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Ohio Could Be A Bellwether; High Gas Prices On Voters' Minds; Obama To Announce Homeowner Help for Veterans

Aired March 06, 2012 - 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: Two big political stories this hour. First, 10 states, 419 delegates, four candidates, all adds up to one big day in the race for the GOP presidential nomination. The Republicans fighting it out on this Super Tuesday. Voters are heading to the polls across the country. We're breaking down the major races. And president Obama stealing some of the spotlight from the Republicans.

He holds a news conference in about 15 minutes. We're keeping our eye on that. The president, he's going to outline a new mortgage relief plan for the military, obviously, take questions from reporters. We're going to bring that to you live as soon as it starts.

But first, we want to bring in our political heavy hitters, Wolf Blitzer and chief political analyst, Gloria Borger, great to have you both here, on set, in the ATL. We're watching closely here. Wolf, --

WOLF BLITZER, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

MALVEAUX: -- you just got back from a roundtable that was streaming online. You had a chance to talk to voters live. What's the most interesting thing that they're interested in here?

BLITZER: You know, a lot of Republicans, and these are traditional, conservative Republicans, they're worried about what's going on right now within this Republican race for the White House. They think it's doing damage to the Republican brand, to the Republican party. They're wondering if this is the best way for them to go ahead and conduct this process of selecting a nominee. So, they're worried about what's going on. The acrimony between these Republican candidates almost like a circular firing squad, if you will. So, they're worried what's going to happen down the road.

MALVEAUX: Gloria, is there anything that can happen tonight, throughout the day, where anyone can seal the deal?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, not in terms of delegate count, but I think what we could see tonight is the beginning of the end of the process. Not the end of the process, but the beginning of that ending. If, for example, Mitt Romney does -- wins over half the delegates, wins Ohio, could potentially win Tennessee, a southern state, then I think what you'll see, as we've been seeing in the past couple of days, as Republican establishment conservatives saying, you know what, it's time to start coalescing around somebody and get our voters enthusiastic about one candidate, because that's what they're going to need in the fall.

MALVEAUX: OK. Super Tuesday heating up in the heartland. I want to bring in Dana Bash, she is live for us in Ohio. We also have Ali Velshi, he is in Oklahoma. Dana, to you first. You're in Hamilton County, Ohio. Obviously, it's a critical state in this election. What are you hearing from voters there about what they're looking for in a candidate?

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it depends on who you're asking, and frankly, what kind of mood they're in. Part of the issue that the Republican candidates are running up against is overall, there's not a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for anybody in the field across the board. But, specifically, of course, the economy is a top issue. Some people say that they really -- their number one thing is making sure that they have a Republican who can beat Barack Obama. Others say that they want somebody who is true to their ideals. Listen to a couple of Republican voters I talked to last night, not too far from here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Romney, I think, is more electable right now. I have no problem with the other guys.

BASH: But now, why do you like Santorum?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because his family values and I just like the whole -- everything about him. But if he doesn't get the nomination, no matter who has an R behind their name, I'm going to vote for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, that was actually in Butler County, which is adjacent to where I am right now. Suzanne, Butler County is also Boehner country. It is the home -- in fact, that particular bar where I was, was the John Boehner's family bar. It had been in his -- in his family for about 75 years or so. But, you know, that is rock solid Republican country. So, Rick Santorum has to get the vote out big time there in order to do well in this state.

Where I am now, Hamilton County, we are also a critical, critical county. And Mitt Romney really needs to do well here, because it tends to be more swing, more moderate. So, that's why we're watching the voter turnout. It seems to be not that high. You know, obviously, it's anecdotal. It seems to be rather low turnout here, at least. That could be a good sign for Mitt Romney, because he's got the organization and Rick Santorum is relying largely on enthusiasm.

MALVEAUX: All right. The Boehner family bar. That's a smart choice there, Dana. I want to go to Ali in Oklahoma. We're looking at 43 delegates at stake there. And obviously, the oil industry, huge. And you got the hat this time. I love it. Love it. You're sporting the hat there.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Does this look familiar? This is your thinking hat. MALVEAUX: That's right. I wore that hat in Arizona last week.

VELSHI: That's right. We've heard that this is (INAUDIBLE.)

MALVEAUX: Tell us about gas prices.

VELSHI: So, we're in a diner here.

MALVEAUX: OK.

VELSHI: Yes. Well, this is it, in Oklahoma, gas prices and oil prices are a double-edged sword, right? People have to drive around here, they have to haul things, gas and oil affects them, but it is a state that's done well by gas and oil. And it's also a conservative state, as you've talked about. And we've been in this diner since early this morning, and we're running into a lot of conservatives, a lot of them going out to vote, a lot of high voter participation, but I found Jason Roselius who isn't whispering and sort of shying away from the fact that he is a true Democrat.

JASON ROSELIUS, ATTORNEY: Absolutely.

VELSHI: Are there many of you around here?

ROSELIUS: Very few. I think there's a lot of closeted Democrats.

VELSHI: Yes, yes.

ROSELIUS: There's more than you realize, but a lot of them now will be voting today.

VELSHI: Right, right.

ROSELIUS: They're old, registered, Oklahoma Democrats.

VELSHI: Tell me what the issues are here in this state?

ROSELIUS: Well, obviously, now, jobs.

VELSHI: Yes.

ROSELIUS: Energy --

VELSHI: Although the unemployment rate is lower (INAUDIBLE.)

ROSELIUS: It's lower here because of oil, gas, and energy.

VELSHI: Yes.

ROSELIUS: And that's the second big issue --

VELSHI: Right.

ROSELIUS: -- with energy policies, things like that. But overall, just the economy. VELSHI: Did the -- did the decision by the Obama administration to put a hold on the keystone extension, the pipeline extension, has that changed anybody's mind? Or there are people here who just don't really like Democrats and Obama?

ROSELIUS: No, no. No, I mean, that was a big decision for Oklahoma, for obvious reasons.

VELSHI: Yes.

ROSELIUS: And you hear a lot of blowback on that, but it's kind of died down now. You know, but it's still a big issue. It's a big issue. And I don't think that will move anybody. I think their minds were probably made up before that.

VELSHI: Yes, we've been looking at some of the polling and the surveys going into the primary today, and it shows that amongst those who are going to vote tend to be more conservative than the general voting population. Rick Santorum may have an edge over Mitt Romney. Why do you think that is?

ROSELIUS: Well, I think cultural issues in Oklahoma will carry almost everything else. And he is so strong on those, by Oklahoma standards.

VELSHI: Right.

ROSELIUS: I'd be stunned if Romney wins today.

VELSHI: And how -- what's the culture around here in terms of this kind of politics? I've noticed, about most people I've talked to are Republicans, most of them are conservative, but it doesn't seem to have that remarkably bi-partisan -- that remarkably partisan feel to it.

ROSELIUS: Well, it doesn't because most everybody now, in Oklahoma, is a Republican, either stated or unstated, they are and that's how they vote. So, there's not much that opportunity for debate, unless they run into one of us Democrats.

VELSHI: How do you handle that?

ROSELIUS: Oh, we handle it with all guns blazing. You know, I'm an attorney, too, so I mean -- and we try to -- I have a lot of friends who are Republican, most of my friends, and just by nature of where I live. But I travel to other parts of the country often, and you just handle it civilly.

VELSHI: Jason, good to talk to you. And Suzanne, I should say when he says, we handle it guns blazing, I actually ran into Jason in a gun shop across the road. Suzanne, back to you.

MALVEAUX: You are not kidding, guns a-blazing. All right, thank you, Ali. President Obama hoping to steal a little bit of the Republican's thunder today. He's holding a news conference in just a couple of minutes. I want to bring in Jessica Yellin. She's at the White House, and Alison Kosik, she's at the New York Stock Exchange for a preview.

First of all, let's go to you, Jessica. Clearly, there's a strategy here, right? We saw, on the day of the Michigan primary, the president going out before American autoworkers, reminding them, hey, I bailed you guys out. Today you've got the single most important day for the Republicans eyeing for his job, and he's steals the spotlight with his news conference. Who do you think you're going to see today? Obama the candidate, Obama the president? What are you expecting?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, he'll come out as the president, but you cannot -- but -- help but see him as a political actor as well, weighing in on Super Tuesday, Suzanne. What he's doing, in a sense, is pointing out that he is able to ask and answer -- take questions on his policy positions, and field these questions, and pressing, in contrast, the candidates to do the same.

And he also will be emphasizing his position on helping homeowners who are facing foreclosure. I know Alison Kosik's going to address that more closely. But this is a stark contrast his campaign has been trying to draw with Mitt Romney, the man they expect to be their eventual contender in the general election. As you know, Romney has said that he believes the housing market should be allowed to hit bottom, and he has a different approach to, say, dealing with the foreclosure crisis in this station. That's not the entirety of Romney's position, but that's part of what he said. So here, the president will outline some steps that his administration is taking to help homeowners, implicitly drawing a contrast with Mitt Romney on this all-important day, on this housing issue that's so important to voters -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Jessica, we'll be paying close attention. See if you can get one of those questions in there in the front row. Alison, the president, as Jessica mentioned, is announcing some initiatives, specifically to help homeowners. Can you tell us what's new in the plan?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: OK. So, what this plan looks to do, Suzanne, is it looks to help two groups, current and former members of the military. Also, people with government-backed FHA loans. Now, as far as the veterans and military members go, this could be -- this could be -- they could be in line for cash payments. Because if these military members were wrongfully foreclosed on or they weren't allowed to refinance to lower rates, they're going to be compensated.

And the second part of this plan, once again, looks to help people with those government-backed loans. The FHA will go ahead and cut the fees to get people to refinance their mortgages. The idea here is to really keep people in their homes, and essentially give them a little extra money to spend and put into the economy.

But you know, there are critics coming out as the president gets ready to announce his initiatives -- Suzanne, critics asking if this is going to work, if this is more of the same old, same old, because his program is actually designed to help two to three million people with these FHA loans, giving them an incentive to refinance. And sure, that's all well and good, but analysts, at least one that I've been talking to, said that, you know, as far as the housing crisis goes, there's sort of a bigger fish to fry here. There's a bigger problem here that the president's initiative doesn't address. And that is people who have negative equity in their homes.

You know, there are 10 million homeowners out there who have been making their payments, but because they are underwater, Suzanne, meaning their homes are -- they owe more on their homes than they're worth, they aren't eligible to refinance, and they can't take advantage of these low interest rates, so -- well, this analyst that I've been speaking with said, you know, what? This is a bigger problem when it comes to trying to fix the housing problem, trying to help these people who are underwater on their mortgages -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Alison, thanks very much, appreciate it. We've got time for one more question to Wolf and Gloria. I'm very curious here, because we know the economy is number one on people's minds here. But obviously, Wolf, to you, this conflict between Israel and Iran, whether or not there is an attack that is imminent and what kind of role or influence the U.S. plays in this. What's the president need to say today to voters to reassure them that we're not going to go to war?

BLITZER: Well, he -- well, it may, in the end, come down to that. Everyone hopes it won't come down to that. But he's been very clear over these last few days that he hopes that the Israelis will give it some more time, that there won't be any Israeli preemptive strike anytime soon. That diplomacy, sanctions, the economic global pressure on Iran will work and now there are indications there will be some new negotiations, new talks with the Iranians. But in the end, he's making it clear when he says all options are on the table. I suspect he will say that once again, all options on the table, including the military option, which he hopes will never have to be used. But it's something he's going to reiterate, when he's asked that question.

MALVEAUX: And Gloria, to you on the economic side here. What does the president need to do to help people and convince people that their lives are better, or if they're suffering, that they will get better over the next eight or nine months.

BORGER: Well, he'd like -- he'd like to wave a wand and see the unemployment rate continue to go down. But I think what we're going to the see today is part of that process, saying, you know what? I asked Congress to do more on refinancing for these mortgages that are underwater. They wouldn't do it. So guess what? I'm going to do it. It's going to be at a smaller level, but I'm going to do it myself. He's going to sort of try and make the case that he's on your side, and that -- and run against congress at the same time, and say, if they won't to it, I will.

MALVEAUX: All right. We'll see how that message plays out. We're going to have more. We are keeping our eye on this press conference. It's going to happen just minutes away. We're going to take a quick break first. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Make or break day for politics. Super Tuesday. Candidates are out on the trail doing all they can to capture the votes. But let's go to President Obama holding a news conference first.

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