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American Morning
GOP Debate Gets Nasty; Perry and Romney Rumble; A Debate Game Changer?; Huntsman Skips Vegas "Game Show"; Obama Criticizes GOP Over Job Crisis; Bears, Tigers, Cheetahs on the Loose; Greece Strikes
Aired October 19, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Republicans clash. I'm Carol Costello live in Las Vegas. The tax and confrontations at the Western Republican debate. Mitt Romney under fire. The tone downright nasty. Winners and losers, straight ahead.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: And we're adding up the price of the 9-9-9 plan. I'm Ali Velshi. It's a big idea, but does Herman Cain's tax proposal mean a tax break for millionaires and a tax hike for the middle class?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Lions and tigers and bears on the prowl. A dangerous situation. I'm Christine Romans. Animals, wild animals, escape an Ohio farm. Kids told to stay home from school. The hunt is going on right now on this AMERICAN MORNING.
VELSHI: Good morning. It is Wednesday, October 19th. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. Craziest story ever. This thing you just said about wild animals on the prowl.
ROMANS: I just talked to an affiliate reporter in Zanesville, Ohio. There are some 24 wild animals, things like tigers, cheetahs, cougars, giraffe, on the loose right now in Ohio.
They've closed schools. They have highway signs saying, if you see wild animal, please, stay in your car and call 911. They found the owner of this wild animal preserve dead, a hole in the fence and the cages open. The sheriff said he's killed 24 wild animals because it's a dangerous situation.
VELSHI: What an unbelievable situation. We're on top of it this morning, but it's certainly a whole bunch of parents' worse nightmare.
Also that debate last night. There's a lot of fighting there. That's not a way to bring up your kids.
ROMANS: Carol Costello is live from Las Vegas. I guess, the good news is it was too late for the kiddies to stay up and watch all that sniping. Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: Good morning. It was quite contentious. Just going back to that story out of Ohio with the exotic animals. Twenty years ago, I worked in that market near Zanesville, Ohio in Columbus. The Exotic Animal Laws were laxed way back then. This has been a continuing problem for that part of Ohio. So I'll be interested to hear the rest of the story.
But let's talk about the Republican be debate because it was quite nasty last night. The Western Republican debate is now in the books and what happened here in Vegas last night was very personal and at times downright nasty. You could tell from the start of the debate it would be different.
Rick Perry plunging in the polls, rolling the dice with a sharp attack against Mitt Romney and it got ugly and uncomfortable. Perry is pulling out all the stops and trying to deep six Herman Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan.
Jim Acosta watched it all unfold. Jim is here, and, wow. The crowd was really into it, though, I must say.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It was the wild Western Republican debate, I guess you could say. You know, for weeks, Mitt Romney has cruised through debate after debate. Sort of letting Rick Perry and Herman Cain take all of the abuse, but that changed in last night's CNN debate.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Anderson -- would you please wait.
ACOSTA (voice-over): It's a Wild West shoot-out on the Las Vegas strip and at times it felt like Rick Perry's last stand with an urgent strategy to take down Mitt Romney.
GOVERNOR RICK PERRY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You hired illegals in your home, and you knew about it for a year. And the idea that you stand here before us and talk about that you're strong on immigration is on its face the height of hypocrisy.
ACOSTA: But Romney wasn't laughing for long.
ROMNEY: Are you just going to keep talking? A tough couple of debates for Rick.
ACOSTA: Civil discourse was out the window. This was the first GOP debate to get personal.
ROMNEY: We hired a lawn company to mow our lawn, and they had illegal immigrants who we're working there. You have a problem with allowing someone to finish speaking and I suggest that if you want to become president of the United States, you've got to let both people speak.
ACOSTA: Unlike past debates, the night was also Romney's first real test as the frontrunner as the candidates took aim at his health care plan in Massachusetts. Rick Santorum pointed out some of Romney's own advisers helped draft President Obama health care law.
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You just don't have credibility, Mitt, when it comes to repealing Obamacare. You are -- your plan was the basis for Obamacare. Your consultants help craft Obamacare.
ACOSTA: At issue, Newt Gingrich says is the individual mandate and both Romneycare and Obamacare.
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's a lot of big government between behind Romneycare, not as much as Obamacare, but a heck of a lot more than your campaign is admitting.
ACOSTA: Romney responded he got the idea from Gingrich.
ROMNEY: We got the idea of an individual mandate from you. You did support an individual mandate.
GINGRICH: Yes, sure.
ACOSTA: Rising Republican star Herman Cain also found himself on the defensive over his 9-9-9 plan. Independent studies have found the plan's individual business, national and sales taxes all set at 9 percent would raise taxes on millions of Americans.
PERRY: Herman, I love you, brother, but let me tell you something. You don't have to have a big analysis to figure this thing out. It's not going to fly.
ACOSTA: Romney pointed out a new national sales tax would be combined with existing state sales taxes.
ROMNEY: Will the people in Nevada not have to pay Nevada sales tax and in addition pay the 9 percent tax?
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Governor Romney, you were doing the same thing that they're doing. You're mixing apples and oranges.
ROMNEY: I've got to get a bushel basket that has apples and oranges in it because I've got to pay both taxes.
ACOSTA: For Perry, it was a night to take a campaign full of lemons and make lemonade giving Republicans a bitter taste of a more combative campaign to come.
PERRY: You get to ask the questions and I get the answer like I want to.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: After the debate, a Romney campaign adviser told me he thought Rick Perry's strategy was to, quote, "kill Romney" but instead, quote, "Perry killed himself." That may be wishful thinking for the Romney campaign, Carol because Rick Perry showed last night he's got some fight left in him.
COSTELLO: The interesting thing about Herman Cain during this debate, all of the contenders ganged up on him way before the first 10 minutes of the debate and then he faded from view. What do you suppose that was about? ACOSTA: Well, you know, Herman Cain, unlike many of the candidates, came into the spin room last night. One of the things that the reporters like about covering Herman Cain, he actually will come in and face these questions.
He said, I don't know if any of you noticed, but I sort of stepped back to let these other guys go at each other. I think this was Herman Cain's strategy to go into last night's debate. He said he has this big target on his back.
I think it was his strategy to let sort of that target go to somebody else, and it probably bought him a lot more time in this campaign, probably preserved his near front-runner status.
COSTELLO: But actually exactly what he told his supporters. I was in a room full of his supporters late last night. He came in and he said, I just sat back and let everything roll off me. And everyone said, "Yes, we Cain! "Yes, we Cain!"
ACOSTA: Well, all we were missing last night I thought was Don King, the legendary boxing promoter. This felt like one of those knock- down, drag out fights this town is known for.
And Rick Perry and Mitt Romney I think are going to be waking up this morning with some bumps and bruises.
COSTELLO: I think so, too. Jim Acosta, many thanks to you. I sat down with Herman Cain. We're going to talk more about exactly what he said, especially how to handle foreclosures in this country coming up a little later on AMERICAN MORNING.
And Ali and Christine, I really want to ask you about what Herman Cain told me about bank regulations and why they -- why they are holding back, you know, people want to work with banks.
VELSHI: Yes.
COSTELLO: To get out of bad mortgages -- I think --
VELSHI: Your fans are here.
COSTELLO: Hecklers over there.
ROMANS: Carol's groupies. They follow her.
COSTELLO: We are in Vegas and it's late.
VELSHI: They woke up 7-1/2 minutes ago.
COSTELLO: I don't care if they're drunk, just so they like me. I talked to CNN's John King right after last night's debate. Let's go to that right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: This is debate number -- JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Eight.
COSTELLO: With, what, 12 more to go?
KING: At least. You know, some of those 12 that are on the books will get cancelled, others will get added. But I do think this was a very interesting and important debate going forward.
Because number one, there is a big question, the conservative movement, would Governor Perry come to play? Would he have the energy from start to finish and he did. Whether you agree or disagree with him. He came in feisty.
You could see it in their eyes, Carol, the animosity, the tension between Romney and Perry. That's important as the debates continue, but it also tells you something that if the bad blood between those two.
They're the candidates with the most money. They're the candidate have the most organization in all the key states. Guess what? They're the candidates debating just when to go on television with the attack ads and just how nasty those ads will be.
COSTELLO: Well, everybody thought that the attacks are going to be aimed at Herman Cain. But you're right, they aren't weren't. Maybe the first 10 minutes they were directed at Herman, but after that --
KING: Happiest man on this stage when the focus turned to Perry- Romney, whether it was health care, whether it was economy, whether it's immigration. The happiest guy was Herman Cain because he was coming under attack.
The 9-9-9 plan, he was having to explain it. Now to his credit whether you agree or disagree with the plan, he doesn't back down. He defends his plan. There's growing criticism from groups on the left and right.
That's it's a regressive tax. That all the numbers don't add up. Herman Cain says trust him that will continue to be litigated. He still has some explaining to do on that.
COSTELLO: The bickering between Perry and Romney. Romney has a problem with likability. When he attacked Rick Perry, how do you think that affected his likability factor?
KING: I think that's a very, very important point. Part of what people want to see in Mitt Romney is fight and spunk and energy and passion and he did have that.
The question is, he was also negative and usually that means you're un-favorabilities or your unlikability numbers go up. So that's something fascinating to watch as we go forward. It was also very interesting that, yes, Governor Romney wanted to join the anti-Cain push a little.
But when given the opportunity, it was clear, he wanted to turn on Perry. He's used Governor Perry as the biggest threat. I do think that is a risk for Governor Romney. Going negative has its risks, but he clearly thought it was necessary.
COSTELLO: Well, do you think that Romney did not attack Cain so much because he doesn't really figure Cain will be a factor in the long run or is it because he didn't want to attack Cain because Cain is so darn likable?
KING: Well, Mr. Cain is very likable. Number two, Herman Cain, you know, came to Mitt Romney's defense in the 2008 campaign. He endorsed Mitt Romney or John McCain. So there's a little history between them. Mitt Romney, most of the previous debates has said, you know, Herman and me are the only two guys who understand the business.
We're the only two guys who have ever made a payroll. Romney wants to have more candidates in the race for a longer period of time because it splits the vote on the right. So he'd be happy if Herman Cain comes down a little. He doesn't want him to disappear.
COSTELLO: OK, last question. Did this debate change any voters' minds about who they're going to support?
KING: I don't think there was any huge fundamental change in the race tonight. The one change there was, though, is that Perry finally had a debate from start to finish where he had the energy.
A lot of people on the right were beginning to question that. It's not just about, can he have the energy for a debate in October, 2011 against these guys? Republicans are thinking well, if he can't stay for 90 minutes against them, do I trust him to carry the argument against Barack Obama?
COSTELLO: John King, thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Like I said, I also had a chance to sit down with Herman Cain after last night's debate. We're going to talk about that. His 9-9-9 tax plan and, also, what he would do to help people who are under water on their mortgage. That's coming your way in the 7:00 Eastern hour of AMERICAN MORNING -- Ali and Christine.
VELSHI: We look forward to that conversation as well. Carol, we'll be back to you very shortly.
As Carol pointed out, there were seven candidates on stage last night, but there are eight candidates vying for the Republican nomination. Jon Huntsman skipped the debate entirely and spent the night in New Hampshire instead directing his one-liners to a town hall full of voters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON HUNTSMAN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And then he'll probably have some people wander around after the show is over. I know my good friend, Herman Cain, will likely play the roulette wheel and focussed on getting that number on 9-9-9.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Huntsman boycotted the Nevada debate to protest the state moving up its caucus date to January 14th, which threatened New Hampshire's long-standing first in the nation primary. Not quite sure the affinity between Jon Huntsman and New Hampshire. Jon Huntsman, great ideas he needs to break out.
ROMANS: Needs to break out.
VELSHI: This is the stand he was taking.
ROMANS: All right, President Obama for a third straight day on the road and pushing his jobs plan. He'll be speaking this morning in Virginia.
A southern state that could be critical to his re-election campaign, and on ABC News, the president said he's frustrated the congressional Republicans are adopting a, "no, we can't" approach to this jobs crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a little edge a tone of frustration. One of your friends told me that you are deeply frustrated and worried about the economy.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: If you hear a sense of urgency in my voice, it's because these problems are solvable, but you don't get a sense that we're moving in Washington with the sense of urgency that's required.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Republicans have dismissed this bus tour and claim the president's job plan is a repeat of what they called the failed 2009 economic stimulus.
VELSHI: Well, still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, Herman Cain has a plan to make things a lot simpler for taxpayers, but it could end up costing you a lot more money.
ROMANS: All right, back to this story in Ohio that is just frightening and unbelievable. Schools closed. People are told to stay inside their house or cars.
Lions, tiger, grizzlies, cheetahs, maybe even a giraffe, loose on the streets and highways, hiding in the woods. Police are forced to shoot their way into a farm after these animals broke free or were let go spending the whole night hunting them down now.
One of the most bizarre stories we've ever had. It is 13 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VELSHI: We report on a lot of incredible stories around here, but this one, honestly, is one of the strangest. Schools are closed this morning in and around Zanesville, Ohio. People are warned to stay inside as police hunt down dozens of Safari animals.
ROMANS: And we -
VELSHI: I mean, are they wild animals or they -
ROMANS: They're wild animals, many of them are adults and they've been kept in this - in this wild animal preserve and the owner of the preserve was found dead. Many of the cages were opened, and there's a big hole cut in the outside fence. So these animals are somehow either released or escaped when the owner of this place died.
Mike McCarthy has the latest for us.
MIKE MCCARTHY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lions and tigers and bears, oh, my, and oh, yes. They are all on the loose here in Muskingum County this morning. The sheriff here is telling us this is no joke, no laughing matter. The danger is still very real.
There have been signs posted on the roadways here in the area warning drivers about these wild exotic animals that are on the loose and warning drivers to stay in their vehicles and to call 911 if they see any of them.
The animals escaped from property owned by Terry Thompson. Last night, Thompson was found dead outside his home. The cages were left wide open. But by who has yet to be determined. The Sheriff Office is not releasing any information about his death just yet, but is saying that the death was not suspicious.
Officers had been out overnight using night vision as well as infrared technology to track everything from lions to bears, cheetahs, wolves and more. So far about 25 animals have been found, shot and killed, but the danger is still out there right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're still monitoring the area. We still have officers up at the house, and we are still seeing animals move at this point.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nobody really knows what an animal out of a caged area would do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCCARTHY: That is the concern from homeowners here in the area and the concern is so great by law enforcement that various schools here in the area have been closed, including Zanesville High School for the day. The families are being warned to stay inside. Keep their family safe, and if they see any of these animal to call police.
Reporting in Muskingum County, Mike McCarthy, back to you. ROMANS: Yes. It's such a mystery. It's unclear what exactly happened. The police or the sheriff's department really not sharing many details about the cause of death or the situation, the circumstances of the death.
VELSHI: Right. But he's saying not - not thought to be suspicious.
ROMANS: Another affiliate reporter however said that they were not ruling it one way or the other. That they were just kind of questioning -
VELSHI: One thing that's suspicious is the hole in the fence that through which the animals got through.
ROMANS: And the fact that some of these cages were opened.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: And many of these cages were opened and there was a hole in the fence. And it's just - the whole thing is crazy.
VELSHI: I'll tell you this, if I were a reporter there and, you know, my BlackBerry went off last night to tell me the story, everybody come in, we have to cover the story, I'd call in sick.
ROMANS: Ali, you are so brave.
VELSHI: I'll be standing out there in the dark with wild animals roaming around?
ROMANS: Brave. You like the sharks and tigers on Wall Street. You can't handle the real ones, right?
Rob Marciano in the Extreme Weather Center. Good morning, Rob.
VELSHI: Rob, he'd be out there. He'd be out there with the wild animals.
ROMANS: Oh, yes. He'd be there.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, running away. I would not work out. Could you imagine that? I mean, that's a story to tell. You've got snowstorms. You've got severe weather across Ohio. But when you grow up and you will say, yes, my school was cancelled for a day because there were - there are wild animals on the loose in my town.
VELSHI: Yes.
MARCIANO: I hope -
ROMANS: The other story here is the laxed Ohio laws. I mean, you know, Carol Costello was saying, 20 years ago when she was in this market - near this market, very laxed laws. I mean, people can have these preserves -
VELSHI: Right. ROMANS: -- and all of these wild animals, non-native species.
VELSHI: Yes. Right here in Manhattan you can't keep tigers and lions.
ROMANS: Every now and then they find them up in the Bronx or something.
VELSHI: Yes, they do.
MARCIANO: Well, hopefully everything will turn out OK because it's a bit of a scary situation, when you think about it.
Another situation which was scary last night across parts of South Florida, three reports of possible tornadoes. Certainly a lot of damage across this area. These pictures near Plantation, Florida, just to the west and northwest of that. So a decent amount of wind there. It certainly looks like tornado damage.
Severe weather threat continues today, although the tornado watch that was in effect earlier has been allowed to expire. Still, across the keys and across parts of South Florida, we continue to see the rainfall, heavy at times. And guess what? It's making its way up through the Del Mar, through the Mid-Atlantic and getting into the Tri-State area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Some of these is heavy, especially across Jersey. And notice how far back to the west it goes.
This is a big system affecting a lot of people and it's a bit of a mess certainly if you're traveling today. Already we've gone upwards of an hour delay at LaGuardia and the other New York metros will see delays as well. Chicago, gusty winds behind this thing as well, so it will be twofold. This thing is going to kind of explode as far as intensity goes and become a decent Great Lakes storm as we go through.
As that tropical connection, so, again, the rainfall will be heavy at times. Maybe we'll get a little bit of a dry spot later on today and tonight across the I-95 corridor. But the back side of this is going to be wet and windy at times. We'll see winds gust over 40, maybe even 50 miles an hour at times across Chicago and in through Detroit, and that means also cold air coming in behind this. Temperatures will be in the 20s and 30s tomorrow.
And for game one tonight, guys, temperatures will not get out of the 40s and it will be blustery. So, World Series will be, well, very fall-like.
VELSHI: It's getting kind of - I love baseball games in the summer. I love sitting around at the Yankees Stadium, but I think post-season games, World Series needs to be a little bit cold.
MARCIANO: Yes, I agree.
VELSHI: It's good when it's cold. You know, all bundled up, you know?
MARCIANO: It feels especially good when you're watching it from the comfort of your living room.
ROMANS: Wow.
VELSHI: Exactly right.
ROMANS: And if you're in Zanesville, Ohio, stay in the comfort of the building.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Because going back to that story, there's a neighbor quoted by AP who says that all night long she could hear a male lion roaring -
VELSHI: Oh, man.
ROMANS: -- and that she's got kids and she's always been kind of afraid. A lion got loose in 2006, and, you know, she kind of always been afraid of something ever happening, and this is their worst nightmare.
VELSHI: Wow.
ROMANS: Hearing a male lion, probably, you know, they're not in their cages.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: They're loose.
VELSHI: Yes. Kind of wondering what's going on.
All right, Rob, we'll catch up with you later. Thanks, buddy.
MARCIANO: Sounds good.
VELSHI: Coming up ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, the art of the political flip-flop. How Mitt Romney and Herman Cain have changed their tune on health care and homeland security.
ROMANS: Plus good news. Social Security benefits are going up. Find out why. Well, maybe you wouldn't even notice the increase. I hate to be the bearer of bad news on the one hand. On the other hand -
Twenty-two minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Welcome back. "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Reports that France and Germany might expand the size of the big eurozone bailout. The big fund to bailout investors giving people something to cheer about today. The Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 all rising late in the day yesterday. This morning, stock futures for the Dow and S&P 500 are up. The NASDAQ futures are trading lower so far. A rarity for Apple. The company missed analyst expectations for the first time since at least 2004. That was a record quarter. The tech giant made $6.6 billion in the third quarter, but iPhone sales were lighter than expected. Apple says the slowdown was because people were waiting for the new iPhone.
Today, Social Security recipients are expected to learn they're getting their first raise in two years. The cost of living boost kicks in next year and is expected to be about 3.5 percent, though you might not notice the increase because there could be a hike in Medicare premium. So we'll be watching carefully to see how those balance out.
Bank of America is no longer the nation's largest bank when it comes to assets. It lost that title to JPMorgan Chase. Bank of America has been shutting branches and selling assets as a way to cut expenses.
Also this morning, the last of the big banks, Morgan Stanley, releases its third quarter earnings.
Catching a flight home this holiday is going to cost you more money. According to Hotwire.com, the average airfare around Thanksgiving will be up six percent this year. The average price for a ticket during Christmas, up 10 percent. One reason for the increase, more demand and fewer flights as the airlines try to make money.
Next year, it's going to cost you more to send a letter. The U.S. Postal Service announcing the cost for a stamp is going up a penny. So forever stamps will now cost 45 cents each. The move should bring in more revenue for the cash-strapped Postal Service.
AMERICAN MORNING will be right back after this quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Thirty minutes after the hour. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
Here are the morning's top stories -- Rick Perry coming out swinging.
ROMANS: To say the least.
VELSHI: Really. Look at this. Hands, pointing. At last night's Western Republican debate, getting down and dirty with Mitt Romney on the topic of immigration.
Look at these two. The two candidates had a heated somewhat, uncomfortable exchange. Herman Cain also taking heat for his 9-9-9 tax plan. A plan opponents claim will raise taxes on the middle class. We're going to talk more about that later in the show.
ROMANS: We're going to break it down for you.
Schools closed in Muskingum, Ohio, as police hunt down grisly bears, big cat, and dangerous animals that broke out or let go an exotic animal farm. The owner found dead, cages open, animals gone. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
BILL COOPER, RESIDENT: We hear noises every once in a while, and we're just trying to figure out what it was. It's not a domestic animal or anything like that.
JODY HEDGES, RESIDENT: Scary. You don't know where they're at. And if the cops can't catch them, they're going to be running wild, crazy.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
ROMANS: About two dozen on the loose right now. It's not clear yet how the owner died.
Police say as many as 48 animals escaped, and they've killed about half of them so far, but there are cats. There are wolves. There are other wild animals hiding and on the loose. They're waiting for that facility --
VELSHI: We just saw a sad picture of, you know, a lion that had been shot dead.
ROMANS: Yes, and they're taking down some of these animals. They're hoping to bring in some experts with tranquilizer guns, so they don't have to kill all of these animals.
VELSHI: An austerity showdown in Greece. A massive general strike called by the country's two major unions. It has crippled the country's public and private sectors. The protest comes as the Greek parliament prepares to vote on new austerity measures aimed at heading off a default and a possible entire Eurozone crisis.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back to Las Vegas. The Dictionary.com defines flip-flop as a sudden or unexpected reversal of direction, belief, attitude or policy. Now, we're not accusing any of the Republican presidential candidates of flip-flopping last night. We'll let you decide about that.
But let's start with Mitt Romney. He just can't distance himself from the health care plan he implemented when he was governor of Massachusetts. Listen to how this health care position has evolved from 2006 right up until last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTILA CANDIDATE: Having 30 million people in this country without health insurance and having those people show up when they get sick and expect someone else to pay, that's a Democratic approach. That's the wrong way.
The Republican approach is to say, you know what? Everybody should have insurance. They should pay what they can afford to pay, if they need help. We'll there be to help them, but no more free ride.
I went after that in Massachusetts and was able to put in a plan that helps get health premiums down and gets all of our citizens insured. If we can do that nationally, we help not only Michigan and the auto industry but the entire nation.
The right answer for every state is to determine what's right for those states and not to impose Obamacare in the nation. That's why I repeal it.
At the time by the way I crafted the plan in the last campaign, I was asked, is this something would you have the whole nation do? And I said, no. This is something that was crafted for Massachusetts. It would be wrong to adopt this as a nation.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
COSTELLO: OK. That was Mitt Romney's position evolving over a five- year period.
Herman Cain's position on negotiating with terrorists evolved in a matter of hours -- a flip-flop? You decide.
In an interview last night with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Cain was asked if he'd consider trading Guantanamo Bay prisoners in exchange for one American held hostage by al Qaeda. Listen to his answer and then compare it to the response he gave hours later, at the Western Republican Debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Could you see yourself as president authorizing that kind of transfer?
CAIN: I could see myself authorizing that kind of transfer but what I would do is I would make sure that I got all of the information. I got all of the input, considered all of the options. And then, the president has to be the president and make a judgment call. I can make that call if I had to.
I believe in the philosophy of, we don't negotiate with terrorists. I think -- I've been saying, I would never agree to letting hostages in Guantanamo Bay go. No, that wasn't the intent at all.
I said that I spoke in error. Maybe I didn't understand the question. If I did say that, I would not do that, because I believe in the philosophy, we cannot negotiate with terrorists.
I misspoke. I would not do that. I simply would not do that.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
COSTELLO: There you have it. With the rate of foreclosures seven times the national average, people in Las Vegas are, well, under water and demanded answers last night. Two people who are in the crowd and had questions are here with us this morning.
Tracy Smith and Bill Sidhu, welcome to both of you. Thank you so much for getting up early.
Let's start with the contentions in of this debate because Mitt Romney and Rick Perry really got into it. How did that go over with you, Tracy?
TRACY SMITH, DEBATE WATCHER: I think I was a little tired of it after a while. I think enough was said about the employee that Mitt Romney apparently had hired, and I think we just wanted to hear more about the issues and give the candidates a chance to also talk about the issues instead of sparring back-and-forth between the two of them.
COSTELLO: Some say that Rick Perry needed to do this. He needed to look aggressive and feisty, that he had life throughout the debate. How did Rick Perry come off in this fight between the two?
SMITH: I think he came off as apparent he was trying to get back some momentum, and I don't think it played well with us in the audience. I think that we were done with that topic.
COSTELLO: Bill, what do you think?
BILL SIDHU, ASKED A QUESTION AT THE DEBATE: I agree with Tracy. I think this came in pretty down and dirty at some point in the debate and Tracy is absolutely right. It was getting tiring to see those kinds of thing. We are talking about critical issues. And so, we need to concentrate on the real, substantive issues which affect our economy, our well-being here in America, and so, that's what we should have been hearing about.
COSTELLO: OK. One of those -- one of the substantive issues that came up with health care, that Mitt Romney's opponents called Romneycare. You probably know that Mitt Romney has changed his tone a bit since 2006.
Do you believe him now that he'll repeal Obamacare, and is that what you want?
SIDHU: Well, this would be sort of an indication for him, when he says he was going to appeal Obamacare, he's, in fact, criticizing his own plan which he instituted in Massachusetts. In reality, objectively speaking, it has not worked in Massachusetts itself either. So what we need is we need something that's substantial. We need something real, which can be --
COSTELLO: So just because Mitt Romney says, yes, I'll repeal Obamacare, does that say to you that he has a plan to reform health care in this country?
SIDHU: That's the excellent question, Carol. It's what's the replace of this repeal? Yes, we can talk all day about repealing, but what's the replace of it? That's what we need to find out.
COSTELLO: Tracy, like so many people in Nevada, you are under water on your mortgage. Did you hear anything during the debate last night that gave you hope that you would get any hope at all from these candidates?
SMITH: On a personal level? No. But I didn't expect to, to be honest with you. I know that the foreclosure rate in Nevada is terrible, but it's not going to be a quick fix, and that's going to be tied clearly into the economy and changing that around.
COSTELLO: But a direct question was asked of these contenders, and none of them really gave an answer. Did they?
SMITH: No. No.
COSTELLO: So what does that say about how you're going to vote next year?
SMITH: Well -- I'm hoping that we can get out of hot water here in Nevada specifically, clearly. I think that the state needs to come up with some ideas, and then we'll have to see how that goes, but -- it's not an easy answer, I will say that. And I don't think it's going to be a quick fix. So I certainly am not the one to come up with that solution.
COSTELLO: OK. And neither were they, apparently, on stage.
OK. So a quick answer to this one. Did the debate last night change your mind about any candidate? Have you completely decided?
SMITH: No, I have not completely decided, but I was really interested in hearing more from Herman Cain and I was really happy to see his performance last night. I was interested to see what Mitt Romney had to say and I was -- you know, I'm interested. I'm interested in learning more about those two in particular.
COSTELLO: And you told me before that Rick Perry's done, with you?
SMITH: In my opinion, yes. I'm a little over Rick Perry at this point, but as we discussed before, it's still a very fluid situation. So, we'll see what the next few months have.
COSTELLO: So, Bill, did you make up your mind last night about which candidate you'd support?
SIDHU: It's absolutely hard to do that. Again, it comes back to the question of, where do the candidates really stand on talking about the real issues which are affecting our lives here? And 30 million people are suffering in this country, they're unemployed. And 50 million people do not have any kind of access to health care.
So, it's a terrible situation out there on the street. So we need to find a real solution. We need to get something substantive from these folks here, how can we make up our mind.
COSTELLO: So more substantive answers and less bickering, perhaps?
SIDHU: Absolutely.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Tracy and Bill, thank you so much for waking up early. We appreciate it.
SMITH: Sure. COSTELLO: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING -- we'll have much more about that story out of Ohio.
We'll also talk about Herman Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan. Sounds great, small numbers, it's easy to understand. What's not to like?
Well, how about higher taxes for a majority of Americans? Christine Romans will break it down, after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Welcome back.
Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan has rocketed him to the top of the heap. Last night, the other candidates took their shots at that plan.
The plan is simple. That's the whole point from Herman Cain's perspective. A 9 percent personal income tax, a 9 percent corporate tax, a 9 percent sales tax.
But the question, what does it mean to you and your taxes? This morning, we have the first in-depth analysis of this plan. This is from the non-partisan Tax Policy Center. They have gone through the number, and this is what they found.
First, the headline: 84 percent of all households would pay more under the 9-9-9 plan. Federal income taxes, the biggest by percentage hit lower income brackets because many of them aren't paying federal income taxes now. So, there you go.
If your household income is less than $30,000, you would likely see an increase of this much on average. Most people here will pay anywhere from $1,400 to $4,000 more in total federal income taxes.
Moving up the pay scale, for household incomes between $30,000 and $75,000 a year. Remember, the median is about $49,909. So, that's right in the middle. Most, but not all, will see an increase. They'll pay anywhere $4,500 to $5,500 more. OK?
If you're making between 75 per household and $100,000, you'll likely see an increase as well, and that increase would be about $6,600. Now, this is where it gets interesting and a little complicated. When we jump up to $100,000 to $200,000 a year, according to the Tax Policy Center, 65 percent of people would see an increase in their federal income tax bill by this much, $6,600.
But 35 percent of people in that range of $100,000 to $200,000 in household income would see their taxes decline. And as you go up, the people who make $200,000 to half a million, again split it up. Seven percent would see their tax bill decrease, decrease, and 30 percent would see an increase.
You go up to half a million to a million dollars, the majority here, 88 percent of taxpayers in this category get a cut, a tax cut averaging about 70 grand, and most millionaires, people make a $1 million or more in household income, will get a huge tax cut, about $487,000. So, as you can see, it's very different as you go up the pay scale.
If you want to get more into this detail, you can go to taxpolicycenter.org. I'm also going to tweet a link to this report so you can do the analysis yourself if you'd like.
Carol Costello, she had a chance to sit down with Herman Cain after last night's debate. His 9-9-9 plan coming under fire. We're going to ask him to explain how it works and whether he'd be willing to be vice president if he doesn't get this nomination. You can watch that interview at 7:10 eastern right here on AMERICAN MORNING -- Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Christine, that was good explanation. I hope we do that again in the how. I waited that (ph) lots just to understand that.
This morning's top story straight ahead including the actress who's suing a popular website for telling the truth about her age.
And his voice is legend in Las Vegas. It turns out Wayne Newton is also quite vocal on the subject of politics. Carol goes one-on-one with Mr. Las Vegas. It's 47 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Forty-eight minutes after the hour. Here's what you need to start your day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI (voice-over): Rick Perry coming out firing at last night's western Republican debate, gotten to a heated exchange with Mitt Romney over immigration. Herman Cain also taking criticism for his 9- 9-9 tax plan, a plan his opponent claim will raise taxes on the middle class.
Schools are closed as police hunt down grizzly bears, big vats, and other dangerous animals that broke out of an exotic animal farm in Ohio. They say as many as 48 animals escaped. They've killed about half of them so far. They're going after the rest with tranquilizer guns.
In Greece, government officials, government offices, small businesses, public services shutting down in what's being called the mother of all strikes. The massive protests come as parliament prepares to vote on sweeping new austerity measures to prevent a default.
After a five-day break, testimony resumes this morning in a manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's doctor. Prosecutors could rest their case today. Conrad Murray's defense is expected to begin on Friday.
An anonymous actress is suing IMDB and its parent company, Amazon, for $1 million. She claims offers for roles dropped after the website posted her age and that she looks a lot younger than she is. Amazon hasn't responded.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI (on-camera): That's the news you need to start your day. AMERICAN MORNING is back right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to beautiful Las Vegas. He's as much a part of Las Vegas as the famous strip. Entertainer, Wayne Newton, Mr. Las Vegas, he's been singing here since 1959, and he also has a voice in Republican Party politics. Just before last night's debate, I sat down with Wayne Newton to talk about the GOP race and what it's missing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WAYNE NEWTON, "MR LAS. VEGAS": I am truly afraid that the person that needs to lead this country has not yet debated, and, I'm hopeful that I'm wrong. I would love to be wrong.
COSTELLO: So, it's not Mitt Romney.
NEWTON: Well, I can't say that it's not. If he were the candidate, I would back him, simply because I really believe that anybody is going to be better than what we have right now.
COSTELLO: So, anybody but Obama?
NEWTON: Anybody but Obama. I believe he has an arrogance that's tough to get by, and I believe that he owes too many people too many favors. I'm praying for a savior. More than wishing, I'm praying for one. I'm afraid for them it's business as usual.
And the thing that concerns me about that tremendously is that they haven't realized that the left and the right and the center and the independents and the libertarians, everybody is sick of politics as usual. This country is still the best country and the best group of people on the face of the earth.
COSTELLO: Including President Obama?
NEWTON: Absolutely, but I wouldn't pick him to lead again. I think if he had been a little bit (INAUDIBLE) would have gotten him sooner.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: I did talk to Wayne Newton after the debate. He said he was more impressed with Mitt Romney. He didn't make a final decision on who he would support, but he said that Mitt Romney showed leadership, especially when people were, you know, ganging up on him during the debate. We saw pictures. Of course, let me explain, because after our interview, Wayne Newton took me on a tour of his magnificent home.
He owns a 52-acre ranch right near the airport in Las Vegas. And let me tell you, it's a wonderland. You can see the birds there. Lots of exotic animals. No lions, and tigers, and bears, so don't worry, but there are penguins, there are Arabian horses, and isn't that a beautiful sight? It's just gorgeous.
He has peacocks all over the property, 200 peacocks. Lots of dogs, lots of cats. Eventually, his property will be turned into an entertainment museum. Those are wallabies if you're look at if you're wondering what they are. Eventually, as I said, his property will be open to the public. He's building an entertainment museum, and all of those animals will also be on display. So, people can go in and see the animals and see the beauty of Wayne Newton's estate.
ROMANS: Carol, did he say what policies? He said the president he found arrogant, but did he say what policies he didn't like? Potential for higher taxes? Because under this president, Wayne Newton's taxes, no question, has been lowered. Well, they were lowered. The president cut those taxes last year, but he would like to raise taxes on rich people?
COSTELLO: At one point in the interview, he said he's open to any idea, but he had a problem with President Obama's leadership qualities. He said, yes, President Obama may have ideas, but he has failed to push those ideas through Congress, even when Congress was majority Democratic. He wants someone who can get something done in Washington, and he feels that's not President Obama.
VELSHI: I mean, it's an interesting point. I will remind people that the thing that Republicans hate the most is the healthcare proposal, which actually did pass under a Democratic-controlled Congress. So, the biggest piece of legislation in the last 30 or 40 years was actually passed.
You may not like it, but the business about how President Obama couldn't pass things under Democratic Congress is just flat-out wrong. It did pass. Healthcare passed under Democratic administration. We should remind people of that when they say that.
COSTELLO: I actual will did, but for Wayne Newton, it's anybody but Obama.
VELSHI: Yes.
COSTELLO: He says President Obama has been bad for this country and, yes, President Obama pushed through health care, but Wayne Newton hates that.
VELSHI: Right.
COSTELLO: Because to him, that's another failure.
VELSHI: But it was a success from the president's perspective. So, a lot of any cases, it's very interesting to continue see Wayne Newton. Carol will back with you shortly. Thank you.
Much more coming up on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
