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CNN Saturday Morning News
American Mistakenly Deported to Columbia; GOP Presidential Candidates Look to New Hampshire; New Study Shows Sitting for Long Periods of time Unhealthy; CNN Heroes Honored; Interview with Newark Mayor Cory Booker
Aired January 07, 2012 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: From CNN's World Headquarters, bringing you news and analysis from across the nation and around the globe, live from studio seven, this is CNN Saturday Morning.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. An American teenager returns home after being mistakenly deported. We'll show you what she had to say on Facebook while she was out of the country.
And get off that couch. It turns out sitting is very bad for your health. What can we do to save ourselves?
From the CNN center in Atlanta, this is CNN Saturday Morning. I'm Gary Tuchman.
We sit down and start this morning with politics. The New Hampshire primary is now just three days away. And as we saw in Iowa, every single vote literally counts. Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, and Jon Huntsman have already been out to meet voters this morning. Here is Jon Huntsman talking about his hopes for New Hampshire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON HUNTSMAN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All the others have gone up and down. You know, I'm getting a stiff neck just watching all of my friends just go up and down. Perry, Cain, Bachmann, they all come in, they all go up to 22 and then down to two. I don't want that to happen to me. I want a gradual, steady, substantive rise like we're getting here in New Hampshire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: So how are all the candidates spending their weekend? CNN political director Mark Preston joins us live from Manchester, New Hampshire. Mark, is it just a free-for-all right now?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: It is, Gary. Look, we've already had several campaign events happen this morning. There's one going on right now here in Manchester with Rick Santorum. It's interesting we hear Jon Huntsman talk about, with a little levity, he doesn't want to go all the way up and all the way down in the poles. The problem for Jon Huntsman is that he hasn't taken off here in the polls, especially here in New Hampshire where he is staking his whole campaign. In fact, let's take a look at this new poll that was out last night from WMUR, one of our CNN affiliates up here. Look at these numbers. It shows that Mitt Romney is in the commanding lead right now. But it's not about the race for first place. It's about the race for second and third place. Mitt Romney has the ground game, the institutions. He will win on Tuesday night. But, really, the real race is for second and third place. Will Ron Paul come in a strong second? What will happen with Rick Santorum, who has suddenly gone on the rise, who really surprised everybody out in Iowa basically with a statistical tie for a win out there just last week?
And, of course, Newt Gingrich, who was the flavor of the month back in December, he was the one on the quick uptick. But we've seen his numbers fall, not only here in New Hampshire all across the country because millions of dollars of negative advertising. So when you say it's a free-for-all, it absolutely is a free-for-all. And tonight we'll have another presidential debate where the candidates have been on stage certainly attacking one another. Gary.
TUCHMAN: Mark, I just did some math with that poll. It showed Romney with 44 percent. The next three men had 43 percent combined. So what message are the candidates trying to send to the voters today?
PRESTON: Great question, because what is Mitt Romney going to say today? All he's going to talk about is President Obama and how he will be a better president. Everyone else needs attacking one another so they can get more support. So inspect in tonight's debate you'll see a lot of fire directed at Rick Santorum. You'll see Newt Gingrich, who said he'd be running a positive campaign probably go on the attack and go after Romney a little bit. But he has to be worried about Santorum.
So there will be a lot of inter-fighting certainly tonight in this debate and certainly on the streets of Manchester and Concord and Gary and Nashua here in the next couple of days, because they really need a strong showing here. If you're not Mitt Romney, you need a strong showing up here.
TUCHMAN: Huge debate tonight. Mark Preston, thank you so much.
CNN's live team coverage of the New Hampshire primary begins Tuesday in this very studio at 7:00 p.m. eastern time.
Check out this new CNN-"TIME"-ORC poll out of South Carolina. Mitt Romney is on top there too with 37 percent of the vote. Rick Santorum jumped up to second at 19 percent. They've both made double digit gains since the last poll last month. South Carolina holds its primary two weeks from today.
Can Rick Santorum capitalize on the Iowa momentum? Maria Cardona and Lenny McAllister sister will be along at the bottom of the hour to try to answer that one for me. Stay with us.
One American teenager's saga has ended with her return to the United States. This is video of Jakadrien Turner arriving at the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport in Texas. She spent most of the past year in the South American nation of Columbia after being deported by the U.S. government. After a shoplifting arrest in Houston, she convinced American and Columbian officials that her name was Tika Cortez, a 21- year-old illegal immigrant. Her family wants answers from the U.S. government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAY JACKSON, TURNER FAMILY ATTORNEY: Somewhere, the ball was dropped, and whether it's ICE, immigration, local authorities, whomever, at some point this 14-year-old girl should not have been able to dupe or bamboozle these agencies in order for her to say that she's anyone from another country, and then for that country to then provide her with documentation saying that is who she is and allow her and welcome her into a country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: It's a real strange, bizarre story. The teen's grandmother actually found her on Facebook. Here are some of the posts from someone using the name Tika Cortez. "Back home in Columbia, got deported. Really missed everyone in Houston." That one was from May of last year. Here is one from June. "I'm having too many problems in my life. Just found out I can't even go back to the States in another five years." Federal immigration officials are investigating the case, as you might imagine.
Police in Georgia are expanding their search for a missing Atlanta area woman. Stacey Nicole English was last seen around Christmas. Her car was found abandoned and still running just a couple of days ago. Police have named a man visiting English as a person of interest.
Iran's Navy plans to conduct more military drills in the Strait of Hormuz. The strait is a key gateway for oil exports through the Persian Gulf. The new drills will take place in February. Iran just wrapped up military games in the area in late December and they included missile drills. Iran has warned that it may block the strait if international sanctions against them take effect.
Iran is actually saying thank you in a way, though, to the United States to the U.S. Navy. An American destroyer rescued 13 Iranian fisherman who were being held by suspected pirates. Iran called it, quote, "A welcome and humanitarian act." The Iranians had been held for more than 40 days by the pirates. The suspected pirates are being held now by the U.S. Navy.
A convoy is making a first of its kind journey through the ice to Nome, Alaska right now. An American ice breaking ship is leading the way for a Russian fuel tanker. Bad weather canceled a fuel shipment to Nome last fall.
It's the question millions of Americans nearly coast to coast are asking. Where is winter?
(WEATHER BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: Let's say you follow a healthy lifestyle. You exercise, you don't smoke, you eat right. New research suggests a very common act may be bad for your health. In fact, you're probably doing it right now. Here's Catherine (ph) Hera (ph) with our Canadian affiliate CBC News.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At 13, Travis Saunders came to our attention because of his skills as a juggler. At 27, he's juggling, married, life, work, and writing a Ph.D. Saunders has never been a couch potato, but it floored him when he found out exercising doesn't seem to counter the bad effects of sitting for more than two hours at a time.
TRAVIS SAUNDERS, RESEARCHER: In general, people who sit more, they die sooner, but they also get more diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, even if they're otherwise healthy. So even if they're exercising, eat ago healthy diet, not smoking, sitting seems to have an independent effect on their health.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A study reported in the January "Journal of the American College of Cardiology" says British researchers found that those who sat for more than four hours a day in front of screens were twice as likely to be hospitalized or die from a major cardiac event regardless of how physically active they were outside of that.
That's news to 911 operators in Frederickton who work 12-hour shifts. But Nicholas Baldwin says he takes full advantage of his workstation's movability.
SAUNDERS: I can raise my console to a standing position. I stand probably 15 minutes or five times a shift. I can do this whether or not I'm on the phone. It doesn't matter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Travis Saunders borrowed his grandmother's device she used to get his knees back in shape after a fall to show us how he works at this desk in Ottawa, something he started doing after realizing he was reading hours of material about the dangers of sitting at a desk while sitting at a desk. Saunders is basing his Ph.D. work on understanding if sedentary children suffer from the same effect. He's working out of the children's hospital in Eastern Ontario.
SAUNDERS: I'm actually having kids come into the lab and spend a day sitting, and we're taking blood every 90 minutes to see if there's a measurable health impact of that sitting throughout the day, to see if the kids are getting noticeably less healthy just in that one day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Travis Saunders expects to have preliminary results soon. No one knows yet how long a break you have to take in all that screen staring to counteract the effects, but safe to say, it would help if every hour you stood up for a couple of minutes of juggling.
Catherine (ph) Hera (ph), CBC News, Frederickton.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: OK. Good advice.
Why are some in New Hampshire saying, not so fast to political experts predicting Mitt Romney is a shoo-in to win the granite state? Stick around. You may be surprised.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: We've reached crunch time in New Hampshire, just three days until the Republican primary, the first in the nation primary. So let's listen to some of the candidates' final words to voters in the granite state.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In our own economy, 25 million people out of work, stopped looking for work. I'm glad it's doing a little better now. I'm sure the president will want to take credit for it, for any improvement. Guess what. He doesn't deserve it. Everything that's been done has hurt this economy's recovery, everything done by this president.
(APPLAUSE)
RICK SANTORUM, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No more government knows best. We had that. We need a short contract. We need someone who believes in you. In 2008 the people of this country were convinced they needed someone that they could believe in. I believe Americans really want someone who believes in them.
NEWT GINGRICH, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm prepared to take Obama on, and I'll argue economic growth and he can argue redistribution. We'll win that debate. I'll argue paychecks, he can defend food stamps. We'll win that debate. But you have to have somebody with a courage to actually have a plan big enough that people are going to go, oh, yes, that would make my life different.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: Most polls show Republican Mitt Romney is the clear front- runner in the New Hampshire primary. He holds a double digit lead over the other candidates. But some of the granite state warn it's still early to predict who they will vote for on Tuesday. Here is Dan Lothian.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: For the Republican presidential hopefuls, New Hampshire is the second stump on the road to the White House. Unlike the first stop in Iowa, independent voters who make up about 40 percent of the electorate, are in the driver's seat. And most come to the table with strong partisan views according to the University of New Hampshire's Andrew Smith. ANDREW SMITH, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE: Some of them are Democrats. Some of them are true independents. Most of them are really Republicans.
LOTHIAN: But Elizabeth Ossoff from New Hampshire's Institute of Politics says don't call them renegades.
ELIZABETH OSSOFF, NEW HAMPSHIRE INSTITUTE OF POLITICS: I would call them fiercely independent in the sense they're going to make up their own minds.
LOTHIAN: What happened in Iowa or what the pundits predict doesn't necessarily sell in New Hampshire. Voters here relish the vetting process. Large town hall meetings are a kind of appetizer to the real meal, that up close encounter on main street. But the New Hampshire radio host Paul Westcott says some of his listeners have tuned them out.
PAUL WESTCOTT, RADIO HOST: The candidates, they came. And some of them have spent a lot of time here.
LOTHIAN: Like Jon Huntsman, Mitt Romney, and, early on, Rick Santorum. But --
WESTCOTT: It just didn't happen as much and the candidates kind of stayed away.
LOTHIAN: Their daily planners were packed with a time of debates, visits to Iowa and national media interviews. And in an election cycle where Republicans are having a difficult time rallying behind one candidate, some independent voters here are still scratching their heads.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Republican field, I'm not too impressed.
LOTHIAN: Mitt Romney, the former governor from neighboring Massachusetts, has consistently maintained a two to one lead over his closest opponents, the clear front-runner in the race. But Smith says it's not a warm embrace.
SMITH: Romney, we may not like him too much, but he's probably the guy with the best chance. So I think that's the dynamic that's going on, as well.
LOTHIAN: Former senator Rick Santorum is getting a second look after his near victory in Iowa, and Newt Gingrich is attacking the front- runner who cost him his fortunes in Iowa.
OSSOFF: I think it's dangerous to make predictions in New Hampshire. I really do. And I think you have to wait until the last possible minute.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Manchester, New Hampshire.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: And don't forget, CNN's live coverage of the New Hampshire primary begins on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. eastern time.
So who is your hero? Do you want to share their inspiration with the rest of us? We'll show you how. It's an all new year of CNN heroes, next.
And a new study shows which college degrees make it harder to find jobs. There's a bug flying around the studio. I'll shoo it away while we talk. Recent college graduates with engineering degrees have a 7.5 percent unemployment rate. Humanities and liberal arts degrees have 9.4 rate, the third highest. We'll take a look at the two with the worst job prospects in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: Before the break we promised to show you the two college degrees that have the worst prospects for landing you a job. Here they are. Art majors have an unemployment 11.1 percent to be precise. That's according to a study by the Georgetown Center on Education in the Workforce. And number one, architecture majors have the highest rates of unemployment of 13.9 percent. That's way above the national average of 8.5 percent. Lower rates of home building and other construction are to blame.
A new year brings a new search for heroes, CNN heroes. Anderson Cooper shows you how to nominate your hero and how to share their story with all of us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "AC 360": Tonight we gather to honor the best that humanity has to offer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you join us, we'll be unstoppable.
COOPER: CNN Heroes is looking for everyday people that change the world. How do we find these extraordinary people? With your help. You can nominate someone right now at CNNHeros.com. Maybe your hero is defending the planet by protecting the environment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are people that really care and I'm one of them.
COOPER: Or helping people overcome obstacles.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There will be no people left behind as long as we are this nation.
COOPER: Or finding a unique approach to solve ago problem.
Whatever their cause, nominating a CNN hero is easy. First go to CNNheros.com. Then click "nominate." We ask for some basic information about you and your nominee. Then tell us what makes your hero extraordinary? How they changing lives for the better?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're doing a great job.
COOPER: It's really important to write from your heart because it's your word that will make your hero's story stand out.
A couple of tips, please don't nominate yourself. It's against the rules. It's not necessary to nominate someone over and over. We read each and every nomination. Really, we do. And be selective. Those honored as CNN heroes are truly dedicating their lives to serving others. After you've told us about your hero, click "submit." Nominate someone deserving today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you so much for this incredible honor. This has been the greatest night of my life.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: And that is how you do it. We are so proud of the hero's show here at CNN. Just go to CNNHeros.com and tell us who inspires you and nominate your hero today.
Can Rick Santorum follow up on his Iowa success? A couple of our favorite political strategists are going to weigh in on that and the rest of the action from the campaign trail.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: It's 28 minutes past the hour. Welcome back. I'm Gary Tuchman. Thanks for starting your day with us here to CNN.
Let's check some of our top stories right now. First to Kenya's capital, Nairobi, where British officials warn terrorists may be in the final stages of planning attacks. The U.K. says attacks may target places where ex-patriots gather such as hotels, shopping centers, and beaches. But it did not offer details on who might carry out the attacks. A Kenyan government spokesman said the threats are not new.
And the 15-year-old who was mistakenly deported into Columbia is now back in the U.S. You're looking at video of Jakadrien Turner at the airport in Dallas moments after getting off the plane. Turner, who is pregnant, gave immigration authorities a fake name and was deported to Columbia last May. Immigration officials are investigating the mistake.
And finally, check this video from the U.S. Navy. It shows 13 Iranian fishermen being held hostage by suspected pirates. An American destroyer rescuer rescued men in the North Arabian Sea. The Iranians have been held for more than 40 days, almost six week. And 15 suspected pirates are now being held by the U.S. Navy.
This weekend, the Republicans running for president are concentrating on New Hampshire, but South Carolina is not far from their minds. A new CNN-"TIME"-ORC poll shows Mitt Romney with a solid lead in South Carolina as 37 percent of likely GOP primary voters say Romney is their choice, Rick Santorum is second at 19 percent, up from just four percent in December, huge jump. Newt Gingrich is third at 18 percent, but that's a drop of 25 points since last month. Ron Paul is fourth at 12 percent. And Rick Perry, who stayed in the race to concentrate on South Carolina, is still in single digits there.
Joining me now to talk about how it's all playing out, CNN political contributor and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona and Republican strategist Lenny McAllister. Thank you both for joining us.
MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Thank you, Gary.
TUCHMAN: Lenny, all eyes on Rick Santorum now. If he had nine more votes he would have won the Iowa caucuses. His numbers are rising, momentum rising. But Romney seems to have a pretty comfortable lead in not only New Hampshire, which is not a big surprise, but also South Carolina. So can Santorum do anything?
LENNY MCALLISTER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Santorum can start doing something about this lead. There hasn't been an opportunity for Rick Santorum to be on the stage at debates as a front-runner. If you look at these debates previously, how they've played out over the last several months, Mitt Romney has never been the target onstage. This time, you're going to have Newt Gingrich from one angle and Rick Santorum at another chipping away at that Romney lead on the debate stage coming up this weekend twice. If they can do that effectively, do not be surprised if the leads that Romney had in some of these states coming up starts to dissipate. If that's the case, as Rick Santorum said on Tuesday night, game on.
TUCHMAN: I think New Hampshire is unlikely for Santorum to have a great showing, but South Carolina would be considered a vulnerable place for Romney. So Maria, do you think social conservatism can carry Santorum in the palmetto state of South Carolina?
CARDONA: Well, it all depends. What we saw in the poll you just showed, if you add up the, what's we're calling, anybody-but-Romney vote, which is Paul, Gingrich, Santorum and Perry, they will be room know. The problem is Romney is a very weak candidate, but clearly in a much yet weaker field if social conservatives don't decide to coalesce around one candidate. So as long as they all continue to be in the race and as long as social conservatives don't decide on who to coalesce around, Mitt Romney is going to run away with it.
TUCHMAN: Let's talk about another guy who was way up in the polls a few weeks ago and that's Newt Gingrich. Now he's running ads that sound pretty negative himself. First of all, do you think he's running similar ads while he's complaining about, and do you think Newt Gingrich can turn it around?
MCALLISTER: I do think Newt Gingrich can turn it around. I don't want to overemphasize these debates, but the one place where Newt Gingrich did extremely well was on the debate stage where he had an opportunity to articulate his positions with more than just 15 seconds or 30 seconds.
Listen, Newt Gingrich does not have the money for the ads and he doesn't have the time. Even when you put the ads out there, you have 30 seconds to a minute tops versus these debates where you have 90 minutes to articulate and create a narrative. And he excels extremely well at that. Newt Gingrich's big bounce has to come in South Carolina and Florida after a couple more debates where he has a chance to contrast himself with what he's been doing in the interviews, which is do you want on moderate Massachusetts governor or do you want a Reagan conservative? If he can articulate that narrative well, you'll see him bounce right back up in the polls.
TUCHMAN: By the way, Lenny, those are live pictures we're seeing of Newt Gingrich. We have bugs here in the studio in Atlanta. I do want to ask you, Maria, what about Rick Perry? He said after the Iowa caucuses that he was going back to Texas, he was going to reconsider. He's still running. But how can he do, do you think, in South Carolina?
CARDONA: I think it's going to be very difficult for Perry to revive his campaign. Look, I think he decided to come back after Iowa because he saw that Michele Bachmann was getting out. So he saw maybe an opening if he could get it together.
But I think he's done. I think a lot of people have already seen how he conducts himself on the national stage. They've seen him in debates. And the flubs that he's made are just way too much.
And I think similarly with Gingrich, the fact that he has been so nasty after he's said that he wanted to run a positive campaign has really shown people sort of what folks have called the old Newt coming out where he can't help himself and where he becomes his own worst enemy. And I think ultimately Republicans have always said that they do not want him as their nominee because he will absolutely self- destruct, and we're seeing that hopping now.
TUCHMAN: One sentence from each of you, the economic news, the unemployment rate going down. Is that going to hurt the Republicans in the next few weeks or months? Let's start with Lenny.
MCALLISTER: No -- 8.5 percent is not good, so let's not start shaping it as if it is.
TUCHMAN: Maria.
CARDONA: I think it's going to help President Obama and Republicans need to be careful not to be talking down the economy with negative remarks because Americans will not go for that.
TUCHMAN: Maria Cardona, Lenny McAllister, thank you both for joining us.
CARDONA: Thank you, Gary. Good luck with the mosquitoes.
MCALLISTER: Thank you.
TUCHMAN: Thank you. I'll get a flyswatter next commercial.
(LAUGHTER)
CARDONA: Exactly.
TUCHMAN: Leaving the dancing in the end zone -- one NFL player known for his touchdown celebrations says thanks, but no thanks. He won't be "Dancing with the Stars." That's ahead in sports.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: OK, well, the time has come. Us football fans wait for the playoffs. They begin today. This is wild card weekend. How wild is it going to be? It's going to be dramatic. It always is. HLN Sports' Joe Carter is here with me. Let's hope it's wild. It helps out for us.
JOE CARTER, HLN SPORTS ANCHOR: What's great about football, unlike baseball or hockey or basketball, one game and you're out. It's not the best of three.
TUCHMAN: The stakes are high.
CARTER: Winner go home, as they say. I was doing some research and looking into some things and came across an article talking about TV ratings. I was surprised at the number of people that tuned in for these games. Last year, 33 million people on average watched each playoff games throughout the three rounds. A show like "American Idol" draws about 19 million. So the NFL has to be really happy with where it is in terms of fan interest right now.
You've got two games today, two games tomorrow. The two games today will be 4:30. You've got Cincinnati at Houston. It's the first time in playoff history you've got two rookie quarterbacks going against each other. You have Cincinnati rookie Dalton who was passed up by a lot of teams in the NFL draft. I heard a couple of rumblings about the fact that he had red hair and they weren't interested in him.
TUCHMAN: That's true. That's not a joke.
(CROSSTALK)
CARTER: But the Bengals snatched him up, they like him. They're back in the playoffs for the first time in six years. You've got Houston. Now they have T.J. Yates. He has the keys to the castle. We'll see if he can beat the Bengals. It's a really good game, expecting the same thing again today.
The night game is going to be very good, as well. You've got the Lions traveling to the Saints. That's 8:00 p.m. eastern. The Saints are an 11-point favorite to beat Detroit, but Detroit can score. We are saying it before. They just need to toss the ball to Calvin Johnson and let him do his job. Two great offenses, two great quarterbacks going at it. So we're expecting an offensive shoot-out, if you will. Sunday, we have the Falcons, Giants, Steelers, Broncos.
TUCHMAN: What is it we were talking about the "Dancing with the Stars" and football. What is that all about?
CARTER: This year, they asked Victor Cruz, a wide receiver for the New York Giants, to be on next season's show. He's known for doing those elaborate touchdown dances when he scores. He respectfully declined. He said he wants to focus his energy on football and he's not really at a point in his career where he needs to do "Dancing with the Stars." so he's not quite washed up yet. He's trying for that Lombardi trophy first.
TUCHMAN: Joe Carter, thank you very much. Nice seeing you, too. We'll be watching football today, both of us.
Next, we have a special guest who will be joining us to talk politics, social media, and the Trumpet Awards. And our special guest is Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: The 20th annual Trumpet Awards will be held here in Atlanta tonight. And 26 people will be honored for their contributions to and achievements in the African-American community. This morning, we are honored to have one of the distinguished honorees with us, the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Cory Booker. He's been honored for his political leadership. Mayor, thank you so much joining us and congratulations on your award.
MAYOR CORY BOOKER, NEWARK, NEW JERSEY: Thank you. Thanks for having me on this morning.
TUCHMAN: I am a New Jerseyan, too.
BOOKER: We are fellow Jersey boys and we should be proud of that.
TUCHMAN: I understand you're from Harrington park and those towns are in New Jersey. But you're like 10 or 20 years older than me.
(LAUGHTER)
BOOKER: I thought it was just five years older.
TUCHMAN: Did you play sports?
BOOKER: Three sports. Basketball, track and football.
TUCHMAN: We never faced each other, so probably a good thing for me. We're here to talk about the Trumpet nominations.
BOOKER: Yes. The older we get, the better we were. So both of us are legends --
(LAUGHTER)
TUCHMAN: That's right. I'm the legend, right. Tell us about the Trumpet foundation.
BOOKER: I think they're a remarkable foundation keeping people focused on the breadth of African-American achievement and often what you get from the full wealth of the community is not the full texture, the full wealth of the African-American community in terms of their contributions to the country. I've been watching the Trumpet awards for years and years and years, seeing people who have inspired me, who have instructed me, who helps to sustain me along my journey. It's a privilege today to be part of that great community they've created.
TUCHMAN: You're a community leader, a very positive role model. What makes a good leader?
BOOKER: Ultimately, you know, leaders are not about -- that traditional sense I think of leading people, it's about demonstrating through your actions, through what you do, not necessarily through what you say. And I think the best leaders eve seen in the avenue can a can American communities are people that awaken in you the understanding that you, too, can be a leader. That's really important.
TUCHMAN: If you're talking to kids in Newark who want to pursue a career in politics, for example, what kind of advice to you give them?
BOOKER: I tell people all the time, life is not about pursuing a mission. It's about pursuing a purpose and a passion. They're going to have 10, 20 different jobs along their career. If they keep their moral compass fixed and pursue with a great passion the purpose of their lives, to figure that out, then the world will come to them. And what we really need to be doing, though, in America as a whole is preparing all of our children, giving them the sold lid foundation in early education so that they can achieve whatever they set their minds to.
TUCHMAN: Technology is something you use a lot. I want to read something you tweeted last year. Last year you tweeted during a blizzard and helped reassure residents of New Jersey. You said "We're working hard to solve what is still too big of a problem in New Jersey. But we're making progress. Car-jackings down 50 percent compared to the same last time year." You also write, you inspire, "I'm doing the same, improving my diet and fitness and by making time for exercise and importantly cutting out sugar." How important is the technology and things like Twitter for you?
BOOKER: It's an invaluable tool. And I feel very proud that over a million people around the country as well as tens of thousands in Newark follow me and engage. This is the way. I can just by the click of my button talk to a million people. It gives me power that generations before just didn't have. What I am able to do with that is to crowd-source the intelligence and wisdom of my city. People tell me, you know, ideas. People tell me, hey, when the light is out or when the water main is broken.
So it's a powerful tool. But the best things about the tools I like is it's a way for to us create a community of inspiration, a community of hope, a community of possibilities. That's what I like to see on my twitter feed.
TUCHMAN: What's your new year's resolution?
BOOKER: I've got professional and personal. I'm here because of a great city, and Newark is a city that's charging back. Companies are moving back for the first time in 60 years, our population is growing.
TUCHMAN: And Newark is a great city. It's changed so dramatically since I was a kid.
BOOKER: And that's attributed to the city of the people of Newark. My new year's resolution is I have certain fixed kohl's good being a better servant to my city.
And most importantly, we have a rampant obesity problem that is stunning when you look at our kids, obese, overweight or morbidly obese, upwards of 30 percent, 40 percent, 50 percent depending on your demographics. So I want to be the change I continue to see in the world and continue to be a better model of fitness and health so when I talk about it to my residents, I'm talking about it from a state of strength.
TUCHMAN: Will you stay here with us for a couple more minutes?
BOOKER: Yes.
TUCHMAN: There's giant mosquitoes flying around, so I don't want them to chase you around.
(LAUGHTER)
TUCHMAN: When we come back, we will ask mayor booker about his presidential predictions. So stay with us.
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TUCHMAN: Welcome back, everybody. Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker is with us. Mayor, being that you're in politics, we know you're following the presidential information. Last week, Rick Santorum made some controversial remarks that caused some outrage. Here's what he said.
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SANTORUM: I don't want to make black people's lives better by giving them somebody else's money. I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money.
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TUCHMAN: And this is what Rick Santorum told CNN about that comment.
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SANTORUM: I looked at the video and I don't, in fact, I'm pretty confident I didn't say "black" -- I think I started to say a word and mumbled it and changed my thought. But I don't recall saying "black." No one in that audience, no one listening, no reporter there heard me say that. I think it was, and from everything I see, I was starting to say one word and I came up with a different word and moved on and it sounded like "black."
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TUCHMAN: He did say black, but he says he was tongue tied, he didn't mean to say that. What do you say?
BOOKER: Being in this game, you try to afford people as much latitude as possible. That to me is patently offensive on the face. I'll give him some latitude that he possibly made a mistake.
But often people try to use bigotry or stereotypes about African- Americans as a foil to appeal to the lesser angels of others. It's that kinds of politics that we're just tired of. We want people to be appealing to our better angels and have a vision for all of America. At the end of the day, the aspiration for this country is that we will find a way forward for everyone. So that is the first time I'm seeing it. I did not see the entire context. I don't want to cast aspersions on him, but just pulling out that one sound bite from what I see, it's a little disappointing.
TUCHMAN: Speaking of Rick Santorum, one of the things he's talking about is no cuts to the military budget. Barack Obama is seeing we need a leaner, cheaper military. Do you think that's a smart move for Barack Obama in an election year?
BOOKER: I don't know about the politics. This is where I respect the president so much is because at the end of the day he obviously is gearing up for a campaign and has to make a lot of decisions. I'm sure advisers told him better to do these things after an election.
But the reality is we are spending more on military than most of the major industrial nations out there combined, that we have expenditures that are unsustainable in the long-term, that we ramped up for these two very expensive wars, and we can't keep fighting the wars of 100 years ago or 50 years ago. We have to gear up our military to be far more focused on what the future holds. And I think that's what he's doing. We do not need to be spending this much money.
And in addition, we now know with the technologies we have, we don't necessarily need the manpower we had before. As I know from my police department as well as the military, a large part of our expenses is sustaining that force. Not only while they're in the military, you understand even after they leave and they've given that incredible service to our country, we're still paying in terms of the benefits they receive. So shrinking that force lowers overall expenditures.
But the preparedness is what's critical. So when you have generals, when you have leaders, military personnel telling you that we can be far more effective with less expending, it's a responsible leadership. We're going to pursue that, lower military spending, because everybody knows that the amount of money you spend on something -- and we see this with public education -- doesn't mean necessarily that that's the strength of result we're going to get. You can spend less often and get more.
TUCHMAN: One more prediction question. Who do you think is going to win the GOP nomination?
BOOKER: It's clearly to me it's going to be Mitt Romney. It's going to be Barack Obama versus Mitt Romney, Democrat and Republican.
TUCHMAN: And November of this year, who is going to win? I know who you want to win, Obama. Do you think it's clear cut?
BOOKER: No. I think President Obama has a difficult road helping Americans understand the incredible things that he's done. That's the biggest thing we find in Newark, once you start informing them of the challenges he faced, the accomplishments he made, you see people's relation and embrace of our president get a lot more extreme.
TUCHMAN: Go visit Newark, New Jersey sometime, folks. Go see a Mets game.
BOOKER: Thank you.
TUCHMAN: Mayor booker, congratulations on your Trumpet award.
BOOKER: From one Jersey guy to another, you don't give love a bad name.
(LAUGHTER)
BOOKER: Jersey's greatest exports.
TUCHMAN: The anticipated film about the killing of Osama bin Laden is getting the kind of attention it probably did not expect from the Department of Defense. Officials want to know whether the filmmakers got their hands on classified information.
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TUCHMAN: A yet to be released movie about the killing of Osama bin Laden is already causing a stir and it doesn't even have a title yet. Listen to this. The Department of Defense says it will investigate allegations that the White House gave the filmmakers access to top White House and Pentagon officials with knowledge of the bin Laden raid. Representative Peter King of New York first raised this concern last summer. He said he wants to make sure that information about special operations tactics, techniques, and procedures were not leaked. When asked about the probe, White House Spokesman Jay Carney brushed off the allegations.
