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Huge Protests Continue in Egypt; Husband of Gabrielle Giffords Heading to Space; Hundreds of Flights to Super Bowl Canceled; President Obama Speaks Out on Egypt Crisis; Bad Weather Continues in the South

Aired February 04, 2011 - 15:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And hello to all of you. A lot is happening this very second. But first we're expecting a news conference from NASA at Johnson Space Center. And the big question is, will astronaut Mark Kelly lead this upcoming space shuttle mission?

Kelly, of course you know his name by now. He is married to Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who is still recovering from that shooting rampage in Tucson. Will he go? Will he stay by her side? We will find out here in a minute.

But first, I want to bring you up-to-date here on what's happening again here in Egypt. And let's take a look really at what has just unfolded. One of the biggest protests yet against their president, President Hosni Mubarak. And from the looks of the scenes -- and you see all the people here out there -- the protests appear to have been largely peaceful.

But we have just gotten some pictures of a number of people apparently wounded. You see them being carried away. We are going to have a live report from Cairo, but the bottom line appears to be that despite the sometimes brutal tactics of President Mubarak's supporters, the uprising lives.

I want you to hang on to that thought here for just a moment because we're about to take you live to the White House. Today, President Obama is hosting Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. And we are now being flagged that really here in a matter of minutes he will deliver remarks on Egypt. We're told maybe two questions.

So, I want you to remember though that what he said on Tuesday. I want to take you back just three days after speaking by phone with President Mubarak. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What is clear, and what I indicated tonight to President Mubarak is my belief that an orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful, and it must begin now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Dan Lothian live for me at the White House.

And, Dan, as we're all sort of waiting for those remarks from Mr. Obama, does the White House want Mubarak out right now, or do they believe the Egyptians still need a little time to get their ducks in a row, if you will?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, that is a question that we have been asking the White House now for quite some time, and they simply won't talk about it publicly.

They talk in broad terms about the need for this peaceful transition to occur, but not saying specifically that Hosni Mubarak himself should step down. Clearly, behind the scenes, this White House is talking about how they would like to see this transition happen sooner, rather than later. But, as you know, President Mubarak himself has indicated that he's not going anywhere now, that he would have liked to have stepped down, but felt that there would be more chaos out on the streets in Egypt.

And so just planning to not run for reelection in September. But I can tell you that here at the White House, there is a level of frustration, because they're not satisfied at the pace of change.

Yes, Robert Gibbs at a briefing a short time ago did talk about how he's hopeful at some of the signs that they have seen where there has been some restraint. But they don't feel that there has been enough progress, and that is what they're pushing for here at the White House.

BALDWIN: Well, that's interesting. You say there is some frustration. We see the activity buzzing about behind you. We will check back in with you here in just a moment, so, Dan, stand by for me.

And -- and as we wait for Dan, we wait for the president, I want to bring in Ivan Watson, who's been on this story here day in and day out in Cairo.

And my question to you is this. Is anyone there on the street surprised that in the wake of the Egyptian government's crackdown, that Mubarak's opponents have turned out today in the numbers that they have?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's very surprising because we were expecting a bloodbath. Just yesterday, this area was a brutal battleground. It was like a siege, a medieval siege out here.

And today the Egyptian army came in, has helped maintain law and order outside the barricades here. And now it's more of a lovefest. We just heard somebody on the loudspeakers here saying, anybody can come up and speak. Lawyers, anyone are welcome to step up.

BALDWIN: A lovefest.

WATSON: But it's important to note the threat of chaos is not far away, Brooke, because just a few blocks from here, I just walked down an hour or two ago, we have got gangs of anti-Mubarak and pro- Mubarak demonstrators duking it out in the streets, setting up barricades.

Ivan, I want to you hold that thought for just a moment.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Ivan, I apologize for having to interrupt you. But I want to break away from Egypt just for a moment. But I want to get back to it.

I want to take you, as promised, to Houston. We're now hearing from Mark Kelly from the Johnson Space Center speaking about his future.

Let's just listen for a moment.

MARK KELLY, HUSBAND OF CONGRESSWOMAN GABRIELLE GIFFORDS: Six hours of speech, occupational, and physical therapy. So she's got very busy days and meals in between.

And I started to think about STS-134, about the mission, my crew, the fact that I have been training for it for nearly a year-and-a- half. And considering a bunch of other factors, including how -- what Gabrielle would want me to do and what her parents and her family and my family would like, you know, I ultimately made the decision that I would like to return and command STS-134.

So, at that point, I went to my boss, Peggy Whitson, Peggy Whitson, the chief of the Astronaut Office, and we had a discussion about, you know, the next step.

So, I will turn it over to Peggy.

PEGGY WHITSON, CHIEF, ASTRONAUT OFFICE: Well, Mark obviously had to make the first part of this decision because we weren't going to ask him to command 134 unless he felt comfortable and ready to do that.

And in addition to feeling comfortable, he has an incredible support group, which made us more comfortable with the fact that he had folks to help him through this process and that it would make it a doable thing for him to perform the mission.

From my perspective, obviously, I have to choose a crew that will be able to support the mission, and I want to be able to do that with the least amount of risk overall for the mission and to optimize for success.

And, obviously, although C.J. has been training as a backup the last few weeks, it's still better to choose the fellow that's been training for a year-and-a-half.

BALDWIN: So, essentially, what we heard a snippet of is this. It's significant because astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of Gabrielle Giffords, has announced he will be taking that opportunity to take that final flight into space on space shuttle Endeavour at the end of April. So he will be doing that.

Now, from space, I want to take you back to Egypt and remind you once again we're awaiting remarks from President Obama on the situation there in Egypt. And I want to go back to Cairo, back to Ivan.

My next question to you -- and you were talking sort of about that lovefest, which is such a difference from what we have seen in the last couple of days, what you have seen, Ivan, are the people out there on the streets even thinking about President Barack Obama?

Do -- and, if they are, do they believe President Obama is on their side or on President Mubarak's side?

WATSON: You know, President Obama made a statement -- and I'm losing track of the days, unfortunately -- I think four or five days ago about the situation in Egypt.

And we did kind of a cursory survey of the crowd, and many of the people said, you know, what he said seems to support us, the people. You know, he criticized the Egyptian president and basically called for change, and he was with us.

Now, fascinating to have then heard Wednesday morning, when the Mubarak supporters came out for the first time in force in the streets and the violence started erupting, before those -- that violence began, many of those men that were out on the streets were cursing Barack Obama --

BALDWIN: Really?

WATSON: -- accusing him of intervening in Egypt's internal affairs by criticizing their president.

So, that's a little bit of a split in what seems to be an increasingly polarized society between the pro- and anti-government camps here.

BALDWIN: Yes, we were just curious as to how the Egyptians feel. We know how they feel about -- or many of them that we're seeing on the streets about Hosni Mubarak. We're just curious how they feel about President Obama.

Ivan, stand by, because I want to -- in talking about the Washington connection here, I want to go to Gloria Borger. She's our CNN senior politics activist.

And, Gloria, what are you hearing about the communication, the contacts between Washington, D.C., and Cairo to arrange a stable transfer of power in Egypt?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, as I was listening to Ivan and looking at the so-called calm picture, it made me think that perhaps it has something to do with what's going on here in Washington.

And that is that, as you can imagine, this is very complex, and it is very delicate, arranging some sort of transition. I just spoke with somebody who is very close to what is occurring, and I was told that these talks are -- quote -- "moving in the right direction," but to be very cautious about it, because, of course, the most important person in all of this is Hosni Mubarak, and he has not agreed to anything, Brooke.

So the way we should look at it is that you see Omar Suleiman being a part of this --

BALDWIN: The vice president.

BORGER: -- the military being part of this, and the likely, the most likely scenario would be for a broad group, including Suleiman and the military, perhaps led by them, to pave the way for elections, but a very broad coalition, including others. But the missing piece is, of course, Mubarak.

BALDWIN: Well, let me ask you about this because let's say -- I don't know if you play chess. But when you play chess, you don't just think about that next move.

BORGER: Right.

BALDWIN: You think hopefully about your fourth, your fifth, your sixth move down the line.

So, in terms of Egypt and the United States, we're not -- the United States isn't just looking about right now.

BORGER: No.

BALDWIN: It's looking three years, five years down the line, after -- potentially after Mubarak is gone. And aren't they also thinking, trying to keep Egypt from going in the way of Iran?

BORGER: Of course. They are.

And in talking to people about that, because it's the thing you think of when you think of Iran, and the shah of Iran was our friend, and then he's deposed, and then what do you have?

There's no -- in talking to people inside the administration about this, of course they worry about it. They're worrying about the entire region now. But there is no ayatollah. This is a revolution that is from the ground up. And we see that from our reporters who are doing such a great job over there.

This is truly a grassroots revolution with no natural leader. So there is not the ayatollah. Even the Muslim Brotherhood is not as radical as -- as the ayatollah groups in Iran. So, they're thinking that a transition to some kind of democracy may be much more likely here than it was in Iran.

But, again -- but, again, if you have a long period before an election, you know, people can --

BALDWIN: Yes.

BORGER: -- people can gather momentum and gather steam.

In fact, folks say if you have an election very quickly, the people likely to benefit from it are the Muslim Brotherhood, because they're the best organized and the best known right now.

BALDWIN: Gloria, do me a favor. Please stand by.

BORGER: Sure.

BALDWIN: Also to you, Dan, at the White House and Ivan there in Cairo, stand by, because reminding everyone once again we're waiting. You see the action behind -- behind Dan. We're waiting for President Obama to speak any moment now. When he does, we will bring it to you live. And he will be taking questions, we're assuming, I should say, on Egypt. So, that is coming up.

Also, up next, surveillance video surfaces of the police allegedly beating a 15-year-old accused of stealing. And we're going to show you that video and have police reaction coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right, before we get to that video out of Texas, I just wanted to remind you and have you look at these live pictures out of the White House. We are awaiting President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to speak. And we're also anticipating some comments from the president. This is really the first time actually reporters have an opportunity to ask the president about the situation in Egypt.

Everyone sat down, so hopefully that will be happening any moment now.

Meantime, let's move along. And I want you to look at this piece of video. This new video is causing outrage in Texas and it's fueling all kinds of anger about the treatment of crime suspects.

A warning, though: The video is tough to watch. You just saw the car run the guy down. It shows police allegedly then kicking and punching a 15-year-old burglary suspect in Houston. Look at this. But -- but you can see that the kid is lying on the ground with his hands clamped behind his head, if you can make that out amidst all these officers.

Now, they appear to beat, kick, stomp the teen while he's there down on the ground. Now, a surveillance camera from a nearby business, that is the camera that captured this incident that happened nearly a year ago.

Critics are accusing Houston city administrators of trying to hush this whole thing up. But Houston Mayor Annise Parker denies any attempt -- any attempt at suppression. She says she is shocked, she is disgusted by what you see here on the tape. City officials say they did not make this video public simply because they didn't want to jeopardize the prosecution of these officers, several of them that are involved.

At least eight officers have been disciplined. Four of them have been fired and they are facing trial for official oppression charges.

And I want to read this for you. Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland Jr. says -- quote -- "I have already taken disciplinary action and will have no further comment until the last case is adjudicated and/or appealed."

And from the Houston Police Officers Union -- quote -- "We have thousands of officers who do a great job every day, and they're not involved in this. Police officers do the best job they can. This is a case that has to be sorted out. It's serious. And it's a reflection on the department. We -- but we do have to let the system work." He goes on, "There's four people who have been charged, and we will have no comment on that until it is resolved in the courts."

Super Bowl fans are now scrambling to get to Dallas after hundreds of flights are canceled because of -- well, you're looking at it -- a winter storm. We're going to get an update for you on the weather for Dallas. That is ahead.

And we're still waiting to see President Obama step out and speak any minute now. And when he does, possibly speaking about Egypt, we will bring it to you live.

Got to get a break in. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right, we are watching -- guys, let's show those live pictures again -- we're watching for the president to -- to come out and speak at the White House. There it is. We're -- we're awaiting him. He will be coming out with the prime minister of Canada, Stephen Harper.

But we anticipate -- Gloria Borger, I want to bring you into this as we watch and wait here.

We're anticipating that the president will be taking a question or two, of course, about Egypt.

And it's interesting. I read your piece on CNN.com, what was it, yesterday, talking about sort of the evolution of foreign policy over the course of the last few days, and how it sort of started out -- how it seemed stable according to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to now really the president calling for this -- this -- this orderly transition.

BORGER: Well, you know, this is what happens when someone like Hosni Mubarak your guy.

He's obviously been our guy because of the peace treaty with Israel, because of Gaza, because of Iran, because of the whole situation in the Middle East. And so it was very difficult for them. They were suffering some kind of separation anxiety, if you will, right? It was really difficult for them to start distancing themselves from someone they have had a relationship with in this country for 30 years.

And so that's why you saw Hillary Clinton come out and first of all say it was stable, Joe Biden say, yes, Egypt needs reform, but -- and -- and -- but then saying he's not -- Mubarak's not a dictator.

And then you saw this process evolve until the other night the president finally came out after Mubarak spoke and said, you know what, you have got to leave now.

BALDWIN: There they are. Here they are. Let's listen.

BORGER: Let's listen to the president.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Please be seated.

I am very pleased to be welcoming my great friend and partner, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, back to the White House to reaffirm our extraordinary friendship and cooperation between the United States and Canada. I would like to talk a bit about what we accomplished today and then address the situation unfolding in Egypt.

The United States and Canada are not simply allies, not simply neighbors. We are woven together like perhaps no other two countries in the world. We're bound together by our societies, by our economies, by our families, which reminds me my brother-in-law's birthday is today and I have to call him.

And in our many meetings together, I have come to value Stephen's candor and his focus on getting results both when it comes to our two countries and to meeting global challenges, although I, unfortunately, have not yet had the pleasure of seeing him and his band jam to the Rolling Stones. But I'm told that videos have become a sensation on YouTube, so I will be checking those out after this bilateral.

We've had a very successful day. Our focus has been on how we increase jobs and economic growth on both sides of the border. Canada is our largest trading partner and the top destination for American exports, supporting some 1. 7 million jobs here. So today we've agreed to several important steps to increase trade, improve our competitiveness, and create jobs for both our people.

First, we agreed to a new vision for managing our shared responsibilities, not just at the border but beyond the border. That means working more closely to improve border security with better screening, new technologies and information sharing among law enforcement, as well as identifying threats early.

It also means finding new ways to improve the free flow of goods and people, because with over $1 billion in trade crossing the border every single day, smarter border management is key to our competitiveness, our job creation and my goal of doubling U.S. exports.

Mr. Prime Minister, I thank you for your leadership and commitment to reaching this agreement.

We've directed our teams to develop an action plan to move forward quickly, and I'm confident that we're going to get this done so that our shared border enhances our shared prosperity.

Second, we're launching a new effort to get rid of outdated regulations that stifle trade and job creation. Like the government- wide review that I ordered last month, we need to obviously strike the right balance, protecting our public health and safety and making it easier and less expensive for American and Canadians to trade and do business, for example, in the auto industry. And the new council that we're creating today will help make that happen.

Third, we discussed a wide range of ways to promote trade and investment, from clean energy partnerships to the steps Canada can take to strengthen intellectual property rights. And we discussed a range of common security challenges, including Afghanistan, where our forces serve and sacrifice together.

Today I want to thank Prime Minister Harper for Canada's decision to shift its commitment to focus on training Afghan forces. As we agreed with our Lisbon -- or our NATO and coalition allies in Lisbon, the transition to Afghan lead for security will begin this year. And Canada's contribution will be critical to achieving that mission and keeping both our countries safe.

Finally, we discussed our shared commitment to progress with our partners in the Americas, including greater security cooperation. I especially appreciated the prime minister's perspective on the region as I prepare for my trip to Central and South America next month.

Let me close by saying a few words about the situation in Egypt. This is obviously still a fluid situation, and we're monitoring it closely, so I will make just a few points.

First, we continue to be crystal clear that we opposed violence as a response to this crisis. In recent days we've seen violence and harassment erupt on the streets of Egypt that violates human rights, universal values and international norms. So we are sending a strong and unequivocal message. Attacks on reporters are unacceptable; attacks on human rights activists are unacceptable; attacks on peaceful protesters are unacceptable.

The Egyptian government has responsibility to protect the rights of its people. Those demonstrating also have a responsibility to do so peacefully.

But everybody should recognize a simple truth: the issues at stake in Egypt will not be resolved through violence or suppression. And we are encouraged by the restraint that was shown today. We hope that it continues.

Second, the future of Egypt will be determined by its people. It's also clear that there needs to be a transition process that begins now. That transition must initiate a process that respects the universal rights of the Egyptian people and that leads to free and fair elections.

Now, the details of this transition will be worked out by Egyptians. And my understanding is that some discussions have begun. But we are consulting widely within Egypt and with the international community to communicate our strong belief that a successful and orderly transition must be meaningful.

Negotiations should include a broad representation of the Egyptian opposition, and this transition must address the legitimate grievances of those who seek a better future.

Third, we want to see this moment of turmoil turn into a moment of opportunity. The entire world is watching. What we hope for and what we will work for is a future where all of Egyptian society seizes that opportunity.

Now, right now a great and ancient civilization is going through a time of tumult and transition. And even as there are grave challenges and great uncertainty, I am confident that the Egyptian people can shape the future that they deserve.

And as they do, they will continue to have a strong friend and partner in the United States of America.

Mr. Prime Minister?

STEPHEN HARPER, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Well, first of all, thank you, Barack, both -- thank you for your friendship, both personal and national. And thank you for all the work you've done and all of your people have done to bring us to our announcement today.

BALDWIN: We're going to pull away from this right now, but we do anticipate the president being asked a question or two about Egypt. You just heard him speaking about Egypt, again condemning the violence that we have been witnessing there on the streets for the past many days.

I want to bring in Gloria Borger, because I want -- I want your reaction first and foremost. And one thing I heard that we're now beginning to hear sort of over and over again from the president, that he's not only calling for this orderly transition; he's calling for it right now.

BORGER: Yes, he's calling for it right now.

And what was interesting to me was that the president said that -- he admitted that there are some things that are clearly being worked on right now. And he also made clear what some sources have been telling me, which is that the administration believes that the kind of orderly transition that would work the best would be a transition that has a broad representation of opposition forces.

BALDWIN: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. BORGER: So -- and the president stated that today, saying, look, you know, there -- there -- there's clearly been conversations with Suleiman. We know that the -- that the vice president has spoken with him, secretary of defense has spoken with his counterpart over there, talking in terms of the military.

But in addition to the military and Suleiman, perhaps and definitely, according to the president, it needs to be broadened, because that's the way it's going to be the most effective.

BALDWIN: Yes. You know, in -- in listening to the president, though, sometimes, it's what isn't said that is also significant.

Was there anything that he didn't say that -- that jumped out at you?

BORGER: Well, he didn't -- he didn't reiterate tomorrow, now, today.

He seemed to be indicating that this is something that is being worked on. He also made it very clear, by the way, that the kind of attacks that we saw on the anti-Mubarak forces were unacceptable, and that it was the responsibility of the government to ensure that peaceful protesters are allowed to protest. I mean, he made that very clear.

And -- and maybe that is why, although we keep getting conflicted reports, but maybe we see that the people gathering in the square are being allowed to do so peacefully.

So, you know, I think -- we didn't hear anything startlingly new, but I think it's very clear that there is a lot going on behind the scenes in terms of trying to get Hosni Mubarak to agree to some sort of transitional government without him.

BALDWIN: And we can rely on those White House reporters to ask those pointed questions hopefully after the prime minister finishes speaking.

BORGER: Absolutely.

BALDWIN: Before we get to that point, you know, we know these organizations, they were -- demonstrations, they were organized by Facebook. I'm just curious in terms of the U.S. intelligence community here, Gloria, that they -- would they be monitoring what's said, what's tweeted, what's on Facebook, what's talked about in Egypt?

BORGER: They should be.

BALDWIN: Would we have had knowledge, anticipated the demonstrators ahead of time? Is this something we missed?

BORGER: This is a matter of controversy in Washington. There are reports that the president felt he hadn't been adequately informed about this possibility. I've spoken with sources in the intelligence community as well as in the administration. Did the intelligence community call this? Absolutely not, OK?

I had a source in the intelligence community say to me, look, when we were looking back on this, the question we were asking ourselves was, should we have called Tunisia? Which they didn't. Should we have known that Ben Ali was going to leave? They didn't know.

But once Tunisia occurred, my source said to me, all hands were on deck about Egypt, and we knew that something was going to happen in Egypt. Now, the intelligence community was called on the table yesterday by some senators, Senator Dianne Feinstein, who specifically said, look, I run the intelligence committee and I didn't know anything about this. If there was a huge demonstration planned, you should have known.

And the response of the intelligence community is that, we knew something was coming, but we can't predict the moves of specific people. And, you know, I was told by someone in the intelligence community that we don't have a crystal ball that tells us when millions of people are going to demonstrate.

BALDWIN: Sure.

BORGER: We can't predict what's going to happen in the streets.

But, to your point of Facebook and all the rest, then the senators are saying, well, maybe you should be able to do that because if you're monitoring Facebook, et cetera, then you ought to be able perhaps to know when these things are coming. And the CIA and intelligence community does monitor that.

BALDWIN: Of course.

BORGER: So we're not sure exactly what occurred.

BALDWIN: I just want to remind our viewers if you're just tuning in. This a significant moment and we're bringing this to you live. What you see on the right side of the screen, that's Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper. He has been meeting with the president at the White House.

It a significant moment and we're staying on it because this the first time that reporters, that journalists have had the opportunity to ask president Obama several questions. He made a statement on Egypt just moments ago, but we're waiting for the questions to be asked of the president. We'll carry it for you live.

I'm going to continue my conversation with Gloria. Gloria, you have all sorts of sources in Washington. What are you hearing regarding dialogue between Cairo and D.C.?

BORGER: Well, I think you're having lots of tentacles here. You're having lot -- we have heard the secretary of defense has spoken p with his counterpart, right? We know that the vice president has spoken with Omar Suleiman. We're assuming the State Department is reaching out. We're assuming the national security people are reaching out.

We understand that it takes a lot of people to try and make something happen over there. I presume people in the intelligence community are reaching out. You know, we have a very close relationship in this country with the military in Egypt. We train a lot of their people in this country. It makes an awful lot of sense that we would be talking to the military at the highest levels to try and figure out a way to make this transition occur.

Again, it's unclear to me whether any key officials in Egypt have signed on to anything, and I think that's a big question. And I think this is a very fluid situation, and it is a very delicate situation, both for the United States and of course for the people in Egypt, particularly those running the military and the vice president.

BALDWIN: It's delicate also, and I think as part of this article you interviewed this neoconservative who talks about Mubarak and reservations him as a despot and says when you have a despot in question who is the significant geopolitical ally, I think he said it's hard to take actions that are difficult, it's hard to make tough choices before a crisis occurs. But clearly, he says, the crisis is now.

BORGER: Yes. And his point was that Mubarak has been around for an awfully long time. He is considered an important ally to us. He has made peace with Israel. He's very important in terms of Gaza. He's very important in terms of the entire Middle East. And he's also been very effective in lobbying Congress, OK?

And he's been getting $1.5 billion in military aid and so I think his point is that we knew who he was and we knew what he was. But this is real politic, and he's our guy. So we were sticking with him and so we had a bit of a problem separating from him, you know. There is a 30-year relationship there that's mutually beneficial. And that's very difficult to disentangle. And I think what you see going on now is an effort to not totally disentangle that relationship. I don't think it's in the United States' interest to do that.

BALDWIN: Let me jump in, Gloria. Stand by for me. I want to broaden the conversation and bring in Ivan Watson who's still with us in Cairo. Part of my question is this. We know ABC's Christiane Amanpour talked to Hosni Mubarak yesterday. Actually, check that.

Let's go back into the news conference where questions are being taken.

QUESTION: Do you think his stepping aside is needed for reform to begin. To Prime Minister Harper on the energy issue, do you discuss Canada's role as a source of oil for the United States, and in particular did you receive any assurances that the U.S. administration looks favorably on TransCanada's proposed Keystone Pipeline to the Gulf Coast? Thank you.

OBAMA: I have had two conversations with President Mubarak since this crisis in Egypt began. And each time I've emphasized the fact that the future of Egypt is going to be in the hands of Egyptians. It is not us who will determine that future.

But I have also said that, in light of what's happened over the last two weeks, going back to the old ways is not going to work. Suppression is not going to work. Engaging in violence is not going to work. Attempting to shut down information flows is not going to work.

In order for Egypt to have a bright future, which I believe it can have, the only thing that will work is moving an orderly transition process that begins right now that engages all the parties, that leads to democratic practices, fair and free elections, representative government that is responsive to the grievances of the Egyptian people.

Now, I believe that president Mubarak cares about his country. He is proud, but he's also a patriot. And what I suggested to him is that he needs to consult with those who are around him in his government. He needs to listen to what's being voiced by the Egyptian people and make a judgment about a pathway forward that is orderly but that is meaningful and serious.

And I believe that he's already said that he's not going to run for reelection. This is somebody who's been in power for a very long time in Egypt. Having made that psychological break, that decision that he will not be running again, I think the most important for him to ask himself, for the Egyptian government to ask itself, as well as the opposition to ask itself is, how do we make that transition effective and lasting and legitimate?

And, as I said before, that's not a decision ultimately the United States makes or any country outside of Egypt makes. What we can do, though, is affirm the core principles that are going to be involved in that transition.

If you end up having just gestures towards the opposition but it leads to a continuing suppression of the opposition, that's not going to work. If you have the pretense of reform but not real reform, that's not going to be effective.

And as I said before, once the president himself announced that he was not going to be running again and since his term is up relatively shortly, the key question he should be asking himself is, how do I leave a legacy behind in which Egypt is able to get through this transformative period, and my hope is that he will end up making the right decision.

HARPER: You asked me about questions of energy. And, yes, we did discuss the matter you raised. Let me just say this --

BALDWIN: I want to bring in Ivan Watson to piggy-back off of one of the points president Obama just made. Ivan, I know you're there in Cairo, and I think -- we just lost him.

Gloria, then, Gloria Borger, I know you're there in Washington. You've been listening to this whole thing. I think what struck me is the president reiterated is, yes, Egypt needs this transition, but he said once, twice, that the future of Egypt is in Egypt's hands. It's not to the U.S. it's up to Egypt.

BORGER: Right. And he did, as you pointed out earlier, this time he did say beginning now, that the transition does need to begin now.

BALDWIN: Yes.

BORGER: I think what the president is really telling us here is that you can't have some sort of fake transition. You can't have one that looks good but that isn't real. He said it's got to be effective, lasting, and legitimate. And I think what the White House is talking about in terms of that transition is to make it quite broad so that includes all facets of the opposition.

BALDWIN: OK. Let's listen.

QUESTION: And, Mr. President, on the sovereignty issue, you're welcome to answer it. You don't have to speak in French, though.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: Thank you. I love French, but I'm just not very capable of speaking it.

(LAUGHTER)

HARPER: On the question of sovereignty, this declaration is not about sovereignty. We are sovereign countries who have the capacity to act as we choose to act. The question that faces us is to make sure we act in a sovereign way that serves Canada's interests.

It is in Canada's interest to work with our partners in the United States to ensure that our borders are secure and ensure that we can trade and travel across them as safely and as openly as possible within the convict texts of our different laws. And that is what we're trying to achieve here.

We share security threats that are very similar on both sides of the border. We share an integrated economic space where it doesn't make sense to constantly, you know, check the same cargo over and over again. If we can do that at a perimeter, if we can decongest the border, that's what we should be doing.

If we can harmonize regulations in ways that avoid unnecessary duplication and red tape for business, that's what we need to do. So that is what this is all about, the safety of Canadians and developing economic growth and jobs for the Canadian economy. For -- let me maybe -- I'll do French and then I'll come back to Egypt.

BALDWIN: So you've been listening to -- that was the Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper speaking. We've been listening to President Obama as well. It's significant and we wanted to make sure we brought this to you live because this is the first time that the president has had an opportunity, or I should say the reporters there at the White House have had the opportunity to ask a couple of questions to the president with regard to the situation in Egypt. Do we want to stay with this, guys? Gloria, I know you're still with me in Washington. What else? What else is your takeaway here?

BORGER: I think to your point to how the administration is making this very clear that the real future of Egypt is up to the people in Egypt.

And essentially what I think the president is saying is that we're just the facilitators of this, if you will. That's our role. We will not stand for attacks on peaceful people who are demonstrating one way or the other. There are certain things we will not stand for. We will not stand on attacks of human rights of peaceful citizens.

But in terms of this transition that the president has been talking about and that they've been clearly working on behind the scenes, I think that what the United States does not want to do is say, this is our transition. We are going to actually hand-pick the people who were a part of this transition.

This is Egypt's transition, but let me give you some guidelines, I think it's going to be more effective and perhaps more real if it's a transition that includes a broad cross-section of people who oppose the government and want change. So presumably that would include the Muslim brotherhood, it might include ElBaradei, for example. We just don't know. But that's the president's clear message here today.

BALDWIN: We know that it was Frank Wisner who took that trip to Cairo to initiate I guess -- we've been using the word "nudging" -- nudging Hosni Mubarak earlier in the week, essentially saying he didn't have an intent to run in the fall.

But again we're hearing from president Obama -- we're hearing the phrase "transition needs to happen now." And the process needs to be orderly, it needs to be meaningful, and the people in Egypt need to take it seriously.

BORGER: Right. And look, this is a president who wants to make it clear, as he said, there is something on the table that is not an option. And what is not an option is returning to the old ways and the old ways of the Mubarak regime.

Here's the president speaking. Sorry to interrupt you, Gloria. Let's listen.

OBAMA: With respect to how we balance security issues, privacy issues, openness issues, but we match up more than possibly any country on earth. We have this border that benefits when it is open. The free flow of goods and services results in huge economic benefits for both sides.

And so the goal here is to make sure that we are coordinating closely and that, as we are taking steps and measures to ensure both openness and security, that we're doing so in ways that enhances the relationship as opposed to creates tensions in the relationship.

And we are confident that we're going to be able to achieve that. We've already made great progress just over the last several years on various specific issues. What we're trying to do now is to look at this in a more comprehensive fashion so that it's not just border security issues but it's a broader set of issues involved.

And I have great confidence that Prime Minister Harper is going to be very protective of certain core values of Canada, just as I would be very protective of the core values of the United States, and those won't always match up perfectly. And I thought I agree even more with his answer in French.

(LAUGHTER)

All right, thank you very much, everybody.

BALDWIN: And there they go.

Gloria, I want to bring you in for one more question, if you're still with me. Talking about the nudging, if you will, the relationship between Washington, D.C. and Cairo -- at what point, if at all, would the U.S. take the nudging to the demand point? Would they intervene that strongly?

BORGER: I think the president gave a clear signal today, which is that we believe in human rights. And he sent a very strong message that peaceful protestors are to be treated properly. And I think that was his first point right out to the box.

BALDWIN: Yes.

BORGER: And he talked about journalists being rounded up and how that is unacceptable. So it's very clear that the president is very strong that what we saw in the streets is something that he considers unacceptable.

He didn't deliver an ultimatum. That's not like Barack Obama. That's not what we do in these situations anyway. But what he did do was very clearly outline the things that he needed. You can't have the kind of displays of violence that we saw. This is a transition that needs to happen now and it needs to be worked out with the Egyptians, and out of this comes an opportunity for the Egyptian people.

BALDWIN: Gloria Borger, thank you for having this conversation with me.

BORGER: Sure.

BALDWIN: I appreciate it. and I want to bring in our colleague Wolf Blitzer who is in that same bureau as you. There he is. Wolf, I'm sure you were listening. And we've sort of seen this evolution of language from the president calling on an orderly transition to an orderly transition that needs to happen now.

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Yes. He was pretty forceful, I must say. And if you in the week and certainly last week, there has been an evolution getting tougher. When he says going back to the old ways is simply not going to work, that's a direct admonition to President Mubarak and his government. You can't just do things the way you've done things for 30 years.

BALDWIN: Suppression won't work.

BLITZER: Yes. He says when the entire world is watching, when he says something like that, he's right. The entire world is watching, and the Egyptians, obviously, and the Egyptian government obviously knows that.

So it's clear that the president would like to see President Mubarak bring in some opposition, you know, whether he's going to step down, today, tomorrow or next week. It's only a matter of time certainly from the U.S. perspective that President Mubarak will have to see the handwriting on the wall.

What the U.S. really wants is some sort of orderly transfer, some orderly transition, bringing in the responsible opposition groups, and maybe that even means the Muslim Brotherhood, bringing them into some sort of coalition for a transitional period leading up to scheduled elections.

It's going to take months and months and monies before there's elections, and clearly, one of the major points that the president is addressing is the Egyptian military, which has had a very good relationship with the U.S. military over the years, but that's the most respected element right now in the Egyptian society. He wants to make sure that military fully appreciates where the U.S. is on board.

Now, some Egyptians, as you know, Brooke, are saying the president of the United States doesn't understand Egyptian culture.

BALDWIN: Right.

BLITZER: We heard that from President Mubarak. Some others are saying he should not be interfering in domestic Egyptian affairs. U.S. officials make the point when the United States provides Egypt with $1.5 billion a year in military assistance and a lot more in some non-military assistance, the United States has a right to express its views on what should happen in Egypt given the dependence to a certain degree that the Egyptians have on U.S. foreign aid.

So all these are significant factors that have to be considered right now. There is no doubt though that this is a critical moment because it can still go either way -- more violence or less. And we don't know the answer to that.

BLITZER: Absolutely, the number two recipient of the aid from us, and us a pointed out $1.5 billion alone to the military each and every year. Wolf Blitzer in Washington, thank you so, so much. We have to get a break in. A lot more to come. We'll be right back.

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BALDWIN: The Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers are set to clash in the Super Bowl this Sunday, Super Bowl xlv, but even a little bit of an opponent is the weather. A deep freeze slamming the deep south. Dallas is covered in snow, just as a lot of people are trying to get into town for the big game. And hundreds of flights, why it's pretty tough, hundreds of tight at DFW, Dallas-Fort Worth International cancelled today. And Dallas' other airport love field just opened to commercial traffic. The head of the NFL is in Dallas, and he says they are prepared for all these snowy, harsh conditions.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any time you're putting on an event like this, you're going to have some challenges, and there are some things you can be prepared for and we are prepared for.

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BALDWIN: Chad Myers, I know you've been watching all this going on in Texas. Let me pass this along to you from the vice president of corporate communications for the NFL, the Cowboys stadium, the roof, snow falling off it. People are slipping and sliding and getting hit so they are having to close a lot of entrances to the stadium.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: They are only use the tunnel which starts way back for the trucks basically. People are having to walk in and out of the tunnel.

BALDWIN: That's the only way to go in and or out.

MYERS: Because all the other areas are gone here. This is the video. I've got the SRI. We have video in both places. This is the top of the field. It is sliding off the roof. This is the ice that occurred and the snow that occurred overnight, sliding off the roof. You can see the big fissure sliding off, and it injured a few people on the ground down below, so all of these tents that were set up, all of these hospitality areas around the stadium itself will have to be moved away from the stadium as the ice and snow falls away.

Now, it is going to be 44 degrees during the day. It's only going to be 14 tonight. It's going to be cold there, and I think probably this is going to be inside. Obviously they closed the roof so it's still going to be 60 or 70 inside. Not going to be a really great big deal for Texas.

There you go right now, 26, Dallas wind chill, about 13 to 14 degrees out there. It's going to be one chilly day. We're also watching some very difficult travel going on in Houston right now. Had this shot from KHOU, just showing me a skid of the helicopter right now? But for a while people were all over the place, especially on the elevated freeways, slip sliding away. Don't go out in Houston if you don't need to, for sure.

BALDWIN: In Dallas, we're talking Pittsburgh and Green Bay fans, they know snow.

MYERS: But they went there so they could be warm.

BALDWIN: Spot so much this weekend. Chad Myers, thanks. We all know Sunday is super bowl Sunday, but did you know this? It's also national porn Sunday. That's right. Churches across the Sunday are being encouraged to talk about pornography this Sunday, and guess who is going to be here to tell me about it. This guy, adult film star Ron Jeremy. That is ahead.

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