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Gas Prices Falling Nationwide; Student Loan Rates Set To Rise; Egypt TV About To Name New President; President Obama and Mitt Romney Court Latino Vote; President Obama Address Crowd at NALEO
Aired June 22, 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: Top of the hour, I'm Suzanne Malveaux. We are live from Florida, where it is day two of the largest Latino political convention in the country. President Obama is going to be speaking here this hour. We're going to bring it to you live.
Mitt Romney addressed the group yesterday. Latino voters will have a big influence on the presidential race. But we are talking about a very diverse population. Even the breakdown here in Florida, quite different.
Across the country, almost 60 percent of Hispanics, eligible voters are of Mexican origin, 14 percent Puerto Rico and 5 percent Cuban. In Florida, Cubans are 32 percent, Puerto Ricans 28 percent and Mexicans 9 percent.
Immigration as well as the economy likely to be two of the top issues for President Obama when he speaks to Latino officials here this hour. The president has a wide lead over Mitt Romney among Latino voters. So what does he plan to do? Going to shore up the support.
Want to bring in Juan Carlos Lopez of CNN en Espanol to talk a little bit about that.
And Jessica Yellin, she's inside where President Obama is going to be speaking shortly.
Jessica, I want to start off with you. Yesterday we heard from Mitt Romney. He highlighted mostly the poor economic conditions among Hispanics. We're talking about 11 percent unemployment, 2 million Hispanics living in poverty.
How is the president going to address the concerns of Latino community when it comes to the economy?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, I expect that he will draw on the same message we've heard recently from the president about the two different visions for the future economy of the nation, talking about how he believes he will build on the middle class and a fair shake, fair future, building on the middle class out.
And then Mitt Romney is proposing a return to Bush economic policies, which, in the president's conception, builds on helping the upper classes and then that leads to trickle-down economics. This is the theme we heard in his recent campaign stump speeches and it's a message he is going to deliver from now until Election Day.
And it is what's what he is going to deliver also from the podium here. They believe -- this campaign and this White House believes that is a message that resonates with Latino voters as well as the general population, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Jessica, yesterday Romney's message was that President Obama does not respect the Hispanic vote. Here is what he said yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FORMER GOV. MITT ROMNEY, R-MASS., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He'll imply that you don't have an alternative. I believe he is taking your vote for granted. I have come here today with a very simple message. You do have an alternative. Your vote should be respected. And your voice is more important now than ever before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So, Jessica, if you take a look at the latest polls, you've got 40 percent advantage over Romney that Obama is looking at nationwide within the Hispanic community.
So is the president -- is he really concerned about winning over Latinos? Or does he think, "I already have them"?
YELLIN: It is not a question of winning them over. It is how many. Right now there are 21 million Latinos eligible to vote in the U.S. but only 10 million, less than half, are registered.
And in the crucial states that the president's campaign is targeting to win, that will make the difference for him, including Florida, Colorado, Virginia and a number of others, Latinos, the president won 50 percent of the Latino vote but the population has grown in those states.
So the question is will their campaign be able to register them to vote? Will he energize them to turn out to vote?
So speeches like this but also his move to help it -- to help more immigrants find a way to stay in this country if they were brought here as young children, those kinds of moves could help energize them to register and vote, and that's what the president's campaign is hoping to be able to do, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Jessica.
I want to bring in Juan Carlos Lopez.
And you and I were talking about Senator Marco Rubio. He addressed this crowd. I want to play very quickly something that he said that seems to make this a very -- an accusation against the president. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLA.: I was tempted to come here today and rip open the policies of the administration. I know in a few moments you will hear from the president. I was tempted to come here and tell you hey, he has not been here in three years. What a coincidence. It is an election year. I was tempted to tell you why didn't he make this issue a priority? I was -- well, I guess I just did tell you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So what do you make of that? I mean -- how many people here when you think about the community are upset, are angry, that he hasn't been here over the last three years and they see this as more politics and not something that's necessarily done out of sincerity?
JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More than upset, I think, maybe a little disappointed. But they are obviously aware of the challenges ahead. Now Senator Rubio mentioned that the president hasn't been to the Latino conference since he took office. He was here as a candidate. He is coming thing year. It is an election year.
People are smart. They know what's going on. But they also know what President Obama has said, that he says immigration reform didn't advance because the Republicans didn't support it.
Now Senator Rubio has a different message, he is bringing different ideas. But that's not what his party has been saying for the last 31/2 years. The tone has been different. The message has been different. And that's what we are seeing now.
I think what Senator Rubio is trying to do is try to establish a new platform for Republicans to talk about immigration, to recognize this as a humanitarian issue, to talk about it and not only as a law and order issue but also as something important for the economy and important for Latinos.
MALVEAUX: So both of these figures are very popular here. President Obama, very popular among Hispanic voters and the leaders here. But also, Senator Marco Rubio very popular as well. How does the community square that? Do you think that if Rubio was to join Romney's ticket as he's being vetted, it would make a difference?
LOPEZ: It would make a difference in Florida. This is a crucial state. He is very popular in the state. But he would have to convince Democrats. He would have to convince independents. So it would be a challenge.
It would be a challenge on the national stage, not only for Senator Rubio but for anyone who joins a ticket with Mr. Romney because if you look at the polls there is a 40-point gap. That's a natural, normal gap.
The question is where can Mr. Romney go? Can he reach the 40 percent -- 44 percent that former President Bush reached? It doesn't look that way right now with his tone, with his speech. He didn't yesterday confirm or deny if he would revoke this new measure that would not --
MALVEAUX: Right.
LOPEZ: -- where the government wouldn't deport at least 800,000 kids. So he's going to have to do a lot of work with Latinos for them to support him.
And right now the president is going to say this is what I have done. And he has concrete issues to show, even though this is not what the Dreamers, what the young people, it is not permanent. It is not reform. It's not residency. They are only -- they're given the opportunity of not being deported for two years and maybe getting a work permit.
MALVEAUX: Right.
LOPEZ: But that's more than what they had last week.
MALVEAUX: So, to Jessica's point, she says, you know, it really is about getting people to come out and vote, that it is not really whether or not he has the Latino vote but whether or not they are willing to participate.
Is -- does the president have a lot of work to do to get Hispanics to the polls?
LOPEZ: He has less work to do than Mr. Romney. But everyone in the Latino community, especially involved in politics, know that there is a lot to be done from here in November to get people worked up and get people to participate.
Nalejos (ph) estimates that 12 million Latinos are going to vote in November. Will that be enough? If you see the way the Obama campaign is handling it, they're going vote after vote. They're going after very specific communities. It is a very different scenario from what we saw four years ago. And the Romney campaign is still not at that stage. So there's time but the Democrats have a big advantage.
MALVEAUX: Yes, I was going to ask, because how much work does the president really need to do? I mean, does Romney actually have a pretty good chance of grabbing some of the Hispanic voters? Or is it just a small number that will make a difference here in Florida?
LOPEZ: It's going to depend on what happens with the economy. It's going to depend on the message from here on. Republicans have been criticized for their tone and many Latinos felt that the message on immigration, the tough message of law and order, deport everyone, they feel it -- a lot of people feel it is not only at the undocumented, that it is aimed at all Latinos. Senator Rubio is changing that; he's bringing a different message.
We heard the different tone from Mr. Romney yesterday. But the challenge for Mr. Romney is to see where he can go. Can he get to 40? Can he get to 30? He is at 24 in some polls. So it will be very complicated. On the president's side he has a big advantage.
MALVEAUX: And we hear that the population itself really is the fastest growing immigrant population here in the country. But it is different groups within the Hispanic community, because Cuban Americans are voting very differently than Puerto Ricans, for instance.
LOPEZ: But even then, you -- people assume that Cuban Americans in South Florida all vote Republican, and they don't. There has been a shift towards independent. Then everyone assumes Puerto Ricans in central Florida -- Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens by birth, that they all vote Democrat and they don't.
Latinos as a community tend to be conservatives. They tend to focus on the family. But they gravitate towards the Democratic Party. Now the message from the Republicans is slowly gaining ground, but probably not enough ground to make up the big difference and the percentage Mr. Romney needs to be able to win in November.
MALVEAUX: All right. Juan Carlos, always good to talk to you.
We are hearing motorcycles because it is part of that motorcade associated with the president being here. Thank you very much.
Here is what we are working on for this hour. Have you noticed gas prices have dropped for 10 days straight? We are going to take a look at the possibility of $3 a gallon gas.
New claims of sexual abuse from one of Jerry Sandusky's adoptive sons, just as the case goes to the jury.
And we're waiting for the president to speak at the largest gathering of Latino political leaders in the country.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: This just in. We are getting some information out of Egypt. Ahmed Shafiq is going to be named the new president. This is according to official news agency al-Ahram (ph) which is reporting this, citing several unnamed government sources. There has been no official confirmation from the leadership in Cairo yet.
But if this is true, this could really mean a very significant development in Egypt. That's because the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, Mohammed Morsi, he has claimed victory. There are thousands and thousands of people in the streets in Tahrir Square, who are supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood candidate. They believe that he is the legitimate winner.
If, in fact, his opponent, who is the former prime minister under Mubarak is claimed the official winner, this could be quite a bit of conflict on the streets of Cairo.
Again, there's no confirmation of this yet. This is simply coming from reports out of Egypt. But it will be a very significant development if that is in fact the case. It could mean a very divided Egypt and it could mean quite a bit of activity in Tahrir Square as people gather and recognize the news that the person they thought would be the next president of Egypt, the candidate from the Muslim Brotherhood is in fact not named the leader of that country. We will have more on that developing story.
How long will they go? We are talking about gas prices and we have asked have you noticed the price of gas dropping 6 percent over the last month? National average now $3.45; premium at $3.75. AAA says prices dropped 10 straight days. Casey Wian is at a gas station in L.A. and what do we think?
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, what analysts are saying the reason behind this big drop in gas prices, several things. Americans are driving less and Americans are driving more fuel- efficient cars. That's cut the demand for gasoline which obviously drives prices down.
Also, there are things happening in the global economy that are keeping things slow. Keeping demand for crude oil down. Especially over in China. Not as much manufacturing construction going on there. What's that all mean? We can look over here and show you the prices here at this station this morning.
Now if you are somewhere else other than California, these may seem very high. Now you can see $3.77 a gallon for cash gasoline, unleaded here. The station operators were telling me they were as high as $4.30 a gallon not long ago. Obviously very significant drop.
AAA saying that gasoline prices have dropped nationally for 10 consecutive days. On May 22nd, national average was $3.67 a gallon. Now it is down to $3.45 a gallon. Good news for motorists heading into this busy summer driving season, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Yes. You have been talking a lot about those guys. What's the reaction?
WIAN: Well, I'm going to tell you, there was one guy who just pulled out of here and didn't want to talk on camera but he was driving a dump truck. He had two 85-gallon gas tanks on that truck and he says that he spends about $1,500 a week on gasoline.
So you can do the math and figure out what this price drop means to him. It is hundreds of dollars directly going into his pocket every week. Folks who don't use quite as much gas, they are still happy. Let's hear what they have to say.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It dropped tremendously, man, and it is helping a lot. Everybody at work is talking about it. It is -- it is great. So me and my wife have had to car pool some, but I mean, it's -- I'm going to start using my own truck more, you know, because we did a lot of car pooling, but I'm just using mine because I have to, you know.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The way I drive, I drive a lot, so --
WIAN: Do you? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, so it's beneficial to me that it is dropping. But hopefully it stays down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I usually spend about $400 a month on gas.
WIAN: So with the -- if the prices are dropping 45 cents a gallon, that's a big impact on your wallet, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is. It is. But I still think the United States pay much less than the rest of the world. So we've been spoiled way too long. So I don't complain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIAN: Now we might continue to be spoiled if some of the oil analysts are right. One analyst with the Oil Price Information Service telling us this morning that prices actually could hit, on a national average, $3 a gallon by Halloween, Suzanne, and that is if there is no serious disruptions to supply, such as a major hurricane or something like that. So good news for the summer it looks like, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Casey.
One of Jerry Sandusky's adopted sons, seen here, says that Sandusky molested him. A bombshell just as the jury entered deliberations.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Jurors in the Jerry Sandusky child molestation trial are hard at work right now reviewing the horrific witness testimony from Sandusky's alleged victims. Now, the former Penn State assistant football coach, he is accused of sexually assaulting 10 boys over a 15-year period. And just as the jury began deliberating yesterday, a new alleged victim spoke out. We are talking about Sandusky's adopted son. Matt Sandusky claims he was molested by Sandusky and was prepared to testify against him.
It is hard to get around in some parts of northern Minnesota and neighboring Wisconsin. Their roads are closed because of heavy rains and flash flooding. Rescue crews moved in to help those who were stranded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ISAACSON, MINNESOTA RESIDENT: 10:00, 11:00, the tower (ph) started giving way and undercurrent (INAUDIBLE) just ripping the whole road.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Three people were killed in Wisconsin.
With rates on loans set to double, it is a hot button topic for students. That is Poppy Harlow's focus on "The Help Desk."
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hey there, everyone. Here on "Help Desk" we're talking about student loans. A very important issue. With me, Ryan Mack and Carmen Wong Ulrich.
Carmen, this question comes for you. We spoke with a young lady who says she's planning to take out student loans for college.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will the interest rates on student loans increase over the next four years?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: It's a very good question. Just graduated from high school. And we've got a trillion dollars in student loan debt in this country.
CARMEN WONG ULRICH, PRES., ALTA WEALTH MANAGEMENT: Right.
HARLOW: We are on the brink of rates rising in July.
ULRICH: Well, that's the thing. Student loan rates may be rising in a week. Not in four years, in a week. So July 1st, subsidized federal student loan rates are going to double if this is not prevented from happening. So instead of 3.4 percent, we're talking about 6.8 percent. That's about where federal loans have been for a very long time and unsubsidized loans have been there as well.
More importantly, instead of focusing on, will those rates go up, it's what type of loan do you have.
HARLOW: Right.
ULRICH: That's really important to understand. Because that is so directly tied to your rates and your ability to repay and flexibility to repay. Go for subsidized federal loans. Those are going to be the lowest rates you can get. Unsubsidized federal loans, that's your next bucket. But beware of private student loans.
HARLOW: Yes.
ULRICH: Their rates are variable. There is no help if you cannot pay those loans.
HARLOW: No forgiveness.
ULRICH: So you want to avoid that as much as possible. No forbearance. No deferment. That's really important.
RYAN MACK, PRES., OPTIMUM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: And we also have to understand as well, there's some things we might be able to do while we're in school. If you have a needs based loan, you might be able to start paying back your loan or interest on that loan at least earlier in advance. Or can you work part time? Did you have to go away to school? Is there a city college that might be able to give you a pretty good education at a cheaper value. But you can still do a lot with that experience. So all these type things we have to start doing immediate.
HARLOW: Absolutely. And look into the education need.
MACK: Right.
HARLOW: The accreditation of the university.
MACK: Exactly.
HARLOW: If those credits transfers, et cetera, before you pour a lot of money in.
ULRICH: You have to be very strategic. Very strategic about this.
HARLOW: Absolutely. Guys, thank you very much.
If you have a question you want answered by our financial experts, just upload a 30 second video with your question to ireport.com.
MALVEAUX: Congress now getting involved after an airflow leak at a CDC bio terror lab that cause (ph) TB and bird flu. We're going to look at exactly what happened.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: We're getting conflicting reports out of Egypt. Ahmed Shafik is to be named Egypt's new president on Sunday. That is according to a semi-official news agency, Alaham (ph), that reported that earlier today citing several unnamed government sources. There has not been -- no official confirmation from Cairo yet. I want to bring in Ben Wedeman to bring us some context here because, Ben, you are -- been witnessing thousands and thousands of people in Tahrir Square who are supporting the other guy from the Muslim Brotherhood. If this actually were true, I imagine that the people in the streets there would erupt into protest. Do we even have any sense of whether or not this is, in fact, true?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): You know, you have to take this report with a pinch of salt. In fact, more than a pinch of salt. The source (ph) did (ph) Alaham (ph) online. And, of course, Alaham (ph) is one of the semi-official daily newspapers. Some people consider it sort of the gray (ph) lady of the Egyptian press.
However, we've seen in recent days the normally reliable sources of information are starting to show signs of stress. It was, after all, the Middle East news agency, the official news agency of Egypt, that just a few days ago declared Hosni Mubarak to be clinically dead, which, of course, turned out not to be the case. So I think when looking at these reports, of course, there -- we're hearing from all sorts of directions that, in fact, there may be a surprise. That, in fact, Ahmed Shafik, the former prime minister under Hosni Mubarak, may be the one who won the election. But we have to take it with a pinch of salt.
Just a few days ago we were hearing from fairly reliable sources that his opponent, Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood had won 52 percent of the vote. Ahmed Shafik, 38 (ph). So the fact -- the fact that there has been no official announcement yet leads one to wonder what on earth going on. After all, yesterday, Thursday, the electoral commission was supposed to announce the winner. They postponed that announcement until they said they could look at all 400 complaints about voter -- voting irregularities during the runoff election, which played over this past weekend. So I think we still have to really just stick tight, be patient and wait for the official announcement of the results whenever that may be.
Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right, Ben Wedeman putting it into context for us from Cairo. Thank you very much, Ben. Appreciate it.
Any minute now, President Obama set to speak here at NALEO. It is the largest gathering of Latino political leaders in the country. We're going to bring that to you live.
And, don't forget, you can watch CNN live on your computer while you're at work. Head to cnn.com/tv.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Scary scenario. There are airflow problems at a bio terror lab at the National Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. Now, there is a congressional investigation.
Brian Todd has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is a highly secured bio germ lab at the Centers for Disease Control, conducting experiments with pathogens like money pox, bird flu, tuberculosis, rabies, other organisms that could be used as biological weapons. CNN learned a potentially dangerous airflow leak at the so-called bio safety level-three lab will be investigated by a congressional committee.
Congressional sources and CDC officials tell us the leak occurred on February 16th of this year.
(on camera): What was your biggest concern of what could have happened here?
REP. MICHAEL BURGESS, (R-TX), ENERGY & COMMERCE COMMITTEE: Our biggest concern, obviously, my understanding, visitors walking through the building. If one of those people had been stricken or made ill or worse, that would have been devastating.
TODD (voice-over): Congressman Michael Burgess will be part of the investigation by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Experts say that if experiments had been under way at the time of that air leak, unprotected visitors could have gotten deadly exposure to germs. But an epidemic would have been very unlikely.
The airflow system in that lab is supposed to protect against the release of contaminated air.
(on camera): Air from a clean air corridor is pushed through vents into that lab where experiments involving those pathogens and including small mammals take place. The air circulates and then is pushed to the outdoors through powerful HEPA filters. That air is supposed to be cleaner than the air that comes in.
But on February 16th of this year, visitors who were in a clean air corridor noticed a puff of air being pushed out to that corridor through a window in the slit of the door. That's not supposed to happen.
(voice-over): CDC officials say animals were in that lab at the time but they were secured and in filtered cages. The lab was clean and not active at the time and no one got infected.
CDC officials told us they couldn't put anyone on camera. In a statement, a spokesman said, "At no time during recent incidents featured in the media were CDC workers or the public in harm's way. This unique facility features multiple security layers specifically designed to protect workers and the public in the event of an incident."
There has been at least one other safety related incident in that same building at CDC. In 2008, it was discovered a high containment lab door was sealed with duct tape.
Bob Hawley, former safety chief at a government infectious disease lab, talked about the safety layers at CDC, like bio safety cabinets, researchers work in within that lab.
ROBERT HAWLEY, ALLIANCE BIOSCIENCES & FORMER SAFETY CHIEF AT INFECTIOUS DISEASE LAB: Nothing is handled outside of that cabinet. So they are working with minute amounts of material, and the chances of aerosol are negligible.
TODD: But there are also questions about cover up. In an internal e-mail, reported by "USA Today," a CDC biologist said, "The CDC will do anything to hide the fact that we have serious problems with the airflow and containment in this whole building." We have not been able to independently verify that e-mail.
In response, a CDC spokesman said the agency will continue to be transparent in addressing safety challenges and will cooperate with that congressional investigation.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Legal showdown is unfolding between the federal government and two towns dominated by followers of imprisoned polygamist sect leader, Warren Jeffs. The Justice Department is suing Fildel (ph), Utah and Colorado City, Arizona, claiming the towns are taking orders from Jeffs and discriminating against people who are not in his FLDS church. The suit says local police officers destroyed props (ph) of non-members and even shot their dogs. The towns deny the allegations.
President Obama about to speak any minute now to Latino leaders across the country. He will focus on key issues of immigration as well as the economy.
Jessica Yellen is inside where the president will be speaking.
Jessica, first of all, when Candidate Obama was the first go- around, he touched on some of the same issues. What does he need to say to bring back the support or enhance support, get people to come out and vote?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Suzanne. It is interesting, when the president last addressed this gathering, it was almost exactly four years ago, June 28, 2008, and he was then a candidate running for office. And at that time, then- Senator Obama said that he was committed to bringing then illegal immigrants, 12 million illegal immigrants, out of the shadows, and said he would make that a priority from day one if he were elected president. And as you know, many in the Latino community have been disappointed he did not make comprehensive immigration reform his top priority first year in office. Instead he pursued health care reform as one of his very top challenges. More recently he went after -- tried to pursue the Dream Act that failed in Congress, and so he took executive action. We will hear him trumpeting that on the stage behind us shortly.
But as you know, he's also going to talk about his economic efforts to try to raise up all Americans. That's been a struggle because of the financial crisis. And so I think we will hear him making sharp contrast with Governor Romney.
But, again, some great disappointment in this room. Some pleasure with what he did last week, he has a challenge because of some of the disappointments -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Jessica, you had a chance to talk to the Florida governor, Rick Scott. What did he say? What was the important message he was trying to deliver?
YELLIN: Two things. It was interesting that he disagreed with Governor Mitt Romney on the -- Governor Romney's immigration proposal. Governor Romney suggested, as president, he would like to create a path to legality to immigrants here illegally but serve in the military and have graduate degrees. Governor Scott said we should not, quote, "pick and choose which laws to enforce." So there is a disagreement.
He also proudly trumpeted the falling unemployment numbers here in Florida. He said that Governor Romney's office never told him not to trumpet those. There have been reports that maybe they had. But he said that's a result -- Florida's economy, he said, is improving. That's his argument, and says it is not as a result of the president's policies but as a result of the governor's policies. There is always a dispute about who should take responsibility for that. In fact, it seems that the falling numbers in Florida, Suzanne, are because a lot of people are actually dropping out of looking for work, sadly. Maybe nobody can take responsibility for that. It is a sad fact in this case, Suzanne? But we are actually expecting the president --
MALVEAUX: All right, Jessica --
YELLIN: -- to take the stage any moment. OK.
MALVEAUX: OK. And as soon as he starts speaking, we will go to that.
I want to bring in Juan Carlos Lopez very quickly.
If the president speaks, we will go to him.
One of the things analysts say is, in order to win the presidency, you need, nationwide, 40 percent of the Hispanic vote. And we saw --
JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN ESPANOL: Republicans.
MALVEAUX: Yes. And George W. Bush got 44 percent and he won. But then we had John McCain, 31 percent and he lost. Is it realistic for Romney to think he needs and can get that magic number?
JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN ESPANOL: It is a challenge. Anything can happen in this election year. With John McCain, the Senator said the right things and did the right things. He was one of the sponsors of the immigration reform in 2007. It ended up in failure. But when he went in 2008 into the primaries he took a hard line on immigration and that, many believe, is what drove Latinos away because they saw him as -- what -- with Senator Kennedy, he fought really hard for immigration. He said the right things about the undocumented. He called them God's children and he had the right message. It was the primary season that the message changed. Same thing happened with Mr. Romney. Very hard message. He has a different message now. Let's see if people will give him a second chance and listen to what he has to say. But he was not very specific yesterday according to the Democrats and to many people who follow immigration. So it is a big challenge ahead.
MALVEAUX: You have about 1,200 people here, Latino leaders, all the way from the school boards, some members of the president's cabinet who are representing their communities. They are foot soldiers. They are going to go back and tell their constituents who they thing they should vote for. So far, what do you make of how people have been talking about both the president and Mitt Romney?
LOPEZ: I think what people will be talking about is the announcement from last Friday, and the 800,000 to 1.4 million undocumented youths who might be benefited by the measure. A lot of people knew who they are, knows someone who knows one of the kids. That will claim -- more than whatever these elected officials can tell them. That's the important thing. People were disillusioned. But now, there is something now. That's something they're going to talk about. They will contrast that with what they are hearing from the Republicans. There is a different message now. Senator Rubio, involved in bringing this along. But the question is time. Do they have time? Will people believe changes being promised when there is no specifics?
MALVEAUX: We talked about Senator Marco Rubio who actually addressed the group earlier today. He really -- took a couple of digs in the president saying he hasn't been here the last three years. Last time he was here was just as a candidate. And you know, thanks, Mr. President, for showing up. How is Marco Rubio seen? How is he viewed? Is he seen as a real credible person when he goes after the president?
LOPEZ: I think people are aware of the attention he gets, the media coverage he receives. He's a junior Senator. He has been in the Senate a year and a half. He probably gets more exposure than a lot of his colleagues. People are aware of the path Marco Rubio is following. And Florida knows about it. He has been in politics a long time. He's getting there, but people know President Obama better and know the Democrats. at least, if you look at numbers, there's a 40 percent gap. But Senator Rubio's bringing something important, something that we saw in Romney's speech yesterday. There is a different tone and different message. Yes, let's deal with immigration but let's remember we are talking about human beings. That's the message. Yes, we have to find a way to solve this problem. Maybe not a way to grant these 11 million people citizenship but maybe a way to make them legal residents.
And there are a lot of questions that are open. If you legalize people then -- they are going to be -- they will want to do other jobs that -- different from the jobs they do now. You will need workers to come in. It is a very complex issue. But at least the tone is changing and the message is changing. The question is who the people will believe.
MALVEAUX: If Senator Marco Rubio becomes, and he is being vetted, for the number two slot and becomes the vice presidential candidate with Mitt Romney, would that be historic in a way? It would that have the kind of change, the kind of momentum we saw with a Barack Obama? Latino community, would people switch?
LOPEZ: What's interesting with Senator Rubio, he just came out with his book, "American Son." If you read the book, that's a vetted process in itself. He talks about the controversial entries around him and his personal story that is very compelling. It is very compelling not only to Latinos. Yes, there are similarities between them.
A big difference, Senator Rubio has a lot more experience. He was a speaker of the Florida House. He has been in politics. Even though he is only 41 years old, he has a lot of political experience and -- they -- there are those similarities and there are differences. Senator Rubio is on the path and he's shown people who have underestimated them that's not a good choice to make.
MALVEAUX: We are going to go ahead and take a look. The president entering the room. And we understand he has arrived. Let's listen in. BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you. Thank you. Gracias. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Everybody, please have a seat.
It is good to be back at NALEO.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you.
OBAMA: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)
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It is wonderful to see a lot of good friends from all across the country. It is nice to be at Disney World. This is now the second time I've come to Disney World without my daughters. They are not happy with me.
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I want to thank Secretary Solis for the introduction and for her hard work. She is one of the best labor secretaries we have ever had and she is thinking about you each and every day.
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I want to thank Sylvia and Arturo for their outstanding leadership.
Arturo, happy early birthday.
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I will not sing, don't worry.
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Welcome to the other side of the hill.
And it is especially good to have Ambassador Mari Carmen Aponte here with us.
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OBAMA: We are very proud of her.
When the Senate refused to confirm Maria, I sent her to El Salvador anyway...
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... because I knew she was going to do an outstanding job. And she has, and I'm glad to see the Senate finally confirmed her last week. So she's now official.
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Last but not least, I want to thank all of you. It's always nice to get out of Washington. It's nice to get a little Florida sunshine. But it's especially nice to see folks who have devoted themselves to serving their communities and their country, who've dedicated themselves to making people's lives just a little bit better each and every day, at every level: school board, state legislatures, county boards. You guys are where the rubber hits the road.
And I've had a chance to see many of you and your local communities, and -- and hear the stories of all your efforts and all your hopes and all your dreams. And also some of your frustrations and the hardships that are taking place.
You know, yesterday your featured speaker came here and said that the election in November isn't about two people. It's not about being a Republican or a Democrat or an independent. It is about the future of America. And while we've got a lot of differences, he and I, on this point I could not agree more: This is about America's future.
The defining issue of our time is whether we carry forward the promise that has drawn generations of immigrants to our shores from every corner of the globe, sometimes at great risk; men and women drawn by the promise that no matter who you are, no matter what you look like, no matter where you've come from, no matter what your last name, this is a place where you can make it if you try. This is a place where you can make it if you try.
And whether our ancestors arrived on the Mayflower or were brought here on slave ships; whether they signed in at Ellis Island or they crossed the Rio Grande, their diversity has not only enriched this country, it helped build the greatest economic engine the world has ever known -- hungry people, striving people, dreamers, risk-takers.
People don't come here looking for handouts. We are a nation of strivers and climbers and entrepreneurs; the hardest-working people on Earth.
And nobody personifies these American values, these American traits more than the Latino community.
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That's the essence of who you are.
All we ask for is that hard work pays off; that responsibility is rewarded. So that if these men and women put in enough effort, they can find a good job, own their own home, send their kids to college, let their kids dream even bigger, put away a little bit for retirement, not go bankrupt when you get sick.
And I ran for this office because for more than a decade that dream had been slipping away from too many Americans. And before I even took office, the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes pushed it even further from reach, particularly for a lot of Latino communities which had already faced higher unemployment and higher poverty rates.
So the question is not whether we need to do better. Of course the economy isn't where it needs to be. Of course there are still too many who struggle. We've got so much more work to do.
But the question is, how do we make the economy grow faster? How do we create more jobs? How do we create more opportunity? The question is, what vision are we going to stand up for? Who are we going to fight for?
That's what we have to decide right now. That's what this election's about: Who are we fighting for? What vision of America do we believe in?
If America is about anything, it's about passing on even greater opportunity to our children. It's about education. And that's why I expanded Pell Grants, which will give an additional 150,000 children in the Latino community a chance to go to college.
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That's why I've invested in our community colleges which are a gateway to a good job for so many Hispanic Americans -- Americans of every stripe.
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That's why schools in almost every state, some in the toughest neighborhoods around, have answered our challenge to raise their standards for teaching and learning, not by teaching to a test, but by expanding creativity and improving curriculums and focusing more on kids who are hardest to reach, so we give every child a fighting chance.
That's part of the vision of America that we believe in.
In this country, we believe that if you want to take a risk on a new idea, you should have the chance to succeed and you shouldn't have to have wealthy parents in order to be successful.
Latino-owned businesses have been the fastest-growing small businesses and we've cut their taxes 18 times.
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We've expanded new loans and new credit so they can grow and they can hire. That's the vision we believe in.
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In America, we believe you shouldn't go broke because you got sick. Hard-working people out there, sometimes two jobs, three jobs, still don't have health insurance. If you did have health insurance, insurance companies were able to discriminate against certain patients. That was wrong. It was wrong to let insurance companies just jack up premiums for no reason, and to have millions of working Americans uninsured, with the Latino community having the highest rate of uninsured of any community in the country.
So after a century of trying, we finally passed reform that will make health care affordable and available for every American. That was the right thing to do.
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That was the right thing to do.
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That was the right thing to do.
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Now, we are not done yet. We have more to do.
We need to put more good teachers in our classrooms.
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We need to get colleges and universities to bring down the cost of tuition, to make it more affordable for young people.
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We need to invest in new research and innovation, especially new sources of energy and high-tech manufacturing.
We need to put people back to work, rebuilding our roads, and our highways, and our runways. Construction jobs can have a huge ripple effect in communities all across the country and nobody knows it better than state and local officials.
You know the difference it makes. And with the housing bubble bursting, we've got tens of thousands of construction workers just ready and eager to get to work.
We need to give families in hard-hit housing markets, like Florida and Nevada, the chance to refinance and save $3,000 a year on their mortgage. That's good for those families, it's good for the housing market, it's good for the surrounding community. There's no reason why Congress hasn't already done it.
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Instead of just talking a big game about job creators, we should give small-business owners a tax break for hiring more workers or for paying higher wages.
Instead of rewarding companies that ship jobs overseas, we should take that money and use the -- use it to cover moving expenses for companies who are bringing jobs back to America.
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On almost every issue of concern to your community, to every community, what's holding us back isn't a lack of big ideas, it's not a lack of technical solutions. By now, just about every policy and proposal has been laid out on the table. What's holding us back is a stalemate, a stalemate in Washington between two fundamentally different views of which direction we should go.
The Republicans who run Congress, the man at the top of their ticket, they do not agree with any of the proposals I just talked about.
They believe the best way to grow the economy is from the top down, so they want to roll back regulations and give an insurance companies and credit card companies and mortgage lenders even more power to do as they please.
They want to spend $5 trillion on new tax cuts, including a 25 percent tax cut for every millionaire in the country. And they want to pay for it by raising middle-class taxes and gutting middle-class priorities like education and training and health care and medical research. And that's it. That's it. That's their economic plan.
When they tell you they can do better, that's their idea of doing better. When they tell you they know how to fix the economy, that's exactly how they plan to do it.
And I think they're wrong. I think they're wrong.
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You know, in this country, prosperity has never come from the top down. It comes from a strong and growing middle class and creating ladders of opportunity for all those who are striving to get into the middle class.
It comes from successful thriving small businesses that over time grow into medium-size and then large business.
We don't need more top-down economics. What we need is a better plan for education and training and energy independence, innovation and infrastructure that can rebuild America. What we need is a tax code that encourages companies to create jobs in manufacturing here in the United States; and yes, asks the wealthiest Americans to help pay down the deficit. That's what's needed.
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And what's also needed is immigration reform that finally lives up to our heritage as a nation of laws and as a nation of immigrants, and continues the American story of renewal and energy and dynamism that's made us who we are.
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Think about it: You and I both know one of America's greatest strengths has always been our ability to attract talented and hard- working people who believe in this country, who want to help make it stronger.
That's what keeps us young. That's what keeps us dynamic and energized. That's what makes us who we are.
But our current immigration system doesn't reflect those values. It allows the best and brightest to study here but then tells them to leave, start companies somewhere else. It punishes immigrants and businesses who play by the rules and fails to address the fact that there are too many who don't. It separates families and it denies innocent young people the chance to earn an education or serve in the uniform of the country they love.
Now, once again, the problem is not the lack of technical solutions. We know what the solutions are to this challenge.
Just six years ago an unlikely trio, John McCain, Ted Kennedy, President Bush, came together to champion comprehensive immigration reform.
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I, along with a lot of Democrats, were proud to join 23 Senate Republicans in voting for it.
Today those same Republicans have been driven away from the table by a small faction of their own party.
It's created the same kind of stalemate on immigration reform that we're seeing on a whole range of other economic issues, and has given rise to a patchwork of state laws that cause more problems then they solve and are often doing more harm than good.
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This makes no sense. It's not good for America. And as long as I am president of the United States, I will not give up the fight to change it.
In the face of a Congress that refuses to do anything on immigration, I've said that I'll take action wherever I can. So my administration has been doing what we can without the help in Congress for more than the last -- for more than three years now.
And last week, we took another step. On Friday, we announced that we're lifting the shadow of deportation from deserving young people who were brought to this country as children.
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We should have passed the DREAM Act a long time ago. It was written by members of both parties. When it came up for a vote a year and a half ago, Republicans in Congress blocked it.
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The bill hadn't changed. The need hadn't changed. The only thing that had changed was politics.
(APPLAUSE) The need had not changed. The bill hadn't changed; written with Republicans. The only thing that had changed was politics.
And I refused to keep looking young people in the eye, deserving young people in the eye, and tell them "Tough luck, the politics is too hard."
I've met these young people all across the country. They're studying in our schools, they're playing with our children, pledging allegiance to our flag, hoping to serve our country. They are Americans. In their hearts, in their minds, they are Americans through and through, in every single way but on paper. And all they want is to go college and give back to the country they love.
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So lifting the shadow of deportation and giving them a reason to hope, that was the right thing to do. It was the right thing to do.
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It's not amnesty. It falls short of where we need to be, a path to citizenship. It's not a permanent fix. It's a temporary measure that lets us focus our resources wisely while offering some justice to these young people. But it's precisely because it's temporary Congress still needs to come up with a long-term immigration solution rather than argue that we did this the wrong way or for the wrong reasons.
So to those we are saying Congress should be the one to fix this, absolutely. For those who say we should do this in a bipartisan fashion, absolutely.
My door has been open for three and a half years. They know where to find me.
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I've said time and again, "Send me the DREAM Act, I will sign it right away." And I'm still waiting to work with anyone from either party who is committed to real reform.
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But in the meantime, the question we should consider is this: Was providing these young people with the opportunity for a temporary measure of relief the right thing to do? I think it was. It's long past time that we gave them a sense of hope.
Now, your speaker from yesterday has a different view. In his speech he said that when he makes a promise to you he'll keep it. Well, he has promised to veto the DREAM Act and we should take him at his word.
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I'm just sayin'. (LAUGHTER)
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And I believe that would be a tragic mistake. You do, too.
On all these issues -- on the investments we need to grow the middle class and leave a better future for our kids, on deficit reduction that's fair and balanced, on immigration reform, on consumer financial protection so that people aren't exploited, whether at a payday loan shop or if they're sending remittances back to their families -- on all these issues Washington's got a long way to go to catch up with the rest of the country.
The whole idea behind the DREAM Act, after all, was inspired by a music teacher in Illinois. She decided to call her Senator, Dick Durbin, when she discovered that one of her own students was forced to live in the shadows.
But even as that idea fell prey to gridlock and game playing in Washington, it gained momentum in the rest of the country, from every student who marched and organized to keep their classmates from being deported, from every parent who discovered the truth about the child down the street and chose to stand up for them, because these are all our kids.
For every American who -- who stood up and spoke out across the country because they saw a wrong and wanted it to be righted, who put their shoulder to the wheel and moved us a little closer toward justice.
That's what's always moved us forward. Doesn't start in Washington. It starts with a million quiet heroes who love their country and believe they can change it.
We all have different backgrounds. We all have different political beliefs.
The Latino community is not monolithic. The African- American community is not all of one mind.
This is a big country. And sometimes in tough times in a country this big and busy, especially during a political year, those differences are cast in a bright spotlight.
But I ran for this office because I am absolutely convinced that what binds us together has always proven stronger than what drives us apart.
We are one people. We need one another.
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Our patriotism is rooted not in race, not in ethnicity, not in creed. It is based on a shared belief in the enduring and permanent promise of America. That's the promise that draws so many talented, driven people to these shores. That's the promise that drew my own father here. That's the promise that drew your parents or grandparents or great- grandparents -- generations of people who dreamed of a place where knowledge and opportunity were available to anybody who was willing to work for it; anybody who was willing to seize it; a place where there was no limit to how far you could go, how high you could climb.
They took a chance and America embraced their drive and embraced their courage and said, "Come, you're welcome."
This is who we are.
Every single day I walk into the Oval Office, every day that I have this extraordinary privilege of being your president, I will always remember that in no other nation on Earth could my story even be possible.
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That's something I celebrate.
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That's what drives me in every decision I make, to try and widen the circle of opportunity, to fight for that big and generous and optimistic country we inherited, to carry that dream forward for generations to come.
Because when I meet these young people, all throughout communities, I see myself.
Who knows what they might achieve? I see my daughters, and my nieces, and my nephews. Who knows what they might achieve if we just give them a chance? That's what I'm fighting for. That's what I stand for.
This fight will not always be easy. It hasn't always been easy. It will not happen overnight. Our history has been one where that march towards justice and freedom and equality has taken time. There will always be plenty of stubborn opposition in the way that says, no, you can't, no, you shouldn't, don't even try.
But America was built by people who said something different, who said, yes, we can, who said, si, se puede.
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And as long as I have the privilege of being your president, I will be alongside you fighting for the country that we together dream of.
God bless you. Thank you, NALEO. God bless the United States of America.
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