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S&P Downgrades Dozens of Banks; International Stock Markets Surge; Police Shut Down Occupy L.A. Camp; What Happens if Cain Quits?; EU Leaders Try To Save Euro

Aired November 30, 2011 - 11:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour here. From Studio 7, I'm in today for Suzanne Malveaux on this November 30th.

Let's get you started here.

We're watching your money, and maybe you're making some today. A big rally under way on Wall Street. The Dow surged more than 300 points in early trading.

And lookie, lookie. How high is this thing going to go? Up 430-plus points right now.

Why? Well, the markets are responding to action by the Federal Reserve and other central banks to keep money flowing through the global economy. Their action is making it cheaper for banks around the world to trade in U.S. dollars. Maybe some technicalities there and things you might not be that up on, but all you need to know is that the markets are up because of things happening around the world and action being taken. So that is a good thing.

Also, let's turn to Los Angeles, where police, they have cleared out and shut down the camp set up by the Occupy protesters. They've arrested dozens of people who still refuse to leave.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: We are peaceful! We are peaceful! We are peaceful!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: About 1,400 Los Angeles police officers moved in just after midnight to shut down the camp on the lawn of City Hall. It had been there a couple of months. Again, 200 people arrested. Police say the operation was mostly peaceful.

And another alleged victim speaks out about the child sex abuse allegations at Syracuse University. Mike Lang is his name. He's a former Syracuse ball boy, and he told CNN that the assistant coach, Bernie Fine, molested him. Fine has denied the allegations, but yet he has not been charged with any crime.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE LANG, ALLEGED CHILD MOLESTATION VICTIM: He kept touching me. GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So where though? Where did he touch you?

LANG: In my leg and my penis.

TUCHMAN: And did you say something to him?

LANG: Yes. I said, "Bernie, please stop this because I'm not that kind and I won't tolerate it. If you don't want me to come over here no more, I won't come over here. But if you keep doing it, I'm not going to come over here."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, this was actually the scene last night, ,Syracuse fans giving the head coach, Jim Boeheim, a standing ovation at last night's game against Eastern Michigan. Also, earlier in the day, the chancellor of the school voiced her support. Boeheim initially, you may remember, defended Bernie Fine. The two have been friends some 48 years. Now with more allegations out there, he says the investigation will have to determine what happened "on his watch."

Also, word -- we are just getting word of a lawsuit, the first lawsuit filed in the Penn State sex abuse scandal. An alleged victim of former defensive coach Jerry Sandusky is suing the school, Sandusky, and his charity. He says he was sexually assaulted more than 100 times in the '90s.

Penn State holds a question-and-answer session tonight on the sex abuse scandal. Students will be able to talk about the child molestation charges against the former coach. Only students will be admitted to this forum, but it will be streamed live online.

On to some politics now.

And presidential candidate Herman Cain making a campaign stop in Dayton, Ohio, next hour, where he will reassess whether his presidential candidacy can continue. Cain denies an allegation by an Atlanta woman that the two of them had an on-again/off-again affair for more than 13 years.

In an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America," Cain's accuser was asked whether she thinks he's fit to be president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GINGER WHITE, ALLEGES AFFAIR WITH HERMAN CAIN: In my opinion, no, I do not. I honestly do not think that he is -- in my opinion, would make a good president, as far as I'm concerned. My views are different than his views, but at the end of the day, this is not political. This is absolutely not political.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And again, we are waiting for his event coming up top of the next hour. Also, this video you're seeing, a lot of people remember this. This was 30 years ago now. A man shot the president. And today, that man, John Hinckley, Jr., is in court, seeking his freedom from a mental hospital.

Hinckley's motive for the attack on Reagan was to impress actress Jodie Foster. He was eventually found not guilty by reason of insanity.

And Britain being hit right now with its worse strike in decades. Up to two million public workers, teachers, nurses, immigration officers, and the like, staging a one-day walkout to protest pension cuts. About 60 percent of schools are closed. Hospitals have canceled non- emergency services. International travelers are being told to expect long delays at Heathrow.

And a big day for the millions of people taking the high cholesterol drug Lipitor. Pfizer's patent runs out today, so that means other companies can now start making less expensive generics available. Pfizer says more than 17 million people have been prescribed Lipitor to lower their cholesterol.

And you're accustomed to banks judging you based on your credit. Now the country's biggest banks are being judged, dealing with a downgrade in their credit rating.

Our Christine Romans, she's on the Money team. You know her well. She's in New York for us right now.

And we're not just talking about any banks. Big banks right now are getting a look.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they're getting a look. But I'll tell you something, here's the interesting thing. You get a downgrade of America's big banks, and they're all up in trading because of this big, huge market surge.

I mean, you can see the Dow. It's up 400-plus points. That's because the Fed and a bunch of central banks came in and said that they were going to keep the oxygen flowing in the global banking system. They were going to keep money flowing so that no one was going to have trouble borrowing money overnight.

That's because of the European crisis. And that really blunted the effect we had expected because of this downgrade.

So, back to this downgrade, Standard & Poor's downgrading six big U.S. banks: JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup -- you know these names -- Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley. Bank of America, as of yesterday -- my goodness -- was down 61 percent already so far this year. It's up big this morning because of the Fed's moves.

But essentially, Standard & Poor's saying that, look, the playing field is different now. The U.S. credit rating has been dropped, and where these banks operate is really important. We've got a slowing U.S. economy. And S&P also downgraded a bunch of banks overseas, and that's because of the escalating credit crisis there.

HOLMES: What does this mean for me, Christine?

ROMANS: What does it mean for you? Well, if you're paying your bills on time, T.J., and you have a little bit of money in your account, and you're not getting hit by fees, it doesn't mean anything for you or your bank account. But what it means for the direction of this country and the stability of the banking system is this: it means that there is growing concern about danger signals that are flashing in the credit markets, in the ability for banks, commercial banks, central banks to borrow money and get money, keep money moving around the world.

So it's one of those signals of a much bigger issue, and that is a crisis in Europe that is a real problem, that because of the interconnected nature of the world economy, you hope it doesn't mean down the line that it means fewer job opportunities here, a higher cost of borrowing here, factories having to close here. We're at a dangerous moment in the global economy. And it all kind of plays in here together.

HOLMES: All right. Christine Romans, thank you, as always.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

HOLMES: All right. What is this thing? Is it a Christmas tree? Is it a holiday tree? Whatever you call it, be ready to defend yourself.

That brings us to our "Talk Back" question of the day. Carol Costello, here with us.

And people get a little fired up about this topic sometimes. A Christmas tree or holiday tree?

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Is there really a war on Christmas? Is there such a thing. That's the "Talk Back" question.

I guess it's that time of year, T.J. No, not for good cheer. It's time to wage war on Christmas. Yes, it has begun.

The first bomb allegedly dropped in Rhode Island. Governor Lincoln Chafee, neither Republican or Democrat, but Independent, called the statehouse Christmas tree a holiday tree. Fox News, as it does every year, went crazy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, if it was a maple tree, or an elm in there, maybe it's a holiday tree, but it sure looks like a Christmas tree.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If it has -- Steve, if it has lights and ornaments and an angel and decorations on top, it's a Christmas tree.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, you're right.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: Oh, but Chafee is sticking to "holiday tree." He says, "Use of the term 'holiday tree' is a continuation of past practice and does not represent a change of course on my part. The word 'holiday,' he says, "symbolizes religious freedom."

I know, it's ridiculous, depending on how you look at it. As political reporter Jason Linkins writes on "The Huffington Post," "There is no war on Christmas, never was." He goes on to write, "In fact, many Christians, myself included, register a basic level of annoyance at the way the Christmas season now stretches back into October because we don't really need a basic reminder of how to properly celebrate the birth of Christ or his divinity on the account of the fact there is a basic concept called faith that we keep in our hearts."

So, the "Talk Back" question for you today: Is there really a war on Christmas?

Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour.

HOLMES: All right. I might write in on this one, Carol, see if my comment makes the cut.

COSTELLO: Good.

HOLMES: All right. Carol Costello, we'll see you again here shortly.

We're about nine minutes past the hour now. Here's what's ahead "On the Rundown."

Dozens arrested as police clear out an Occupy camp in California. We get a live report from L.A.

Also, if Herman Cain's campaign for president collapses, what other candidate could possible benefit? We'll take a look at how it could affect the Republican race.

Also, three decades after President Reagan's shooting, we'll find out what it was like making plans in the White House in case he died. And we'll get this story from someone who was in that room.

Also, a family loses itself in Christmas tradition, literally. They got lost so bad in this tradition, they had to call 911.

Finally, a real-life "Iron Man" races fighter jets with his own jetpack.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Twelve minutes past the hour now.

And after two months, the Occupy camp in Los Angeles is shut down. L.A. police moved in just after midnight to close it. Dozens of protesters were arrested.

Our Casey Wian is live in L.A.

Casey, how did this go down? Peacefully?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It went down relatively peacefully, T.J. Local officials here are saying they're actually very pleased with the big success of this operation.

HOLMES: Casey, hang tight there.

It looks like we lost his microphone, the audio there.

But this encampment from last night, where about 200 people were arrested, certainly thousands had been there over the last couple of months, about seven weeks that they had been there at City Hall. At first, a lot of the people there in city government certainly did support the fact that they were there, but after time, a lot of people, like a lot of cities, got fed up with them.

We will try to get Casey back up. We'll be talking to one of the police officers out there as well who took part in what was, for the most part, peaceful.

I'm told I have Casey Wian back with me again.

Casey, you hear me again? Pick up on your point. We lost your audio almost immediately there.

WIAN: I've got you, T.J. You got me?

HOLMES: Yes. Go right ahead.

WIAN: Yes. Well, as I was saying -- and sorry for the audio problems -- last night they moved in and they arrested about 200 protesters.

The Los Angeles Police Department said that there were only three incidents where they had to use force last night, which is really pretty incredible when you consider the manpower that they brought in and the number of people, thousands of people, who were camped out. They had two people who didn't want to be arrested, and so there were minor scuffles there.

And they actually -- you see these trees here. I believe my photographer can pan over to these trees. There was one protester who was living in kind of a tree house up there, and they had to shoot beanbags at that protester to get him out. He sustained minor abrasions, according to the LAPD, and that was it.

So, what happens now is really going to be perhaps the most difficult part of the task. You can see in front of me, they've set up a perimeter here, fencing and these K-rails.

What they want to do is make sure these occupiers don't come back in and occupy this park. They are expecting perhaps some minor protests later today. Some of the occupiers who were not arrested have gathered at a church near here. They're sort of strategizing, trying to figure out what they're going to do next.

In the meantime, the process of cleaning up the mess is going on. As you can see, sanitation department trucks are here. They've already started cleaning up what was left behind by these protesters.

When the police went in here last night, they had to put on hazardous material suits. And there was a giant pile of them here earlier this morning. The Sanitation Department has now cleaned that up.

The other thing that they are trying to do is some of the personal belongings that are not trash were left behind by those who were not arrested or fled this area. So they are actually trying to gather those and get them back to the protesters once they're released from custody -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right.

Casey Wian for us in L.A.

Thank you so much.

(NEWSBREAK)

HOLMES: Seventeen minutes past the hour. Let's turn back to some presidential politics now.

And the fate of Herman Cain's campaign up in the air now after the latest allegation against him. He is denying a claim by an Atlanta woman that the two of them carried on a long-term affair, but he says all the accusations are taking an emotional toll on his family, and he is now "reassessing" his campaign.

So, what would it mean for the Republican race if Cain quits?

Let me bring in our senior political analyst, David Gergen.

David, always good to have you.

We do know, and to our viewers, Cain is having an event in Ohio, a rally. We do plan to bring you some of that live. It's supposed to start in about 45 minutes from now.

But is there any indication yet, David, that the Republican primary voters are fed up with this?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: I think there are a lot of indications that in Iowa, South Carolina, some key early states, Republicans -- conservatives are leaving Herman Cain. His campaign seems pretty well over as a serious candidate whether or not he decides to continue. But the question then becomes, what happens as a result of that?

He has been commanding the support recently of about a sixth of Republican voters. Where do they go?

I must tell you, T.J., I was here in Sacramento last night speaking to about 2,000 people. No one was interested in talking about Cain. All the buzz was about Newt Gingrich.

HOLMES: It sounds like you're saying this is a done deal, only a matter of time before he gets out.

GERGEN: Listen, there's just too much baggage on the sled. People like him, they enjoy his company. He can continue to speak at forums. But we are talking, after all, about the most powerful position in the United States and, indeed, in the world.

And I think a great number of people have concluded that whatever you may think about the particular facts, that this man is not prepared to be president. He's prepared to do a lot of other things, but not be president. So, yes, I think it's over.

HOLMES: We can put this poll up, CNN/ORC international poll. This is what you were talking about here, what happens if he gets out?

We're talking about where his support might go. And 38 percent of the folks asked, 38 percent of Cain supporters, "Where would your support go?" And look at that -- Gingrich would get 38 percent of it, Romney at 25 percent.

I mean, does the good news -- I mean, this is a poll, of course. Nobody has cast a vote yet, but does the good news keep piling up for Gingrich right now?

GERGEN: Oh, it sure does. And that's what I was saying about the buzz out here in Sacramento.

This is northern California. You wouldn't be expecting many people to be talking about Newt Gingrich, but they all really wanted to know more about him.

You know, is he different? Has he changed? Is he someone we could seriously look at?

Newt Gingrich himself has told me and told others that he may not survive the next few weeks of vetting, but if he does, he has emerged now as a very powerful and potentially upset rival to Mitt Romney (AUDIO GAP).

HOLMES: I have time enough for one more topic. It was going to be Romney or it was going to be Rick Perry. But you know what? Rick Perry is probably more fun here.

Let me play that clip if people have not seen it. He had another moment. This one had to do with the voting age. Let me run it for the viewers and I'll come back to you, David.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Those of you that will be 21 by November the 12th, I ask for your support and your vote. Those of you who won't be, just work hard, because you're going to inherit this. And you're counting on us getting this right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: What do you make of that? Just another cringe-worthy moment? I mean, it's tough on those guys out there. We all have those types of moments, but he's had just one too many, has he not?

GERGEN: I'd say the one when he couldn't remember getting ready of the Energy Department, that was the turning point. And I am very sympathetic with Rick Perry. I don't know him well. I've met him, talked to him, and he's a good fellow, he's been a good governor.

But to be president, you need to be on a different level. You need to be at a very, very high level of confidence.

People assume that in their presidents. When they don't see it, you don't get into that charmed circle of people who are seriously considered. And he, himself, I think knows that. And he's going to play out his strength. And he'll go back to Texas.

But this has become increasingly a two-person race. Can somebody else possibly break into that charm circle? We'll have to wait to see.

Maybe Santorum will get a little support out of the Cain implosion, maybe Michele Bachmann. In New Hampshire, Jon Huntsman has now gotten into double digits. Maybe somebody else will break out. Right now, it's a Romney/Gingrich race.

HOLMES: All right.

David is not going to go away. We're going to continue our conversation with David after the break, but we're going to turn away from politics. David Gergen was one who was at the White House, who was there having conversations after President Reagan was shot. And now it turns out that the man who shot President Reagan wants to be free.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Now, he tried to kill the president. John Hinckley, Jr. fired four shots at Ronald Reagan as he was leaving a Washington hotel back in 1981. Hinckley was eventually found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Now, here we are, three decades later. He's in a court in hopes of getting released from a mental hospital.

We rejoin now our senior political analyst, David Gergen. He was working in the White House the day Reagan was shot. He was one of just a number of people, a handful huddled in The Situation Room at the time trying to decide what to do next and what to do if the president died.

David, I'll get into some of the details of the day here in a second, but you just tell me your personal feelings of seeing the man who shot President Reagan possibly going free.

GERGEN: I hope they keep him locked up. He tried to shoot the president of the United States, Ronald Reagan, and he came within an inch of killing him. And he got off on an insanity defense, but that does not mean he would not be a menace to society if he returned. I know that there's room in the heart for forgiveness, but in this case I have very, very little forgiveness.

HOLMES: It sounds like in the way you said it he got off on an insanity defense. Of course there are plenty of doctors who would disagree and say this man was a sick man who could have been rehabilitated, and some argue that he has been.

You don't buy that?

GERGEN: Look, I think maybe there's evidence and maybe there are rules of law, but justice I think is well served by him remaining in a mental institution and not menacing anyone else. This is an imprecise science, and I'm sorry, I'm very biased on this question.

I don't see this as -- I see it as a question of what's just. He's lucky to be alive.

HOLMES: And I think no one would argue in seeing you being biased on this particular topic. But that day, I mean, how difficult was it? You all had a job to do, quite frankly, in keeping the country running and calm, and keeping things in order, but at the same time, dealing with this man, this president, the person you all were close to, wondering what was going to happen to him.

So what were those initial -- those first few moments like in that situation room, that handful of you all huddled together? What was priority number one?

GERGEN: Well, of course the immediate sense was enormous sadness and fear for Ronald Reagan's life. No one knew quite how serious it was. We had to wait.

We also knew that our good friend, Jim Brady, had gone down, was grievously wounded. And at one point, ABC went on the air mistakenly and said that Brady had died. And, in fact, we got a report from the Secret Service that Brady had died. And we had a prayer in the situation room on his behalf.

So there was a lot of fear about the human side of this. But, T.J., there was also a second concern, and that was, just as in the John F. Kennedy assassination, and the issue arose very quickly, did Lee Harvey Oswald act alone? There was this question, did John Hinckley act alone?

If he was a lone gunman, that didn't pose any threat to the national security of the country. But if he in fact was part of a conspiracy of some sort, then you had no idea whether there were others out there who might be trying to bring down the government or stop things. And, therefore, there was a big, huge argument in The Situation Room between the secretary of state, Al Haig, versus the secretary of defense, Caspar Weinberger, both very good men, about whether we should increase the national security alert. Should we put our forces be on a higher alert?

Weinberger, as defense secretary, thought we should. Haig, as secretary of state, thought that it would send a signal -- we shouldn't, that it would send a signal that, in fact, something serious was going on to the Soviets, and it would put the whole world on edge. So they thought this argument out.

And then Larry Speakes, our very good deputy press secretary, wandered into the press room, and that's when he was asked all these questions about our state of alert, and he was uncertain. Haig jumped up out of his chair and said, I have got to get up there and get on this podium and stop this. We can't send out this uncertainty. He ran down the hall and upstairs. Dick Allen, the national security advisor, ran down the hall after him. I decided, maybe I ought to run too, and I ran down the hall.

(LAUGHTER)

That's the moment, the historic moment when Al Haig burst into the press room and was asked questions. The cameras were in there. Very hot. The reporters -- a throng of reporters by this time, all pressing him, what's going on? Who's in control here?

He said, I'm in control here, which he was not, of course. But that statement, done in haste, cost Al Haig his reputation. Later on, when he ran for president, it was the albatross around his neck. He could never become president, even though I had seen him and worked with him in the Nixon days and he was a pillar of strength during the Nixon resignation period. He was chief of staff at that point.

There was a lot going on here. It was a very, very emotional day. I think just a lot of us were just so thankful for the doctors and that Reagan got through it.

I have to add one more thing if I might.

HOLMES: Go ahead, David.

GERGEN: That was a turning point, a turning point for Ronald Reagan because he -- what the country saw was a man who continually cracked jokes when he was near death. Told the doctors, I hope you're all Republicans. A nurse grabbed his hand and said, I hope Nancy knows about this.

(LAUGHTER)

And people saw that. What they saw was what Hemmingway called courage, and that is grace under pressure. Grace under pressure. It made a huge difference in America's respect for Reagan. He was, in fact, a much stronger president after that.

HOLMES: David, we appreciate you sharing that story. I know you've had to tell that story. It can be painful at times and you've told it over the years.

GERGEN: It can be.

HOLMES: Thank you very much. We'll watch again. Hinckley starting a series of hearings today. They'll go over the next week, week and a half to see if eventually he will be released.

David, always good to talk to you. GERGEN: Thank you, T.J.

HOLMES: We're past the bottom of the hour now. Keeping a close eye on the stock market today, really stock markets around the world. Look at what's happening here. The Dow up 415 points. We'll give you a check of what's happening there. And we'll explain to you why it happened. Stay with us.

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: 35 minutes past the hour now. Here's a rundown of some of the stories we're working on.

Next, there's no keeping the debt crisis in Europe from crossing the Atlantic. It's been hitting Americans in their wallets and it could get worse. We're live in London and New York in just a moment.

Also, Herman Cain's bid for the White House taking another hit. An accuser says she had a long affair with Cain. We'll look at what this means not just for Herman Cain but for the other candidates.

A little later, Jetman takes to the sky. He's actually flying around with wings on with jet fighters. We'll explain.

If you're trying to find a job or keep a job, maybe you're trying to get a small business loan, maybe you have money to retire some day, there's a story you need to be watching right now. Something the presidential candidates are doing today. No, it's not them. Not going to the presidential candidates or even members of Congress. What's happening right now that's affecting you is happening in Europe. Leaders over there are trying to save their common currency. This could be a close call. Whether they succeed or fail, you will be affected in some.

Richard Quest is with us from London now.

We talk about their success or failure. When will we really know? Can we ever know if they have succeeded or failed in this venture?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. There are lots of barometers by which we will be able to tell as they start to solve the European debt crisis. The first and most obvious one will be interest rates for countries like Italy will start to come down, same for Ireland and others.

The second will be the CDS, the insurance swap rate. They will start to come down. Thirdly, you'll see bank lending improve.

Most important of all, all the barometers of economic growth will start to move more positive. At the moment, according to the OECD, just this very week, the Eurozone, the 17 member countries that use the Euro, they are facing, at the moment, a real possibility of a double-dip recession. So, yes, we will know when things start to get better.

But, and here's the rub, T.J., the announcement of the central banks today to add liquidity have swap lines, a highly technical move, that's not the pursuit we were looking for.

HOLMES: You stay with me for a second, Rich.

I'm going to bring in Alison Kosik, who's at the New York Stock Exchange, keeping an eye on things.

We hear how badly things, Alison, are going over there. We're in a dangerous position with the economy. People turn on the TV and say, what's going on with the U.S. markets. Things are on the up and up right now. Explain what's happened.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know what, I'm going to say what Richard said. He said it's not the bazooka. He's right. What you're seeing happened in the markets, a huge rally, with the Dow soaring 420 points, it really shows that the market has some support. They like support. This realization finally came over all the central banks that Europe is, was much closer to the brink than anyone realized. But the fact that the markets made support, it shows what kind of dire situation this is.

At the same time, you flip the coin on the other side. There is relief that all of these central banks are getting together, finally addressing the problem. That's a positive sign.

But at the same time, this move alone does not solve the European crisis. Europe still has to get a handle on its debt crisis. But what one trader told me that this move by central banks is a short-term life preserver, buying some time, giving these banks some time to kind of collect themselves and get on the right footing at this point.

HOLMES: I see you trying to get in there, Richard. Go ahead.

QUEST: There are three reasons today why the markets are up. You can take any one of them and extrapolate which is the more important. The central banks have agreed to add liquidity. The U.S. has better job creation numbers, the ADP employment survey. China has reduced its reserve ratios, thus, allowing China's banks to lend more money. Taken together, they all show that things are slowly picking up. We see that, for example, today, the price of oil has gone up, over $111 a barrel. Why? Because better economic growth means more industry, more demand for oil. All these factors are in the market today.

But I have to say, maybe Alison agrees, to see 400 points on the Dow on such flimsy evidence shows the nervousness of confidence rather than the strength of recovery.

KOSIK: Sure, I agree with you, Richard, because this continues to be one of these markets where you see investors react to every headline. And when you see a headline getting this much support, that it's going to be easier and cheaper for banks to loan money, sure, you'll see that initial, sort of knee-jerk reaction. Tomorrow will be a new day. All these investors will be sleeping on it. They'll be thinking about it again. You may see a 180 tomorrow -- Richard?

HOLMES: Richard Quest for us in London, Alison Kosik at the stock exchange. Thank you both. We're keeping a close eye on the markets today.

We're about 40 minutes past the hour. The story coming up, you have to see it to believe it. He's flying literally with jets. But he only has a jet pack.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: About 45 minutes before the hour. Take a look at your screen. Can you make out what that is? Yes, the guy thinks he's superman. He's literally flying with a jet pack on.

Our Jeanne Moos wants to introduce you to the guy with wings who took to the sky to fly with jets. Check this out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It seemed amazing back in 1928 and it seems just as amazing in 2011 and most amazing when the Swiss aviator known as Jetman actually flew with jets.

What does it feel like?

YVES ROSSY, JETMAN: Like unreal. Hey, I'm flying almost naked with nothing but I am with jets and fast.

MOOS: Fast for Jetman, around 137 miles per hour, slow for the actual jets.

ROSSY: The jets, they was minimum speed, and I was at my maximum.

MOOS: It was a stunt high above the Alps the other day. 52-year-old Yves Rossy has been developing his jet wing for 15 years. Crossing the Grand Canyon, not crossing the strait of Gibraltar.

For his rendezvous with the real jets, he had a chopper drop him off.

He says he doesn't steer. It's pure flying.

ROSSY: I turn a little bit the shoulders to the right and I turn right. I bend down, I go down.

MOOS: He has only enough kerosene for the four engines under his wing to last for about eight minutes of flight. But, oh, what a flight it was.

(SINGING)

MOOS: Jetman carefully stayed out of the tail turbulence from the two Breitling jets. The watch maker is Jetman's sponsor. As for the pilots --

ROSSY: When they saw me, just a little mosquito --

(LAUGHTER)

-- beside, they were a little bit afraid to hurt me.

MOOS: The leader of the jet team described it as emotional, "Just outside your cockpit you can see into the eyes of a man flying next to you, smiling while keeping pace with the jet."

(on camera): When is the last time you saw a guy in a skin-tight suit flying around outside a jet aircraft?

(MUSIC)

MOOS (voice-over): That's Superman, saving a passenger plane as it nose dives into a baseball stadium. Of course, he doesn't have to worry about running out of fuel.

(MUSIC)

(CHEERING)

MOOS (on camera): Rossy said he had to bail out of an uncontrolled spin about 20 times since he first started developing his wings.

(voice-over): In an emergency, he detaches and then both he and the wings float to the ground on separate parachutes.

ROSSY: Woo.

MOOS: There was no emergency this time and Jetman landed gracefully. Talk about winging it.

(SINGING)

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: One presidential candidate just can't seem to get his words right. Even his apology turns into a blunder. We'll tell you who we're talking about. Your "Political Ticker" update is next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: 10 minutes until the hour. Herman Cain is under fire once again. And it could be a game-changer for the Republican field.

Our Joe Johns is with us from Washington with the "Political Ticker."

Hello to you, again, kind, sir.

And Cain says he's reassessing. We're still trying to figure out exactly what that means.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: That's true, T.J. Cain is, we know, returning to familiar territory, saying he's a victim again, claiming it's character assassination. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HERMAN CAIN, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As you know, I have already been attacked.

(LAUGHTER)

Not because I have bad ideas, because the ideas are solid. They're attacking my character, my reputation, and my name in order to try and bring me down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: The Cain campaign is also trying to convince people that he is going to stay in the race. And that issue of reassessment, as it were, that everybody was reporting yesterday, is essentially a reassessment of strategy, if you will, whether to try to maintain a primary strategy, and a national strategy at the very same time. So he's going to make some more statements, we think, and we'll find out a little bit more.

But, as it stands right now, the Cain campaign is being very firm about the point that he is staying in the race, T.J.

HOLMES: All right. And to our viewers, we're expecting in the next several minutes, Cain has a campaign event in Ohio. We expect to listen in, and maybe he will address this whole idea of reassessment.

Let's turn on to Rick Perry. Now, and the guy just can't catch a break sometimes when he gets up to a podium and speaks in front of a crowd. Take a listen to this latest one here. And I'll ask you about it on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK PERRY (R), GOVERNOR OF TEXAS & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Those of you that will be 21 by November the 12th, I ask for your support, and your vote. Those of you who won't be, just work hard, because you're going to inherit this, and you're counting on us getting this right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: OK, Joe, that's the drinking age, not the voting age.

JOHNS: Right, right, I know.

(LAUGHTER)

And look, not only did he say the voting age is 21 when it's 18, he also said Election Day is November 12th. It's November 6th. I mean, his point is, he's human. He's going to make mistakes. The problem for him is that he's gotten the attention of a lot of people, including late-night comedians.

They don't give you a break as you know. Michele Bachmann got the very same treatment just a few months ago. It's a kind of position where a candidate has to be very careful about what he or she says because the slightest slip-up gets magnified and sort of adds to the narrative that's building about a candidate, T.J.

HOLMES: Oh, yes, give the guy a break. It's a lot of pressure out there, right, Joe?

JOHNS: Yes.

HOLMES: Good job. Joe Johns, always a pleasure. Thanks so much.

We're getting close to the top of the hour. For the latest political news, you know the spot, CNNpolitics.com.

Also, our question of the day, "Talk Back" question of the day, is there really a war on Christmas?

Angie says, "I'm tired of anyone thinking their religion deserves more respect than any other."

We'll have more of your responses on this "Talk Back" question of the day. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: As we get close to the top of the hour, let's say hello once again to our Carol Costello, who has the talk back question of the day: Is there really a war on Christmas?

So, is there, Carol?

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's ask our Facebook friends.

This is from Mike. Is there really a war on Christmas? He says, "Too much P.C.-ness for me. Christmas may have lost much of its original meaning, but a Christmas tree is a Christmas tree, period."

This from Adam. "I don't mind if you observe some other holiday through some other religion. However, I do have a problem with someone telling me I can't express my Christmas spirit and/or customs because it might offend someone else."

This from Jeffrey. "There's no war. This is an issue created by the far right. I find it insulting when people take a holier, more patriotic than thou stance. I'm devout and I'm patriotic but I'm also pragmatic."

And this from ViVi, "You know who really declared war on Christmas? The puritans. Fun fact, Christmas festivities were outlawed in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1559. That's a war on Christmas. Wishing someone who isn't Christian a happy holiday is not."

Keep the conversation going. Facebook.com/carolCNN. I'll be with you in just about 13 minutes.

HOLMES: All right. We'll see you here shortly.

Carol Costello, thank you so much. Occupy protesters in Los Angeles get the order to get out. Dozens are arrested as police move in. We are talking to the LAPD commander who was there. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)