[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] And this is enough to make you want to perhaps dust off your skies and your ski boots because, look, some fresh snow there in Vail after finally getting some cooler temperatures. And now this means some of the resorts there, like Breckinridge, Copper Mountain, and Keystone, say they just might be able to open as early as next month for the skiers. So much more ahead on CNN LIVE "SATURDAY." In a few moments, IN THE MONEY at 2:00 Eastern examining health care expenses for companies. Is it wrong to hire only healthy workers in order to cut costs? And at 3:00, the "
[Iraq War:] Voices from the Home Front," understanding why public opinion about the war is so divided. But first a check of what's happening right "Now in the News." India's prime minister says terrorists are to blame for explosions that rock three separate areas of New Delhi today. At least 33 people were killed, almost all of them in a marketplace packed with shoppers preparing for India's largest festival. India has not named any suspected group. Long time foe Pakistan has condemned the attacks. The attorney for Lewis "Scooter" Libby is hinting his client may rely on a defense or of faulty memory, that is. The White House insider was indicted yesterday on five counts related to the leaking of a CIA operative's identity. Libby immediately resigned his post as chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney. Meanwhile, President Bush may well turn attention away from the probe and its lingering focus his top political adviser, Karl Rove, with a much anticipated nomination for the U.S. Supreme Court. Earlier this week the president withdrew the nomination of Harriet Miers that is, she withdrew her own name amid vocal opposition from conservative groups. The owner of a Texas health care company is under arrest for allegedly ordering fake flu vaccines to be given to more than 1,000 Exxon Mobil employees. Tests show the syringes contained purified water. There have been no side effects reported but health officials are recommending that more testing be done on those who received those fake shots. I'm Fredericka Whitfield in Atlanta. More news at the bottom of the hour. IN THE MONEY begins right now.
[Announcer:] From New York City, America's financial capital, this is
[In The Money. Andy Serwer, Cnn Anchor:] Welcome to IN THE MONEY, I'm Andy Serwer, sitting in for Jack Cafferty. Coming up on today's program: the war behind the war. With U.S. deaths in Iraq above 2,000, see what your tax money is doing in another fight. The struggle to boost America's image in the Islamic world. And raising the white flag: America spends billions every year on fighting drugs.
[Serwer:] ... police chief who says it's time to... ... cash and go for legalization. Also ahead, high-flyers and turkeys. The holiday movies are the last chance for this year for Hollywood to pull out of its nosedive. See if this season's lineup has what it takes for a comeback. Joining me today, money.com managing editor Allen Wastler, and HEADLINE NEWS correspondent Carrie Lee. You know what? It's been a roller coaster week for the markets, you guys. First of all, we have a lot of stuff going on in Washington, D.C., not making investors happy, on the other hand, the economy continues to grow...
[Carrie Lee, Cnn Headline News Correspondent:] It does. On Friday, we saw GDP coming in stronger-than-expected, 3.8 percent to the upside. Of course, this is a very important report because it measures all of the goods and services produced in our economy. So when this report is stronger-than-expected that's good news overall. So markets reacting favorably to that. Of course, Thursday, we saw the Dow down over 100 points on some not-so-great economic news. So kind of up one day, down the next, but overall, third- quarter profits have been good so far, mainly because of oil. But hey, growth is growth, and that's definitely a good sign.
[Allen Wastler, Managing Editor, Money.com:] And they sprinkled in some of that corporate news, too. You had Microsoft being gloomy in there and then you had GE beginning the week with, hey, we have got subpoenas, oops, things might be going wrong there. And then you throw in all the political stuff, the CIA hoo-ha, and then Bernanke's appointment, it just a frothy, frothy mess for investors. Gosh, it's fun!
[Serwer:] Yes, well, it is a swirl of news. And I think a lot of times what happens in Washington is ignored on Wall Street, but it does start to catch up after a while. Consumers' confidence, investors' confidence, and so it all does tie together I think a little bit, doesn't it?
[Wastler:] Yes, it certainly does. And I think, to get to Carrie's point, the economic news, it wants to go forward. The economy wants to keep going, keep going, keep going. These other things are holding it back but I think we're going to see a breakout in the fourth quarter. That's what I'm hoping for at least.
[Serwer:] All right. That's Allen's prediction, right?
[Lee:] Q4 usually strong, we're seeing signs of the housing market start to slow down, but we all knew this was going to happen sooner or later. I mean, it's been crazy, it's been a great ride for people. Q4 usually strong and most people are thinking that once this hurricane fallout starts to end, then it's going get even better.
[Serwer:] All right. Well, we will see what we see. The battle for Iraq isn't simply about who's got better guns and tactics. It's also about who can win the support of the people and the region. That fight on two fronts, feels even more poignant this week. The number of U.S. military dead in Iraq is over 2,000 now. But in the campaign for public opinion, Iraq is just part of the territory. Throughout the Islamic world, Washington has spent $670 million this year to boost its image, but our first guest says you can't sell the U.S. like Uncle Ben's rice. James Zogby says it's time for Washington to adjust its attitude towards the Middle East. James is president of the Arab-American Institute. James, welcome to the program.
[James Zogby, President, Arab-american Institute:] Thank you.
[Serwer:] So assess for us, if you please, Washington's track record so far trying to win the hearts and minds in that region.
[Zogby:] Well, let me just correct a little of what you said in the beginning. You can actually sell something like you sell Uncle Ben's Rice. The point is that when we sold Uncle Ben's Rice, we understood the market we were selling to first. You listen to the market, you judge the market, what it needs, and then you tailor the advertising campaign to the needs of the market. We haven't sold America in the same way. We haven't listened to what the Arab world is saying to us and therefore we've been providing them answers to questions they're not asking and we're the issues that they are raising. While we focus the 2,000 Americans who have died, they focus on the estimated 20,000 to 30,000 Iraqi civilians who have died. That all takes a toll. We have to recalibrate not just how we convey the message, but what we're doing in the region and what impact that has on the image that we have.
[Lee:] Dr. Zogby, Carrie Lee here. Anti-Americanism in this part of the world, certainly there are different levels of prices to pay, but what about the economic impact? Do you talk about people liking American products, liking the freedom aspect of our culture, but what is the economic price that we're paying on both ends? Certainly, we would like to sell more products. Certainly some people in the Mideast would like to buy more products, do business together. We talked about the globalization of the world today. What is that economic price? To what extent?
[Zogby:] Well, a couple of things we can say about that. One is, it's not a very elastic market in that sense. We don't sell that much and what we buy from there doesn't have a whole lot of give, and we buy oil and they sell it and they're happy with it. And some products that we're selling aren't going go away. People are going to continue to buy American cars and American franchises are doing very well in most areas. In fact, there's a bit of a tension. They may not like what we stand for and that has a negative impact, but that tension is offset by the fact that American culture and the values inherent in that culture have a tremendous draw. I was just in Saudi Arabia a short while ago, staying in a hotel. In the lobby of the hotel is a Saks Fifth Avenue, there's a Planet Hollywood, across the street is a McDonald's, there's a Pizza Hut and a KFC on the other side, and kids walking around in T-shirts with Barkley and Jordan on the back, and American jeans, and even the girls wearing their abayas, but under the abayas are jeans, and they're wearing sneakers. The fact is that our we don't just sell products like the Germans and the Chinese do. We also sell our culture, and our culture has a draw and an appeal. And so you talk to American businessmen and they feel that tension. If they sit down and talk to an Arab partner about business, they can do business, but the minute the conversation shifts to politics, the well is poisoned and the conversation ends and it's a problem. We need to understand that there is an impact, but it's not being felt yet in as dramatic a way as I think it may be in the years to come.
[Wastler:] Dr. Zogby, given what you're saying then, that there's going to be this animosity there any time we shift to politics, why bother with the PR campaign? I mean, isn't that just money wasted? Let just business speak for itself and let policies speak for themselves?
[Zogby:] Let me tell you that I don't think that public diplomacy ought to be about PR. I think public diplomacy ought to be about listening and about coming back and talking to policymakers about how we recalibrate policy and how we deal with the region in terms of what people are saying to us and how they're viewing us. So that if Karen Hughes is I think who I think is an extraordinarily smart woman and a very sensitive and alert woman to the needs of both the administration, our country, but also I think she got an earful when she was in the region, if she comes back and says, oh, here's the new TV advertising campaign, her trip would have been a waste. But I don't think that's what she came back with. I think what she came back with is that you can't escape the policy. You have to deal with the policy. And she has the ear of the president to say to him, you know, we can do all of the advertising in the world. We can do all of the TV networks and magazines in the world, but if we don't begin to alter how we deal with these people, if we don't put a control on other messages coming out of our country that end up trumping our image, like Pat Robertson, like Congress, et cetera...
[Serwer:] I'm sorry to jump in...
[Zogby:] ... it's going to hurt yes.
[Serwer:] ... Mr. Zogby, but we've got to go. Obviously a lot more to talk about here, but our time is up.
[Zogby:] Thank you.
[Serwer:] James Zogby, president of the Arab-American Institute, thanks. When we come back: stiffed. Some companies that promised their workers a pension are walking away from the deal. See how they can get away with it and how much damage it causes. Also ahead: going with the flow. Those rising gas prices are tough, but not on the oil companies. See if Chevron is a smart place to park your money right now. And doom and gloom or dollars and cents: Hollywood is in trouble and the holiday movie season could go either way. We'll get Leonard Maltin's take on the films that will fight the fight.