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Obama Talks Job Creation, Businesses in N.C.; Newt Gingrich Talks Obama, Christie, Elections; Appeals Court Tosses FCC Rules for Internet Providers; Michelle Obama Turning 50
Aired January 15, 2014 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And together, they're going to help build new partnerships in areas that show potential. They'll help to lift up our communities. They'll help spark the technology and is research that will create the new industries, the good jobs required for folks to punch their ticket in the middle class. And that's what America is all about. You know, we have always been about research, innovation, and then commercializing that research and innovation so that everybody can benefit. And then we start selling our stuff all around the world. We start exporting it. And we create good jobs. And middle class families then are able to buy the products that result from this innovation. And you get a virtuous cycle where everybody is doing better. And nobody is left behind. And that's what we can do, if we pull together the way those companies and universities have pulled together as part of this bid.
Now, this is going to be a long haul. We're not going to turn things around overnight. You know, a lot of jobs were lost in the textile industry and furniture making and -- but the great news is that, ultimately, because our people are good and smart and hard-working and willing to take risks, we are going to be able to start bringing those jobs back to America.
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OBAMA: And that's what we do.
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OBAMA: When times get tough, we don't give up. We get up, we innovate, we adapt, we keep going, we look to the future.
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OBAMA: And I want all of you to know, North Carolina, that as long as we keep working together and fighting together and doing what it takes to widen the circle of opportunity for more Americans, so nobody is left behind. If you work hard, you are responsible, then you can go out there, get a skill, train yourself, find a job, support a family. If we work together, and that's our focus, there's nothing we can't achieve.
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OBAMA: There's no limit to how far we can go. (APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: So congratulations, North Carolina State. Congratulations Raleigh.
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OBAMA: Let's get to work. God bless you. God bless America.
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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: The president there, North Carolina State University. The Wolf pack, one of my favorite names for any college going on, going forward. The president making his pitch for a year of action right now. Says it's time to open new businesses, create new jobs. He's got some specific ideas to make sure that the country does so, stays ahead of the curve around the world.
We're going to get some reaction to what we just heard from the president. He's out there in North Carolina right now with the Wolf pack. We'll watch this crowd celebrate the president of the United States.
By the way, his introduction, he did note that the Democratic Senator from North Carolina, Kay Hagan, was not there. He said the Senator couldn't be here today but I wanted to thank her publicly. Her office said she decided to stay in Washington because the Senate is still in session.
Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House, co-host of the new "Crossfire," is standing by and we'll get reaction from him when we come back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We heard President Obama just a few moments ago, setting up his economic agenda for what he is now calling his year of action, this year, 2014.
Let's discuss what we just heard from the president and more with Newt Gingrich. He's one of the hosts of CNN's "Crossfire."
Mr. Speaker, thank you very much for coming in.
Let's talk a little bit about this year of action. What do you make of the president's new proposals that he just outlined to create jobs, create new businesses, to make sure the United States remains at the top, the cutting edge of new technology?
NEWT GINGRICH, CO-HOST, CROSSFIRE & FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Well, look, I think the general idea is right. The rhetoric is right. The particular hubs he is setting up may actually have a positive impact. But the fact is that the amount of red tape, the amount of regulations, the amount of taxation that are hitting small businesses has really dramatically changed the rate at which we're creating new jobs. And I think until we have a small business liberation act and people understand how much all of this bureaucracy is crippling small business, Obamacare is a piece of it. But there are layer upon layer from the Environmental Protection Agency to the Department of Labor, go down the list.
And I just talked to an expert this morning who pointed out that we used to have 100,000 new small businesses annually that survived. We have created about 500,000, about 400,000 would disappear. We now actually have a net loss of small businesses, about 100,000 a year. That's very worrisome about the future of job creation.
Unfortunately, from the president's side, he believes in bureaucracy, he believes in red tape, and he believes in higher taxes. All of those kill job creation at the small-business level. And that's a real problem for America.
BLITZER: He also made it clear that he believes, though, in extending the unemployment benefits for 1.3 million Americans right now, Americans who have maybe another two or three million kids or other dependents who rely on this money. It would cost, what, about $5 or $6 billion to extend those benefits for three months, $25 billion for the year. What's wrong with that, during these tough economic times, to help these folks, all of whom used to work, they paid into the system, and they paid into that -- into those unemployment benefit insurance programs that supposedly would help them during these emergencies?
GINGRICH: Well, no, look, there is nothing wrong, as a general principle, if you just add in two pieces. I think any extended unemployment compensation ought to come attached with a learning apprenticeship, online education component. If people can't find a job in the initial 26 weeks, then anything beyond 26 weeks, they certainly should be signed up for job training to have new and better skills. I hope the Republicans in the House and Senate will insist on attaching a job training component. That turns it into the largest labor training program in the U.S. That's a good thing.
Second, there's no reason that we can't find offsets. Senator Ayotte of New Hampshire had a perfectly intelligent offset that both paid for the unemployment compensation and paid for restoring military pensions. And all it did was require that we eliminate people who are frauds, who are illegal, from getting certain benefits by simply requiring them to identify who they are. Why the Senate Democrats object to us stopping crooks from taking money from the American people is beyond me. You literally would save enough to both restore the military pension, which should be done, and to pay for the unemployment compensation. She had a very good amendment. They ought to -- Harry Reid ought to make it an order. I think it will pass and I think it meets all of the core standards, those two things. Pay for it and turn it into a training program for workers. I would totally and enthusiastically endorse.
BLITZER: Let me get to your quick thought on Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey. You believe him?
GINGRICH: Yeah, sure, I'm inclined to believe him. He's a smart guy. Look, if another shoe drops and turns out he knew this, then I think he's toast. But if, in fact, he had some overzealous staff who did a stupid thing -- he has been a lot tougher than Barack Obama. Let's be clear here. Chris Christie fired several people who are very, very close to him. Despite Obamacare, despite Benghazi, despite all these other things, not a single person in the White House has suffered anything for having failed the people of the United States. This is a huge contrast between Chris Christie's toughness with his own people and the president's unwillingness to discipline people when there are grotesque failures. And I would suggest the Obamacare website and the Benghazi disaster are both much bigger than the bridge problem in New Jersey. And yet, neither has led to the kind of cleaning house that should have occurred.
BLITZER: You ran for the Republican presidential nomination. By all accounts, Chris Christie would like to do the same thing you did. What does he need to do to fix this situation --
(LAUGHTER)
-- to enable him, if you will, to run for presidency?
GINGRICH: I think Chris Christie wants to do more like Mitt Romney and win the nomination, which I didn't get to do, as you know, Wolf. Look, I think he has to focus and realize, as Jake Tapper said, and I think very wisely yesterday, this is an endurance contest. This is not going to go away in a week. It will eventually go away. It will be embarrassing. But he's got a long year to heal things up. He's got a great position as head of the Republican governors. His job is to run New Jersey really well, and to go out and help elect Republican governors around the country. He certainly will be one of the key contenders. Barring something new coming out that we don't know about right now, Chris Christie will be one of four or five leading contenders. I think we're going to have several more governors, Scott Walker, John Kasich, Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal, at least two U.S. Senators in Ted Cruz and Rand Paul. It will be a lively race. But there is no reason Christie -- at this moment should be counted out. He's a serious person and has a pretty powerful, compelling story to tell.
BLITZER: What about Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor?
GINGRICH: Well, if Jeb wants to run, Jeb is automatically a formidable national figure. He is one of the most creative figures in the last 30 years. I really admire him. I think he is the best politician in the Bush family. Although George P., his son, may come along pretty rapidly and rival that. But Jeb is a great talent. If he decides he wants to win the race, he would add an enormous amount. That would expand my point, a bunch of very effective Republicans running.
Meanwhile, the Democrats have this challenge, they have an overwhelming front runner for whom there is no enthusiasm. And I think it will be interesting to see how Secretary Clinton overcomes that dilemma that she has been around since she was a field person in 1972. Pretty tricky in this day and age to be on the scene 42 years and be a new face.
BLITZER: Why do you say there is no enthusiasm? I've seen a lot of enthusiasm among Democrats for Hillary Clinton.
GINGRICH: Well, I was just reporting on, for example, an article out of Iowa yesterday in which everybody, they -- the activists they talked and said, well, I could be for Hillary, but I'm not all that excited about it.
BLITZER: There may be some like that. That was Peter Hamby, excellent article on CNN.com. But I can assure you, there's plenty of enthusiasm for Hillary Clinton, among Democrats. And the notion that she could possibly be the first woman elected president of the United States, that would be a pretty enthusiastic message out there for a lot of her supporters out there. But that's just me.
We're going to see you in "Crossfire" later today, right?
GINGRICH: Right. I look forward to any chance to chat with you and exchange views.
BLITZER: We will do that.
6:30 p.m. eastern, right after "The Situation Room," Newt Gingrich will be on "Crossfire."
Thanks very much.
Still ahead, your Internet provider may start charging more for popular services such as Netflix, iTunes, or block them out completely. What is going on? We're going to explain when we come back.
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BLITZER: Netflix users could find themselves paying more to download movies or things that use bandwidth, YouTube, Hulu and others, because a federal appeals court has tossed out the FCC's rules on Internet providers.
Alison Kosik is joining us from New York with more.
Alison, the courts seem to say all web content is not created equal. Explain potentially what this means for millions of consumers out there.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: OK. So let me start with prices. Because that's what everybody really cares about at this point. And, yes, prices could potentially go up, because Internet companies like Verizon could begin charging websites to have access to their network. And if they're charged, you know how that goes. They kind of -- it rolls downhill. Consumers could wind up paying costs, as well. This is any site, Netflix, Google, Facebook, Amazon. The key with this decision is that Internet companies could offer faster broadband to websites willing to pay. Think of it -- I don't know, think of it like a toll road. You pay a fee, the snow gets cleared faster, the potholes get fixed faster. If you pay something, you have a smoother ride. One analyst is actually calling this a game-changer, because now the Internet is basically an open playing field. Websites, they've got the same access to the same network. But because of this ruling, the quality of that access could be very different for different people because of what they're willing to pay. Now, those in favor of the decision say that Internet providers, they spend a lot of money to speed up and expand Internet service, so they should be allowed to do what they want with it. Critics say, wait a minute, consumers could wind up paying more -- Wolf?
BLITZER: Is this decision final? What happens now?
KOSIK: OK, so it's not final because the FCC could wind up appealing this decision. They say they're considering all their options at this point.
But I want to be clear about something here. Internet providers, they're not going to have free reign, because the court partially sided with regulators. The court said the FCC still has some authority over the Internet. So the FCC could still put new rules in place if they fall within the framework of what the court will allow -- Wolf?
BLITZER: Alison, thanks very much.
Big plans on the horizon for the first lady of the United States. Michelle Obama is gearing up to celebrate her 50th birthday. She has a special message for all of us. We will check in with the White House in just a moment.
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BLITZER: Big plans on the horizon for the first lady of the United States. Michelle Obama is gearing up to celebrate her 50th birthday. She has a special message for all of us. We will check in with the White House in just a moment.
First Lady Michelle Obama is prepared to celebrate a milestone. She turns 50 today and plans to have a big dance party at the White House this weekend.
Let's go to the White House. Our Athena Jones is standing by.
She gave an interview to "People" magazine and making news, Athena. She is sounding pretty upbeat about her life, herself, what's ahead. Give us the details.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf. The first lady said she will be turning 50 and fabulous this Friday. Speaking to "People" magazine, she was asked specifically about whether she would consider plastic surgery or Botox, the kinds of things women in their 50s or younger would consider. Here's what she told "People" magazine about this. She said, "Women should have the freedom to do whatever they need to do to feel good about themselves. Right now, I don't imagine I would go that route, but I have also learned to never say never." There is the first lady talking about Botox or plastic surgery.
She also, as you know, is known for fitness and for her focus on healthy eating and station healthy and exercising. Here's what she told the magazine on this subject. "I don't obsess about what I eat. I make sure I am eating vegetables and fruit and I do exercise. I'm seeing myself shift from weight bearing stuff, even though it continues to be important, and the heavy cardio and running to yoga that will keep me flexible." She said part of the reason for shifting that focus to things like balance and flexibility is so she doesn't fall down and break a hip, which is something that happens to a lot of people as they get older.
So a wide ranging interview with "People" magazine with the first lady talking not just about health, but also about how she hopes to day be the helpful grandmother to her children, Malia and Sasha, to their kids as her mother is to her kids, Malia and Sasha -- Wolf?
BLITZER: She's got a long ways to go on that grandmother front. The kids are still teenagers, but we will be watching. I saw her at the White House holiday party. She won't need Botox or plastic surgery for a long time. She looks fabulous.
Thanks very much, Athena, for that.
Don't miss the special. "An Extraordinary Journey, Michelle Obama Turns 50." Her birthday -- let me be correct -- is this Friday, not today. Friday night, our special airs 10:00 p.m. eastern here on CNN.
The lighter side of the Chris Christie scandal as the New Jersey governor gets an earful from the greatest rock 'n' roll hero, Bruce Springsteen. We'll hear it when we come back.
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BLITZER: We start with a little comedy at the expense of the New Jersey governor, Chris Christie.
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(CHEERING)
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BLITZER: New Jersey traffic jam. That's excellent, excellent music right there.
Thanks very much for watching. Thanks very much for watching. I will be back at 5:00 p.m. eastern in "The Situation Room."
NEWSROOM continues right now with Brooke Baldwin.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, thank you.
