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U.S. Shift in Afghan Combat Mission; Romney Rips Obama's Afghan Plan; How Facebook Makes Money; Obama Speaks at National Prayer Breakfast; American Airlines Plan: Cut 13,000 Jobs; Tracy Morgan's Mom Pleads for Son's Help; Angelo Dundee Dead at 90; Griffin Dunks Off Opening Tip; Wounded Warriors vs. Ex-NFL Players
Aired February 02, 2012 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Soledad, I want to know what Don Cornelius did for the ex-nun. That's how I want to tie it all together.
(LAUGHTER)
MARTIN: Come on, white chocolate. You know you watched "Soul Train."
PHILLIPS: Yes, I did, matter of fact. You got -- and I like the straight hair, Soledad. You look gorgeous.
O'BRIEN: Matter of fact.
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: You like the hair. You see? It's all about the hair at the end of the day.
PHILLIPS: See you, guys.
Well, it could be the beginning of the end of our 10-year war in Afghanistan. That's what we're talking about this morning because Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says there is a new goal, end combat next year and switch the role of U.S. and NATO troops from fighting to training.
And as expected, presidential candidates already weighing in. Mitt Romney's trashing the plan. And the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee calls it premature. We're going to talk about that in just a second. But first Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon.
Barbara, we've got about 89,000 boots on the ground in Afghanistan right now. So let's talk about what this would mean for them.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Kyra, good morning. This will mean, of course they begin to get some clear signals about when they will be coming home. And that's important to so many military families. But let's go back to what you just said. You put it exactly right. It is a goal now that Leon Panetta is talking about to transition from combat to training Afghans by the end of next year.
You're going to hear a lot more about this later today because we are just getting word that Panetta, now in Brussels for a NATO meeting, is going to come out and offer some clarification, if you will. He's beginning to get concerned about all these media reports and some of the political statements perhaps out there that this is a hard end to combat, if you will, next year.
He is going to say that's not what he's saying, that what he's saying, this will be a transition. But whatever way anybody decides to spin this piece of information, the bottom line, the reality check, combat is winding up in Afghanistan. It will begin to wind up in 2013. And under NATO commitment all foreign troops will be out of Afghanistan by 2014 unless the Afghan government asks them to stay -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So let me ask you about this, Barbara, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Buck McKeon, saying that his committee has not seen a single assessment by our commanders that indicates they have any confidence in a swift transition.
You're at the Pentagon. What are you hearing? I'm sure there's debate about timeline and safety?
STARR: Exactly right. All the debate now is about this timeline and about how fast you can do it and what Panetta has laid out here and will NATO agree.
Look, the other NATO countries, they want to get out of Afghanistan, that's very clear. They don't have the money, the finances. Their militaries can't support an unending commitment in Afghanistan. Everybody agrees this war is not going to be sustainable much longer. Every source we speak with tells us that. So this is now a question of when, not if. The members of Congress well know that. And it's a question of risk.
But it's all happening in this political season, isn't it? So you're going to see the Republicans weighing in and bashing the plan, I suspect, no matter what it is, and speaking about it in terms of a hard end to combat and how that is so risky. That's not what the Pentagon's really saying. They're going to go into this phased approach and it is the timing that remains to be seen.
PHILLIPS: All right. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us. Barbara, thanks so much.
STARR: Sure.
PHILLIPS: And tonight at 6:00 former Defense Secretary Robert Gates is going to share his thoughts with our John King on the announcement that U.S. forces will end their combat role in Afghanistan next year. That's CNN tonight 6:00 Eastern.
And as we mentioned Mitt Romney is blasting the shift in strategy. He says it's misguided, it's naive. And our CNN political editor Paul Steinhauser is following that out of Washington. So, Paul, is Romney more concerned about troops pulling out of Afghanistan or just announcing this timeline?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: He definitely has problems, the frontrunner in the race for the Republican nomination, with the timeline. Romney last night in Nevada campaigning out there in the Silver state. He said Panetta's words jeopardize the U.S. mission, the commitment to Afghanistan. Here's a little bit more of what Mitt Romney said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You go to the people that you're fighting with and tell them the day you're pulling out your troops? It makes absolutely no sense. This naivete is putting in jeopardy the mission of the United States of America and our commitments to freedom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: You know, Kyra, our most recent polling indicates that most Americans don't support the war in Afghanistan. But look at this, when you break it down by party, there's definitely a partisan divide. You can see right here. Republicans, a majority of them, 54 percent according to the most recent CNN/ORC poll. They support the war in Afghanistan. As you can see Democrats and independents do not.
So this is definitely an issue in the battle for the nomination and also in the battle for the White House. It's trumped by the economy but it is -- it is an issue -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Paul. Donald Trump promising a, quote, "major announcement," this afternoon. What can you tell us?
(LAUGHTER)
STEINHAUSER: Every time we seem to be done with Donald Trump, he's right back there.
PHILLIPS: He's back.
STEINHAUSER: He's back. And guess where he's going to be? You know all four of the Republicans are in Nevada today ahead of Saturday's caucus. Well, Donald Trump will be there as well about six hours from now. They're saying it's a major announcement. One of our affiliates out there says that Trump will be endorsing Newt Gingrich. We've reached out to the Trump camp. We've reached out to the Gingrich camp. Neither of them are denying this. So stay tuned. We're going to try -- you know, try to confirm an endorsement.
Remember, they last met back in December at Trump Tower in New York.
Kyra, one more thing. A brand new poll in Nevada in the battle for the nomination out there just ahead of Saturday's caucuses. Look at this. This is from the "Las Vegas Review-Journal/8 News Now", and there's Mitt Romney high atop, 20 points ahead of Newt Gingrich. Rick Santorum at 11 percent, Ron Paul at 9 percent.
Remember Romney won there four years ago in the caucuses. And this poll, Kyra, was conducted even before Romney's big victory Tuesday night in the Florida primary.
PHILLIPS: Paul, thanks.
And CNN Saturday it's Nevada's turn to weigh in on the Republican nominee. Coverage begins at 6:00 Eastern with a special edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer. Then CNN's complete live coverage of the caucus results will follow.
Facebook finally files to go public. And that means we're getting our first peek into the inner financial workings of the Web site with more than 845 million friends. A bit of a foreshadowing from the "Social Network."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SOCIAL NETWORK")
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, ACTOR: A million dollars isn't cool? You know what's cool?
ANDREW GARFIELD, ACTOR: A billion dollars. That shut everybody up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: That's right. Facebook produced a cool billion- dollars in profit last year and it's filing for an initial public offering worth five times that much.
Christine Romans. Some of these numbers are just staggering. So let's kind of walk through this IPO. And of course, everybody wanting to know, should I get in or not?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, and can you get in, right? It has all the smart money already been made by the early investors. OK. Let's get to that in a minute. Let's just look underneath the hood of Facebook because now we can see how this company makes money and how much it makes. It's been profitable since 2009. Eighty-five percent of its revenue -- that means how much money it's bringing in -- comes from advertising. And it wants to trade under the FB ticker symbol but we don't know which exchange it would be looking at. And the CEO stake is worth about $16 billion.
And already there's a lot of talk this morning, and has been for a few days now, about whether this is the next Google or whether -- which went public and made a lot of money for investors who got in, even in the days after the initial public offering, or is this a sign of a tech bubble because Facebook has a lot to prove.
Take a look at where Facebook stands right now with some of the other big technology titans and how much money they were making last year. Microsoft made $23 billion last year. Again, Microsoft is a big, mature company, $23 billion. Has been public for a long time. IBM, 16 billion. Again, a more diversified humongous company. It's earning $16 billion. Google, $10 billion. It went public in 2004.
And Facebook, its income last year about $1 billion. So this company has to grow like crazy. It's got to show the world and mostly its investors that it can get more revenue per pair of eyeballs and that it has other ways that it's making money besides just Facebook credits and its advertising. So this company -- there's a lot of hoopla about this, Kyra, but it still has an awful lot to prove.
PHILLIPS: All right. So clearly, you know, CEO Mike Zuckerberg is going to get even richer off this IPO. We were -- we were joking yesterday. His Facebook status will change to filthy rich. So a lot of people, Christine, saying, OK, how do I get in on this and should I?
ROMANS: That's a really good question because for the most part we like to caution people, especially these big tech -- these much anticipated tech IPOs. It's going to be months before it actually is trading on an exchange, right? There'll be a Monday morning, probably when the Opening Bell will ring at 9:30. And that's when you can start trading. But remember the big institutional investors, they're getting in on an IPO price.
It could trade up, up, up. And then you get in at a price that's much higher as many investors are selling the shares that they already have because they're trying to profit. So be very careful about this kind of stuff. We like to say you can't get in on the -- on the IPO probably because, frankly, all of the investment banks who are involved in it, I mean all of their big investors and big customers, and the pension funds, and the mutual funds, the endowments, they'll all get the first -- the first pick at it.
But Morgan Stanley is a big winner. It's the lead investment bank on this. Zuckerberg, a very big -- he's one of the most wealthy people in the world now because of this. Anybody -- you know what I liked? Remember in Austin there were Dellionaires? People who worked for Dell Computer a long time ago before it went public. Even people who were drivers and secretaries who took stock instead of paychecks? And then they became rich and retired?
I hope that there are some cool people at Facebook who are going to be really deserving. You know, the hardworking people who deserve to make a lot of money off this. The people who work there.
PHILLIPS: We're going to follow it. Thanks so much, Christine.
We want to get you straight now to the White House. The president of the United States getting ready to speak at the 60th U.S. National Prayer Breakfast. Let's go ahead and listen in.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good morning, everybody. It is good to be with so many friends united in prayer. And I begin by giving all praise and honor to God for bringing us together here today. I want to thank our co-chairs, Mark and Jeff. To my dear friend, the guy who always has my back, Vice President Biden. All the members of Congress. Joe deserves a hand.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: All the members of Congress and my cabinet who were here today. All the distinguished guests who've traveled a long way to be part of this.
I'm not going to be as funny as Eric, but I'm grateful that he shared his message with us. Michelle and I feel truly blessed to be here.
This is my third year coming to this prayer breakfast as president. As Jeff mentioned, before that I came as senator. I have to say it's easier coming as president. I don't have to get here quite as early. But it's always been an opportunity that I've cherished. It's a chance to step back for a moment, for us to come together as brothers and sisters and seek God's face together.
At a time when it's easy to lose ourselves in the rush and clamor of our own lives or get caught up in the noise and ranker that too often passes as politics today. These moments of prayer slow us down. They humble us. They remind us that no matter how much responsibility we have, how fancy our titles, how much power we think we hold, we are imperfect vessels.
We can all benefit from turning to our Creator, listening to him. Avoiding phony religiosity, and listening to him. This is especially important right now when we're facing some big challenges as a nation. And our economy is making progress as we recover from the worst crisis in three generations, but far too many families are still struggling to find work, or make the mortgage, pay for college or in some cases even buy food.
Our men and women in uniform have made us safer and more secure. And we are eternally grateful to them. But war and suffering and hardships still remain in too many corners of the globe, and a lot of those men and women who we celebrate on Veterans Day and Memorial Day come back and find that when it comes to finding a job or getting the kind of care that they need, we're not always there the way we need to be.
And it's absolutely true that meeting these challenges requires sound decision making, requires smart policies. We know that part of living in a pluralistic society means that our personal religious beliefs alone can't dictate our response to every challenge we face, but in my moments of prayer I'm reminded that faith and values play an enormous role in motivating us to solve some of our most urgent problems.
In keeping us going when we suffer setbacks and opening our minds and our hearts to the needs of others. We can't leave our values at the door. If we leave our values at the door, we abandon much of the moral glue that has held our nation together for centuries and allowed us to become somewhat more perfect a union.
Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Jane Addams, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day, Abraham Heschel -- the majority of great reformers in American history did their work not just because it was sound policy or they had done good analysis or understood how to exercise good politics but because their faith and their values dictated it and called for bold action -- sometimes in the face of indifference, sometimes in the face of resistance.
This is no different today for millions of Americans and it's certainly not for me. I wake up each morning and I say a brief prayer. I spend a little time in Scripture and devotion.
From time to time friends of mine, some who are here today, friends like Joel Hunter, T.D. Jakes will come by the Oval Office, they'll call on the phone, send me an e-mail, and we'll pray together. They'll pray for me and my family and for our country.
But I don't stop there. I'd be remiss if I stopped there, if my values were limited to personal moments of prayer or private conversations with pastors or friends. So, instead, I must try, imperfectly, but I must try to make sure those values motivate me as one leader of this great nation.
So when I talk about our financial institutions playing by the same rules as folks on Main Street, when I talk about making sure insurance companies aren't discriminating against those who are already sick, or making sure that unscrupulous lenders aren't taking advantage of the most vulnerable among us, I do so because I genuinely believe it will make the economy stronger for everybody, but I also do it because I know that far too many neighbors in our country have been hurt and treated unfairly over the last few years.
And I believe in God's command to love thy neighbor as well as one's self. I know that version of that goals and rules found in every major religion and every set of beliefs, from Hinduisms, to Islam, to Judaism, to the writings of Plato.
And when I talk about shared responsibility, because I genuinely believe that in a time when many folks are struggling, at a time when we have enormous deficits it's hard for me to ask seniors on a fixed income or young people with student loans or middle class families who can barely pay the bills to shoulder the burden alone. I think to myself, if I'm willing to give something up as somebody who's been extraordinarily blessed, give up some of the tax breaks that I enjoy, I actually think that's going to make economic sense.
But for me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus' teaching that -- for unto whom much is given, much shall be required. It mirrors the Islamic belief that those that have been blessed have an obligation to use those blessings to help others, or the Jewish doctrine of moderation and consideration for others.
When I talk about giving every American a fair shot at opportunity, it's because I believe that when a young person can afford a college education or someone who's been unemployed suddenly has a chance to retrain for a job and regain that sense of dignity and pride in contributing to the community as well as supporting their families, that helps us all prosper. That means maybe that research lab on the cusp of a life saving discovery, the company looking for skilled workers is going to do a little bit better and we'll all do better as a consequence. It makes economic sense.
But part of that belief comes from my faith and the idea that I am my brother's keeper and I am my sister's keeper. That as a country we rise and fall together. I'm not an island. I'm not alone in my success. I succeed because others succeed with me.
And when I decide to stand up for foreign aid or prevent atrocities in places like Uganda, take on issues like human trafficking, it's not just about strengthening alliances or promoting democratic values or projecting American leadership around the world, although it does all those things and it will make us safer and more secure. It's also about the biblical call to care for the least of these, for the poor, for those of the margins of our society.
To answer the responsibility we're given in Proverbs to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. And for others, it may reflect the Jewish believe that the highest form of charity is to do our part to help others stand on their own. Treating others as you want to be treated, requiring much from those who have been given so much, living by the principle that we are our brother's keeper caring for the poor and those in need.
These values are old. They can be found in many denominations, in many faiths, among many believers and among many non-believers, and they're values that have always made this country great when we live up to them, when we don't just give lip service to them, or we don't just talk about them one day a year. They're the ones that have defined my own faith journey.
And today with as many challenges as we face, these are the values I believe we're going to have to return to in the hopes that God will buttress our efforts. Now we can earnestly seek to see these values lived out in our politics and our policies, and we can earnestly disagree on the best way to achieve these values. In the words of C.S. Lewis, Christianity is not and does not profess to have a detailed political program. It is meant for all men at all times. The particular program which suited one place or time would not suit another.
Our goals should not be to declare our policies as biblical; it is God who is infallible, not us. Michelle reminds me of this often.
So instead it is our hope that people of goodwill can pursue their values and common ground and the common good as best they know how know how, with respect for each other. And I have to say that sometimes we talk about respect, but we don't act with respect towards each other during the course of these debates. But each and every day for many in this room, the biblical injunctions are not just words, they are also deeds. Every single day in different ways, so many of you are living out your faith in service to others.
You know, just last month it was inspiring to see thousands of young Christians filling the Georgia Dome at the passion conference to worship the God who set the captives free and worked to end modern slavery. Since we have expanded and strengthened the White House faith-based initiative, we partnered with Catholic charities to help Americans who are struggling with poverty, worked with organizations like World Vision and American Jewish World Service and Islamic Relief to bring hope to those suffering around the world.
Colleges across the country have answered our interfaith campus challenge. And students are joined together across religious lines in service to others, from promoting responsible fatherhood, to strengthening adoption, from helping people find jobs, to serving our veterans, we're linking arms with faith-based groups all across the country.
I think we all understand that these values cannot truly find voice in our politics and our policies unless they find a place in our hearts. The Bible teaches us to be doers of the word and not merely hearers. We're required to have a living, breathing, active faith in our own lives. And each of us is called on to give something of ourselves for the betterment of others and to live the truth of our faith, not just with words but with deeds.
So even as we join the great debates of our age, how we best put people back to work, how we ensure opportunity for every child, the role of government in protecting this extraordinary planet that God has made for us, how we lessen the occasions of war, even as we debate these great issues, we must be reminded of the difference that we can make each day in our small interactions, in our personal lives as a loving husband or a supportive parent or a good neighbor or a helpful colleague. In each of these roles, we help bring his kingdom to Earth.
And as important as government policy may be in shaping our world, we are reminded that it's the cumulative acts of kindness and courage and charity and love, it's the respect we show each other and the generosity that we share with each other that in our everyday lives will somehow sustain us during these challenging times.
John tells us that if anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
You know, Mark read a letter from Billy Graham and it took me back to one of the great honors of my life, which was visiting Reverend Graham at his mountain top retreat in North Carolina, when I was on vacation with my family at a hotel not far away. I can still remember winding up a path, up the mountain to his home. Ninety-one years old at the time, facing various health challenges.
He welcomed me as he would welcome a family member or a close friend. This man, who had prayed great prayers that inspired a nation, this man who seemed larger than life greeted me and was as kind and as gentle as could be. And we had a wonderful conversation.
Before I left, Reverend Graham started praying for me as he had prayed for so many presidents before me. When he finished praying, I felt the urge to pray for him. I didn't really know what to say. What do you pray for when it comes to the man who's prayed for so many?
But like that verse in Romans, the holy spirit interceded when I didn't know quite what to say. So I prayed, briefly, but I prayed from the heart. I don't have the intellectual capacity or the lung capacity of some of my great preacher friends here to pray for a long time, but I prayed.
And we ended with an embrace and a warm good-bye. And I thought about that moment all the way down the mountain, and I've thought about it in the many days since because I thought about my own spiritual journey -- growing up in a household that wasn't particularly religious, going through my own period of doubt and confusion, finding Christ when I wasn't even looking for him so many years ago, possessing so many shortcomings that have been overcome by the simple grace of God.
And the fact that I would ever be on top of a mountain saying a prayer for Billy Graham, a man whose faith had changed the world and had sustained him through triumphs and tragedies and movements and milestones, that simple fact humbled me to my core. I have fallen on my knees with great regularity since that moment, asking God for guidance, not just in my personal life and in my Christian walk, but in the life of this nation and in the values that hold us together and keep us strong.
I know that He will guide us. He always has, and he always will. And I pray his richest blessings on each of you in the days ahead.
Thank you very much.
(APPLAUSE)
(END LIVE SPEECH)
PHILLIPS: President of the United States speaking there at the Washington Hilton, the 60th U.S. National Prayer Breakfast. A lot of influential GOP voters in attendance in that crowd.
We'll talk a little bit more about his speech, the content of his speech with our Mark Preston coming up in about 30 minutes.
Well, American Airlines wants to layoff 13,000 workers. And that could mean thousands of maintenance workers and hundreds of pilots out of work. So what does that mean for you next time you fly American? We're talking about it with one of our aviation analysts, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Thirteen jobs are on the line at American Airlines. And it's trying to reshape itself while in bankruptcy. And it wants to slash deep, looking to cut 4,600 maintenance operation workers, 4,000 ground workers, 2,300 flight attendants, and 400 pilots. The unions plan to fight this.
Let's bring in our Miles O'Brien, pilot, aviation analyst, huge troublemaker at times.
Miles, when you take a look at this list, what concerns you the most when you hear about this?
MILES O'BRIEN, AVIATION ANALYST: Well, I think you did the graphic just right. You put maintenance right at the top of the list.
You know, American Airlines was the last airline that used American workers predominantly to do the maintenance on its aircraft in Tulsa, Oklahoma, primarily. Over the years, they've resisted a trend towards offshore maintenance, outsourcing, sending airplanes to places like China, and Singapore, and Costa Rica and doing the work there for pennies on the dollar.
Or in some cases, as I discovered in my "Frontline" documentary last year, "Flying Cheaper", bringing those workers to places like Alabama, putting them in company housing, paying them a fraction of what a union worker in America would make to work on airplanes.
Now, Kyra, Boeing airplane manuals -- airplane manuals in general are written in English. You have workers in these places who are trying to fix airplanes who can't read a manual. It's a real problem and a real concern. American was the last to do it in Tulsa with union workers who have the -- all the licensing required to work on an airplane. I guess it's no coincidence, they're also the last airline to use bankruptcy protection to keep going.
So, here we are headed toward offshore maintenance at American.
PHILLIPS: Interesting. So when you hear American Airlines come out with this statement, and I've got it, the quote here, "We will end this journey with many fewer people. But we will also preserve tens of thousands of jobs that would have been lost if we had not embarked on this path."
O'BRIEN: Well, yes. It's kind of a do-or-die situation. The competitive landscape is such that they were forced into this situation. All their competitors are using this offshore maintenance capability. It's cheaper to do it that way.
It's difficult to say definitively, is it less safe? But intuitively, having somebody who's more qualified, able to read and write English working on your airplanes is probably a better idea, don't you think?
PHILLIPS: Well, you being the pilot -- I mean, you speak from tight experience. What about the onboard crew, you know, pilots, flight attendants? Will cutting those jobs impact safety? What's your take on that?
O'BRIEN: Well, of course, the FAA mandates you got to have two pilots in the front and you got to have a certain number of flight attendants that is proportional to the number of seats in the airplane. So, that's not going to change.
So, let's do a little bit of thinking here what could happen. Either they've got to cut the number of flights or, this is more likely, they will change the work rules. Now American, like the big legacy carriers, tends to give better work rules to its employees than the FAA minimums. Watch for the company to push those unions, flight attendants and pilots, to work closer to those minimums. And what that means is more tired people flying that airplane.
PHILLIPS: I'll tell you what? Any day, I'd rather fly with you. Miles, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
All right. Well, coming up, Mitt Romney says that he wasn't concerned about the poor because they have a safety net. Insensitive or just blown out of proportion? We'll debate it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking top stories now.
Seventy-nine people are killed during a soccer riot in Cairo. It's not clear if the violence was ignited by political or sporting differences, but we all know what happened in Egypt with the fall of its regime. Protesters are back in Tahrir Square today.
And the U.N. Security Council expected to resume talks on a draft resolution calling for Syria's president to step down. Russia warns that that could lead to a civil war in Syria. Opposition activists report 70 people now killed in Syria yesterday.
Attorney General Eric Holder appearing at a Capitol Hill hearing on Operation Fast and Furious. The botched gun probe allowed hundreds of high powered weapons to get into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.
OK. It's Will Cain and Roland Martin time. And we've got two topics they are going to love, Mitt Romney on the poor and Donald Trump --
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Bring it.
PHILLIPS: -- on the presidential race.
Excuse me, Roland?
MARTIN: Bring it.
PHILLIPS: All right, Will. Yes, exactly. Will just shakes his head.
OK. All right, guys. Let's go ahead and start with Romney's comment yesterday on CNN that he's, quote, "not concerned about the very poor". Everyone's been talking about that this morning, including you two. There's probably already a bumper sticker out there somewhere.
Soledad O'Brien did challenge Romney when he said that. And, of course, Jon Stewart weighed in a little later. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: You just said I'm not concerned about the very poor because they have a safety net -- and I think there are lots of very poor Americans who are struggling who would say that sounds odd. Can you explain that?
(LAUGHTER)
JON STEWART, COMEDIAN: TV news person just heard what candidate said and then stopped him and made him explain himself. Like a flower blooming in the desert. Quick. Someone dig that up and get her away from CNN before one of their giant holographic monitors falls and crushes it.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You have to finish the sentence, Soledad. I said I'm not concerned about the very poor that have a safety net but if it has holes in it, I will repair them.
STEWART: Right. But it's still a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) net.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: All right, guys. So was his explanation good enough for you? Were his words unfairly taken out of context, blown out of proportion? Roland?
MARTIN: No. His words were not taken out of context. I mean, obviously he's right. You listen to the whole comment.
But what concerns me is when you say I'm concerned about Americans and then you act as if the poor and even the rich are not Americans. Also, his math is totally jacked up. He said the 90 percent, 95 percent -- 15.3 percent of Americans are deemed to be in poverty. That's folks who make about $22,000 a year for a family of four.
And so, Mitt, you might want to get your calculator out. It's a much larger group who are poor, who are impoverished than that.
And remember, that's poverty level. If you've got a family of four, you make 30 grand, I think you're still broke.
PHILLIPS: So, let me ask you guys this: do poor people even care what Romney thinks? I mean, are they going to go punish him at the polls for this?
CAIN: Probably not. I mean, I think lower income voters traditionally skew towards Democrats.
But, look, you asked Roland, is it going to be taken out of context? The answer is yes, because it will be played strictly in that shortened clip, "I'm not very concerned about poor people". Then it will be spun. And yes, it's a bad political gaffe because of that.
The truth is substantively, there's not much there because this is a man who I'm sure his life reflects his care for poor people. I think the bigger problem is that he's conceded the debate, the debate that Obama wants to have. That you can divide Americans in various classes and you should adopt policies that help various classes, such as the middle class.
In other words, he's saying, I want to help the middle class, I want to expand the net, I want to expand services to the middle class. This is a problem for conservatives.
PHILLIPS: OK.
MARTIN: Fact check. Fact check.
PHILLIPS: Yes, Roland, you were shaking your head when I ask --
MARTIN: We got to have a fact check here. He's saying poor people skew towards Democrat. Of the 10 poorest states, Mississippi, red state. Alabama, red state. Louisiana, red state. South Carolina, red state.
So, you look at the bottom, 10 poorest states in America, seven to eight of those states are red states. So, Will, that's not true. There are some poor folks who vote for Democrat -- I'm sorry, vote for Republican.
PHILLIPS: So, take that into account, Will. Could that impact the way these voters -- will it impact how many low income folks head to the polls and, I mean, looking at it that way, pushing it forward, to taking away was he being insensitive or not. Bottom line, are low income people going to lack at what he said, care about it, and go to the polls and we'll see a difference?
CAIN: Yes, probably they will. In response to Roland's fact check, he just told me how many states were red and how much they are -- have the index poor. But that doesn't say anything about how they vote inside the state.
So, the point is if low-income people --
MARTIN: They vote for Republicans.
CAIN: If low-income people inside these states are already voting Democrat, it's not going to hurt him that much.
You can't make statements like this, Kyra, and expect that it won't hurt. The answer to your question despite our differences on facts is, yes, it will hurt.
MARTIN: I don't differ on the fact. Broke states, the bottom 10 states most of them are red states.
CAIN: As if they vote monolithic. As if everybody in that state votes the same.
MARTIN: They're guaranteed red states? Do you think a Democrat -- does Obama have a chance of winning Mississippi? Alabama? Louisiana? South Carolina?
CAIN: Because a state is called red doesn't mean 100 percent of the people in that state vote the same way.
MARTIN: President Obama has no shot at winning those red states.
PHILLIPS: Stay tuned, ladies and gentlemen. We will see how this pans out. I'm so sorry --
CAIN: Did you get to your third and fourth question, Kyra? Did you get to your third and fourth question?
PHILLIPS: I have to apologize, because I know Roland would have been really excited to talk about Donald Trump, but I guess we're going to have to move on.
MARTIN: Actually not because he's terrible. He's politically ridiculous. He's a chump, and he's a political fraud. We should not waste any moment discussing Donald Trump and a waste of a time endorsement.
CAIN: I think you got your answer.
PHILLIPS: Political fraud? OK. We'll see what he has to say. Bye, guys.
Don't miss CNN coverage of Nevada caucuses beginning Saturday 6:00 p.m. Eastern, with the special edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer. Then we'll bring you complete live coverage of the caucus results.
All right. Tracy Morgan's family feud. The comedian's mother says that her famous son is refusing to give her money and she could lose her home. That story is coming up next in showbiz.
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PHILLIPS: Ok, Tracy Morgan's mother says she desperately needs money but her son just won't give it to her. And the comedian says well, he's got a different take on this family feud.
"SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" host A.J. Hammer joins us from New York. So what's the deal A.J.?
A.J. HAMMER, HLN'S HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Well, Tracy Morgan, Kyra, finds himself in the middle of a family mess right now. His mother is Alicia Warden. And she spoke exclusively with "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT". And she said if she doesn't get help from Tracy in the form of $25,000 to pay off her mortgage, her home is going to go into foreclosure.
Now she told us that Tracy had offered to pay her mortgage after she was laid off from her job last year but she says he never followed through on his word.
Now Tracy previously had stayed mum on the story. But he finally did speak with "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT". And here's what he's telling us, "I am saddened that these untrue stories about me have people questioning my commitment to my family. For reasons that are between us, I have not seen my mother in 11 years and outside of a random call here and there have had little to no contact with my sister.
We all have personal family issues that we have to deal with in life, but I choose to deal with mine in private and not through the media."
So the story is not really clear-cut, but a lot of people are asking right now, regardless of any prior family history, should Tracy, who Forbes says is worth somewhere around $18 million, just help his mother out. And Kyra, I'm surprised by how heated this debate gets. We were discussing it at our morning meeting today. People are back and forth on this. And everybody has an opinion.
So we'll be debating it on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" later on today.
PHILLIPS: Ok. We'll try and get to the essence of what's really going on, A.J.
Now everybody is wondering who is going to replace Regis as Kelley Ripa's TV husband. Do you have any scoop on this?
HAMMER: Well, you know rumors have been flying around every day about who's going to get that gig. The current favorite right now seems to be one of my favorites for the job, Howie Mandel. And part of that happens to be because Howie was just a co-host with Kelly yesterday. As always he killed, he was terrific. Howie would certainly be a great choice for this job and his name has been out there before.
But despite what you may see on line, I'm here to tell you I do not think a decision for this job is imminent. The ratings for the show have been solid with the rotating guest hosts coming through. I do think they will eventually name Regis's replacement.
CNN did speak with the people over at "Live with Kelly." And they're not commenting on anything regarding a new co-host right now. And I should point out, Kyra, I spoke with the great Neil Patrick Harris earlier this week. And his name has been out there, he's billed (ph) in a lot.
But he told me it is not happening for him, at least in the next two years, because he's committed to his CBS sitcom "How I Met your Mother".
And I personally think this is a very smart move. Give a little distance from the time Regis left the show so whoever comes in is not immediately being compared. Let the show sort of re-establish itself first and then make an announcement. So who knows? It could be in the fall but they are not saying right now.
PHILLIPS: Hey you and Kelly could make a hot TV couple.
HAMMER: Yes I keep telling Art Moore over there. Art, are you paying attention? Come on, man.
PHILLIPS: There you go, you can do a little HLN "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" and do your thing with Kelly and, hey, everybody wins.
HAMMER: I -- I -- but -- but, however, you know, I would have to join you from their set so we'd have to work out that accommodation.
PHILLIPS: We'd all do it together. All right, A.J. Stay tuned.
HAMMER: Sure what?
PHILLIPS: What the heck.
HAMMER: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: Well, A.J. is going to be back next hour. We're going to be talking about the investigation into Amy Winehouse's death. We're getting word now it could be reopened. A.J. will tell us why in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.
Also coming up in sports, we remember a boxing legend. Jeff Fischel joins us next.
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PHILLIPS: "Health for Her" now. A new study says that nearly half of breast cancer patients who had lumpectomies and unnecessary follow up operations for stray cancer cells. More troubling is that 14 percent of the women who still had cancer cells did not have a second operation for unknown reasons. Researchers say those findings showed the need for clear guidelines on breast cancer surgeries.
All right, we're following lots of development next hour in CNN NEWSROOM
Let's check in first with our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Leon Panetta at the Pentagon sending off his own firestorm of controversy talking about when the U.S. is ending combat in Afghanistan. We'll have that coming up Kyra.
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey Kyra, its Mark Preston in Washington. I've got big endorsement news in the 2012 presidential election. And we just saw the President, President Obama, talking about his faith. I'll have more at the top of the hour.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: And in the GOP race, we've heard a whole lot about the middle class and what's happening to the middle class including from Mitt Romney just yesterday making headlines. We're going to take a look at exactly what happens. What does it look like when the bottom truly falls out of the middle class? That's coming up.
PHILLIPS: All right guys, thanks so much.
And also happening right now on Capitol Hill, Attorney General Eric Holder testifying at a hearing on "Operation: Fast and Furious". You remember that's the botched gun probe that allowed hundreds of high-powered weapons to get into the hands of Mexican drug cartels. It also killed one of our federal agents.
We'll take you there live in just a few minutes.
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PHILLIPS: It is time to lift up a boxing legend, right, Jeff Fischel?
JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS: There is no doubt Angelo Dundee was the most famous boxing trainer of all time. Dundee died among family in his Tampa home last night. He was 90 years old.
Dundee's career as a trainer spanned six decades. He coached hundreds of boxers but he will forever be linked to the man who proclaim himself the greatest of all time, Muhammad Ali. The two met in Louisville at a hotel in 1959 when Ali was then a young Cassius Clay and he asked for a minutes of Angelo Dundee's time.
That few minutes would lead to a partnership lasting most of Ali's career and a friendship for most of their lives. Dundee helped Ali win three heavyweight titles.
Dundee was a great motivator and not above using tricks of the trade to help his fighter. Besides Ali, Dundee also trained Sugar Ray Leonard and George Foreman to world titles. Dundee's son says his dad was working right up to his death training a young boxer.
All right. Let's do some NBA highlights from last night. Incredible once again from Blake Griffin. His Clippers taking on the Jazz. This is the opening tip. I've never seen this before. Right off the tip, the alley-oop to Blake Griffin.
I admit it. I have a man crush. I'm a sports fan. The guy does this night after night. There he is again just a couple minutes later. 31 points for Blake Griffin.
Then watch this, the chase down block Lebron style. For the first time since 2003 the Clippers beat the Jazz in Utah. Time to celebrate. Drinks for everybody. Oh, wait, Utah, maybe not.
More NBA hoops. Mavericks hosting the Thunder. Russell Westbrook dunks for Oklahoma City. The ball rolls to Mavs coach Rick Carlisle. He's disgusted and kicks it. Lands in the seat and actually hits a boy on the head. Boy's ok. Carlisle actually walked over to apologize and then walked right off the court, ejected for a second technical. The Thunder beat Dallas, 95-86.
There are a lot of Super Bowl week events leading up to the big game. This is probably the most inspiring. A group of Wounded Warriors taking on some ex-NFL players in a game of flag football. The vets with the Wounded Warrior amputee softball team. They tour the country raising awareness of the sacrifices and resilience of military members. This is very cool.
They actually had the NFL quarterback -- ex-NFL quarterback, there you see Jeff George teaming up with the Wounded Warriors and then a Wounded Warrior quarterback throwing to the ex-NFL -- we're talking about like Rocky Blire (ph), Bill Romanowski (ph), Jack Youngblood (ph). Really cool. In fact, the Wounded Warrior quarterback was a star in high school in Indiana and then he suffered a horrible injury from a landmine. It was really, really inspiring.
