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President Obama in India; GOP Questions White House Cooperation

Aired November 08, 2010 - 10:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It is the top of the hour now. Tony will be back at 11:00 but it's 10:00. You got about an hour. 7:00 a.m. in the west. Here are some of the stories that have us talking this morning. President Obama in India delivering a message of cooperation, hoping to return with something that Americans desperately need, jobs.

Just north of New York City, a fire shuts down part of an Indian Point nuclear power plant. Workers said there was never the threat of radiation leak from the transformer explosion. One of the two units is off line just as a precaution.

And count down to Co-Co, more than nine months after NBC booted Conan O'Brien from the "Tonight Show," his new show debuts tonight. It's on TBS, our sister network, actors Tom Hanks and Jon Hamm are among this first guests this week.

All right. This morning, President Obama is in India, but his thoughts are very much on the changing political landscape back in Washington. The president says that he shares much of the blame for the voter anger that ousted Democrats last week and will put the House under GOP control in January.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Part of my promise to the American people when I was elected was to maintain the kind of tone that says we can disagree without being disagreeable, and I think over the course of two years, there have been times when I slipped on that commitment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: So as the president vows a renewed sense of cooperation on Capitol Hill, some Republicans are publicly skeptical. They say the White House will have to prove its willingness to compromise, and the man expected to become the new House majority leader in January says Democrats can not ignore the message that voters sent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ERIC CANTOR (R), MINORITY WHIP: When you hear the president say things like, we did a poor job at explaining what we were trying to do, I think that that's indicative of his not getting it because the voters have had enough of the Obama agenda.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: All right. So, will there be cooperation on anything? We have been talking about this for weeks now, and "New Yorker" magazine is pretty skeptical. We've been talking about this for weeks now. "New Yorker" magazine is pretty skeptical as well, at least judging by the magazine's cover. It shows the president offering a hand shake to the incoming speaker of the House, John Boehner, and the Republican instead responds with a fist bump.

So with two months to go before the Republicans actually assumes control of the House, we want to look at this battle lines that are already being drawn. We talked about this with our John Roberts, the fact that there was a huge concern about gridlock.

John, we are doing a number of interviews about this for the past couple of weeks, and it looks like Republicans are laying down a hard line here. You know, they're not going to necessarily play nice.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. They made huge inroads in the midterm elections but after being the party of no for the first two years of the Obama administration. So by one play book, you might say well, why stop now. But the other side of that coin, Kyra, is now that they're going to control the House in early 2011, can you get by on just saying no or do you actually have to have some legislative accomplishments behind you so that when you run again in 2012 especially when you try to regain the White House in 2012, you got to have a record and the records got to be more than just no.

So what the Republicans are going to go after first of all, health care. When I spoke to Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana, the day after the election, he suggested that the Republicans wanted to rip up health care by the roots and tear it down and start all over again. The incoming speaker of the House, John Boehner says very much the same thing that you have to repeal and replace it with something else. Are they going to be able to do that?

Democrats in the Senate side are saying we might be open to a few tweaks but they're certainly not entertaining anything like the wholesale restructuring of health care reform. And then there's the tax cut fight, what to do about the tax cuts. You won't here any of the Republicans mention the word tax cuts. Eric Cantor, the incoming majority leader says tax rates, not tax cuts. Of course, these are the Bush tax cuts that sunset at the end of this year. So what to do about them is going to be another fight.

Though it's all - they've got to position themselves to try to have some accomplishments but they also know at the same time that they got a lot behind them, they got a lot done. They made a lot of inroads simply by saying no to everything that the president proposed.

PHILLIPS: So what's it going to take for anything to get done in the next two years? I mean, bottom line, that's what voters, a lot of angry and frustrated voters, want to know. ROBERTS: Yes, well, there comes the grand word "compromise," and whether there will be any compromise. The president said he'd like to work together with Republicans. There are some Democrats in the Senate who said that they would like to reach across the aisle. But it's all a matter of ideology. You know, they are polar opposites here and can those polar opposites actually come together?

I mean, it's interesting to look at the campaign that Republicans are waging with the Democrats about the woman who will be the minority leader, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. They're saying, oh, you Democrats, you'd be crazy to re-elect her, to put her in as the minority leader and that could cause Democrats to dig in their heels and say, we're not going to listen to you, and we're go to do what we want to do and re-elect her.

And that may be playing to the Republican strategy because certainly they had a pretty good go running against her in the midterms in 2010 and it may have another good go if she is the minority leader running against her in 2012. We'll see.

PHILLIPS: John, thanks.

Well, the economy is one of the most critical issues in Washington as well as much as the president's focus during his trip to India. This morning he addressed the nation's parliament, his topics ranging from terrorism to nuclear arms but for millions of Americans, there may be no topic more important than jobs and it could be created under new trade agreements between the world's two largest democracies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Instead of resisting the global economy, you became one of its engines, reforming the licensing (INAUDIBLE), and unleashing an economic marvel that has lifted tens of millions of people from poverty and created one of the world's largest middle classes. Instead of succumbing to division, you have shown that the strength of India, the very idea of India is its embrace of all colors, all casts, all creeds.

Well, today, President Obama also called for India to have a permanent seat in the U.N. security council, and that's considered another major sign of the growing ties between the two countries.

Haiti's now coping with another disaster, the aftermath of Hurricane Tomas. That storm hit over the weekend and it killed at least six people, left many more homeless, flooded streets, stopped relief trucks right in their tracks, and all of that extra water could make Haiti's cholera problem even worse.

Nearly 550 people died since the outbreak last month and another 8,000 or so are in hospitals. Andrea Koppel on the phone with us now. Andrea, what's the situation with regard to the flood water at least going down and making things better right now?

ANDREA KOPPEL, AMERICAN RED CROSS (ON THE PHONE): Well, Kyra, it depends upon what part of the country you're talking about. I'm currently in the capital of Port-au-Prince where there really went floods. Some of the canals, the water got quite high but they didn't actually overflow. So that's great news.

When you talk about the western part of the country, like Les Cayes, (INAUDIBLE), Leogane, there you had the water rise in rivers and in some places like Leogane actually overflow. The reason that's concerning is for a number of reasons.

Obviously, it makes the conditions miserable but it also produces standing water. It can overflow pit latrines and other septic tanks and things like that, and what is how cholera can spread through contaminated water, feces, things of that nature. Now, the American Red Cross, and the Red Cross Global Network has been on top of this for weeks now since we first heard of the cholera outbreak has been spreading through SMS text messages. (INAUDIBLE) messages telling people simple hygiene can help prevent the spread of cholera and we believe that fortunately those messages have been getting out, and also through the spread of other messages through communities we're hopefully going to keep people as healthy as possible.

PHILLIPS: I should probably clarify, you are actually a spokesperson for American Red Cross. I've been getting a lot of e- mails here from people saying, is Andrea Koppel back working for us now. It does sound like you're reporting for us, Andrea. It's great to hear your voice but I should make it very clear that you're working for the Red Cross right now, which is how we got connected with you.

So let's talk about the relief getting to the people who need it. You know, we've been reporting on this ever since, you know, Haiti was first struck with the earthquake. The amount of homeless people, the fact that the shelters are so crowded. There's the psychological effect of yet another disaster here. A lot of people wondering, where did all of that money go, and, of course, money, millions of dollars, given to the Red Cross, and how is it being distributed?

KOPPEL: Absolutely. Well, the American Red Cross has had about a half dozen different programs ongoing, speaking to the hurricane and the hurricane that just came through Tomas. We have been doing disaster preparedness, activities and education since the spring, so that it wasn't that we suddenly heard about Tomas and we had to get out there and educating the public.

Building canals, putting sandbags on flood plain areas. This has been ongoing for the last eight, nine months. We have also been educating the public on hygiene practices, we've passing out emergency supplies. So that all of this has been ongoing. We have transitional housing programs that are on-going, micro finance programs to help people get back on their feet with small loans and grants.

So the money has been spent on a variety of both short-term, immediate-term and then longer-term programming. We anticipate, Kyra, that we're going to be here for the next three to five years until every last donated dollar has been spent.

PHILLIPS: We'll definitely, we'll follow the dollars and then track too how those people are being helped. Andrea Koppel, working with the American Red Cross, great to hear you voice. Great to have you as part of the program, Andrea. Thanks so much.

The first official day of winter still more than six weeks away. Yes, tell that to the people of the northeast. They're getting a big helping of that winter feeling right now. Rob, what's going on?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we got a little bit of cold air and a little bit of moisture. Those two things mixed together and you got some action. By the way, what's left of Tomas is trying to get trained into this thing. Not really going to have too much success doing that but it gives you an idea we got cold air that's over the northeast, actually, the eastern half the country has endured some pretty chilly temperatures over the past couple of days, and this low (INAUDIBLE) some moisture over top of that cold air.

So we've had some snow mixing in at times, one to three inches of wet, slushy select mix, potentially across parts of northern New England and upstate New York. Where it has been interesting this morning is where wet flakes have mixed into places like well, JFK and Westhampton, New York, and they have seen some accumulation across Worcester, Massachusetts, with temperatures right now up to 30s, and you can see this band kind of pushing back towards the west and it's also ushering in milder air.

So we're not going to see temperatures drop behind the storm so when snow does fall, it will probably melt and turn over to all rain. Pretty decent storm out west and this is creating some situations for folks in Salt Lake City, and also a winter storm warning posted for parts of the Sierra Nevada. If you are traveling, Boston, New York and Newark right now seeing delays, significant delays. So this storm system certainly having a significant effect on travel both on the ground and in the air. It will be gone tomorrow but today and tonight, a little bit dicey.

Kyra, back over to you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Rob, thanks.

Well, he's tall, he's funny. His hair has a mind of its own. I'm not talking act you, Rob. Don't look at me that way. His new gig begins tonight. We're talking about Conan, tanned, rested, big hair still there, and he's ready for cable.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. Our entertainment stories now. A.J. Hammer joining us, live from New York, up early for us. Thank you so much, A.J., welcome to the program.

A.J. HAMMER, ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: So good to be here, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Yes. Well, Michael Jackson, there's a lot of talk about this over the weekend, actually releasing a new song? HAMMER: Yes. We have been waiting for this to happen, Kyra. A brand new Michael Jackson song has just been released this morning on the internet. And it is my job to give it a little listen to you. It's called "Breaking News."

(MUSIC PLAYING)

HAMMER: Good to have some new Michael Jackson music, but the big debate that's raging is whether the vocals are really Michaels. The song has been released by his record label, Sony, which will roll out the complete album called "Michael" on December 10. The album is supposed to have 10 or so never before heard songs but Michael's mom, Katherine, his sisters and even his kids have reportedly said they believe a bunch of the tracks are phonies, but Sony has gotten independent experts together who have authenticated the voice so fans can listen and decide for themselves.

Also this morning, Pam Anderson has just arrived in Israel to promote her appearance on Israel's version of "Dancing with the Stars." But she's also there trying to meet ultraorthodox lawmakers. Now, Pam is a well known champion of animal rights. And PETA has her as an honorary director and lawmakers there in Israel, are being approached by Pam to ban the use of fur in Israel. An anti-fur bill has but put on hold in the country over concerns by ultra Orthodox leaders, Kyra, that it could actually affect production of the fur hats worn by men on holidays. So it's a real concern but it's a big cause for Pam. She's doing what she needs to do.

PHILLIPS: All right. Something she's always been very active with. OK, so then we have to talk about tonight. Gee, I wonder why. It's our sister network, Conan O'Brien making the big return to late night TV. This was a big coup for us to get at TBS. What do you think? What can we expect from his new show? And I know you will be tuning in.

HAMMER: Oh, absolutely. It's a pretty big deal. You know, everybody's been excited because Conan's been off television, off late night for so long now. But I'll tell you who he has lined up tonight because it should be terrific. The always funny, Seth Rogen, is going to be on. "Glee's" Lea Michele, who I absolutely adore, she's going to be on the show but perhaps more importantly, the lady with the nutcracker museum in Washington state, Kyra, she's going to be on with Conan and that's where he really shines. So we're all looking forward to his eponymous show tonight.

PHILLIPS: We'll be paying attention. Thanks, A.J.. Once again, Conan O'Brien's new show debuts at 11 p.m. Eastern tonight on our sister network, TBS.

Well, (INAUDIBLE) there are 3,000 kids' meals only a dozen meet nutritional guidelines but they sure do make the grade when it comes to advertising. A new study that stings fast food in today's "Daily Dose."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: All right, moms, dads, you know, if your kids are saying, "I want to go to McDonalds, I want to go to Burger King. I want to go to KFC." There are some things you need to know. They market to our kids constantly, but we don't always we don't always get what they say, they're going to deliver. A lot of hidden statistics around the fast food our kids want to eat.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The ads where they try to get kids to push their parents to buy these, they don't mention the calories.

PHILLIPS: Of course not.

COHEN: All the bad stuff, they never mentioned that. And kids love this stuff -

PHILLIPS: Your cinnamon twists. I'm looking at the French Fries.

COHEN: Kids do love these stuff. No question. So Yale university researches say all right, we're going to look at all the thousands and there are just like 3,000 different fast food options for kids. I mean, it's really pretty amazing. It's that many. When you do all of the math and think of all the different things you can get. And do you know how many of those options actually meet the nutritional requirements for a preschooler, for a three year old?

PHILLIPS: Probably not a lot.

COHEN: 12 out of 3,000. So that's not good.

PHILLIPS: You've got a handful of kids and I know they're always saying to you, "mom, I want to go here. I want to go there." It's hard for you to work and cook and keep that all going.

COHEN: It is and it's hard to say, "no, you can't have this. You got to have this instead" But that's what we as parents need to do because when you see the numbers, you are going to go, "Holy smokes, I can't believe my kids are eating that much. If you take a look, here are three of the worst ones as far as calories go.

This is a Taco Bell kids' meal, cinnamon twist, bean burrito and a soda. 760 calories or you look over here, KFC, a soda, pieces of chicken and little roll here and cheese, that comes out to 840 calories, and here is the granddaddy of them all, the winner or the loser.

PHILLIPS: And it looks so good.

It does look so good. And that is a soda, a cheeseburger fries, and this ice cream bar from - the Dilly Bar.

(CROSSTALK)

COHEN: Right. One dilly bar is OK but with the fries, 973, and a three-year-old is supposed to have about 1,200 calories in a day. So you've already almost made it there with the DQ calorie lineup.

These are marketed to kids.

PHILLIPS: So what do fast food restaurants say about this?

COHEN: The numbers are big. They have not had a chance to read the whole study but it sort of gave them the gist of it. Here's what they had to say, they said the restaurant industry has been committed to providing a growing array of nutritious offerings for children. They say this is a big trend in the fast food business, is to offer up healthy options so you don't have to get one of these three if you don't want to.

PHILLIPS: Oh, yes. But where are all those options. I know we are going to talk about some of the places having those options. But how often do kids actually eat fast food?

COHEN: You know, I was surprised by the statistic. Just get ready for this, 84 percent of parents say they take their kids for fast food weekly.

PHILLIPS: Weekly.

COHEN: 84 percent take their kids weekly.

PHILLIPS: As in once a week or a couple times?

COHEN: At least once a week.

PHILLIPS: That was kind of a special treat in our family. We didn't go that often.

COHEN: Yes, weekly is not a special treat.

PHILLIPS: Weekly is part of the regular diet. OK, where are some of the healthier options? Give us some good news.

COHEN: OK. There are some healthy options you can do. And you might have to fight with your kids. And you know what, that's actually worth it. So let's take a look at this. Here's one from Burger King, Mac and Cheese, which is a little cold and chilled here. But it looked better before. Apples and fat free milk. Or Subway, there's a veggie sandwich in that bag on a whole wheat bread. Apples and apple juice. And so those are, you know, that's about a third.

PHILLIPS: Huge difference.

COHEN: Right. It's a huge difference. And that's about what a preschooler should be eating per meal.

PHILLIPS: Also, if you look at the amount of sugars, too, right? It's less sugar, so the kids aren't bouncing off the walls like they would with the Dairy Queen with the (INAUDIBLE) cheeseburger and soda. COHEN: And it is tough to say to kids sometimes, no, you're not getting a soda. You are getting milk but that's what it comes down to is that you are - you know you got to lay down the law sometimes.

PHILLIPS: You do, you got to say no. And it's hard as a working parent, you want something quick or easy. You got to start getting a little more creative. Or at least go for the healthier options.

COHEN: Right.

And your kid is going to be mad at you, but that's OK, that's the way it is. But the ads don't help. Advertising for kids' meals like this has gone, way, way up over the years, and they're not advertising apples for the most part. They're advertising for the most part this stuff. So your kid is at home watching that, and then you're trying to tell him, "store, no, no, I want to get the apples."

PHILLIPS: It's hard to argue with people, right.

Unless you dip them in caramel. >

COHEN: That's helps.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Elizabeth.

COHEN: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Good news we can use. A Denver pastor opens his church to gays and lesbians. We're going to talk with the Reverend about his controversial decision and see how the community is accepting his religious views.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Stock market, the opening bell rang about an hour ago. Dow Industrials down 53 points right now.

The White House is reaching out to job seekers with the help of social media. CNN's Stephanie Elam joining us now from New York with that story. Hey, Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra. Yes, this is the White House reaching out via monster.com. This is all about jobs, trying to get people talking about it. So, they figure if you have some questions you'd like to ask the Obama administration, and you're on Monster site, then you might as well just head over to their Facebook page and post your question for the White House. This is starting today and it's going to run through Sunday here. This all relates to the employment climate, and they're saying that the top five or six questions that get the most "likes" on Facebook will be the ones answered.

One little note here, Kyra. It's not going to be the president. It's not going to be the president filing these videos. It's going to be a top senior economic advisers. In case you just want to see President Obama answering your question specifically, don't hold your breath. That's not going to happen.

But that's what they're looking to do to get people - perhaps getting some of the questions answered. Maybe they're thinking about jobs. Is it about education? Something related to getting the whole part of the economy moving here. So, that's what the White House is working on here. But they did reach out to Monster to do this.

PHILLIPS: OK. And I know we are trying working on getting something from the White House and from Monster to talk about this. How it works so we can give our viewers more context on how to get something out of this, which would be great.

Another thing that we're talking about, Steph. This Facebooking firewall story got us talking this morning. I don't Facebook. I don't know if you Facebook, but apparently, you've had a few too many cocktails, you post things on Facebook you sort of regret, and now you actually have something that you can install to help prevent the disaster.

ELAM: Which, basically, I don't know if people know to put in this many roadblocks to stop a disaster. But, yes, I do have a Facebook page. I'll put it out there, Stephanie Elam, in case you want to come and tell me what crazy things you have been doing when you were drinking. Not you, Kyra, but people watching -- just to be clear.

But, yes. It's a social media sobriety test, and they're saying nothing good happens online after 1:00 a.m. That's their little tag line with it. And it's basically saying if you have done some stupid stuff like drunk e-mailing, tweeting something you shouldn't do, trying to send out a message to an old boyfriend or girlfriend that you really, really, just don't need to do. You can install this plug- in on your computer, set it up for whichever of your favorite social media sites, like Facebook or if it's Twitter. Whatever you like to do, and your e-mail accounts. Set it up, say which hours you will probably be imbibing, and then you have to go through a series of tests. And the tests would be something like, oh, maybe, typing the alphabet backwards, which I think for a lot of people not drunk would take some time to figure out. And also tracing a circle with your cursor, those kinds of things.

But here's the big thing about this one, Kyra. It doesn't work on your little pocket devices. So, your phones, it doesn't work on these, which is probably more noteworthy, because anybody thinking about saying something stupid at that hour if they're coming home from a night out are probably going to do it here, not on the computer.

I'm just saying. That's my guess. I don't know. I could be wrong.

PHILLIPS: That's your two cents. Let's talk about high schoolers, let's talk about college students. You're a mature adult at home, Stephanie, okay? With a baby at home. That's a whole different story.

(LAUGHTER) ELAM: The baby at home -- there's no time for these things with a baby at home.

PHILLIPS: No time for drinking or Facebooking or anything else.

(LAUGHTER)

ELAM: Yes, so the next time I'm out to dinner and someone sees me were with a glass of wine, they will say, wait a second, I thought there was no time for that. Just don't Facebook about it like crazy about it. That's it.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Steph.

Half past the hour now. Time for some other stories that had us talking. President Obama caulking - or talking jobs, rather - halfway around the world. He's in India calling for more economic cooperation between the world's two largest democracies. The president is pushing for trade deals to create thousands of jobs in the U.S.

Keith Olbermann back on the job beginning tomorrow. Shortest suspension ever. Last week, MSNBC said that this top-rated host was going to be suspended indefinitely for making political donations. Well, that violated network policy that news staffers get permission beforehand. Anyone who follows Olbermann's show won't be surprised that the donations went to Democrats.

And Edison Pena spent more than two months underground, but yesterday, the Chilean miner was on top of the world. He ran and walked more than 26 miles to complete the New York Marathon. You may remember fellow miners called Pena "the runner" because he jogged and worked out during his entire time underground.

After years of preaching, a Colorado pastor took a huge spiritual risk, breaking from the Christian reform church and opening up his congregation to gays and lesbians. Like any evangelical Christian church service, there's song and prayer and obviously a sermon. But the thing that sets this church apart from all of the rest is that at Highlands Church, gays and lesbians are all treated as equals.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. MARK TIDD, SENIOR PASTOR, HIGHLANDS CHURCH: My view has changed on this over the last 26 years. It's not the fabric from which I was cut or the way that I was trained.

Hearing the life and the story from somebody who is gay or lesbian made me reconsider how I was understanding certain verses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, Reverend Mark Tidd joins us now live from Denver this morning. So, Reverend, you once shared the church's view on homosexuality. Why the change of heart?

TIDD: Well, the change of heart came when I had to help a family whose young child was transgendered. Their child had known since the time she was three that she was a boy, and at age seven, the parents decided their only option was to believe her and start calling him by a boy's name and refer to he, him and his.

And then the family met with me, obviously distressed because they were facing a very uncertain future. But these were very courageous parents, and they wanted to know would I be there to support them or would I pull the rug out from underneath of them. Would our theological beliefs that were not accepting ultimately cause an environment where a child could not grow and have a healthy spiritual life?

That's a very tender thing because my wife and I have five children and three grandkids, and the thought that I could be contributing to an environment where anyone might grow up and not know that they are wildly loved by God and accepted for who they are is heartbreaking. And as I'm looking at this family and thinking I don't think there's anything wrong with their transgendered child or with the homosexuals == the bisexuals, the gays and lesbians in my church, there was something wrong with my understanding of Scripture. And that's what really compelled me to start changing my views.

PHILLIPS: You also lost your ordination in the Christian reform church for embracing gays.

Why do you think this is worth it? Obviously you were touched by this personal story, but I'm curious when, I guess you could say, the traditional members of the church come to you and say, why is this worth it? Why are you doing this?

There's more to the argument, right, than just that this is archaic thinking, right and look, you can't take things from the bible from so many years past and apply it to a world right now that's so different and has changed and has grown and is progressive?

TIDD: Right. Well, there's so many things in Scripture that we don't cut out of the Bible, but with more light and understanding and awareness that we live in a vastly different culture, we find we have to change our understanding or relinquish the Bible to obscurity and to nonsense.

And because many people, like myself, have a high view of Scripture and take it in high regard, it's hard to let go of things until we realize our current view is actually contrary to the larger message of Scripture, and we need to be flexible and realize that our understanding is often wrong. And when our wrong thinking has serious consequences for the lives of people, then it's not incumbent upon people to, in this case, to change something they can't change. It's incumbent on us to change our way of understanding them.

PHILLIPS: And I want to point out, too, your church has grown and continues to grown - grow, rather. Let's listen to some of the things that members of your congregation have to say about your concept.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE QUILLIN, PARISHIONER, HIGHLANDS CHURCH: I have been in churches for years where I was Joe, the gay guy. And here, I am Joe, the follower of Christ.

LISA CRANE, PARISIONER, HIGHLANDS CHURCH: Do you ever worry, oh, God, am I wrong about this? And, you know, am I going to get to heaven and god's going to be like, no, you weren't supposed to let the gays serve communion? You know, like, I don't think so. That doesn't jibe with the Jesus we learned about from the Bible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: That's a pretty amazing message. I pointed out that your church is growing leaps and bounds.

TIDD: Yes. It's really been exciting. Exactly a year ago, there were 80 of us, and this last Sunday there were over 300. And we live right next to the mountains, so on any Sunday, if everybody came, there would be a lot more than that. But we are always tempted to just go a half hour into the mountains.

So, anyway, it's been a really wonderfully fruitful time.

PHILLIPS: Well, Reverend Mark Tidd, it's pretty amazing what you have done and continue to do. And it's obvious when you hear from members of your church what a positive impact this is making on so many people's lives in a time when so many of our young kids are taking their own lives because no one is accepting them for being gay.

Thank you so much for your time, Reverend.

TIDD: Right. Well, thank you so much.

PHILLIPS: You bet.

And this Saturday, Highlands Church is having their second annual symposium entitled "The Evangelical Church and Homosexuality." Christian singer Jennifer Napp, who recently came out as being gay, will be one of the keynote speakers.

Well, there is a fast lane and slow lane for road traffic. So, why won't that setup work for foot traffic, too? We're taking you to one of London's famed walkways to see how some folks are trying to make the Oxford Street tango just a little less frustrating.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. We're taking to you Oxford Street in London in today's "Morning Passport." A grand busy street in a grand, busy and huge city. A street where worlds can collide right there on the pavement. Some people like to putter about and window shop. Others, well, they're busy trying to get from point A to point B. So, how to keep these two very different pedestrian worlds from colliding? Atika Shubert reports on one solution.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every year, 200 million people walk Oxford Street, one of the busiest shopping streets in Europe, but of course they don't just walk. Some stroll, some hurry past, some stop to chat or just figure out where they are. It makes for a strange dance along London's busiest avenue, and every now and then, pedestrians collide. Enter the New West End Company representing businesses in London's busiest shopping area. Their solution, walking lanes.

JACE TYRRELL, NEW WEST END COMPANY: We have an idea that you've got your slow walkers, those browsers, perhaps our tourists that want to spend a bit more time going up and down the street. And of course, those people who are Londoners. They know where they're going. There were on a purposeful visit, out on the outside lane, walking five (ph), so we can actually split that. And that's the whole idea, and hopefully, we can try and it will all lead to great success.

SHUBERT: Actually, it's been done before. As a joke. This YouTube video separating New Yorkers from tourists on 5th Avenue was a hit. But the New West End Company says Oxford Street's foot traffic is no joke.

SHUBERT (on-camera): So, just how bad is the traffic on Oxford Street? Well, to find out, I'm bringing this little camera for a walk.

SHUBERT (voice-over): As any Londoner knows, you need to speed up, slow down, dodge, and sidestep your way to your destination. But do London street smart pedestrians really think walking lanes are the answer?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't really know. I'm a tourist here. But too busy, you know, in comparison with the previous years, it's a nightmare.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's a great idea because people switching each way and you're bumping into people. So, I think it's a very good idea.

SHUBERT: Do you think people actually stick to those guidelines?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're English. They'd do that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know I'm being slightly ridiculous, actually.

SHUBERT: So, what's your strategy for walking on Oxford Street?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) going fast and hard.

SHUBERT: Maps with walking guidelines will be available next year, until then, practice your Oxford Street dance steps.

Atika Shubert, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: New York mayor Michael Bloomberg doesn't think very much of some new members in Congress. He says they can't read.

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PHILLIPS: New York mayor Michael Bloomberg says some of our new members in Congress are illiterate. Now, I thought the mud-slinging was supposed to stop after the elections ended. Brianna Keilar, what's going on?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Meyer Michael Bloomberg of New York City of course, being quite critical, I guess you could say, Kyra, of this influx of new Republican members that we're going to see in the House of Representatives. He was in Hong Kong talking to business leaders. He made some comments and according to "The Wall Street Journal," he said that look at some of these new lawmakers that are coming into the House and Senate. He said, some of them can't read. I'm sure if you were to look, you'd see they don't have passports. And he said, here we are. We may be starting a trade war with China because some people who are elected members of Congress may not be able to figure out where China is.

Of course, so interesting because though he is an independent, he is being critical of the party that he once was a member of, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. So, two House Democrats working to get votes not from voters but fellow House Democrats.

KEILAR: That's right. What we're following right now on the Hill is kind intraparty wrangling when it comes to leadership positions. Republicans , but especially Democrats because what's going to happen as Democrats move from the majority into the minority, and this is a story you can see on the Ticker, is someone's going to get squeezed out because House speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced that she's running for minority leader. So, you've got a struggle going on right now, and you can see this story from my colleague, Dana Bash, on the political ticker.

Steny Hoyer, who is currently the number two Democrat in the House, and Jim Clyburn, who is the number three, they are battling for the spot that will be the minority whip come January with the new Congress. And what you have right now is both sides, people in both camps saying no, my guy is going to win, going to be successful. But this is going to be a fight.

And we've seen this before. This can get pretty bitter, Kyra. We saw Steny Hoyer get into a fight last go round, four years ago. So, we are watching that today. We will try to see what shakes up in the coming days.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll track it. Brianna Keilar, thanks.

And your next political update in one hour. And a reminder, for all of the latest political news, go to our Web site, CNNpolitics.com.

Well, comedian Adam Carrolla has a unique suggestion for the next time Americans go to polls. He shared his idea on CNN's "PARKER SPITZER."

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ELIOT SPITZER, "PARKER SPITZER" CO-HOST: You want people to vote based on how much they pay in taxes?

ADAM CAROLLA, COMEDIAN: Sure.

SPITZER: So, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett get to choose the next president.

CAROLLA: Yes. Well, yes. In the book I say for every ten grand you pay in, you get one vot. Because right now my mom's vote is canceling out Warren Buffett's vote, and she doesn't pay anything.

SPITZER: Your mom may be listening to this.

CAROLLA: Ah, she can't afford cable!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Watch "PARKER SPITZER" every night, 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

The childhood home of President Obama. Our own Suzanne Malveaux walks us through one of Indonesia's newest tourist magnets.

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PHILLIPS: Every day at this time, we honor the men and women in uniform who have given their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan for us. We call it "Home and Away." Today, we're lifting up Private Michael Andrew Baloga from Everett, Washington. He died following a roadside bomb attack in Iraq in July of 2007. His big sister Leah wrote us. When they were kids, Leah and her sister would dress Michael up for plays and they would do that for their parents. Michael never minded. He laughed along with them.

Leah says Michael was always kind, passionate, and all about life and very inquisitive. His love for his country and the people he cared about was unconditional and limitless. Michael married. He and his wife Melissa had a daughter, and he dreams included seeing her graduate from college. He joined the military to helpful fulfill that dream then found that he had a genuine passion for it. Leah says, "My hope is that his sacrifice isn't in vain."

If you have a loved one that you would like us to honor, here's all you have to do. Just go to CNN.com/homeandaway, type in your service member's name in the upper right-hand search field, pull up the profile. Send us your thoughts and pictures, and we promise to keep the memory of your hero alive.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Well, ever since the 2008 presidential election, a small bungalow in Jakarta, Indonesia has taken on greater world interest. It's the childhood home of President Obama, and his return trip back to Indonesia has it seeing even more visitors, including CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.

SUZANNE MALVEAX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Here in Indonesia, as we follow in President Obama's footsteps, we find ourselves here in central Jakarta, at one of two homes he used to live as a little boy with his mother, stepfather and baby sister.

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MALVEAUX (voice-over): The two-bedroom Dutch-inspired House was built in 1939. Sario Rosali (ph) lives here now and was gracious enough to show us around. But since he doesn't speak English, we thought we'd give you the tour.

(on camera): OK, let's go inside. This is the sitting room and this is the original furniture from the Obama family here. You can see it is a typical, original teakwood. And this is where they actually would just kind of hang out.

Now, this room is the room where reportedly Ann Dunham, Obama's mother, used to teach English to the kids who would come over from the neighborhood.

All right. So let me take you to the next room here. This is the master bedroom. This is where Lolo Soetoro, Obama's stepfather, and his mother, Ann Dunham, this is their masters bedroom where they stayed. And as you can see, this is pretty much a shotgun house. So we don't know too much about the president's bedroom at the White House, but this is Barack Obama's bedroom when he was about 8 or 9 years old. This is where he used to sleep and study. And there are two beds here now, but there was just one back then. This was his own room as a young boy.

Outside his bedroom, he was under the stars, a complete outdoor garden with plants, birds. He even had a pet rabbit and a little dog.

(voice-over): Since Barack Obama became president, hundreds of visitors have come to his Indonesian home. Sario (ph) was proud to show us his photos and let me sign the guest book.

(on camera): Great. I guess we're not the first, many people before us. Yes. Thank you.

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PHILLIPS: Well, the president's scheduled to arrive in Jakarta tomorrow. Don't know if he will visit his childhood home though, Tony.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: What did you describe that - what was the term that Suzanne used?

PHILLIPS: Well, you know, Suzanne's from New Orleans because she described it is a shotgun.

HARRIS: She used it a ton of times there--

PHILLIPS: Yes, a shotgun house is where you open up the door and you can basically shoot a shotgun, and it will go all the way to the back of the house.

HARRIS: Oh, really? Is that what that means?

PHILLIPS: Yes.

HARRIS: See, you learn something every day in the NEWSROOM.

Kyra, you have a great day.

PHILLIPS: See you tomorrow.

HARRIS: See you tomorrow.