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NASA Ohio Facility on Lockdown; Hiring Picks up in October; Investigation Continues Into Qantas Plane Engine Failure; Patty Murray Returning to Senate for Washington State; Singer Fights to Save Voice & Life; Bush's Startling Admission
Aired November 05, 2010 - 11:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. Live from Studio 7 at CNN world headquarters, the news and information you need for Friday, November 5th.
Passenger in disguise. Look at this. An elderly, frail, Caucasian man boards a flight in Hong Kong. He leaves the plane in Vancouver as a 20-something Asian. Huh?
Miner on a media roll. One of Chile's rescued heroes hams it up Elvis style in New York.
And Monopoly at 75. Hasbro says more than a billion people have played the iconic board game, passing go on their way to real estate riches.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. Those stories and your comments right here, right now in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Upbeat news -- wow -- about jobs this morning, raising hopes that things may finally be turning around. Fingers crossed on that, right?
The Labor Department says employers added 151,000 jobs last month. That's the most since May, much higher than economists predicted. Businesses continued to add jobs for the 10th month in a row, but the unemployment rate remains stuck at 9.6 percent. President Obama says the numbers on job growth are encouraging.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now, that's not good enough. The unemployment rate is still unacceptably high, and we have got a lot of work to do.
This recession caused a great deal of hardship and it put millions of people out of work. So, in order to repair this damage, in order to create the jobs to meet the large need, we need to accelerate our economic growth so that we are producing jobs at a faster pace, because the fact is an encouraging jobs report doesn't make a difference if you are still one of the millions of people who are looking for work.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: Absolutely. We will break down the jobs report in more detail in just a couple of minutes. Economist Danny Boston from Georgia Tech will take a closer look at the numbers and put them into some kind of context for us.
(NEWSBREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: One of the big stories for you this morning, one of Chile's rescued miners is in the U.S. to run in New York City's marathon this weekend. Edison Pena says he jogged the mine tunnels daily during the 67 days underground.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDISON PENA, RESCUED CHILE MINER (through translator): Yes, I was running to show that I wasn't just waiting around. I was running to be an active participant in my own salvation.
I wasn't just waiting around. I was running because I was also contributing to the struggle for our rescue. And I also wanted God to see that I really wanted to live.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Yes. Pena -- I don't know if you know this -- is a huge Elvis fan. He did a little "Suspicious Minds" on "Letterman" last night. It is a clip worth waiting for, I promise.
Job growth picks up, but the unemployment rate doesn't budge. Economist Thomas "Danny" Boston joining us in just a couple of minutes.
Good to see you, Doctor.
We will put these numbers into some kind of context for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: The Labor Department says employers added 151,000 jobs last month. President Obama says that's good, but not good enough. And if you are one of the millions out of work, I'm sure you would agree with that.
Georgia Tech economist Thomas "Danny" Boston joining us now to break down the report.
The good news is total payroll employment, that 151,000 number.
THOMAS "DANNY" BOSTON, ECONOMIST, GEORGIA TECH: It looks good. It looks good. But it's a good-looking number and it's a reason to be encouraged, but you also have to keep that number in perspective.
That number, along all of the figures that we get every month, fluctuates up and down. So it may eventually get up to 200,000 or it will be 70,000, but it's encouraging to see it where it is. So we have to look at that number and then look at the other numbers.
HARRIS: Part of this perspective that you're going to give us here is this sense that while it's a good number, there is still way too much -- what you call inertia.
BOSTON: We're moving sideways, not forward. The unemployment rate continues to remain the same, at 9.6 percent. And also troubling is the fact that the size of the civilian labor force decreased by 250,000 people.
Now, we would like to see that increasing, because that would mean that more people care coming into the labor market. So there are some troubling signs.
HARRIS: You know, we do this every month now.
BOSTON: Right.
HARRIS: And it begins to sound like the same song, same verse, even, from month to month. Can you give us some kind of perspective on this jobs picture, where we might be going, what's holding us back? Give me something here.
BOSTON: Right. We have to break through this. We've been here for a while, as you said, and we ought to see progress taking place in a recovery.
There are a number of problems I think that's going on. I think the quantitative easing is not necessarily helping.
HARRIS: And what does that mean?
BOSTON: That means that the Federal Reserve has decided to put $600 billion into the economy to keep interest rates low under the assumption that investors will borrow money, consumers can refinance mortgages, and small businesses can borrow. Nice assumption, but it has not been happening.
The only sector that's been borrowing the money is the corporate sector, and they're sitting on mountains of cash and deciding when and if they will invest. And, in fact, in some sense, the economy is even being held hostage because they want to sit back and make sure that the policies that they like are in place before they can invest. And that's not helpful.
HARRIS: So we've tried this quantitative easing before.
BOSTON: Right. We've been there before.
HARRIS: We tried this before.
BOSTON: We've been there before. And again, I think -- and it's not a blanket criticism -- I think that they're looking for something to do because the economy is stuck where it is. So something has to happen.
HARRIS: But more troubling to me is the observation, your observation, that the big corporations that can afford to do this borrowing and sit on this cash, $2 trillion, whatever the number is, that they're waiting for policies that they like. I suppose if I'm running a big business, I would like to operate that way as well, but the idea -- there are a lot of people out of work right now.
BOSTON: There are a lot of people out of work.
HARRIS: And if you could be hiring, but you're not hiring because you're waiting for the rosiest picture possible, there's something that feels wrong about that.
BOSTON: It doesn't -- low interest rates means that it doesn't cost them anything to wait. They can borrow money, and the opportunity cost of doing that is very little. So it doesn't cost them anything.
Now, imagine a year ago, here was the same sector that was really looking for a lifeline. You know, we need to be rescued. Now they're sitting on a mountain of cash and deciding when and where they're going to invest.
HARRIS: OK. Let's continue to talk this through. But it's good to see you.
I will tell you folks at home that you watch Danny every month, and maybe a couple of times a month with us, but this man has been through something with his personal health.
And I just want to you know we've missed you, we love you, and we are happy that you are back.
BOSTON: Great to be back.
HARRIS: And in fighting health.
BOSTON: Great to be back with you.
HARRIS: Hale and hearty.
BOSTON: Yes.
HARRIS: OK. Stay that way.
BOSTON: OK.
HARRIS: All right.
We're following a breaking story involving a Qantas flight that has returned to Singapore. Shortly after taking off from Sydney, the plane had engine problems.
Let's do this -- let's get to our Zain Verjee. She's in Malaysia. And Zain, what are you learning? What's the latest on this?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Tony.
I just got off the phone with the Australian Transport and Safety Board, and they confirmed that another Qantas plane has taken off and had to return to Singapore with engine trouble. Now, CNN's affiliate ABC in Australia is also saying that it was the Qantas Flight QF-6. It was going from Singapore to Sydney, and it experienced engine failure just after takeoff at 9:17 local time.
The plane was a Boeing 747-700. They say it was carrying 417 passengers and 19 crew. That's according to a spokeswoman quoted by ABC News in Australia.
We're trying to get more information, but this has got to be another big blow to Qantas and to the passengers -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK. Zain, appreciate it. Thank you. If you get additional information on that, just let us know and we'll get you back on the air.
Let's take a break.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, we want to talk a little sports here. I don't know if you're aware of this amazing horse, this amazing mare, miracle mare.
Rafer Weigel from HLN is with us. Rafer handles sports on Robin's show.
RAFER WEIGEL, HLN: Robin Meade, "The Morning Express."
HARRIS: The big show.
WEIGEL: Which I know you watch every morning.
HARRIS: Oh my goodness! You better believe it!
So, tell everybody about Zenyatta and why this is such an amazing story with this miracle mare.
WEIGEL: This is not hyperbole. There has been -- we have not seen this much enthusiasm and hype around horse racing since 1973 with Secretariat.
HARRIS: With Secretariat, the super horse!
WEIGEL: We have seen the movie of "Secretariat" we have seen the movie of "Sea Biscuit." This is the third Hollywood movie.
This mare has won 19 straight races. If she wins tomorrow, this filly, she will be the first horse, first thoroughbred, ever to win 20 straight.
The owners bought her for $60,000.
HARRIS: Do you believe this?
WEIGEL: Sixty grand, because they thought she had ringworm. That's why she went so cheap.
She has already made over $6.5 million. That is the all-time most winnings for a filly. And she's 6 years old. She's the oldest horse in the field.
HARRIS: And is favored to win?
WEIGEL: And is favored to win. And if she does win, there was talk this would be her last race. If it does, Hollywood could not write a better script.
HARRIS: Hey, when you think about Sparky Anderson, the great Sparky Anderson who just passed away, right, what do you think? Because I've got a recollection to myself.
WEIGEL: Well, how I have sort of been phrasing it to non-sports fans, I want to you imagine the best supervisor or manager you have ever had. OK?
HARRIS: Perfect.
WEIGEL: Somebody who managed up, somebody who maybe focused on your positives and helped you work through your negatives, but still commanded respect, somebody that you liked. That was this man.
HARRIS: Yes. Perfect.
WEIGEL: This man was universally loved by the players, by the media who covered him -- and we hate everybody -- I'm kidding -- and even by the ground crews. But was really interesting about Anderson -- and he was incredibly successful -- was he wasn't always a good manager.
In the beginning, he had a very bad temper, thus the nickname "Sparky."
HARRIS: Sparky, right.
WEIGEL: And he realized he had to go through a transformation and become more humble, and that humility, that affability, and that success is what made this man unique. And we're celebrating his life even though it's a sad day.
HARRIS: Yes. Can I tell you something? I got to see him in 1970.
I'm a kid growing up in Baltimore, and my Orioles are playing the Reds in the 19770 World Series.
WEIGEL: The first year with the Reds.
HARRIS: Yes. I got to see all those iconic Reds, right? Tony Perez and all those guys -- Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, and the Orioles --
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: And the works. And you had these two -- they would become iconic managers, right? There was Earl Weaver and Sparky Anderson. Loved that guy. Loved his temperament.
OK. Before we go, Chilean miner.
WEIGEL: A Chilean miner has been embraced by the sports world because, as we know, he has said he was running to keep his sanity down into the mine. Now he's running the marathon.
Med Kevlevsky (ph), the defending champ from the United States, is not even the sentimental favorite because of this guy.
HARRIS: That's right.
WEIGEL: And so we have embraced him, and now --
HARRIS: Edison Pena.
WEIGEL: -- you've got Edison Pena. A big fan of Elvis. Can we show the video of him singing?
HARRIS: As we say goodbye to Rafer -- have a great weekend -- and let's show the clip.
(MUSIC)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right. This week, one of our CNN Hero judges, activist and philanthropist Hill Harper, introduces you to Aki Ra. Aki Ra laid thousands of mines as a Khmer Rouge child soldier in Cambodia. Now he clears the mines he once planted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILL HARPER, ACTOR: Hi. I'm Hill Harper.
Having previously attended "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute," I was honored to serve as a 2010 blue ribbon panelist and helped choose this year's Top Ten. Through my foundation, Manifest Your Destiny, I am personally committed to making a difference in the lives of young people, and I see just how much the world needs heroes.
Now I am thrilled to help CNN introduce one of this year's Top Ten honorees.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) AKI RA, CNN HERO (through translator): My name is Aki Ra. When I was 10 years old, the Khmer Rouge chose me to be a soldier. Sometimes in a week we were ordered to plant 4,000 to 5,000 mines.
I saw a lot of people dying. I put people in danger and damaged the country.
After the war was over, I decided to clear mines by myself. Now people have joined me. Now it's safe.
The villagers are requesting us to demine because the people are afraid of mines. I have done a lot of good things, different from during the war. I have cleared thousands of mines. I want Cambodia to be safe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: You can vote for any of our Top Ten Heroes to be the 2010 CNN Hero of the Year. You can also win a trip to Los Angeles to "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute," hosted by our own Anderson Cooper.
To enter the sweepstakes or to vote for the Hero of the Year, just go to CNNHeroes.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Here we go. Today new numbers show the economy added 151,000 jobs, but the unemployment rate stayed at 9.6 percent, stubbornly. Alison Kosik on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with details.
What are curmudgeonly traders, those hard scrabble traders, a couple of them lurking behind you there, what are they staying? What's the Street saying about the numbers in the jobs report?
Look at that. See, that's what I'm talking about right there.
ALLISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: They want to get on TV, too, they can't help it.
You know what? Today, they are not curmudgeons, though. Ask anybody on this trading floor, today, Tony, and they are bullish on jobs, they're bullish on the economy as a whole.
Sure, stocks not showing that right now. Take a look at the board, the Dow Industrials flat, Nasdaq same. Not seeing much movement, the euphoria of yesterday's rally is gone a bit. Not such a huge surprise that -- we saw a lot of money pour in yesterday, not such a big surprise that stocks are taking a bit of a breather, but traders are remaining positive.
And if you are in everyday America watching this, the good news is the private sector is adding jobs. In fact, all of this year the private sector has actually been adding jobs every month. It's really a sign of confidence that corporate America is really getting back on the bandwagon again. So where is it happening? We're seeing in temporary services sector, health care, retailers and food services also hiring.
HARRIS: Awesome. Alison, see you next hour. Appreciate it, thank you.
A lot of videos we want to show you. Josh is going to help us work through -- we have a maze of videos.
Good to see you, sir. What's hot?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are starting off in outer space. Have you seen this? Close encounter. A spacecraft survives the closest encounter ever. These are brand new pictures from NASA. The comet Hartley passed 475 miles from a spacecraft. That's really close. NASA is hoping to learn more about the nature of the comet with these images.
HARRIS: Well, let's learn from this, yes. Absolutely.
LEVS: OK, Tony, here's something that probably never happened to you. You're waiting for a subway train to come and you decide that's a good time to take a nap.
HARRIS: Yes, well I lived for more than a few years in New York. Took more than my share of subway trains.
LEVS: Did you? But did you ever take a nap standing there? Look at what this guy did, kind of feel bad for him. He's taking a nap up against the sliding door and you can kind of already tell --
HARRIS: How does he not fall? Oh, jeez.
LEVS: I withheld comment till you saw what happened. Poor guy. He appeared to be in a deep sleep. I want to know who is holding the camera, see it's coming and doesn't do anything until the good Samaritans run and help him.
HARRIS: So the guy -- OK, he was waiting for the train. Let's watch it one more time because we can.
LEVS: Not the ideal spot for a nap.
HARRIS: Wait for it, wait for it.
LEVS: Oh, man.
HARRIS: Other people's misery. But he's OK.
LEVS: I'm only showing it to you because he's OK. I wouldn't do it otherwise.
And our favorite video of the other day --
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
LEVS: Some people would, but this one would not.
All right, favorite video of the other day. You know how everyone tries to sing, "I Will Always Love You" by --
HARRIS: The great Whitney Houston song.
LEVS: Well, Dolly Parton and then Whitney Houston.
HARRIS: Written by Dolly Parton and recorded by Dolly Parton.
LEVS: Exactly. Well, here's someone who tries and can't hit the notes right, gets frustrated.
Roll the tape.
(VIDEO CLIP FROM YOUTUBE)
LEVS: I will tell you this. She has become famous now sort of as a YouTube singer.
HARRIS: Honestly, honestly. How long does this continue here?
LEVS: It just keeps continuing going and going.
But why has no one ever done that when auditioning for "American Idol." You know? Simon says something and you just scream like that. I'd love to see his face. That's one way to be famous. Maybe you don't know the notes, but you got some new antics to go with it, you're hot on YouTube.
HARRIS: Josh Levs. "What's Hot?" Next hour?
LEVS: Yes, we got more.
HARRIS: All right, thank you, sir.
A programming note. I think we're all looking forward to this. Conan O'Brien making his debut Monday night 11:00 Eastern on our sister network, TBS.
Josh, together with me.
LEVS: Very funny.
HARRIS: Very funny.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK, we have a winner. An undecided race in the Senate is now decided. Paul Steinhauser, part of "The Best Political Team on Television" joining us live from the political desk in Washington. What's crossing now? PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Tony, you are absolutely right. Out in Washington state that election is finally over three days after the midterms, and Patty Murray is coming back right here to Washington, D.C., winning that very close election. Dino Rossi, the Republican Senate nominee out there conceding. So Patty Murray coming back to Washington for a fourth term.
But, Tony, there are bunch of other elections where it is not over yet. Take a look at this. In the Senate, we have one race left. That is Alaska. They need to count the write-in ballots up there. So that one is going to go into overtime into next week. So that one is far from over.
Nine House races continue and three gubernatorial contests are also still up in the air -- Connecticut, Minnesota and Vermont. But Vermont and Connecticut may be very quickly resolved, maybe even later today. Minnesota is definitely going into overtime for sure, Tony.
Mike Huckabee, talk about the Alaska race. You know, Joe Miller, he's the Republican Senate nominee, he's backed by the Tea Party movement. The write-in candidate, of course, is Lisa Murkowski, the current Republican senator. So Mike Huckabee is coming to Miller's aid and he's put out an email to his supporters saying, please, send some donations to Miller because you know what? He's probably going to have legal challenges and he's going to need your help as that Alaska race going into overtime and the lawyers get involved.
And you know, Tony, every time a lawyer getting involved, it gets expensive.
HARRIS: It really does. All right, Paul. Boy, do I know that. See you next hour.
Your next political update in an hour and for the latest political news, you know where to go, that's CNNPolitics.com.
All right, Monopoly turned 75. Quite a milestone, wouldn't you say, for the most popular board game in the world? It was created by a man who was unemployed during the Great Depression in the 1930s. So there's a little inspiration for you, great things can come out of bad times.
So here's the question: Which of these has never been a Monopoly token? A, rocking horse, B, thimble, C, ring, or D, dog.
Think about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So, our question before the break was, which of these has never been a monopoly token, A, rocking horse, B, thimble, C, ring, D, dog. The answer is, C, ring. The rocking horse was actually an original piece that was discontinued in the 1950s, but there was never a ring.
Let's get you caught up on our "Top Stories" right now. Indonesia's Mount Merapi erupts again killing at least 69 people and injuring 77. A witness says it's raining volcanic ash and rocks. The death toll since eruptions last month now 113.
Federal agents arrest 45 people in Georgia believed to be members of a top Mexican drug cartel. DEA agents confiscated almost $2.4 million in cash.
And a CNN exclusive -- authorities call this an unbelievable case of concealment. A man boards an Air Canada flight from Hong Kong as an old Caucasian man, then midflight goes to the bathroom and emerges as a young Asian man. Needless to say, an investigation is underway. The man seeking refugee protection in Canada.
Her voice is her gift, but a rare lung disease threatened to take it all away. Her opera career and her life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Opera singer Charity Tillemann Dick believes, in her own words, that fear is not an option. An illness but that to the test. Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That soaring voice belongs to Charity Tillemann-Dick, a voice that almost went silent. Six years ago, she was diagnosed with a rare lung disease. Without treatment, doctors said, she'd be dead within five years.
CHARITY TILLEMANN-DICK, RECEIVED DOUBLE LUNG TRANSPLANT: And it just -- it didn't seem real.
GUPTA: For awhile, medication was enough, but by last summer, her only operation was a double lung transplant at the Cleveland Clinic.
Her family, ten brothers and sisters, had always been at her side, but when she was rushed to surgery, she was alone. She pleaded with her doctor.
Please, please, keep me alive so I can say goodbye to my mother. And I told him that if he could do tying save my voice, to do it.
GUPTA: She was in a coma for a month. There was another month before she could speak a word.
They took me off of the trache, and they told me to say ee, and nothing would come out. And I wouldn't stop, and finally, finally, you could hear e, e, e, and it started coming out, and tears were streaming down my face. And I remember thinking to myself, I am so deeply grateful, I can make sounds.
When I got home, the first song that I sang and I had this real connection to was "Smile" by Charlie Chaplin. You know, smile when your heart is breaking, even though its aching.
When I sing, I feel like I'm taken to another place and it's this place of pure sound and transcendent beauty.
GUPTA: Beauty saved by the grace of an organ donor.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Got to tell you, it's really feeling like a startling admission in George W. Bush's new memoir. Could it lead to legal trouble?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So she's a pop superstar, right? A respected actress. That translates into tons of fans, right, for Janet Jackson. But that doesn't mean she has a lot of friends.
Pete, we'd friend her in a minute. A heartbeat.
PETE DOMINICK, HOST, "WHAT THE WEEK": I would be their friend, but I don't care what's going on in their life.
HARRIS: You don't?
DOMINICK: No, that's why I'm doing this new show here. Why would I -- why do we care about celebrities as if, like, I should care about --
(CROSSTALK)
DOMINICK: -- do you think I've got a shot? I don't, and so I don't care. I'm never going to have her life, never going to have her beauty. I'm not going to have any of that. So I care about the things that affect my kids, your kids. The apathy, Tony.
HARRIS: A moment with Janet Jackson from last night's "LARRY KING LIVE."
DOMINICK: Oh, I care about Larry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": In a recent "Jet" magazine article, you said that in the past you have not had a lot of friends. Is that a direct quote?
JANET JACKSON, ENTERTAINER: I don't have a lot of friends.
KING: Why?
JACKSON: It's not easy in this industry. And I'm glad I don't have a lot of friends.
KING: Is that a trust issue?
JACKSON: Yes, it's very much so a trust issue. I'm happy with the people that I have around me and they've been friends of mine since I was young, for a very long time.
KING: So new people don't come in to Janet Jackson's life easily?
JACKSON: Not really. It's definitely a trust issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: But I'm trying.
Pete Dominick is with us. Another bald guy to the CNN family.
What was that device there? Does that thing really work?
DOMINICK: The Head Blade.
HARRIS: It really -- does it work?
DOMINICK: Absolutely. I don't have razor on it, but it's kind of changed my life.
HARRIS: There you go.
DOMINICK: That one's yours and I'll get you some razors.
HARRIS: With this you get a fresh baldy any time you want?
DOMINICK: Any time you want, man. Absolutely.
HARRIS: What's the name of your show, when is it on the air?
DOMINICK: "WHAT THE WEEK."
HARRIS: What the week? What does that mean? What the week?
DOMINICK: It's a wrap up of the whole week, Tony. We look back at the whole week and put it into 30 minutes. It's on 10:30 Saturday night. So put it on your phone, whatever, mark it down, 10:30 Saturday nights. We're taking a look at important issues that affect a lot of people and we're going to --
HARRIS: Funny, serious? Serious, funny?
DOMINICK: Yes, little funny and a little entertaining. But we're going to get across the point that these issues matter and the people that are talking about them matter. It's new for CNN and it's really exciting and I'm really excited to be hosting it.
HARRIS: So what do you do? You call up the folks here, the powers that be at CNN and say, hey, look, "WHAT THE WEEK"? Or they call you and say, hey -- DOMINICK: I've been doing this thing with John King on "JOHN KING USA" where I go on the streets. But I host every day a three- hour political show. I'm a standup comedian and I realized that through my standup I wasn't getting enough importance out.
HARRIS: Right.
DOMINICK: So I started doing the political stuff and I loved that. We have an open-minded conversation --
HARRIS: Do you have enough material? Come on. You could do two hours a day on television.
DOMINICK: Yes, but the difference is what we do on TV and on radio is we don't talk -- we don't make up arguments. We don't talk every time Sarah Palin tweets. We talk about issues that affect people and families in America, whether it's the economy or the environment, those are the issues we're talking about every week.
HARRIS: Here's a little sampler platter of your work. Let's roll this.
DOMINICK: Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOMINICK: I like to focus on the issues that really affect people, not on Brett Favre, Kim Kardashian. Although, I definitely want to know what's going on in her life. I might have a shot. Is my wife watching?
Are you voting?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
DOMINICK: I heard $2 billion on this election. Is that too much or not enough?
What would you rather do without, your phone or your wife for one day?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I pick the day?
DOMINICK: So you're more of a listener. Yes.
JOHN KING, HOST, "JOHN KING USA": Pete, I think already they're printing bumper stickers, Palin/Pete 2012.
DOMINICK: Five days before election day, Sarah Palin so much as sneezes, will she be the president?
This place is about to erupt. It's packed shoulder to shoulder all the way from here to I think South Brunswick, New Jersey.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't come in close minded. It's nice to know there are so many people that appreciate sanity.
DOMINICK: Why did you come here today?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wanted to get a spot in the National Portrait Gallery.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Good stuff, man.
DOMINICK: Thank you very much.
HARRIS: All right, so this Saturday.
DOMINICK: This Saturday, 10:30, put it in your phones, put it in your --
HARRIS: Don't say every Saturday, Pete, because we have to test this thing.
DOMINICK: No, no. Every Saturday for now until the end of time on CNN, "WHAT THE WEEK."
HARRIS: We have to test this thing.
DOMINICK: It's been testing. We're on week number six. So far, so good. People like it.
HARRIS: Good to see you.
DOMINICK: You, too, man.
HARRIS: What do we think of a guy who gets on a plane as an old Caucasian guy? Somewhere in flight -- he looks like this guy when he gets off. He's a 20-something Asian guy. "WHAT THE WEEK." It's something for "WHAT THE WEEK."
DOMINICK: Or Steven Spielberg.
HARRIS: Hello! We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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HARRIS: You know, he seemed to vanish. But former President George W. Bush is everywhere these days promoting his memoir. "Decision Points" chronicles key moments of Bush's life and presidency, including the plan to waterboard terror suspects.
CNN's Mary Snow takes a look.
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MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Some legal experts say the former president is opening himself up to the possibility of prosecution by admitting his personal involvement in the decision to use waterboarding, but they highly doubt he'll face legal consequences. Waterboarding that simulates drowning and has since been banned by the Obama administration.
Now in his memoir "Decision Points" George W. Bush writes about the moment he was asked about whether to approve the use of waterboarding on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged September 11th mastermind. The president's answer, "Damn right," reports Reuters who obtained a copy of his book.
Now the former president writes that it was used on three detainees, defending it by saying it led to intelligence that thwart attacks.
The former president also writes about doing whatever it takes protect the country and he was asked about that on an interview aired on NBC's "Today" show.
MATT LAUER, NBC ANCHOR: You could say it took Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib and government eavesdropping and waterboarding. Did it take too much?
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We didn't have an attack. Three thousand people died on September the 11th and I vowed that I would do my duty to protect the American people, and they didn't hit us again.
Time dulls memory. And I understand that, but it didn't dull my memory, because I was charged with protecting America and those decisions I made were necessary.
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HARRIS: Well, Bush writes in the book, the worst moment of his presidency happened when rapper Kanye West said the president didn't care about black people. Bush says he still resents the remark.
The former president sits down with CNN's Candy Crowley for a special edition of "STATE OF THE UNION." That's next Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
