How the $700 Billion is Being Spent
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN HOST:  8: 00 right on the nose here in New York. A look at the top stories this morning. More than 100 retired generals and admirals are now calling for the military to repeal its don't-ask, don't-tell policy so that gay men and women can serve openly. That's according to a California Think Tank which supports the movement. Don't ask, don't tell was signed into law back in 1993. It stops the practice of asking potential service members if they're gay. But still require the dismissal of openly gay service members.And the White House planning to help with your holiday travel plans. President Bush expected to announce plans to open two lanes of military airspace to commercial planes this holiday season. The Air Traffic Controllers' Union is not impressed. It says that the White House did the same thing last year and it did little to ease congestion. Well, Ford is selling 20 percent of its take in Mazda in an effort to raise cash. The sale valued at $543 million. The shares will be bought by Mazda, along with several other business and insurance companies. The news comes on the same day that Ford's CEO will be on Capitol Hill to press for an emergency loan. America's number two automaker helped save the Japanese car maker from bankruptcy twelve years ago. Also new this morning, Washington gearing up for a showdown as Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke try to convince skeptical lawmakers that the $700 billion bailout will benefit you and the struggling economy. CNN's Jim Acosta is live in Washington. A big battle shaping up as they try to figure out, whether or not this is going to the places it was supposed to go and whether it's having the intended effect. Hi, Jim.</s>JIM ACOSTA, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran. That's right. And with this lame duck session of Congress expected to wrap- up at the end of the week, there are indications Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson won't seek the other half of the $700 billion bailout. He is scheduled to appear at a hearing today on the handling of the program. One of the big questions, who is minding the bailout store?</s>ACOSTA (voice-over): The bailout is one month old. Billions of dollars have flowed to the nation's biggest banks. But the government is just now getting around to naming someone to oversee the program full time. That someone is this man, Federal Prosecutor Neil Barofsky.</s>NEIL BAROFSKY, INSPECTOR GENERAL NOMINEE: I fully intend to keep you fully and properly apprise of significant findings and concerns.</s>ACOSTA: At his confirmation hearing, one senator compared oversight of the bailout to the Wild West.</s>SEN. RON WYDEN (D), OREGON: I would characterize the operation of this program now in terms of oversight as like Dodge City before the Marshalls showed up.</s>ACOSTA: The Treasury Department's inspector general who is unofficially keeping an eye on the bailout told the "Washington Post," "I don't think anyone understands right now how we're going to do proper oversight of this thing." The non-profit watch dog group, Taxpayers for Common Sense, points to the application for bailout funds. A form the banks must fill out to receive some of the money. It's just two pages, the group notes, shorter than the typical application for a mortgage.</s>RYAN ALEXANDER, TAXPAYERS FOR COMMON SENSE: I mean, anybody thinks about the amount of credit they have applied for in their life, be it a student loan, a car loan, their house, anything. Lend credit personal business -- you know, it's more than two pages.</s>ACOSTA: A Treasury Department spokeswoman counters that banks must sign off on other supporting documents, as well. "It's entirely inaccurate -- the spokeswoman says -- to imply this operation doesn't have oversight." Oklahoma Senator Jim Imhoff says he believes lawmakers were not told the truth about the bailout, adding "Congress, doesn't know how much money Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has given away to anyone. It could be to his friends. It could be to anybody else. We don't know." Of the $700 billion in the bailout, only half has been authorized by Congress. Some key lawmakers say they're not quite ready to hand over the other half.</s>REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D), MARYLAND: We have learned now from what we have already seen that we -- we have to have some pretty strict oversight. Mr. Paulson has disappointed a number of us.</s>ACOSTA: Congress may be falling behind in its own oversight duties. It has just started making appointments to its own panel to oversee the bailout and its already missed a deadline to file a report on the program's progress. Kiran?</s>CHETRY: So what does this application that the banks have to fill out for the bailout look like?</s>ACOSTA: Well, I have it right here, Kiran. And it's fascinating to look at. We pulled this right off the Treasury Department's Web site. On page one is the institution name, the address, the primary contact name and phone number. And then on page two, the CEO does have to put his signature down and date that signature. But that's it. Just two pages. There are some supporting documents that they have to sign off on. And when we talk to the taxpayers for common sense about this, they say this is an indication about how quickly the federal government wanted to get that money out to these institutions, Kiran.</s>CHETRY: All right, Jim Acosta for us this morning, thanks.</s>ACOSTA: You bet.</s>ROBERTS: Well, happening now in Chicago. Aids to President-elect Barack Obama pouring over some of former President Clinton's finances and overseas links -- part of the vetting process for his wife, Hillary, as a possible pick for Secretary of State. CNN's Ed Henry is working the story for us live in Chicago this morning. Ed, just how serious a contender is she for the position?</s>ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, John. Senior Democrats say with all this digging around going on by the Obama camp, they think that's a clear sign that she is a very serious contender for the job of secretary of state. It comes at a time when the President-elect seems to be reaching out to a lot of former rivals.</s>HENRY (voice-over): This is a president-elect who believes in keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. Whether it's mulling Hillary Clinton for secretary of state or making nice with John McCain in Chicago.</s>OBAMA: We're just going to have a good conversation about how we can do some work together to fix up the country, and also to offer thanks to Senator McCain for the outstanding service he's already rendered.</s>HENRY: The two former rivals privately discussed some controversial issues they plan to work on together next year as they turn the page on a bitter campaign. A senior Obama transition official told CNN they talked about trying to revive the immigration reform plan that fell apart last year, and finding a way to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Those are hot button issues that will be hard to find common ground, especially since their body language suggested it's not easy to heal their divisions.</s>OBAMA: Hey, guys. What's up?</s>HENRY: This moment had awkward written all over it. So they did what guys do. Talk football.</s>SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I noticed that yesterday's football.</s>OBAMA: Oh, see there.</s>MCCAIN: Greeted with --</s>OBAMA: Oh, they brought up the bears.</s>HENRY: They're trying to show they can bury the hatchet, but there are limits. People on each side insist McCain will not get a cabinet post.</s>SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: I'm not going to speculate or address anything.</s>HENRY: Speculation is only intensifying, however, about a place in the cabinet for another former rival. Two Obama transition officials confirm they have started looking at former President Bill Clinton's finances and post-presidential dealings, including his charitable foundation and presidential library to identify potential roadblocks to his wife being nominated as secretary of state. The president-elect has still not made a formal job offer, but senior Democrats believe the vetting shows he's serious about considering it.</s>HENRY: Now, the Web site, Politico, is reporting that there is exasperation in the Obama camp about the slow pace of turning over records from the Clinton camp. But I can tell you, senior Obama aids insist that is not true. They say they are satisfied with what they have gotten so far, but they do want more information. And they point out, look, Bill Clinton has also done a lot of good work with his charitable foundation and they don't want that to overshadow everything. And they want to get some records, but they also want to point out he has done a lot of good work, John.</s>ROBERTS: It's a great guessing game going on over there, isn't it, Ed?</s>HENRY: Absolutely.</s>ROBERTS: All right. Ed Henry for us this morning in Chicago. Ed, thanks so much.</s>CHETRY: Barack Obama's energy plan. He campaigned on change, but will the falling price of oil actually cost some of his big ideas to hit the skids? Also, taking a page from Barack Obama. The president-elect changed the game online during the campaign. We're going to tell you which candidate on the other side of the world seems to have noticed. It's eight minutes after the hour.