Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Presidential Cabinet Meeting; Capitol Hill Changing of the Guard; NASA Delays Shuttle Launch
Aired November 04, 2010 - 09:56 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, that's easy.
All right, we're going to talk sports in just a second. That big Giants parade and number of other issues as well. But I'm being told that President Obama actually hosted his first White House cabinet meeting today, and we just got the tape in.
(BEGIN COVERAGE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Obviously, Tuesday was a big election. I've congratulated the Republicans and consoled some of our Democratic friends about the results.
And I think it's clear that the voters sent a message, which is, they want us to focus on the economy and jobs and moving this country forward. They're concerned about making sure that taxpayer money is not wasted, and they want to change the tone here in Washington where the two parties are coming together and focusing on the people's business as opposed to scoring political points.
I just had a meeting with my cabinet and key staff to let them know that we have to take that message to heart. And make a sincere and consistent effort to try to change how Washington operates.
The folks around this table have done extraordinary work in their agencies. They have cooperated consistently with congress. I think they are interested in bipartisan ideas, and so they are going to be integral with helping me to root out waste in government, make our agencies more efficient, and generate more ideas so that we can put the American people back to work.
Now, at the same time, obviously, what's going to be critically important over the coming months is creating a better working relationship between this White House and the congressional leadership that's coming in as well the congressional leadership that carries over from the previous congress.
And so I want everybody to know that I have already called Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi to invite them to a meeting here at the White House in the first week of the "lame duck" on November 18th. This is going to be a meeting in which I want us to talk substantively about how we can move the American people's agenda forward.
It's not just going to be a photo op. Hopefully it may spill over into dinner, and the immediate focus is going to be what we need to get done during the "lame duck" session.
I mentioned yesterday, we have to act in order to assure that middle class families don't see a big tax spike because of how the Bush tax cuts have been structured. It is very important that we extend those middle-class tax provisions to hold middle-class families harmless.
But there are a whole range of other economic issues that have to be addressed; unemployment insurance for folks who are still out there looking for work; business extenders, which are essentially provisions to encourage businesses to invest here in the United States. And if we don't have those, we're losing a very important tool for us to be able to increase business investment and increase job growth over the coming year.
We've got to provide businesses some certainty about what their tax landscape is going to look like and we have to provide families certainty. That's critical to maintain our recovery.
I should mention that in addition to those economic issues, there's some things during the "lame duck" that relate to foreign policy that are going to be very important for us to deal with, and I'll make mention of one in particular, and that's the START Treaty.
We have negotiated with the Russians significant reductions in our nuclear arms. This is something that traditionally has received strong bipartisan support. We have people like George Schulz who helped to organize arms control treaties with the Russians back when it was the Soviet Union who have come out forcefully in favor of this.
This is not a traditionally Democratic or Republican issue, but, rather an issue of American National Security and I am hopeful that we can get that done before we leave and send a strong signal to Russia that we are serious about reducing nuclear arsenals, but also send a signal to the world that we are serious about nonproliferation. We've made great progress when it comes to sending a message to Iran that they are isolated internationally in part because people have seen that we are serious about taking our responsibilities when it comes to nonproliferation, and that has to continue.
So there's going to be a whole range of work that needs to get done in a relatively short period of time, and I'm looking forward to having a conversation about leadership that has some agenda items that they may be concerned about.
The last point I'll make is that I've also invited the newly elected Democratic and Republican governors here to the White House on December 2nd, because I think it's a terrific opportunity to hear from them, folks who are working at the state and local levels, about what they're seeing, what ideas they think Washington needs to be paying more attention to. A lot of times, things are a little less ideological when, you know, you get governors together because they've got very practical problems that they've got to solve in terms of how they make sure that roads and bridges are funded and how do they make sure that schools stay open and teachers stay on the job. You know, that kind of nuts and bolts stuff, I think, are oftentimes yields the kind of common sense approach that the American people, I think, are looking for right now. So in sum, we got a lot of work to do. People are still catching their breath from the election. The dust is still settling, but the one thing I'm absolutely certain of is that the American people don't want us just standing still. They don't want us engaged in gridlock. They want us to do the people's business, and partly because they understand that the world is not standing still.
I'm going to be leaving tomorrow for India, and the primary purpose is to take a bunch of U.S. companies and open up markets so that we can sell in Asia and some of the fastest-growing markets in the world and we can create jobs here in the United States of America. And my hope is that we got some specific announcements that show the connection between what we're doing overseas and what happens here at home when it comes to job growth and economic growth, but the bottom line is that all around the world, countries are moving.
They are serious about competing. They are serious about competing with us not just on manufacturing but on services. They're competing with us when it comes to educational attainment, when it comes to scientific discovery, and so we can't afford two years of just squabbling. We need to make sure that everybody's pulling together, Democrats and Republicans and independents, folks at the federal level and the state levels, private sector with the public sector to make sure that America retains its competitiveness, retains its leadership in the world and that's something that I'm very much looking forward to helping to be a part of. So, thank you very much, everybody.
QUESTION: Mr. President -
(END OF COVERAGE)
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's take it straight to Brianna Keilar, joining us live from Capitol Hill this morning. So you hear the president right there meeting, well, actually holding his first White House cabinet meeting and we're getting word right now that one thing he decided is November 18th, he's going to meet with Republican leaders. What are you hearing on the Hill?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he's going to be meeting not just with Republican leaders but this will be a bipartisan meeting two weeks from today. He's invited the minority leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, the soon to be speaker, John Boehner, the current speaker Nancy Pelosi and majority leader of the Senate, Harry Reid. And so this is going to be a bipartisan meeting. And he says this isn't just going to be a photo opportunity.
This could go into dinner, talking about how this is going to be a substantive meeting, and talking about the lame-duck Congress. What's going to happen between now, which is basically, the election and when the new Congress comes in in January. So what he really hit on the Bush era tax cuts that need to be dealt with. These are going to be expiring at the end of the year, and Democrats and Republicans generally disagree on exactly how to handle this.
Republicans want to extend these tax cuts for all Americans. Democrats want to extend these tax cuts for most Americans, the vast majority of Americans but not for those making a quarter of a million dollars or more. There are some Democrats who agree with Republicans on this and there is a point that the Republicans will make, some small businesses that fall into that upper category, and so this is something that's really the big priority that's going to need to be dealt with, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, Nancy Pelosi wondering what her next career move will be. She actually sat down for an exclusive interview with Diane Sawyer. Diane Sawyer hit her hard on that and couldn't seem to get an answer out of her though. Your sources telling you anything?
KEILAR: You know, at this point, and aides are telling us that there is no timetable. Sources close to Nancy Pelosi saying they don't have a timetable on when she's going to make this announcement. Kyra, what everyone wants to know is is she going to stay as the leader of Democrats but take the role of minority leader? Is she going to get out of the Democratic leadership? Is she going to step aside from Congress in general?
At this point, we just don't know. We have been following her around the Hill. Actually, she's been kind of taking some pretty elaborate measures to avoid us because clearly she is not ready to tell us what her decision is, and even sources close to her say that she hasn't made this decision yet.
So what's going on? You've also got Democrats like Steny Hoyer, who is the number two Democrat. He's just kind of waiting. He made it clear yesterday basically saying that if Speaker Pelosi doesn't want to be the leader of Democrats, you know, he would be interested but he's not going to do it if she wants to remain in that role. So you've got a lot of Democrats as Republicans jockeying of throwing their hats in the ring to be in the leadership. You have a lot of Democrats who are just kind of playing this waiting game, waiting to see what her move is, and we are just waiting until she makes that clear.
PHILLIPS: All right. Brianna, thanks.
So the first ever Speaker of the House gone. But 2010 marked several other firsts for women in politics. Republican women that is. And that is one topic we'll talk about in just about 25 minutes.
We're also talking about the big problem for the biggest passenger plane in the world. Singapore Airlines has joined Qantas in grounding its fleet of Airbus 380 jets. And here's why. An engine on a giant Qantas A380 blew out, just a few minutes after takeoff from Singapore and showered debris into the ground. The plane was headed to Sydney, Australia, turned around and then landed safely in Singapore. Here's how a passenger described the experience.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VOICE OF ULF WASCHBUSCH, QANTAS PASSENGER: I heard a long bang and I was sitting on the side where the engine is. I heard a bang and saw a little bit of flares for a short time and the engine was shut off immediately from the flight deck. The flight deck analyzed the situation. (INAUDIBLE) Qantas crew, by the way, for doing a phenomenal job in bringing us down safely. We were afterwards (INAUDIBLE) for two hours, dumping fuel and getting everything ready to land safely on the ground again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, parts of the engine debris fell to the ground in Indonesia. 466 passengers and crew were on the flight. They're all OK. Potential disaster averted. CNN's Zain Verjee has more now from Singapore.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Every passenger dreads being on a plane and hearing a big bang. One passenger I spoke to told me exactly that. He said "I heard a loud bang, a jolt and then a flash. It was as if lightning struck us," he said. He saw four holes in the wing, there was one big one and three small ones. He said that the situation on the plane at that moment was pretty calm although he did hear a few people crying.
Let's move to the investigation now. What they're going to do is look at the parameters of the engine, things like the speed at the time, the temperature, also take a look at the black box to see what some of the last communications were before the engine had trouble. Now, Qantas has grounded six of its A380 airbuses, and what we're hearing now is that Singapore Airlines is doing the same. They are temporarily holding their fleet of 11.
Zain Verjee, CNN, Singapore.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And the end of an era. We'll have to wait another day. The weather in Florida still lousy that NASA scrubbed today's shuttle launch. It was going to be "Discovery's" 39th and final voyage. "Discovery" has a long proud history, as you know, including the first female shuttle pilot, the first African-American space walker. And it took the first sitting member of Congress into space. That was Jake Garn of Utah, way back in 1985.
A Disney star checks out of the Jonas Brothers tour and into a treatment center. Now, we're learning more about the moment that may have been Demi Lovato's tipping point.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Demi Lovato shocked her fans that watched her grow up on Disney, deleting her Twitter account, dropping her tour with the Jonas Brothers and checking into a treatment center. And now we're getting some new information about what might have been the tipping point. That's what (INAUDIBLE) Katie Caperton, the entertainment editor from cnn.com here. So we're getting more details about this, by the day. It's kind of sad.
KATIE CAPERTON, ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR, CNN.COM: It is sad. I think there's a positive side that she, whatever is going on with her, she's been proactive about it. Like a lot of young stars in Hollywood, they don't seek the help they need right away but it looks like she is doing that.
She really (INAUDIBLE) a couple of days ago, she announced she is dropping out of the Jonas Brothers' tour and she's getting help. She is in a treatment facility. Her reps are very clear that this is not a rehab. She is dealing with some emotional and physical problems that she's had for quite some time. So according to "People".com, there was a fight, an incident, something that happened a couple of days when she was on tour with a backup dancer that really just kind of sent her into a tailspin. (INAUDIBLE) tabloid reports right now that she had a fight with one of the Jonas Brothers' girlfriend, Ashley Green, who is also a star in her own right. She's also a "Twilight" star. That's not correct. There are so many rumors about this story right now.
PHILLIPS: She's not addicted to drugs or alcohol. What's going on?
CAPERTON: She's had a rough time. Her father gave an interview to radaronline a few days ago, saying that it's really Hollywood. He thinks that Hollywood was too blame. He was nervous since day one that she started working with Disney that the pressure is just going to get to her. It's going to be far too much. And she has had issues with bullying, issues with her weight in the last few years. Again, you know, the positive on the story is that she's seeking help which is very rare in Hollywood. A lot of times, you see the stars -
PHILLIPS: They don't seek help and just kind of spiral into - Lindsay Lohan, there's your prime example. All right. Talk about a switch of topics.
CAPERTON: Yes. (INAUDIBLE)
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: President Bush, George W. Bush, I don't know - it depends on what (INAUDIBLE) says is coming out with his memoir. Any highlights?
CAPERTON: He has an interview with Matt Lauer next week where he said, "Matt Lauer asked me about the memoir and he says there is a real low point in his presidency was when Kanye West came out during one of the Katrina telethon and said that George Bush does not like black people and George Bush says this was probably one of the lowest points of his presidency.
PHILLIPS: Really? It affected him that badly?
CAPERTON: It did. He said it disgusted him and still disgusts him today, to think that people think he's a racist. And Kanye West, of course, had to respond. He came out and make a statement.
PHILLIPS: Of course.
CAPERTON: So he came out in a radio station yesterday and said, "hey, I can sympathize with him. People said the same thing with me over the Taylor Swift incident last year," at the VMAs when he interrupted her on stage. Some people called him a racist. So he's saying you know, "I understand why George W. Bush was disgusted by me saying this." So it's funny to see him going back and forth with Kanye West.
PHILLIPS: And the saga goes on.
All right. Katie, thanks so much. We'll see you tomorrow.
CAPERTON: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: All right. A college basketball player gets a text message from mom and it prompted a big change. Now she wants her coach, her team mates and everyone else to treat her like a man.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's take you cross country.
First stop, St. Petersburg, Florida, a lawyer for the Florida teen known as hiccup girl says that Tourette syndrome may have led to her involvement in a murder case. Jennifer Mee and two others are accused of shooting and killing a 22-year-old man during a robbery. Mee drew national attention three years ago after a month-long bout of non-stop hiccups. This lawyer says that she was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome following the hiccup episode.
Wild side and like the one in New York, a herd of sheep escaped from a slaughter house Tuesday night. They raced into the street sending police scurrying to round them up. Officials at the (INAUDIBLE) said that all the animals were back in place by Wednesday.
Finally, Nashville, Tennessee, a bathroom tour in the name of saving energy. (INAUDIBLE) was sponsored by American Standard Bathroom Fixtures. The company says it wants to retrain Americans on how to flush a toilet and save 12 billion gallons of water.
George Washington University junior Kye Allums will play women's college basketball again this year. But his teammates look at him like a brother, not a sister. Kye is the first transgender athlete to play NCAA division I basketball. WUSA's Delia Goncalves has caught up with him courtside and that brings us to today's talker.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DELIA GONCALVES, WUSA REPORTER (voice-over): All eyes are on George Washington's University's women's basketball team and number 50, Kye Allums, junior forward, transgender male.
KYE ALLUMS, TRANSGENDER ATHLETE: I feel as if I should have been born male with male parts but my biological sex is female.
GONCALVES: But it was a long road before Kye could make that announcement. His a-ha moment came rather heated text message exchange with his mom when she asked "who do you think you are, young lady?"
ALLUMS: And I said, "Mama, thank you. You just made me realize something" and from that moment on, I thought, I know who I am. I was excited but then I had to tell everybody.
GONCALVES: After the fear came relief.
ALLUMS: There is a big thing when your child says they are different than how they were born. Now, she's completely supportive.
I just immediately felt like that I need to support Kye in any way.
GONCALVES: Kye is the first transgender athlete on a NCAA Division 1 team. He can continue to play in the women's team because he doesn't plan to have surgery or take any hormones until his college career is over.
ALLUMS: It's tough to not be me.
GONCALVES (on camera): Kye, formerly known as KK began his transformation last year as a sophomore but this will be his first season playing as a man.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As long as we're united, (INAUDIBLE) we'll be OK.
GONCALVES: So while number 50's announcement may have created a media frenzy, his mind is on basketball and his future now that he finally feels like himself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, Kye will be identified as a male but will not be permitted to start hormone therapy while playing ball.
San Francisco planning to take the surprise out of fast food meals at restaurants like McDonald's and Burger King. The board of supervisors there passed a bill banning toy giveaways in kid's meals that exceeds 600 calories. The measure also limit the amount of fat content. The author of the bill says he hopes that will motivate fast food companies to offer better choices for their young customers. McDonald's calls the measure, misguided.
And that brings us to today's blog question. We asked if you thought this was a good idea? "Little Sweeter" says "When did city officials gain the right to tell parents what we can feed our children? All of the child abuse going on in America and they are worried about a happy meal with a toy?" Jerry said "I have long felt that the fast food industry should pay its fair share of the nation's health care cost. They contribute to obesity by offering lures to the most fatty foods."
Michael Armstrong says "This is a violation of free enterprise. The fast food chains should just sell the toy apart from the meal for 1 cent."
Aaron says "I'm a manager for quick-service restaurant chain. I'm glad to hear that someone is taking a stand on the issue. We do not offer toys with our kid's menu. We offer an activity book with crayons. Granted the kids aren't as excited but are they to eat or to be distracted with a toy?"
Remember we always want to hear from you. Just log on to CNN.com/kyra and share your comments.
Midterm is over and the voters have spoken. What do the next two years looking for women, African-Americans and the LGBT community? We're taking a closer look in just a few minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Rob Marciano tracking all of the extreme weather for us. What do you got, Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Let's start with what's going on with Tomas, Kyra. Winds right now at 50 miles an hour and all eyes on Haiti as it begins that northerly turn that we've been talking about. North-north westerly movement in about six miles an hour. Here's Jamaica. It's about well about 150 miles southeast of Jamaica, just a little 350 miles south-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
We do think it's going to strike in a little bit more as it makes its pass through the Windward pass as it basically shoots the gap between Cuba and western Haiti. Regardless of the strength or path of this thing, there's going to be a tremendous amount of rain with it and considering the tent cities that now that city is now pretty much built on, you get winds over 40 miles an hour, that's enough to do damage. That's pretty much our main concern here is the winds there and what it's going to do to that nation that's recovering.
Hurricane warnings for Haiti and also the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands as this thing continues to organize itself. Unrelated, at least for now, rains across parts of Florida. This is the reason the shuttle launch was cancelled today. And tomorrow, they'll have strong winds. Not sure they'll get it of the ground tomorrow either.
If you're flying from Boston and back to Philly, you're having a hard time getting off the ground as well. Some moderate to heavy rainfall making its way across the northeast. This is a pretty potent storm system that is causing some delays in Newark, Philly and also New York's La Guardia Airport, anymore from 55 to 100, about an hour and 40 minute delays. Unusually deep trough is what's driving this storm and also will drive cold air all the way down to the south. Maybe even some flakes of snow behind the system, especially downwind of the Great Lakes, more so tomorrow night into Saturday and it's going to be a chilly, chilly weekend over the eastern half of the country.
Meanwhile, pretty toasty across Los Angeles. 90 degrees expected today. Yesterday, we saw the records drop in San Diego and parts of the inland areas of southern California as well. They didn't have much of a summer, getting it now in November.
PHILLIPS: Yes, they're just switching around the (INAUDIBLE). Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: You bet.
PHILLIPS: Well, here's some other stories we're talking about, a Qantas plane landed safely in Singapore after parts of the engine fell to the ground. The carrier has grounded it's Airbus A380 fleet while today's incident is being investigated.
And as Rob just mentioned, the launch of the last space shuttle flight has been delayed at least until tomorrow. Bad weather pushed "Discovery's" lift off back.
Taking a look at this underground tunnel in the U.S.-Mexican border. Agents found about 30 tons of pot. As one of the feds said, not a good day for the drug cartels.
All right. Let's drill down a little deeper on midterm election results. For women, there were some firsts. Oklahoma and South Carolina elected their first female governors. So does New Mexico, in fact, Susanna Martinez, also the first female Hispanic governor ever in the U.S., for African-Americans, two black Republicans will serve concurrent terms in the House for the first time since 1997. That's Allen West of Florida and Tim Scott of South Carolina.
But there will be no black senators. And all three openly gay members of Congress were re-elected on Tuesday. Add David Cicilline of Rhode Island and you get a total of four.
Let's take a closer look to see what the election results tell us about the political standing of women, African-Americans and the LGBT community. Danielle Belton is a blogger and the brains behind Black Snob - got to love that title. And Chris Barron, chairman of the board of Go Proud and Republican. Political consultant. Great to have you both.
CHRIS BARRON, CHAIRMAN, GO PROUD AND REPUBLICAN: Thanks for having me.
DANIELLE BELTON, BLOGGER, BLACK SNOB: Thanks for having me on, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Well, Chris, let's start with you. I just mentioned the three openly gay members of Congress re-elected and then Rhode Island bringing the total to four. Is that enough, and does that represent America as a whole? Does it give adequate political heft to issues important to the LGBT community?
BARRON: Well, one, I mean, no, it's not enough. But I think in terms of does it represent America as a whole, it doesn't represent gay people as a whole. I'm disappointed that all four of the openly gay members are going to be Democrats because one-third of gay people on election day cast their ballots for Republicans. I would say that it's important to have -- for the gay community to have openly gay members, but it's not enough. I hope that we're at a point that our movement is mature enough that we would be past identity politics just for the sake of identity politics.
PHILLIPS: Well, and here's something, too. In Iowa, and I was reading up on this this morning, three state supreme court justices who ruled in favor of legalized marriage equality were all voted out of office.
BARRON: Look, it tells me two things. One, the results are disappointing. There's no doubt about it. But, secondly, it reminds me that a strategy that relies solely on the courts is a flawed strategy. The fact is that the LGBT community needs to do the hard work of changing hearts and minds on issues that are important to us. It's not enough to simply go to the courts and demand change.
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk women, Danielle. I'm going to bring you in on this. Extremely rich women we were talking about this morning. Meg Whitman, Carly Fiorina, Linda McMahon, all of them lost. But Oklahoma and South Carolina elected the first women governors ever. So, what does that tell you?
BELTON: I think it's a demonstration of how we still have a long way to go when it comes to women in politics. The reality is women are well over 50 percent of the American population, yet we are still very underrepresented in Congress and other aspects of American politics.
So, while it's wonderful to see female governors, it's wonderful to see more representation of women in politics, there is still a huge gap there. There's still more women need to be encouraged to go into politics. There needs to be more outreach to women both within the Democratic and Republican party to get more involved, to have more viable quality female candidates running for really high stakes offices.
PHILLIPS: You think it was an issue of quality versus gender?
BELTON: Well, I think it's a little bit of both. You want to run the best candidate possible, but you want to make sure things are open so that women who are the best candidate possible are available, who have the right amount of access, who are able to grow within the party and able to move up within the party and get to those high- profile positions. Who can get to the quality race and get the visibility they need in order to win. So, it's a little bit of both.
PHILLIPS: So, do you think, though, that just having a lot of money and being a successful businesswoman isn't enough for voters to say, hey, that's who we want running our state or being our representative?
BELTON: Well, you know, it has to be more than just money and business. You want somebody that's going to be able to speak to the voters and people they can identify with who people are going to be drawn and attracted to. So, you can have a lot of money. You can be a success, but there's more than being a businesswoman and being a successful businesswoman that makes you a quality candidate.
PHILLIPS: Chris, what do you think of John Boehner? Is he going to be attentive to LGBT issues?
BARRON: I think it depends how you define those issues. Like I said, a third of openly gay people went and voted for Republicans in these midterms. So, the traditional agenda that's been pushed by the gay left, focusing on bigger government as a way to solve all of the challenges facing our community is stale. And I don't expect that John Boehner is it going to move on that agenda
But I think there are issues like Social Security reform, tax reform, health care reform, issues that marry well with the conservative movement, work well with free market economics. And I think John Boehner is going to be a leader on those issues, and I think this Republican Congress could actually pass legislation that will improve the lives of average LGBT people across this country.
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk the African-American factor here because there are some interesting numbers. This got us talking as well. And we mentioned this at the beginning. For the first time since '97, two black Republican will serve concurrent terms in the House of Representatives. Of the 14 black GOP candidates on the ballot last night (sic) - we mentioned Allen West of Florida and Tim Scott of South Carolina -- defeated their Democratic opponents.
But candidates in California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia all lost their bids. So, considering how well the GOP did as a whole, is this good news? And why didn't more than two African- Americans win? I want to get you both to weigh in. Danielle?
BELTON: Well, I think it's more complex factors going on than just why didn't more African-Americans win? I mean, we're talking about more local individual races that all have their own intricacies. They have their own nuances. So, it would be difficult to break down why each individual African-American who didn't win their seat, why -- when there was a variety of reasons.
I think it's wonderful, though, to see two African-Americans from the Republican party to win their seats. The reality is, is that I would like to see more outreach on the behalf of the Republican party to the African-American community. I mean, a lot of times, the biggest complaint is that African-Americans don't feel that Republicans make a good enough effort to break down what needs there are in the African-American community and our concerns. PHILLIPS: Chris what do you think? Because a lot of people thought, okay, we have our first black president. Then of course, we're going to start to see more diversity in politics. But that isn't necessarily the case, or is it?
BARRON: Look, I think it's tremendous that we managed to elect two African-American Republicans. Two conservatives. Two Tea Party- supported conservatives in this election, not in gerrymannedered districts that were intended to be represented by minorities, but in a majority white district. I think it speaks volumes about how far our country has come.
I also think that it's interesting that this happened in the face of folks like the NAACP claiming that the Tea Party is a racist movement. And the fact is that our first two African-American Republicans elected since J.C. Watts are both Tea Party-supported candidates.
PHILLIPS: Points well made. Danielle Belton, Chris Barron. Great discussion. Thanks, you guys so much.
BARRON: Thanks.
BELTON: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: An old photograph of a Parisian street has become the focus of a ton of Internet chat lately. So, what's the big deal? Well, take a close look. Bottom right-hand corner. That blurry figure could be the first human ever caught on film. We're zooming in just 60 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: The skinny on today's "Morning Passport." We're not just traveling. We're time traveling back to Paris, 1838, in what could be the first-ever photograph of a human being. It's a photo that has the Internet buzzing right now.
Josh Levs has been analyzing the photo from all the various angles, zooming in, zooming out. OK. Tell us what we're looking at and explain the whole time how the frame - the times of frame and how it was taken.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I will take you all of the way back in time because if it is really the first ever snapshot of a person, think of what you are looking at right now on your TV screen, how incredibly far we have come. It's amazing.
Let's just go right to this video. And it's there in the lower left corner. This was taken by the famous photograph pioneer Louis Daguerre, so that was back in 1838. It's a view of the Boulevard du Temple in Paris. What happens is when you zoom in way there, what you can see that it appears to have the shape of a person. And it's catching a lot of attention online right now after it was posted on a Web site called the Hockenberg Goomba. And our partners at Time.com have been writing about this. Now, the way photos were taken back then, it was a long process back then. So in general, those very early days, all could you get pictures of were buildings. Things that stayed the same. If a person walked through the scene, they probably wouldn't have been in the picture. But if someone was standing very still, then the camera could have caught them. And this blogger is suggested that maybe he was standing still to have his boots shined. If you look really close, it looks like he kind of has one foot up. He might be getting some kind of shoe shine, which could have kept him still enough for this camera to capture his picture here.
A lot of people are familiar with these things called Daguerreotypes (ph), which are earliest photos out there, but this one is striking a lot of attention now because of that image. So, now people are raising all sorts of questions, Kyra. They're trying to figure out who this guy might be, if we'll ever know. Also, was it staged that way on purpose? Maybe the guy taking the photograph actually asked someone to stand right there, stand really still so we could ultimately get that picture and it would be there emblazoned in history forever.
Now, I have a shot for you. It's up on my Facebook and Twitter pages. Take a look for yourself, see what you think. And if someone out there knows for a fact if this is or is not the first photo ever of a person, definitely let us know. But I will tell you, a lot of people looking online. Back from 1838. And so far, it does seem possible, Kyra, that that is the first snapshot of an actual person on film.
PHILLIPS: Pretty cool stuff.
LEVS: Pretty cool stuff.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Josh.
LEVS: You got it.
PHILLIPS: President Obama's party was pummeled on Tuesday. But according to a new poll, the president is still competitive in a bid in a re-election in 2012. We're going to tell you what a hypothetical match-up and President Obama and Sarah Palin reveals.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: This morning, some dismal news from the job market. The number of Americans filing for first time jobless benefits surged last week. The new number, 457,000, up 20,000 from the week before. But here's some more perspective. For the past year, initial jobless claims have been stuck in the same range, well above the level that would signal a strong recover with.
So, time now for our "30 Second Pitch," a chance for one viewer every Thursday to speak directly to potential employers on why she should be their next hire.
Jennifer Cline has been having a pretty tough time. Matter of fact, she almost lost her house and was suffering from skin cancer. But she had an idea that could possibly save her, giving up one of her most precious treasures. Who new President Obama would help her pay her medical and mortgage bills?
Jennifer Cline joins us live from Toledo, Ohio. Now, Jennifer, it wasn't your situation that prompted you to write the president in the first place, it was?
JENNIFER CLINE, SOLD PRESIDENT OBAMA LETTER: No, not at all.
PHILLIPS: What made you --
CLINE: No, that wasn't the situation at all.
PHILLIPS: What was it? What was the situation? Why did you write the president?
CLINE: Actually -- I was inspired by the Christmas special last year, by the -- it's the Christmas at the White House. They ran it a couple weeks before Christmas, and I watched it. And I was actually inspired by that program. So, that's why I wrote him.
PHILLIPS: What did you write to him? What did you say?
CLINE: Just that -- the changes that are being implemented were involving us directly, such as the unemployment extension that I received. But I wrote how normal they are, and how us as newly being married, we looked up to them for guidance as a married couple.
PHILLIPS: Wow. And he wrote you back. Read me what -- do you have a copy of the letter there that could you read to me?
CLINE: I do. It says, "Jennifer, thank you for the very kind and inspiring letter. I know times are tough, but knowing there are folks out there like you and your husband give me confidence that things will keep getting better. Barack Obama."
PHILLIPS: Oh, my gosh. How did that make you feel when you got that letter, Jennifer?
CLINE: It was very exciting. That's an understatement. Yes. It was pretty exciting time for me.
PHILLIPS: I can just imagine.
OK, so you get this letter. But, now, here's where things get even more difficult. You know, you were inspired by the president. You wrote to him, he wrote back to you. But then you were out of work, and you were struggling to pay your mortgage. Things were not going well. You didn't have the money. So, you decided to sell this letter, hoping to get some money to go towards your medical bills and your house.
Did you get a lot of responses? And who eventually bought it from you, and for how much? CLINE: Well, we got a lot of negative responses, of course. We never contacted, you know, the media, and we got a lot of negative responses. And it turned into something political, of course. But an autograph dealer contacted us, and he contacted us many, many times. And it started with a $3,000 offer, and we sold it for $7,000.
PHILLIPS: Wow. All right, you got the $7,000. Unfortunately, you lost a very special letter, but at the same time, wow. I mean, it goes to show you what people have to go through in this tough economy. And we thought, when we read about your story, this would be the perfect opportunity -- I know you decided to go back to school, which is fantastic. But you also would love part-time work. So, we thought this would be the perfect opportunity for to you do a "30-Second Pitch."
So, are you ready?
CLINE: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Okay. Jennifer Cline, take it away.
CLINE: My name is Jennifer Cline. I'm from Monroe, Michigan. I am a mother of two children. I was a pharmacy tech for six-and-a-half years, and the company I worked for went out of business. I have also done a lot of other jobs, such as bartending and I instructed line dancing. I have written a novel that has been edited by a professional editor.
I have a lot of skills. I'm looking for a part time job on the weekends and some evenings because I'm a full-time student. I am pre- nursing --
(BELL RINGS)
PHILLIPS: You have a heck of a lot of talents. I'll tell you what. We need more than 30 seconds for you, Jennifer!
CLINE: Yes.
PHILLIPS: And she wrote the president of the United States and got a response.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS; We appreciate you so much. I know that you got a little rattled today because on your way to the studio, you got a flat tire. And bless your heart, you got it fixed, you got there. And we were able to do this for you.
I sure hope we help you, Jennifer. You're strong woman. Thank you so much for coming in.
CLINE: Thank you, thank you.
PHILLIPS: You're very welcome. Very welcome. Good, I love to see that smile. If you are out of work and want to sell yourself to prospective employers, just let us know. Send your resume and a letter to 30secondpitch@CNN.com. Also, if you want to hire one a 30-Second Pitcher like Jennifer, all you've got to do is go to our blog, CNN.com/kyra. All of the information and e-mails will be there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: So, after Tuesday's whooping, President Obama may be down, but he's not out, according to a new poll. CNN congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar here with more. Brianna?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's one of the stories on the ticker right now, Kyra, but first let's tell you about something that's going to be happening a couple of weeks from now. We just heard this from President Obama. He is going to be having top Democrats and Republicans from Congress over to the White House two weeks from today on November 18th. And they're going to be talking about what needs to get done in the lame duck Congress between now and when the new Congress takes place. Top of the agenda has to do with those Bush-era tax cuts that are going to expire at the end of the year.
Also on the Ticker, the story you mentioned. Oddly, even though Democrats got creamed in the midterm elections this week, President Obama, when you stack him up in a hypothetical 2012 presidential run, he does pretty well, especially against Sarah Palin. The breakdown there, 52 percent for Obama - or pardon me, 44 percent for Sarah Palin among all registered voters. You can check out our latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll on that on the Political Ticker.
And also, House speaker Nancy Pelosi. What is she going to do? This was, of course, one of the questions she got from ABC News' Diane Sawyer in her first interview after the midterm election results came out. This was an interview from last night. She told her she has no regrets. She also says she hasn't had time on really reflect on whether she feels bruised by the elections. And she did mention that she has a good rapport with John Boehner, the soon-to-be speaker. But Kyra, any hint on whether she will stay in charge of Democrats or step aside from leadership or get out of Congress altogether, she is not saying.
All of those stories on the Ticker, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. We're waiting.
Well, the votes, the candidates, the balance of power. Watch our next Political Ticker in one hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. If you missed the midterm elections, then I'm sure that most of you saw one moment or another. There's obviously lots of memorable highs and lows. And of course, who is the best person to put it all together, but our Jeanne Moos?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you didn't manage to catch every confetti drop, let us help you catch up with a few of our favorite moments.
SARAH PALIN, FORMER GOVERNOR OF ALASKA: It is a big darn deal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are looking for something new, but I'm a little something old.
CARL PALADINO, FORMER GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE FOR NEW YORK: You have not heard the last of Carl Paladino.
(APPLAUSE)
MOOS: And that was his concession speech, wielding a bat he promised to use to knock sense into Albany if elected New York governor. But the oddest post-election comments came from another losing candidate, Alvin Greene.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some people said your campaign was a joke. Was it a joke?
ALVIN GREENE, FORMER SENATE CANDIDATE (D), SOUTH CAROLINA: No, no, no, no, no. It's very serious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you going to run again?
GREENE: Run for what?
MOOS: Run from the press.
GREENE: Check this out.
MOOS: Our favorite unscripted TV moment came when Chris Matthews was interviewing Tea Party favorite Michele Bachman. Check out the parody cover being held up behind her back. It's a parody of Sarah Palin's book, "Going Rogue" switched to "Going Crazy." It lasted 15 seconds and then this happened -
MICHELE BACHMAN (R), MINNESOTA: People have been saying -
MOOS: Seconds later, a bigger sign appeared saying, "How's the tingle, Chris?" a reference to Chris Matthews once saying he felt a thrill up his leg listening to Barack Obama speak about America. Representative Bachmann wasn't really answering Matthews' questions?
CHRIS MATTEWS, HOST, MSNBC'S "HARDBALL": Are you hypnotized? Has someone put you under a trace tonight that you give me the same answer, no matter what question I put to you?
BACHMANN: I imagine that thrill is probably maybe not quite so tingly on your leg anymore.
MATTHEWS: I know. Your sign holders already raised that issue.
MOOS (on camera): And what would an election be without a few tears shed?
(voice-over): For instance, from likely House speaker to be, John Boehner.
JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), LIKELY NEXT HOUSE SPEAKER: Chasing the American dream.
MOOS: And his team won. Christine O'Donnell lost, but she didn't cry. Her brother did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For all rallying (CRIES).
MOOS: O'Donnell comforted her brother, then mentioned he's a Democrat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we had arguments. You know, particularly about the mice with the human brains and stuff.
CHRISTINE O'DONNELL (R), FORMER SENATE CANDIDATE, DELAWARE: Human brain cells!
MOOS: And talk about arguments.
ALEX CASTELLANOS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: There's a dead body on the ground.
DONNA BRAZILE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You said listen to the people?
CASTELLANOS: Excuse me.
BRAZILE: No, no. I'm not finished. You interrupted a lady.
(LAUGHTER)
MOOS (on camera): And while the human pundits occasionally snapped, how did the puppy pundits do at prognosticating?
JIMMY FALLON, "LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON": Release the puppies. Let's see what they're going to go for.
MOOS (voice-over): On election eve, Jimmy Fallon used two dishes of dog food to make the pups between Paladino and Cuomo for New York governor.
FALLON: The puppies have voted.
MOOS: The pups picked Paladino 3-2 and turned out to be wrong, but pups don't mind eating anything -- even crow.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Thanks for being with us. We'll be back here tomorrow. That does it for us.
Don Lemon handling the duties now.
(LAUGHTER)
