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CNN Sunday Morning
Limbaugh Rallies Republicans at CPAC; Paul Harvey Dead
Aired March 01, 2009 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and good morning, everybody. From the CNN Center here in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is March 1st. I hope you're having a good one. I'm Betty Nguyen.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. It's 8:00 o'clock here in Atlanta, Georgia; 5:00 a.m. out west. Glad you could be here with us.
And -- did you see this yesterday?
Yes.
NGUYEN: A lot of movement going on there. Yes.
HOLMES: You see -- that's Rush. He was getting the crowd fired up yesterday. He was fired up himself.
NGUYEN: That was before he spoke, yes. Just wait until you hear what he had to say. In fact, he rips on President Obama as well as the Democratic Party. More from his fiery speech and your e-mail responses to his comments -- that is straight ahead.
Plus --
HOLMES: Yes, the economy ...
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: ... of course, you can't have a show without talking about the economy. It's forcing some restaurants to change their menu options. Trying to dine out, it may not cost you as much as it once did however.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF PAUL HARVEY, RADIO LEGEND: Hello, Americans. This is Paul Harvey. Stand by for news.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: And you know that voice. Well, today, we say good-bye to a radio legend.
We didn't want to take this -- take a break this weekend and neither did the political world. Rush Limbaugh gave some CPR to the conservative movement at CPAC. The radio host turned this year's Conservative Political Action Conference into a rally cry to take back power.
Mitt Romney ended his presidential bid at last year's CPAC, but if you believe this year's straw poll, he is the top Republican going into 2012.
The other side of the aisle, President Obama may finally have his Health and Human Services secretary. He is expected to announce Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as his nominee tomorrow.
Well, conservatives may have stalled out but Rush Limbaugh brought the jumper cables. The radio host closed out the Conservative Political Action Conference yesterday with a call to action. And he's spared no words for President Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSH LIMBAUGH, CONSERVATIVE RADIO HOST: Ronald Reagan used to speak of a shining city on a hill. Barack Obama portrays America as a soup kitchen and some dark night in a corner of America that's very obscured. President Obama is so busy trying to foment and create anger in a created atmosphere of crisis. He is so busy fueling the emotions of class envy that he has forgotten it's not his money he's spending.
President Obama, your agenda is not new, it's not change and it's not hope.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, Limbaugh had plenty of other choice words for the president and we're going to bring you some more of his speech at the half-hour.
But, you won't find Limbaugh's definition of the word bipartisanship in the same dictionary that the Democrats use. It's almost become a dirty word for him under the new administration, but Democrats say they are still hoping Republicans will come around.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDWARD ESPINOZA, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: The whole idea of bipartisanship doesn't have to do with Democrat or Republican; it has to do with leaders doing their job to pull this country out of the troubled waters that we're in right now. And it's not about bipartisanship or Democrat or Republican; it's about leadership. And we need to stop the gamesmanship and move forward, and that starts with the Republican leaders we've got in Congress right now. Mitch McConnell and John Boehner working to implement this plan that we've just passed to stimulate the economy and get things rolling again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: President Obama came into office with high hopes for bipartisanship, but the battle over the stimulus plan made it very clear that party lines still run deep.
HOLMES: All right. You've been hearing the name CPAC a bit over the past several days. What is that? It's the Conservative Political Action Conference, that's put on by the American Conservative Union, which called itself the country's oldest conservative lobbying organization. It's supposed to be the biggest annual gathering of conservative students, activists and politicians.
The first ever was back in 1973. Some past speakers include the former President Ronald Reagan, also, the former vice president, Dick Cheney. Well, Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney, could be the star of the GOP in 2012, that's at least what some of those conservatives at CPAC are saying.
CNN deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, is joining me with all things CPAC, from Boston this morning.
Good morning to you again, sir. Rush Limbaugh, start with him. He went a little over his time but they didn't seem to mind there in that particular crowd.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes. They didn't seem to mind at all. He got pretty much a standing ovation throughout that speech. It was a little over an hour; it was supposed to go 20 minutes.
And, T.J., as he said -- listen, his job is to energize the base and that is the base right there, those conservatives. And I think he did a pretty good job doing that. That is the first step the Republicans need to do in their road to recovery, T.J.
HOLMES: Energizing the base, but the base -- the party is looking for, you know, they could take a dose of Limbaugh here to fire them up, but they still need somebody to sustain their methods over the long haul, and there is some debate who exactly is the head of the party.
Let's listen to, at least, the man we know is the head of the RNC, Michael Steele. Then we'll talk about it on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL STEELE, RNC CHAIRMAN: Rush Limbaugh is a conservative voice in this country that, clearly, people must pay attention to, and, clearly, the Obama administration and others in the administration must be paying attention to. So, Rush will say what Rush has to say. We will do what we have to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right. It is fair to say yet, Paul, that there is not necessary -- it's there even a fight or a struggle for someone to be the head, the face of the party just yet? Are they really right now still looking for one?
STEINHAUSER: I think they're still looking for one. You know -- and they've all got different jobs here. Rush Limbaugh, you saw his job there, was to energize the faithful. Because, you know, listen, they didn't love John McCain last year and they need to get reenergized. So, that's his job.
Michael Steele -- as you mentioned, the head of the Republican National Committee, basically the organization that runs the Republican Party -- his job is to win elections and that starts next year in the midterms for Congress. So, he wants to energize the base. He agrees with Rush on that as well, but he also needs to reach out to moderates, to independents, to women, to younger voters, to minorities. So, he's got a couple of different tasks there -- so, a kind of different job.
And then, you mentioned Mitt Romney and the other hopefuls, the presidential wannabes down the road, and one of them eventually may step up and become the leader of the party, though we are still a little bit away from 2012.
HOLMES: Yes, a little away, but that doesn't keep us from taking polls, looking at polls, and analyzing polls. So, here we go and we just saw that video. How appropriate. But we just saw Romney step up to the stage. The poll they took there, they seem to like him, at least three years away.
STEINHAUSER: Yes. Listen -- this is the third year in a row now that Mitt Romney has won this straw poll at CPAC, about 1,800 people at CPAC. At the conference, conservatives vote, and a lot of them are younger voters. You could see right there, Mitt Romney winning about 20 percent of the vote. Bobby Jindal, the Louisiana governor, who is not here at the conference, came in second at 14 percent. Sarah Palin also wasn't here, John McCain's former running mate, the Alaska governor. And Ron Paul was there.
So, not a scientific poll but you know what? It is an early indicator of who conservatives like. We got a long way to go. They'll do this again next year and the year after. But, it doesn't hurt to come out on top, does it?
HOLMES: No, it does not hurt. No matter what, everybody likes to see their name at the top of any poll.
Let's turn to the Obama administration -- trying to fill some jobs that he just couldn't fill, and one of them -- Health and Human Services secretary. It looks like he has a pick. All right, Kathleen Sebelius. What do we know?
STEINHAUSER: That's what two administration officials are telling us, that he asked her, and she said yes, and that tomorrow, he will officially announce it. Healthcare, T.J., is big on Barack Obama's agenda. We saw that in the budget. He wants to reform healthcare and do it this year. He's going to have a summit this week on healthcare.
So, this is good timing. Kathleen Sebelius is the governor of Kansas. She was an early supporter of Barack Obama in his campaign, a big surrogate. She knows a couple of things about dealing with healthcare as a governor.
She was also that state's insurance commissioner. So, she knows a lot about dealing with insurance as well. She is also a Democrat in Kansas. That's a Republican state. So, she knows about bipartisanship, T.J.
HOLMES: All right. We will see what happens with this one. We all know Tom Daschle had to drop out because of some tax issues. It just got a little -- a little too heavy for him there. So, we'll see what happens with Governor Sebelius.
We always appreciate you. Paul, good to see you. You enjoy the rest of your Sunday.
STEINHAUSER: Thanks, T.J.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: And we've been asking you this morning to get your reaction from Limbaugh's speech at CPAC and we found some really good ones. They are coming in to weekends@cnn.com. Also, we both have Facebook pages.
And I want to read you some of the responses from my Facebook page. This is from Steve in Corpus Christi, Texas. He said, "Wouldn't most of the Wall Street bankers and financial bankers who made bad loans that helped us get into this mess consider themselves to be Republicans? At least the Democrats are trying to do something about the problems that were probably created by a lot of Republicans."
Now, down a little bit on the list, you see Jose who disagrees. He says, "I'm looking for the lies that Rush said yesterday and cannot come to any. He is a windbag of hot air, but is he wrong? Hummmm! He makes you think that -- he makes you think and that's scary since most people opt have the government think for them, it's easier."
So, we're getting lots of really good responses on both sides as people really look at this speech and take it in and determine if they like what he said or they dislike what he said.
HOLMES: And like you said, some people even surprised that they agreed with some of what he said.
NGUYEN: Right. A bunch of those, in fact.
HOLMES: A lot -- a lot of people haven't taken that kind of time -- some time to just stop and listen to him. A lot of people who might think they agree, they'll listen to his radio show.
NGUYEN: And the preconceived notions ...
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: And you're going into it thinking one thing, but if you listen to the words, some people are coming out agreeing with him, although we have others on the other side as well.
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: He is obviously going to get some kind of emotional reaction one way or the other, that's for sure.
HOLMES: So, we definitely appreciate all of you all participating in our newscast this morning. We'll continue that this morning and throughout several weekends now that Betty and I are up on this Facebook thing.
NGUYEN: Facebook thing. Yes, it's a whole new world out there, isn't it?
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Well, again, we thank you all.
We will turn to some weather news and some nasty stuff they got in parts of Alabama -- look at this. Central part and the southeast -- the whole southeast part of the country but specifically the central part of Alabama, got hit with three tornadoes. One church destroyed. Another church and several homes damaged as well.
Listen to one person survive what went down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC ROBERSON, STORM VICTIM: We heard something like a freight train. First, we watched the news and the lights just went off. We heard something like a freight train coming up. I knew -- when the news is coming, they said it was coming our way. And the light -- once the light blink off, I just -- I just heard, you know, like the ground shook, but we never knew the tree had fell.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, let's head a little west here, winter storms dumping about six inches of snow in Memphis and parts of northwest Arkansas. Forecasters say the snow will leave a slushy mess for that region.
NGUYEN: Well, it seems like the wintry weather is on the move today. We say see some of it here in Atlanta. Reynolds Wolf has been watching it for us.
So, this storm system, it seems like it's moving east, correct?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is moving from west-to- east. You are correct, Betty. And I'll tell you ...
NGUYEN: I'm no expert, but -- yes.
WOLF: You are an expert. You are an expert and I'll tell you what -- I'll tell you, the expert of experts are having some serious issues right now trying to determine how much snowfall we're going to see in Atlanta. Right now, our computer models indicate they could see anywhere from, say, one to three.
But I'm telling you, the temperatures right now are in the 40s right at the surface. And temperatures are expected to drop. It's still going to be kind of interesting to see. I'm thinking anywhere from one to three possible, but a lot of that is going to be grasses and on open surfaces. Now, I'm not thinking it's going to last all that long.
Here's what we have right now. We got some rain. It's going to be moving out. The snowfall is expected to develop this afternoon.
To our nation's capital, we go and we could see snowfall there inside the beltway and surrounding areas, anywhere from five to 10 inches of snowfall. And New York could be very interesting, seven to 11 later this afternoon and tonight, and then into tomorrow, we could see maybe another six inches of snowfall.
I'm going to give you a great shot here of New York. Let's go to that right now. Things look pretty good, kind of hazy out there. More clouds are rolling in and then we're going to see the precipitation, easy for me to say, begin to stack up.
Let's going back to me with just a moment, and here's one of the computer models we're showing you for the northeast corridor. Boom! You put it into motion. After the next couple of days, it looks like that snowfall could get particularly heavy this next 48 hours.
Now, the heaviest will actually form in western Massachusetts, run into the Berkshires. Then, you're getting in to parts of Maine and then to Vermont, well, it could get very heavy. We're talking, that's essentially for several feet of snowfall in a few spots. So, certainly, something to watch.
Something else to watch would be the temperatures rising up today, going into the 30s for Boston and New York; 29 degrees in Kansas City; 54 in Dallas; 61 in Houston; Miami and Tampa mainly into the 60s and 70s; 86 degrees for Phoenix; and 78 in Las Vegas. OK?
I think you're up to speed. Let's send it back to you, experts. Betty, you are an expert. Come on.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Or at least play one on TV, right?
WOLF: Don't sell yourself short. Do not do that.
NGUYEN: All right.
WOLF: There you go.
HOLMES: Thanks, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet.
NGUYEN: So, for decades, if you wanted to know the rest of the story, there is one man you can count on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF PAUL HARVEY, RADIO LEGEND: Hello, Americans. This is Paul Harvey. Stand by for news.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Stand by for the sad news that we have lost Paul Harvey.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Radio legend Paul Harvey had an unmistakable voice. A quirky style and used dramatic pauses, remember those. He always made it to tell "the rest of the story." Well, yesterday, his voice was silent.
HOLMES: He died at the age of 90, surrounded by family, in Arizona.
CNN's Brooke Anderson has a look at his life and legacy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARVEY: Hello, Americans. This is Paul Harvey. Stand by for news.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Paul Harvey's distinctive sound and delivery style made him a broadcasting icon.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Americans like the sound of his voice. His friend Danny Thomas once said to him, "You'd better be right, because you sound like God."
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: He had one of the most listened to voices in radio history. His news and views aired on some 1,200 radio stations across America. It was a career that started at an early age.
HARVEY: Since I was 14, that voice has been my vocation, my avocation.
ANDERSON: Suburban Chicago was Harvey's home base for most of his professional life. The Windy City honored him with his own street in 1988.
But Paul Harvey Aurandt grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His father, a Tulsa police officer, was killed by gunman firing from a car when Harvey was a toddler. Harvey entered radio at the suggestion of a teacher in 1933. It was the start of a lifelong love affair with broadcasting.
Another lifelong love, wife Angel. He was so smitten with Lynne "Angel" Cooper on their first date, he proposed.
HARVEY: And now, with your indulgence, the rest of the story.
ANDERSON: Despite vocal cord problems in his early '80s, which temporarily sidelined his talents, the Peabody winner loved working -- loved it so much that in 2000, he inked an ambitious 10-year deal with ABC Radio Network for $100 million. ABC had been home for the conservative commentator for more than half a century.
HARVEY: It's not the fame, not the money, maybe a comment, kind and sunny. The heart and warm approval of a friend, that's what gives to life its savor and makes one stronger and braver and gives one's heart and spirit to the end.
ANDERSON: Fans say Harvey's golden voice echoed the virtues of small town America.
HARVEY: Paul Harvey -- good day.
ANDERSON: Brooke Anderson, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, the final edition of the "Rocky Mountain News" came out Friday. Other newspapers are struggling to survive in the age of the Internet and a brutal global recession. One more daily -- well, they are stopping their presses for good.
Richard Roth looks at this struggling industry.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It sounds like newspaper reporter Pia Catton is on a deadline. Instead, she is at home. Pia got her news five months ago. She lost her job as arts editor after the "New York Sun" shut down.
PIA CATTON, FORMER NEWSPAPER REPORTER: The feeling on that day was pure fear. What is going to happen? What is going to happen to me, to this newspaper, to this industry. Will I have a career? Will I ever work again?
ROTH: She is far from alone. Newspapers used to report other people's problems. Now, they are in a fight for their life.
ERIC ALTERMAN, MEDIA CRITIC: It's in a freefall and nobody knows where the bottom is. It's kind of like the water in the toilet, swirling around.
ROTH: The bad news arrives every day across America. Readers, especially younger readers, are shifting to the Internet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My children do not read the newspaper. My children get all of their news online.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't even subscribe anymore. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, what else?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it's a story about --
ROTH: The morning meeting at the "New York Daily News," seventh highest circulation in America.
Mort Zuckerman is the publisher.
MORT ZUCKERMAN, PUBLISHER, N.Y. DAILY NEWS: All newspapers are under great difficulty. They'll survive. They'll survive in different forms. Their cost base will have to be dramatically lowered.
ROTH (on camera): Newspapers has been part of my life since my grandfather dropped off the "New York Daily News" at the front door with some bread. Now, it's hoarding problem. The way things are going though in the industry, I think these piles will be valuable one day to a museum or collectors.
(voice-over): A dramatic decline in advertising and a brutal economy has forced newspapers to cut costs by firing cartoonists, columnists and more, and sharing resources with former competitors.
ZUCKERMAN: So, it is a hugely challenging time. We think that some newspapers will survive and not all of them will.
CATTON: Check out my e-mail about this story on savings.
ROTH: Pia, the reporter, took a short-term gig editing a book, but she's decided she may need a different career.
CATTON: I mean, there always will be work to produce. You will always need to know immediately what is happening. Will there be a market for newspapers? That's another question.
ROTH: Richard Roth, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. We know now the stimulus plan, the package, is the law of the land. Still, people are expressing themselves about it, still not too happy about how it played out.
NGUYEN: Yes, a lot of criticism out there, in fact. And we're going to take a look at a key complaint and see if opponents are right when they say the plan is all wrong.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, CNN SUNDAY MORNING here, March 1st. Glad you all could be with us this morning. I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. It is 8:30 here in the east, 5:30 out west. Thanks for starting your day with us.
HOLMES: And coming up right after us here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING, the one people, we're just -- we are just a warm-up act here really.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: For the big show.
HOLMES: For the big show coming up at the top of the hour.
NGUYEN: That, of course, being "STATE OF THE UNION" with senior political correspondent and host, John King.
And, John -- hey, the talk all morning long it appears to be Rush Limbaugh and what he had to say yesterday and it's fired people up.
JOHN KING, HOST, CNN'S STATE OF THE UNION: It has fired people up. You know, he is a voice that is being widely paid attention to across a conservative movement and a Republican Party that's a little bit lost right now. Guys, it's pretty clear that Barack Obama won the election and won it big. Democrats also have bigger majorities in the Congress.
And many Republicans are asking -- what do we do? And what you heard from Rush Limbaugh at that CPAC conference yesterday, the conservative gathering, was he wants to be the voice of "just say no or just go slow" in the Republican Party, saying stand up to President Obama, maybe we don't have the votes to stop him, but do everything can you so slow it down. And he's casting this as big spending and big liberalism. And it's a pep talk to a party that's down in a dump.
Now, is he the leader of the party? You know, obviously, by the time we get to the next election cycle, they'll need to find a leader. But right now, he's the leading voice in the party. And for a party down in the dumps, whether you agree or disagree with him, a pep talk like that -- it helps the rank-and-file.
HOLMES: But is he a leading voice right now because there a void in leadership right now, there's not a clear leader, so that clears the way for a voice? So, people are looking for somebody to turn right now on the conservative side. So, given to the absence of another leader, then we'll turn to this guy.
NGUYEN: Is he the one?
KING: Without a doubt, he is a leading voice because of the leadership vacuum in the party right now. He has always been an interesting voice, a provocative voice in the conservative movement and for Republicans. There are many in the party, the elected leaders here in Washington who, more privately than publicly, will tell you, oh, boy, we're not sure we want Rush out there as our front guy.
But to the rank-and-file, the people who did not vote for Barack Obama and who do not like a $3.6 trillion budget, do not like a health care proposal, and they think would put too much control here in Washington -- for those people out there who have been down in the dumps politically since the election, this is, again, it's a pep talk, it's a cheerleader and it's a challenge.
Remember what happened when Bill Clinton was president -- Republicans did say no in the first two years to much of the Clinton agenda, and they were rewarded big time in 1994 with huge wins in the election. Rush Limbaugh thinks the same thing can happen if Republicans stand up to Obama this time. That's a big open question. That is the debate for the next two years, but it's an interesting moment as you watch the Republicans and the conservatives try to find their voice.
NGUYEN: Let's talk about the Obama agenda for just a second because it looks like he is finally filled yet another post.
KING: Kathleen Sebelius, the governor of Kansas, will be announced -- we are told by a number of sources as his choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Now, remember that was the job that was supposed to go to former Senator Tom Daschle. He had to pull out because of some tax problems.
You see Governor Sebelius here, giving a speech to the legislature back in Kansas. She is an effective voice, she is widely considered at least in Democratic ranks as an experienced and a policy-proven Democratic governor.
The big question here is not the who, Governor Sebelius will get this job in appears but the what. Because remember, Barack Obama was going to give Tom Daschle a big and powerful office in the White House to push health care reform.
Now that Governor Sebelius is coming in, not a Washington insider like Senator Daschle, the question is does she have the sway in Washington to crack heads and twist arms and make the deals that they thought Daschle might be able to do.
So a very different person in the job, both in terms of the public face. A woman and an outsider of Washington instead of a former Senator but also very different in who they are in the skills they bring to the table.
HOLMES: You bet they checked her taxes again and again and again before this announcement is going to be coming out.
John, one more thing here on Iraq and I'm curious to see how you gauge the reaction after the President made his announcement at Camp LeJeune about when troops would be coming out.
I mean, this was kind of the thing that propelled his candidacy I mean, really to the forefront and got a lot of attention. And certainly during the primaries against Senator Hillary Clinton and he was the one --
KING: Yes.
HOLMES: -- saying when to pull the troops out but after the announcement with the economy doing what it's been doing and him delivering now seemingly and saying he is going to pull troops out like pretty much he said he promised, did the announcement really get the kind of attention and is he getting the kind of credit and being hailed as keeping his promises and maybe you thought he would?
KING: Well, the economy is by far the dominant story in the country now without a doubt. But the Iraq announcement was quite stunning. Because he did set a deadline but T.J. it's three months later than he promised during in the campaign. And that's not a lot of time but the Democrats and the anti-war left it's a lot of time.
The bigger debate has been over the 50,000 or so troops he says he might have to leave behind after we get most combat operations and combat troops out by August in 2010. That is the debate in the Democratic Party right now.
But the announcement was striking in the sense that it's the first time we've seen him on a military base and we're still learning a lot about our new commander-in-chief but it also shows you the stark difference between running for President when you say things in such certain definitive terms and being President when you have to listen to the generals and listen to the admirals and make some compromises.
It's very different being President to being commander-in-chief than it is saying I want to be President and here is what I do if I get there.
NGUYEN: A different perspective of course. All right John King, we are looking forward to your show coming up at the top of the hour.
KING: Thank you very much.
NGUYEN: "State of the Union," with John King. Stay here for that.
HOLMES: Well now thank so much John, and we'll see you soon.
And we're turning back to CPAC here for a second. The Republicans have been out of the White House when is it -- just about -- six weeks now. That's not too long for those folks at CPAC to start thinking about who they like to be in the White House in 2012.
Take a look at this straw poll here. On top the name you're quite familiar with. Former Massachusetts Governor, Mitt Romney had 20 percent. Rising star many would say right behind him, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal with 14 percent and Texas Congressman Ron Paul tied Alaska Governor Sarah Palin at 13 percent. After them Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich with 10 percent and former Arkansas governor, also a former candidate the last time around he had 7 percent.
Well, CPAC, the place where political fortunes can change and you can ask Mitt Romney about that, who ended his presidential bid there last year. But instead of fighting each other over a nomination, this year's conservatives took aim at their common enemy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MITT ROMNEY, (R) FMR. MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR: I'm afraid I know where the liberal Democrats want to take us and as they try to pull us in the direction of government-dominated Europe, we're going to have to fight as never before to make sure that America stays America.
NEWT GINGRICH, (R) FMR. HOUSE SPEAKER: I've listened carefully to the President's speech the other night. I think it is the boldest effort to create a European socialist model we have seen. I think it's quite clear what his values and his attitude is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, both Romney and Gingrich played to packed houses this year.
NGUYEN: Well, his speech was slated to take just 20 minutes but with the roars of approval from conservative, he went on for more than an hour. Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh fired up the crowd as keynote speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. And Limbaugh blasted President Obama, as well as the Democrats.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSH LIMBAUGH, CONSERVATIVE TALK RADIO HOST: He can wipe out the Republican Party if he would inspire this country to be the best it could be but we don't have to worry about that because that's not what he wants.
He wants people in fear, angst and crisis fearing the worst each and every day because that clears the decks for President Obama and his pals to come in with the answers, which are abject failures, historically shown and demonstrated, it doesn't matter.
They'll have control of it when it's all over and that is what they want. Because they think they can do it better, they see these inequalities, these inequities that capitalism produces. How do they try to fix it, do they try to elevate those at the bottom? No.
They try to tear down the people at the top. It's not fair you're up there so they whack you. That's not what made the country great. Bipartisanship occurs only after one other result.
And that is [AUDIO GAP], let's say, as conservatives, liberals demand that we be bipartisan with them in Congress. What they mean is we check our core principles at the door, come and let them run the show and then agree with them. That is bipartisanship to them.
To us, bipartisanship is them being forced to agree with us after we have politically cleaned their clocks and beaten them. And that has to be what we're focused on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Limbaugh called on conservatives to take back the country. HOLMES: Now, the whole point of that huge stimulus bill was to get the economy moving again, but could it hurt in the long run?
NGUYEN: Well, that's what some Republicans are arguing and our Josh Levs joins us now with a reality check on all of this. What are you finding?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I'll tell every one of the kids they were here a couple of hours ago, earlier in the show we broke down a claim by President Obama, so now we are looking the other side, the Republican argument.
Check out this. Let me show some here from Politifact.com. They have quoted South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. "The Congressional Budget Office has found that the stimulus bill will lead to real 0.1 to 0.3 percent reduction in gross domestic product by 2019."
You can you see down here, they are claiming that false.
And we've heard this argument elsewhere. We saw it, for example, here in this ad from the group American Issues Project.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says the plan will actually hurt the economy in the long run.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: So is that true? That's what we're looking at. Let me talk you through this. The Congressional Budget Office examines bills before Congress, they sent this letter earlier this month actually now it's last month, it was in February.
And this is the key quote from it. They say -- "In contrast to it's positive near-term macroeconomic effects, the bill would reduce output slightly in the long run, principally because it would result to an increase in government debt."
And this is what it all boils down to. Politifact did a great job here, three major points to understand; adding that much debt could reduce private investment in this economy. That in turn could hurt gross domestic product by a bit by up to 0.3 percent they say by the year 2019.
That's a lot of numbers but what the CBO was also is saying here is that the economy would still be growing. So if there were a little bit of damage from that debt, it wouldn't be enough to slow down the economy and make it not grow.
The CBO said the bill would stimulate the economy overall. Politifact right here if we can zoom more one time and what they are saying here is that when these kinds of arguments come about, they are saying for example, with Sanford, he ignored several more prominent measurements that show the stimulus bill would help the economy. And they said that in general that is what they are seeing from a bunch of Republicans when it comes to this argument and that guys, is why they say that argument in the end is false.
NGUYEN: All right, but you have been looking at the arguments --
LEVS: Yes.
NGUYEN: -- on both sides of this debate and what are you hearing there?
LEVS: There are a lot of them. I think we've broken down close to a dozen by now. And I just want everyone to know since there is so much to it and if you missed any of it, you can see a lot at them at CNN.com. Go to CNN.com/video and when you search stimulus and you're going to see all sorts of things.
Also some of the ones that I've been doing over the past week or up here. My Facebook page also at CNN, I'm posting some links now so you can see on both sides. And guys you know, since this is such a huge bill and you all remember, not that many lawmakers if any actually read the whole thing before it passed. We keep finding more and more what is in it and what it could actually means. So we're going to keep chasing this for days, week, months to come.
NGUYEN: I like those reality checks. OK, thank you.
LEVS: Thanks.
HOLMES: Thanks Josh.
Well, we turn now to Illinois. And Roland Burris, the senator there -- he has been under fire. A lot of people are asking for him -- calling for him to step down and resign that seat, but there's a lot of folks still who are being very supportive of him.
Take a look at this rally that was yesterday was held to oppose a special election to replace Burris. Illinois' governor and other elected officials have been calling for his resignation. They say Burris has not been truthful about the circumstances surrounding his appointment by now ousted Governor Rod Blagojevich. His supporters however, say he has done nothing wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED SMITH, CHICAGO CITY ALDERMAN: He's a legitimate representative in our community. He was a legitimately appointed to that position. He has a right to serve as diligently as he possibly can and represent our community the way it should be represented.
We will not quit. We will not be ran out of this Senate seat. Roland Burris is going to represent us and we are going to be on top of it. And anyone who just drives him and push him to try to kick him up, you got to come by us and we will not forget.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Well, another rally for Burris expected later today in Chicago. And Burris is expected to attend.
NGUYEN: All right, here's a question for you. Where do you turn when you're out of work, out of money? And maybe out of hope?
HOLMES: Well, a lot of people do turn to God; more and more seeking help from their churches. A look at new outreach efforts in our "Faces of Faith" segment this morning.
NGUYEN: Also, a tip for restaurants is just starving for customers. You might want to think smaller.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, in times of crisis, many people turn to their faith, including those who haven't been to church in years. That's exactly what seems to be happening in this recession. The business of prayer is growing exponentially.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This situation has made me a lot stronger and a lot wiser.
HOLMES: With job losses around the country, some churches have seen an influx of people turning to their faith as a means of hoping.
PASTOR JIM ELLISON, ATLANTA FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: People are scared. People are struggling and wondering what's next and it's during times like this that the church really strives.
SHEILA JACKSON, ATLANTA FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: These are donations.
HOLMES: Sheila Jackson a nine-year member of Atlanta first United Methodist Church lost her job but continues to have a positive outlook as she devotes more time to volunteering at church.
JACKSON: I had to do an attitude shift. I've had to build my whole life all over again -- jobs, income, food, clothing, all of it. But through God's help, he's kept me from getting, you know running around here with a strait jacket on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are we sharing the hope that there is in God?
HOLMES: The church's message to people who are struggling is to continue moving forward.
ELLISON: You don't put your hope in things. So this is where you're going to be disappointed. And so hopefully they'll learn that during this time. When people serve others it takes a lot off their own minds and they can truly find some healing and some hope in being what they need to be for others rather than focusing all the time on themselves. HOLMES: One of the many services this church provides is giving suits to men for job interviews. Men like Andre Wilson who is, once again, on the job hunt.
JACKSON: Looking good.
ANDRE WILSON, JOB SEEKER: I was stripped of everything that I have. So now I'm basically start to make over and I had all the money that I had, the one thing that is in my life is the best thing in my life and that is God.
ELLISON: People turn to God and so I think those of us who are pastors and leaders in churches, it's our responsibility to make sure we help them connect with God and grow in that relationship.
HOLMES: Members hold on the notion that their hope in a higher power will be there when nothing else will.
JACKSON: I've had some hard times. But at the same time, I knew my God was there.
ELLISON: We are people of hope and this is where we can place our faith during times like this.
HOLMES: Faith, hope, and some inspirational advice.
WILSON: This recession, it could break your spirit, it could break your heart, it could break your life. I mean, so the main thing is keep prayer in your heart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, still it's been a bit of a mixed bag here for the churches and you can imagine why. There's a growing number of people heading back to the pews.
That's great and that's a good thing, however, the churches themselves are struggling because donations are down significantly. People have less that they can give and, of course, we have more people that need help -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Speaking of people who have less these days. Here's a surprise for you. Value meals where you'd least expect them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our decision overall was to take the fancy restaurant and go back to more of an inexpensive style restaurant.
NGUYEN: One recipe for surviving even thriving during a recession, we've got it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: So restaurant owners were asked in a survey what they considered to be their top challenge. One out of two, a record high, said it was simply staying open during these bad economic times but it's a challenge that has inspired some new restaurant owners. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON DENTON, OWNER, INOTECA: I'm just going to prep the cocktail menus.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's opening night for Jason Denton -- actually a reopening of sorts. This used to be his old restaurant, Bar Milano, an expensive eatery that folded in a withering economy.
Now, a new name -- Inoteca and a new menu.
DENTON: Our decision overall was to take the fancy restaurant and go back to more of an inexpensive style restaurant.
CARROLL: It's a restaurant recession strategy -- slash menu prices.
TOM COLICCHIO, CHEF/OWNER, CRAFT RESTAURANTS: We're creating something now for the recession.
CARROLL: Other hot spots like Craft Steak in New York promote two ways to eat for less.
COLICCHIO: One is called Damon's Frugal Friday -- there's nothing on it over $10 on the menu. And also over her at Craft Steak we created a half-steak and there's nothing on the menu over $14.50.
CARROLL: According to the National Restaurant Association, restaurants are the nation's second largest employer with roughly 13 million workers. Over the past six months, some 100,000 jobs were lost due to the economy.
HUDSON RIEHLE, SR. VP, NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSN: This is the most challenging period for the restaurant industry in several decades.
CARROLL: Restaurants have been shutting down in nearly every major city from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh to Minneapolis. But some are opening and succeeding.
ALEX RAIJ, CHEF/OWNER, TXIKITO: I think it's always scary to open any restaurant because you're, I mean, obviously, you're exposed to debt.
CARROLL: Txikito has been around for just a few months. The owners cut their prices even before opening.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can take a few things and share them with your friends and it's pretty affordable.
CARROLL: Customers here have fallen for the inexpensive Basque menu.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's nice to come in and have a little snack and have a glass of wine and not kill your budget.
CARROLL: Another key to their early success, there are 28 seats here.
RAIJ: Being small helps and there is also the privilege that comes with this economy which is actually being able to get to know every single one of your customers.
CARROLL: Keep it small, keep it cheap or both. Tips to help keep the doors open during tough times. And another important point -- all of the restaurant owners we spoke to say another key to their success is just because they are cutting back on prices does not mean they are cutting back on their quality.
Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: That's good news. In fact, really, a good way to do that because now you can test all of those restaurants you may not have gone to and you may be back.
HOLMES: You don't have to shell out so much money for it.
NGUYEN: I like the sound of it.
HOLMES: All this morning we've been talking to you about a lot of things but we've been hearing you talk to us about what Rush Limbaugh had to say yesterday at CPAC. We've been sharing your comments. We got more to share with you. Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSH LIMBAUGH: They have destroyed poor families by breaking up those families, by offering welfare checks to women to keep having babies. No more father need, he's out doing something. The government is the father. They destroy the family.
We're not supposed to analyze that. We're not supposed to talk about that. We're supposed to talk about their good intentions. They destroy people's futures.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, he was supposed to say something for 20 minutes and he ended up taking about an hour and a half. There was a lot to say during that hour and a half. We've been asking you this morning and you have been responding what you think about his comments.
We'll share a few here. I'll get back to my Facebook page and we'll head over to Betty's in a second.
One here from Jose saying, "To all of those who bashed Rush, I would like to know what part of his so-called attack was false. I found myself thinking, God forbid, that everything he said was in reality true."
I will make my way down to another one here. Again, Betty and I got a ton of these this morning.
One from Deb saying if people like Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter are going to be the voice of the Republican party, the Obamas can go ahead and start planning Malia's sweet sixteen party at the White House.
And then Angelina, right after that, making comments as well. While watching Rush's speech she became simply -- impossible to turn the channel, she went on to say that she went from being angry and actually felt sorry for him to be totally disconnected from the middle class and have no idea what is being discussed at most kitchen tables.
I guess you simply don't know.
NGUYEN: Yes. We are getting flooded with responses from viewers out there.
In mine, Peter Ingle (ph) writes, "We should not go blindly into the night following a plan that has a lot of special interest money being spent as well. It's funny how the news media drops all the woes of the U.S. on the Republicans for over the past years Congress was a majority party. This morning there was talk about the Republicans not being bipartisan yet how many Republicans were invited into the discussion of the bailout package? Nancy Pelosi said something to the effect of, 'We won in November so live with it.' Is that bipartisan?"
In fact I believe it was the president who made a comment very similar to that in a closed door meeting as that stimulus package was being debated.
HOLMES: That certainly came out. He said, "I won." That didn't sound very partisan -- excuse me, didn't sound very bipartisanship.
NGUYEN: Factual but at a time you need help on both sides, it can kind of rub people the wrong way.
HOLMES: Thank you all so much. We got a ton of them and got to as many as we could this morning. But thank you all for spending it in our show.
NGUYEN: So we invite you to stick around and here's why. Why wait till the first 100 days are over? We are evaluating what President Obama has done just in the first 40.
HOLMES: Yes. We have the economy, the stimulus, war in Iraq. That's all coming up next on "State of the Union."
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right now we're watching a massive storm system that's going to affect millions of Americans. We're going to get things started in parts of Atlanta where we could see anywhere from one to two and maybe up to three inches of snowfall into the afternoon. Farther to the north we go to our nation's capital where inside the Beltway today the snow is going to pile up starting this afternoon into the evening; 5 to 10 expected. And then for New York, and mid- town Manhattan, anywhere from 7 to 11 inches of snowfall starting into the afternoon hours spilling on over into tomorrow.
And as you take a look at our latest computer models, some locations, especially through the northeast corridor the totals are just going be amazing. Take a look at this. Anywhere you see the dark pinks, the purples -- that's where you could see anywhere from say 10 inches of snowfall up to 20 inches of snow in some locations so it really is going to be a big issue for the next 48 hours.
Very quickly, your temperatures across the nation: out west not a major issue for you but for the eastern seaboard temperatures into the 30s. New York at 38 degrees; these temperatures will tumble back as we make our through the midday hours: Kansas City with 29 degrees; 62 in Denver; 78 in Las Vegas.
Conditions from Seattle southward to Portland, look for some scattered showers and highs mainly in the 50s and San Francisco with 57. In Miami and Tampa, mainly 60s and 70s. Houston with 61 degrees, your expected high for today and Nashville with 41. Washington, D.C. with 36. Again, that should be your high for the day and should get to that by mid-morning. Then temperatures drop below the freezing point into the afternoon and evening and into tomorrow.
That is the very latest on your forecast. For more updates, make sure you stay tuned here at CNN.
It's now time to switch over to "State of the Union" with John King.
