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Campbell Brown
Swine Flu Fears Intensify; Republican Senator Switches Sides
Aired April 28, 2009 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN ANCHOR: Folks, lots to get to tonight. We have the newest information on the swine flu outbreak, but, first, some major political news.
We're learning more about why longtime Republican Senator Arlen Specter jumped ship today and became, yes, a Democrat. He says it's time to fight back against the right-wing Republicans who he says are pushing moderates like him out of the party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (D), PENNSYLVANIA: They don't make any bones about their willingness to lose the general election if they can purify the party. I don't understand it, but that's what they said.
And for the people who are Republicans that just sit by and allow them to continue to dominate the party after they beat Chafee, cost us the Republican control of the Senate and cost us 34 federal judges, there ought to be a rebellion. There ought to be an uprising.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN: A little tough talk there.
CNN correspondent Erica Hill is here, along with Lisa Bloom of 'In Session" on truTV.
But let me start with our national political correspondent, Jessica Yellin.
Now, Jessica, let's cut to the chase. Is this about political beliefs or Specter saving his political butt?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: OK. First, we have to say it's an earthquake for the Democratic Party, just game- changing.
And for Specter, it's a little bit opportunism, a little bit principle. First of all, Specter admitted today that he knew he might not survive if he ran as a Republican. The polls show him trailing his likely Republican challenger by -- get this -- 14 points. Now, that's deadly when you're the incumbent.
He's already more popular among Democrats in his state. And running as a Democrat, President Obama will fund-raise for him like crazy. So it gives him a clearer path to reelection. But there's principle, too. Specter, he has been voting with the Democrats. He infuriated his party by voting for the stimulus, for example. He supports Obama's agenda on health care reform, energy, funding for the economy. And, bottom line, he says he felt increasingly isolated in a party that he thinks has gone too far to the right.
And, you know, Roland, we also have to recognize the timing of all of this. The fact that he did this the day before the 100th day anniversary for Barack Obama means this is a gift to the White House and especially stinging for the Republicans.
MARTIN: Well, if there is a gift, surely, somebody is a little upset that a gift has been taken from them. So how have the Republicans been reacting?
YELLIN: Not so well. You got to say that they seem pretty upset.
The head of the Republican...
(LAUGHTER)
MARTIN: Just a wee bit?
YELLIN: Just a wee bit.
MARTIN: Gotcha.
YELLIN: The head of the Republican Party, Michael Steele, actually said that Specter is -- quote -- "flipping the bird" at the Republican leadership.
ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ouch.
YELLIN: Ouch.
HILL: Some Republican organizations are saying, good riddance. They don't need a Democrat in disguise in their party. But top Republican senators are more measured. They say they were blindsided and call it a huge blow.
And that's because they didn't just lose face. They're on the brink of losing the one real tactical advantage they have in the Senate. And that is, if Al Franken becomes a senator from Minnesota, that means the Democrats now clear this crucial threshold, so they can push their agenda through without any Republican votes.
MARTIN: All right, Jessica, good job. Certainly appreciate it.
All right, folks, time to turn to conservative talk show radio host Lars Larson and of course the rest of our regulars.
So, Lars, I want to go to you first.
When I first heard this story, frankly, I sort of felt like Keith Jackson, the college football analyst saying, whoa, Nellie. Surely, guys like you are not really happy that Specter has done this.
LARS LARSON, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Look, from a numbers standpoint, I'm not happy. But the fact is, I have never really reviewed him as much more than a RINO, a Republican in name only.
I would love to see a real Republican replace him. And, frankly, the way that he got out, that statement in "The New York Times" that he's not ready to let the Republicans of Pennsylvania judge his voting record, well, for 29 years, he was happy to let them send him off to the United States Senate.
But now that the party registration has changed in the state and it looked like he was going to get his butt kicked around the block, now all of a sudden he doesn't want Republicans judging him? I say good riddance. We will replace him with somebody decent.
MARTIN: But, Lars, it's really interesting. And, Lisa, it's also interesting, because whenever there's a Democrat who becomes a Republican, whether at the statewide or federal level, it's always, please, come with open arms.
Isn't a lot of this political posturing as well?
LISA BLOOM, TRUTV ANCHOR: Well, absolutely.
(CROSSTALK)
BLOOM: And, you he's a very independent, plain-spoken guy, guy, Arlen Specter, as you saw today at the press conference. He's going to vote the same way. He's going to vote his conscience, so how tectonic a shift is this, really? We're just changing the label. The guy is going to vote the same way, isn't he?
YELLIN: It's tectonic, because he will vote with the Democrats on key issues like health care reform. And it really pushes them over the finish line.
I know Lars wants to maintain this good riddance point of view. Uh-uh. This is a bad day for the Republican Party.
HILL: Even though Specter has come out himself and said, look, I am saying right now I'm not always going to vote with the Democrats, I'm not always going to give them that majority they need for a veto- proof vote?
LARSON: Oh, but you know what that's about.
MARTIN: OK. Go ahead, Lars. Go ahead.
LARSON: You know what that is about. He's saying, I'm going to switch parties. I insist that I be treated as though I were a Democrat since 1980.
He is going to be treated by the party leadership, the Democrats, as though he had been a Democrat for the last 29 years. And then he's going to say, but I may hold my vote back. That makes it looks like a principled move, but what it's really telling them is, if you Democrats don't treat me right, I will take my ball and go home. This is all about Arlen Specter being for Arlen Specter.
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: Lars, here's some of the comments we have here -- quote -- "the smallest political tent in history." Senator Lindsey Graham says, "as Republicans, we have got a problem."
Now, look, you can sit here and be happy, but you have moderates who are saying, we have a problem if we only have folks who are these hard-right conservatives. And you question him, but he's been a Republican for, what, 44 years? Come on now.
LARSON: But what is hard-right? Hard-right means you believe in smaller government, believes in limiting government? We weren't happy with John McCain. We weren't especially happy with the spending of George Bush.
MARTIN: He was your party's nominee.
LARSON: I understand that, but...
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: Who would you be happy with then?
LARSON: Listen, I would have been happy with Governor Mitt Romney. He would have -- in fact, Governor Mitt Romney would be running this country very well.
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: But, you know, he lost. I mean, come on.
LARSON: I understand. I understand.
(CROSSTALK)
HILL: Lars, I have a question for you.
(CROSSTALK)
LARSON: Yes, ma'am.
HILL: When it comes, though, to the future of the party, Arlen Specter also saying, this trying to purify the party and get -- there's so much talk about putting everybody on the same page.
In reality, in the grand scheme of things, you are losing numbers. So, by losing another moderate, is there any concern at all that, you turn around, and even if you have everybody on the same page, you might only have three people left standing in the room. Is that smart for the future of your party? LARSON: Well, it may not be smart for the party, but I guess pretending to be Democrats or Democrat-lite has never really worked for Republicans. I don't think that is the solution.
And you see a great percentage going to being independents. They're not happy with either party. I think we're at a very high percentage of independents in this country. And that's not good either.
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: Jessica, we saw this in 1984, 1988 with the Democrats. They say, we were controlled by too many folks on the left. The DLC was created, and all of a sudden Bill Clinton wins in 1992. And you're seeing sort of the same kind of thing. And so even they even recognized you can't have just one wing dominate.
YELLIN: That's right. The Republicans right now are in the desert and they're searching for a way back to the promised land.
MARTIN: Moses. Please, let my people go!
(LAUGHTER)
BLOOM: It's all about who controls the center. The Democrats control the center right now. Just like in a game of racquet ball, who is in the middle? Who is dominating the center?
LARSON: Oh, my goodness. You called Barack Obama the center?
(CROSSTALK)
LARSON: Socialism is the center?
YELLIN: Lars, wouldn't you rather have -- wouldn't you rather have enough numbers to block President Obama's agenda?
LARSON: I would like to have the numbers, but I don't want to trade principle for numbers.
YELLIN: So why didn't you guys find a way to keep Specter in your party? You could have pushed out his Democratic -- his Republican challenger.
LARSON: Well, I will tell you why.
Look at what he said in his release to "The New York Times." He said party registration had changed in his state. I still think you guys have the wrong theme on this. Arlen Specter is looking out for Arlen Specter. And there ought to be people at both parties who look at this and say, what is he saying to the people of Pennsylvania?
I don't represent you. I just do what is best for Arlen Specter.
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: Lars, I have never known a politician to look out for themselves.
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
LARSON: OK. Fair enough.
MARTIN: Lars Larson, thanks a bunch. I appreciate it.
Everybody else, stay right here.
Folks, tomorrow night, the president is holding a prime-time news conference at 8:00 Eastern. It's his 100th day in office. You probably didn't know that.
(LAUGHTER)
MARTIN: Of course, that fits in perfectly with our special prime-time event starting at 7:00 Eastern, CNN's national report card on the president's first 100 days.
And, look, we're just getting started -- new developments tonight in the swine flu outbreak. And what do all those scary numbers really mean? We're doing a reality check.
And married couples, singles, too, check this out. Do you say I do to sharing your bank account? A wife is suing a major bank after her hubby found out she had a secret bank account with $800,000 in it. Is it OK for spouses to do this? We have got one of "The Real Housewives of New York City" here tonight. You know she's got something to say about that.
And I also want to hear from you. Give us a call, 1-877-NO-BULL- 0. That's 1-877-662-8550. Hit me up on e-mail, Roland@CNN.com, also Twitter and Facebook.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARTIN: Man, a lot of folks commenting on Twitter.
Folks, this breaking news tonight, word coming in a short time ago that Carnival Cruise Line has canceled all ports of call in Mexico starting Thursday and continuing for at least several days.
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama is asking Congress for $1.5 billion to help fight the spread of swine flu virus.
Erica Hill is back with what else we're learning tonight -- Erica.
HILL: Roland, this is really a fast-moving story. So, staying on top it is something we have really been working on all day.
The latest tally for you tonight, 64 confirmed cases here in the United States. Now, those are spread across five different states, New York, California, Texas, Ohio, and Kansas. An important note, in New York today, which, of course, is where this sort of started for the U.S., that we started hearing about it, officials admitting there were actually potentially hundreds of students who likely had swine flu.
Now, the good news, most of those kids, we're told, had mild symptoms. They are recovering. And officials aren't planning to test the majority of the students.
Meantime, in California today, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency there to help combat the spread of the flu. That move, of course, Roland, the big headline there is that it will free up both money and resources for dealing with the swine flu, however many cases there end up being there.
MARTIN: I'm still trying to figure out how do you not test somebody? I don't get that one.
HILL: Yes, it's a question that we can't seem to get a straight answer to, quite frankly.
BLOOM: Bottom line is, we're not testing, we're not counting accurately, we're not tracking the people who have the mild cases.
MARTIN: So, how in the hell do you say, well, you might have it, but we didn't test, so how do you really know...
(CROSSTALK)
YELLIN: We're just going to assume you do.
Could you imagine any other disease assuming you have it?
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: I just -- I'm still trying to figure that one out.
So, all right, let's go to correspondent Dan Simon. He's on the U.S.-Mexican border in San Ysidro, California -- Dan.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Roland.
The threat has apparently done little to deter people from San Diego from crossing the border into Tijuana, Mexico. We have seeing people come and go all day long. We have seen a lot of people wearing masks, and I can tell you that people who are coming into the U.S. have been surprised that when they came into the U.S. that they weren't subjected to a secondary screening.
In other words, the customs officer didn't ask them about whether in fact they might be ill, despite the fact that they were wearing a mask. We can tell you that Secretary Napolitano says they are only doing passive surveillance. But we should also tell you that of the thousands of people that have crossed into the border, only a handful, only a handful, have been sort of turned over to local health authorities. Meanwhile, as Erica just mentioned, the state of California now under a state of emergency, 11 confirmed cases in the state of California, but of course, many more suspected, but the results should be coming a lot quicker now that the state has a lab in place to test for swine flu, the first state in the country now to do their own testing. More states should be coming online soon -- Roland.
MARTIN: Dan, thanks a bunch.
Right now, folks, we have got senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen in Atlanta.
Now, Elizabeth, I'm trying to figure this one out -- 36,000 people die every year from the regular flu, so exactly what's the big deal with swine flu? I'm not understanding this.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right.
Because when you look at the numbers in plain black and white, actually, it really is kind of stunning. In this country, as you said, 35,000, 36,000 people die every year because of the regular seasonal flu. And for swine flu, we have nobody dead yet.
Here are the reasons why people are really kind of nervous, Roland, including experts. The CDC says they're worried. First of all, nobody is immune to this new swine flu. Your body hasn't seen it. My body hasn't seen it. Nobody's been vaccinated against it. Also, this swine flu is attacking and in Mexico killing young, healthy people. That's very strange. That's not how the flu usually behaves.
We are still learning how this virus works. When you have a new, unstable virus, as one doctor put it, the DNA's flip-flopping all over the place. It could mutate. It's not stable. That's another reason why they're worried.
MARTIN: A few moments ago, the panel, we were talking and we were trying to understand this here. Last night we had a young woman, right here in New York, who was one of the students, 100 or so students that was tested.
She said, the doctors told her it's likely that she had swine flu, but then she said she wasn't tested. OK, explain how can you likely have it, but you don't test them and you're trying to figure out who has it?
COHEN: OK. This is how doctors have explained it to me, Roland.
MARTIN: Yes, because we're clueless. We don't quite get it.
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
COHEN: No, right, because it is kind of odd. I definitely know that on the surface of it, it seems odd. But this is how they explain it. They say, look, these people aren't very sick. You're not going to give them any specific medications anyhow, because they're recovering on their own, which is a good thing. You want them to recover on their own. And, at this school, so, you have 28 kids who you know have swine flu. It doesn't matter if you have 28 or 128 confirmed cases.
You know those other kids probably have swine flu. You don't need to count them up. You know just sort of based on the symptoms, that, yes, they probably have swine flu. It costs money to test all those other kids and it takes up resources. You know they probably have it. So, why not use that money and those resources other places to test people that are a big question mark?
BLOOM: And, Elizabeth, isn't another concern the possibility of exponential growth? I can remember the early days of the AIDS crisis, when activists were trying to get people to pay attention to it before it exploded into the huge numbers that we see now. Isn't the concern that this is highly contagious and can very quickly spread all over the country, all over the world?
COHEN: Well, it is contagious. There's no question that there has been person-to-person transmission. There's no question that it has spread to all sorts of different parts of the world.
The concern here is, is this virus in the United States going to start acting like it has in Mexico? I mean, look, this is pretty mild illness that we're seeing here. There have been like only five out of 65 people who have ended up in the hospital. As far as we know, no one's even needed to take antiviral medication. The nightmare scenario is if it starts to become like what it's become in Mexico.
HILL: But, Elizabeth, just real quickly, you mentioned the concern that the CDC has, that doctors have. You would think that if there is that concern, to make everybody realize how serious it is, they would want to have an accurate count, which goes back again to this testing question. Why isn't that important?
COHEN: Well, because, for example, in New York, does it really matter if you have 28 cases or 128 cases? You know that you have this big cluster. You know that there was person-to-person transmission. You know that you didn't have to hospitalize most of these peoples. They didn't have to take any special drugs.
It doesn't really help you either stop the spread of this disease, it doesn't help you treat these people to get a count that is that specific. And it costs something to get that count. It costs money and it costs resources. And it doesn't help you. That's how it's been explained to me.
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: All right, Elizabeth, thanks a bunch. We appreciate it.
Folks, we want to keep you up to the minute on all the swine flu news. If you go right now to CNN.com/Campbell, we link you to all the various official Twitter sites from the CDC and the World Health Organization. Now, remember, CNN.com/Campbell is where you can get instant information on the swine flu outbreak as it comes in.
President Barack Obama's 100th day in office is big news, but what about the first lady? She's even more popular than the president. And we're going to take a look at her first 100 days in the White House. That's tonight in our "Political Daily Briefing."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARTIN: All right, folks, she kept a secret stash of cash from her spouse, no one on this panel, until the bank let the cat out of the bag.
(LAUGHTER)
HILL: How do you know?
(LAUGHTER)
MARTIN: Now she's suing, saying she was forced to share. Tonight, we ask, is it OK for spouses to have secret bank accounts?
Here is Steve from Colorado.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
STEVE, COLORADO: They should both have their own individual bank accounts, but they should also have one joint account for the family. But I believe that some people just need to have their privacy.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
MARTIN: Why get married?
(LAUGHTER)
MARTIN: All right, folks, what's your take? Give us a call, 1- 877-NO-BULL-0.
I mean, come on, secret bank account? -- 1-877-662-8550.
You heard the groan from the panel.
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: You can also e-mail me or hit me on Twitter and Facebook.
Tonight's rundown on the board -- back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: Roland is now pulling out all the old-school stuff.
(CROSSTALK) MARTIN: ... don't have "Beverly Hills Cop" for your (INAUDIBLE) on DVD player, so stop it.
(LAUGHTER)
MARTIN: All right, folks, on the eve of President Obama's 100th day in office, Americans seem to be feeling that things have changed when it comes to race.
Take a look at this. Two-thirds of African-Americans -- black and white Americans say race relations are generally good, according to the latest "New York Times"/CBS poll. That's up from 53 percent last year, 53 percent, big jump. But is all of this just simply a kumbaya moment, or has real change begun when it comes to race?
Joining me now, Georgetown University professor, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, who is also a "TIME" magazine columnist, and Janet Murguia of Lars Raza, the nation's largest Hispanic advocacy group. She's a veteran of the Bill Clinton White House.
Now, also back, Erica Hill, Jessica Yellin, and Lisa Bloom.
Now, "The New York Times" poll also found that African-Americans are feeling twice as good about race relations as they were last year.
Now, Michael, let's cut to the chase. What has changed? Is all this simply because Obama was elected president?
MICHAEL ERIC DYSON, PROFESSOR, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Yes, Roland, no doubt. I think that the enormous bump that American race relations received as a result of his presidency is undeniable, though people contend, both black and white, in that poll that his presidency has nothing to do with that. But I think we would be ill-served and naive to believe that his occupancy of the White House has not spurred people to believe that there are some positive things in the future and that we can make substantive changes.
The question is, is this a window-dressing effect or a symbolic one vs. the substance? You talk about infant mortality rates, you talk about black unemployment, you're talking about black struggles for self-determination in regard to the housing industry and the like, and you see that African-American people continue to struggle, despite the enormous outpouring of hopefulness about the future.
MARTIN: Well, that was one of the issues we talked about earlier in our meeting. We were saying that, is this a question of feel-good vs. real hard data.
And, Michael, as you broke down there, that's really the question there. That's really what jumps out there, in terms of, what's the real hard data?
DYSON: Right. Exactly right.
I mean, and when you look at the bottom line, the empirical proof that things are still pretty bad. Barack Obama occupying the White House is an enormous symbolic change, but the substance of normal everyday people's lives, Latino, African-American, Asian-American brothers and sisters, as well, suggests that we continue to argue against the belief that people of all races and colors should be at the height of, say, the industry of universities, in terms of the field of medicine, in terms of what goes on with Fortune 500 CEOs.
When that success begins to be reflected at the top echelons of American society, then we can talk about the trickle-down effect of Mr. Obama on the vast numbers of people of color throughout this nation.
HILL: Janet, there's been a lot of talk, a lot of it actually I should say from Attorney General Eric Holder and his speech in February which now has gotten so much play, the fact that he said average Americans simply do not talk enough about race.
But he said, for there to be real change, real progress, we have to feel comfortable enough having this often uncomfortable discussion.
Does the simple fact of having an African-American president in the White House make this discussion of race any easier for Americans, Janet?
JANET MURGUIA, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL COUNCIL OF LA RAZA: I would say yes.
And I think that I agree that there is a lot of symbolism, but we need to recognize that electing an African-American president is very symbolic and an important milestone. And what it does do, I think, is hearken to Obama's words himself, when he gave that speech on race, is that perhaps this will give us the space, the room to have a more open dialogue and to be able to address those issues that get at the root of the racial disparities and discrimination that still exists, because they still do exist.
I agree with my colleague in saying that there are still the structural aspects of racism that are part of the system and that we can't deny. But I do think that this moment, where people do feel more positive, perhaps lets us have a more honest and open dialogue and it allows us to get to the root of these problems.
YELLIN: But, Janet, President Obama has gone out of his way to not address the question of race. When he was recently asked about it, he said race obviously was an important issue the day of the inauguration, but now he's just dealing with the issues facing the American people.
He did not make a speech on the anniversary of his big campaign- time race speech. Do you think he has an obligation to talk about this at some point?
MURGUIA: I think that he's doing what he should be doing, and that's getting at the issues.
He should be promoting an agenda that deals with health care reform. He should be promoting an agenda that allows us to deal with the economy and allows us to deal with jobs and creating those jobs and dealing with the credit -- the creditors that are out there right now, providing sometimes an obstacle to folks to move up in the economic system.
He's doing -- focusing work on education, education reform. I don't think it has to be a direct, head-on, let's deal with race for the sake of race. Let's deal with the root causes that create problems for people of color. And I agree with his approach. I think he ought to be doing that.
BLOOM: And, Roland, what's wrong with the kumbaya moment? Sure, we have a long way to go, but why not celebrate this huge gain? Isn't it a wonderful thing?
MARTIN: I don't mind kumbaya moments. When I see the new census data that shows that, even with a college degree, African-Americans earn 78 cents compared to whites, when Hispanics earn 75 cents...
BLOOM: Absolutely.
MARTIN: ... the reality is, there are still gaps there.
(CROSSTALK)
BLOOM: Absolutely. But it is a gain. It is a little bit of a gain. It is something.
MARTIN: No, it is. It is.
(CROSSTALK)
DYSON: But the problem is -- if I can jump in, the problem is that we take Obama's success as the success of every African-American, Latino, Asian-American, and the like.
And while it points to the possibility, it does suggest that there's a gap between a post-racial society, where people think, oh, now we have overcome. We have arrived at the promise land. There's no more work that needs to be done. Hey, you have got Obama as president. Let's move past race. I think...
BLOOM: And all the affirmative-action cases before the U.S. Supreme Court right now show how far we have to go.
DYSON: Right.
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: There's employment. There's voting rights, all of that.
BLOOM: Sure. Right.
DYSON: There's a difference between being in a post-racial society, where we're pretending that we're not black or brown or red or yellow, or a post-racist society, where we get past the vicious and vitriolic beliefs about racial difference, and come to a compact, where we understand everybody should be treated equally, and we have to work towards that society...
MARTIN: Right.
DYSON: ... instead of believing that it's already here.
MARTIN: And, of course, some people say that Obama's election means Dr. King's dream has been realized with that speech. That was economics if you really go back and read it. So that study says this report speaks to the economic gap that still exists.
Janet Murguia, Michael Eric Dyson, we certainly appreciate it. Thanks so much.
DYSON: Thank you.
MARTIN: Folks, if you haven't seen this yet, trust me, it's got to be the video of the day, probably the month. We'll show you what happened when a hijacker took over a big rig on the highway in Atlanta. That's the driver holding on for dear life.
And in our "Political Daily Briefing," the first 100 days of Michelle Obama. Is she bringing change to the office of the first lady or keeping it fairly traditional?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARTIN: All right. That song --
ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's even better.
MARTIN: I don't believe in this, but trust me, plenty of husbands and wives have separate bank accounts. What about secret bank accounts where your partner has no clue. Give us a call, 1-877- NO-BULL. That's 1-877-662-8550.
But first, here's Erica Hill with "The Briefing."
HILL: All right, Roland. President Obama's new Health and Human Services secretary already on the job. Kathleen Sebelius sworn in just moments ago in the Oval Office. And then it was straight to a briefing on the swine flu outbreak. All of this, of course, just hours after the Senate confirmed her by a vote of 65-31.
Pakistani fighter jets hitting Taliban targets in northwest Pakistan today killing at least 70. Today's airstrikes were part of that country's military crackdown on Taliban militants within its borders.
And Chrysler cutting a deal that could save it from bankruptcy. The carmaker's biggest lenders agreed to slash the amount it owes them from almost $7 billion down to $2 billion in exchange for company stock.
The Craigslist murder suspect's planned marriage in doubt. The band hired to play his August 14th wedding is unavailable, according to their Web site, or is actually available rather. The date has freed up. But through her attorney's fiancee, Meghan McAlister says she still loves Philip Markoff calling him a "loving and caring person."
And here it is, Roland's video of the day. A wild ride, putting it mildly here in Atlanta this afternoon led by a semi -- as you can see here without a trailer.
Now check this out. You see the man on the back. That's probably the owner of the truck.
You see him jump off there, had been clinging on, about until about 50 miles into the chase. At this point, the truck stops. You see the cops pull this rather burly man out of the cab, wrestle him to the ground. He, shockingly, is in custody tonight.
LISA BLOOM, ANCHOR FOR TRUTV'S "IN SESSION": Those are cops, huh? Pulling him out?
HILL: Yes.
BLOOM: Plainclothes cop.
HILL: I miss covering car chases. Let me tell you, they're fun.
MARTIN: Wow.
HILL: In all seriousness.
BLOOM: Do not try that at home, folks.
HILL: You should hear the newsroom go, oh, today.
MARTIN: Oh, OK.
The White House marks a milestone tomorrow, folks. Don't forget, so does the first lady. Michelle Obama's first 100 days and how she's come a long way in a short time. Just ahead.
And we're talking about the woman caught hiding more than $800,000 from her husband in a secret bank account. Here's Lisa from Louisiana.
LISA, FROM LOUISIANA (via telephone): Should husband and wives have separate bank accounts? It depends on trust. Now, evidently the young woman felt that she had to have her money separate and I think trust is an issue. So it just depends on each situation.
MARTIN: Well --
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATL. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: She agrees with you.
BLOOM: Trust or trust fund?
MARTIN: All right. Folks, we're going to take your calls in a minute. Give us a shout. Also, e-mail us, Twitter, Facebook. Do all that stuff.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARTIN: No. That actually came out in 2008, Jessica. It has a Motown vibe.
Hey, folks, are you shocked by this? It's just been announced that President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and brand new Democrat Arlen Specter will address reporters tomorrow morning at the White House.
With that, we turn to Jessica Yellin with a special edition of the "PDB" and the first lady.
YELLIN: Yes. At the mark of the 100 days in office, it's a good time to take a look at how the first lady has been doing.
You know, she is even more popular than her husband right now. In the past few weeks, the president's approval ratings have been recovering in the low to mid-60s, which is unprecedented and very high for a new president. But according to a new "USA Today"/Gallup poll, the first lady's approval rating is currently 79 percent. And that is a remarkable shift from the way Americans viewed her during the campaign.
Remember, Republicans said she was a political liability in those days, all those stories about how she had to have a makeover. Well, today people cannot seem to get enough of her.
And today Mrs. Obama talked about the significance of her role as the first African-American first lady. She pointed it out at the unveiling of a new statue at Capitol Hill honoring Sojourner Truth, the slave turned abolitionist and women's rights activist.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: I hope that Sojourner Truth would be proud to see me, a descendent of slaves serving as the first lady of the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: A lot of applause for making history there. And for the most part, Michelle Obama has really been playing a very traditional first lady role for the first 100 days.
Officially her office says, the first lady's priorities are family and healthy living, which means talking about women's work/life balance, even building a garden at the White House, a community reaching out to neighborhoods in D.C., going to schools and soup kitchens, and service.
Now the other day, the first lady joined her husband and three others also to plant trees in D.C. But, Roland, nothing there that's political. No overt political agenda. Nothing like Hillary Clinton did with health care. And some people are criticizing her for falling into a very traditional female role, like a domestic 1950s housewife. I know this is something you've written about.
MARTIN: Yes. I mean, first on the daily blog on essence.com, I said her new theme song should be "How Do You Like Me Now?" from Kumar (ph) David because yes, she was being ripped left and right, but I think she's also smart to feel her way because then Senator Clinton took -- she took a lot of hits because of her role there.
BLOOM: But what does this really say about our culture that we don't like smart, opinionated women, that she has to soften up?
MARTIN: Yes.
BLOOM: You know, she's the most covered first lady, 22 magazine covers from the campaign to the presidency. It takes time, by the way, to set up those shoots. She picks her own clothes, her hair and makeup. You got to pose. I mean, those aren't just candid shots of her.
HILL: And it is all about the clothes. I mean, and I have done a lot of stories on Michelle Obama. I admit it. But you know, and we keep hearing, oh, you know, people love to hear about this, but it is an inordinate amount of attention that is paid to the first lady's arms, what the first lady is wearing, and whether or not she wants to have any sort of a policy agenda is really up to her. As we saw, it did backfire for then First Lady Clinton.
BLOOM: Part of her caught us, isn't it?
HILL: It is.
BLOOM: I'm all implicated in this.
HILL: Absolutely.
YELLIN: I think that she clearly needs to position herself to make herself more appealing to the American public after a tough campaign and needed to do this. But I did a Google search, more than a million hits on "first lady and clothes." Just on Michelle Obama. This woman was an attorney, a Harvard-educated attorney.
BLOOM: That's right.
YELLIN: She was her husband's boss, his mentor.
BLOOM: That's right.
YELLIN: And now she's planting vegetables.
BLOOM: But isn't it her job to lead, to lead us, to show us a better way, to get us out of our shallow ways thinking about her arms and her clothes?
HILL: And it's still not necessarily a bad thing to decide that you want to focus your time on your kids. And that is a struggle that women deal with every single day and that every mother deals with...
MARTIN: Yes.
HILL: ... and only you know the right choice.
MARTIN: She's also I think building up credibility to be able to do policy by having 79 percent, because she's buying goodwill.
BLOOM: Well, that certainly will help.
MARTIN: We'll see what happens next.
But right now, folks, "LARRY KING LIVE" coming up at the top of the hour.
Larry, what in the world are you talking about tonight?
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Roland, guess what?
MARTIN: What?
KING: We're going to keep you updated on the swine flu situation. It appears to be growing worse. We'll have the latest from Mexico and stateside.
Plus, Senator Arlen Specter's defection has Washington reeling tonight. We're going to discuss the fallout. Hey, who might be next?
And Carl Edwards is here, the NASCAR superman who walked away from that spectacular crash. We've also got the latest on the Craigslist killer. That case is getting more bewildering all the time.
See you next on "LARRY KING LIVE," Roland.
MARTIN: Hey, Larry, you know about being married to a spouse, have a secret bank account?
KING: The what?
MARTIN: Should a spouse have a secret bank account?
KING: Should a spouse have a secret --
MARTIN: A secret bank account.
KING: No. No.
MARTIN: My man. That's what I'm talking about. All right, Larry.
KING: Should not.
MARTIN: Thanks a bunch.
BLOOM: Tell him to stay tuned and hear the other side.
MARTIN: All right. I'll tell you, a spouse and a secret lover, that's usually a deal breaker. What about a secret bank account? You just heard what Larry said.
Check this out folks. One of TV's real housewives of New York City, Jill Zarin, she's here.
Erica has been watching the show. Here the --
(CROSSTALK)
Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: -- choice of music tonight.
MARTIN: Why? That's a song with love and marriage. It's the topic. Deal with it.
HILL: Jessica's djaying (ph) tomorrow.
MARTIN: All right, folks.
YELLIN: Yes.
MARTIN: All right. Oh, pls.
Folks, you've been hearing the story -- it's all about secrets of marriage. And you are definitely fired up about that.
Now, the "New York Post" reports that Nazita Aminpour (ph), a dentist, is suing Chase Bank. She says they violated her privacy when they told her husband about a small little account, $800,000, she had in her own name. Trust me, folks have been commenting all day and our panel cannot wait to get to the topic.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes.
MARTIN: Of course, we said (ph) Erica Hill, Jessica Yellin and Lisa Bloom are back. And joining us, one of New York's best known housewives.
Go ahead, introduce her, Erica, because you are the fan.
HILL: Jill Zarin.
(CROSSTALK)
HILL: I'm proud to meet the housewife in New York City.
JILL ZARIN, "REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW YORK CITY": Thank you so much.
HILL: My favorite housewife. Don't tell anyone else.
ZARIN: Thank you.
MARTIN: All right. Now, Jill, let's get right to it. ZARIN: OK.
MARTIN: OK. Problem here, secret, separate. Which one is wrong?
ZARIN: Secret is wrong.
MARTIN: So you think secret is a bad idea.
ZARIN: Full disclosure. Full disclosure. You don't go into a marriage with any secrets, financial secrets or personal secrets, period. That's a bad way to start off a marriage.
BLOOM: But isn't this a good kind of secret? It's better than a debt. A lot of people go in with secret debt.
By the way, honey, I've got $800 grand in a bank account. Isn't that a good kind of secret to have?
ZARIN: That's a bad secret. And, you know, my mother always had a little kanipple (ph). I spoke to her on the phone before.
YELLIN: Kanipple (ph)?
ZARIN: Gloria --
MARTIN: Yes.
BLOOM: Gloria.
ZARIN: Gloria. She wanted to me to -- I think it's -- I think she made it up.
A little kanipple (ph) she always had, and I thought that that was OK. But she meant a few hundred dollars, a few thousand dollars.
MARTIN: And not $800 grand.
ZARIN: And by the way, I think their net worth, according to their press is about $1 million. So what if she had the majority of the money hidden away.
HILL: Well, now, from when it was first found, now it's a million. Initially, it was $800. Initially, it was $800,000.
BLOOM: So she hid half their money?
HILL: If it's your mother's money, it was her kanipple (ph) that she would keep -- did your father know about it?
ZARIN: He probably knew about it. She liked to think he didn't know.
BLOOM: But, Roland, look, some women want to have their own separate money, even secret money, because they want an escape. In the event that the marriage doesn't work out, they want to take that money.
MARTIN: Lisa --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: $800,000?
BLOOM: And it's their legal right to have separate money if they want to.
MARTIN: Lisa, here's the deal though. If you're starting a marriage by saying, OK, I want to have a secret account just in case it doesn't work out, you're starting with the premise this is not going to happen. That's a wonderful --
BLOOM: These people can have -- they can have their marriage their own way. Live and let live. Why does she have to live by your rules?
YELLIN: If this were a man who kept a separate account, it wouldn't even be a story.
MARTIN: I don't think the issue is that this is a woman. I think people sitting at home and saying, $800 grand. Trust me, if it was 80 bucks, we're not talking about this.
BLOOM: The story is that she's suing. How disgusting to sue this poor person who called them to tell him that he could invest it in a better way and he's probably getting fired.
BLOOM: But banks have privacy laws. This was her separate account.
ZARIN: They're wrong.
BLOOM: They called the husband -- they called the husband and that's how it was revealed.
MARTIN: OK, here's what I would do.
BLOOM: Clearly, a violation of the law.
MARTIN: So if you were married and your husband had 800 grand stashed and you had no idea -- no idea and he said, hey, I'm sorry, it's secret, my money. You would say, OK, honey, that's great.
BLOOM: Yes. This is the kind of problem --
MARTIN: I'm not buying it. I'm not buying it. I'm --
ZARIN: You can't have it both ways. I asked my sister and she said the same thing. And I said, and if a man does it, and she's oh, that's not OK. I said, well, then, you're a hypocrite. You can't have it both ways.
MARTIN: Here's what Ron is saying on Facebook. "Honestly, if a woman or man wants a separate bank account and it's not business related, then marrying them is not an option. Why be together when your actions show you are not?
BLOOM: Yes, I agree. But that's how some people feel. That's not how everybody feels. There's nothing illegal about having your own little nest egg just in case.
MARTIN: But you think it's good though? Would you do it? Would you do it?
BLOOM: I might.
MARTIN: No.
BLOOM: I'm not married.
MARTIN: Jessica, would you do it?
(CROSSTALK)
BLOOM: I might want to tell you, I would do it.
YELLIN: Yes. Long history of women being bankrupted by a divorce.
ZARIN: You never know.
BLOOM: Are you kidding?
MARTIN: And also women who spend some money too.
Hey, folks, hold tight.
ZARIN: And by the way, if you get divorced, full disclosure and legal -- I'm not a lawyer. I'm sure there's a lawyer on the panel.
MARTIN: There's Lisa.
ZARIN: I think that -- I think you probably have to even though you've been hiding it --
BLOOM: You have to disclose it anyway.
ZARIN: And you got to find out.
MARTIN: OK. And I have to disclose right now that we're going to break.
Jill, we certainly appreciate it, thank you so very much for all the kanipple.
(LAUGHTER)
Everybody else hold on. Well, folks, when we come back, we're going to ask a financial expert to weigh in on this topic. And we want to hear from all of you as well. Give us a shout. 1-877-662- 8550. And you can hit us on all that stuff that's on the wall right now. Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARTIN: All the single folks on the panel will not like the song "Love and Marriage." Thank you very much.
All right. Should a spouse be able to keep a bank account to themselves and not tell their husband or wife? It's time for your turn and your voice.
With us right now, "The Money Coach," Lynnette Khalfani-Cox. Lynnette, welcome to the party.
LYNNETTE KHALFANI-COX, "THE MONEY COACH": Thank you.
MARTIN: You know what? First of all, let's go to the phone lines real quick. Yan from Brooklyn. Yan, what's your comment?
YAN, BROOKLYN (via telephone): I just think it's totally wrong. And I've been married for 11 years. I mean, where do you draw the line on privacy, man?
I can't imagine -- I mean, can I have a secret lover? I mean, how far does this go? I just can't believe how far the sanctity of marriage has gone and what people consider privacy. You've got your private e-mails, your private Web page. Dude, just don't get married, you know.
MARTIN: Great point.
ZARIN: Do you have to reveal everything about your past, every detail when you get married?
MARTIN: First of all, Yan, thanks so much.
OK, Lynnette. OK, you're a financial expert, people come to you for counseling. Is a secret bank account a deal breaker?
KHALFANI-COX: A secret bank account can wreak havoc on your marriage. Let's all agree that that's a wrong way to go about it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really?
MARTIN: Yes.
KHALFANI-COX: However, I absolutely encourage women to have a separate account.
MARTIN: Wait, wait, wait -- wait a minute, women and men or just women?
KHALFANI-COX: Both. Women and men.
MARTIN: Why? KHALFANI-COX: For three main reasons. One is that it creates financial autonomy on the relationship. I don't want to have to ask my husband, can I go get my hair done, pay for, you know, a bag, then I want shoes, et cetera? Men, the same thing. They shouldn't have to go and ask for permission for minor purchases. Big ticket items, yes, you both talk about that.
HILL: I agree.
KHALFANI-COX: Also from a credit standpoint, it helps you later to have a multitude of accounts in your own name, credit cards, your own checking and history, savings accounts, those kind of things as well.
And then when it comes to learning about how to manage money well on your own, both parties are actually protected. A woman and a man should have a separate account.
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: OK. So all --
KHALFANI-COX: And you use that separate account, by the way, not just to make you know small or routine purchases, but the joint account is the one out of which you pay the household bills and things of that nature. If something goes wrong in the future, death, divorce, et cetera, you don't want one party to be in the dark about the finances and then not know the accounts, where everything is, how to manage money, those kind of things.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's right.
KHALFANI-COX: $800,000, you know, a secret account like that, also, let's put some numbers to this. Believe it or not, because PayPal did a "can't buy me love" survey 2009. They found that 50 percent of all couples actually have separate accounts and one out of ten of those surveyed admitted to secret spending on the side, you know, putting stuff in the trunk of the car or whatever.
BLOOM: Credit cards or whatever.
KHALFANI-COX: You know that kind of thing. So it's really not as uncommon a phenomenon as you might think.
HILL: Secret spending is --
ZARIN: Credit card --
HILL: No. Is it, though? Is a secret credit card the same as a secret account? If you're still doing it in secret --
MARTIN: Right.
KHALFANI-COX: It's pretty much the same thing.
BLOOM: How much? It depends. $50,000 or $500,000. KHALFANI-COX: Really the amount doesn't matter. The amount -- I really don't believe so because what it's doing is driving a wedge between you and your partner.
MARTIN: That's right
KHALFANI-COX: If your partner finds out you've got a credit card bill for $1,000 or an account for $800,000, the underlying message in that person's head is, they don't trust me. What are they doing? And what else have you been hiding?
MARTIN: Right.
BLOOM: -- legally responsible for those credit card debts. If both people are responsible, no matter who runs it during the course of the marriage, separate money remains separate money.
MARTIN: All right, folks, lots of you already on-line giving me your take. Regina Edwards went to my Facebook and warned, "My eyebrow raises when I hear about a couple with separate accounts, especially when one of the two doesn't have access. A recipe for disaster."
KHALFANI-COX: Actually --
MARTIN: Well, hold tight one second.
(LAUGHTER)
What do you all think? Let me hear from you in a moment. Hold your horses, Lynnette.
Chill. Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARTIN: All right, change of songs. I don't want to hear Lisa and Jessica again complaining about the songs.
All right, folks, back with Lynnette Khalfani-Cox as well as Jill and the whole company.
All right, folks. Real quick, final comments. Lynnette?
KHALFANI-COX: Separate accounts OK, secret accounts, absolutely not. Don't wreck your marriage that way.
MARTIN: Jill?
ZARIN: Full disclosure. Everything going into a marriage, financial, personal.
MARTIN: Lisa?
BLOOM: It's always a good idea for a woman to have her own separate money, have an escape route. You never know if you might need that. MARTIN: Single Jessica?
YELLIN: My mom e-mailed me to say, this is why I'm single.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALES: Oh, no.
MARTIN: All right. Married Erica?
HILL: Married Erica, we have both. We have joint and we have separate.
MARTIN: All right. Well, this is my second marriage. That first one didn't work, but that separate bank account crap was all there.
Well, look, I just think the bottom line is if you keep the money secret, then you have other secrets in your marriage and you're asking for a downfall. So take your pick, you want your money or you want a loving spouse? That's the way it goes.
YELLIN: Oh, wow.
MARTIN: Oh, yes, that's right.
Yes, that's the way we roll.
All right, folks, class project. First of all, Lynnette, thanks for coming up.
Folks, CNN is looking for solutions in the problems facing American schools. We call it class projects and we're getting help from viewers who are sending in videos about what's going right or what needs fixing in their schools. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORT BY OMEGKONGO DIBINGA, WASHINGTON D.C.: As a staff development teacher and a former classroom teacher who educates and teaches all across the country, I see and I've seen that parents are disengaged maybe because they're working or maybe because they just don't believe in the educational system. Our parents might -- the kids with the best grades are the ones who have the parents coming in. We've got to get our parents engaged.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IREPORT BY ADAM BRUMER, NEW ORLEANS: After teaching in the schools all day, it's great to be able to talk to other teachers about the same problem.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. BRUNER: One of them in New Orleans being, just the lack of leadership and the lack of direction that our leadership has in revolutionizing our school system and taking it into the 21st century.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN: So whether you're a student, a teacher or a parent, record a video showing us what's going right or what needs fixing in your school. Upload it at iReport.com/classproject.
All right. Thanks to all of you who called and e-mailed to comment. Folks, a great, great conversation with the panel. Everybody says holler, holler, get out of here.
And again, don't hide that money. It's not a good thing. Larry King said it does not work. And trust me, he knows when it comes to marriage.
All right, folks, "LARRY KING LIVE" starts right now.
ALL: Holler.
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE" (voice-over): Tonight, does swine flu have New York City in its grip? Hundreds of students now sick. Thousands more at risk. The number of cases on the rise as Mexico City verges on a shutdown. Experts warn that a second wave may be on the way. Is anybody safe from this ticking time bomb?
Plus, Republicans shell-shocked. Democrats stunned. Political world dazed and some in it outraged.
