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Money Spent on Campaign Ads; Subprime Mortgage Battle; Community Fat Burner

Aired October 20, 2010 - 14:00   ET

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

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: It is 11:00 a.m. on the West Coast, 2:00 p.m. on the East Coast. A new hour, a new "Rundown."

Here's what we're working on at CNN: predatory lending and the impact it is having on African-American families. You'll hear from one couple who set out to add rooms to their home. Now they're on the verge of losing their home. .

And with the housing market facing its toughest times in recent years, I'll be joined this hour by the country's top housing official to see how a freeze on foreclosures will affect you whether you're being foreclosed on whether you're trying to buy a house or sell a house. The housing secretary joins me shortly.

And the iPod, the iPad, two of Apple's biggest moneymakers. And just to think, they didn't exist a few years ago. What all of this means just ahead.

When the late House Speaker Tip O'Neill said, "All politics is local," he summed up the frenzy that is America 13 days before these critical midterm elections. President Obama, whom many, if not most, Democratic candidates are running from this year, is nonetheless packing up for another multi-state road trip aimed at keeping at least the Senate in Democratic hands for two more years.

In just about an hour, he'll set out for Portland, Oregon, to campaign for Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Kitzhaber. Then he'll fly to Seattle for Democratic Senator Patty Murray.

In Los Angeles, he'll stump for Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer. In Las Vegas, for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. And finally, in Minnesota -- all in four days -- for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton.

Vice President Biden coming to Harry Reid's defense as we speak in Reno. And as you may know, Reid stands a real chance of being ousted by Tea Party candidate Sharron Angle.

Now, when that rally is under way, we'll bring you pictures of it. I don't know if we have got live pictures of that right now. We don't, but we're on top of it and we'll bring it to you when it happens.

Former President Clinton is spending a second day in Florida trying to boost the sagging campaign of Democratic Senate hopeful Kendrick Meek. Meek has been running a third behind Republican/Tea Party candidate Marco Rubio and the man you see there, Republican- turned-Independent Governor Charlie Crist.

So the road trips, the rallies, the meet-and-greets, clearly that's one way to campaign. It's the way we grew up on.

Flooding the airwaves is another. I suppose we grew up on that too, but it's a lot different now than when I was a kid.

Campaign spending in these off-year elections, as we call the midterms sometimes, is off the charts. And following the dollars from our Washington bureau is CNN Senior Political Editor Mark Preston. And from the Campaign Media Analysis Group, Evan Tracey.

Mark, you wrote about this in your column today, $182 million. Now, for people who are not following these numbers very closely, $182 million spent on campaign ads not this campaign, this past week.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SR. POLITICAL EDITOR: Just this past week, a 17 percent increase from the previous week, Ali. Anyone that doesn't think that politics is big business is fooling themselves.

Ad-makers here in Washington, D.C., local television states across the country, are making lots of money off of this election. And again, what the candidates are hoping, by spending all of that money, is that they can win, they can push enough voters at the very end to come out and support them. What the interest groups who are spending lots of this money hope they can do is influence the election and get their candidate elected.

VELSHI: Evan, we're looking at video on the right side, an ad, Meg Whitman and the governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. I'm trying to figure out whether that is their ad or that's an opposition ad. But that is definitely the biggest spend in the country. Meg Whitman has spent more money of her own on that campaign I heard than anybody has ever spent on any particular public office campaign in the U.S.

EVAN TRACEY, PRESIDENT, CAMPAIGN MEDIA ANALYSIS GROUP: Yes, she's rewriting the record books out there. If you look at her buys alone, it's about 1,300 ads a day.

Now, it sounds like a lot of ads, it sounds like a lot of money, but there's no way to do retail politics in a state as big as California. So it's a necessary evil, for these political campaigns to spend this money on advertising and get their message out.

VELSHI: All right. Take a look at this big map that we've got of the country, Evan and Mark, and look at those numbers.

In the boxes you will see numbers like Cleveland, 5,535; Orlando, 5,658; Las Vegas, 6,020; Los Angeles, 5,098. If you're wondering what those numbers are, those are the number of TV ads.

Evan, tie this back if you can to the Supreme Court ruling called Citizens United.

TRACEY: Well, certainly Citizens United is playing a really big role. This is the crunch time for politics.

These groups want to be disruptive. They're trying to get the campaigns to spend the two resources they have the least of right now, and that's time and money. So when these groups go in, they run spots, they're going to the competitive races, they're trying to put opponents on defense. If you're responding to a group and not to a candidate, that's a good day for the candidate you're trying to help.

VELSHI: Mark, let's take a look at live pictures right now. This is Joe Biden campaigning for Harry Reid in Reno, Nevada. We're looking at that.

Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, all old-style politicians. They know how to get out there and do things. And there's some sort of calculated return on that investment.

You want to listen into this for a minute? Let's listen in.

JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've traveled all across America at Harry's request, campaigning for other Democratic senators and challengers and House members, and I'm angry. I mean it sincerely.

I have a bad reputation of letting my passion show through sometime, but, look -- look, I'm angry. I'm angry when you see -- when you see --

VELSHI: OK. So it will give you a flavor. That's an old-time rally. That's what it's supposed to look like, Mark.

What's the return on investment on some of these ads that cost a lot of money? Before you answer that question, let's show our viewers what we're talking about, because I want to show you some of these ads Evan helped us put together.

Take a look at these ads.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: Nevada can't just afford more of the same old Harry Reid.

Crossroads GPS is responsible for the content of this advertising.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: Once is bad enough. But for Michael Bennett, reckless spending has become a habit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: Murkowski backed a cap and trade scene. McAdams' union backers favor one too. Joe Miller puts Alaskan jobs first.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: But what is Duke Aiona's plan.

DUKE AIONA (D), HAWAII GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Knockout punch.

NARRATOR: Really?

AIONA: Most important is we're going to have that knockout punch. Hawaii is the home state to Barack Obama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: All right. Let's talk about that, Mark.

What kind of return is there on these -- what did you say, it's $3 billion that are going to be spent on these ads and this campaign?

PRESTON: Three billion dollars by December 31st on political and issue advertising. What is the return? Very little. The return is a win.

What they're trying to reach out to now is a very, very, very small sliver of voters, Ali. Maybe five percent in some states.

Look, Democrats are going to vote Democrat. Republicans are going to vote Republican. The Independents are starting to break right now.

There's already early voting going on in a whole swathe full of states across the country. That's why we're seeing these ads just piling on, and they're only going to increase. Again, you're looking at five percent, perhaps, in some states that these ads are trying to reach.

VELSHI: All right, guys. Good to see you. Thanks so much.

Mark Preston our CNN senior political editor. Evan Tracey is the president of the Campaign Media Analysis Group.

Guys, thanks for the great work.

Evan is going to continue to work with us to try to help us understand the spend and those ads.

Surviving the subprime mortgage crisis that we've been telling you about for weeks. We're going to meet a family who thought they did everything right and they still lost their battle. Their story after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Subprime lenders, remember them? We used to talk about them all the time. They made it their business to lend lots of money to people who other banks turned down.

Why? Because they made a lot more interest. They made a lot more money off of those dangerous loans. And we all know how that turned out.

Those loans failed. The economy tanked. And the foreclosure crisis was born, sending us into the worst economy since the Great Depression.

Now some of those homeowners are fighting back, saying they were targeted by shady lenders.

CNN's Stephanie Elam tells us the story of one family.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Linda Rhee (ph) and William Wilson believe they have limited time left in the home they've owned for five years.

WILLIAM WILSON, HOMEOWNER: If I keep working, I probably can hold on a while. But I don't know how long my job is going to last now, you know.

ELAM: In 2006, the Wilsons took out a second mortgage to add bedrooms for their foster children. But those bedrooms came with a hefty price tag. A subprime loan with $12,000 in closing costs, $1,200 in monthly payments, and required lump sum payment of $100,000 in the final month to pay off the balance of the loan. When all is said and done, there will be no equity in the property.

LISA MADIGAN, ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL: We have communities who for years didn't have access to mortgages, didn't have access to credit, and suddenly they're being targeted.

ELAM: Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is a leader in the fight against both predatory and discriminatory lending practices.

Earlier this year, she sued Countrywide, now under Bank of America, alleging they used discriminatory lending practices in violation of federal lending and civil rights laws. Bank of America denies that and vows to vigorously defend against the allegations.

Last year Madigan sued Wells Fargo for similar practices; That lawsuit is still pending and Wells Fargo released this statement to CNN: "With the overarching goal of doing what is right for our customers, Wells Fargo has a longstanding history of being a responsible leading lender to diverse populations."

Richard Thomas was a widower when he first moved into this middle class Chicago neighborhood. Also claiming to be a victim of subprime lending, he's now part of a class action lawsuit against Ameriquest.

RICHARD THOMAS, HOMEOWNER: I just want a comfortable, you know, a nice, comfortable place to live. And I don't mind paying for it but just don't rip me off. ELAM: The Center for Responsible Lending estimates 11 percent of black homeowners have already lost their home to foreclosure or are now in imminent risk. And it gets worse. Even living near a foreclosed property in black and Latino communities can drop the value of a home.

The Wilsons believe they will ultimately lose their home to foreclosure.

WILSON: All I can say is, is I'll go as far as I can go. Once I do that, then --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's in the Lord's hand.

Elam: Stephanie Elam, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI: Now, tomorrow night, CNN's Soledad O'Brien is taking a look at how the black church is now fighting the financial crisis from the pulpit. Check out "Almighty Debt," a "Black in America" special, Thursday night, 9:00 Eastern, only on CNN.

All right. Call her the community fat burner. A Mississippi woman helped her neighbors lose thousands and thousands of pounds. Her efforts her landing her in our Top Ten CNN Heroes of the Year. She'll explain how she does it on the other side of the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Mississippi is a beautiful state. I've had a chance to spend a lot of time there. It's got its problems, too. Based on a report that came out in 2009, for the six years prior to that, Mississippi was the fattest state in the nation, the highest proportion of people who were obese in the nation.

Now, today's CNN Hero has helped her town of Vicksburg, Mississippi, lose 15,000 pounds in the last year. That's a great feat in that state.

Linda Fondren says her motivation comes from the death of her sister, who died from brain cancer. But she said that her sister's being overweight restricted her life.

Let's talk to Linda right now. She joins me from Jackson, Mississippi.

First of all, congratulations, Linda, on making it into the Top Ten CNN Heroes.

Tell me about your sister. You felt that she just didn't enjoy her life properly, she wasn't able to function properly?

LINDA FONDREN, CNN HERO: Ali, her last words to me were, "Linda, I wish I had lived my life more for myself." Well, that spoke a volume to me. And that means that obesity restricted her from living her life.

Things that ordinary people with normal weight take for granted like walking, shopping for clothing, being able to fit into seats, these were difficult things for her. So it really restricted her.

And so this is what got me on the campaign to issue a challenge to my hometown, and also based on the record that we hold as the heaviest state. And we have so many other good things to offer in our state.

VELSHI: Sure.

FONDREN: We have great hospitality here. But this just overshadows that. And we need to come together and we need to tackle this obesity epidemic.

VELSHI: OK. So there are a couple of things you do. One is attitude.

One is that you're out there at these events. You're encouraging people to lose weight, you're showing them how they can be fit, or you can do that. You even have a gym where people can bring their kids, because that's one reason why people don't get to the gym. They can't deal with what they do with their kids in that time.

On the other side, you have actually had a lot of people sign up. You had a whole bunch of people who lost five pounds apiece in a year.

FONDREN: Yes, on an average, five pounds apiece, absolutely. And listen, people were ready to do better.

When I started this and issued this challenge, people started to call me "Linda, where do I sign up?" So people really want to do better.

But let me say more than anything else that being a CNN Hero, what this has done is really multiplied that awareness that I could not have done in the time that it took just being a CNN Hero. So I am so thankful that I was chosen to be a CNN Hero. That, it just speaks volumes. And this is a gift, to be able to bring that awareness out there.

VELSHI: What is the awareness? For those who are listening to you today -- and I'm one of them. We all could be a little bit healthier and we could lose some more weight.

What's the impediment and how do you overcome it? What's the big single message you want to get out to people struggling with weight?

FONDREN: The big single message is we must care about ourselves more. We must put our health on the forefront.

To give you an example, you know, since, of course, being a CNN Hero, I receive many phone calls, e-mails and letters. One lady called me and she said, "Linda, thank you for taking my call. But my concern, I know that I am overweight, but it is my child that I'm concerned about. She's 9 years old, and she is three times her normal weight. What do I do?"

So it is things like that that has brought that awareness. She saw me on television, so she wants to do something. And we need to help her.

And of course you know what I told her? I said to her, "Listen, in order to care for your daughter effectively, you must care for yourself first."

VELSHI: Yes.

FONDREN: So this is a message that needs to go out there, is that we need to become role models. We need to become role models for our children, for our future, and for our children's future. And our health really needs to be on the forefront.

VELSHI: What a great message, what a great presentation you have of that message. Congratulations on being one of our Top Ten Heroes, Linda. Keep up that fantastic work that you're doing.

What an inspiration she is to so many people. This is a national problem. It's not just a Mississippi problem or a Vicksburg problem. This is a national problem.

Linda Fondren in Jackson, Mississippi.

The Top Ten Heroes will be honored Thanksgiving night at our fourth annual All-Star Tribute. To vote on your favorite hero -- and I want you to remember, this is about you. You choose these heroes.

Head over to CNNHeroes.com. The last full day to vote, November 17. You have just over one month to do this.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: All right. It's earnings season right now. And you know what earnings are? Earnings are the report card for businesses in America.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

VELSHI: So what I do is I take company earnings and I try and make them digestible for the viewer. I'll say, hey, when you break it down like this, this means that they were doing this.

Apple, you don't have to do any of the work. When Apple reports its earnings -- and it did that last week -- it is out of control. I mean, everybody knows where Apple makes their money.

And here's the thing -- they didn't make their money on most of the stuff several years ago. Most of the stuff they sell today didn't exist several years ago.

MYERS: Exactly. iPad, didn't exist, iPhone didn't exist. Look at this.

This is 2006 right there. Apple's stock, a bargain $60 right there.

VELSHI: Wow.

MYERS: And it was lower down here. It was way down there.

So, now you climb up, climb up, climb up 2010. Today, it is trading at $312 per share. What has taken the market by storm?

Let's go to green, iPhone.

VELSHI: Right. And that just showed up in 2007.

MYERS: Right here, 2007, barely sold a couple of them. Didn't do very well. Didn't have great reception.

But then, all of a sudden, look at Christmas season. Wow! Man, they sold a bunch! And now, all the way up here.

Now, you come across here. This is 12,000, but you have to add six more zeros on the end. That's per quarter. This is a $20 billion quarter.

VELSHI: Yes. And when I saw that, I came out and I said, "Wait, am I reading that wrong? Is that supposed to be" -- I mean, these guys really are making money off of something that didn't exist.

Now, on one level, I think to myself, is this really value? But it's certainly more value than the banks brought to our lives in the last 10 years. I mean, they have created these devices.

MYERS: Do you own one?

VELSHI: I have an iPad and I have a Mac. I don't have an iPhone, but I know a whole bunch of people that do.

They have changed the game. So, my device, ,which is a BlackBerry, does a lot of the same stuff that these people brought to the market, ,this business about touching things and moving it around.

MYERS: I had a Mini Mac. Very disappointed in the Mini Mac. And it's why I haven't bought another Apple product.

VELSHI: But look at this. This orange is the Macworld. That's how much they sell of those things. They're still selling them.

MYERS: People that want to use video and all that other kind of stuff, they're into this Apple product, this Macintosh product. It's still amazing.

But look at this blue. Where did that come from?

VELSHI: That's the iPad.

MYERS: That's the iPad. That's this bad boy right here.

VELSHI: So that just started here, and now you can see where this is likely to go.

MYERS: At 500 bucks a pop.

VELSHI: Yes.

MYERS: And there you go. And I don't even understand what you can do with this, but everybody else, they can order wine on it now. One of the major retailers, restaurants in Atlanta, he gave it to me. "What would you like to order, Mr. Myers?" I went, "Just give me a piece of paper, because I don't use that."

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: Unbelievable. This is also interesting. Music, by the way, it's peaked and its shrunk, and it's peaked and it's shrunk.

Interesting, that part of things. But this is a fascinating story to watch.

Chad, good to see you. That was "Off the Radar" with Chad.

Hey, listen, we've got a rare look at the making of IEDs, improvised explosive devices, basically crude deadly bombs and how the U.S. military tries to find them before they kill.

That's in "Globe Trekking," coming up on the other side of the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Time now for "Globe Trekking." Our stop is Afghanistan. A new, possibly key twist in reports that we've been telling you about for a while that the Taliban and the government are involved in talks aimed at finding a way to end that long war. "The New York Times" today says the talks now involve detailed face-to-face discussions with high-level Taliban commanders, with the help by the way of NATO. The Times says these commanders are able to leave their sanctuaries in Pakistan and travel to the Afghan capital of Kabul. On the Afghan side, key figures in the talks include the inner circle of President Hamid Karzai. The Times says at least four top Taliban leaders have taken part in the talks, which are described as preliminary.

Last week, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, acknowledged that U.S. and NATO forces are helping those Taliban leaders taking part in the talks.

Now, turning to the battlefield in Afghanistan, the Taliban's weapon of choice has been IEDs. Improvised explosive devices. CNN's Ivan Watson has a rare look at how these weapons are made and their deadly effectiveness.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. Army bomb hunters preparing to go on patrol. Getting ready in the predawn hours for a dangerous mission: to find and disable improvised explosive devices or IEDs, the deadliest threat to U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

The convoy of futuristic vehicles rolls through an almost biblical landscape, past locals who aren't always happy to see them.

(on camera): These vehicles come with equipment like these rollers that are designed to set off hidden roadside bombs, and that's to protect the vehicles themselves and the passengers. Now, take a look at this. This is called a husky. It's a one-man vehicle. You see there's just one operator up inside. It's really cramped up in there. The reason we're stuck here is because his vehicle broke down.

(voice-over): Mission aborted when the frame holding the husky's ground-penetrating radar breaks. Radar is crucial for finding this, roadside bombs. A Taliban propaganda video shoals barefoot bombmakers building these weapons out of common ingredients like plastic water coolers and fertilizer. They are crude but deadly weapons.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI: Ivan has just returned from an extended reporting assignment in Afghanistan. He joins us now from his base in Istanbul, Turkey.

Ivan we want to show our viewers a graphic that shows the dramatic surge in IED attacks over the last two years. It really is dramatic. Is this because the Taliban has just realized how effective, cheap and easy these are?

WATSON: Well, when you talk to American commanders, they say that in the past what the Taliban did was they amassed a lot of forces on the ground to attack NATO forces and had a lot of casualties. It seems they -- as you can see from that graph -- they've really adopted this as another tactic. It's less dangerous and doesn't put their fighters in harm's way, and it has deadly results. If you look at the statistics for this month alone, 37 NATO and (INAUDIBLE) forces killed this month, 25 killed last month as a result of these attacks.

Now, they don't discriminate, though, Ali. We can pull up another graphic right now. Statistics from the United Nations, they show that 40 percent of the Afghan civilian deaths in the first six months of this year are a direct result of improvised explosive devices. Ali.

VELSHI: Yes. It's fascinating. There's no other way to show it but to use a graph. It feels a little cold, but it does make the point that these IEDs are being used to kill military and civilians.

Ivan, thanks very much. Ivan Watson joining us from Istanbul, turkey.

Hey, thousands of foreclosures have been frozen because of, well, alleged shoddy paperwork. Now, what has to you if you're getting your home foreclosed on, if you're one of the people who wants to buy a foreclosed home or you're trying to sell your house and you have nothing to do with foreclosure? The nation's housing secretary live with us on the other side of this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: OK. This has been a tough story to follow because it sort of moves in increments, but what we have heard and reported to you in the last several weeks is that a number of banks have been informed or have found that in the rush to foreclose on all these homes they've been dealing with, some of the work in foreclosing them has been shoddy. Some of it allegedly may have even been fraudulent.

Now, a number of the nations -- in fact, all of the nation's attorneys general have gotten together to start some sort of investigation into this, and we've now learned there's actually an investigation that's been going on by the federal government since May.

What I want to do now is I want to talk to Shaun Donovan, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development. He joins me from the lawn of the White House. We want to talk about how this affects you if you're one of those people being foreclosed upon, if you somebody who wants to buy a house that's in foreclosure or you're somebody who wants to sell a house and you have nothing to do with foreclosure.

Secretary Donvoan, good to see you again. Thank you for being with us. You know, we enjoy talking to you because you're a pretty straight talker on this stuff. Let's discuss first of all what do we think when we dig up whatever has been going on at these banks, whether it's through the attorneys general investigation or the federal government's investigation?

Ultimately, do we think we're going to find people who should not have been foreclosed upon, people whose houses should not have been foreclosed? Or are we going to find that the paperwork wasn't done the right way, and they didn't follow the rules they were supposed to follow?

SHAUN DONOVAN, SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT: Well, Ali, great to be with you again, too.

What we are doing is coordinating a broad investigation, 11 different federal agencies, also coordinating with the state attorney general, who as you said are part of this. We've been doing that. Today, we met to go over the latest status of all those reviews. And, frankly, those reviews are ongoing. So, I can't tell you that we've completed it, that we have conclusive evidence to -- at this point, one way or the other.

What I can say is, first of all, that there are problems out there. And that no one should lose their home as a result of a mistake in paperwork. That's clear that that's been there.

You talked about the work we've been doing since May. In FHA, we've been reviewing our top five servicers because we had concerns not about the foreclosure paperwork but whether they were taking steps earlier in the process, everything they're required to do to keep people in their homes. And what we found is that there is evidence that there may be problems there. We haven't completed those reviews.

But I think it's important that we recognize that this isn't just about paperwork. This is about steps early in the process to keep people in their homes. And we're going to make sure that every servicer that we have authority over, we're going to hold them accountable.

VELSHI: That's the important thing. This is the part people have been telling me about. I've had so many people tell me. We've done stories on it, people saying it's not that I think something was done wrongly but boy, I was trying to negotiate. I was trying to plead with them. I was trying to get somebody on the phone who actually didn't sound like the first person I ever talked to in this conversation.

There's a feeling that in some cases, the banks didn't work with people to keep them in their homes even if they could resume those payments or somehow deal with what they hadn't paid. What authority could you have to deal with that if you found that that was the case?

DONOVAN: Well, we do think that there are problems around that. We think it's with particular servicers, not across the board. And our authority for an FHA servicer is very clear. They're required to do that by our rules and regulations. And if they're not, we have the authority to issue violations. And if they prove to be true, then to issue fines, to make them change the process, to take a series of steps that ensure that we protect homeowners.

But this is why we're --

VELSHI: But unfortunately, is anybody going to get their homes --

DONOVAN: Well, that -- if there is evidence that that is what happened, we will take all the steps we can to do that. It may not be possible in every case, but we will ensure that we do -- pursue every remedy to do that.

I would also say that there are authorities at the state level, state attorneys general. We're also coordinating with regulators here who oversee the banks as well. And there's a broad range of authorities here. So, we think that we can ensure that banks live up to their commitments and do compensate people or make amends where there are homes that have been taken wrongly and where there are mistakes that have been made.

VELSHI: Secretary Donovan, let me ask you this. If they are people in the process in their homes but they're well down the foreclosure process, should they have hope that anything will change at this point?

DONOVAN: Well, we've been pursuing this issue not just over the last few weeks. We started as soon as President Obama came into office. And on our initial look, we found concerns. That's why we started these in-depth investigations in May.

We have already forced servicers to make changes. We've done that through our modification programs. And so, there are already improvements happening, and we're going to continue to push for that. So, homeowners should see changes.

But what I would also say is we make help available to homeowners. We have housing counselors around the country that we fund. And your viewers should feel free to pick up phone, call 888- 995-HOPE, get connected to a housing counselor who can help them understand what their chances, what their remedies might be, and what help we have available to them if they're facing this kind of issue. And they should do that right away.

VELSHI: Very good advice. We always say it starts from the top. You are a very responsive department. I think that probably trickles down. 888-955-HOPE. Go to hud.gov. Shaun Donvan, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Good to see you again, Secretary Donovan. Thanks for bringing us this information.

DONOVAN: Great to see you, Ali.

VELSHI: OK. We're going to put that information on my blog so that you can do that.

President Obama getting ready to head out West. It is a major campaign swing. Four full days, just 13 days before election day. There he is, Ed Henry, hanging out at the airport ready to hitch a ride if they'll let him. He'll joins us next to preview the trip when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: It is time for "The Stakeout." We do this every day with our senior White House correspondent, Ed Henry. Look at this guy. Does he have a camera attached to his head or something? Everywhere he goes, he looks like he's in some little airport waiting lounge. And there he is with the camera.

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It's not just any airport. This is Andrews Air Force Base. This is the terminal. We thought we'd bring you inside. This is gate number 2. Looks a little like an airport.

VELSHI: Did you ask permission?

HENRY: We did get permission. The Secret Service is here. They're doing their job to my right, so we're not going to disturb them over there. They're going through a security sweep right now. Air Force One just behind me through that. Probably can't see it too well. But again, for security, we won't get in too much detail.

Let me just show you real quick what we got over here, though. Every organization has got a little locker. CNN has got a locker over here. I was going through this before. You can see we keep it very organized with all the wires and the phones. Some really great technology that we have here.

And I found a tuna sandwich I think Wolf left behind years ago. I don't know. I'm going to throw it out.

(LAUGHTER)

VELSHI: Ed, you are getting ready. You're going on this four- day trip with the president? Going to five states? Gour days?

HENRY: We're starting in Oregon tonight. It will be a long flight on Air Force One. The president will be campaigning for John Kitzhaber. He was the governor of Oregon for a couple of terms. He wants the job back. So, he's running again. Interesting race because he's running against the former NBA player Chris Dudley. Hasn't gotten a lot of attention nationally, but he's pushing for candidates down ballot across the ballot.

And then we're going to be going on to Seattle. We've been talking about this race. Patty Murray running begins Dino Rossi, the Republican. This is one of several Senate battles out West the president is working on. The first lady is going out to some of the races next week. The vice president just yesterday and today was also out West. Basically got Patty Murray in Washington, you go Barbara Boxer in California and Harry Reid in Nevada.

And I was talking to David Axelrod about this yesterday, the president's senior adviser, and asking him whether this sort of a firewall that they hope to win all these Western Senate seats because of all the losses they're likely to have in the East and Midwest. Races like North Dakota, they're very likely to lose that Senate race, have it flipped to the Republicans. Is this where you make up the math? He said he wouldn't call it a firewall, but said look, every one of these races are important.

So, this is the president's longest campaign swing in terms of four days in one block of time because obviously he has a day job, and he's trying to go down fighting.

VELSHI: OK, Ed, you have a safe trip out there. Do you have like, a Snuggie and pillow or something like that?

HENRY: I have a travel pillow but not a Snuggie.

VELSHI: No Snuggie. All right, well, that is good information for me to know. Our senior White House correspondent on "The Stakeout."

No Snuggie. Gift idea.

All right. There are now 13 days left until election day, so we want to update you on all the developing stories from the campaign trail. CNN's Tom Foreman. There's an expert traveler if we've ever met one. He's part of The Best Political Team on Television. He joins us from the CNN Political Desk in Washington. What a pleasure to see you, my friend. Tom

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Ali! Good to see you. You think Ed Henry works hard. Mark Preston did so much work here today it was like one of those helmet-to-helmet hits in the NFL. We carried him out on a stretcher, he covered so much politics today.

(LAUGHTER)

VELSHI: He did!

FOREMAN: And I'll tell you something. If you want to get caught up to date, that's probably how house speaker Nancy Pelosi feels now. A new Gallup poll came out, just slammed her. Basically it says the people of the country don't know her or like her outside of her district. Her favorability now stands at just 29 percent. That's down seven points from early summer. And her unfavorable rating is massive. Fifty-six percent in the new poll. That's one of the reasons you don't see her doing a lot of events, stirring the water a lot because a lot of Democrats don't want to be anywhere near her.

Republicans, of course, want her close. They've got their own problem because John Boehner, who is favored to take the seat if she were to be pushed out of it, he doesn't have a very good bit of support, either. However, his negative is much lower. So, that's a possibility.

Mitt Romney, did this guy ever quit running for president?

(LAUGHTER)

FOREMAN: Because he was running and running and running and then the election happened, and now he's still running. He announced a new initiative called 10 for 10, running through a Web site called Free and Strong PAC. Basically what they're doing is they're targeting ten races at a time in these critical places around the country. He's trying to lend support to all of these people out campaigning. He's made endorsements in 30 states already, doing a 25-state tour out of the goodness of his heart for his party? Maybe. More likely, because he's looking at 2012 and he wants to be the front guy in all of that.

And so does Mike Huckabee who as soon as the midterms are over has announced plans to head immediately to Iowa. If you think you'll get a break from all of this campaigning, it's not going to happen. He's going to Iowa to the Family Policy Centers, celebrate the family event. You know what vote he's going after there. We'll see what comes out of it.

Ali?

VELSHI: Tom, always a pleasure to see you. Tom Foreman at the "CNN Equals Politics" desk. We'll continue to cover that. The next update in less than an hour.

Politicians and parties are spending big bucks to get your attention. Just how much? You'll find out next in "Wordplay." Stay with me. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: "Wordplay" today, we're sticking with politics. You might think it's anticipation because there are 13 days to go in this election. But it's "saturation." The dictionary defines saturation in weather terms as 100 percent humidity. It's when everything is wet.

It's also the state of being saturated, but in this case let's think about it as inundation. As you've probably noticed, the airwaves are saturated or inundated with political ads, ads for candidates, ads against candidates, issue ads and still 13 days to go until the election.

The numbers are staggering. In some markets where they are especially contentious and close races, you could see 5,000 of these TV commercials in just a week. Las Vegas, for example. Seven of 10 are political ads.

We're also talking big money. In the past week alone, $40 million was spent on ads for Senate races, $46 million and change for House races. All told, we could see issues and campaigns spending a combined $3 billion on political ads before the end of the year.

We hear a lot about bullies online and at school. What about the workplace? One CEO accused of not only condoning bullying but reportedly going as far as rewriting the company handbook. My "XYZ" just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Time now for the "XYZ" of it.

In recent weeks, there's been a lot of attention on bullying. One thing we haven't looked too closely at is bullying or harassment in the workplace. A "New York Times" report about Tribune Company CEO's Randy Michaels claims he allegedly he created an atmosphere there that quote, "came to resemble a frat house, complete with poker parties, jukeboxes and pervasive sex talk," end quote. The report describes an environment that tolerated sexual innuendo, poisonous workplace banter and profane invective. Among the allegations that Michaels offered a waitress $100 to show him her breasts while dining with colleagues and had a loud conversation in the work area about the quote, "sexual suitability of various employees," end quote.

"The New York Times" also reports that the CEO and his management team rewrote the employee handbook to include the following. And I'm reading this again, quote, "Working at tribune means accepting that you might hear a word that you personally might not use. You might experience an attitude that you don't share. You might hear a joke you don't consider funny. That's because a loose, fun, nonlinear atmosphere is important to the creative process. This should be understood, should not be a surprise and not considered harassment," end quote.

Wow, a a loose, fun, nonlinear atmosphere. Who could be against that? Much of Silicon Valley operates like that, actually. Google has scooters and free food and pool tables and give you time to think about projects you want to work on. That is a loose, fun nonlinear atmosphere.

Harassment, a grownup form of bullying is harassment. And chief executives shouldn't be creating environments where it's accepted.

Now, for his part, Michaels responded, saying "The New York Times" is bringing up events and rumors that were more than 2 years old.

He also accuses the author of the story, a former "Chicago Tribune" employee, of digging up these old allegations because he believe that decisions about the company's management are about to be made, and he wants to influence those decisions. That's his quote.

Well, for what it's worth, it seems some decisions about the company's future have been made. Unconfirmed reports are that CEO Randy Michaels will tender his resignation from Tribune by the end of the week.

That's my "XYZ."

Time now for Brooke Baldwin and NEWSROOM.