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Apple Founder Dies At 56; Political Calendar Speeds Up; President On Jobs Act; The Man Who Changed The World; ESPN Drops Hank Williams Jr.; Bank Of America Defends Fees; Sarah Palin Looks To Future; Quake hits Argentina

Aired October 06, 2011 - 13:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, Suzanne. Thank you so much.

I'm Randi Kaye. Today, we celebrate the life of Steve Jobs. But first we need to turn our attention to Washington where just a short while ago President Obama made his latest push for the American Jobs Act.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is not a game, this is not the time for the usual political gridlock. The problems Europe is having today could have a very real effect on our economy at a time when it's already fragile, but this jobs bill can help guard against another downturn if the situation in Europe gets any worse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: So, is this the solution the country really needs? Wolf Blitzer joins us now from Washington. Hi there, Wolf. Tell me this -- does this jobs act have a fighting chance here do you think? Or do you think the Senate vote will just end in the same gridlock that we seem to be getting used to?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The way that the legislation has put forward the entire package that the president has put forward is not going to pass -- not going to pass -- probably won't pass the Senate, certainly won't pass the House of Representatives where the Republicans have a lopsided majority. Elements of it are popular if they break out certain parts of it and find a way to pay for those popular parts. Some of it could be passed but the package as a whole is dead on arrival, it's not going to get passed. And now that the president has come out and endorsed what some liberal Democrats in the Senate are proposing, specifically a surtax on millionaires, that's not going to go anywhere among House Republicans and many Republicans elsewhere. So, the president has got his problems right now.

KAYE: It certainly sounds like it. Let me just play something else that the president said and I want to then talk about it with you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT OBAMA: This jobs bill is fully paid for by asking millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: President Obama, Wolf, insists that this isn't class warfare, just the simple choice. I mean, obviously the Republicans have said it is class warfare. He seems to be trying to turn that around on them a bit, but what do you think?

BLITZER: Well, there are tax cuts, a lot of tax cuts, that the president has in there for middle class families, for veterans and others, and that certainly is not class warfare right there. But he does want to pay for a big chunk of this by increasing taxes on the wealthiest Americans and now he's endorsed, for all practical purposes as I said, this proposal, for a 5.6 percent tax surcharge on income over $1 million a year. Republicans are going to say they're not going to go along with that. They say they are in favor of tax reform, but it's got to be wide ranging, it's got to be sweeping. You can't just start to tax, especially during economic tough times, what they call the jobs' providers, people who are out there creating jobs, investing money.

If you start increasing taxes on those people, and they already pay high income tax already, then it's simply is going to hurt the overall economic recovery. So, you're going to have a fundamental debate. The American public is with the president on this, if you believe the polls, because they think that millionaires and billionaires should be paying more in taxes, but it's going to be a tough sell for a lot of the Republicans and even some moderate Democrats.

KAYE: Yes, it certainly sounds like it. It's not going to be easy. Wolf Blitzer, nice to see you. Thank you so much.

BLITZER: Thanks, Randi.

KAYE: From Hong Kong to Europe, and across the U.S., the world pays tribute to Steve jobs. You are looking at vigils being held at Apple stores. Jobs died at 56 but he leaves a legacy of innovation. Joining us from Pasadena, California is CNN's Casey Wian. He's outside one of those Apple stores. Casey, what's the mood like there?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Randi. This is one of the 327 Apple retail stores around the world, responsible for about 15 percent of the company's annual sales. Store just opened for business this morning but all night long people have been coming here and leaving their tributes to Steve Jobs. You can look at some of them here on Apple stickers, thanks for all the magic, we'll miss you, Steve. And one note that was posted here and a quote from Dr. Seuss, "Don't be sad because it's over. Smile because it happened." Back over here closer to the entrance of this store, we've seen some folks have left flowers and someone has even left a card for Steve Jobs.

We spoke with man just a little while ago who is an audio engineer and a musician. Uses apple products all the time, he's been using them since the 1980s. Here's what he had to say about the passing of Steve jobs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN SKAGGS: The thing that moved me so much was that commencement speech that he made, you know, just how to live your life knowing that we're all going to die, and that you need to just step up and not worry about people's opinions of you and people's reactions to what you do. I mean, that's amazing. And I mean, it shows in his work and what his legacy is. It is beautiful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIAN: You know, he also said what a lot of people are saying, that Steve jobs is going to be sorely missed by Apple, but customers believe that the company has been left in good shape, in good hands by Steve jobs and that the new management will be able to continue his legacy, continue his tradition, and continue this company's amazing success -- Randi.

KAYE: All right, Casey Wian, thank you very much for that reporting.

We'll continue our special coverage of Steve jobs, the visionary, at 1:30 p.m. Eastern with Ali Velshi.

Well, if you are expecting a major Wall Street reaction to Steve Jobs' death, it didn't happen. And if you thought the death of Apple's visionary leader would really hurt Apple stock, well that doesn't seem very likely. It was off just a bit at the opening but has traded higher much of the day. Just moments ago, it traded at $377 and change, down less than $1.

Our Alison Kosik says the market and shareholders had plenty of time to prepare for Jobs' death. His successor worked with Jobs for about a decade and is well equipped to take over the company's reins.

ESPN says it has severed its relationship with Hank Williams Jr. That means his rockin' intro to Monday night football won't open the broadcast anymore. His song "All My Rowdy Friends" had been the program's theme song for 20 years. The fallout followed a comment Williams made comparing President Obama to Adolf Hitler. He apologized for the poor analogy but the damage was done. Williams issued his own statement suggesting he dropped ESPN for stepping on the toes of the first amendment, adding, it's been a great run.

Much of the anger fueling those Wall Street protests is aimed at big banks and the biggest, Bank of America, has come out swinging. Its CEO, Brian Moynihan, defends the new $5 fee on debit cards saying his bank, quote, "has a right to make a profit." The fee won't kick in until next year giving customers plenty of time to get used to the idea. Moynihan says they'll understand. As he put it, I have an inherent duty as the CEO of a publicly owned company to get a return for my shareholders.

Now that we know Sarah Palin isn't going to run for president, what will she do? Simple, what she's been doing all along, stay in the public eye and help elect the person who she thinks can beat President Obama. She says she can be more effective in that role. The former Alaska governor and long-rumored candidate for the GOP nomination says she'll support those who will fight for smaller government, a strong economy, and help the private sector create jobs. In yesterday's announcement that she's not going to run, Palin said, quote, "my family comes first."

A pretty strong earthquake hit extreme northern Argentina near its borders with Chile and Bolivia today, seismologists measured it as a 6.2 magnitude quake. The nearest large city is Salta, about 87 miles from the epicenter. There are no initial reports of serious damage or injuries. That part of Argentina is mountainous and not very densely populated.

Remembering the man behind the movement. Steve Jobs' life was all about innovation, determination and strength. We'll get a peek at a side of Steve jobs many didn't see. That's coming next.

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KAYE: Some say the iPhone changed the world forever, but really it was Steve jobs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Products in people's pockets, dorms, book bags, you know he's reached everywhere. So, I think everyone has a little bit of Steve jobs in them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He didn't set tout change the world, I mean he just set out to do what he loved to do, right? It just so happened that he was so passionate about it that he ended up changing the world and the way we interact with media.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Our next guest knows this all too well. Joining us live from San Francisco is the former senior vice president of Apple, Jay ELLIOT. Jay, thank you so much for coming on the show today. You were Jobs' right-hand man while working at Apple. Looking back, what is your fondest personal memory of working with Steve jobs?

JAY ELLIOT, FORMER SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, APPLE INC.: Well, Steve was a very unique person, and it's unfortunate what happened to him, obviously I feel really sad about that. But he was the kind of guy that was intense and he had -- but he had two parts of his life. His -- the products he built, but his private life that most people know nothing about, he was very personal, but very unique. I mean, he was the guy that we would laugh, we would have fun, but he wasn't the guy that went out and had a beer or went out and talked about a football game. It was much more about life and about certain things that were going on. So, it was a very personal private life which is the way he lived his life.

KAYE: From what I understand, even as he grew more sick, he worked even harder. It sounds like that wouldn't surprise you.

ELLIOT: No. He was -- his intensity to make the world better is what it was all about. And through his products, I mean it's amazing to me the outpouring of people today that are putting flowers by stores. Think about that, no other CEO in the history of the United States has had this kind of recognition. And that's because people loved -- they loved the products and therefore they love him. It's an amazing phenomenon.

KAYE: How did people you know and people that you've work with and that Steve jobs has work with, how did they react to his death?

ELLIOT: I think, like I did. I was driving home with my teenage home from high school, and I had to pull the car over because I was -- got into -- I got into tears and I was just -- I knew it was coming. I even -- somebody had asked me about a month ago what I thought, and I said he's very sick and I believe he may not make it through October. So, we all knew that, but the reality is it just took our breath away. It was just -- it was just something that we're lost and it's -- and we're not going to find another Steve jobs, I believe, for a long, long time.

KAYE: When you think about his legacy in the corporate world, in life, what will it be?

ELLIOT: It will be that he was so intense on providing products that he loved, that you were going to love, that he left the legacy that everything he produced was an upgrade of the last thing he produced and it got better. And it has made your life a lot better for using it. And I think that's what he was all about. He wanted to change the world and he certainly has. And I felt when he did his last presentation at Cupertino about his new building, I sort of felt that was his last -- that was his last gasp because he always loved to have a building like that and that is what his last sort of legacy for Apple.

KAYE: He seemed to enjoy what he did so much and when you think about, you know, how people really -- so many people probably learned of his passing, learned of his death on a gadget that he may very well have created, what do you think he would have thought of that?

ELLIOT: Oh, he would have been absolutely thrilled because he would love to have everybody in the world be able to access information. And think about this also, he provided products that went from nine years old to 90 years old. He provided everybody in the world the ability to have access to information and technology that they never would have had access to. I think that was -- and this -- what you just said about people on these products, he would have been thrilled about that because that's really, really what his bottom line, what Steve really wanted to make happen.

KAYE: I know he loved to create but do you think he realized the impact that he had? I mean, did he ever talk about that or was he pretty modest about it?

ELLIOT: He was pretty modest about it but he did -- again, his whole thing was I want to change the world. But his whole thing was, I want to make it -- I want to make technology vanish. I want it to be seamless that people are getting what they need out of life, getting information they need, getting advice they need, getting connection they need. So, his whole thing was about that.

And I think the -- and that's what the other world has to learn from his -- him is that technology is great but it's really about what you do with it that's really important and how it is going to change the world. And that really is the bottom line. I'm not sure he understood how -- what an impact he would have but that's the impact he wanted.

KAYE: In your book, Jay, "The Steve Jobs Way," what is it that you hope to teach people about Steve Jobs? What did you want all of us to know?

ELLIOT: What I want you to know is that it's all about the product. It's about that your company, what you're building, if you're going to build a company, it's all about the product. And hopefully you've got to have a product you personally love yourself and you really understand its impact on whoever's going to use it. And the organization of the company, the way you innovate, all that is around one thing called the product. And that's really what I want people to understand, that really is really the Steve Jobs way.

KAYE: Jay Elliott, we appreciate you coming on the show. I know you miss your friend and this is a very difficult time, but thank you for your time today.

ELLIOT: Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

KAYE: And we'll continue our special coverage of Steve Jobs at 1:30 p.m. Eastern with Ali Velshi. The co-founder of Apple is survived by his wife, Laurene, and children Eve, Erin, Reed and Lisa. Steve Jobs was 56 years old.

A form of human cloning unlocks a new approach to stem cell research. What this could mean from those suffering from diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. We'll have that for you next.

But first, here's a look at the stories that you're watching on cnn.com.

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KAYE: The pathologist who conducted the autopsy on Michael Jackson and ruled his death a homicide could take the stand today in the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray. Jurors may also soon hear the two-hour interview Murray gave to police two days after Jackson died of acute Propofol intoxication. In addition, the L.A. police officer who questioned Murray is expected to testify that the cardiologist said he had been giving Propofol to Jackson regularly for two months to help him sleep. Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death.

A potential breakthrough to report today in stem cell research. For the first time, scientists say they have created human embryonic stem cell by injecting DNA from a skin cell into an unfertilized egg. The scientists applied a cloning technique similar to the one used to clone Dolly the sheep. Remember Dolly? The study lead by the New York Stem Cell Foundation is designed to create patient-specific embryonic cells with the patient's own DNA for future use in cell replacement therapy. The ultimate goal is a cure for diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

A leading gay advocacy group is applauding a move by Google to pull its controversial "is my son gay" application off the Android Market. Allout.org has said the app is homophobic and relies on stereotypes. In a statement, the group said, quote, "we are pleased that Google developers have heard the voice of the LGBT community. "Is my son gay? Advertised itself as an app with a quiz for parents to determine if a child was gay or straight."

The protests are growing. So are scuffles between police and demonstrators rallying against Wall Street. We'll go live to rallies in Washington, D.C., and Houston, coming your way next.

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KAYE: Welcome back.

You're looking at live pictures of demonstrators gathered in Washington, D.C., and Tampa, Florida. They are among the latest to join the so-called "Occupy Wall Street" rallies to protest income inequality, corporate greed and other social ills. The demonstrations began in New York City 20 days ago. The rallies have been mostly peaceful. But there have been some scuffles between police and demonstrators. At least 28 people were arrested in New York yesterday.

In economic news, the number of Americans filing for first time unemployment benefits jumped back above 400,000 last week. The Labor Department reports 401,000 people filed for first time benefits in the week ending October 1st. That's an increase of 6,000 over the prior week. The number of those already on unemployment and continuing to get the benefits has held pretty steady for the last month at about 3.7 million.

Herman Cain hopes his next job will be president. And he's moving in that direction. The businessman and once long-shot contender for the Republican nomination continues to confound the pundits. Cain won two recent straw polls and a CBS News poll has him in a virtual tie with Mitt Romney. Part of Cain's popularity is his straight talk. Listen to what he says about the people occupying Wall Street and their fight against fat cats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Don't blame Wall Street. Don't blame the big banks. If you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Herman Cain and the other candidates may have to speed up their campaigns, it turns out. The question now is, will the first votes for 2012 actually start in 2011? Paul Steinhauser has some answers for us.

Paul, what's the latest when you look at the calendar? PAUL STEINHAUSER, DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Oh, boy, Randi, here we go again. Remember four years ago how things got speeded up. Well, yes, we could -- could have an Iowa caucus in December, right around the holidays.

All right, here's how it all started. Let's go to the calendar. Let's go to the calendar and remember it was just less than a week ago that Florida announced they would have their primary on the 31st of January. So, what did that mean for New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada, the states that are supposed to go first? They all vowed they would go earlier.

So, earlier this week, South Carolina said, yes, we're going to hold our -- our primary on the 21st. Nevada, last night, Randi, they announced they're going to be holding their caucus on the 14th. So what does that mean for New Hampshire? New Hampshire says by state law they have to be seven days ahead of everybody else. So maybe they could go as early as January 3rd. If that happens, Iowa could -- could be in December.

KAYE: Yes.

STEINHAUSER: So, Randi, for those of us who cover politics, no rest for us this holiday season. But for the voters, more importantly, they have less of a chance to actually get too to see and know the candidates.

Randi.

KAYE: Yes. And just very quickly, Paul, what is the magic or maybe the perceived magic of going first?

STEINHAUSER: It's just tradition. Iowa has, for almost 30 years now, been the caucus state that leads the calendar. New Hampshire has been the first in the nation primary state for 50 years. And they want to keep their position. And they say one of the reasons why is we're small states. We really have a good place for the candidates to come and to get to know the voters. That's why we should be first.

Randi.

KAYE: All right, Paul Steinhauser, thank you very much for the update.

A special edition of NEWSROOM taking a closer look at the inspired life of Steve Jobs is coming next.

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