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The President's View, and Yours; President Obama's Energy Promise; Breaking Out the Seating Chart at the State of the Union Address

Aired January 25, 2011 - 14:00   ET

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

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: And it is the annual spectacle in America's politics, the president's report to Congress on the State of the Union. The Constitution demands it though not necessarily yearly and not even in person. This year's address, now seven hours away, comes at a turning point. Americans are more optimistic than we have been in almost four years, and Congress is more divided.

The midterm elections put Republicans in charge of the House and created a Tea Party Caucus that is a force unto itself. A brand new CNN poll shows that we the people still care most about the economy. Check out this list of extremely important issues according to CNN/Opinion Research Corporation's polling.

The economy, by far, the number one issue, followed by unemployment, health care, the deficit, and Social Security. All of those top five issues having to do with money.

Non-money issues fall lower on the list -- education, terrorism, Afghanistan, Iraq. And for all the sound and fury, gay marriage is seen as an extremely important issue by only 15 percent of Americans.

Now, I mentioned optimism. Forty-three percent of us say things are going well in America; 56 percent feel the opposite.

Now, take a look at the increase from December, though. In December, only 29 percent thought things were going well. It's up to 53 percent. Seventy-one percent thought things were going badly, and that's down to 56.

There is a partisan slant to this, but not the one you'd expect. Democrats, in spite of the GOP juggernaut in November, are most optimistic by far. December, 41 percent of them thought things were going well, now 65 percent.

Republicans have increased as well, and so have Independents. Everybody is feeling a little better than they did in December.

So much for the big picture. I've been asking on Facebook and Twitter for your take on the State of the Union and what you want to hear from President Obama. Let me read you some of what I've seen.

LauraTheExpat (ph) says, "Issue number one is jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs -- why so much of the U.S. population has not been part of the recovery." This is an important point.

Pino313 (ph) wants "Legislation reform. The government should work for the people and end its perverse relationship with corporations and lobbyists."

On Facebook, Karen Young (ph) says, "If you have a job without pay cuts, have savings, and living within a budget, you'll think things are getting better." That's probably true.

I have another -- somebody else who posted says, "Sad to hear people insisted on being negative and pessimistic. I truly think we have reason to be hopeful about the future."

Let me tap the views of two people with unique background and insights. Mark Skoda is the founder and chairman of the Memphis Tea Party. He's in Nashville today. Pete Dominick is a CNN contributor and host of his own show on Sirius XM. He comes to us via Skype from New York.

Gentlemen -- Mark, let's start with you. Very interesting day.

For all the milestones that we talk about with State of the Union, today is an interesting one because it will be the first time that there's actually a response from the Tea Party, from Michele Bachmann, a conservative Republican from Minnesota.

What can we expect to hear from the Tea Party that is different than what we'll hear from the official Republican response?

MARK SKODA, PRESIDENT, MEMPHIS TEA PARTY: Well, you know, I think a lot has been made about Michele Bachmann giving this response and suggesting that Paul Ryan, the official Republican response, it's somehow antagonistic. I would suggest to you that Michele Bachmann astutely has recognized that the Tea Party is a major force in Republican politics.

I think she'll be more aggressive in terms of cost cutting, in regulatory reform. She'll expect the president to be specific.

Of course that's not going to happen in his State of the Union speech. We've already heard that.

But I think more importantly, Michele Bachmann gives a voice to the Tea Party movement in a way that is not evident in a traditional response. And so, in that sense, it's complementary.

I think, also, she's astute in the sense that the Tea Party could begin to fragment. And the win that took place in November was a result of all this activism. And my hope is that, quite frankly, she will, by her response, give the Tea Party people a perspective that is not clearly shared in terms of the power positions in other parts of Congress.

VELSHI: All right.

The part about asking the president being specific is probably not going to happen, because it tends to be a non-specific speech generally. We'll get specifics in the next few weeks, particularly with respect to the budget.

Pete Dominick, what is the president -- other than not being specific, what is the president's biggest challenge tonight?

PETE DOMINICK, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You know, Ali, I think the president's biggest challenge this evening is probably talking over the hecklers. I'm kidding. I hope no idiot yells anything out.

But really, seriously, his biggest challenge, he's going to ask us tonight -- he's going to ask the American people to help him, to help him think about what it's going to take to create jobs, the new jobs for the next 10 and 20 years. Is he going to ask the American people to not think about today, not tomorrow, but 10 and 20 years?

That's almost impossible for any leader to put into perspective. And that's going to be tough for Americans to hear, too, and to be realistic about.

And lastly, I want the guy to use some props, some charts. Some people say he's too much of a professor, too much of a teacher. Well, yes, use some graphics.

Get him a giant iPad, Ali Velshi. Can he borrow your wall tonight? We need to see those graphics and pictures.

VELSHI: You know what? If the president uses that stuff, it puts me out of business, Mark. We will have to explain.

And that's what we're actually going to be doing, Pete. Thanks for mentioning that, because what our coverage will do is explain what the state of things actually are in the United States.

Here's a problem, though, Mark. Our new polling backs up a lot of polling that we've seen in the last several weeks. Something happened between the midterms and the end of 2010 that changed people's perceptions not only about Congress and the president, but about the future of this country. There is definitely a new optimism replacing the pessimism that we saw.

How does that affect you? On one level, you guys were behind pushing the issues that got people pessimistic. Now what happens if people are turning?

SKODA: Well, I've said this before. Look, it's time to govern now.

The Tea Party has to be part of the solution. I think what you're seeing in Independents, as you saw in your numbers -- it's surprising though that the Democrat change is substantial. But quite frankly, there's a lot of good reason to be optimistic inasmuch as we are now seeing a check to the president's power, we're also seeing a benefit of the Republicans coming in and proposing cost cutting.

Not unreasonable. We're not throwing grandma out of the nursing home. What we are talking about is, as we've discussed earlier, the notion that we have to be responsible as citizens. And this is not an easy problem to solve.

And I think in that sense, the Tea Party is now moving towards a relationship within the governance of this nation, as opposed to being an opposition voice only.

VELSHI: Pete, let's just discuss that for a second.

We have an issue here in that the people of this country are split on a lot of things. Our polling indicates they're not split on what the number one issue is. It is the economy, but to some people it's job creation, and to some people it's deficit reduction. We really are quite split.

What does this president do to live up to some of the expectations that were set at the end of 2010 in terms of compromise, and to live up to expectations that he put forth in his civility speech in Arizona?

DOMINICK: Well, the president -- that's a great question. The president has a real challenge.

If I had the answer for you, Ali, he'd probably have to hire me. But I think that the president really has a tough time, because he's got to combat what I would call these myths that have perpetuated the American public for years now with the trickle-down economics, that government shouldn't invest in its own country, in the economy, to help create jobs and future industries and so on. And that, you know, he also has to -- I mean, I hope he has a line tonight about global warming.

He has to have a sentence in there about that. He's got to warn. He's got to be ringing the bell on that issue.

And we actually are divided to some extent -- I mean, I really don't think the American population is, but certainly among the parties -- on science. On science.

Science has become political. That is bizarroland (ph), and that's hard for this president to combat. But he's going to have to come out, I think, strong and make the statement. A fact is a fact.

VELSHI: And Mark, where is Michele Bachmann and the Tea Party going to stand on the issue of civility? We're going to see some people mixing it up tonight in terms of where they sit. There's a sense -- and you have always been somebody who has embraced civility. We appreciate that. You've always been one to say, we can have this conversation without yelling, without screaming, without calling each other names, without insulting each other.

Is there a Tea Party line on this?

SKODA: Yes. I think, look, Michele Bachmann, I've met her a number of times. This woman is a good thinker, she's a very genuine individual. She comes from the heartland of America. I think you'll see a person who responds with certainty, with deliberateness, but at the same time, in a civil tone. She will be challenging, to be sure. And my hope is that she gets people energized.

I don't want to see just form. There's got to be some substance here.

I should also add, I think we've been at these policies on education, jobs, regulation for 60 years. We've got to do something different.

It's got to be pushed down to the local level. I mean, we are 18th in terms of high school graduation. The Chinese graduated more engineers last year who speak English than we did in this country.

DOMINICK: That's a great point. So let's not cut any teachers. Can we agree not to cut any more teachers' jobs? That's a great point, Mark.

SKODA: Well, Pete, I'm sitting here in Memphis, Tennessee. It's my home city.

We are now embroiled in a major controversy over consolidation of school districts. And it's largely a political question. We have one of the largest non-graduating rates in the state of Tennessee.

VELSHI: Yes.

SKODA: We really are not addressing what I call the leadership issues.

Now, I agree with you. I think, problematically, we as a nation have to figure out that the local solutions have to be driven by real strong leadership. What I antagonize against is this jingoistic idea that we can just solve every problem by mandating more regulation. And that is just not working.

So, you're right. Look, I'm not suggesting we lay off teachers. I know a lot of good teachers in the Memphis city school system. We've got a great committed group of people. But the problem is the leadership is failing us. And I think --

VELSHI: Well, I think we can probably agree -- sorry Mark. We can probably agree on both sides that we don't need jingoistic regulation solves everything, and we don't need jingoistic cutting.

(CROSSTALK)

DOMINICK: But there's a reason why the basketball game has a referee.

VELSHI: We need good discussions that go down the middle, and that's why we have the two of you guys to illustrate that for us.

Pete, good to see you. I'll be seeing you, I imagine, for the rest of the day.

Mark, always a pleasure to see you.

Mark Skoda is a founding member of the Memphis Tea Party.

Our "Sound Effect" today is a lesson in human nature. On Sunday evening, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, a pair of Girl Scouts and one scout's mother were selling cookies outside a shopping center. You've all seen that.

All went well, until a woman posing as a customer grabbed the scout's money, $92, and took off. It's an outrage. And a local TV station came over to cover it, and then the unexpected happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE DAVIS, REPLACED GIRL SCOUTS' STOLEN MONEY: Here's $100.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you serious? Thank you.

DAVIS: That's ridiculous.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you very much.

DAVIS: We just thought it was so ridiculous, that someone could come out here and do something like this to the Girl Scouts. And we just felt like it was the right thing to do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I cannot believe he did either.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See, there are some good people, even though people do bad things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Now, the Scouts did call the cops about the robbery. They warn other troops, by the way, to keep a close eye on that cash box, good Samaritans notwithstanding.

Breaking news coming in to the NEWSROOM now.

A federal judge has sentenced Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani to life without parole for his role in the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. Two hundred and twenty-four people died in that attack, including 12 Americans.

The 36-year-old Tanzanian is the first Guantanamo detainee tried in U.S. civilian court. He was convicted in November on a single conspiracy charge to destroy buildings and U.S. property.

Rahm Emanuel back on the ballot in Chicago. For now, anyway.

The Illinois Supreme Court has stayed in part yesterday's lower court ruling yesterday. That court had said he didn't meet residency requirements for the mayor's race and kicked him off the ballot. Remember, Emanuel moved back to Chicago late last year after stepping down as President Obama's chief of staff. One caveat: this stay doesn't necessarily mean that the state Supreme Court will hear his appeal of yesterday's ruling, just that he has got to be put on the ballot while it is all pending. The vote is on February the 22nd.

It's being called a day of revolt in Egypt. Thousands and thousands of people pour into the streets of Cairo, railing against the government and demanding that President Hosni Mubarak resign.

Police have fired back with tear gas and a water cannon as the protests have gone on, and they've started swinging their batons, too. Rare demonstrations springing from an online campaign inspired by the collapse of the Tunisian government a week and a half ago.

Among the Egyptian protesters' other demands, a higher minimum wage, a check on police powers and, get this, presidential term limits. The boss, President Mubarak, has ruled Egypt for 30 years now.

OK. Last year, President Obama promised a green energy revolution in his State of the Union Address. Did he keep that promise? The answer after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: As we look ahead to President Obama's State of the Union Address tonight, we're also looking back at last year's address to see who promises he kept and what promises he broke.

This hour, we focus on energy. Here's Tom Foreman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Obama has talked a lot about a clean, green energy revolution, and he mentioned it in his last State of the Union.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But to create more of these clean energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives. It means making tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development.

FOREMAN: He made the tough decision in March to end the moratorium on oil and natural gas exploration off of the East Coast. Environmentalists howled, and they grew even louder when, a month later, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig blew up, killing 11 men and releasing an estimated 205 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over 85 days.

So, in December, the administration quietly reversed its decisions until regulations and procedures could be more thoroughly reviewed. Clearly, it was an embarrassment for the White House and, for all practical purposes, a promise broken.

(END VIDEOTAPE) VELSHI: Well, so much of the buzz for tonight's State of the Union speech centers on seating. We've talked it about this. Members are blurring party lines in an effort to be civil, but some of those pairings may seem a little odd to you.

CNN's Jeanne Moos breaks out the seating chart.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Forget standing up and sitting down. Now it's who you're sitting with that counts. The "State of the Union" is not only starting to sound like a political prom, but a gay prom.

SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: I've already asked Tom Coburn.

SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: Mark Kirk and I are going to sit together. I'm bringing the popcorn. He's bringing a Coke with two straws.

MOOS: Republicans and Democrats are sending out joint press releases resembling engagement announcements. Senators like Chuck Grassley are tweeting their date to be. There's matchmaking live on TV.

SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (R), TEXAS: I don't have a date.

SEN. KENT CONRAD (D), NORTH DAKOTA: Kay, I'm available.

I just asked Kay.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, ABC NEWS: I know. All right. Well, we'll see you two sitting together.

MOOS: Even those who have really gotten on each other's nerves are getting into the act.

REP. ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK: I will not yield to the gentleman! And the gentleman will observe regular order!

MOOS: Now we're going to observe both gentleman sitting together. It was Republican Congressman Peter King's wife's idea.

REP. PETER KING (R), NEW YORK: She said, "Why not have the two biggest loudmouths who are always fighting -- have them sit with each other?" I said, "Who are you talking about?" She goes, "You and Anthony Weiner."

LUTHER VANDROSS, SINGER (singing): Let me hold you tight, if only for one night.

MOOS: The press is having a field day nicknaming couples.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are the Land of Lincoln Laddies, the Southwest Soulmates. MOOS: Michelle Malkin's Web site even dressed them up for their prom photo.

And the front-runners for prom king and queen?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cutest couple might go to the South Dakota Republican John Thune and New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand.

MOOS: At "Politics Daily," they made up personal adds: "Cap and trade Democrat seeks pro-life Republican for one-nighter."

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's getting a little icky, guys.

MOOS (on camera): And if one date isn't enough, how about a "State of the Union" orgy involving, say, a softball team?

(voice-over): Maine Democrat Chellie Pingree says she's sitting with some members of the bipartisan congressional women's softball team.

Even the South Carolina Republican who once yelled, "You lie!" --

REP. JOE WILSON (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: You lie!

MOOS: -- will be sitting between two Democratic congresswomen, no lie.

Not everyone's playing the state of the date. Take Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: I'm going to sit where I usually sit.

MOOS (on camera): Now, if only I could get someone from Fox News to sit with me while I watch the speech.

VANDROSS (singing): -- if only for one night.

MOOS (voice-over): But even a one-night stand beats all that standing. Just keep your hands to yourself.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI: She sure can tell a story.

We want to know what you think of the speech in report card style. Head to my blog, CNN.com/Ali. I'm going to post it on my Facebook and Twitter accounts as well.

We'll be looking for your A through F grades in the following categories: economy, energy, Afghanistan, Iraq, gay marriage, government spending, health care, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," immigration and civility. All right. The front of food packages are changing. We're talking about nutritional information plastered on the front of packages, not the back. We'll show you the new pictures right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Right now we're working on three big stories involving food. The first one is about food labels.

Now, we see nutrition labels like these. All right? You see them on everything you buy, packaged food all across the country.

Now, we're able to see by looking at this exact calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, carb content, things like that. But some people say that's not enough. They want labels on the front of the package. It's called front of package labeling. It's been a passion of first lady Michelle Obama's to help us make more informed decisions.

Now, last year, Mrs. Obama asked the food industry to design a new system to highlight nutritional information on the front packaging -- on the front of a package. The Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Food Marketing Institute are out with their pitch, and it's called Nutrition Keys.

It contains four basic icons for calories, saturated fats, sodium, and sugars. On small food packages, one icon can be used for calorie count per serving.

Now, they also pitched this possible option. It's a panel of six icons. The four original panels for calories, saturated fat, sodium, and sugars, and then something called nutrients to encourage. They define those as potassium, fiber, protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, calcium and iron.

These labels are not out on foods yet. You could start seeing them in the next few months.

A reminder that these are suggestions from the food industry. The government is also working on its own research in labeling.

Now, some people are worried that positive and negative nutrition labels will only confuse customers. The White House praised the companies for "the leadership they've shown in advancing this initiative," but they're still going to have the FDA evaluate whether the label is meeting the needs of the consumer.

We'll let you know how that goes.

Taco Bell under fire for its meat. We're talking about the beef in the tacos. Taco Bell calls the meat in question "seasoned beef."

Last Friday, a lawsuit was filed against Taco Bell by a California customer who calls the beef in the tacos "meat mixture that contains less than 35 percent beef." The lawsuit claims that the other 65 percent is made up of the ingredients you see here on the screen -- water, soy, lecithin, maltodextrin, silicon dioxide, anti- dusting agent, and modified corn starch.

Taco Bell has the ingredients up for the beef tacos on their Web site, but doesn't mention how much actual meat is in the beef. A spokesman for Taco Bell had this to say: "Taco Bell prides itself on serving high-quality Mexican-inspired food with great value. We're happy that the millions of customers we serve every week agree."

Now let's talk about McDonald's. Got some of that here. Can't do without having a little McDonald's on the set sometimes, French fries and a Big Mac.

They may cost more at the Golden Arches. McDonald's announced that we can expect to pay two or 2.5 percent more for food.

Just to put that in perspective, if you paid $1 for a soda, you'll be soon charged $1.02 or $1.03. McDonald's says it's due to rising commodity costs. Basically, it costs them more to buy food. They're going to charge you more. And just so you're aware, McDonald's posted a two percent increase in profits last quarter.

Breaking news now coming from Capitol Hill. Let's go live to our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash.

What have you got, Dana?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's nothing veiled in the symbolism of what House Republicans just did on the House floor. And that is just hours before President Obama will be in that very chamber addressing Congress in his State of the Union Address. House Republicans used their new majority to pass a resolution saying that they are going to cut spending back to the levels before President Obama was in office, back to 2008 levels.

Now, the official resolution is really short, Ali. It's just a little more than a page long, and it effectively says that the House budget chairman, Paul Ryan, who is ironically going to give the Republican response tonight, it is up to him to set those levels.

Not a lot of details. We're going to wait for those details. But certainly, as I said, a lot of symbolism in what Republicans are doing.

Now, clearly, the issue has been and will be for the next several months, spending, spending, spending, and a fight over that. This is Republicans saying to the president, we're ready to roll -- Ali.

VELSHI: We are going to ask you probably for the next two years now, every time we see you, Dana. When something happens in the House, does that mean it's likely to become law because of the situation in the Senate?

BASH: Well, in this particular case, this is just a House resolution, and it basically sets the terms for what the House budget chairman can do in the future.

That's a good question to ask down the road. I think the first thing we're going to have to look at is what exactly the House Republicans are going to try to do with regard to cutting spending.

We did learn today that the first official fight on that, the real meat on that, is going to be in a few weeks, actually, the week of February the 14th. That is going to be the first time that the House Republicans are going to try to pass a spending measure.

That will be the place where they're going to try to cut. And that will be the question we're going to ask, whether or not whatever they do can pass the Senate -- Ali.

VELSHI: OK, Dana. Thanks very much.

We'll stay on top of that for you.

Stay with us. We'll be right back after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: And the story that keeps giving us news, a new development in Rahm Emanuel's bid to be mayor of Chicago.

The Illinois Supreme Court, which stayed yesterday's decision to boot Rahm Emanuel -- so basically saying his name can go on to the ballot until the matter is decided -- has now said they will hear the motion for appeal. They will go with an expedited ruling.

There will be no oral arguments in the case. The justices will use briefs that have already been filed in the appeals court.

Rahm Emanuel's name has to go back on the ballot. The election is February the 22nd. But they will hear the appeal of the court that turned him away yesterday.

So, for the moment, Rahm Emanuel lives to fight another day. We'll continue to keep you updated on this very juicy and ongoing fast-developing story.

Got another fast-developing story for you right now in weather. CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider joins me now with a look at the weather. We've got a tornado warning going on, Bonnie?

(WEATHER REPORT)

VELSHI: All right, Bonnie. Thanks very much for that. We'll stay on top of that with you.

All right. He's been called everything from a saint to a criminal. He's the man who called in to fix what many consider to be ground zero of the nation's education crisis. More on Robert Bob and the city of Detroit's crippled school system coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Thirty-four minutes after the hour. Happening now, a federal judge has just sentenced Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani to prison without parole - to life without parole in prison for his role in the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. 224 people in that attack died, including 12 Americans. The 36-yaer-old Tanzanian is the first Guantanamo detainee to be tried in U.S. civilian court.

And this just in moments ago. The Illinois supreme court will take up the Rahm Emanuel appeal. And they've agreed to the motion for an expedited ruling. That's important because the election is on February 22nd, and yesterday a court basically threw him off the ballot. So the supreme court, the Illinois supreme court, has stayed that ruling. There will be no oral arguments in the case. This is going to speed it up. The justices will use briefs already filed to the appeals court.

Rahm Emanuel moved back to Chicago late last year after stepping down as President Obama's chief of staff entirely to run for mayor. He had been a lifelong resident of Chicago and a member of Congress from Chicago. The earlier court ruled that he had abandoned his residency and therefore was not eligible to run for mayor. It's a view that a lot of other people disagree with, saying that he left Chicago just to serve in national office.

And as President Obama puts the finishing touches on tonight's State of the Union speech, a top aide says he's focusing on quote "winning the future and staying competitive in the global marketplace." As soon as he's done, we'll get a double dose of opposition response. The official Republican rebuttal, plus reaction from Tea Party favorite, Minnesota representative Michele Bachmann. You can see it all right here on CNN.

Well, since 2009, Robert Bob has taken on the tough task of cleaning up Detroit's public school system. He's an emergency financial manager who's trying to get schools back on track while dealing with a dwindling budget and a shrinking student body. Needless to say, this is not an easy job. Poppy Harlow went to Detroit to check on the progress.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: And this is sort of ground zero for the education crisis in this country, isn't it?

ROBERT BOBB, DETROIT SCHOOLS EMERGENCY FINANCIAL MANAGER: No question about it. When you --

HARLOW (voice-over): Some call Robert Bobb a villain. Others, a hero. His task: fix perhaps the nation's most broken school system.

BOBB: If the school district does not succeed, the city of Detroit will not succeed.

HARLOW: In 2009, Bobb was brought in by Michigan's governor to overhaul a system replete with waste, fraud and abuse, assuming the role of emergency financial manager of Detroit schools. He is dead set on rooting out waste and corruption, while boosting the graduation rate from 57 percent to 98 percent in just five years.

He is shrinking the school system as more and more families move out of Detroit.

(on camera): You have closed 59 schools, more than a quarter of Detroit's public schools, and that has angered parents and teachers.

BOBB: We're going to anger more individuals in the next few months, because I'm going to close somewhere between 20, maybe 40, schools within the next few months.

HARLOW: The Lemonious family applauds Bobb's drastic cuts, but says the problems extend far beyond the schools.

GARFIELD LEMONIOUS, DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS PARENT: It's not the building, it's not the principal, it's not the teachers. It's the parents. You know, it really is the parents.

HARLOW: High school teacher Edna Reaves has mixed feelings about Bobb's overhaul.

EDNA REAVES, TEACHER: Come on. Let's go.

He has not achieved what he came here for --

HARLOW (on camera): Reducing the deficit.

REAVES: -- and that's reducing the deficit. It has grown since he has been here.

HARLOW (voice-over): Bobb argues the deficit he inherited was twice as large as previously thought, most of it from borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars with no money to pay it back.

(on camera): Is this system stronger because of Robert Bobb?

REAVES: I would say it is better, because he has been bold enough to make the moves that the community never really wanted to make.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a criminal!

HARLOW: But those bold moves included major academic changes, some the school board wasn't consulted on. They sued Bobb for academic control and won.

Despite these challenges, the kids of Detroit made their mark on Bobb.

BOBB: Give me that big voice.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A, B, C-

BOBB: I grew up on a Louisiana sugarcane plantation. The only way out was to get a public education. And for these kids, the only way that they're going to succeed is to get a solid public education. And so it's not just professional for me, but it's personal.

HARLOW: In Detroit, Poppy Harlow reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI: Unprecedented street demonstrations in Egypt. Rocks and tear gas in the air. We'll explain the unrest in Cairo right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Forty-three minutes after the hour. Updating our top stories.

A federal judge has sentenced Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani to life without parole for his role in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. The attacks killed 224 people, including 12 Americans. He is the first Guantanamo detainee tried in U.S. civilian court, having been convicted in November on a single conspiracy charge to destroy buildings and U.S. property.

Just in to the CNN NEWSROOM minutes ago, the Illinois supreme court will take up the Rahm Emanuel appeal. He's agreed to the motion for an expedited ruling on his eligibility to run for mayor of Chicago. Yesterday, you may remember, a lower court knocked him out of the mayor's race because of residency issues. Now, the supreme court said there will be no oral arguments in the case. Everybody has said what they need to say. The justices will use briefs already filed to the appeals court. But Rahm Emanuel has got to stay on the ballot until this is sorted out. The election is on February 22nd.

In Egypt, thousands of anti-government protesters have taken to the streets, demanding that the President Hosni Mubarak resign. They threw rocks at police who in turn fired tear gas. The demonstrations are the largest seen in Egypt in some 30 years. Demonstrators say they were inspired by protests that brought down the government in Tunisia 10 days ago.

The clock is ticking down to the president' State of the Union speech tonight. Now we have insight on one plan the president is ready to unveil. For that, let's bring in our senior White House correspondent, Ed Henry. What have you got, Ed?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: What's going on, Ali, is the fact that officials are confirming that the president will announce tonight a proposal -- it's not written in stone yet, but a proposal to freeze nondefense discretionary spending for five years.

What does that mean? To break it down, it means that he wants to freeze at the current levels spending for health, education, you name it, across the board in the federal government at that level for five years. But he's going to exempt defense spending, veterans' health care, et cetera, as well as homeland security. So, you sort of take the security stuff out of it and just freeze all other federal spending.

Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, immediately said, no, not good enough. That basically -- that just keeps spending at its currently high levels for the next five years. Republicans want to pare some of that spending back. And this basically is going to be one of the centerpieces of the speech because it's going to be where the battle is joined with the newly divided Congress. We keep hearing the president is going to use the word investment, and say look. You've got to freeze some of this and maybe increase spending in other areas to make sure the economy heals. You're going to have Republicans saying, no, no, no. We're piling up more debt. Let's not just freeze and increase on some things. Let's cut back. That's where the battle is.

VELSHI: Let me ask you. Who are these people? We just had a whole crowd of people walking behind you. Are those people leaving lunch?

HENRY: No. They're not leaving lunch. These are some of my colleagues. I'm going to be late for this briefing. There's a briefing 3:00 Eastern time. Reporters who are going over to the old executive office building, now called the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Part of the ritual. What happens, we mentioned, the big- dog anchors get to have lunch with the president around noon or so.

VELSHI: Yes. You guys get a briefing.

HENRY: Us schlubs, we get to walk over there, long walk, all the way around all of this construction, all this nonsense for a briefing with lower officials in a building next to the White House. The anchors get the red carpet rolled out there. They all came out of not just the regular White House working part, the West Wing, they actually came out of the residence there because they were probably in the old family dining room with the president.

So, you see the hierarchy. You see the pecking order around here, and I'm obviously pretty low on the chain.

VELSHI: Do we have to let you go? Do you need to go to this meeting? We don't want you to miss the second-tier meeting.

HENRY: You know, f I miss the second-tier meeting, I'll even be lower down the food chain. But you know what, it's fine because I think they're going to have a second wave of people are going over there. So, you know what, Ali? I'll stick with you. We'll be fine.

VELSHI: All right. Very good. Ed, I've asked a lot of people on Facebook and Twitter to tell me what they'd like to hear out of the president's State of the Union address, and I've got some real specifics. They do tend to be what you think it's going to be, jobs and the economy largely. About Afghanistan and Iraq. But the reality is, I think a lot of people are going to be disappointed. Maybe I set them up by asking them the wrong question. Because it's not typically a speech big on specifics.

HENRY: No. You know, look, of course people want to hear some specifics, but what White House aides say is the president doesn't want to get boxed in. Politically, sure, it would be great to lay out all the details of, for example, of where he'll cut spending. I think there are probably a lot of people who are frustrated of years of presidents - in both parties, by the way - saying look, we've got to finally rein in the debt. We're going to do it at some point and not get specific.

But the problem is, if the president lays out all the specifics tonight, the Republicans will just attack some of his specifics and will get nowhere. So, both sides are sort of shadowboxing here. So, what you're going to hear in State of the Union is the president to do the big picture, details to come. We'll see whether those details ever do come.

VELSHI: All right, Ed. I hope they give you some snacks or some juice or something at that briefing.

HENRY: I think they have cheese and crackers at ours. I think the anchors get a really nice lunch.

VELSHI: Chateau brionne (ph) or something like that. Ed, good to see you. We'll be seeing you all evening tonight as we cover the State of the Union.

Be sure to tune in tonight. Our special coverage begins 7:00 p.m. Eastern with The Best Political Team on Television.

All right. Hollywood's love affair with British royalty on display again with the new Oscar nominations. But who could knock the king off its perch? Here's a hint. It isn't Ashton Kutcher.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: The nominations are in for Hollywood's biggest prize. Of course, I'm talking about the Oscars. The big dog in this race is "The King's Speech."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEOFFREY RUSH, ACTOR (acting): I can cure your husband, but I need total trust.

What was your earliest memory?

COLIN FIRTH, ACTOR (acting): I'm not here to discuss personal matters!

RUSH: Why are you here then?

FIRTH: Because I bloody well stammer!

RUSH: Do you know any jokes?

FIRTH: Timing isn't my strong suit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: "The King's Speech" led the way with 12 nominations overall, including actor nods for Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush. The second-most nominations went to the Western remake "True Grit," Jeff Bridges up for best actor. He won last year. Here's a full list for Best Picture. Remember, these days, 10 films get nominated. Along with the two we already mentioned, "The Social Network," "The Fighter," "Black Swan," "The Kids Are All Right," "Inception," "Toy Story 3," "127 Hours" and "Winter's Bone." You can get a complete list of the nominees for the other awards on my blog - actually, go to CNN.com. We've got it right there.

As we said, "The King's Speech" has the most nominations with 12. Twelve - guess I can't count very well with my fingers. But what's the real story behind the Hollywood hit? CNN's Nick Glass introduces us to the man behind the Hollywood character.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK GLASS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's some archive, retrieved from storage after half a century and spread across a kitchen table in north London. Old letters, documents, albums, photographs, and newspaper cuttings.

Here's the story of a friendship between a man who would be king and the Australian speech therapist who helped him overcome his stammer. The real Lionel Logue was more deferential and rather shorter than his movie counterpart. But the key speech from the film is historically accurate, word for word, as it had to be.

MARK LOGUE, LIONEL LOGUE'S GRANDSON: In this grave hour, perhaps the most --

GLASS: These may well be the pages George VI held in his hands when he spoke on radio in the outbreak of war in 1939. Lionel Logue marked the pages in pencil. "Stress this word." "Pause here."

A grandson has pieced the story together from documents he inherited.

LOGUE: The content of the letters between them are incredibly friendly like you'd expect between two friends. There is this kind of etiquette that Lionel still abides by, which is, your royal highness. The letters back to him from the king are, My Dear Logue.

The first thing that really was startling was the appointment card.

GLASS: In tiny handwriting, Loge assessed his new patient, Albert Duke of York, in 1926.

LOGUE: Has an acute nervous tension, which is being brought on by the defect.

GLASS: The appointment card shows that the duke saw Logue saw him almost every day for the next two or three months in advance of a royal visit to Australia. The friendship as it became lasted the rest of their lives, although they were never, it seems, photographed together.

At the coronation in 1937, Logue is seated in the royal box with his wife, Myrtle. They're so high up, she's using opera glasses. Myrtle died suddenly of a heart attack just after the war ended.

LOGUE: "Dear Logue, I must send you one line to tell you how terribly sorry I was to hear of your bereavement. And I send you all my deepest sympathy in your great grief. I am, yours sincerely, George."

Great. I'm kind of quite choked up reading this because I don't know, it's something about thinking -- kind of thinking about him being -- hurting after Myrtle's death is kind of -- makes it kind of real.

GLASS: The producers of the movie approached him just a few weeks before filming began. The screenplay was tweaked, and from Logue's diary, a joke was added.

LOGUE: "I went to Windsor on Sunday evening for the broadcast. Only one mistake, w in weapons. After the broadcast, I shook hands with the king and congratulated him and asked him why he stopped on the w. And he replied with a grin. 'I did it on purpose. If I don't make a mistake, people might not know it was me.'"

GLASS: George VI died in 1952. The following year, his friend Lionel Logue, died, too.

(END VIDEOTAPE0

VELSHI: Good movie. If you haven't seen it, check it out.

Hey, listen what do we really need to hear from the president tonight in his State of the Union speech? My "XYZ" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Tonight, President Obama gives his State of the Union address before members of Congress. But you all will be listening to what the president has to say. And what do you want to hear?

I've done an informal survey on Facebook and Twitter. Not surprisingly, it seems that different people will be listening for different things depending on their circumstances. A few of you will be listening for what the president has to say about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, mostly those who have relatives in the military. Overwhelmingly, I'm getting a sense that the economy is still front and center with most of you. And the number one issue as one posting labels it is jobs.

Another posting sums up that sentiment well: "We want help for 99ers and real job creation, not part-time seasonal jobs."

Well, I like you would like to hear more specifics, but that's is not what this speech is traditionally for. It's a status report on where the country is now and it's usually a plan for the year to come. So, the best thing to do is probably to check our expectations, listen closely and hope that what is said tonight is actually what gets carried out.

That's it for me. Brooke Baldwin takes it over for me now in NEWSROOM.