Michelle Obama's Listening Tour; Interview With Barack Obama
LOU DOBBS, HOST, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT": The Senate has already put aside $9 billion to extend, as you suggest, broadband. The Congressional Budget Office says that would take the government just seven years to spend that money. So, it's not really going to create many jobs and it's not going to stimulate our economy. Other than that, it's a pretty good deal. We will be examining that and Lou's line-item veto tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN on "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT." We hope you will let your elected officials know how you feel all about that. And please join us -- Wolf, back to you.</s>WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: We will see you in one hour, Lou. Thank you. And, to our viewers, you are in THE SITUATION ROOM. Happening now, breaking news: President Obama openly admits a big mistake and the thing that keeps him up at night. Stand by to hear for the first time a new CNN interview with the president in the Oval Office. Plus, the stunning end to Tom Daschle's hopes of becoming health secretary -- this hour, how the Obama team's vetting process went terribly wrong again. And Michelle Obama's listening tour -- the first lady starts making the rounds here in Washington and figuring out her job description -- all of that and the best political team on television. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You are in THE SITUATION ROOM. President Obama is not mincing any words about the nomination that just exploded in his face. He is telling CNN's Anderson Cooper that he screwed up the vetting of Tom Daschle. You are going to get a first listen to that interview in just a moment. But first Tom Daschle's surprising withdrawal from consideration to become the secretary of health and human services. Let's go to our White House correspondent Dan Lothian to tell us what happened -- Dan.</s>DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Wolf. This was not a good day for the White House. The president really wanted to be focusing on that stimulus and also on his pick for Commerce. Instead, the White House was dealing with a political headache as two of his nominees pulled back because of their problems with taxes.</s>LOTHIAN (voice-over): In a stunning development, secretary of health and human services nominee Tom Daschle bowed to mounting pressure over his tax problems, informing President Obama by phone that he was withdrawing because -- quote -- "This work will require a leader who can operate with the full faith of Congress. Right now, I am not that leader, and will not be a distraction." Mr. Obama accepted that decision with -- quote -- "sadness and regret," one day after saying this when he was asked if he still stood by Daschle.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Absolutely.</s>LOTHIAN: But the pressure was mounting on Capitol Hill.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His explanation to me seems to have some holes in it.</s>LOTHIAN: Before paying up, Daschle had owed more than $100,000 in back taxes, some of that for a loaned car and driver, tax problems, too, but apparently to a lesser extent, for Nancy Killefer, Obama's pick for chief performance officer. The result, however, was the same. Killefer, who would have been charged with taking a fine-tooth comb to the federal budget, also withdrew, citing unemployment tax issues. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs suggested both nominees jumped, but were not pushed.</s>ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think they both recognized that you can't set an example of responsibility, but accept a different standard in who serves.</s>LOTHIAN: This was a day where the headline the White House wanted to see was: Obama picks commerce secretary. Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire accepts.</s>OBAMA: Judd and I don't agree on every issue, but we do agree on the urgent need to get American businesses and families back on their feet.</s>LOTHIAN: A bold choice, bringing in a fiscal conservative Republican who wants won more than $800,000 in the lottery...</s>SEN. JUDD GREGG (R-NH), COMMERCE SECRETARY NOMINEE: Even senators can be lucky.</s>LOTHIAN: ... and who in 1995 voted in favor of doing away with the Commerce Department, the agency he's now been nominated to lead.</s>LOTHIAN: Now, Mr. Gregg's was Obama's second choice for Commerce. Bill Richardson dropped out last month, after a federal investigation into a company that had done business with the state. But now, Wolf, there are all kinds of questions about the vetting process, although Robert Gibbs at the press briefing today said that the president has full confidence in how his nominees have been vetted. But as we will hear coming up on this interview with Anderson Cooper, the president really taking all the blame, taking the responsibility for the vetting process -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: All right, Dan, thank you. And, as you say, President Obama using some pretty frank language, talking about the economy and also about the stunning setback for his administration. He sat down with CNN's Anderson Cooper one on one in the Oval Office.</s>ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": Explain what happened today, Tom Daschle. You've let one of the most important domestic issues, which is health care, get caught up in what looks to many Americans like politics as usual.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I think what happened was, was that Tom made an assessment that, having made a mistake on his taxes, that he took responsibility for, and indicated was a mistake, made the assessment that he was going to be too much of a distraction in trying to lead what is going to be a very heavy lift, trying to deliver health care. And...</s>COOPER: Do you feel you messed up in letting it get this far?</s>OBAMA: Yes. I think I made a mistake. And I told Tom that. I take responsibility for the appointees and...</s>COOPER: What was your mistake? Letting it get this far? You should have pulled it earlier?</s>OBAMA: Well, I think my mistake is not in selecting Tom originally, because I think nobody was better equipped to deal both with the substance and policy of health care -- he understands it as well as anybody -- but also the politics, which is going to be required to actually get it done. But I think that, look, ultimately, I campaigned on changing Washington and bottom-up politics. And I don't want to send a message to the American people that there are two sets of standards, one for powerful people, and one for ordinary folks who are working every day and paying their taxes.</s>COOPER: Do you feel you have lost some of that moral high ground which you set for yourself on day one with the ethics reform?</s>OBAMA: Well, I -- you know, I think this was a mistake. I think I screwed up. And, you know, I take responsibility for it. And we're going to make sure we fix it, so it doesn't happen again.</s>COOPER: Let's talk about the economy, the stimulus. Every day, you get an economic briefing, along with an intelligence briefing. Which, to you, is -- is more sobering, the economic news you get or the national intelligence?</s>OBAMA: Well, look, the national security briefing is always sobering, because my most important job is obviously keeping the American people safe. And we have to remain vigilant. The threats are still out there. But I will tell you, in terms of what is alarming right now, is how fast the economy has been deteriorating. I think, even two or three months ago, you -- most economists would not have predicted us being in as bad of a situation as we are in right now. And...</s>COOPER: It keeps a lot of Americans right now up at night.</s>OBAMA: Absolutely.</s>COOPER: Does it keep you up at night?</s>OBAMA: It keeps me up at night, and it gets me up...</s>COOPER: Literally?</s>OBAMA: Literally, because -- because we have got a range of different problems, and there is no silver bullet. We're just going to have to work our way through the problem. So, number one, we have got to have a recovery package that puts people back to work and ensures that states that are dealing with rising unemployment can deal with unemployment insurance, can provide health care for people who have lost their jobs. So, that's one set of problems. Then, you have got a banking system that has undergone close to a meltdown. And we have got to figure out, how do we intelligently get credit flowing again, so that small businesses and large businesses can hire people and keep their doors open and sell their products? And, you know, part of the problem, unfortunately, is, is that the first round of TARP, I think, drew a lot of scorn. You know, we learned -- you know, we have now learned that, you know, people are still getting huge bonuses, despite the fact that they're getting taxpayer money, which I think infuriates the public. So, we also have to set in place some rules of the road. And, tomorrow, I'm going to be talking about executive compensation and changes we're going to be making there. Even after we get that done, we still have to get a financial regulatory system in place that assures this crisis never happens again. And we have got to do this in the context of a world economy that is declining, because, in some ways, the Europeans are actually doing at least as badly as we are. You have even seen China, which has been growing in leaps and bounds over the last two decades, starting to decline. So, trying to do all those things on parallel tracks, at a time when people are scared -- and legitimately so -- I think, is going to be a -- a big challenge. I think we're up to the challenge. But it's going to take some time. And I think the American people recognize that.</s>COOPER: On executive compensation, Paul Krugman suggested in "The Time" on Sunday that your tough talk may be just for show. What can you really do?</s>OBAMA: Well, I think -- you know, we will talk about it tomorrow, but we're going to be laying down some very clear conditions in terms of where...</s>COOPER: Do you support Claire McCaskill's idea of capping...</s>OBAMA: Well, I -- I -- again, I don't want to completely preempt my announcement tomorrow.</s>COOPER: You could here.</s>OBAMA: But the -- but I think there are ways -- there are mechanisms in place to make sure that institutions that are taking taxpayer money are not using that money for excessive executive compensation.</s>BLITZER: Coming up: The president draws a line on what he is determined to keep in his economic plan, and he has a rather blunt assessment of what's at stake in his presidency -- more of Anderson Cooper's Oval Office interview coming up here in THE SITUATION ROOM. And, later tonight, on "A.C. 360," the full interview, President Barack Obama speaking to Anderson Cooper, that's at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. New embarrassments for the Obama administration, tax problems sinking key nominations, but who is really to blame? What's going on, the president's picks or the way they were picked? Plus, Tom Daschle sees his nomination driven into a ditch, but he didn't always need a driver. He used to drive himself around. We have the video. And Tehran celebrates a satellite launch, but it has caused grave concern for the Obama administration. Lots going on, very busy -- right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.