems for financial services companies. They're bringing back their jobs here to create some catalyst for the jobs that have been lost.

HOLMES: You're finding your electorate directing some of their anger towards Washington, D.C., as well during this midterm season. I found, yesterday at least, a lot of people seemed to say, you know what? We're going to vote. We're paying attention, but we're going to take care of ourselves at the same time.

FOXX: Yes. I think around here what people are really interested in is, how are we going to get out of the ditch as a country? How are we really going to try to get ourselves out of this?

And it's not just about the financial services sector, it's also about, how are we going to reduce dependence on foreign oil? How are we going to build infrastructure for the 21st century? How are we going to treat people well when they're sick and other things like that?

And we feel like this community is going to be very balanced in the way we take a look at things. This state carried Obama in 2008, and we have got some elections in 2010 that are going to matter.

HOLMES: You are the youngest mayor ever of Charlotte, North Carolina. Yesterday, I got it into the hotel, I literally had the TV on for 60 seconds, and I saw a campaign ad on linking some Democrat here -- I can't even remember his name. But I heard Obama and Pelosi plenty of times during that particular commercial.

Can younger folks like yourself stay in this game? So many people have been turned off by politics and they see what happens.

I don't know what your political aspirations are down the road, but a young person like yourself, can it be a turnoff to see what's happening, and we might lose a lot of young people and good people in the process because they don't want to be dragged through the mud?

FOXX: Well, politics is tough, no question about it. But our country is tougher, and democracy is tougher than that.

And I think you'll see out of this period of time -- and we are in a period of time. We're not in the end of our democracy. We're going to see people stepping up and playing vital roles who are young people, who have energy, and who believe that the best days of this country are ahead of us. I have got two young children, so I care very much about what happens to the future of this country.

HOLMES: Is your workforce here -- I saw some reports as well that not as young as they could be, don't have as many entrepreneurs in this town as well. How do you improve that to get a younger workforce and folks who just won't go and work for a financial sector or for an energy sector, but come up with ideas to try to move this city forward?

FOXX: We are working very hard. In fact, one of the things I'm doing as mayor is trying to work to build a better environment for small business owners and entrepreneurs. And that includes trying to bring venture capital into the area, it includes trying to make it easier for people to start businesses and figure out where the resources are. And we want to lead the country in being able to be a small business-friendly, entrepreneur-friendly city.

HOLMES: All those things, Mr. Mayor, sound great, but I guarantee you'll be reelected if you can go play quarterback for the Carolina Panthers next Sunday.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: They're 0-5 right now. It's not the fault of the mayor.

GRIFFIN: Hey, T.J., what's the button?

HOLMES: Go ahead, Drew.

GRIFFIN: What's the button. Real quick. We couldn't read the button. He's got a button on. Let's see what it says.

HOLMES: "Charlotte in 2012." Trying to be the spot they want for the Democratic Convention coming up.

FOXX: Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

We are one of four finalist cities. And we feel like we've got a great case.

We've got a city and a state that carried Barack Obama back in 2008. We believe we are a study of resilience.

We've got high-speed rail infrastructure coming into the area. We've got so many great stories to tell about how this community has taken a punch, just like the country, but we're getting up and we're making things better.

HOLMES: All right.

So there you go, Drew.

GRIFFIN: All right. Thanks.

HOLMES: 2012, trying to get some more industry and business in here. One of their competitors though they're competing against is Cleveland, but since LeBron left, they say they're not really competing against them anymore. He didn't say that. I'm giving him a hard time.

GRIFFIN: You did, T.J. All right. Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor.

Appreciate it, T.J.

The election crew with the Election Express roll on. They're next stop, Columbia, South Carolina. That's tomorrow. And you can follow the Election Express every day here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Well, for now, the big business headline of the day, Citigroup. It's posted a huge profit from July to September. We want to show you the numbers right here -- 59.76 is the uptick on the Dow as we move in here and tell you one of those has got to be Citi.

I don't know -- it's going up a little more now. But the third straight quarterly profit for Citi. It's one of the big banks that got a big bailout from tax dollars. Right?

Its earnings, along with respectable earnings at other institutions, might just be a sign that these once struggling banks are finally starting to stabilize. That will be good news for Charlotte, too.

It seems no house is safe amid the nation's foreclosure crisis. Not even the house of God. A real test of faith straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Foreclosing on God's house? Can you imagine?

A 2010 State of the Plate survey says 38 percent of churches have seen a decline in giving, making them financially unstable and struggling to keep their doors open.

Here's CNN's Stephanie Elam.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mt. Gillion Baptist Church knows a thing or two about going through the storm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many of you came in here expecting something great to happen today?

ELAM: A freak tornado devastated the Atlanta church in 2008. PASTOR DEXTER JOHNSON, HIGHER GROUND EMPOWERMENT CENTER: When the storm came, it toppled that steeple over.

ELAM: After moving around for 18 months, the church finally reopened as the Higher Ground Empowerment Center.

DORIS FEAGAN, CHURCH MEMBER: It was just horrible. But thank God we done came through that.

JOHNSON: I knew once we got back in the sanctuary, people would come.

ELAM: But the church did lose members. Burdened with more debt, it faced another upheaval: possible foreclosure.

(on camera): Have you heard of a church that was heading into foreclosure before?

JOHNSON: No, this year has been very shocking to me. I believe that the banks are in business to make money, and understandably so. But when it comes down to a church, I think they need to look at it and work with them to ensure that that church stays in that community.

ELAM (voice-over): Hundreds of churches have faced foreclosure in the last two years, something that was once unheard of.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know many of you have been stretching yourselves right through here because you know what we're up against.

ELAM: With their members facing higher unemployment and home foreclosure rates than their white counterparts, black churches are being hit especially hard in their tithing baskets.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will not withhold the tithe.

AUDIENCE: I will not withhold the tithe.

ELAM: So after 107 years, this church is finding it harder and harder to serve the community. The pastor has even taken a pay cut.

JOHNSON: The tithes and offerings, that's how we're able to do the ministry that we do. And when the people don't have, they can't give like they normally give or want to give.

PROFESSOR JONATHAN WALTON, HARVARD DIVINITY SCHOOL: For congregations then to have to come to grips with the fact that their sincere investments in the faith and in God are now being seized by banks, that can become a point of spiritual crisis for many.

ELAM: Banks that are surviving the downturn say there's enough blame to go around.

DAN MIKES, EXECUTIVE VP, BANK OF THE WEST: There was a "build it and they will come" mentality that kind of set in, in the industry. And the reality is that a lot of these churches, perhaps in part due to the economic downturn, did not grow into the debt as they anticipated that they would.

ELAM: The bank that holds Higher Empowerment property said in a statement, "We have worked closely with the church for more than two and a half years to reach a resolution that would allow the church to continue to occupy the property."

Pastor Johnson believes his church will remain a rock for his congregation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I came here to say lord, I need you, and I need you right now.

ELAM: There for people to lean on when any storm comes their way.

Stephanie Elam, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: There's a bigger picture here. The black church is waging a war on debt. Check it out, "Almighty Debt," a "Black in America" special, is coming this Thursday, October 21st, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, only here on CNN.

President Obama is going on that popular TV show "MythBusters." We're going to tell you why next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: And we are going off the wall -- "Off the Radar." Out of sigh today.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's not "Off the Wall."

GRIFFIN: What is it?

MYERS: It's "Off the Radar."

GRIFFIN: "Off the Radar," right.

Here's the idea. The president is going to go on a show "MythBusters."

MYERS: Yes.

GRIFFIN: If you've never seen it, it's kind of a cool show.

MYERS: Fantastic.

GRIFFIN: They have these myths, right. And they go see if they're real or not. Well, this particular segment involves something that happened in the second century.

MYERS: A long time ago.

GRIFFIN: If I get this right, the Romans are going to invade Greece, right? The Battle of Syracuse.

Archimedes, this really smart Greek guy, comes up with an idea. We'll burn the ships that are invading by just holding up mirrors, and they light on fire.

MYERS: Using the sun.

GRIFFIN: Some guy wrote about it when it happened, or after it happened, and people have been trying to prove if it's true or not ever since.

MYERS: And they tried at MIT and they succeeded. And the MythBusters" have tried two times and they have both failed. So, now the "MythBusters," with the help of the president on December 8th, will be on "MythBusters." This is the Vdara Hotel, by the way, in Las Vegas.

GRIFFIN: I was wondering.

MYERS: There's almost this --

(CROSSTALK)

GRIFFIN: Is that what they're going to use?

MYERS: No, but there is this death ray. You go on CNN.com and put in "Vdara," you'll find out you can focus the sun by using bent mirrors, or what we used. This is really simple.

So, now, we're going back to the 2nd century BC We're getting shields.

I've pounded an aluminum pan to be slightly parabolic. Turn on this light. I have got a boat right here.

Now, OK, it's not going to catch on fire because I don't really have the sun. But I do have a light.

I want you to focus on this sail. I know they tried to burn the hull. Let's just burn the sail down.

If I focus this thing back and forth, I can get a pretty small spot. Now, if you take the sun and another 500 people or sailors on the shore, focusing that sunlight on one spot, you might be able to burn the boat down. And they're going to try that on "MythBusters."

GRIFFIN: Now, is the president going to do what you just did?

MYERS: Well, students --

GRIFFIN: Eat all the cookies and take this pan and do this stuff?

MYERS: Students are going to do that part. But this is all we could do. OK? We have a 600-watt light here and a hammer -- I took this pan and I hit it with a mallet just to get it to be kind of concave so that we could get it and get some focused light. And that focused light, you take it and you put that light on there.

And look, I can take an entire 650k light bulb and I can shine it into just one spot. Now, you take that sun and you get all these guys on the shore angling this at the one boat, you might be able to get it to burn down.

GRIFFIN: You think it happened?

MYERS: There's a lot of things that happened way long ago I'm not sure about.

GRIFFIN: It just seems like they'd be burning boats in World War II this way if it really worked.

(CROSSTALK)

MYERS: Well, we had much bigger things.

GRIFFIN: I know, but it would be cheaper to just go out with these pizza pans.

MYERS: They had to be very close. You couldn't sink a German U- boat with a pizza pan.

GRIFFIN: I mean, and the president -- I mean, this is all about science.

MYERS: It's all science.

GRIFFIN: And we've already done another story. He's honoring kids who are into science and math at the White House. It's a good idea.

MYERS: Correct.

GRIFFIN: And "MythBusters" is a pretty good show because it does get the mind thinking, experimenting, and going "Off the --

MYERS: Oh, "Off the Wall" -- Radar.

GRIFFIN: Radar.

MYERS: And the president said -- he said, I'm going to get kids excited in science. And everybody went, yes, good luck with that. He's getting there.

GRIFFIN: Hey. I like it. I don't know about the girls, but boys burning a boat on the water, that is going to be exciting.

MYERS: Well, how old were you when you first had your first magnifying glass in the sun and you were trying to light a piece of paper on fire with a magnifying glass? GRIFFIN: Oh, is that what you did?

MYERS: The same with --

GRIFFIN: You didn't do the ants?

MYERS: I wasn't going to go with animals or bugs, no.

GRIFFIN: Thanks a lot. Appreciate it.

MYERS: You bet.

GRIFFIN: That's "Off the Radar" for today.

Do al Qaeda terrorists have their eyes on France? That's an interesting story we're going to talk about next. Intelligence officials say they do. We're going to have the details on the latest terror threat targeting Europe and we're going to go "Globe Trekking" to do it. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Time now for "Globe Trekking." Our first stop is France. Officials in Paris say there's a new al Qaeda threat against France. That's the word from the Saudi Arabian intelligence services warning that in addition to France, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula also targeting other European countries.

Earlier this month, terror warnings triggered heightened security in France and throughout Europe. Since January of last year, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks against Saudi, South Korean, Yemeni and U.S. targets.

Out of the Philippines, the strongest typhoon of the year. At least two people killed. While weakening slightly, the storm is packing top sustained winds of 109 miles an hour. In its wake, the typhoon left a wasteland of fallen trees and power poles and damaged or destroyed homes. More than 4,000 are riding out or have ridden out the storm in school buildings, town halls, and churches. The storm forecast to head toward China and Vietnam.

Our last stop is Chile. The country's president, Sebastian Pinera, tells CNN that the rescue of those 33 trapped miners was an "explosion of joy." The entire country celebrates their rescue last week when one by one they were pulled up from a half mile underground to the surface of that mine shaft. The miners' generally good condition was just one of the numerous, remarkable aspects of an ordeal that lasted more than two months. Boy, that was great to see.

Straight ahead, a Catholic priest who also happens to be a doctor brings hope and help to Haiti's kids. It's our "Mission Possible."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: In today's "Mission Possible," a big step in giving the poorest of the poor access to the world free of charge. Kids in Haiti have to pay to get an education past the sixth grade. Today, Haiti's first free secondary school, which starts at the seventh grade level, is opening its doors.

The group Artists for Peace and Justice founded by Oscar-winning writer/director Paul Haggis is getting the school off the ground. Joining them is Father Rick Rochet, an American doctor and priest who has been working with the poor in Haiti for more than 20 years, joining us live today from Port-au-Prince via Skype.

Father, when I read this - when I read this this morning, I was just stunned to learn that if you're in the sixth grade, next year you're going to have to pay for your education. And I would assume most kids in Haiti aren't going to seventh grade school.

FATHER RICK FRECHETTE, AMERICAN DOCTOR AND PRIEST: Yes, that's the tragedy in a country where people earn $400 a year. People just don't have the money that it takes to continue education, even though that money is rather small.

GRIFFIN: So it's a no-brainer why Haiti's people are in such poor economic condition. Today this school is opening up. How many of these hundreds of thousands of kids in need of education are you going to be able to help?

FRECHETTE: In our primary schools, of which we have 24, we have 8,000 children in our own system. But this is a great day for us because it's the first day that we have a high school. Actually, we started building it, I think, the 31st of August so it was really something. In six weeks' time, we made a ten-classroom secondary school. And we opened with 60 today, but we have almost 400 that are waiting to come in.

GRIFFIN: Father, you've been there for 20 years working with the poor. We were laser-focused on Haiti for the span of about a month- and-a-half following the earthquake. Has the attention waned? And has that taken away some of your efforts to help people in Haiti? Or is there a stimulus boost that came from that earthquake?

FRECHETTE: It's waned understandably, you know. I mean, news changes, and people follow it. And I think that one bad impact is there has been a lot of publicity about funds not being used the right way. But it's really important to say that there are a lot of organizations using funds directly and the right way and 100 percent through. And it's really important that even though attention has gone away from Haiti, to still believe in people who are committed here and that what can be done here with relatively little money.

GRIFFIN: Father, it's still true, though, that most of the help that gets to Haiti's poor people are coming from outside agencies such as yourself. Has there been any kind of progress made in trying to get the Haitian government to move forward in providing education for all of its kids?

FRECHETTE: I think it's really a lame duck government. I think it's really very unfortunate that the -- if there was to be such a tragedy that would happen -- it would happen when a government was about to end. Because what happens next is anybody's guess.

And my understanding is that most of the pledges to help the government are not going to be fulfilled until there's a new government with a five-year plan. So, that's really been a big part of the obstacle for the government being able to improve the situation for the people.

GRIFFIN: All right, well, Father, we certainly thank you for joining us and wish you luck. But most importantly, those lucky kids in your schools, we wish God speed and good luck to them in getting their education and at least getting themselves out of the condition of poverty that they must be living in in Haiti. Thank you so much.

FRECHETTE: Well, thanks for giving us this moment to put the attention on them. They'll go far thanks to you.

GRIFFIN: All right. Thank you so much, sir.

For more information on the new free school in Haiti and how you can help, go to Ali's blog CNN.com/ali.

Well, the Obamas won't be having many quiet evenings at home this week. That's because they're not going to be at home. Ed Henry is next with "The Stakeout."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Ed Henry is at the White House. Ed, I got to tell you something. We were peeking in on you before this live shot. You had that Blackberry out with those two thumbs. I couldn't believe how fast you were going.

(LAUGHTER)

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm trying to e- mail and call. You've got a lot going on all at once. We got to stay up to the minute.

GRIFFIN: It was very intense. You're a very intense guy.

Hey, the president -- you were with him last night somewhere in Ohio, right? And he was with Michelle Obama out on the trail together. And I didn't realize this. The first time in a couple of years. Is that right?

HENRY: That's right, first time since the 2008 campaign. And I got to tell you, it wasn't just anywhere in Ohio. It was Columbus. I mean, Ohio State University. 35,000 people. A lot of people, maybe a little upset about what happened Saturday night when their football team got knocked out of the top spot in Wisconsin.

But the president maybe trying to cheer them up. At one point, he even said, look, I'm sorry about what happened in the football game but the thing about people at Ohio State is you guys come back. You keep fighting. Sort of a softball for the president to try to turn the football game into a metaphor for what he's hoping to do in these final two weeks.

Basically, Michelle Obama's got approval ratings that are 20 points higher than his. She's obviously very popular. That's in part because she doesn't have the same responsibilities he has as president. She's been able to tackle a couple of initiatives, like promoting healthy eating, standing up for military families. That's given her good standing with the American people, so they're putting her out there in the final days. A state like Ohio, you got a big governor's race, you got a Senate race, you got about seven House races that up for grabs that are going to help settle control of Congress. And so what they're trying to do is make sure they get all their people to the polls.

GRIFFIN: You know, it always amazes me when the first ladies go out on the stump because I always ask myself in the back of my mind, Do they really want to do that? Do they like to do that? I mean, I hate to travel away from home. You've got the home behind you where they're raising their daughters. Is this hard for her to get out there? Does she like it?

HENRY: You raise a good point. It is. It is. I mean, I interviewed a lot of people close to her over the last few days for a piece they did on CNN.com that was sort of titled "Reluctant Warrior." She was somebody who in 2007, early 2008 was not really into campaigning, in large part because she wanted to stay home with their daughters in Chicago. Obviously, then Senator Obama was out on the trail practically full-time. This was a two-year campaign.

And so she's also done very little sort of campaigning politics of any kind over the last two years because, as she herself says out on the trail now, she's mom-in-chief and she wanted to make sure -- we got to remember these are two young daughters who are now in a much different atmosphere here at the White House, who care very little, obviously, about those mid-term elections and whatnot. They got to get settled into school.

So I think now that they feel they've finally got the family in the right place, she's going to go out there in the final couple of weeks. And she's doing a lot of what the president is doing. She's, for example next week, going to be going out West, some of the big Senate races -- Washington state, California. Today she's in Connecticut, where there's a big Senate race, as well. So they're going to use every ounce of her that they can.

And I've been told about by some of her advisers that the calendar we have now of about seven or eight states that she's hitting in the final couple of weeks is probably going to increase. She's probably going to go to some more states, once they know where she'll be helpful in those final days, once they look at those final poll numbers.

GRIFFIN: All right, what about the president himself? He's going out West, too. You're going with him, right? Where is he heading, what particular races?

HENRY: That's right. Well, he's going to Oregon. Interesting, you've got a Republican out there, Chris Dudley, the former NBA player, who's running for governor. There's a big governor's race there for Democrats trying to push back on. Then he's going to go to Washington state, Senator Patty Murray in a tough race. California, you got Barbara Boxer, another incumbent, and then Harry Reid in Nevada.

And so what's interesting about that is while there was this big crowd for the president in Ohio last night, they're feeling like maybe they're getting some of the enthusiasm back on the left. If you look at his travels in the final days, these are all states where Democrats are defending their own turf. You'd like to use the president, whose time is very valuable, in places where you might expand your majorities, where you might pick up some Republican seats. Instead, the president's final days are really going to be spent defending Democratic incumbents in tough shape.

And I think when you look at that map, that tells you all you need to know about how much Democrats are on the defensive right now, that everywhere the president's traveling pretty much is going to be places where you've got Democratic incumbents in trouble. They may win, but he's trying to help bail them out in the final days, Drew.

GRIFFIN: Ed, turn around. That Marine just came out and was -- he wasn't there before. He's standing there now. What does that mean? Is something big happening?

HENRY: Well, the president probably just came back to the West Wing and the Oval Office. He probably was outside the West Wing. The Marine is only there behind me, right outside the VIP entrance to the West Wing, when the president is actually in the West Wing and the Oval Office. There was also Bob Bauer, the White House counsel, walking by a minute ago. Looked like he had an important meeting. So there's always something going on here.

GRIFFIN: You ever peek in the window?

HENRY: No! You can't do that.

GRIFFIN: All right. I was just checking. Ed Henry, live at the White House. Always appreciate the behind-the-scenes look, too, Ed. I know you're a smart political guy, but you know, I like to go on a little tour when I got you.

HENRY: All right. We'll get you next time.

GRIFFIN: All right. Well, 15 days, of course, until the critical mid-term elections. We want to get you updated on the latest developments from the campaign trail, and senior political analyst Gloria Borger is part of the "Best Political Team on Television." Hello, Gloria.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: How are you? I can tell you that real estate at the White House is really valuable. Offices are probably smaller than yours at CNN.

GRIFFIN: All right, I'm not going to apply for that job, then. (LAUGHTER)

GRIFFIN: Got too much junk. What's crossing "The Ticker" right now?

BORGER: Well, you know, Drew, you can tell a lot about the way a race is going by where the candidates show up and who they show up with. You'll recall that when Sarah Palin appeared at a Republican National Committee fund-raiser in California recently, Senate candidate Carly Fiorina and gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, both Republicans, decided not to show because they're really interested in getting those independent voters...

GRIFFIN: Right.

BORGER: ... and they're a little nervous that might turn them off. But in Florida, Republican candidate Marco Rubio will be standing next to Sarah Palin next Saturday and RNC chair Michael Steele. Rubio, as you probably know, is ahead by double digits in a three-way race, so he's very interested in rallying that Republican base.

One more thing. John McCain, Senator McCain, former presidential candidate, he's out there again on the campaign trail. And he is getting testy. He was campaigning with Fiorina in San Diego. And remember, Carly Fiorina really helped his presidential campaign. And McCain directed some very harsh criticism towards her Democratic opponent, Barbara Boxer. He called her -- and I'm quoting -- "the most bitterly partisan, most anti-defense senator in the United States Senate today." And he also said he had the unpleasant experience of serving with her. Ouch!

GRIFFIN: Wow!

BORGER: She wasn't too happy about that. Yes, that's pretty bad.

GRIFFIN: That seems a little uncharacteristic of him, I guess.

BORGER: Well, you know what? John McCain has always said of himself, I'm not going to win Miss Congeniality.

GRIFFIN: Yes?

BORGER: There are lots of folks in the Senate who've seen that side of John McCain privately, and I think you just saw it publicly.

And remember John Kerry's gaffe, I voted for it before I voted against it...

GRIFFIN: Yes. Of course.

BORGER: ... during his presidential campaign?

GRIFFIN: Yes. Yes. BORGER: He was talking about war funding. And he was at a rally in Boston Saturday before President Obama spoke, and he was criticizing Mitt Romney from Massachusetts. And he criticized him for turning against his own health care plan. Of course, when Romney was governor, they passed health insurance in the state of Massachusetts. And guess what he said, Drew? He said, Talk about being for it before you were against it. So he finally found a way to use that phrase to his own benefit, huh?

(LAUGHTER)

GRIFFIN: Very interesting. Gloria Borger, thanks for that update.

BORGER: Sure.

GRIFFIN: You can read all this stuff, of course, 24/7 on the "CNN Ticker" at CNN.com. Your next "CNN Political Update," by the way, just an hour away.

Well, a heart-stopping edition of "Wordplay" coming up. Stick around. It could -- could -- save your life. And you can dance to it.

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GRIFFIN: Time for today's "Wordplay," and you need to listen carefully to this one because it could really save your life. Today's word is "compression," as in chest compression, the focal point of the all-new CPR guidelines announced today by the American Heart Association. Remember, the old guidelines told us to start with mouth-to-mouth. Now it's all about compression, rapidly pressing down on the chest of the injured person.

The Heart Association says in the first few minutes after cardiac arrest, people still have oxygen in their lungs and bloodstream. Vigorously pumping or compressing the chest can push that oxygen-rich blood to the heart and brain to keep it circulating. That can keep someone alive until paramedics arrive or a defibrillator can be found.

And if you ever find yourself needing to give someone CPR, deliver those compressions to the beat of the old BeeGees hit "Stayin' Alive." Get the beat? It works out to about 100 compressions a minute, which is exactly what the American Heart Association is now recommending.

Well, Osama bin Laden might be living in a house instead of hunkering in a cave. Does that make you angry? It sure makes me angry. I've got some things to say about it in my "XYZ."

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GRIFFIN: My "XYZ" today is on OBL and how I personally feel ripped off to learn that this killer, Osama bin Laden, apparently hasn't been living in a dark cave after all. At least, that is the latest intelligence we're getting on the al Qaeda leader from a senior NATO official.

I was OK with not being able to find him for all these years under the belief he was eking out a miserable existence in a cold, damp cave, nibbling perhaps on the remains of a barbecued goat. But if it turns out bin Laden has been comfortably living in a home in Pakistan somewhere with flushing toilets, a kitchen and even sofa, then that's just not good enough.

It also begs the question of just how intelligent our intelligence agencies really are. Bin Laden has a $25 million bounty on his head. We've supposedly got spies and strike teams all over the place looking for him. And even our partner countries say they, too, are trying to find him.

Really? He may have been living in a house in some neighborhood all along, not a cave? I don't know about you, but that leaves me thinking there are only two ways that could happen. One, he really is good, surrounds himself with unbelievably loyal followers, and must be getting help from at least local officials protecting him, or two, our intelligence teams really aren't good, and they've barely scratched the surface of terrorist strongholds like the one along the Afghan- Pakistan border. Neither of those a particularly appealing conclusion.

That's my "XYZ." The NEWSROOM continues.