Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

House Votes on GOP Obama Care Fix; Will Health-Care Debacle Mar Obama's Legacy?; Wall Street Nears Historic High

Aired November 15, 2013 - 13:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. Time is up. But they are still voting. Just to explain here, see, it says 00. That's the time. The time is up here.

But here's the thing: 222 Republicans have voted yea. Four have voted nay, meaning no, right? And 39 Democrats have voted yes, 152 no. And then you see the five and the nine. That's -- they just decided not to vote there.

Time is up. But obviously, this is going to pass. I want to get now to our Dana Bash. Dana, more Democrats than most people predicted. Thirty-nine so far.

BASH: Thirty-nine and that is the most Democrats, more Democrats than ever before who have done anything affirmatively to change or, you know, undercut, as Democrats say -- sorry, we just have the final vote. It looks like...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

BASH: Final number of Democratic votes that were yes for this. We're going to see what it was at the end of the day.

But even if it was 39, again, that was -- it's pretty significant. And what that tells you is that, despite the fact that all morning long and in private meetings yesterday and the day before, the White House Democratic leaders implored, pleaded with the rank and file not to vote yes for this, because they said it just completely undercut the Obama care law, because it's so broad that it does more harm than good.

LEMON: Yes.

BASH: They didn't listen.

LEMON: Dana...

BASH: That's how much political pressure is back home in order to say that that they're not sitting on the sidelines, that they're voting for something.

And let me also just make sure that people are aware: the whole reason the president came out yesterday and announced that he was going to ask insurance companies to keep canceled policies and made that sort of big mea culpa is because the timing of it was completely pegged to this vote that we just saw. They're trying to give Democrats some cover, trying to give them some breathing room so they wouldn't vote yes on this.

You know, Republican aides here say that they believe if the president didn't do that, they might have even gotten a veto-proof majority. It would have even been more Democratic yes votes than the 39 or 40 -- We'll wait for the final vote -- that we saw.

LEMON: Yes. Dana, I was going to jump in and try to -- I wanted to explain that. But you did it.

Here's the -- here's what I want the viewer to know if you're just joining us. The House has just voted on a bill to try to fix -- it's a Republican-sponsored bill. This is a fix for Obama care. This is for people who have been dropped. They're wanting them to be able to get their insurance back or what have you.

And -- but the president has said he's going to veto it. It has passed, as our Dana Bash has been reporting. Thirty-nine votes from Democrats, more than most people expected. They expected -- they said 35 would be the high-water mark. But they're going to go beyond that.

Dana, the question is, if they'd gotten this many Democratic votes, right, will that make a difference with the president? Might this come to his desk and he goes, "You know, maybe I should reconsider this" or is he just going to veto it?

BASH: It's not going to get to the point where it gets to the president's desk. I mean, that's the answer because of course, Democrats still run the Senate.

LEMON: Right.

BASH: There are -- there are a fair number of Democrats in the Senate, most of whom are up for re-election, some not, who also want to have a legislative fix to this.

But after the president came out yesterday, the leadership in the Senate told us that they were going to hold off for now and see if what the president announced that he would try to do administratively -- get insurance companies to keep canceled policies, at least for one year...

LEMON: Dana -- Dana, here's my question.

BASH: ... they were going to hold off on that.

LEMON: Here's my question. Because of what happened here, you see what happened in the House.

BASH: Right.

LEMON: I'm wondering if it goes to the Senate, if there might it be enough defectors or people who go over to the side, for lack of a better term. It may pass there, and it may get to the president's desk. You're saying no way.

BASH: Well, that's -- one of the questions had been whether or not there was such a big vote it would force Senate Democratic leaders to take up the bill. Right now, they're not planning on doing it.

That, you know, certainly 39, maybe 40 votes is a lot of Democrats. But actually, it was -- it was probably about where they expected. They were hoping to get it down even more. They didn't.

But because the president did what he did yesterday, Democratic leaders in the Senate feel that they have some breathing room.

LEMON: Got it.

BASH: And they don't feel compelled to bring legislation that their fellow Democrats, rank and file Democrats want to push just yet. But wait and see how what the president announced plays out in practical terms, whether or not it works, without legislation.

LEMON: Perfect succinct explanation. Dana Bash. I wouldn't expect anything else. So thank you, Dana. Appreciate it.

Coming up, a story on Douglas Brinkley on the impact of this week on the president's legacy. We'll talk about that. Coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: President Obama has taken responsibility for the failures of the health-care exchange Web site and for people losing their health insurance plans. He's taking responsibility for both, but will it also define his presidency?

Joining me now is presidential historian, Douglas Brinkley. We should be talking to him, because he knows a lot about this.

Douglas, before I get to you, let me play something for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, we can. Yes, we can.

I am announcing that the American combat mission in Iraq has ended. Operation Iraqi Freedom is over.

The United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda.

We fumbled the rollout on this health-care law.

I am sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And, of course, we heard this on the House floor this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. FRED UPTON (R), MICHIGAN: Across generations, presidencies are often associated with one famous utterance: "Ask not what your country can do for you,"" The only thing we have to fear," "Tear down this wall," and our current president will be no different. "If you like your health care plan, you can keep it. Period."

REP. CHARLES RANGEL (D), NEW YORK: I think he will be remembered historically of being the first president in the United States of America that has told people that for the first time, every American will have access to affordable health care.

On the other side, history is going to record them, too. That they never said that they had any concern at all and never had a plan for the 30 million people that every day are waiting for this plan to go into effect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Douglas Brinkley. So you know, "if you like your plan, you can keep your plan." It kind of rolls off the tongue, right? I've been hearing that a lot lately, especially from the president's detractors. What do you think the president is going to be known for most, say five or ten years from now?

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Well, I think when it becomes sound bites, it's going to be the fact that he won the first election, the "yes, we can" and how that electrified the nation. We had our first African-American president.

Nevertheless, that's not the sound bite you want to live with. And the Republicans are going to be playing what you just heard over and over and over again. It's going to be the albatross around Barack Obama's neck.

He needs to live up to the -- making the Obama care work in his next couple of years. Everybody knows it's been a debacle, the rollout. The question is, what will it look like five or six months from now? Can they get it fixed?

Will the media, people like yourself, Don, be able to say, "You know what? Awful launch but they fixed it, and now people are able to shop for it online"?

LEMON: Yes. Where does he go from here, though, Douglas?

BRINKLEY: I think he's in a jam. He's painted himself in a corner right now. The only way out is through, and the only way through is to get Obama care working.

And that is a Herculean task, because the federal government is broken in so many different places. And there's mass confusion about what even Obama care is.

He's worn the name Obama care as a badge of honor, instead of just the Affordable Care Act and has championed it as his signature achievement. So he has to make this work.

If it doesn't, it's not just a blow for Barack Obama. It could hurt Hillary Clinton's chances, and it may put liberalism underground for a while.

LEMON: Listen, they're -- people are saying this is Barack Obama's Katrina moment, referring to George Bush's -- the way he handled Katrina. But they said that about BP; they said that about Benghazi. Is this Barack Obama's Katrina moment?

BRINKLEY: It's the low-water mark of his two-term presidency thus far. I don't want to compare it to Katrina, per se.

But look, presidents have these bad moments. Eisenhower had the U-2 crisis, Kennedy the Bay of Pigs fiasco, Ronald Reagan Iran-Contra. The key is to get it behind you quickly and not let your poll numbers hemorrhage.

What's hurting Barack Obama is the confidence factor. People aren't believing in him any more. That's not good.

On the other hand, this isn't Watergate. He hasn't done anything illegal. There are not these tapes that are going to be incriminating against him. So he can work his way out of this.

But it -- there's no question it's going to be talked about in history, as how can this high-tech president pioneer a major health- care overhaul...

LEMON: Right.

BRINKLEY: ... and have such an awful system?

LEMON: Yes. You said something that's key.

BRINKLEY: An Internet system.

LEMON: You said something that's key right there, and just glossed over it a little bit. You said, but he can get back. He can get out of this.

BRINKLEY: Anybody who writes Barack Obama off is nuts. This man is intrepid. He works all the time. I think, by and large, the people still like him. I think when you hit on some polls, 39 percent approval, that has to be a wake-up call. Like Ronald Reagan used to say, always get your box office close to 50 percent. The president has a lot of work to do.

I think yesterday in Ohio, you saw him trying to reconnect to the people of America. He's going to have to take the case for health care now to the people. That's not what he wanted for his second term, Don.

LEMON: Right.

BRINKLEY: I mean, he wanted to do more things. Immigration reform. In the end, he's going to have to eat up most of the oxygen, domestic politics, doing health-care reform his second term. His whole legacy depends on it.

LEMON: His political enemies have dubbed him the campaigner in chief. And that may be, you know, his best asset right now, if he can sell this, again, to the American people.

BRINKLEY: Yes.

LEMON: Very smart. Thank you, Douglas Brinkley, appreciate it.

BRINKLEY: Thank you.

LEMON: Still ahead here on CNN. the Dow could hit yet another record by the end of today. We're going to take the factors, look at the factors behind this push.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, on Wall Street right now, we're watching it very closely. You can see the Dow is up and continuing its march to a major milestone. Up 53 points right now. Milestone of 16,000 getting close: 15,930.

Maribel Aber joins us from the New York Stock Exchange.

Maribel, a sign of a healthy economy or a bubble about to burst here?

MARIBEL ABER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don.

Well, you know, we have to be really careful about qualifying that run that we're seeing in the market as a sign of a healthy economy. It's improving, but we haven't made back all that was lost in the recession, at least in terms of jobs, right?

The market run is all about the fed stimulus. It's been propping up the economy for several years now, sort of acting as a safety net, and this week, we heard Janet Yellen, who's expected to become the next Fed chief, say she thinks the stimulus money needs to keep flowing, because unemployment is still just too high.

And she's not the only one out there, Don. Sysco's CEO said the global recovery is also inconsistent. And we've got that data showing now the Japanese and European economies also slowing down.

So these records highs are not a sign of a 100 percent healthy economy, I'd say, Don.

LEMON: OK, Maribel. So many analysts say that the market is due for a correction, and could that be coming before the end of the year?

ABER: The crystal ball, Don. No one knows for sure, but some experts say the market has gone too far. Look at the S&P 500. It's up 26 percent this year. Normal gains, they're closer to 8 percent. It also closed at record highs 35 times this year. We haven't seen that since 1999 -- Don. LEMON: All right. Maribel Aber will be following the stock exchange, and she'll be there for you. Thank you.

He has been called everything from the mouth of the south to a visionary. We're going to take a glimpse at the impact Ted Turner has had on television news and the world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Listen, you can say what you will about Ted Turner, and people have said quite a lot, but one thing is undeniable. He forever changed the face of television when he came up with the idea of 24- hour cable news. Well, today, we accept it as routine. But back in the day, it was revolutionary.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer looks back at how it all came together.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): As Ted built his superstation, he was dreaming up an even bigger idea, a 24-hour news channel.

TED TURNER, MEDIA MOGUL/FOUNDER OF CNN: This news service will be called the Cable News Network.

I work until 7 p.m. And when I got home, the news was over, so I missed television news completely. And I figured there were lots of people like me.

You can do so much more in 24 hours than you can in 24 minutes.

TOM JOHNSON, CNN PRESIDENT, 1990-2001: You've had this maverick down in Atlanta, Georgia, who had decided that he was going to provide news around the clock, 24 hours a day. Not just at 6 when Cronkite or they would be coming on with the evening news.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE; We're a live worldwide news network.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had no background in news, but it was plainly a major genre in cable television that was missing.

TURNER: Finally, you can see our new Cable News Network headquarters: 90,000 square feet of the future.

BLITZER: Most thought the idea was crazy.

JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: People did look upon that as a foolish idea that was destined for failure, but they underestimated Ted Turner.

TURNER: We sign on on June 1, and barring satellite problems in the future, we won't be signing off until the world ends. We'll be on. We will cover it live.

BLITZER: Ted had 11 months to get the station on the air. TURNER: We got no bureaus, no cameras, no cameramen, no employees. Not a single one. When we signed on, we had bureaus in Tokyo, Moscow, you know, the whole deal.

I dedicate the news channel for America, the Cable News Network.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand by. Ready three. Take three. Three, start to slow zoom in.

BLITZER; On June 1, 1980, CNN aired its first broadcast.

DAVID WALKER, FORMER CNN ANCHOR: Good evening. I'm David Walker.

LOIS HART, FORMER CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Lois Hart. Now here's the news.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Wolf's one-hour documentary, "TED TURNER: THE MAVERICK MAN," premieres this Sunday night, 7 Eastern, right here on CNN.

That's it for me. Thank you so much for watching. NEWSROOM continues right now with John Berman and Rosa Flores.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks so much, Don.