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Colts Quarterback Peyton Manning Released; Awaiting The iPad; Obama Talks economy In North Carolina; Limbaugh Becomes A Punchline; Obama Talks Economy

Aired March 07, 2012 - 12:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Live from CNN headquarters in Atlanta, where it's 12 noon here and 9:00 A.M. on the West Coast, I'm Suzanne Malveaux.

I want to get you up to speed for this Wednesday, March 7th.

Peyton Manning, he's the guy who turned Indianapolis into a football city. Well now, his team, the Colts, letting the star quarterback go. It is all about the money, the team is reportedly releasing Manning to avoid paying him a 28 million dollar bonus. Manning was out for the entire 2011 season after undergoing neck surgery.

You are actually watching now, live pictures, this is from Indianapolis, where Manning and the Colts team owner, Jim Irsay, they're going to hold a news conference any moment now. We're going to go there live as soon as this starts. It looks like it's going to start soon.

It is on to the next contest in the fierce competition for the Republican presidential nomination. Mitt Romney winning six of the 10 Super Tuesday states. Didn't manage a knockdown punch. Romney leads in delegates with 404, Rick Santorum winning three states has 165. Newt Gingrich has 106 after winning Georgia. Ron Paul has 66.

After last night's results, Romney's rivals took aim at each other, focusing on president Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FORMER GOV. MITT ROMNEY (R-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You have not failed. You have a president that has failed you, and that's going to change.

FORMER SEN. RICK SANTROUM (R-PA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There wasn't a single state in the list that I just gave you, where I spent more money than the people that I was able to defeat.

REP. RON PAUL (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you look at the candidates today, there is very little difference except for one.

FORMER REP. NEWT GINGRICH (R-GA.), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are lots of bunny rabbits that run through. I'm the tortoise, I just take one step at a time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: All right. We're going to go to Indianapolis right now for that press conference we told you about. Let's dip in right now.

(BEGIN LIVE SPEECH)

JIM IRSAY, OWNER AND CEO, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: -- through time that has meant so much to the franchise. I know, you know, in my heart and the hearts of our fans, it's unparalleled for the Colts.

And It's a difficult day here of shared pain between Peyton, myself, the fans, everyone. I think, you know, in that vain as well, the 18 jersey will never be born again by a Colt on the field.

This process has been a long, difficult process. I know Peyton and I have had numerous conversation (sic) over the months. And we always kept trying to come back to the circumstances that were before us. We tried to put each other in each other's shoes and tried to realize what the situation was for the franchise, what it was for Peyton.

And in the end, those circumstances were too difficult to overcome. And circumstances that dictated to us, to the franchise that really were unavoidable. It's something where as we're going forward and being a rebuilding team with salary cap problems and Peyton is on the mend, to try to resume his career, we both wanted to be together.

It's, you know, been very difficult and just tearing at our hearts to try to look at the situation and find the best solution. And I think Peyton has been completely unselfish in terms of looking at what the franchise -- where it was at and where we're at, at this point. And I tried to put myself in Peyton's situation as well.

And in the end, before we ever got into any specifics, it's never been about money, it's never been about those type of things. It's really -- to be blessed here today to have gone through the experiences we have together as an owner and having Peyton as a friend and a player and all the things that we've been through, it's an incredible blessing.

As difficult as this day is, it's made difficult because of the greatness and the things Peyton has done for our city, for our state, for our franchise. There will be no other Peyton Manning. I mean, that's something that in a special place, in a special time over the last decade and a half, we've been so blessed to have him.

And the good times we've had together, the laughs we've shared together -- growing up together in the organization, when a 37-year- old owner met a 22-year-old player coming out of Tennessee and the dreams that we had and the experience are just beyond my imagination.

And as difficult as this is, I know that our journey together hasn't ended. It's really just begun. And when I look down the road and see the many decades going forward that we'll share together and how -- how he's always part of the horseshoe. And it's something where I can't thank him enough. I think when I look back and reflect on everything that's happened -- whenever we went on the road, the circus was coming into town. And Peyton was the ringleader. And it's -- the memories that we have and the great people we've been blessed to be around, treasure. And I just want to turn it over now to Peyton to say a few more words.

PEYTON MANNING, FORMER COLTS QUARTERBACK: Thank you, Jim. I sure have loved playing football for the Indianapolis Colts. For 14 wonderful years, the only professional football I've known has been Colts football.

Our team won a lot of games here. I've played with so many great teammates here and I've been part of a great organization here, an organization and an owner who I respect and continue to respect.

I've been a Colt for almost all of my adult life. But I guess in life and in sports, we al know that nothing lasts forever. Times change, circumstances change and that's the reality of playing in the NFL.

Jim and I have spoken extensively about where we are today. And our conversations have led both of us to recognize that our circumstances make it best for us to take this next step. This has not been easy for Jim, and it certainly has not been easy for me.

Jim, along with Bill Polian, drafted me 14 years ago. Jim and I have always been close. We've made a lot of great memories together. He's always been good to me. And, Jim, I will be forever grateful.

This town and this team mean so much to me. It truly has been an honor to play in Indianapolis. I do love it here. I love the fans. And I will always enjoy having played for such a great team.

I will leave the Colts with nothing but good thoughts and gratitude to Jim, the organization, my teammates, the media and, especially, the fans.

I haven't thought yet about where I'll play. But I have thought a lot about where I've been. And I've truly been blessed. I've been blessed to play here. I've been blessed to be in the NFL. And as I go, I go with just a few words left to say, a few words I want to address to Colts fans everywhere. Thank you very much, from the bottom of my heart. I truly have enjoyed being your quarterback. Thank you.

IRSAY: If there's any questions, we'll take a few now.

QUESTION: Peyton, when did you come to the decision -- when did it finally become - a point (INAUDIBLE)

MANNING: Jim and I have been talking for a long time, we've really had some great conversations. We've enjoyed kind of going down memory lane together about some of the great moments we've had here during our time together for 14 years.

That's really what this has been about for me, that time, is that reflection of so many great memories and how grateful I am to Jim and the team and just how awesome it's been for this time. So we've covered all sorts of scenarios and like he said, these circumstances are not the way either of us wish they were. But that's the reality. And that's kind of how it got to this point.

So I don't necessarily think there was a decisive point. It was just good, healthy talks, fun talks in person over the phone, long talks. That's kind of how we got here.

(END LIVE SPEECH)

MALVEAUX: We want to go more (ph) on Peyton Manning. He is the guy who turned Indianapolis into a football city. And now the coach, the Colts, the team, obviously the owner, letting this star quarterback go. The team reportedly releasing him to avoid, at least in part, a $28 million bonus.

Manning was out for the entire 2011 season after undergoing neck surgery. Before that, Manning was the man in a town best known for its car races. Manning became to football what Michael Jordan was to basketball, Tiger Woods to golf. I mean, he led the Colts to play playoffs 11 times in 13 seasons, including a super bowl win back in 2007. He was named MVP.

Manning still wants to play football despite neck problems. We don't know if that's possible. I want to go to ""Sports Illustrated"," John Wertheim. Because that moment we saw between the owner and Manning himself was so emotional, and it was really kind of surprising when you saw that. Because these are two who have been together for a long time, and this essentially is a business decision. And it seemed like there was a really tough moment for both of them.

JOHN WERTHEIM, SENIOR WRITER, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: It's a business decision that played out like a divorce, an amiable divorce. I think both sort of know the reality of the situation, this has obviously been brewing for months.

And, you know, I think it goes to speak to what that relationship was and what the relationship was between Peyton Manning and this community. Not often an athlete stays in one market 14 seasons. Indianapolis, frankly, it's not L.A., it's not New York, it's in the middle of the country. He stayed there 14 years. It's unfortunate.

I think the Colts are within their rights not to pay this bonus. I think Peyton Manning is in his rights to explore his options elsewhere. It's about as good a situation as you could have, given the reality there.

MALVEAUX: John, where was that emotion coming from?

WERTHEIM: First of all, let's step back. These are both two emotional guys. I think this was genuine, and I think both realize where this organization was 14 years ago and what they've achieved together.

I mean, the Colts were a laughing stock when they drafted Peyton Manning. He's obviously become one of the great, great quarterbacks ever. And the Colts are now a respected, super bowl-winning organization.

I think when you step back and they both realize how far this journey has been and also what he's meant to this town, the fact that really, neither of them wanted it to end this pay, it almost felt like a divorce playing out here.

MALVEAUX: Do you think he could possibly play somewhere else? Do you think he could be picked up by another team?

WERTHEIM: Oh, I think he will. This is the great Peyton Manning. I'm sure one team -- Arizona is a name that's floated around that will take a flier on him. You worry about his health, four operations, a quarterback entering his late thirties. The other interesting component here, Andrew Luck, the player who the Colts are presumably going to draft, had better be really, really good.

So it's interesting what happens to Peyton, but it's also sort of interesting to see what happens to the Colts now.

MALVEUAX: What happens to Indianapolis here? Their identity and their love for this guy is so clear. And his emotion for the city, it seemed so evident. I mean, how do people there respond and react to this?

WERTHEIM: This is my ancestral homeland, so you're absolutely right. Peyton Manning's name is on a hospital. They got that stadium built because of Peyton Manning, and because of the stadium, they got the Super Bowl. So this has huge ramifications.

I mean, football, as you said, has really become the sport of Indiana. It used to be a basketball town, you've got the 500. The Colts really are the sport of Indianapolis right now. It's going to be interesting to see what happens to that organization, what happens to football in Indiana now that the player most closely identified with it isn't there anymore.

MALVEAUX: All right, John, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

I want to bring in our senior medical corresponent, Elizabeth Cohen, to talk about some of the medical issues. This guy is young. He's a young guy but obviously he's had some serious injuries, so much so that he wasn't able to play for the whole season.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. This whole season he hasn't played, Suzanne. And let's talk a little bit about what we know about these injuries. Because we don't know all the details but we know a bit. We know that he's had injuries to his neck and we know that among others, according to "Sports Illustrated", in May he had a surgery to correct a bulging disk and then in September, he had a surgery that fused two vertebrae together.

Now, we've been talking to doctors who treat professional football players. And they said, these aren't entirely unusual procedures. They've actually done them on players. And if they're done well, they work. And of course there's a recovery time. Now, "Sports Illustrated" says he did participate in some recent practices but they described those passes that he did as being wobbly, not as fast as usual and that he seemed more fatigued than usual.

MALVEAUX: Is it possible for him to actually recover and play again, the level of play that he was before?

COHEN: That's the big question, right?. So we asked these doctors, other players that you treated with these surgeries, did they come back? And they said that they actually did and that the surgeries, in fact, made their necks stronger.

And they made sure that they did various kinds of exercises to continue that and strengthen the neck muscles. But, you know, not all of them came back. But they said there have been players who have come back and played. It's not a rare thing to come back from a surgery like this and play.

MALVEAUX: All right, a lot of people are going to wonder what his future is all about. He's really a role model to so many people and certainly very special to Indianapolis. Thanks, Elizabeth. Appreciate it.

Here's a rundown of some of the stories we're covering.

First, Mitt Romney wins six of ten super Tuesday states. But it was not a knockout blow. Why the next group of primary states could actually be giving him some trouble.

And the price of gas is down again but by less than a penny. So it got us thinking about, what's the real value of a penny these days? Does a penny less for gas even matter?

Then, next hour, Apple expected to show us the new iPad. We have a preview.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Mitt Romney barely eked out a victory in Ohio. Rick Santorum continues to show strength among conservative voters. Newt Gingrich lives to fight another day after winning Georgia. Ron Paul refusing to quit. That's a quick take on Super Tuesday. Here's what the candidates have to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY, GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're counting up the delegates for the convention. It looks good. And we're counting down the days until November and that looks even better.

RICK SANTORUM, GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to win a few, we're going to lose a few. But as it looks right now, we're going to get at least a couple of gold medals.

RON PAUL, GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think we have a little bit of time left before you declare anybody a winner. AUDIENCE: We want Newt! We want Newt!

NEWT GINGRICH, GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I hope the analysts will watch this tonight. There are lots of bunny rabbits that run through. I'm the tortoise. I just take one step at a time.

(AUDIENCE CHEERS)

SARAH PALIN, FORMER GOVERNOR OF ALASKA: Who best can bust through that rhetoric and express their ideas and their solutions to get our economy back on the right track? That's the nominee I want to see forward (ph).

ROMNEY: Eight percent unemployment is not the best America can do. It's just the best this administration can do.

SANTORUM: We've given up our jobs. We're living off our savings. Yes, we're making a little sacrifice for a very, very big goal. And that is replacing this president on November of this year.

GINGRICH: He said, you know, I'm really worried about higher gas prices because it will make it harder for me to get reelected.

(AUDIENCE BOOS)

GINGRICH: I did not make this up.

PAUL: If you look at the candidates today, there is very little difference, except for one.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: President Obama said that he wished you luck today on Super Tuesday. Do you have any parting words back for him?

ROMNEY: Do you think that was an endorsement? I hope so. But I don't think so. I appreciate the good wishes. And wish him best.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

MALVEAUX: All right. Mitt Romney chugging ahead in the Republican race for president. No knockout punch in Super Tuesday's races. All of Romney's rivals are still around. So, where does the Republican battle go from here?

Michelle Cottle, she is a Washington reporter for "Newsweek" and "The Daily Beast." And Michelle, we heard bunny rabbits, tortoises, Olympic medals. I think they're getting a little punchy right now, don't you think?

MICHELLE COTTLE, REPORTER, "NEWSWEEK": Yes. Last night pretty much, just -- they needed to get a little sleep before they talk anymore.

MALVEAUX: Yes, I think so. What's the big takeaway from last night? COTTLE: The big takeaway, I don't think anybody can come out of last night thinking that it was totally super. Romney eked out the win in Ohio, which is bad news for Santorum. But he didn't do it by much. He did poorly in Tennessee, which was kind of seen as a bellwether. You know, how much would he lose by -- of what's going to happen in the south.

And even in Virginia where only Ron Paul was on the ballot against him, he only pulled 60 percent. And a lot of people are just talking about that 40 percent vote for anybody but Romney.

MALVEAUX: Yes, it's hard to really see whether or not there was a clear winner last night. I mean, that really is debatable.

I want to move forward to the next contest on the calendar. They're right around the corner. You have the Kansas caucuses on Saturday. Primaries in Mississippi and Alabama next Tuesday. What is this going to mean for Romney, who is still struggling with the conservative base?

COTTLE: I think there's no question that Mississippi and Alabama are a big problem for him. These are not his people. I mean, not just in terms of conservative ideology, but also just culturally. Romney is not kind of a good ol' boy.

As far as Kansas goes, that's not good territory either, although because it's a caucus, it lends itself toward better organization. And I think Santorum's team is still struggling as we saw in Ohio, kind of just getting their ducks in a row when it comes to organization.

MALVEAUX: And let's talk about the tortoise in this race. Georgia was a make-or-break for Newt Gingrich, and he won big. Right? But it was his only win. How long do you think can he hold on?

COTTLE: As long as Sheldon keeps writing those big checks, I think this is all about the money for him coming in. And he doesn't really see a need to pull out. He's not going to bow out for the good of Rick Santorum or anybody else in this.

But I'm finding it amusing that he has pitched himself as the slow and steady candidate in this race because I'm not sure many people think of him in those terms.

MALVEAUX: Did it surprise you at all, Michelle, that we heard from Sarah Palin last night as well? That we haven't seen her in a while, and she kind jumped into the fray and offered the fact that, hey, I might be available?

COTTLE: You know, she likes that spotlight. My guess is that she just took this opportunity to remind everybody that she's still around, and don't you miss me? And I'm sure if they handed her the nomination, she'd be happy to take it. But I still don't see her kind of wanting to row that long road. It's going to be bad if she tries to get back in there at this late date. MALVEAUX: All right. Michelle Cottle, great to see you. Good to have you here. Thanks again. Appreciate it, and we'll be watching the race very closely.

So, gas is down another third of a cent. All right, a third of a cent. It got us thinking, what is a penny worth to you?

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: All right. So gas is down another tiny amount. We're talking about just three-tenths of a penny. That's right. Right now, the average price of a gallon of gas is $3.76.

So, really, does a third of a cent really matter? Come on now, really? Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange.

So, all right, Alison. Everybody's excited, right? Gas is going down. This is really, really small. But our team was all about talking about this today. I'm not going to call you out on our team. But one of the guys on our team he says, you know, when you can take a penny in front of the store there, he takes the whole little cup and he puts it in his pocket. He takes the pennies!

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

KOSIK: And you know what? And you mentioned that gas is down three- tenths of one cent. That is a little piece of this penny. So it doesn't really seem like a lot, does it? I mean, you go a little bit further and talk about gas prices. If you're making yourself crazy and driving around to save that one-cent difference, let's say the gas station across the street -- is it really worth it?

Let's say you have a 15-gallon tank and you fill up at the one-cent cheaper gas station. This is how much you're going to save, 15 cents. It's really not a lot. And this is why this sort of supports the case against the penny. You know, I don't even think I'm going to pick up these pennies after this hit because most of us just walk by them on the street, right?

So, and there have been a lot of calls to get rid of pennies. In fact, there's been legislation proposed back in 2006 because it costs more to make a penny than what the penny is worth. It costs almost 2.5 cents to make the one-cent penny.

MALVUEAX: Really?

KOSIK: It really doesn't make any business sense, does it?

MALVEAUX: So, what do you need them for?

KOSIK: But you know what?

(LAUGHTER)

KOSIK: You need them because they're actually worth something. We talk about the day-to-day drops in gas prices. They don't really mean much. But if you look at kind of the long-term view, it really does adds up. Those three-tenths of a cents, they add up because you look at how gas was last month -- last month, gas was 28 cents a gallon cheaper. Sure, that adds up.

And we use pennies, don't we? They're important for commerce. If you get rid of them, you have to reprice everything and round off everything to the nearest five cents instead of to the nearest penny.

And just a fun fact for you: did you know that the penny is the most used coin in circulation? Almost 5 billion were made last year. If all else fails, if you want to make a case for the penny, you line up all the pennies made in the history of the U.S.. They'd circle the globe - they'd circle earth 137 times. If you're really, really bored.

MALVEUAX: That's pretty cool. And Alison, I have to say, maybe I'm cheap, but I don't pass a penny up. I pick it up off the ground and I put it in my jar. Eventually, in the jar, all those pennies add up, right? Tell us about the markets --

KOSIK: After several years.

MALVEAUX: Yes, OK. Well, tell us about the markets. How many pennies have we got going on today in the markets?

KOSIK: The pennies today are adding up as opposed to yesterday's big sell-off when we saw the Dow drop more than 200 points. The Dow is up 71 points on the back of a pretty strong report on employment from ADP. That's the payroll processing firm saying that 216,000 private sector jobs were added last month. It's giving hopes for a solid government jobs report that comes out Friday.

Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: All right, thank you, Alison. Good to see you. If you don't want those pennies, you can send them my way. I'll hang on to your pennies. I'll take them.

(LAUGHTER)

KOSIK: OK!

MALVEAUX: A penny for your thoughts? Yes, we've said that. Our Talk Back question today: What is a penny worth to you? Is it anything at all? Is the difference like a fraction of a cent, gas prices enough to make you really feel it in the budget?

Tell us what you think. You can post your thoughts on my Facebook page, facebook.com/suzanneCNN, or send me a tweet @suzannemalveaux. We're going to put some of them at the end of the hour.

Tech world now buzzing ahead of the latest unveiling from Apple. We'll going to preview the new iPad.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown on some of the stories we're working on next.

It doesn't even have an official name, but it's still one of the most widely anticipated tech launches this year. It is Apple's latest iPad.

Then, President Obama in North Carolina today. A state reeling from the poor economy, critical to his re-election hopes. We're going to bring his remarks live.

And later, it's the gift that keeps on giving for comedians. Inside the rush to bash Rush Limbaugh.

When it first debuted two years ago, we're talking about this here, most of us asking the question, what is an iPad? Well, times have changed. Today, tech experts and customers alike can't get enough of this. Apple hopes to continue the winning streak as it's expected to unveil its third version of the iPad. That in San Francisco in the next hour. Joining us live with a preview, digital lifestyle export Mario Armstrong.

Mario.

MARIO ARMSTRONG, DIGITAL LIFESTYLE CONTRIBUTOR, HLN: Yes, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: So, I'm a dinosaur, man. I'm a dinosaur.

ARMSTRONG: No, you do it well. You're a (INAUDIBLE). Everybody follows --

MALVEAUX: I bought this thing. I thought I was on top of everything. And now there's another one coming out. How is it going to be any different than what I've got now?

ARMSTRONG: Everybody follow Suzanne on Twitter and make her feel tech savvy, OK. Everyone follow her.

MALVEAUX: @suzannemalveaux. Yes, that's my handle. Go ahead.

ARMSTRONG: There you go. See, you are tech savvy. No, the difference with this one is, this is the third version of the iPad, as you mentioned. And the difference with this one is, we're expecting a few things.

Look, Apple is very good at keeping things under wraps. So there's a lot of speculation, a lot of rumors. We won't know until later this afternoon what's fact from fiction. But what I can say is what we really think will happen.

Number one, we will see a clearer display. Something being called a retina display. This is almost double the clarity of what you see on the screen now, which may mean that it may actually be called the iPad HD. Who knows? It might be called iPad 3. We don't know yet.

It will also have a faster processor -- that's pretty obvious -- that we will see in there. Better cameras. But I think what will be different is, we will finally get to the point that the processing speed and the iPad 3 will be faster and better for creating things, not just consuming content, which is what it's largely been about.

MALVEAUX: So you could like do movies, you can do pictures, I mean all that stuff is going to be upgraded, yes?

ARMSTRONG: Yes. And I think you'll be able to do more editing with those things. I think you'll be able to do more video editing on the actual unit. I think you'll be able to do more with presentations on the unit. We know that small business owners are big into the iPad. They've had a skyrocket jump in the amount of those owners that are buying it. So we're finding it beyond consumers. Also finding its way into business. And I think people want to not only use it for consumption, they also want to use it for creation.

MALVEAUX: All right, last product roll-out, right, we're talking about the iPhone S4. I've got an iPhone here too.

ARMSTRONG: Right.

MALVEAUX: Not the latest gadget. Again, the dinosaur version. But that wasn't received very well. Are they going to try to do anything different today in this roll-out? Are we going to expect something big?

ARMSTRONG: I mean we might see a few surprises. I think we're going to kind of stay towards what's been tried and true and has worked well before. Obviously this will be, you know, without Steve Jobs delivering it. But I don't think there's going to be anything magical that may happen. Although I do think maybe hologram technology, Suzanne, might happen. N o, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding.

MALVEAUX: What? What did you say?

ARMSTRONG: The rumors are out there. You'd be surprised at what you see -- what people want. People want this to be faster. They want USB drives, USB slots in it, which I don't think -- that's going to happen. There's a huge appetite for what the potential is for this product.

But one thing's for sure, the competition has been getting beat up. I'm holding several different tablets. This is the HP. The WebOS.

MALVEAUX: Yes.

ARMSTRONG: This is a Samsung Galaxy tablet. Did OK. This is the Blackberry Messenger. This one's on -- Blackberry Playbook. This one's on the ropes. And then, of course, you have the only one that's really probably giving it a run for its money is the Amazon Kindle Fire. MALVEAUX: And, Mario, do you think there's going to be any risk? I mean are they concerned that maybe there's going to be like Apple fatigue? Everybody's got a -- you know, we've got all this Apple stuff. Maybe people will get tired of it?

ARMSTRONG: No, I don't think -- I think people get tired of the prices. I think people get tired -- I think people get tired. I think that might be a little bit of a surprise today. We may hear about an iPad 2, older version iPad, that's less in price. And if that happens, then we'll see even more people buying iPads. But I don't think you can have Apple fatigue. It's just -- it works too well. It has set the bar tremendously high and no one has really been able to get to that level yet, to really offer a comparison that's a really good fight.

MALVEAUX: All right, Mario, I want you to do me a favor.

ARMSTRONG: Yes.

MALVEAUX: If you get a hold of one of these new iPads, I want you to hook me up, set me up so I know how to work this thing, OK, because I'm still a little bit behind here.

ARMSTRONG: You know how -- you know how -- know how -- no, how this works is, you get last year's model, I get the new one. So you -- but it will still be more advanced than what you have now. I'll get you an iPad 2.

MALVEAUX: That is true. That is true. It will be more advanced than what I have now. I need a little help in this area.

ARMSTRONG: That's right.

MALVEAUX: Thank you, Mario. It was nice to see you.

ARMSTRONG: Everybody, follow Suzanne Malveaux on Twitter.

MALVEAUX: @suzannemalveaux.

ARMSTRONG: Take care.

MALVEAUX: Thank you. Bye.

A day after Super Tuesday, the president heads to an important swing state to talk about the economy. We are live in North Carolina.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: President Obama has just arrived in North Carolina. He won the state four years ago. His advisers, you know, they think he can do it again. Don Lothian. He is at Mt. Holly inside a manufacturing plant for trucks, where the president's going to speak in a couple of minutes from now.

Dan, I think, right, he's going to talk about fuel efficiency standards and everybody's focused on the price of gas. Do they think that this is a winning issue for voters paying close attention? DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes, I mean the timing of this message, obviously, is because of the challenging energy climate that you see out there. As you pointed out, you have high prices at the pumps. There's the constantly volatile oil market. And then a lot of concern about heavy dependence on foreign oil. And so the president will be pushing not only green cars, but trucks as well.

And what -- the message that he'll have here today, some of it we have heard before. But he'll also be proposing $1 billion for more than a dozen communities across the country to provide some of the infrastructure for these energy-efficient vehicles, such as charging stations for electric vehicles.

But in addition to that, the president also wants to provide more money or incentive for consumers out there to buy these electric vehicles. As you know, Suzanne, if you buy an electric vehicle, you can get a $7,500 tax credit. Well, the president wants to expand that to not only just have this credit, but a rebate of up to $10,000 if you buy a green vehicle. One that has alternative fuel. The president believing that this is a way to not only make more energy-efficient vehicles out there on the market, but also create more jobs.

Now, some of this will require congressional approval. And as we know, there's been criticism from Republicans out there who say the energy policy that the president is putting out there is more words than action.

MALVEAUX: And, Dan, what are we seeing, actually? You know, the president always -- his team loves to create a creative background, if you will, the backdrop for the president. Do we see any like fuel- efficient cars or what do we have behind you there?

LOTHIAN: Right. Well, yes, this is the plant for trucks where they make -- they have a line of energy-efficient trucks here at this plant. And so that's what you're looking -- it's the cab and the back section of the trucks. You see it here. And then that will be the backdrop for the president as he will be speaking just a short time from now.

But, you know, what's also important is the state that the president is in. This is a pivotal state for the president. He won it. A swing state that the president narrowly won in 2008 by some 14,000 votes. It's also the state where the Democrats will be having their convention coming up in September.

But there's a big problem for the president (INAUDIBLE) rate is very high. Well above the national average at about 10.4 percent. So the president trying to appeal to those blue-collar voters who could be crucial to his campaign. Not only the president here, but we've seen the first lady and the vice president campaigning here in the state as of late.

MALVEAUX: All right, popular place. They need to win it. Thank you, Dan. Great to see you.

Rush Limbaugh's controversial remarks made headlines, but he is quickly becoming the punch line for big-name comedians.

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MALVEAUX: The rush is on to bash Rush Limbaugh for everything he said about the law school student, Sandra Fluke. Comedians, in particular, they're jumping on the bandwagon. Jeanne Moos reports on the slings and arrows aimed at Limbaugh.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Remember the days when the "s" word was a comedy punchline.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": Jane (ph), you ignorant slut.

MOOS: The way Rush Limbaugh used it has made him a punchline.

JON STEWART, "THE DAILY SHOW": Human cold shower Rush Limbaugh. See.

STEPHEN COLBERT, "THE COLBERT REPORT": Poster boy for contraception, Rush Limbaugh.

BILL MAHER, "REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER": Four wives he's had, no children. Dude, you are birth control.

MOOS: Cartoonist put him in a Viagra bottle, represented him as a pig and did the limbo, the rush limbo. How low can you go?

At "The Detroit Free Press," cartoonist Mike Thompson is running a cartoon caption contest. Entries so far include, "open mouth, insert career," "who says I'm an inflexible bigot," and, "my foot is such a slut." Geez, I feel uncomfortable even calling a foot that word.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN: I was called a slut because I was doing coverage in the Middle East. What year is this, Limbaugh? Shut your cake hole, please.

MOOS: At least she said, please.

DON IMUS, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK: He's a fat, gutless loser.

COLBERT: And, remember, he only apologized to keep his advertisers, proving Rush will do anything with his mouth for cash.

MOOS: Some conservatives say the left is out to hush Rush. To silence him.

CHELSEA HANDLER, "CHELSEA LATELY": (INAUDIBLE), what political party is Rush Limbaugh a part of?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a whore.

MOOS: Yikes. All this name-calling. As for the name of the law student insulted by Rush, Sandra Fluke, Rush calls her --

RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Susan Fluke. Susan Flake. Susan Fluke or Sandra Fluke, whatever her name is.

MOOS: Coincidentally, a bronze bust of Rush is scheduled to be enshrined soon in the hall of famous Missourians at the state capital, alongside governors and Mark Twain and Walter Cronkite. Can you imagine Walter reporting on this --

LIMBAUGH: It means you're a slut, right?

IMUS: No, he's a punk.

DONALD TRUMP, ENTREPRENEUR: He's actually a very good person. And I'm sure he will be just fine.

MOOS (on camera): And while Rush is facing the music, someone was actually listening to the music, playing ever so low during Rush's rant --

LIMBAUGH: What does it say about the college coed Susan Fluke?

MOOS (voice-over): That's Peter Gabriel's song "Sledgehammer." And he doesn't want Rush using it anymore, even if the music video does feature a sperm.

Jeanne Moos, CNN --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jane, you ignorant --

LIMBAUGH: Slut, right?

MOOS: New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Don't forget to tell us what you think about today's "Talk Back" question. A penny for your thoughts, that's right. What does a penny mean to you? What's it worth to you? When the price of gas goes down a couple of cents or even a fraction of a cent, does it even matter? Are pennies even worth carrying around anymore? Jean says, "the penny is useless. Back in the old days, pennies could actually buy things. Now they're just collectors' items." More of your responses up ahead.

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MALVEAUX: A penny worth to you? Jim says, "worth enough that I don't throw them away."

Jason says, "I want to know the value of a penny. Just look at the retail price tags. How many end in 0.99? Well, that one penny in your pocket means significant increases in sales for the company. We can never underestimate the impact of that 1/100th of a dollar. And that's my two cents' worth."

Jasmine says, "pennies add up and that's why I save all of my change. $200 a year isn't bad." I agree with you. I save them too. I have a big jar at home. So they are worth something. Keep the conversation going on my FaceBook page or tweet me @suzannemalveaux. We're going to have more of your responses in the next hour of NEWSROOM.

Checking our stories affiliates are covering across the country.

A massive fire early this morning in Mount Holyoke, Massachusetts. It left 10 people homeless. The fire started in a vacant house, spread to two other buildings, destroying a three-story home.

Two police officers in Oregon are being called heroes today after they pulled a man from this burning car. You've got to check out the video. This was taken from a police car dash cam. The driver had run into a utility pole. The electrical wires, you see there, fell, setting this car on fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OFC. RODNEY BAMFORD, KELZER, OREGON, POLICE: It was to a point where I was afraid that my uniform shirt was going to start melting because they're polyester.

SGT. ANDREW COPELAND, KELZER, OREGON, POLICE: Officer Bamford and I come back around to the passenger side and we basically climb inside the car and then start -- both of us together are able to unwedge this guy from the driver's side and then pull him out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Pretty incredible stuff.

This 81-year-old woman, well, she has won -- lucky woman -- the third largest Powerball jackpot in the history of the game. Louise White from Newport, Rhode Island, she got $336 million. Check it out. Her chances of winning? One in 175 million. Lucky woman. Good for her.

I want to go directly to President Obama. And he is speaking now in North Carolina, talking about fuel efficiency. Let's listen in.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Gas prices are like a tax straight out of your paycheck. And for companies that operate a whole fleet of trucks, the higher costs can make a big difference in terms of the profitability of the company.

Now, here's the thing, though. This is not the first time we've seen gas prices spike. It's been happening for years. Every year about this time gas starts spiking up and everybody starts wondering how high is it going to go. And every year politicians start talking when gas prices go up. They get out on the campaign trail and you and I both know there are no quick fixes to this problem. But listening to them, you'd think there were.

As a country that had 2 percent of the world's oil reserves but uses 20 percent of the world's oil -- I'm going to repeat that. We've got 2 percent of the world's oil reserves. We use 20 percent. What that means is, as much as we're doing to increase oil production, we're not going to be able to just drill our way out of the problem of high gas prices. Anybody who tells you otherwise either doesn't know what they're talking about or they aren't telling you the truth.

Here is the truth. If we are going to control our energy future, then we've got to have an all of the above strategy. We've got to develop every source of American energy. Not just oil and gas, but wind power and solar power, nuclear power, biofuels. We need to invest in the technology that will help us use less oil in our cars and our trucks, in our buildings, in our factories. That's the only solution to the challenge, because as we start using less, that lowers the demand, prices come down. It's pretty straightforward. That's the only solution to this challenge.

And that's the strategy that we've now been pursuing for the last three years. And I'm proud to say we've made progress. Since I took office, America's dependence on foreign oil has gone down every single year. In fact, in 2010, it went under 50 percent for the first time in 13 years. And you wouldn't know if from listening to some of these folks out here, some of these folks -- but a key part of our energy strategy has been to increase safe, responsible oil production here at home.

And under my administration, America's producing more oil today than any time in the last eight years. Under my administration, we've quadrupled the number of operating oil rigs to a record high. We've got more oil rigs operating now than we've ever seen. We've opened up millions of new anchors for oil and gas exploration. We've approved more than 400 drilling permits that follow new safety standards after we had that mess down in the Gulf. We're approving dozens of new pipelines. We just announced that we'll do whatever we can to speed up construction of a pipeline in Oklahoma that's going to relieve a bottleneck and get more oil to the Gulf, to the refineries down there. And that's going to help create jobs, encourage more production.

So these are the facts on oil production. If somebody tells you, we're not producing enough oil, they just don't know the facts. But how much oil we produce here at home, because we only have 2 percent and we use 20 percent, that's not going to set the price of gas worldwide or here in the United States. Oil is bought and sought on the world market. And the biggest thing that's causing the price of oil to rise right now is instability in the Middle East. You guys have been hearing about what's happening with Iran. There are other oil producers that are having problems. And so people have gotten uncertain. And when uncertainty increases, then sometimes you see speculation on Wall Street that drives up gas prices even more.

But here's the thing. Over the long term, the biggest reason oil prices will go up is there's just growing demand in countries like China and India and Brazil. There are a lot of people there. In 2010 alone, China added nearly 10 million cars on its roads. Think about that. 2010, 10 million new cars. People in China, folks in India, folks in Brazil, they're going to want cars, too, as their standard of living goes up. And that means more demand for oil. And that's going to kick up the price of oil worldwide. Those numbers are only going to get bigger over time.

So, what does that mean for us? It means we can't just keep on relying on old ways of doing business. We can't just rely on fossil fuels from the last century, we've got to continually develop new sources of energy. And that's why we've made investments that have nearly doubled the use of clean, renewable energies in this country, and thousands of Americans have jobs because of it.

It also means we've got to develop the resources that we have that are untapped, like natural gas. We're developing a near 100-year supply of natural gas. That's something that we expect could support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade. And that's why we've worked with the private sector to develop a high-tech car battery that costs half as much as other batteries and can go up to 300 miles on a single charge. Think about that. That will save you some money at the pump. And that is why we are helping companies like this one right here and plants like this one right here to make more cars and trucks that use less oil.

And when I ran for office, I went to Detroit and gave a speech to automakers where I promised that I was going to raise fuel standards on our cars so that they'd go further on a gallon of gas. I said we should do the same thing on trucks. I have to tell you when I said it, I didn't get a lot of applause in the room because there was a time when automakers were resisting higher fuel standards, because change isn't easy.

But you know what? After three decades of not doing anything, we got together with the oil companies, we got together with the unions, we got together with folks who usually do not see eye to eye, and we negotiated new fuel economy standards that are going to make sure our cars average nearly 55 miles per hour by the middle of the next decade. That's nearly double what they get today. Nearly double.

Now, because of these new standards for cars and trucks, they're going to -- all going to be able to go further and use less fuel every year. And that means pretty soon you'll be able to fill up your car every two weeks instead of every week. And over time, that saves you -- a typical family, about $8,000 a year. You like that, don't you? $8,000, that's no joke.

We can reduce our oil consumption by more than 12 billion barrels. And thanks to the super truck program that we've started with companies like this one, trucks will be able to save more than $15,000 in fuel costs every year. Think about that, $15,000. Looks like somebody might have fainted up here. Do we have some -- folks do this all the time in my meetings. You always got to eat before you stand for a long time, that's a little tip. But I -- they'll be OK. Just make sure -- give them a little room. All right. Everybody all right? OK.

So, these trucks can save $15,000 every year. I want people to think about what that means for businesses, what it means for consumers. It is real progress and it's happening because of American workers and American know-how. It's happening because of you. It's happening because of you. We're also making it easier for big companies, some of your customers, like UPS and FedEx, to make the shift to fuel-efficient cars and trucks. We call it the national clean fleets partnership. And since we announced it last year, the number of companies that are taking part in it has tripled. And that means more customers for your trucks. We're creating more customers for your trucks. And I am proud to say that the federal government is leading by example. One thing the federal government has a lot of is cars and trucks. We got a lot of cars and we got a lot of trucks.