Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
President Obama Campaigns in New Hampshire; New Hepatitis C Testing Profiled; New Education Technology Examined; Movie Critic Assesses Box Office Arrivals
Aired August 18, 2012 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Fredericka Whitfield.
The men on the presidential campaign trail are putting the spotlight on Medicare. Both President Obama's and Mitt Romney's new vice presidential pick Paul Ryan are stumping today. The president is making two stops, two campaign stops in New Hampshire this afternoon. He's in Wyndham right now where he is hitting hard against Ryan's budget plan that would turn Medicare into a voucher system.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The latest thing they've been trying is to talk about Medicare. Now, you would think they would avoid talking about Medicare, given the fact that both of them have proposed to voucherize the Medicare system.
AUDIENCE: Booo --
OBAMA: But I guess they figure the best defense is to try to go on offense. So, New Hampshire, here is what you need to know: Since I have been in office, I have strengthened Medicare.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: I have made reforms that have extended the life of the program, that have saved millions of seniors with Medicare hundreds of dollars on their prescription drugs.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: The only changes to your benefits that I've made on Medicare is that Medicare now covers new preventive services like cancer screenings and wellness visits for free.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan have a very different plan. What they want to do is they want seniors to get a voucher to buy their own insurance, which could force seniors to pay an extra $6,400 a year for their health care.
AUDIENCE: Booo -- OBAMA: Again, this is not my estimate. Remember those guys who analyze these things for a living? That's their assessment. That doesn't strengthen Medicare. That undoes the very guarantee of Medicare. That's the core of the plan written by Congressman Ryan and endorsed by Governor Romney.
So here is the bottom line: My plan saves money in Medicare by cracking down on fraud and waste and insurance company subsidies.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: And their plan makes seniors pay more so they can give another tax cut to millionaires and billionaires.
AUDIENCE: Booo --
OBAMA: My plan has already extended the life of Medicare by nearly a decade.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Their plan would put Medicare on track to be ended as we know it. It would be an entirely different plan -- a plan in which you could not count on health care because it would have to be coming out of your pocket. That's the real difference between our plans on Medicare.
That's the choice in this election. And that's why I'm running for a second term as President of the United States. And I need your help.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Now, four years ago I promised to cut middle-class taxes. That's exactly what I've done -- by a total of about $3,600 for the typical family.
(APPLAUSE)
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Thank you, Mr. President!
OBAMA: So just like we've got a difference on Medicare, we've got a difference on taxes. Right now, what I want to do is keep taxes right where they are for the first $250,000 of everybody's income. So if your family makes under $250,000 -- which -- that includes 98 percent of Americans --
AUDIENCE MEMBER: That's me!
OBAMA: -- that's you --
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: -- 97 percent of small businesses -- you won't see your income taxes increase by a single dime next year.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Now, if you're fortunate enough to be in the other 2 percent, you'll still keep your tax cut on the first $250,000 you make. That's a pretty good deal. But all we're asking is for folks like me who make more than $250,000, we're asking that you contribute a little bit more above $250,000 so we can pay down this deficit and invest in things like making college more affordable --
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: -- making sure our teachers aren't laid off, making sure our firefighters are there to respond to emergencies, making sure our economy grows.
And, keep in mind, asking the wealthy to pay a little bit more, that doesn't eliminate our deficit. We're still going to have to make sure that government does its part by cutting away all the spending we don't need. And I've already cut a trillion dollars in spending, and we've slated another trillion more.
But we can't just reduce our deficit and our debt by gutting education, and gutting research and development, and gutting infrastructure. And all we're asking folks like me to do is go back to the rates we paid under Bill Clinton -- which, by the way, was a time when we created nearly 23 million new jobs, the biggest budget surplus in history, and a bunch of millionaires to boot. (Applause.)
See, I'm getting all fired up.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: And I want to explain that this is not just good for middle-class families and working families, it's good for everybody. Because what happens when a police officer or a firefighter or a teacher or a construction worker or a receptionist -- what happens when they've got a little more money in their pocket?
AUDIENCE: Spend it!
OBAMA: They spend it on basic necessities. So maybe they go out and finally, after 10 years, buy a new car. Or maybe they buy a new computer for their kid who's going off to college. And that means business suddenly has more customers. And that means businesses are making more profits. And that means businesses are hiring more workers, who in turn have more money to spend, which makes businesses do even better. That's how you grow an economy -- not from the top down, but from the middle out and from the bottom up.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: That's the choice in this election. And that's why I'm running for a second term as President.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: On issue after issue, the choice could not be clearer. When the auto industry was on the verge of collapse, Governor Romney said let's "let Detroit go bankrupt." I said, a million jobs are at stake -- let's bet on American workers and American manufacturing.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: And three and a half years later, the American auto industry has come roaring back. That's the choice in this election.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Governor Romney likes to tout his private sector experience, even though a lot of that experience was investing in companies that were called "pioneers" in the business of outsourcing manufacturing jobs.
AUDIENCE: Booo --
OBAMA: He wants to keep on giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas. I want to give tax breaks to companies that are investing here in New Hampshire --
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: -- here in the United States, hiring American workers to make American products to sell around the world. That's the difference in this election.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Governor Romney thinks new sources of clean energy are "imaginary." Since I took office, we have in fact doubled the use of renewable energy like wind and solar. Thousands of Americans have good jobs because of it. It's not imaginary, it's real.
New Hampshire, we've got to stop giving $4 billion a year in taxpayer subsidies to big oil companies that are making plenty of profits, and use that money to help American homegrown energy that has never been more promising.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: That's a choice in this election.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: In 2008 I promised I would end the war in Iraq -- we did.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: I said we'd go after al Qaeda and bin Laden -- we did.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: We now are transitioning so that Afghans take more responsibility for their security and we can start bringing our troops home from there. (APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: All of these things we did only because of the incredible courage and dedication and patriotism of our men and women in uniform.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: And that's why we've made historic investments in the VA -- because I believe that anybody who has fought for America in uniform should not have to fight for a job when they come home --
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: -- shouldn't have to fight for the benefits they've earned.
AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!
OBAMA: So we could not be prouder of them. But we want them to return to a strong economy, which means that after a decade of war, it's time to do some nation-building here at home.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Let's create a Veterans Jobs Corps that can help returning heroes get jobs as firefighters and cops in communities that need them the most.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Let's take some of the savings from war to rebuild our roads and our bridges and our schools all across America --
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: -- to lay broadband lines and wireless networks that can make us more competitive. Let's put some construction workers back to work. That helps everybody, and that will help America be strong for decades to come. That's the choice in this election. That's what's at stake.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Up next, more from President Obama and how this election is about more than choosing who takes over the White House.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: We've been following the presidential campaigns for you today. Earlier we took you to Florida where the GOP Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan spoke to a large group of senior citizens this morning. This afternoon, President Obama is campaigning in New Hampshire, and he's driving home several points that separate his campaign promises from those being made by the Romney camp. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OBAMA: The choice we face in November could not be bigger. It's not just a choice between two candidates or two political parties, it is a choice between two fundamentally different visions about where to take the country; two fundamentally paths for America.
And the decisions that you make, the direction you choose for us to walk in when you walk into that voting booth in November, it's going to have an impact not just on your lives but it's going to have an impact on your kids and your grandkids and generations to come.
Some of you were involved in 2008 when we came together.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: And it wasn't just Democrats -- we had independents, we had even some Republicans.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Yes!
OBAMA: There you go.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: And the idea was that we needed to restore the basic bargain that made this country great; the basic bargain that created the most prosperous economy that the world has even known.
And it's a simple bargain. It says, if you work hard, that work should be rewarded. It says that if you put in enough effort and you take seriously your responsibilities, you should be able to find a job that pays the bills, you should be able to afford a home you can call your own, you should count on health care if you get sick --
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: -- you should be able to retire with some dignity and some respect after a lifetime of labor --
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: -- and most important, you should be able to give your kids the kind of education and opportunity that allows them to dream bigger and do better than you ever did.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: That's the American promise. That's the American Dream. And we knew restoring it wouldn't be easy; that it would take more than one year or one term or even one President, because we had gone through a decade in which that promise was not being kept. We had seen a decade in which incomes and wages were going down even as the cost of everything from health care to college were going up.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Say it again, Mr. President, so we can hear it again!
OBAMA: We had seen a decade -- (laughter and applause) -- in which jobs were being shipped overseas, in which we took a surplus and turned it into a deficit, ran two wars on a credit card -- all culminating in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. And middle-class families who were already getting hammered lost their jobs, lost their savings, some lost their homes. And the American Dream seemed even further out of reach.
So when I ran for office, I told you there are no quick fixes, there are no easy solutions. But what I also insisted was that if we pull together, we have everything we need to meet our challenges.
(APPLAUSE)
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Yes, we can!
OBAMA: Yes, we can. We still have the best workers in the world, the best entrepreneurs and small businesspeople in the world, the best scientists, the best researchers, the best universities, the best colleges in the world.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: We're still a young nation, and we've got the greatest diversity of talent and ingenuity. There's a reason why people still want to come here -- because no matter what the naysayers say and no matter how stark the other side tries to paint the situation during election time, there is not another country on Earth that wouldn't gladly change places with the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Most of all, the American character has not changed. In fact, we saw during this crisis how people may have gotten knocked down, but they got right back up.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Folks -- people in their 50s, 60s losing their jobs, go back to school, they get retrained and find a new one. Small business people keeping their doors open even if it meant them not taking a salary, because they understood their workers had families that were depending on them.
We may have gone through tough times, but it turns out we're tougher than tough times.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: And that's how we saved an auto industry on the brink of collapse. That's how we created 4.5 million new jobs, half a million in manufacturing.
We are not there yet. We've still got a long way to go, because we've got to make sure that here in America, no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, no matter what your last name is, here in America, you can make it if you try. That's what this campaign is about. And that's why I'm running for a second term as President of the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years!
OBAMA: Now, I've got to say -- remember, I said this is a choice in this election. We've got a particular vision about how to move the country forward. My opponent and his running mate have a very different view. They believe the best way forward is to go right back to the old top-down economics that got us into this mess in the first place.
AUDIENCE: Booo --
OBAMA: Their ideas are pretty simple; they're not hard to explain. They think that if we get rid of more regulations on big corporations and big banks -- some of which we put in place to prevent another taxpayer-funded bailout -- and if we do more tax cuts for the very wealthiest Americans, then somehow prosperity is going to rain down on all of you.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: That's their theory. In fact, the centerpiece of my opponent's entire economic plan is a new $5 trillion tax cut, a lot of it going to the wealthiest Americans. His new running mate, Congressman Ryan --
AUDIENCE: Booo --
OBAMA: -- he put forward a plan that would let Governor Romney pay less than 1 percent in taxes each year. And here's the kicker -- he expects you to pick up the tab.
AUDIENCE: Booo --
OBAMA: Governor Romney's tax plan -- this is not my analysis now; this is the analysis of independent folks who analyze tax plans for a living -- (laughter) -- that's what they do -- (laughter.) Their analysis showed that Governor Romney's tax plan would actually raise taxes on middle-class families with children by an average of $2,000 --
AUDIENCE: Booo --
OBAMA: -- not to reduce the deficit, not to grow jobs, not to invest in education, but to give another tax cut to folks like him.
Now, ask Governor Romney and his running mate when they're here in New Hampshire on Monday -- they're going to be coming here on Monday -- ask them if that's fair. Ask them how it will grow the economy. Ask them how it will strengthen the middle class.
They have been trying to sell this trickle-down snake oil before.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: It did not work then. It will not work now. It's not a plan to create jobs. It will not reduce the deficit. It will not move the economy forward. It's the wrong direction for America.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Now, the truth is I think they know it's not a very popular idea. You can tell that because now they're being dishonest about my plans, since they can't sell their plans.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: I mean, they are trying to throw everything at the wall just to see what will stick.
The latest thing they've been trying is to talk about Medicare. Now, you would think they would avoid talking about Medicare, given the fact that both of them have proposed to voucherize the Medicare system.
AUDIENCE: Booo --
OBAMA: But I guess they figure the best defense is to try to go on offense. So, New Hampshire, here is what you need to know: Since I have been in office, I have strengthened Medicare.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: I have made reforms that have extended the life of the program, that have saved millions of seniors with Medicare hundreds of dollars on their prescription drugs.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: The only changes to your benefits that I've made on Medicare is that Medicare now covers new preventive services like cancer screenings and wellness visits for free.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan have a very different plan. What they want to do is they want seniors to get a voucher to buy their own insurance, which could force seniors to pay an extra $6,400 a year for their health care.
AUDIENCE: Booo --
OBAMA: Again, this is not my estimate. Remember those guys who analyze these things for a living? That's their assessment. That doesn't strengthen Medicare. That undoes the very guarantee of Medicare. That's the core of the plan written by Congressman Ryan and endorsed by Governor Romney.
So here is the bottom line: My plan saves money in Medicare by cracking down on fraud and waste and insurance company subsidies.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: And their plan makes seniors pay more so they can give another tax cut to millionaires and billionaires.
AUDIENCE: Booo --
OBAMA: My plan has already extended the life of Medicare by nearly a decade.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Their plan would put Medicare on track to be ended as we know it. It would be an entirely different plan -- a plan in which you could not count on health care because it would have to be coming out of your pocket. That's the real difference between our plans on Medicare.
That's the choice in this election. And that's why I'm running for a second term as President of the United States. And I need your help.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Now, four years ago I promised to cut middle-class taxes. That's exactly what I've done -- by a total of about $3,600 for the typical family.
(APPLAUSE)
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Thank you, Mr. President!
OBAMA: So just like we've got a difference on Medicare, we've got a difference on taxes. Right now, what I want to do is keep taxes right where they are for the first $250,000 of everybody's income. So if your family makes under $250,000 -- which -- that includes 98 percent of Americans --
AUDIENCE MEMBER: That's me!
OBAMA: -- that's you --
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: -- 97 percent of small businesses -- you won't see your income taxes increase by a single dime next year.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Now, if you're fortunate enough to be in the other 2 percent, you'll still keep your tax cut on the first $250,000 you make. That's a pretty good deal. But all we're asking is for folks like me who make more than $250,000, we're asking that you contribute a little bit more above $250,000 so we can pay down this deficit and invest in things like making college more affordable -- (APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: -- making sure our teachers aren't laid off, making sure our firefighters are there to respond to emergencies, making sure our economy grows.
And, keep in mind, asking the wealthy to pay a little bit more, that doesn't eliminate our deficit. We're still going to have to make sure that government does its part by cutting away all the spending we don't need. And I've already cut a trillion dollars in spending, and we've slated another trillion more.
But we can't just reduce our deficit and our debt by gutting education, and gutting research and development, and gutting infrastructure. And all we're asking folks like me to do is go back to the rates we paid under Bill Clinton -- which, by the way, was a time when we created nearly 23 million new jobs, the biggest budget surplus in history, and a bunch of millionaires to boot.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: See, I'm getting all fired up.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: And I want to explain that this is not just good for middle-class families and working families, it's good for everybody. Because what happens when a police officer or a firefighter or a teacher or a construction worker or a receptionist -- what happens when they've got a little more money in their pocket?
AUDIENCE: Spend it!
OBAMA: They spend it on basic necessities. So maybe they go out and finally, after 10 years, buy a new car. Or maybe they buy a new computer for their kid who's going off to college. And that means business suddenly has more customers. And that means businesses are making more profits. And that means businesses are hiring more workers, who in turn have more money to spend, which makes businesses do even better. That's how you grow an economy -- not from the top down, but from the middle out and from the bottom up.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: That's the choice in this election. And that's why I'm running for a second term as President.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: On issue after issue, the choice could not be clearer. When the auto industry was on the verge of collapse, Governor Romney said let's "let Detroit go bankrupt." I said, a million jobs are at stake -- let's bet on American workers and American manufacturing.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: And three and a half years later, the American auto industry has come roaring back. That's the choice in this election.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Governor Romney likes to tout his private sector experience, even though a lot of that experience was investing in companies that were called "pioneers" in the business of outsourcing manufacturing jobs.
AUDIENCE: Booo --
OBAMA: He wants to keep on giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas. I want to give tax breaks to companies that are investing here in New Hampshire --
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: -- here in the United States, hiring American workers to make American products to sell around the world. That's the difference in this election.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Governor Romney thinks new sources of clean energy are "imaginary." Since I took office, we have in fact doubled the use of renewable energy like wind and solar. Thousands of Americans have good jobs because of it. It's not imaginary, it's real.
New Hampshire, we've got to stop giving $4 billion a year in taxpayer subsidies to big oil companies that are making plenty of profits, and use that money to help American homegrown energy that has never been more promising.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: That's a choice in this election.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: In 2008 I promised I would end the war in Iraq -- we did.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: I said we'd go after al Qaeda and bin Laden -- we did.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: We now are transitioning so that Afghans take more responsibility for their security and we can start bringing our troops home from there.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: All of these things we did only because of the incredible courage and dedication and patriotism of our men and women in uniform.
(APPLAUSE) OBAMA: And that's why we've made historic investments in the VA -- because I believe that anybody who has fought for America in uniform should not have to fight for a job when they come home --
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: -- shouldn't have to fight for the benefits they've earned.
AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!
OBAMA: So we could not be prouder of them. But we want them to return to a strong economy, which means that after a decade of war, it's time to do some nation-building here at home.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Let's create a Veterans Jobs Corps that can help returning heroes get jobs as firefighters and cops in communities that need them the most.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Let's take some of the savings from war to rebuild our roads and our bridges and our schools all across America --
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: -- to lay broadband lines and wireless networks that can make us more competitive. Let's put some construction workers back to work. That helps everybody, and that will help America be strong for decades to come. That's the choice in this election. That's what's at stake.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: I want to make sure that we've got the best education in the world. I want to help school districts like this one hire and reward the best teachers, especially in math and science.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: I want to give 2 million more Americans the chance to go to community colleges and learn the skills that businesses are hiring for right now. And I want college and universities to bring their tuitions down, because in the 21st century, our young people have to be able to get a college education, a higher education.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: It's not a luxury, it is a necessity. That's the choice in this election.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: And, yes, New Hampshire, I'm running again because I still believe, in America, nobody should go broke because they get sick.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: I'm kind of fond of the term "Obamacare," because I do care. That's why we passed the law. That's why 6.5 million young people can stay on their parent's plan now. That's why seniors are seeing discounts on their prescription drugs.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: That's why families who have got somebody with a preexisting condition can now get health care.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: It was the right thing to do. The Supreme Court has spoken. We are not going backwards, we are going forward.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: We're not going back to the day when serving the country you love depended on who you love. We ended "don't ask, don't tell." It was the right thing to do.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: We're not going back. We're not going back to the day when women didn't have control of their own health care choices. We're going forward, we're not going back.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: On issue after issue, there is a choice. And all these issues -- manufacturing and health care and education -- all these things tie together because it's part of what not only makes up a middle-class life, but also creates rungs of opportunity for people to get into the middle class. That's what we believe in. That's what we're fighting for. That's how the economy grows.
And that's what we learned from our parents and our grandparents and our great-grandparents -- some who came here as immigrants -- folks working hard, overcoming obstacles, understanding that in America, not only could you do better but your future generations could do better. That's what's at stake in this election, and that's why I'm running for a second term as President.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Straight ahead, the president talks taxes and the economy and how his plan compares to Mitt Romney's.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: We'll return now to the campaign trail in New Hampshire. President Barack Obama getting tough on his rival Mitt Romney and Romney's new running mate, Paul Ryan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OBAMA: We've got a particular vision about how to move the country forward. My opponent and his running mate have a very different view. They believe the best way forward is to go right back to the old top- down economics that got us into this mess in the first place.
AUDIENCE: Booo --
OBAMA: Their ideas are pretty simple; they're not hard to explain. They think that if we get rid of more regulations on big corporations and big banks -- some of which we put in place to prevent another taxpayer-funded bailout -- and if we do more tax cuts for the very wealthiest Americans, then somehow prosperity is going to rain down on all of you.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: That's their theory. In fact, the centerpiece of my opponent's entire economic plan is a new $5 trillion tax cut, a lot of it going to the wealthiest Americans. His new running mate, Congressman Ryan --
AUDIENCE: Booo --
OBAMA: -- he put forward a plan that would let Governor Romney pay less than 1 percent in taxes each year. And here's the kicker -- he expects you to pick up the tab.
AUDIENCE: Booo --
OBAMA: Governor Romney's tax plan -- this is not my analysis now; this is the analysis of independent folks who analyze tax plans for a living -- (laughter) -- that's what they do -- (laughter.) Their analysis showed that Governor Romney's tax plan would actually raise taxes on middle-class families with children by an average of $2,000 --
AUDIENCE: Booo --
OBAMA: -- not to reduce the deficit, not to grow jobs, not to invest in education, but to give another tax cut to folks like him.
Now, ask Governor Romney and his running mate when they're here in New Hampshire on Monday -- they're going to be coming here on Monday -- ask them if that's fair. Ask them how it will grow the economy. Ask them how it will strengthen the middle class.
They have been trying to sell this trickle-down snake oil before.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: It did not work then. It will not work now. It's not a plan to create jobs. It will not reduce the deficit. It will not move the economy forward. It's the wrong direction for America. (APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Now, the truth is I think they know it's not a very popular idea. You can tell that because now they're being dishonest about my plans, since they can't sell their plans.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: I mean, they are trying to throw everything at the wall just to see what will stick.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan is pushing his vision for the future of Medicare. He brought his mom to a Florida state today and spelled out his plan.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, now to Paul Ryan and his campaign stop just a few hours ago in Florida. We showed you his comments live as it was happening this morning from central Florida. Mitt Romney's running mate entered the largest retirement community, called the Villages, with his retired mom there. And Ryan got straight to the number one concern of people his mom's age, Medicare.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now, you've heard the president has been talking about Medicare a bit lately. We want this debate, we need this debate, and we are going to win this debate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And let's bring in CNN's political editor Paul Steinhauser joining us from the Villages. Paul, you know, friendly crowd today for Paul today in Florida.
But we know this to be the debate in its infancy stages between the Romney and the Obama camps. What can we expect?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: We're going to hear a lot more on this, Fred. It's been one week since Mitt Romney named, announced Paul Ryan as his running mate. And you're right, since then, we haven't talked about Medicare on the campaign trail and here on cable news and elsewhere. It has become a huge topic in the campaign.
As for today, Paul Ryan, had a secret weapon, I guess you could say. There were not one, but two Ryans on the stage. Paul Ryan started this event by introducing his mom Betty. She lives part of the year here and part of the year in Wisconsin where Paul Ryan hails from, of course.
And Paul Ryan brought up his mother throughout his speech to talk about Medicare and to talk about what he said he and Mitt Romney would do to protect Medicare and to criticize the president. He says the president would take money away from Medicare to help pay for the president's health care law.
Here's a little taste of what Paul Ryan had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN: Here is what Mitt Romney and I will do. We will end the raid of Medicare. We will restore the promise of this program and we will make sure that this board of bureaucrats will not mess with my mom's health care or your mom's health care.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Of course, president Obama doesn't agree with that. I know you played much of the president's speech from New Hampshire today. So you've got two very, very different opinions on Medicare which is such an important issue with seniors and those about near retirement, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Paul, let's talk about the significance of Florida and how important it is in this election and really any presidential election, but especially now.
STEINHAUSER: Oh, yes. President Obama, then Senator Obama four years ago, he narrowly won Florida. It is the biggest of all the battleground states, 29 electoral votes at stake. The latest polls indicate the president has a slight advantage over Mitt Romney. But of course, seniors are such an important factor here. They make up about a quarter of the voting electorate. And Medicare is such an important topic. You mentioned where I am, the Villages and this is a very pro- Republican area and of course, Paul Ryan had a very friendly crowd today. It may not be that case all over Florida. Fred?
WHITFIELD: Paul Steinhauser, thanks so much if central Florida today.
The CDC calling it an unrecognized health crisis. More than 3 million people have hepatitis c and most are baby boomers who don't even know it. Expert advice coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Two very interesting health matters that we want to address today. Number one, the CDC is now recommending that all baby boomers get screened for hepatitis c. Officials say more than 3 million Americans are now affected by this potentially life-threatening disease. Most of them are people born from 1945 to 1965, and many of them don't even know they have it.
Dr. Sujatha Reddy is joining me to talk more about this new recommendation. First to help clarify, hepatitis c, what is it? Because there are a few hepatitis viruses out there, but c is the one we are most concerned about right now.
DR. SUJATHA REDDY, CNN MEDICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Correct. C is not preventable. There is a vaccine out there, but nothing to protect you against hepatitis c. That's why this is a very important thing. Also, baby boomers may have had lifestyle choices when they were younger, possibly a tattoo with a dirty needle, maybe experimenting with drugs, or a blood transfusion prior to 1992 put them at higher risk for hepatitis c. And now we have really good treatments out there, so getting diagnosed makes sense. You can treat this virus. You can also make lifestyle changes. Maybe if you stopped drinking or decreasing alcohol and you avoid certain medications that might be bad for the liver and it could be a deadly virus that could lead to liver failure and liver cirrhosis and, over many years, liver cancer.
WHITFIELD: All of these things transferred by way of blood in some capacity. So the treatments that you would receive if it turns out you test positive for hepatitis c are much more advanced now?
REDDY: There are newer treatments and newer drugs that are more effective, so it does make sense to get tested.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the other very big concern that so many people have when it's time to start taking care of their parents. It's very stressful. It's taxing in many ways not just emotionally, but financially as well. But it really can impact your personal health as a caregiver.
REDDY: And I see this every day. I see patients who I haven't seen in a couple of years and they missed your check-up, where have you been? You've been busy and I've been taking care of my mom and dad and it becomes an all-encompassing thing.
This is a difficult thing to do, and sometimes it's a thankless job if your loved one has Alzheimer's or dementia, they might not be able to say thank you or know who you are. So you've got to make yourself a priority. If you get sick and have a problem, who will take care of your relative and it's OK to say this is hard, I don't like doing this and take a break. A vacation can be key.
One thing is get organized. Get that health care power of attorney and make sure your wills are up-to-date. And if you know someone may have this problem in the future and they've been newly diagnosed with Alzheimer's, look into long term health care insurance and know there are resources and support groups that are out there, because there are so many millions of Americans doing this with the population ages. Churches may have support groups and your physician and your hospital church groups may have support groups and it's OK to ask for help and take a break.
WHITFIELD: These are some things you should do at the beginning before you are immersed in this new challenge, because sometimes you don't really know what's coming. You think it's going to be easy. I love my parents and I can take care of them, they took care of me, easy peasy, but not the case.
REDDY: Not necessarily.
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Dr. Sujatha Reddy, appreciate that. Great advice.
Every Saturday at this time we bring you new information about medical breakthroughs or ways to improve your health and quality of life.
And it's back to school time. Gadgets are pretty crucial, and even much more so when it involves kids these days. We'll show you what's going on to give you the most bang for your kids' buck, or your buck, too.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, it's back to school time. And there are some great gadgets available to help kids do their best in class. Are tech expert and our spokesman is here via Skype from Toronto to break it all down for us. Good to see you.
MARC SALTZMAN, SYNDICATED TECHNOLOGY WRITER: You too, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Kids love their gadgets these days. They are must-haves.
SALTZMAN: Yes, absolutely. And I think a computer, a personal computer is the most critical gadget a student has, maybe nothing earth shattering like some of the smaller, cooler gadgets we'll talk about in a moment, but definitely a laptop. You want wireless portability and connectivity.
So this is the newest ultra-book. Ultra-book is the buzz word which means a super thin and lightweight computer that boots up right away and lasts all day on a single charge. This is the dell XPS 13, a Windows-based PC that crams a PC into an 11-inch body and it is under three pounds. This sells for about $99 for that ultra-book.
Fred, you're more of a Mac girl or if your viewers are more in the Apple camp and this is the MacBook Air. This happens to be the 13-inch MacBook air and super lightweight and under three pounds so this is a great computer as well that runs the latest os-10 mountain lion operating system so you do get a lot of bang for your buck.
WHITFIELD: You've got to have lightweight for those backpacks. Usually kids are told to keep their mobile devices out of the classrooms and there are a couple of phones and tablets that kids should be using.
SALTZMAN: You'll want to turn off that ringer, but definitely smartphones and tablets are great for kids and college-aged kids because they're great for note taking and you can record a lecture with the built-in microphone and it keeps you organized so you know where you need to be and when. This is an Android phone. It's the HTC- 1V as in Victor. You are not locked into a one or two-year commitment. That's the last thing a student needs is another financial burden. It's $20 on a virgin mobile plan and a 2.7 inch touch screen.
This is a tablet. This is a seven-inch Google nexus 7. It starts at $199 and half the cost of an apple iPad and even though I love the iPad it may be out of reach for some depending on your budget. You get some built-in books and moves as well and a $25 credit to spend at the Google place store where you have more than 600,000 downloads. It's great for students on the go.
WHITFIELD: What are other excess rates that students or their parents need to look out for.
SALTZMAN: I'll leave you off with two more. If you are doing a lot of typing and you don't want to do that on a smartphone or tablet. This is a Google keyboard. You toss it in your backpack. It wirelessly connects with the smartphone or tablet and get this, the cover that protects the keyboard when not using it, turns into the stand to prop up your smartphone or tablet, a very clever idea. And that's $80.
Finally, students need to back up their important information just in case of fire, flood, virus, or theft. So this is from Seagate called the back-up plus. It backs up your data in three ways, one click backup for everything. You can schedule an automated backup so say every other day you wanted to backup content to the drive at 3:00 p.m. And finally you get online or cloud storage for free and you can access those files in the cloud. This drive starts at $100 for 500 gigabytes.
WHITFIELD: Wow, you always have to have some sort of backup, don't you? Marc Saltzman, thanks so much.
SALTZMAN: Thank you, Fred.
WHITFIELD: For more high tech ideas and reviews go to CNN.com/tech and look for the "Gaming and Gadgets" tab.
Every Saturday at this time we bring you information on new technology and how it just might impact your life.
All right, this is a big weekend at the box office, and we want to help you decide which movies are worth your time and money. There she is Grae Drake in the house. She'll be reviewing "The Expendables 2." And there she is. Hello. And you'll take us behind the scenes how rottentomatoes.com does it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, this weekend is very unique, a special treat to share with you. Our favorite movie critic Grae Drake, you usually see here in L.A. or in London, at an interesting movie or red carpet affair. Right now she's right here with us here in house in Atlanta. Good to see you.
GRAE DRAKE, MOVIE CRITIC: This is the best. Atlanta is amazing.
O'BRIEN: Oh, I'm so glad you like the city and we're so glad you're here.
DRAKE: You know what? I figure since I was in Georgia, I made a dress out of my curtains of my hotel room. "Gone with the Wind."
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: We have "Expendables 2," "Sparkle," can't wait to hear if you think the movies shine. And then we're going to go behind the scenes to see how the folks at rottentomatoes.com do their thing. Let's talk about "Expendables 2." Set it up for me. What's this all about?
DRAKE: Sylvester Stallone and the guys are back. This is every action star you've ever wanted to see in a film together. So this is the second one in the series.
WHITFIELD: I thought this would be an animated film "Expendables."
DRAKE: It is so far from animated your head will blow up with the magnificence of this movie.
WHITFIELD: Really?
DRAKE: Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, all these guys are in the film. And the simple plot of the film is Bruce Willis offers them a job and it turns out to be harder than they imagined, and boom, he ends up punching Jean Claude Van Damn in the face. And over at Rotten Tomatoes, you'll learn more about this later, but we get the reviews together that all of the critics have put together and we give the movie a score. "Expendables" is fresh at 65 percent. That means 65 percent of the critics liked it.
WHITFIELD: Oh, wow. So you're grade?
DRAKE: I'm with them. I think that the movie, it sort of feels a little bit like it was written by a dude who's gotten hit in the head too much.
WHITFIELD: You're looking at this action. This is a dude's movie all of the way.
DRAKE: Who cares about the script? It's full of explosions and that's what everybody wants to see. I'm with the critics.
WHITFIELD: That's great. Let's talk about Whitney Houston's last film before her parting, right? Does it sparkle?
DRAKE: It absolutely does. She -- I had so much fun watching this movie. It's for anybody who watched "Dream Girls" and thought it had too much integrity, it's like "Sparkle" is soap opera dream girls. It has the rise and fall of an incredibly talented girl. Her sisters, kind of like the Supremes, Jordan Sparks and Carmen Jogo, she plays the oldest sister. And every one of the girls is amazing. Music can't be beat. I loved it.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness.
DRAKE: Whitney --
WHITFIELD: I just thought this movie was -- it did sparkle. It was fantastic. And on Rotten Tomatoes, 56 percent on the Tomato meter. So basically what critics are saying it's full of every single movie cliche that you can think of, and it is. But it doesn't matter because the movie is great and Jordan Sparks is great and her performance brought tears to my eyes.
WHITFIELD: Let's watch. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know the lord loves me and he wouldn't torture me something with something I want to do and can't help but do. So I figured --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You figured I was wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That I had a gift.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sparkle, you can have a gift. It's how you use it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Interesting. I like what Jordan Sparks had said about this movie and Whitney Houston in a previous interview saying each character extrapolated a little something from different phases of Whitney Houston's life, whether it was by design or by chance, but she thought effectively what happened.
DRAKE: That's probably request why the movie was so interesting. Even though it is full of cliches, it's still not a dull moment in it. I was -- this movie had me, hook, line and sinker.
WHITFIELD: Really?
DRAKE: I loved it to pieces and I was the one in the theater screaming at the screen. I was like, no, girl, don't.
WHITFIELD: My husband is like, we're not going to the movie together. Why are you talking to the screen? I can't help myself.
DRAKE: I'm one of the people that video rentals were made for.
WHITFIELD: We'll talk about that. What was your grade on this one?
DRAKE: I'm with the critics. I'd give this one a much higher grade than they did, but I agree with most of the time that they're saying. It's cliched, but still go see it, and honor Whitney Houston and her amazing performance in the film.
WHITFIELD: You'll be back and you'll talk us to about some DVD releases and then you're going to lift the curtain and reveal yourself.
DRAKE: That's right.
WHITFIELD: On rottentomatoes.com.
DRAKE: I'll tell you how it all works.
WHITFIELD: Fresh or rotten. Thanks, Grey.
All right, a museum is stunned to find out that after 50 years it's had an original Picasso painting tucked away in storage, of all places! A curator at the Evansville, Indiana museum misidentified it as just some stained glass piece. She says she was told that it was inspired by a Picasso oil painting, but not the real thing. It turns out it is one of Picasso's finest works of art called "Seated Woman with Red Hat." It's a big break for the museum, but the Picasso is simply too valuable to be put on display there. Just listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The value of the piece makes it prohibitive for us to ensure it, and then we would have al sort of considerations about staffing and all sorts of electronic editions to what we do to our facility that just makes it impossible to keep it. We are so sad about that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: They ought to be sad. So now they're going to give it up so to speak. The painting is now headed to New York to be sold privately. Experts say it will probably go for millions.
And the curiosity rover has only been on Mars just a few days now and it's already getting a new upgrade. That process should take about four days, by the way. Meanwhile, we're getting a new look at the surface of the red planet. This 360-degree color image was created by the pictures taken by the mast camera on the rover.
And President Barack Obama in New Hampshire right now. Up next, his plans for Medicare and taxes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
