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JOHN KING, USA
Jerry Sandusky Jury Deliberates; President Obama Targets Latino Vote; Interview With Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson; Sandusky Jurors Review Testimony; Health Care Ruling Expected Next Week; Syria Claims to Shoot down Turkish Plane; Obama Speaks to Latino Legislators
Aired June 22, 2012 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CANDY CROWLEY, GUEST HOST: I'm Candy Crowley. John King has the night off.
Tonight: President Obama blames Republicans for playing politics with immigration reform as he makes his case with Latino voters.
Tens of thousands of Egyptians gather in Tahrir Square on unconfirmed reports that a new president will soon be named. But it comes with a warning from the military. Unrest will be met with an iron fist.
Plus, the jury in the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse trial sends a note to the judge. They want to know more about a witness.
We start on the campaign trail and President Obama's full-court press to win Latino voters who could be the key to winning reelection. So exactly a week after he announced the U.S. would stop deporting some illegal immigrants brought here as children, he spoke to one of the country's biggest Hispanic conventions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We should have passed the DREAM Act a long time ago. It was written by members of both parties. When it came up for a vote a year-and-a-half ago, Republicans in Congress blocked it. The bill hadn't changed. The need had not changed. The only thing that had changed was politics.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Mitt Romney had his turn at the podium yesterday, telling the group that President Obama has not made them a priority.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: After three-and-a-half years of putting every issue, from loan guarantees to his donors to cash for clunkers, putting all those things before immigration, now the president has been seized by an overwhelming need to do what he could have done on day one, but didn't. I think you deserve better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin is live at the convention in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Jessica, so much more to this speech than immigration.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Candy.
Yes, that's right. The president offered a defense of his executive action on immigration which happened last week, but he also made a strong case for reelection, focusing a large part of this speech on his economic differences with Mitt Romney.
Today, he had a very sharp explanation of his different economic vision from Mitt Romney, arguing that it's really about who gets helped in the future. With him, he insists, and this is a familiar message, but I would say he made it much more clearly, much more starkly than he has in the past -- he said with him, he will focus on helping the middle class. With Mitt Romney, he argues it's a top-down kind of approach.
And this is a message his campaign believes resonates with Latino voters and with other core constituencies that they believe are crucial for the president to win reelection -- Candy.
CROWLEY: Jess, I think I heard the echo all the way back here in Washington. It sounds like hope and change are back.
YELLIN: Yes.
You know, the president's had something of a muddled message the last few weeks, and that candidate Obama we heard in 2008 has been missing in action a bit. But he really did sound fired up today. I will spare you the ready to go.
He kind of had -- used the lofty rhetoric we heard from 2008, a lot of the rhetorical flourishes. He was talking about immigration and he said things like it doesn't matter if you sailed in on the Mayflower or came in through Ellis Island or arrived on a slave ship, those kind of rhetorical devices. He seemed to enjoy it. And he seemed to be back on his feet on the stump. So it looks like candidate Obama is back -- Candy.
CROWLEY: Jessica Yellin, who will be following candidate Obama and President Obama the rest of this year, thanks, Jessica.
(LAUGHTER)
CROWLEY: And when it comes to the economy, it's clear President Obama knows his work is cut out for him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: The question is not whether we need to do better. Of course, the economy isn't where it needs to be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: And when you take a look at the economic news of just the past three days, it doesn't seem to be heading anywhere some time soon.
On Tuesday, the Labor Department reported job openings suffered the biggest slide since September 2008. Wednesday, the Federal Reserve weakened its economic growth outlook for the rest of the year.
Thursday, Moody's investors service downgraded five of America's largest banks, pushing the stock market to drop 250 points. And did we mention there's an economic crisis in Europe?
So is the recent barrage of bad economic news a warning sign of bigger things to come?
Joining me now is Stephen Moore, senior economics writer at "The Wall Street Journal."
Stephen, when you look at the news from this week, what worries you the most?
STEPHEN MOORE, SENIOR ECONOMIC WRITER, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": I think what worries me the most, Candy, is that the sectors of the economy that really looked like they had been picking up over the last couple of years -- let's talk about manufacturing. We have seen a big rebound in manufacturing, employment and output in this country.
CROWLEY: It's a big bragging point, too.
MOORE: Exactly.
And now we're starting to see that recede a little bit. Banking, too. Banks had been doing a lot better over the last two, three, or four years. And then this week, we get hit with this news that there's a downgrade in seven of the major banks in this country. So, that's what worries me is it looked like some of the industries that were going to really plow us out of this kind of malaise we're in now seem to be suffering as well.
And I would also say the jobs numbers. We're just not creating the pace of jobs that Americans were hoping for.
CROWLEY: So the politics of this in terms of Congress or what Congress and the president get done, does this move anything, do you think?
MOORE: Yes, I do. I really do. I think if we get a couple more weeks of this kind of lousy economic news, I think it's going to spring the president and Congress into some action.
I do think you could see a deal. I don't think -- the president has been running around saying pass my economic stimulus plan, which is spending. You know this, Candy. The Republicans in Congress are very unlikely to pass that.
You could get a deal, though, if the president said, look, let's take this tax cliff off the table for January of 2013, maybe suspend that for a year.
CROWLEY: Meaning when the tax -- the tax cuts from the Bush years would go back up and...
MOORE: They all expire on January 1, 2013.
CROWLEY: Right. Right.
MOORE: The president could say, let's just suspend that for one year. You remember they did that in 2010, when the economy wasn't where it should be.
I still think there's a decent possibility of that. When you talk about the economy, there are two areas where the economy is doing pretty well, thank goodness. So we do have low inflation. So let's -- the CPI actually was negative.
CROWLEY: That's the Fed, though, right?
(CROSSTALK)
MOORE: Yes. Well, part of that is because people are kind of not buying a lot of things.
But inflation is under control. And if you look what's happened the last couple of months, did you see what the oil price did? The oil price is really falling. So that's going to hit -- that's going to help people at the gasoline pump.
And the other thing, interest rates are still really low. So, we keep hoping, the Fed keeps hoping that will generate the growth in the economy, and so far it hasn't.
CROWLEY: And just -- I need a quick answer to this, but lots of people talking about a second recession.
MOORE: Gosh, I hope not. I really -- I don't think we're going to have one. I think we will have just slow growth, but I don't think we are going to have a double dip.
CROWLEY: Stephen Moore...
(CROSSTALK)
MOORE: That's a note of optimism.
CROWLEY: Yes. I like ending on an upbeat. Thank you so much, Stephen Moore at "The Wall Street Journal." We appreciate it.
It looks like Egypt will have a new president Sunday. An Egyptian news agency reports that Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, will be declared the winner of a tight runoff election against Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi.
Both sides have claimed victory. And that's making for a tense weekend in Cairo. CNN's Ben Wedeman is there.
Ben, let me ask you, first of all, two scenarios. If Shafiq is declared the winner, how will that be taken in the general populace in Egypt, and what happens if Morsi wins? How will that be taken?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's important to stress at the beginning, Candy, that there is no reason to sort of trust the reliability of this report, which is on a semi- official Web site, but it's quoting unnamed officials.
That's the English Web site. On the Arabic Web site, they are still indicating that the man who won the election is Mohammed Morsi. So there is complete confusion at the moment, somewhat like the earlier reports earlier this week that Hosni Mubarak was clinically dead, where in fact he's actually fairly alive and well at the moment.
So what we know is that, however, there is a lot of concern among the security services that if Ahmed Shafiq is, indeed, declared the winner that many of these people -- these are tens of thousands of supporters of Mohammed Morsi, of the Muslim Brotherhood, in Tahrir Square -- they have been here for days. The worry is that they, this protest will turn violent in angry reaction to the news that Ahmed Shafiq could be the president.
If Mohammed Morsi is declared the winner, there's less concern about the impact on the street. I was speaking with one Egyptian analyst who told me that Shafiq supporters are unlikely to take out their anger on the street.
The worry, as far as Morsi goes, if he is declared the president, is that it will have a somewhat negative effect on the business climate, on the possibility of tourists ever returning to Egypt, on the possibility of foreign investment in the country.
The worry is that, if the Muslim Brotherhood takes over the presidency, the business climate could become very chilly.
CROWLEY: Do they believe that the military will hand over power to whoever they say has been elected president?
WEDEMAN: What we have seen in the last week is that the constitutional court has ruled that parliament should be dissolved, and the military has taken over its legislative functions, which means that regardless of who is the president of Egypt as of the beginning of July, the military will still have legislative powers.
So that promise of a handover to civilians is being seen as, at this point, an empty one -- Candy.
CROWLEY: CNN's Ben Wedeman in Cairo, thank you so much, Ben. A busy weekend for you. We appreciate your giving us some of your time.
The second day of deliberations in the Jerry Sandusky case is winding down. Jurors are going back over more than a week's worth of wrenching testimony, but how close can they be to a verdict? Plus, President Obama tells Latino leaders, I'm your guy. I will ask former Governor Bill Richardson if he thinks it will work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL RICHARDSON (D), FORMER NEW MEXICO GOVERNOR: I think Latinos sense that the president is on their side, and he is on their side. And this is why he enjoys this overwhelming support.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: President Obama scored a few applause lines in a speech to a friendly crowd of Latino leaders in Florida. He ended his remarks with a promise to keep fighting for the Hispanic community. But there is one promise from his 2008 campaign that still haunts the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: We will have, in the first year, an immigration bill that I strongly support and that I am promoting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: No immigration bill was ever passed. And while the president now enjoys a double-digit lead in polling among Latinos, the Obama campaign knows that the real challenge is getting Latinos excited enough to show up and vote.
Joining me now is someone who knows a lot about the importance of the Latino vote, former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.
Thank you so much for joining us, Governor.
I want to play something actually from Mitt Romney's speech yesterday to this same group of Latino leaders and something he said about what has happened in the Hispanic community since President Obama took office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: While the national unemployment is still above 8 percent and has been for 40 straight months, Hispanic unemployment is at 11 percent. Over two million more Hispanics are living in poverty today than the day when President Obama took office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Governor Richardson, he's absolutely right on those figures. Can you tell me the reason behind the strong Latino support for the president, which is running about 66 percent, when put up against Mitt Romney?
RICHARDSON: Well, Candy, the governor's statistics are not right. In fact, Latino unemployment has gone down 1.6 percent in the last 27 months, from 13 to about 11. Secondly, on the economic front, too, because of the president's payroll tax cut, 25 million more Hispanics have gotten a tax cut, loans to Hispanic-owned small businesses.
The president wants to grow the economy from the middle out, rather than from the top down. But on the immigration issue, the president has tried to have a comprehensive immigration bill, but when it's filibustered by Republicans, opposed almost by every member of the Republican Party, it's hard to pass that.
So the president deserves credit for trying, for finding ways to push for the DREAM Act, which gives college opportunities to Hispanic kids that have been in the military or have come here at a very young age. And then, lastly, what the president has done is stop some of the senseless and cruel deportation of children, promoting family reunification.
This is why the president enjoys this lead, which if he keeps this lead, Candy, at 66 percent, 65 percent is the barometer that would allow a Democratic candidate for president to win the Latino vote nationally and, therefore, the presidency because of the importance and...
(CROSSTALK)
CROWLEY: But if we are told, continuing along those lines, that Latino voters, while they care deeply about immigration, they are like all other Americans -- they are more interested in the economy -- why is the Latino vote so different in the way its support -- we see the national polls just sort of nationwide, and we see that President Obama leads by about 4 percentage points, I think in the last poll I saw, and yet this gap is huge.
So, clearly, this is not totally a pocketbook issue.
RICHARDSON: That's right.
And the Republicans have been so harsh in their primaries, with Santorum and Gingrich and Romney taking extremist positions, anti- immigrant positions that make them look almost totally, totally on the extreme hostility. And this is the reason why I think Latinos sense that the president is on their side. And he is on their side. And this is why he enjoys this overwhelming support.
CROWLEY: You have called Marco Rubio, I think, intriguing. Can you tell me what you think about him, first as the political star he seems to be, and second as a possible way for Republicans over time -- I'm not talking about this election -- but over time, being able to attract more Latino support?
RICHARDSON: I always want to see Latinos in both parties, Republican and Democrat, do well.
There's no question that Senator Rubio is an attractive senator. He speaks well. I don't know him, but I would like him to take more positive positions on the DREAM Act and immigration. What he wants to do with the DREAM Act is not comparable to what President Obama wants to do.
It's not comprehensive. It's sort of short-term. But, yes, I do find him intriguing. And so this is why I find his potential candidacy positive. But I don't think it's going to be enough to overtake President Obama in the general election, which I predict he will win narrowly...
CROWLEY: OK.
RICHARDSON: ... but also among Latino voters.
CROWLEY: All right, Governor Richardson, thank you so much for joining us all the way from Paris. I know you are on business there, but try to have some fun. Thanks.
RICHARDSON: Thank you. Thank you, Candy.
CROWLEY: A Turkish military plane has vanished, and Syria claims it shot down the plane.
And remember when gas cost less than $3 per gallon? Those prices might be coming to a pump near you this year.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: Welcome back.
(NEWS BREAK)
CROWLEY: We are watching for a verdict in the Jerry Sandusky case. The jury is spending today revisiting testimony.
Plus, we're also watching for a decision that could affect every American, the Supreme Court deciding what to do about the president's health care law.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: In this half-hour of "JOHN KING, USA": The jury deciding Jerry Sandusky's fate plans to work through the weekend as they pore over witness testimony.
A Supreme Court decision that will impact every American is expected within days. We will have details.
And a Turkish plane is shot down by Syrian artillery, all while Kofi Annan begs for peace.
Jurors in the Jerry Sandusky trial have ordered dinner. They could be hunkering down for a long Friday night in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. This is their second day of deliberations in the child sex abuse trial.
CNN contributor Sara Ganim is outside the courthouse. Sara, the jury has already requested to review some testimony. Tell us what you know about that.
SARA GANIM, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, this morning they started the day by listening to two hours, really 2 1/2 hours of testimony related to Mike McQueary. Remember, he's the assistant football coach who says that in 2001, he saw Jerry Sandusky and a young boy in a shower. Though he couldn't describe for jurors exactly what he saw, he said he believed in his heart that it was something sexual.
And this has been one of the cases that Jerry Sandusky's attorney has said all along is rather weak. And he's gone after it very hard. So jurors began the day listening to that testimony.
Just a few hours ago, they asked another question of an incident that was reported -- I'm sorry, wasn't reported a year earlier in that same locker room shower by janitors who saw Jerry Sandusky in there with a young boy. Now, in that case, the janitor who witnessed probably the most, has been diagnosed with dementia and could not take the stand.
So other jurors who were -- other janitors who were around him that night told jurors what he said. And the jurors came back with a question about a legal term called "excited utterance" and whether or not what that janitor told those other janitors ten years ago could be something that they could consider.
So we know that they've been spending their time going over at least asking questions about some of the cases that the defense has labeled the most weak.
CROWLEY: So what do we know about their schedule for deliberations? We do know they're going to continue through the weekend. Is that full days?
GANIM: It's all up to them, Candy. The judge has told them that because he sequestered them in a hotel room without any kind of communication, with the television turned off, literally, just them and a clock, he said that they can set their own schedule.
Last night they were here until about 9:30, which was a 12-1/2-hour day for them. And, you know, it remains to be seen what time they decide to break tonight. They are on a dinner break for about an hour. But they could go through the weekend if they want, or they could take a break for the weekend if they feel, you know, so inclined. We don't anticipate that. But it's all up to them. Those 12 jurors get to make that decision.
CROWLEY: Sounds like the American system. The jury gets to decide. Sara Ganim, thank you so much, covering the Jerry Sandusky trial for us, waiting for a verdict.
The Supreme Court is in overdrive as the justices get ready to hand down a decision so big it affects each and every one of us. Health care. Our Kate Bolduan gives us a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Long days and late nights at the Supreme Court as the justices rush to finish what Justice Ginsburg recently called the flood season.
JUSTICE RUTH BADER GINSBURG, SUPREME COURT: Many of the most controversial cases remain pending, so it is likely that the sharp disagreement rate will go up next week.
BOLDUAN: The biggest case this session and the biggest in at least a decade, the president's health-care law. The election-year blockbuster argued for more than six hours in March has far-reaching implications from Main Street to the campaign trail.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm actually continuing to be confident that the Supreme Court will uphold the law.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If I'm elected president, I will repeal Obama care. And I'll stop it in its tracks on day one.
BOLDUAN: The nine justices face four separate issues in this one case. The centerpiece. Will the individual mandate requiring nearly all Americans to have health insurance stand or will it fall? And does the rest or any of the law survive if the mandate is struck down?
Does the law's expanded Medicaid program unfairly step on states' rights? Or will the court call for a legal time-out until the main provisions go into effect? Though this option is unlikely.
THOMAS GOLDSTEIN, PUBLISHER, SCOTUSBLOG.COM: There's going to be a bottom line of whether the mandate is constitutional or not. I would be shocked if we didn't know that after the decision. Then it gets a little bit more complicated.
BOLDUAN: Key to the decision may be these two men: Chief Justice John Roberts and the traditional swing vote, Justice Anthony Kennedy. Both seem skeptical of the government's case.
JUSTICE ANTHONY KENNEDY, SUPREME COURT: Can you create commerce in order to regulate it?
BOLDUAN: Yet they asked tough questions of both sides, giving hope to the law's supporters it may survive, at least in part.
CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS, SUPREME COURT: I don't think you're addressing their main point, which is that they're not creating commerce in health care. It's already there, and we're all going to need some kind of health care, most of us will, at some point.
BOLDUAN (on camera): After the decision is handed down, the big question quickly becomes, what now? House Republican leaders have made clear if the law is not completely thrown out, they'll vote to repeal whatever is left.
And for weeks, both the White House and congressional Republicans have been quietly strategizing their message so they are ready as soon as the decision comes -- Candy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: Our Kate Bolduan.
Syrian state media claims that a Turkish military jet was shot down today by Syrian artillery. A Syrian military spokesman says the plane had entered Syrian air space.
Meanwhile, U.N. special envoy Kofi Annan is calling on world leaders to turn up the pressure and help stop the bloodshed in Syria.
For analysis we turn to Fouad Ajami, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He is the author of "The Syrian Rebellion."
Thank you for being here. Off the top, Syria -- lots of countries claim to shoot down something if it makes them look tough and strong and capable, but if this is true, this cannot be a good thing and seems to me to be an expansion of this war.
FOUAD AJAMI, HOOVER INSTITUTION: It's right, Candy. This would be very, very serious for many, many reasons. Remember, Turkey is a NATO member. Turkey is a very, very formidable power. Turkey is four times the size of Syria. The Turkish military is a mighty institution.
And the idea that this ragtag regime in Damascus would shoot down a Turkish airplane, a jet fighter, if you understand, a Phantom -- F-4 Phantom plane tells you that Bashar al-Assad's regime has the sense of invulnerability, that no one is coming to the rescue of the Syrian population and that there could be a sense of abandon in the behavior of the Syrian regime.
CROWLEY: Do you think it's possible they are lying about this just to portray that message that you're talking about? Nobody is coming to rescue you people?
AJAMI: Well, you know, Candy, I don't think so. I think we do have some statements from Prime Minister Erdogan himself, a very proud man, a very tough man who actually is probably the most dominant figure in the Islamic world today. He has addressed the issue of this fighter plane. And he has addressed the fate of the two missing crew members. So I think this appears to be a credible report.
CROWLEY: And what does it mean? What is likely to be the Turkish response here? As you point out, it's a NATO ally and in NATO it's all for one and one for all. What does it mean?
AJAMI: Well, you know, I really don't know. That's a very, very interesting question. And I think if you go back over the last 15 months or so, you see enormous evolution in the Turkish position.
Erdogan was a friend of Bashar al-Assad. Erdogan was a patron for a while of the Syrian regime, and then he turned against the Syrian regime when it became clear that it's a killer regime. There some are people in the Arab world that are critical of Erdogan. He always says rescue for the Syrians is coming, that he's about to intervene against Bashar al-Assad.
I think it would be an embarrassment to Prime Minister Erdogan, because he has to make good on the threats that he has made.
CROWLEY: And we're also learning at least four senior Syrian military officers have defected to the opposition. What does that tell you?
AJAMI: Not a moment too soon. It's even amazing that there haven't been, you know, greater defections. You know, the facts of the Syrian army are well known. The commanders, the barons, as I call them, the intelligence barons. The units that matter are all commanded by -- they're commanded by members, actually, of Bashar al-Assad's own family: his brother, his brother-in-law and the like.
And if you are a decent professional, if you are a Sunni officer looking at the behavior of this barbarous regime, killing people, killing children, using children as you enter as cover, I think you feel a sense of embarrassment and shame about what's going on in your country.
CROWLEY: Fouad Ajami, putting it together for us tonight. Thank you so much.
AJAMI: Thank you, Candy.
CROWLEY: Coming up, President Obama tells a conference of Hispanic legislators why they should not vote for Mitt Romney.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: It was almost a given that the president was given a warm welcome at a conference of Latino legislators a week after he announced his decision to stop deporting some illegal immigrants brought here as children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: They are Americans in their hearts in their minds. They're Americans through and through, in every single way but on paper. And all they want is to go to college and give back to the country they love. So lifting the shadow of deportation and giving them a reason to hope, that was the right thing to do. It was the right thing to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Mitt Romney slammed that decision Thursday calling it a temporary measure that he seems to think will be just enough to get him through the election.
Here to talk about how the immigration debate will impact the November election, the "Washington Post" national political correspondent, Karen Tumulty; former Santorum campaign spokesman Alice Stewart; and the president of the Center for American Progress, Neera Tanden. Ladies, very nice to see all of you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Great to be here.
CROWLEY: I want to, first, just play something that Marco Rubio said to this same group, and ask you true or false. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: As long as this issue of immigration is a political Ping-Pong that each side uses to influence elections and influence votes, I'm telling you it won't get solved, because there are too many people that have concluded that this issue unresolved is more powerful. They want it to stay unresolved. It's easier to influence elections. It's easier to use to raise money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: So of all the things said from the politicians at this conference, that, to me, had the largest ring of truth to it -- Karen.
KAREN TUMULTY, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, "WASHINGTON POST": Well, I think it certainly is -- it's an issue that is going to matter a lot more, I think, this year than even in the past because, let's face it. This election is going to come down to a dozen or fewer states. And Latinos are a major chunk of the electorate in about two- thirds of those states.
CROWLEY: And Alice, it's true that each side thinks they get something out of this unresolved issue.
ALICE STEWART, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, certainly President Obama thinks he's going to get something out of his current stop-gap measure. But it was all political.
I mean, he had two years at the first of his term in order to do something with both sides of Congress. He promised the Hispanics in that community that he would have immigration reform. He had two years to do it with everyone on his side, and he didn't do it.
And now he's shoving through an executive action that's just a stop- gap measure. It's a temporary measure to get him through the election, and it's not going to work. And as Governor Romney said, we need a long-term solution, comprehensive, that includes securing the border, employment verification and not just this measure.
CROWLEY: I don't have to ask you a question. Go.
NEERA TANDEN, PRESIDENT, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: You know, I think that that's just really entirely false. All of this. In the sense that...
CROWLEY: Let me just ask you one thing. I don't think anyone doubts that the president did what he thought was the right thing to do.
TANDEN: No, no.
CROWLEY: I don't think he's going against form but were there politics in it?
TANDEN: I mean, this is what I find incredibly frustrating about this debate, which is a few years ago, Republicans were leaders on this issue. George Bush was a leader on this issue. He had a comprehensive bill that President Obama supported, and it was Republicans in the Senate who blocked this effort.
Even a month when we had Democratic majorities, they were blocking this effort. They wouldn't come to the table. Twenty-three Republicans shifted position in the Senate.
I mean, the question really is, where is the Republican Party on this issue? George Bush supported this issue. George Bush supported this issue, and now we can't even -- he supported comprehensive immigration reform. And we can't even get Mitt Romney to state where he is on this issue.
STEWART: He's been -- he's been very clear on where he stands on the immigration issue. And he says it's not a short-term stop-gap measure. It's a long-term...
TANDEN: So would he rescind this? Would he rescind the DREAM Act?
STEWART: What he plans to do when he is elected in November, he will implement immediately his plans for a long-term solution to that, and that will take -- that will take over for what will be...
(CROSSTALK)
CROWLEY: You need Congress. I mean, it's a longer process to legislate this than it is to do something from the Oval Office. And the question is we know he wants a long-term solution. The question is, in the short term, he can't make that happen in January of next year if he becomes president. What's he going to do about that? I think that's the question we're talking about.
STEWART: He has vowed -- he has vowed to work with both houses, Republicans and Democrats, and work hard for a comprehensive measure that will be a long-term solution to that. Not just a stop-gap.
CROWLEY: I'll let Karen get in on this.
TUMULTY: But there are Republicans who are taking the lead toward comprehensive immigration reform, as well. I mean, people like Jeb Bush. Even somebody like Haley Barbour, who says, "Look, I am for more people in this country who are here, because they want to work." And we are not going to deport 12 million people.
I think there's a real schism right now in the Republican Party, and a lot of people also know that they're racing against demographics here.
CROWLEY: Exactly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I agree.
CROWLEY: It's in everyone's political interest to get this group behind them or at least, you know, be able to split it politically. I want you all to hang on, because we'll be back.
Right now, "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" is coming up at the top of the hour. Erin, there's a small Georgia town that shares its name with a famous movie. But it's been a mixed blessing for the locals. Tell us about that.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, we're talking about the 40-years anniversary of the movie "Deliverance," which of course, had a -- actually caused a real split in a town in Georgia. We actually are going to take you there on the 40th anniversary and see how it really has completely split that town. It's a pretty amazing story, as somebody familiar with that movie.
Also, Candy, we're going to be on verdict watch. Jury in the Jerry Sandusky case has gotten dinner. We are waiting to see if there is going to be a verdict tonight. And we're also going to have some news of some -- something shocking that the defense attorney told reporters today about whether he thought his client was going to get off of these charges or not. So we'll have that top of the hour.
Back to you.
CROWLEY: You're on jury watch. We'll be on Erin Burnett watch. Thanks. We'll see you at the top of the hour.
Newark's mayor, Cory Booker, saves a man who was hit by a car. We've got his response and why it's not the first time he's been a hero.
And Dick Cheney's daughter got married today. Hear what he had to say, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: We're back and talking all things politics on our Friday night. Karen Tumulty, Alice Stewart, and Neera Tanden.
I want to play something for you all that the president just said, and it comes off a "Washington Post" story, which traces some of the things done at Bain. It has to do with jobs, dealing with companies who outsource jobs overseas. Here's what the president had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: We do not need an outsourcing pioneer in the Oval Office. We need a president who will fight for American jobs and fight for American manufacturing. That's what my plan will do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: This is huge in a place where President Obama is not doing all that well right now, which is those blue-collar white votes. The outsourcing, that's like lighting a flame to the oil. Is this an issue he can get some traction off of?
TUMULTY: I think that's possible. This is referring to a story by my colleague, Tom Hamburger, that talked about his years at Bain Capital, an issue the Obama campaign has been trying to raise. It's basically suggesting economists can argue about how much outsourcing was inevitable. But the fact is, Bain Capital made a lot of money on taking advantage of companies that were setting up call centers overseas and setting up operations overseas.
STEWART: And what they're trying to do when they point the finger at things like that, they're trying to distract from the president's record. He doesn't want people to look at where we are economically with him.
Here we have above 8 percent unemployment for the longest time in recorded history. Compare that to when Governor Romney left office. We're looking at about 4.5 percent. So 4.5 compared to 8.
We're also looking at a $16 trillion deficit and debt under Obama. Where Governor Romney, he closed a $3 billion shortfall and left a $2 billion rainy day fund.
CROWLEY: You're talking about as Massachusetts governor.
STEWART: Certainly, as governor of Massachusetts.
CROWLEY: Let me ask you, in terms of the record at Bain, there have been a lot of Democrats who have said leave Bain alone, go after the Massachusetts record. Support your own record. Do you think this is a bad idea or good idea for the president to go after Bain again?
TANDEN: I think the issue really here is Mitt Romney has made his private sector experience front and center for his argument. It's not a distraction. It's not an effort to move away from the...
STEWART: Well, it's just as...
CROWLEY: The idea that it's not touting his own record.
TANDEN: Absolutely no. The issue here is there's going to be two people on the ballot, Mitt Romney and President Obama. And every day, Mitt Romney argues that he has the experience to produce jobs.
And what we find out every day, with more and more information, not from the Obama campaign but from "The Washington Post," independent sources, is that his experience is really what people find troubling in this economy, which is that he is a job destroyer.
His experience is -- his experience is -- you have a lot of time? His experience really is to take his private-sector experience and move jobs overseas. And what I find fascinating about this is that Mitt Romney goes on and on about how he's going to be tough on China, how, day one, he's going to make a big argument about China. And his experience economically with China is moving jobs from the United States to China. There are arguments about how this happens in the private sector... STEWART: It is important to note his successes in the private sector which include Staples and Office Depot. Huge job increase.
CROWLEY: He has success at Bain, there's no doubt about that. Does this stress what really is the struggle with the agenda of the campaign?
TUMULTY: Yes. What I think neither campaign has yet to answer, which is the real question in voter's minds, is which of these things tells us more about what Mitt Romney would do as president. So, I mean, arguing about the past is interesting, but neither campaign, I don't think, has really answered that question.
TANDEN: Karen, just on that point, I want to say, if Mitt Romney had a solution for what to do about this economy, I think that would be one thing. But his solutions are the same things that we've done before that have failed miserably. It's across-the-board tax cuts, which has failed as a policy.
We did this in the Bush administration. We actually lost jobs. It was the worst decade for job growth under that period. And so it's absolutely right, that if he had solutions...
CROWLEY: I've got to give Alice the last word to get in here.
STEWART: Well, he has outlined what he plans to do, he does have solutions. He outlined those yesterday. Specifically, once again, talking about repealing and replacing Obama care, which is bad for the economy. He's talked about reducing the regulation, which is a job killer. He's talked about cutting taxes, which will help create certainty in our economy.
And also, just overall making the economy better and safer to invest in and also to create jobs. And also approving the Keystone Pipeline, which will help energy and create jobs.
CROWLEY: I've got to go. I think we'll be talking about this a little -- a little more in the coming months. Thanks so much. Alice Stewart, Karen Tumulty, Neera Tanden, thank you.
Here's our Lisa Sylvester with the latest news you need to know right now.
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Candy. Great discussion, by the way.
Well, in the news, the high water in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin is receding, but people there could see more flooding this weekend. At least three people have died and many more have been chased out of their homes. Some roads in Duluth, Minnesota, are closed because the ground underneath them collapsed. This all comes after intense storms earlier this week dropped ten inches of rain on that area.
GM recalls more than 400,000 Chevy Cruzes. The motor company says the engine shields can be a fire hazard. This involves many 2011 and 2012 cars. The Cruze was Chevy's No. 1 selling car last year. And Dick Cheney's daughter just got hitched. Mary Cheney married her longtime partner, Heather Poe, today. The Cheneys released a statement saying, quote, "Mary and Heather have been in a committed relationship for many years, and we are delighted that they were able to take advantage of the opportunity to have that relationship recognized."
The couple married in D.C., where same-sex marriage became legal back in 2009.
And Mayor Cory Booker comes to the rescue yet again, this time helping a man struck by a car. The Newark, New Jersey, mayor tweeted this: "God bless my residents. Pulled up on a pedestrian/vehicle accident. We got man stabilized and into an ambulance. He'll be OK. Thanks to all who helped."
Of course this is not the first time Cory Booker has helped out. This spring, he saved his neighbor from a fire.
And I'm waiting for somebody to come up with the idea of a Cory Booker action figure, if they haven't already.
CROWLEY: At the very least, we need to get that man a cape.
SYLVESTER: Absolutely.
CROWLEY: Lisa, hang on a second, because it's time for tonight's "Moment You May Have Missed." The next president of the United States is -- Charlie Sheen? At least on the big screen. He is set to play the president in the upcoming movie "Machete Kills," directed by Robert Rodriguez, who tweeted out this picture after meeting with Sheen about the gig.
Sheen himself added some text, simply saying, "My fellow Americans."
This looks like the beginning of a faux political dynasty. Charlie's father, Martin, famously played President Josiah Bartlett on "The West Wing." It got us thinking about some of our favorite actors who have taken on the role. Michael Douglas in "The American President." Kevin Kline in "Dave." Dennis Haysbert in "24."
Now, of course, that is all for us tonight. I wish I had time, of course, Lisa, but we'll think of a bigger -- a bigger list of who's played presidents. More than there have been actual presidents. Thanks so much.
That's it for us tonight. "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" begins right now.
