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Rick's List

Senate Espionage?; President Obama Prepares For State of the Union Address; Toyota Recalls Popular Cars, Shuts Down Their Production; Stimulus Funds Being Spent to Advertise Stimulus Spending?; New iPad Released by Apple

Aired January 27, 2010 - 15:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Making news right now.

Just hours from this:

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president of the United States.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

SANCHEZ: His numbers dwindling. Does he care more about Wall Street than Main Street? Now, Republicans have their own problems -- 31 of them s signed a resolution calling James O'Keefe an example for other citizens to follow.

JAMES O'KEEFE, ARRESTED: The truth shall set me free.

SANCHEZ: The problem? O'Keefe was part of a group just busted by the feds for allegedly posing as a repairman to gain access to a U.S. senator's office and phone system.

What exactly is it about Toyota gas pedals that has led to a massive recall?

Steve Jobs' newest Apple gadget unveiled. Will this iPhone on steroids change the way we live?

Smart enough to save the world in a day, but swindled in an alleged cow-selling scam. Don't have a cow, Kiefer, but say it ain't so.

And who will sit next to the first lady at tonight's State of the Union? Are they intriguing?

The lists that you need to know about. Who is "Today's Most Intriguing Person"? Who is on "The List That You Don't Want To Be On"? You will find out as our national conversation on Twitter, on the air starts right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: And hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez. Making the list right now in your national conversation, talk about taking a haircut.

Tim Geithner, did you see it? He went up to Capitol Hill and he got scalped, raked over the coals. This is a bailout breakthrough for you.

Look, this goes right to the anger that you, my viewers, and my guests have consistently brought to our attention. The banks got theirs. We got screwed. That is what I hear you telling me every single day. And that is what is dragging down the president's approval ratings as he delivers his first State of the Union. It is that anger, your anger, your suspicion and mine got channeled today through members of Congress onto the head of this baby-faced treasury secretary.

And you are going to hear it, but, first, you have got to hear this, because this is somewhat chilling. At least we thought so when we heard it. I want to know what you think. We haven't heard it discussed in public, at least not like this, how close we came to going down the tubes in the fall of 2008.

I want you to listen to this. Let's do it.

Rog, go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP: PAUL KANJORSKI (D), PENNSYLVANIA: A democracy such as ours, transparency both in good news and dangerous news must be shared with people. And part of the problem at that time, we didn't share that news.

And even to today, most people in this audience and most people throughout America have no idea how close we came to total annihilation and disaster; is that correct?

TIMOTHY GEITHNER, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: That is my view. I think, for the first time since the Great Depression, you were seeing a full-scale run of the financial system. People were taking their savings out of banks. They wondered whether a dollar was a dollar, whether a dollar and a money market fund would be worth a dollar. They worried about whether a dollar lent to a AAA company would be worth a dollar. It was a basic calamitous breakdown in the fabric of our system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: A calamitous breakdown. You heard Geithner say it, a calamitous breakdown in the fabric of our system. You heard there Paul Kanjorski. Total annihilation is the word that he used.

All right, most Americans get that, but here is the outrage. And let's remember the big banks that took the enormous big risks that nearly drove us down the tubes, they had insured those idiotic risks with AIG, which couldn't even come close to paying them off. So, the government ran to rescue AIG. We know that. But here is the rub. The government could have told AIG, all right, here, cover the banks' losses, but not in full. Pay them 50 percent. Pay 60. Pay 70 percent, whatever. Make them take a haircut.

But the government didn't do that. The government allowed AIG with our money, you and me as citizens, $62 billion to cover every penny of the banks' bad investments.

You or I make a bad investment, we lose, we are done, right? The banks make a bad investment, they still win. That's the perception. And we are going to keep coming back to this.

Now, as a guy raising four kids, let me tell you something. That is frustrating, to you, to me, to all of us as Americans.

So, here we go. This is Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. He's being grilled by Democrat Steven Lynch of Massachusetts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STEPHEN LYNCH (D), MASSACHUSETTS: You had every opportunity, every opportunity to weigh in on behalf of the American people, and make these people take a new deal, make them take a haircut.

You scalped the folks on Bear Stearns. Two cents on a dollar, they got, two cents on a dollar. The folks at Goldman Sachs got 100 cents on a dollar. And that is just unacceptable, totally unacceptable. You had the opportunity.

And I just think it was a terrible decision on your part, and also on the Mr. Paulson's part. And he is up later, and we will talk to him.

(CROSSTALK)

LYNCH: But how do you expect to -- look, and the thing about changing over to the Obama administration, you have got the same people who are relying on you, the American taxpayer, when you are in one job and the American taxpayer is relying on you on the other job. I don't see a conflict. I really don't.

You could have done the right thing by those people, by the American taxpayer, because their money was being put into this deal.

(CROSSTALK)

LYNCH: And it just stinks to the high heaven, what happened here.

(CROSSTALK)

LYNCH: And I don't like the obfuscation.

And to top it all off, the disclosure was not there. The disclosure was not there at the proper time to tell the American people and tell this Congress what was going on. And that is just inexcusable. And it makes me doubt -- it makes me doubt your commitment to the American people. It makes me doubt Mr. Paulson's commitment to the American people.

And I think the commitment to Goldman Sachs trumped the responsibility that our officials had to the American people.

GEITHNER: Congressman, I respect your opinion. I know you hold those opinions, strongly, but I completely disagree.

The American taxpayer would not have been better off if the government had made it possible for equity holders in Bear Stearns to get more money. The American taxpayer would not have been better off if we had let AIG default.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: All right, you know there's a lot of reporting about Timothy Geithner's actions concerning the big banks during the height of the crisis when he was direction the Federal Reserve of New York.

We haven't yet gotten to the bottom of that either. And, frankly, I would have asked Geithner the exact same question that he was asked today by Florida's John Mica.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN MICA (R), FLORIDA: My final question is, why shouldn't we ask for your resignation as secretary of the treasury? I didn't think you should have been secretary of the treasury when it was disclosed that you didn't pay your taxes, because that is the highest financial responsibility position in the United States government.

So, why shouldn't you step down...

(CROSSTALK)

GEITHNER: That is your right. That is your right to that opinion.

I have worked in public service all of my life. I have never been a politician. I have served my country as carefully and ably as I can, and it is a great privilege for me to work with this president, to help repair the damage that was here when we took office.

And I will do so as long as he asks me to do so to the best of my ability with great pride in this country and in him.

MICA: Again, I think that you are punting the blame and you're trying to position yourself as the savior...

(CROSSTALK)

GEITHNER: Congressman, you don't know me very well.

(CROSSTALK)

MICA: ... and yet...

(CROSSTALK)

GEITHNER: You don't know me very well. I will take...

MICA: I believe that we are not getting the whole story. We are getting a lame story in a monumental backdoor decision of bailout.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: So, the folks on Capitol Hill seem to believe that Geithner is a liability.

You have got to wonder what the president thinks as he readies for his first State of the Union. This is important, folks, with his approval rating now below 50 percent, at 49 by ours, largely because Barack Obama finds himself on the same side of the anger that Tim Geithner just did.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Do you have anything to say about the charges against you? Why were you in Senator Landrieu's office?

O'KEEFE: The truth shall set me free.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: He says the truth is going to set him free. A hero to the right, even hailed by members of Congress, now charged by the feds for a plot that put phony telephone repairmen in a U.S. senator's district office.

This is serious, folks.

And then, later, I am going to show you a new gadget which may change our lives. What is it? You are going to want to know, but we are going to take you inside, so you can really feel like you are seeing it in front of your eyes. Stay there.

The lists scroll -- oh, and don't forget Jessica Yellin. She's coming right up, too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CALLER: Hey, Rick. This is (INAUDIBLE) from Chesapeake, Virginia.

I would like to hear the president tell us the truth and nothing but the truth. I would like to hear him telling us that he is going to remove corporate America from our government, so they will no longer influence any decision made for the people. (END AUDIO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: This is the one thing that so many Americans are talking about, the anger about the fact that there is an impression that too much of the money went to Wall Street and not enough of the money went to Main Street. You just heard it there.

It is coming from average people like you and me who just work for a living, right? Well, it is also coming from some of the members of Congress.

We used RICK'S LIST to try and create access for you to some of these top dogs up there, see what they're saying on any given day, see if they make news.

Well, they're making news. Let's go to "The Twitter List".

First, we are going to start with a Democrat. This is a congressman from Virginia. His name is Tom Perriello. "Here's some of what I want to hear from the president tonight, real change in economic strategy for Main Street."

Go to the next one. Let's see who else is talking to me today. "I hope that the president has listened to the people and learned that his policies of last year have fallen short of America's expectations." That's what Eric Cantor says. He's the Republican whip, so no surprise that he's coming down heard on the president.

"President Obama's spending freeze is a good first step to begin getting our fiscal house in order." You know who that is. That is Joe Lieberman, who still, last time I checked, caucuses with the Democrats although affiliation is a little fuzzy.

By the way, I have got to tell you something else right now. This is news that we are going to be following up on. First, let me give you the news and then let me tell you how we are going to be following up on it.

It is now official. CNN has confirmed that in fact Elizabeth Edwards is -- let me use the right word -- separating -- Correct, Angie? -- separating from her husband, John Edwards. Obviously, it is a political story. I don't have to tell you why, all the implications, all the stories that have gone around since he first decided that he was going to run for the presidency.

Here is what we are going to do. There is a "People" magazine reporter, correspondent, who has recently worked on this story. We have just contacted him and booked him. And he will be joining us later on throughout this newscast.

Meanwhile, here is what else we have coming up.

Toyota makes a tough call. You telling me I can't buy a Camry or a Corolla right now? That is -- what? The gas pedal getting stuck? Yes. That is why. And we are going to drill down on this for you, because this affects millions of Americans. Also, President Obama's first State of the Union address comes as his poll numbers head south. The stakes for this speech couldn't get any higher. It is time for some Yellin. That is coming up next. That's where she is, by the way. Is that her? Is that Jessica in the middle there? Where is she? Don't tell me. We will find out in a minute.

That's not her usual venue, is it? Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

You know one of the things that you hear all the time that kind of bugs all of us? You know that term conventional wisdom? Conventional wisdom is what pundits are telling you and me, that this is a speech that is the most important speech ever for this president or this politician. We hear it all the time. Can we just retire that one, please?

Tonight, this president's first State of the Union is important, not the most important ever or his most important ever. His approval ratings come into play here by the way, because his approval ratings are essentially kind of doing this.

They're kind of starting to go down for the first time we have seen below 50 percent, at 49 percent, according to ours. But I'm here to tell you that this speech really is not going to do this. It won't make his approval ratings just start to shoot up. But it is important that he somehow gets this thing going. Jobs for America is going to make Obama's approval ratings do this, according to all the experts that you talk to.

He will be lucky tonight if he can just kind of make it do this, just kind of level out, right, stop falling. All that said, I am fascinated to hear what he is going to say. So are most Americans. You are going to be able to see the whole thing on CNN with lots of reaction. We are looking at this thing six ways from Sunday, folks.

So, is Jessica Yellin, who today is in Columbus, Ohio.

I had no idea where she was, so I looked at my Twitter board, where I get all my answers, and I found out. Go to the Twitter board real quick. Let's share this with Jessica, Robert.

Look at this guy. This is Diever Dog, or Diever Dog. He is there. He is at Ohio State. "Excited to say hi from Ohio State University, where your crew is getting ready for a remote later tonight following Obama's speech."

So, I know where you are, Jessica, because somebody on Twitter just told me. What are you doing there?

(CROSSTALK)

JESSICA YELLIN, NBC CORRESPONDENT: They have been hard at work here, Rick.

We are doing one of the dial-testing panels. We are going to talk to regular folks about -- to get their instant reaction to the president's speech as he gives it, so they use these dial things you have seen on TV before. We can measure how people are reacting in real time.

Listen, this is why it matters. You were just very critical of the pundits.

SANCHEZ: Right.

YELLIN: We don't want to hear only from how the experts are responding.

SANCHEZ: Right.

YELLIN: This is a good cross-section of regular folk.

And one really interesting thing? Five of the people who will be here tonight attended one of the presidential debates and did dial- testing then during the campaign, so we are going to get a real read on how their perception of Obama has changed...

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: This is real cool. This is like one of those gadgets where they're able to...

(CROSSTALK)

YELLIN: I love it. It's cool.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

Hey, I am wondering why you are not in like my hometown? Why aren't you in sunny Florida? I mean, it's a lot nicer there this time of the year. What are you doing in Ohio?

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

YELLIN: I'll tell you what.

So, Ohio is usually a bellwether state. For President Obama to win reelection in 2012, it's likely that he will have to win this state and he will probably have to win this very county we are in. And that's based on history. So, it is a good forecast of how the nation will respond, but here is what is really interesting.

I wanted to point this out to you, Rick. The number-one issue for folks here in Ohio is the economy, as it is across the nation.

SANCHEZ: Right. YELLIN: But in the really recent poll, it shows that when you ask folks who they blame most for the sorry state of the economy, 24 percent, the most, blame Bush, President Bush, then Wall Street, then Congress, and way down the list, the Obama administration.

So, that bodes well for President Obama. And it is a reflection of what he is going to try to capitalize on tonight and in the days to come.

SANCHEZ: What you just read us not...

(CROSSTALK)

YELLIN: ... the last administration.

SANCHEZ: But that is people in Ohio or national?

YELLIN: That is people in Ohio.

SANCHEZ: Ohio..

YELLIN: But, again, Ohio is often, again, a reflection of where the nation has been going. They have been suffering harder economic times longer than the rest of us. And it is a good reflection of where the nation is.

(CROSSTALK)

YELLIN: It is interesting to evaluate.

SANCHEZ: There is something else that is interesting to evaluate. I want to bring this up with you.

We were looking up, Gary and I were, my producer, we were looking at some numbers. And we wanted to do a comparison. We thought it would be illustrative to look at Ronald Reagan, for example.

Let's compare Ronald Reagan's numbers at this same time in his presidency to Barack Obama's numbers at this time in his presidency. What do you make of that? You know what? Exactly the same. Reagan is, you know, at least a successful president, right?

YELLIN: Hugely successful. And no doubt Obama's advisers are well aware, the president now is well aware of what happened with Reagan and how his numbers changed.

What President Reagan did is he unveiled over time bold plans, morning in America, some of his other bold initiatives, to turn around the economy. He also got lucky that the economy happened to turned around. And he rode that wave into the future.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

YELLIN: And that is what this president is also hoping to do is capitalize on exactly what I was talking about a minute ago, that President Bush and Wall Street are getting most of the blame, that he can capitalize on that, unveil some of these jobs initiatives we will hear about, tax cut proposals, etcetera, some of his proposals for education, and remind Americans that he is in charge, he's moving ahead.

He has a window. He has a window. He has to change opinion in a short window.

SANCHEZ: Yes. He has got a problem, though, Jessica. And his problem is spelled G-E-I-T-H-N-E-R, which is a strange spelling for that name.

YELLIN: It's not even easy to spell, is it?

SANCHEZ: Yes, Geithner, right? I'm not even sure I got it right.

Geithner is a problem, because Geithner reminds Americans of Wall Street. And it seems the big problem that this president has right now is this perception that he cares more about the big guys, that he cares more about the top cats, the top dogs up there than he does about the rest of us. That is -- whether it is true or not, that is the perception.

YELLIN: Right.

And the irony is, even Wall Street is angry with President Obama, despite the fact that Geithner is perceived by so many Americans as having close ties to Wall Street.

So, look, Geithner, the treasury secretary, has been something of a touchy issue for the president from the beginning. First, he had the tax problem. Then there's this perception that he's close to Wall Street.

And the bottom line, Rick, is he is not an excellent spokesperson for the economy during this economic downturn. And our recent CNN polling shows four in 10 Americans don't even know enough about him to have an opinion. That is not a good sign for your chief spokesperson for the economy.

You want somebody that Americans know, trust, identify with, think has bold ideas. The other thing I will tell you, just talking to Democrats in Washington, there are a growing number of Democrats who are also concerned about the Treasury Department, about Geithner, and have deep reservations.

Now, that doesn't -- I should caveat all this by saying I have heard no mention that there's any change coming from inside the White House, but I know there are growing concerns among Democrats about this.

SANCHEZ: And, by the way -- and we are out of time and we can't get into this, but the Republicans now have their own problem, and it comes in the form of a guy who calls himself an investigative reporter. He is as much an investigative reporter as I am the queen of Norway. YELLIN: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: Regardless, it is an interesting development. And we will get to that throughout this newscast as well.

Thanks so much, Jessica.

(CROSSTALK)

YELLIN: I won't call you Queen Rick. Bye.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: Thank you. My wife would appreciate that.

Nothing but net. Watch this. You ready? Now, it is easy when you are an NBA pro, but what if you are not a pro, just a high school coach and you are blindfolded? This is the shot you have got to see to believe. And the story behind it is even better. Who is this man? And how did he make our list of "The Most Intriguing People"? Here is a hint. He is keeping the doctor away. That is next.

And call it a sign of the times. Are $1 million stimulus dollar being spent on signs? How many jobs is it actually creating? This is going to shock you. This is a very well put together, balanced report that's coming up just in a little bit about your money. It is coming up. Stay with us. The LIST continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Here we go. Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. This is THE LIST.

He is an organ transplant patient, but you know him as a prolific inventor. Time now for most intriguing.

He is a CEO. His company's worth has been more than Google, bar set so high, few of us can fathom even reaching it, a perfectionist when it comes to his products. He is mum on his private life, staying out of the spotlight mostly, unless he has a new gadget to promote, like today. I bet you know who we are talking about.

The man once fired from Apple came back, designed the iMac, the iTouch, the iPod, the iPhone, and today, he gives us the iPad. Steve Jobs is our first most intriguing person of the day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE JOBS, CEO, APPLE: What this device does is extraordinary. You can browse the Web with it. It is the best browsing experience you have ever had. It is phenomenal to see a whole Web page right in front of you and you can manipulate with your fingers. It's unbelievably great, way better than a laptop, way better than a smartphone. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: You are going to talk more about the iPad in the next hour, because we are going to be drilling down on this. Billionaire businessman Steve Jobs, one of today's most intriguing persons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Toyota has done the right thing and they have stepped forward here and done this voluntarily.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Sales suspended and recalls. Today's Toyota hits the mother of all speed bumps this year, what every driver needs to know before driving any of the company's best -- yes, bestselling cars.

And could it be the shot heard round the world? Well, not quite. But you have to see this one to believe. It is not just a lucky shot. It is everything that comes before it that you need to understand. We are not kidding. We don't usually do these. This one is good.

By the way, you can join us for the national conversation whenever you visit Atlanta. Love to have you here. You will be part of our studio. You can watch the show and we will converse during commercials, if Angie is not talking to me, 1-877-4CNN-TOUR.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. I grew up with Yogi Bear and you probably did, too, and man that Park Ranger Smith was dumb. Hey, Boo Boo. Let's do "Fotos."

We begin in the woods, and you know what bears do in the woods -- no, not that. They scare people, unless they are scared themselves by a cat. Did you see that? The cat shows the bear who is the boss. Are you watching, Brooke?

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I am watching.

SANCHEZ: That's a cat. And that's the bear.

BALDWIN: That bear is like, no thanks.

SANCHEZ: The cat is supposed to run away, right? No, he is holding his own. It is a battle for the trash, but the bear wins the battle, but not until fluffy teaches him a thing or two, as your mom used to say.

In San Diego, what happened to that house? It looks like a bomb went off, and for the homeowner, it felt like a bomb went off. And 911 operators must have thought it was a prank call, a boulder the size of a car smashed into that house.

The ginormous boulder slid down a hill and crashed through the living room. Nobody hurt, but the locals say, I have never seen anything like it.

All right, this is an incredible story. This thing started as a prank. But, wait, let me set this up for you. Stay with me here. This coach was going to be punked by his students. They blindfolded him and made him take a shot at the basket, and they were going to cheer as if he made it, thinking of course that he would make it, but they were going to cheer like he did make it.

So here is what they do. He's shooting form half-court. They spin him around and get him all dizzy, and then they make him throw it in the air and they were going to pretend that he made it. Well, he did make it.

BALDWIN: He actually does make it.

SANCHEZ: He actually does make it. And now they are really cheering, and it is like -- who's punked now?

BALDWIN: I believe you said earlier that you could do this.

SANCHEZ: With 100 takes. One more time. This is incredible. Unbelievable.

BALDWIN: He is anti-punking.

SANCHEZ: We are out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Taxpayers want to know how their tax dollars are being spent, and this is how they tell them. Is there a better way?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, in is the message that it is being spent stupidly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: This is a great report. Your stimulus tax dollars at work, folks. A sign of progress or it is waste? We are drilling down deeper in just ten minutes in a very balanced and informational way.

And then a sales shutdown at Toyota. The company is no longer selling Camrys or Corolla or RAV4s, because the gas pedal may accelerate itself in some way. It's kind of complicated. That is why we have got Brooke here. She will take us through the story. We just want to give you as much information as we possibly and tell you exactly what Toyota is doing as they are owning up to the problem.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Rick, this is Don from Kentucky. I'm a truck driver, and, first of all, I think that it is dangerous to be texting and/or talking on the cell phone. It seems kind of discriminating against just the truck drivers and the bus drivers when there are also dangerous people in their cars, also.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to THE LIST. I'm Rick Sanchez.

Let's talk about Toyota. They really should be sitting pretty these days. Even as the U.S. auto industry has fallen on some hard time, the Japanese carmaker has been generally cruising along, all things considered, of course. So why has Toyota suddenly slammed on the brakes on its sales and recalled millions of its top sellers?

We first learned that Toyota had a serious problem last week when it recalled 2.3 million cars because of a problem with this -- you see this right here? It is an accelerator. Can you tell what this does right here? This is where your foot goes. Brooke, help me out right here. What is this car from?

BALDWIN: This is from a 2003 Camry, and we wanted to bring it out to illustrate. This is not the car in question. I think Roger, if we can throw up the graphic with the eight different models. If you have one of these cars, this is when you need to listen. It's one of eight models plus Pontiac which is by the way made by GM.

But let's get into this, because you brought up, the accelerator, and the question is what is the problem, what is causing these accelerators to stick? I dug out this letter. By the way, this letter is from Toyota outlining these problems to the NHTSA to the issue when we talk car parts, and I am rolling up the sleeves to talk about this.

SANCHEZ: Right, I hold this.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

So you hit the gas and the pedal interacts with what is called a friction lever inside of this sensor, pedal sensor assembly, and it becomes too smooth.

What does that really mean and why do I care? You care because several circumstances which is all environmentally related. So, for example, if it is really hot outside and you have car parked outside, the condensation issue can cause this thing to stick, or, for example, if it is cold...

SANCHEZ: You mean, after it is depressed. If my foot goes here and goes this way?

BALDWIN: It is all of the stuff in here.

SANCHEZ: It should snap back when I take my foot back.

BALDWIN: Yes, it should snap back, but it doesn't necessarily, because it is hard to depress.

SANCHEZ: Let me do it this way. You push it down, and as soon as you take your foot off of it, it should come back. But it is staying there.

BALDWIN: Sometimes it is difficult to press, and sometimes it is not coming back up, and that obviously is problem. So if it is really cold outside and you pump up the heat inside the car, also condensation happens, and that is another issue.

Also, if you have your car for awhile, wear and tear, that's another issue.

SANCHEZ: Let me ask you another question now, and I'm glad we're doing this, because I watched a bunch of news this morning...

BALDWIN: It's like, I don't get it, right?

SANCHEZ: I didn't get it. They kept just saying, there is a problem with the Toyota accelerators. What is the problem?

BALDWIN: It's all this stuff in here.

SANCHEZ: So, they know there is some kind of a problem, and they are trying to figure through. You're saying it may be caused by the heat, they're not exactly sure. That's all easy to understand, that's fair, and we're glad they are coming in and owning up to this.

But is there a fix?

BALDWIN: That is the crux of the problem, there is not a fix yet. So that is what they are working on right now and that's why they are halting production and sales of these model cars until they find a fast fix and they find a permanent fix. We are waiting for that.

But here is what I want to get across the you today, because a lot of us are thinking, wait a minute, I have one of these cars. What if it happens to me?

SANCHEZ: That is good information.

BALDWIN: Let me walk you through. If this happens, if you this accelerator pedal and it is stuck -- Toyota says to use your best judgment, and if you need to stop immediately, you step on the brake with both feet and do not pump the brake.

Number two, throw the car in neutral, and use the brakes to make a controlled stop and turn off the engine. But pay attention, because if you can't put your car in neutral, you have to turn the engine off, there are two ways to do it depending on the car you have.

SANCHEZ: So your car is going really fast, and you are freaked out, because you can't stop it.

BALDWIN: So what do you do? If you can't put it in neutral, two options. Number one, you know how some of these newer cars have the stop/start button instead of the old fashioned keys?

SANCHEZ: Correct. Yes, I don't have one, but my friends do. BALDWIN: I don't either. So you have a button, and what you need to do is you push the button firmly. Some people are just jamming it. You basically have to say, one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, and that should stop it and you should be able to use the brake and pull off.

If you don't have that and have keys, this is what you have to listen. Do not take the keys and go all of the way around and yank them out, because that will block your steering wheel.

SANCHEZ: And you won't be able to turn.

BALDWIN: Put it in the ACC position, and then you will have control of the steering wheel, use your brakes.

SANCHEZ: The ACC, is the position you put it in when you stay in the car and listen to the radio be you don't want the engine running, one notch to the right.

BALDWIN: Exactly.

SANCHEZ: That's great information, because if you go all of the way and put the car off, you will lose your ability to steer and then you could be only going in one direction.

BALDWIN: Bad news -- 2.3 million vehicles affected by this recall. This is in addition to, you mentioned in the lead, that previous recall of 4.3 million because of the floor mats stopping the accelerator pedal.

We have a great colleague over at CNNmoney.com, Peter Valdez, and he has a number of really excellent writes on this. I was talking to him to in fact gather information here. And so if you want to read more, because who doesn't. if you have a Toyota and you're really paying attention, and you should, go to CNN.com, and that is where you will find all kinds of information.

BALDWIN: That was a good job. Good explanation. You get the reward.

BALDWIN: Let me have any accelerator.

SANCHEZ: No, listen, it is important. You tell a story like this and it is a bunch of words and pictures, and having a conversation and actually answering people's questions is the way to do it, and I am glad you did it for us.

BALDWIN: Thanks.

SANCHEZ: You're hitting it out of the park for us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: They are not required?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are the no required but... KAYE: But they cost money?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What better way to let a taxpayer know where the stimulus money is being invested.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: I bet you can think of some great way to spend $1 million and help our economy. Our government thought these signs were one of the good ways to do that. If that has you scratching your head, it did us as well, and so we looked into it and looked at both sides.

Stay with us because we will present both sides, as we often do. Stay there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: I keep telling you this, and it is important -- this is your money, and you need to know what they are doing with your money. So we at CNN are dedicated to letting you know what is going on with your stimulus money, accent on "your" stimulus money that is now flowing all over the country with the goal of creating jobs.

Well, I am about to tell you something that might make you wonder. So, listen up. It's how some states, let me say all, are deciding to spend that money.

See what you think after you watch this, because I was impressed with this, because, it really is, this report, is really a comprehensive and balanced look at the issue, which should be no surprise, because the reporter is Randi Kaye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are on our way to see how Ohio is spending your stimulus money. Our tour guide is Republican state senator Tim Grendell, and he is seriously PO-ed. Why? Because of signs like this. The bigger signs cost up to $3,000. So Ohio is using stimulus money to tell you how it's using the stimulus money.

TIM GRENDELL, (R) OHIO STATE SENATOR: Send a fruit basket if you want to say thank you, but don't spend $1 million saying thank you to Washington for giving us back our tax money.

KAYE (on camera): Grendell says Ohio is spending $1 million on signs. The Ohio Department of Transportation says this is all about transparency.

Taxpayers want to know how their tax dollars are being spent, and this is how they tell them. Is there a better way?

SCOTT VARNER, OHIO DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION: Well, this is the message that it is being spent stupidly.

KAYE (voice-over): Why spend $1 million on signage? Keeping them honest, we asked Scott Varner at the Ohio Department of Transportation.

KAYE (on camera): If the federal highway administration does not require these signs by only recommends them, why use them?

VARNER: The president made the commitment to have these symbols as part of stimulus funded projects.

KAYE: But they are not required?

VARNER: They are not required.

KAYE: And they do cost money.

VARNER: What better way to let a taxpayer know where the stimulus money is being invested?

KAYE (voice-over): Varner says the $1 million price tag for signs is quote "on the high end." But when we asked him how much does it cost, he didn't know.

KAYE (on camera): Shouldn't there be some sort of accounting or some way to tell how much it cost as opposed to we don't really know, there's no way to tell?

VARNER: It is not typical for any state department of transportation to have the exact costs on every single construction sign.

KAYE: The money for the signs amount to about one-tenth of one percent of Ohio's federal stimulus dollars for road work. But stimulus was supposed to fund projects, not advertise them, and the Obama administration promised stimulus would create jobs.

Which brings us here to Eastlake, Ohio. This man is the mayor, a Democrat, and he's also angry about the signs, because for a bit more than the cost of the signs, this could have fixed this road. And he says that would have created more than two dozen jobs.

FAYE (on camera): Do you think those signs are a waste of money?

MAYOR TED ANDRZEJEWSKI, EASTLAKE, OHIO: Yes, yes. We could have easily done Internet or advertising in newspapers and taken that $1 million. The problem is sometimes are politicians don't understand what $1 million is.

FAYE: Just off Interstate 77 here in Cleveland, there's supposed to be a road paving project underway. We looked around, we didn't find any paving yet, but we did find a sign that pointing out your tax dollars will be paying for the project. It seems before they even start the work, the priority is to get that sign in place.

FAYE (voice-over): It turns out most states are spending stimulus money on signs, which could cost taxpayers nationwide $3.8 million. But we called every state, and found at least 16 states are skipping the signs and using the money for projects instead. GRENDELL: At the end of the day as a public official, we're accountable for 100 cents on the dollar. We shouldn't waste one penny, we shouldn't waste five pennies. We should use it where it will best benefit taxpayers.

FAYE: And that may not be on the side of the road.

Randi Kaye, CNN, Cleveland, Ohio.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: A little more information for you here. One state, Ohio, is spending a tenth of one percent on their stimulus on advertising the stimulus. That's $1, give or take. Let's see how many jobs come from that cash injection. Show it, Roger. Yes, zero. Zero. Hanging signs next to the highway, zero jobs created.

That's why we're staying on top of this for you.

By the way, we've also been staying on top of the health care legislation reform debate -- a lot of words there. And we haven't had a lot of movement on that story for a while, but listen to Dana Bash. She's always working these political stories for you. She is one of the best.

And she just sent this tweet out, and I noticed it and I wanted to put it on the air. This is from Dana Bash, one of our best political reporters. "New talking point on Capitol Hill, Dems readying for reconciliation on health care. A majority is a majority and should only needs 51 votes."

SANCHEZ: That's a change in strategy from what perhaps we were talking about before with healthcare and the Dems. Now this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM GEITHNER, TREASURY SECRETARY: Deciding to support AIG was one of the most difficult choices I have ever been involved in in over 20 years of public service.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Timothy Geithner is on the hot seat today. You saw what we were bringing you earlier in this newscast. You may want to call it an AIG rage that we saw today. Lawmakers are firing questions at him, and he is firing back. We're going to drill down on that in just a little bit.

What a difference a year makes, especially if you're president of the United States. Remember those high poll numbers. Remember them, way back in his rear-view mirror? We're going to check out the state of the Obama agenda now.

All the stuff that's gone on this president has had to deal with we understand, but some would argue some of the mistakes as well. We'll look at what needs to change in the year ahead. And, as always, we're checking out the twitter boards. Tell us, how is the Obama agenda working for you? We'll turn it around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We've been telling you about the iPad, the new device that a lot of folks are going to be using out there. What do you think? It's not our place to tell you whether it's good or bad. But there are people who are experts on this, so they're tweeting. We're going to share their tweets with you.

In case you're thinking about perhaps getting one of these, here we go. Mark McCloskey is with "Wired" magazine, and his job is to look at these kinds of devices and rate them. He says he has hands on the iPad. Here's what he says about it -- "Lovely screen, super-solid feel and build, response interface, loves the hardware, but he's less excited about the software." That's "Wired" magazine's opinion about this.

We have another one that's coming up here. This is from tech crunch, same thing, that's what they do. Let's read to you what they think about the iPad. They say it looks like the Apple iPad, doesn't have Flash after all.

And Flash is used for playing videos, right? Right, Flash is one of those applications you can use for playing video. This is from "Tech Crunch," not CNN, that it doesn't have the ability to use Flash. There's the critiques, use them as you may.

Also this, can you get a second chance to make a first impression? President Obama will try to regain momentum and reset his agenda with tonight's state of the union speech. Well, what does that mean for you and for me? We're going to ask our political panel to lay this out for us.

And we'll take you through all the other political news on this day, including that story out of Louisiana. And Kiefer Sutherland is on our "The List That Don't Want To Be On." Talk about having a cow. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)