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Obama To Address Economy; S&P Threatens Eurozone; Oil Spill Accusations; No Rights For Terror Suspects; War-Era Bombs Kill and Hurt Vietnamese; Romney Grabs Records; As U.S. Troops Leave, Iraq Still Unstable

Aired December 06, 2011 - 13:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Randi Kaye. Hey, Randi.

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Suzanne, thank you very much. I'm Randi Kaye. Time right now top of the hour, 1:00 p.m. Eastern.

Let's get right to the news. President Obama is calling on a Republican predecessor to help him pass an extension of payroll tax cuts. He is due to speak this hour in Osawatomie, Kansas, site of the 1910 address by Teddy Roosevelt on the subject of economic fairness.

You're looking at the live picture there of the podium where the president will speak. Mr. Obama wants to continue and deepen tax cuts that benefit everybody who draws a paycheck. The sticking point with Republicans is how to pay for them. We hear the president live at 1:55 Eastern time right here on CNN.

Overseas, the pressure on the Eurozone is growing ahead of yet another summit aimed at saving the common currency. Standard and Poor's is threatening to down grade the credit ratings of 15 Euro members safe that include the economic powerhouses, France and Germany, who now plan to call for enforcement caps on national deficits. Several Euros safe and taken downgrades already, Greek bonds are already junk.

GOP presidential front-runner, Mitt Romney, has more than Newt Gingrich on his back. According to a report from Reuters, the former Massachusetts governor's office spent nearly $100,000 in state funds to remove records from his four years in office. The money was used to replace computers in his office just months before Romney launched his unsuccessful campaign for the GOP presidential nomination back in 2008. In addition, his staff had e-mails and other electronic communication wiped from state servers. Massachusetts officials say the move was legal but certainly unusual.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of a man who was detained by the secret service after yelling at and possibly touching then vice president Dick Cheney. Steven Howards was detained for several hours but then released after the incident in 2006. He is suing two secret service agents for allegedly violating his first and fourth amendment rights. A lower court said his arrest was justified but said he could still sue on first amendment grounds. Obama administration attorneys have joined the defense for the agents. BP is accusing contractor Halliburton of intentionally destroying evidence related to the deadly oil rig explosion that caused the Gulf oil spill. Then contend Halliburton cement work was inadequate and that two Halliburton employees have admitted under oath notes of samples related to cement testing were destroyed. Faulty cement was found to be a key cause of the explosion that killed 11 people and dumped 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Last year's West Virginia mine disaster that killed 29 men was one of the worst in decades and now the owner of the coal mine will have to shell out $209 million. In the settlement agreement, Alpha Natural Resources will not be charged with crimes. Company executives could still face prosecution. More than $46 million of the settlement will go to the miner's families.

A record run without a government is over now in Belgium. King Albert II today swore in a new prime minister bringing to an end 589 days of political deadlock. It all started when the last prime minister resigned in April of last year. The delay in forming a new government was originally triggered by disputes between the Dutch speaking north and the French speaking south.

A new domain made its debut on Internet today, just a couple hours ago. More than 100,000 Web sites went up in the triple X domain. That means they are ending with dot com, they are dot XXX. The idea is that it could make it easier for people to avoid or even block pornographic material on their computers.

Well, crime, as we know, is a danger to everyone and that includes, apparently, even criminals. Police say this is what it looks like when the man you pick to rob at gun point is a mixed martial arts fighter. Anthony Miranda has been charged with armed robbery and also charged for firing his gun. Look at that. Chicago police say the robber mistakenly shot himself in the ankle, oops.

Innocent until proven guilty is at the heart of our legal system, right? Well, some new legislation has a lot of people wondering. How it could allow the military to detain U.S. citizens indefinitely, just ahead.

Plus, right now, President Obama getting ready to address the crowd in Kansas. He's expected to speak about the economy. Live pictures right there from Kansas. And what the White House calls a, quote, "make or break moment" for the middle class. We will bring that speech to you live.

But first, the fight against breast cancer. For entertainment anchor, Giuliana Rancic, that battle has taken a drastic turn. Giuliana announced she will undergo a double mastectomy after a lumpectomy radiation failed to remove her cancer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIULIANA RANCIC, HOST, "E! NEWS": At the end, all it came down to was just choosing to live and not looking over my shoulder.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: If you've been there, loved someone who has battled it, you'll understand the courage and the strength behind her decision for choosing to kick cancer's you know what. Giuliana, you and all of you fighting and surviving cancer are today's "Rock Stars."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back, everyone. President Obama is threatening to veto a military spending bill that cleared the Senate last week by a huge margin. And for a change, it's really not the money. It's a few lines amid more than 900 pages of legislation that critics call an attack on the rule of law on due process on the constitution itself.

The Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 includes, and I'm quoting here, "authority for the armed forces of the United States to detain a person who was a part or substantially supported Al Qaeda, the Taliban or associated forces without trial until the end of the hostilities." To civil libertarians and Tea Party conservatives as well, that is a nightmare scenario. Akin to the internment of Japanese Americans in World War II. Supporters say enemy combatants, such as these, like Guantanamo (ph), don't deserve constitutional protections even if they're U.S. citizens.

I'm joined by Matthew Waxman, he's a law professor at Columbia University and a fellow at the council on foreign relations. Professor nice to see you. Let's talk about this. Apart from the philosophical debate there is considerable disagreement over what these clauses actually mean. What is your take?

MATTHEW WAXMAN, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, COLUMBIA LAW SCHOOL: Right. Well, there is a lot of debate about what these clauses mean. Essentially, this act does two things. It affirms or tries to clarify that Congress has given the president authority to capture and detain enemy fighters in an ongoing war with Al Qaeda. And then it also puts restrictions on the president's flexibility to use different legal tools for detaining, arresting, incapacitating suspected Al Qaeda fighters.

KAYE: So, just to be very clear, I mean somebody could be in their backyard and you're saying this means the military could come haul them away until who knows when?

WAXMAN: Well, I would not go that far. I think that -- I think that grossly oversimplifies this act. What this act tries to do is say that the United States is engaged in an armed conflict with Al Qaeda, and that that armed conflict includes the power to detain enemy fighters as the government would do in a war against another state. You detain enemy combatants belligerent and you hold them until the end of hostilities. And this act tries to clarify what the definition of an enemy fighter in this war is.

KAYE: So how does it differ really from the existing law? Because many of us, of course, remember Jose Padilla, the alleged dirty bomber, I mean he was hauled away, held without charge by the military for years until he was finally charged and went to trial. So, what's different? WAXMAN: Well, what this law does is in a sense it puts a stamp of approval on some of the actions that the presidents -- both president Bush and President Obama have taken. And that is the idea as you refer to of detaining some enemy fighters, some Al Qaeda suspects, as fighters in an ongoing war, not subject to criminal trial but pursuant to the laws of war and holding them without trial until the end of -- end of hostilities.

And this -- and this is an effort by Congress to say, we agree with that interpretation and we're going to provide some additional clarity to it. But the other thing that this bill does is it -- is it even removes some flexibility, some discretion that the president currently has to choose among different legal tools for handling individual Al Qaeda suspects.

KAYE: And just very quickly, about 20 seconds left. How do you think this will affect and how do you think it will impact counter terrorism operations?

WAXMAN: Well, a number of current and former counterterrorism officials have weighed in saying that restrictions on the president's discretion, the flexibility to choose among different tools, including criminal justice, law enforcement tools could damage our counter terrorism operation.

KAYE: Matthew Waxman from Columbia University. Thank you very much, professor.

The Vietnam War is long over but thousands are still dying. That is our "Undercovered" story. We'll bring it to you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: The war in Vietnam split the United States among ideological, political and generational lines. And now 36 years after the war ended, the country of Vietnam is also split.

There, more than 16 million acres are still to this day contaminated with war era landmines and explosives. Nearly 20 percent of the country. If the same percentage of the U.S. were affected, we're talking about a huge chunk of the nation.

More than 100,000 Vietnamese have been killed or injured by landmines and explosives four decades after that war ended. Justin Brady is the acting director of the United Nation's Mine Action Service. Thao Nguyen is with the Vietnam Veterans of American Foundation and joins me from Hanoi.

Welcome to you both.

First, Justin, to you. You were at the U.N. sponsored conference in Cambodia this past week. Is enough being done, in your opinion, to clear these old explosives?

JUSTIN BRADY, ACTING DIRECTOR, U.N. MINE ACTION SERVICE: Well, I don't think anyone is enough when we look at the impact of these devices on the soci-economic setting in Vietnam and effected countries, as well as the humanitarian toll it takes. We're looking at around 42 victims per year in Vietnam. That's the equivalent of what we see in Afghanistan. So, obviously, much more can be done. And the faster we do it, the faster the land can be returned to productive use.

KAYE: Thao, what do you think? I mean is the U.S. doing enough to help in this cause, in this effort?

THAO NGUYEN, VIETNAM VETS. OF AMERICAN FOUNDATION: Well, the U.S. has been actively engaged in mine action in Vietnam since 1989 and the total amount is about 62 million U.S. dollars. It has been a great cooperation but a lot more needs to be done. On average, only about -- below $3 million a year for mine action in Vietnam and the problem is huge.

KAYE: Justin, why does the U.S. have an interest in this? Why is this important to the U.S.? I mean these old landmines and the bombs, I mean they're affecting Vietnam's economic growth. But why should the U.S. care?

BRADY: Vietnam could be an excellent partner of the United States in the region and certainly cultivating that relationship in addition to the legacy from the war that the United States was an active participant in leads to a natural conclusion that cooperation with Vietnam on this issue would be beneficial both to the Vietnamese people, as well as to the United States.

KAYE: So, Thao, tell me what you think needs to be done now. I mean you're there. You're on the ground. What's happening? What needs to be done there?

NGUYEN: I think that as we see the status that come out, that even almost four decades after the war, we still have a lot of victims on daily, monthly basis. And I think to move forward from this, there are three particular actions that we can take.

First of all, we hope that the U.S. government, being our number one donor in mine action in Vietnam, would be able to increase its assistance to Vietnam, together with other donor agencies and international development organizations. And second of all, the Vietnamese government needs to integrate, include the mine action into its overall development plan so that it is not a standalone program. Instead it is brought into the mainstream development forum to discuss with all the international development partners.

And, lastly, I think that Vietnamese government need to look at how to improve its technology also methodology (ph) to de-mine more effectively and efficiently. They have done very well but a lot more can be done.

KAYE: All right. Well, certainly a very important topic. We will continue to follow it. Thank you to you both for your time.

An escaped convict is on the loose and he is seeking revenge. Where he's believed to be hiding and who police say he's out to get. "Crime & Consequence" is next. Plus, President Obama expected to speak about the economy and middle class. Wolf Blitzer will be joining us for live coverage when that happens, just before the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Time now for "Crime & Consequence." We want you to take a close look at this man, David Glenn Hobson, who was put away on burglary charges, has escaped from a New Hampshire prison. What's more? Police say he's armed, dangerous and out for revenge. The 33-year-old is believed to be in Maine, police say, on the hunt for two people he has a grudge against. Hobson's father was arrested Friday for helping his son by leaving a bunch of supplies outside his home. There's a reward for information that leads to Hobson's capture.

Well, former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky has publically and repeatedly claimed he is innocent. Sources close to the investigation told "The Patriot-News," more alleged victims have been identified. Several victims mentioned in the grand jury report are expected to testify against Sandusky at a hearing next week. This comes after Sandusky gave two interviews, most recently with "The New York Times," where he appeared fidgety as he tried to clarify his, quote, "attraction" to children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JERRY SANDUSKY: If I say, no, I'm not attracted to boys, that's not the truth because I'm attracted to young people, boys, girls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, but not sexually, you're attracted because you enjoy spending time."

SANDUSKY: Right, I enjoy -- that's what I was trying to say.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then answer that.

SANDUSKY: I enjoy spending time with young people. I enjoy spending time with people. I mean my two favorite groups are the elderly and the young.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Sandusky's lawyer says he's looking forward to confronting the alleged victims about their claims Sandusky molested, even raped some of them. But an attorney representing some of the alleged victims says they're appalled by the fact that he can't answer a simple question.

Today is day four of the hearings that will determine if the man who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan will eventually be freed from a mental hospital. John Hinckley's siblings are expected to testify today.

But on Monday, the focus was on whether Williamsburg, Virginia, was the right place for Hinckley to live as an outpatient. The 56-year-old currently spends 10 days a month visiting his mom in Williamsburg. The mental hospital where he's been treated since being found not guilty by reason of insanity is trying to get him to live full-time as an outpatient. Prosecutors say Hinckley is still a danger. They say Secret Service agents saw Hinckley browsing store shelves that had books about Reagan and presidential assassinations when he was supposed to be at a movie.

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich will soon learn how much time he may have to spend in prison for corruption. His sentencing hearing begins today in federal court. Blagojevich was convicted of 17 public corruption charges six months ago. His conviction centers around trying to sell or trade the Senate seat vacated by President Obama. Rod Blagojevich's sentencing hearing is expected to last two days. Federal prosecutors are asking that he be sentenced 15 to 20 years in prison.

Investigators are calling the vicious death of a seven-year-old Georgia girl a, quote, calculated, very horrific murder. Police say the little girl was kidnapped from a playground at her apartment complex. The GBI revealed at a news conference just a few hours ago that they believe her killer lives at the complex. Her wounds were so severe, the GBI director would only say this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VERNON KEENAN, GBI DIRECTOR: The autopsy revealed that the victim died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head, that the victim had been stabbed, and that the child had been sexually assaulted. There were also other injuries to the child which I'm not going to describe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Investigators are actively pursuing leads but have no one in custody and no suspects.

While he was governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney's staff deleted files before he left office. Does he have something to hide? Plus, Nancy Pelosi takes a shot at Newt Gingrich. Should his campaign be worried? It is all "Fair Game" and it's coming your way next.

But first, our political junkie question of the day. Which presidential candidate did Donald Trump endorse in 2008? The answer is just ahead. And if you know it, send a tweet to me @randikayecnn. I'll give a shout-out to you if you get it right.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Before the break we asked you which presidential candidate Donald Trump endorsed back in 2008. The answer is John McCain. But Trump didn't endorse anyone before the primaries. He actually picked McCain about six weeks before the November election. Our political junkie of the day is Matt from Columbus, Ohio, who tweeted me first the right answer. Congratulations to you, Matt.

Time now for the part of the show where we look past the partisan talking points to the heart of the debate where all sides are "Fair Game." We've got a lot of really good topics today. So let's get right to it. Joining me now is Republican strategist Cheri Jacobus and Democratic strategist Robert Zimmerman.

Thank you both for coming on the show.

Let's start with this Reuters story about Mitt Romney's staff getting rid of records when he was wrapping up his four years as Massachusetts governor. Now the report says that they even removed the hard drives from their state-issued computers. That cost around $100,000 of taxpayer money to replace those computers. So let me ask you first, Robert, I mean, is this a big deal?

ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Oh, my goodness. I think it's a serious story. I personally think Mitt Romney would have been better off had he shredded his public interviews, so we wouldn't have a record of him flipping on so many records, gay rights, climate change and now he's flipped on the payroll tax cut extension.

But here, this is a serious story. It's not about a Democrat or Republican debate. When you have Theresa Dolan, who served 23 years representing different governors, Republican and Democrat alike, say this is without precedent, that the hard drives were bought by Mitt Romney's staff and documents were shredded, and it cost the taxpayers $100,000, it's a serious issue about accountability and what they are trying to hide.

KAYE: Sherry, what do you think?

SHERRY JACOBUS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: He did nothing illegal. That's the first thing. But you have to look at where things were at that point in time. He's looking at the Democrat coming in to replace him who's good friends with Barack Obama and looking at the Clintons did when they were in the White House in terms of taking FBI records of Republicans and trying to use that information against them.

When you look at how Al Gore was trying to sweep e-mails under the rug. You're like, OK, I'm probably going to take a hit on this from Democrats, and people like Robert, out there slamming this. But overall, it's legal and it makes good political sense, so you don't have people poring through the e-mails. You see what the "Washington Post" did with Sarah Palin, asking people, asking readers to help pore through the e-mails, trying to find dirt.

Given what the Democrats on the left have --

(CROSSTALK)

JACOBUS: -- had been trying to do to Republicans, I don't blame them one bit. They will take a hit a little bit but, overall, they made the right call.

(CROSSTALK)

ZIMMERMAN: You know, Cheri, I need Dramamine to go with that spin. At the end of the day, it won't be good for Romney to say, I bet the rap, it wasn't illegal. There's an issue of ethics in government and accountability.

(CROSSTALK)

JACOBUS: I think the Democrats have settled that with what they tried to do to Republicans. He made the right call, even if it hurts a little bit.

KAYE: Let's move on to the dust-up between Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich. She has come out saying she has information from this ethics investigation of Gingrich back in the 1990s.

Then, last night, the Obama campaign chief, David Axelrod, was on "Piers Morgan," saying this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID AXELROD, OBAMA CAMPAIGN CHIEF ADVISER: He's really the godfather of gridlock. He was the one who really created an environment in which people started treating each other as enemies and not as opponents here in Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: So, Robert, does this strike you as a little odd that now it seems as the Obama campaign is going after Gingrich and not so much focusing on Romney?

ZIMMERMAN: If it's any measure, I must receive about 30 e-mails a day from the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee discussing Mitt Romney and his serial record of taking both sides of every issue. There's a lot to talk about there.

But obviously, as Newt Gingrich has emerged in the front-runner status, you'll hear more talk from Democrats. What's worth noting here, putting talking points aside, is that Gingrich very shrewdly flipped the topic.

Pelosi is referring to a public record where the speaker was reprimanded by the House of Representatives and faced an unprecedented fine of $300,000. He ducked that issue and tried to make the focus on Nancy Pelosi. That won't hold up for a long time, but it worked in the short term.

KAYE: Cheri, what do you think? Do you think the administration will now focus on Gingrich more?

JACOBUS: I think they are terrified of him. Nancy Pelosi gave a great gift to Newt Gingrich, help him ameliorate any damage that might have been caused by him during that -- sitting on the sofa doing the global warming ad with her, especially since she doesn't say what it is. She is trying to scare conservatives away from Newt Gingrich. I don't think it's going to work. Just the fact that she's going after him helps him. So every GOP candidate could wish they had Nancy Pelosi going after them.

In terms of Newt Gingrich supposedly causing gridlock, he brought Republicans into the majority for the first time. and it's hilarious that the Democrats think we have opposition for the first time in 40 years, and all of a sudden, that's gridlock because Republicans --

(CROSSTALK)

ZIMMERMAN: There's a difference, though Sherry.

JACOBUS: That -- that was -- Wait. That was unbelievable, because Republicans had been in the minority, had been ruled by the Democrats for so long. The minute there's any push back that rises up from the electorate -- remember, voters put Republicans in the majority -- they call that gridlock.

ZIMMERMAN: Here's the difference, Sherry.

JACOBUS: Most people think it's a success.

ZIMMERMAN: If I could point out, it's important to have a very aggressive debate on different issues. What Gingrich did is produce the demonization of politics. He took it beyond partisanship when he started talk about Democrats as Nazis, when he started calling his opponents Socialists. That's why you don't see too many, if any, House members standing up and -- from the Republican side, standing up and supporting Newt Gingrich. Many have said, if he's the nominee, he wouldn't be endorsed.

(CROSSTALK)

JACOBUS: -- Democrats support Obama. Remember last fall --

(CROSSTALK)

JACOBUS: -- when they all ran from Obama-care.

KAYE: I know we can go on and on with this, but we're not going to today.

Thank you Robert Zimmerman and Sherry Jacobus.

(LAUGHTER)

ZIMMERMAN: Good to be with you.

JACOBUS: Thank you.

KAYE: Good to be with you both as well.

That is "Fair Game" for the day.

A programming note, Newt Gingrich will join Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM" tomorrow. That comes your way at 4:00 p.m. eastern time.

We're waiting for President Obama to deliver a speech in Osawatomie, Kansas. Yes, that is the same place that Teddy Roosevelt gave his nationalism speech in 1910. There you see it, the podium waiting for the president. The president is expected to address economic concerns. We'll bring it to you live here on CNN as it happens. A country, long at war, where dozens are killed in rare suicide bombing attacks against a religious group. Do you know where this happened? We'll tell you in a live report coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: There's been another deadly attack in the heart of Afghan capitol of Kabul.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jesus!

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: The target, Shiite Muslim pilgrims. One other suicide bomber struck Shiites north of Kabul. Dozens were killed and many other wounded. Attacks against Afghan religious groups have been rare in the 10-year long war against the Taliban.

Nick Paton Walsh is in Kabul for us.

Nick, tell us, what is the latest on the death toll at this hour? Has anyone claimed responsibility for today's attacks?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are hearing from health ministry officials, in that Kabul blast, 56 people have died and 193 injured, making it one of the most severe attacks I can recall in recent times here in Kabul.

No claim of responsibility as yet. We do interestingly have the Taliban issuing a fairly quick statement to condemn the attack, both there in Kabul and in the north, Masar-e Sharif, suggesting they don't want publicly to be associated with this sectarian violence. The Afghan interior ministry clear in they believe it is the Taliban to blame or the affiliates, as they said. That's the more sophisticated part of the insurgents, called the Arcanis (ph), or potentially al Qaeda, in their suggestion.

But this happened in a really densely packed area, full of Shia pilgrims attending a shrine there on this key religious holiday. Actually, all of them (ph) nicking (ph) themselves to draw blood as part of their mourning ritual. And the pictures you're about to see do quite distressingly show the moment the blast struck.

KAYE: What does it say about Afghan security forces there then?

WALSH: Well, as the main question, obviously, they have control of much of the security in the center of Kabul, with NATO always waiting in the wings to assist. Nobody is really entirely sure how the suicide bomber penetrated or how to prevent these things from happening in the future. Remember, the capitol of Kabul has been penetrated over the past several months many times by sophisticated insurgents. This, another much more terrifying example of the damage that can cause.

KAYE: Nick Paton Walsh there in Kabul. Nick, thank you.

Troops are coming home from Iraq but did they leave Iraq a better place than when they arrived? The cost of war, "In Depth," next.

Plus, President Obama is getting ready to address a crowd in Kansas. He's expected to speak about the economy coming up in just about 15 minutes. We'll bring to you live on CNN.

But first, Dan Quayle is back in the spotlight today. The former vice president is set to endorse Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination later this afternoon. Quayle's link to politics is his son, who is a freshman congressman. But now an endorsement and a personal visit from Mitt Romney? After that, back to the shadows. Dan Quayle, your 15 minutes are up.

(MUSIC)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: By the end of the month, just about all American troops will be gone from Iraq, bringing to an end a war that lasted nearly nine years. More than one million U.S. troops in total serviced in that war. More than 4,480 were killed. And the Iraqi toll higher, 600,000, according to some accounts. The cost to American taxpayers more than $800 billion.

But Iraq remains a very unstable place. Iraqi officials say a car bomb attack in Baghdad Saturday was aimed at Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki. And with the Americans gone, there are concerns whether Iraq can ever become a stable democracy.

Michael Schmidt, of "The New York Times," joins us from Baghdad.

Michael, some U.S. military commanders and Iraqi leaders don't think that this is actually a good time for American troops to be leaving. What's your take on this?

MICHAEL SCHMIDT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: It's a tough call. In some ways, Iraq is ready to walk alone. But the past few years, its own military and police have been in the streets protecting and trying to keep order here. Although, security here is not great, the security has improved and life has sort of gotten back to normal. At the same time though, Iraq can't protect its own air space and its borders. and its military needs training and assistance from the United States.

KAYE: When you look at the numbers, a couple of them we just ran through, more than 4,000 Americans killed and more than $8 billion spent. What is the general feeling from those that you've spoken with? Was this the right call? Was this worth it?

SCHMIDT: Well, Iraqis have a very sort of mixed mindset and very complicated feelings about this. On one hand, they are very happy that Saddam Hussein and his regime are gone. But at the same time, it came with an enormous cost. They still haven't gotten over that. So in some ways, they really want to stand by themselves and have their own country and for the United States to leave. But I think they also realize that the United States brings a level of order to the country that may not exist after the first of the year.

KAYE: In terms of the mood there among Iraqis, are they pleased to see the Americans leaving or is there concern?

SCHMIDT: I think that, among the minorities across the country, there's a lot of concern because, even though the United States wasn't actively doing security in the streets and protecting the streets, they were sort of this like added benefit of having them here because everyone is sort of afraid, if anything happened, the United States would come in and stop any violence. When they leave, that won't be the case anymore. What will happen and how will that affect the government and the way it treats minorities is a really big question.

KAYE: The real question is, is Iraq a safer place than it was all those years ago? Is the threat from insurgent attacks any less?

SCHMIDT: There's still attacks here on a daily basis and still explosions and still assassinations. Every few weeks, there's a really big attack. But, yes, it is better than it was a few years ago. Things have improved significantly but at the same time Iraq is not a safe place.

KAYE: All right, Michael Schmidt from "The New York Times," in Baghdad for us.

Michael, a pleasure to speak with you. Thank you very much.

We want to let our viewers know, this just in to CNN, Billy Graham has been released from the hospital. We've been reporting that he was under the weather, not feeling well, and he has now been released from the hospital.

Plus, right now, President Obama is getting ready to address a crowd in Kansas. He's expected to speak about the economy. Live pictures right there coming from Osawatomie, Kansas. Wolf Blitzer and Gloria Borger join us live after the break. The president's speech on the economy, coming your way next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: The president of the United States is getting ready to deliver what the White House is describing as a major address on the economy. He's gone to the heartland, to Kansas. He will invoke the memory Teddy Roosevelt repeatedly in this speech in Osawatomie, Kansas. Back in 1910, Teddy Roosevelt delivered an important speech there, and that's why the president has selected this site.

We want to welcome our viewers around the country. We have special coverage here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Wolf Blitzer, along with Gloria Borger. And Jessica Yellin, our chief White House correspondent, is standing by. Jessica, set the scene for us. What's the theory behind this address in Kansas for the president today?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf. This is the opportunity for the president and the White House to set the stage for the kind of economic message the president wants to define the campaign around and the economic themes he would like to discuss going forward.

He has, for many months, through the debt talks, and even going back to his campaign in 2008, to some extent, talked about opportunities in America. But we have increasingly heard about Democratic Party, the Democratic base, in particular, wealth inequality in this country and the problems on the haves and have-nots and the shrinking middle class.

For the president, this is a time and place for him to talk about what he believes are the right values as a nation to rectify those issues. But he's chosen Kansas, essentially a red state. and a Republican president, Teddy Roosevelt, who recognized in the White House's view that America could only succeed by banding together and the middle class and wealthy corporations finding a way to work together to level out wealth and equality more than 100 years ago.

Teddy Roosevelt delivered a speech in this town more than 100 years ago and spoke about fairness, making sure that everybody got a fair chance, used the word "fair play" and "equalizing opportunity." That's what Teddy Roosevelt used. You'll hear the president echoing those themes today.

Again, meaningful that it was a Republican that used the phrases back then. Obviously, the president tipping his hand and saying, these aren't just Democratic themes -- Wolf?

BLITZER: He's going to revive a lot of those themes in this speech that he's going to be delivered momentarily.

Gloria, he's still the president of the United States but he's also the candidate, running for re-election. Politics always very much on the minds of everyone right now as he's getting ready to face one of these Republican candidates.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, it's no coincidence, Wolf, that this speech today comes one day after the president again set out a definitional issue on the extension of the payroll tax for the middle class.

There are Republicans who have voted against this and the president has said, yesterday, if you're for tax cuts, which we know you are, and you're extending tax cuts for the wealthy, could how could you be extending the tax cuts for the middle class. He does that yesterday.

Today, he is in Kansas. He invokes Teddy Roosevelt, who spoke in his new national speech about equality and a square deal for the American people, about the fact that special interests are too influential, and about the fact that the country is best when it works together rather than it works separately and when the special interests take control.

So you can see, as Jessica was saying, the emergence of a strong campaign theme here, identifying the president to a certain degree with the theme of Occupy Wall Street, if not with the Occupy protesters themselves, and trying to identify himself with the very important middle class.

WOLF: And this is not as much as a political speech as a campaign speech. This is seen as the president's ability to go out and address the American people on important issues. Is that the way they are billing this?

YELLIN: Sure. And to some extent, look, that's legitimate. The Senate, the Congress is still yet to vote on a payroll tax extension and what will happen with the budget, and there are still elements of the Americas Jobs Act that could be voted on next year after they go on their break and come back in the New Year. Aids here continue to emphasize that the president will push on those themes.

There is the Consumer Protection bureau, the new organization that the White House pressed for to be included in the financial reform package that Congress passed. And this is the agency that is standing up for consumer rights, that sort of thing. And the head of that bureau, that his nomination will be voted on by the U.S. Senate on Thursday, and is expected to be blocked. That's another fight that the president is expected to stand up for in his speech today, another them he'll hit on.

But there's no denying, Wolf, that there is politics all over this. And this is really about framing the discussion, the debate that the president would like to have during the campaign, as opposed to it being about his presidency and a referendum on whether he's done a good job or not. They'd like this to be about whether the economy is in a good place, whether Americans are doing well, and whether he needs another four years to finish doing the job that he started doing. And that's what this conversation, this speech will be about shortly.

And it's also a little bit about really reframing the conversation, the Occupy Wall Street folks, and the Democratic base are having in a language that is more palatable to most Americans than the way Occupy Wall Street types are framing it themselves. That's not what the White House would say but you and I can acknowledge that is what is behind it to some extent -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Gloria, it seems, if you look at the speech that the president is about to deliver, he will lay out some themes that no doubt he will be using in the course of this general election campaign.

BORGER: I think the notion of a wealth gap, the fact that the rich have gotten richer and the poor have gotten poorer and the middle class has really been squeezed, is going to be something key in this campaign and the White House believes that it's on equal footing. Six out of 10 Americans say they want to extend the payroll tax deduction. The support for that is broad. It's also bipartisan. And the Republicans find themselves in a little bit of a pickle here because there's disagreement within the Republican Party about whether you should extend the tax cut. And if you do, how do you pay for it? The Republicans say they don't want to do that.

And I should point out that the Republican presidential candidates are largely now supporting the payroll tax cut. There was a question about whether Mitt Romney, in fact, did or didn't, and now he does support the payroll tax cut, while he also says it is too small and will not solve the problems.

BLITZER: And we'll see, in the course of this speech, Jessica, if there's any direct or implied criticism of any of his potential Republican challengers.

You and our viewers know the president has been visiting a lot of those so-called battle ground states, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Florida, states that could be in play, obviously, North Carolina, Virginia, in the next election. Kansas, no one really thinks is in play. But he does have a personal connection. He'll talk a little bit about it. He may have been born in Hawaii. His father was from Kenya, but his mother was born in Kansas. And his mother's die of the family has roots in Kansas. We'll hear a little bit of that in the course of this presidential address.

YELLIN: That's right. He'll being knowledge that he is tied to Kansas through his mom, and it's something that we've heard a lot about in the 2008 election as well. His own personal narrative is such a central piece of the story he tells of America, in a sense, because he is so much a story of his -- his own story is such a story of the melting pot of America. Even though he's not likely to win Kansas because of the voting history there, we know that, because he has these roots there, going back to Kansas is a reminder of how American -- how the American story has evolved. And so it's sort of re-clicking -- it's clicking him back into the 2008 Candidate-Obama mode that we're so familiar with, and bringing us back to that person he was in 2008.

And then, of course, tying him back into Teddy Roosevelt, who gave a speech in this very same town more than 100 years ago -- Wolf?

BLITZER: And we know he's bringing Kathleen Sebelius, the former governor of Kansas, the secretary --

BORGER: Why not?

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: -- of Health and Human Services, along with him. She obviously has a strong Kansas root.

BORGER: Sure. And what's interesting to me is the link to Teddy Roosevelt. Don't forget, Teddy Roosevelt may have wound up on Mt. Rushmore, which he did. But in 1912, he did not win the presidency again when he tried because he was tagged very largely because of as a result of this speech as too socialist, some folks were calling him at Communist after this speech, because his notion of a square deal at that time seemed pretty radical and anti-corporate for Republicans to swallow.