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Obama's Historic Run; Oprah: World's Most Influential African- American Entrepreneur; Where Does Hillary Clinton Stand Now?

Aired June 04, 2008 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Excitement and energy across the nation, the kind that only a moment in history can bring. Barack Obama breaks through. The reaction pours in.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, it didn't hurt Obama to have this woman in his corner. Oprah Winfrey means business, big business, in fact. We are going to talk to a reporter who got an exclusive look into her world.

LEMON: Oh, my gosh.

KEILAR: Fascinating.

LEMON: Big business.

KEILAR: Yes.

LEMON: I think Oprah's going to take over the world.

You go, Oprah.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live here at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

KEILAR: And I'm Brianna Keilar. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: So, just one year ago, few would have predicted it. Who could have known that the Democratic presidential race would last so long or that Hillary Clinton, the well-funded front-runner, would falter?

Instead, the party's nominee will be a man, an African-American man, whose campaign was widely viewed as idealistic, even inspiring, but unlikely to achieve victory. How did Barack Obama do it? Like no one else before him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: The next senator from the state of Illinois, Barack Obama!

LEMON (voice-over): It all started at the last Democratic Convention four years ago. He was a U.S. Senate candidate from Illinois with an unusual name. Most Americans had never heard of him. But his speech got everybody talking.

BARACK OBAMA (D), ILLINOIS SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: My presence on this stage is pretty unlikely.

LEMON: Fast-forward to 2007. Obama announced he would run for president. Doubters became believers when he won the Iowa caucuses. But Clinton made her comeback in New Hampshire, and the race was on. South Carolina proved pivotal. He beat Clinton by a 2-1 margin.

From there, it was a back-and-forth battle for delegates. Obama's string of victories put him ahead, and Clinton was never able to catch up, not to mention Obama also picked up some big-time endorsements, from Oprah, to members of the Kennedy family, and the money came pouring in. His war chest almost doubled hers.

Obama did hit some bumps along the way, most notably, his former pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Controversial sermons hit YouTube and rocked the Obama camp.

OBAMA: I am outraged by the comments that were made.

LEMON: He ultimately broke with Wright and later the entire church. But he survived and moved on.

Obama drew huge crowds from the start, the biggest just two weeks ago in Oregon, where 75,000 people showed up to hear him speak, and, last night, another big crowd at the finish line. Barack Obama clinches the delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: As he celebrates his victory, Barack Obama is also praising Hillary Clinton for running such a strong campaign.

Our Kathleen Koch caught up with the presumptive Democratic nominee on Capitol Hill. She's joining us now.

So, what did he say, Kathleen?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, obviously, everyone has a lot of questions for the senator about how he felt about last night, about what he thought about Senator Clinton not conceding.

And we caught up with him after he made a vote on the Senate floor. We were in an area where cameras weren't allowed, tape reporters were, and so myself, CNN producer Ted Barrett and others shot him a few questions.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

QUESTION: Are you at all disappointed about the tone of Senator Clinton's speech last night?

OBAMA: You know, I thought Senator Clinton, you know, after a long-fought campaign, was understandably focused on her supporters that she had flown in from New York.

I just spoke to her today, and we're going to be having a conversation in the coming weeks. I'm very confident about how unified the Democratic Party is going to be to win in November.

QUESTION: Did she give an indication that she would concede today?

OBAMA: You know, it wasn't a detailed conversation. As I said, I'm very confident about how we're going to be able to bring this party together.

QUESTION: From a historical standpoint, sir, you haven't really talked about how this feels, to be the first African-American nominee of a major party. How does it feel?

OBAMA: Well, look, obviously, it's an enormous honor. It's very humbling.

You think about the -- all the people who had to knock down barriers for me to walk through this door. And the challenges they went through were so much more difficult and so much more severe. And the risks they took were so much greater, that I will say, last night, standing in that auditorium, it struck me that it was a testimony to them.

And, so, you know -- and then the other thing that it has done, I have heard from a number of people already that both black and white, that their kids, 7, 8, 9 years old, take for granted now that, of course, a black can run for president. Of course, a woman can run for president. There's a matter-of-factness to it that I think bodes well for the future.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

KOCH: And, even as late as last night, there were a number of uncommitted senators, lawmakers, members of the House who were superdelegates -- just wanted to let you know that only -- over an hour ago, some eight senators came out, threw their support behind Barack Obama, saying that their focus now is on victory in November and on giving Barack Obama every ounce of our support -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, but what are people there on the Hill, members of Congress, what are they saying about a ticket that would have both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on it?

KOCH: Well, first of all, let me tell you that I tried to ask Senator Barack Obama that very question myself as he was leaving, finishing the interview. I shouted, will you put Hillary Clinton on your ticket as vice president?

He didn't answer. He just got into the motorcade and left. But what we're hearing from lawmakers up here today is that it Senator Obama's decision. They're leaving it up to him. We have heard from a couple of ardent Clinton supporters that they would love to see her on the ticket as vice president, but most people right now are saying that is the presumed Democratic nominee's choice.

KEILAR: That's right. I love how he said it wasn't a detailed conversation. Gives him some wiggle room there.

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: Yes, Kathleen Koch for us there on Capitol Hill, thanks.

KOCH: You bet.

LEMON: Well, you, our viewers, are weighing in on Barack Obama's historic political victory.

Michelle McDonald from Texas wrote to us and she tells us this: "I had my son come into the den to watch Barack's speech. I told him to remember this day, so that if anyone ever asks him what he was doing, he will be able to say that he was 13-years-old and watched Barack's speech at home with his mom."

Rhonda wrote to say: "I am still in awe of Obama's victory from last night. I view him as being our modern-day Moses, a man that has the ability to lead this country into greatness. We also went out into the streets of Barack Obama's hometown of Chicago.

And here's some of the reaction we got there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... think it will be a racial election this time. I think that our country needs somebody to lead us in a different direction. And, this man, and both candidates, actually, I hope are going to be good candidates for this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people are turning over in their grave. They never thought it would happen. But I thought it would happen. Me, myself, I'm a distant cousin of like Emmett Till. That was my cousin. So, he like started off like the civil rights movement. So, it goes to show you anything can happen, especially in the United States of America.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: America's been run by old men, old white gray-haired men too long. It's -- I don't know. I think it needs a whole restructure.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just so thrilled. I'm happy. I bought five newspapers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And that was in the Windy City, Barack Obama's hometown.

Well, we want to hear what you think about this historic milestone in American politics. Put your thoughts on video and tell us what you think about Barack Obama's victory, what it means for the country and for the political process. Just log on to ireport.com. KEILAR: The numbers, they all add up for Barack Obama. But Hillary, of course, Hillary Clinton, has not conceded defeat. Maybe some people out there, you may be wondering if there is a strategy there in play. And how will her decision affect Barack Obama's next move?

Well, let's ask our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider.

So, Bill, she didn't concede last night. She, I guess, congratulated Barack Obama on passing this threshold. But what kind of effect does Hillary -- do Hillary Clinton's actions now have on Barack Obama's?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: It puts Barack Obama on the spot.

It puts him in a very awkward situation because she's not conceding, and people are wondering, why not? What does she want? She even raised that question herself, and the answer wasn't really clear. Is she fighting for some issue to be included in the party platform? Does she feel that she was cheated out of the nomination, that he didn't gain it legitimately?

You know, now that she has said she would available to go on the ticket, if he doesn't ask her to go on the ticket, some of her supporters, some Democrats will say, well, he's not really trying to unify the party, because the way to do that is to put her on the ticket.

The danger here is that her supporters will feel a sense of grievance that somehow the process was unfair, that there's still some hope left that it can be overturned. And the only way she can put a stop to that is to say, you know, he won fair and square, and I concede.

KEILAR: Is it a good idea for there to be a Barack Obama/Hillary Clinton ticket? We have heard people -- some people say it's the dream ticket, but we have also heard some very big Democratic names say that would not be a good idea. What is the support behind now?

SCHNEIDER: There are upsides and downsides.

Clearly, it would unify the party. There would be a great sense of excitement among her supporters, among all Democrats, I think, or most Democrats right now, maybe not some of his supporters. But there would be some sense that the party is pulling together, because they really represent different halves of the Democratic coalition, and he desperately needs to bring them together.

The risk, of course, is that his is a message of change. He says he wants a new style of politics. He wants to change Washington. And he often talks about changing from the patterns of bitter partisanship that have characterized, in his words, the last 20 years. That would include the 1990s. That would include the Clinton years. And for him to have Hillary Clinton on the ticket, with her husband playing some role, would raise some questions about, well, is the change he's looking to going to take us back to the Clinton years?

I think he needs, or he wants to make a fresh break with the past.

KEILAR: Back in 1980, Ted Kennedy waited until the convention.

What are the possibilities for Hillary Clinton doing that now, the upsides, the downsides? Are there any upsides?

SCHNEIDER: Well, if she were fighting for an issue position, the way Ted Kennedy did, then she could take that to the convention as a vindication for her campaign. Ted Kennedy was fighting for an anti- recession jobs program. It didn't ultimately pass, but it was a cause that he was fighting for that he addressed very eloquently at the convention.

Ronald Reagan did the same thing when he ran against Gerald Ford in 1976. He wanted a platform position that repudiated the Republican Party's position of detente. And he won that argument. The closest I have heard that Hillary Clinton could take this fight to the convention is when she said in Portland, Oregon, last month, how can anyone run for the Democratic nomination for president and not have a universal health care plan?

This is a huge, huge difference, she said, and one I feel passionately about.

It's one of the key differences between herself and Obama. It would be interesting, I think, for her to take the fight to the convention floor to amend or add a plank in the party platform, firmly committing the party to universal health care, something she feels that Barack Obama has not done.

KEILAR: That would certainly be interesting to prolong this, definitely.

All right, our senior political analyst Bill Schneider, thanks.

LEMON: So, with the Democratic race decided, John McCain is wasting no time in throwing down the gauntlet. The presumptive Republican nominee is campaigning today in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I must say, that's my hometown.

In a speech seen live here on CNN, McCain challenged his Democratic opponent, Barack Obama, to a series of town hall meetings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What I would like to do is have like 10 town hall meetings, one a week, between now and the Democrat Convention, maybe have 200 to 400 people chosen by an objective organization, have them show up, and come to these town hall meetings all over America.

The first one I would suggest to take place on June the 12th. And that would be in New York City in Federal Hall, the place where the beginnings of our government took place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The event no doubt would provide McCain with a lot of free media coverage.

Now, right now, he's at a huge financial disadvantage compared to Obama. And, meantime, Louisiana's Republican governor, Bobby Jindal, has been mentioned as a possible running mate for McCain. He had this to say about McCain, the McCain/Obama matchup.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: I think it's a good contrast. Senator Obama clearly is a great speaker. I think we're entering the phase of the election where the voters are going to ask, where's the beef? What's the substance? Let's get beyond the speeches. Let's look at the details.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Jindal is America's first governor of Indian descent.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

LEMON: Well, she's been called the most influential African- American businessperson in the world. We know we're talking about Oprah. You simply know her as Oprah and her company, Harpo, spelled backwards. A journalist gets a view from the top coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS REPORT)

KEILAR: Well, this is dominating the headlines here in the U.S.: Barack Obama's big political victory. It's also making headlines around the world. We are going to hear all about it.

LEMON: She has been called the most influential African-American businessperson in the world. You know her simply as Oprah. And a journalist gets a view from the top -- next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK. There is no doubt, if she makes a move, much of the world wants to know where she's going. We're talking about Oprah Winfrey. She's been called the most influential African-American entrepreneur.

And that is the topic of the cover story in the June issue of "Black Enterprise" magazine. There's the magazine right there, and a very nice picture of Oprah, I might add. Today, we are going to talk to the writer of that article, the magazine's career lifestyle director, Sonia Alleyne, who joins us now from New York.

Hey, thanks for joining us today. SONIA ALLEYNE, "BLACK ENTERPRISE": Thank you for having me.

LEMON: And I have got to tell you, we're keeping an eye on some severe weather, so I may have to jump out of it real quick if something happens.

ALLEYNE: I realize that.

LEMON: OK. All right.

But, again, thanks for joining us. But I have got to ask you, you went inside. Not many people, except for her staff and her closest people, get to go inside Oprah's -- I don't know -- I want to call it lair, but you went right inside. Tell me what struck you most about her. She's just -- she's really authentic. She speaks to the president the same way she speaks to the person on the street.

ALLEYNE: Yes, that's very true. She's very much how you see her on television. She's engaging. She's warm. And she's very funny. So, it's -- it was a lot of fun to sit and talk with her, and learn from her as well.

LEMON: Before we get to the importance of what it means for entrepreneurship, ownership, especially when it comes African- Americans, I want you to talk about this meant to you. Were you nervous? Were you intimidated at all by Oprah Winfrey?

ALLEYNE: I was a little nervous at first. And then I was concerned -- because, you know, her story has been an open book.

LEMON: Right.

ALLEYNE: Everything that she's done, everything she's encountered in her life, she's exposed on television and through her magazine.

And, so, the challenge, always as a journalist, as you know, is what can he get new? What can we offer our readers that's a little different?

LEMON: Right.

ALLEYNE: And we -- I went in with no expectations, but she was very open, very honest. She talked about her mistakes. She talked about how she grows her business. And those are things that I think are going to be real takeaways for our readers.

LEMON: OK. Talk to us about -- we have some pictures that were sent into us. And it's of inside. This is her store that opened up.

ALLEYNE: That's right.

LEMON: I mean, when you talk about power and influence and being self-possessed, and showing people, you know, going against all odds, it's Oprah Winfrey. This is her store.

ALLEYNE: Yes.

It is -- again, one of the biggest takeaways for our readers is really going to be the importance of ownership. And that's what's been really exciting about her journey, is that she's owned everything.

LEMON: Yes.

ALLEYNE: She owns her message. She owns her show. She owns the buildings.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: As you were talking -- sorry, Sonia.

Can we just keep going through these pictures, so Sonia can talk to us about these?

ALLEYNE: Oh, sure.

LEMON: All right.

LEMON: And this is Nelson Mandela.

ALLEYNE: Yes.

You know, she describes her journey as a miraculous life. And, so, when you visit her office, it's -- I mean, her whole -- the whole Harpo enterprise is documented with nothing but pictures of great moments and great people that she's met.

LEMON: What was her message to you? Did she talk to you about -- and, specifically, you're "Black Enterprise." Did she talk to you about African-Americans, about ownership, about taking, about owning your -- your own business, your own self, being accountable?

ALLEYNE: She talked about the importance of being authentic, which you mentioned in the opening, but also listening to your inner voice.

And what's really remarkable about her business is that she had -- she's never strategically planned anything. But she's always listened to her intuition. And, you know, business development is really about, you know, how you respond to challenges and opportunities.

And what she's saying is, if you really listen to your inner voice, if you listen to your intuition, that's where you're going to get the best outcome.

LEMON: Did she talk about Barack Obama at all?

ALLEYNE: Loves Barack Obama. She has her dress all picked out.

She had -- I mean, of course, now we all know that he is the nominee, but she had planned to attend the inaugural ball way before all of this. So, as you all know, she's a big supporter, a big fan.

LEMON: Yes. And she's currently working on a partnership of Discovery, OWN, which is her own network. And I think I read somewhere recently where a former congressman is also going to try to start a black news network as well.

I think we have really turned the corner when it comes to how people see black people in mass media and what they can accomplish, especially when you look at Oprah Winfrey and you look at now what's happened to Barack Obama.

ALLEYNE: Yes, very much so. This is a very exciting time in our history.

LEMON: Yes. Yes. OK, listen, we could talk about this all day and it's very interesting.

The magazine comes out when, real quick?

ALLEYNE: It hits today.

LEMON: It hits today.

ALLEYNE: Yes.

LEMON: Thank you very much.

We've got to get to some breaking news.

We look forward to that magazine.

ALLEYNE: Thank you very much for having us.

LEMON: All right.

Do you guys want me to do this tag or are we going straight to Chad?

All right. We're going to get to Chad Myers with some severe weather.

KEILAR: Yes, that's right. There's actually a report of a tornado -- Chad.

What can you tell us, a tornado near Washington, D.C. ?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, in the Northern Virginia suburb of Falls Church near Annandale Road. And that's where the storm was about 15 or 20 minutes ago. That storm has rolled right through downtown D.C. and right outside the other side, right into Maryland itself. And now rotation near Upper Marlboro. That's a little bit farther to the south of what we were talking about.

As the whole storm rolled through D.C., right through the area here, about an hour-and-a-half ago or so, that's where the weather was and that's where the big cell was. I'm going to take you now into D.C. This is our Google map. The District of Columbia kind of up there on the top right hand corner of your screen.

Dave, go ahead into the next move, and we'll zoom right into Falls Church. We're locked up. OK. Falls Church and then Annandale Road now, because we don't know exactly where the touchdown was. Here we go. Here we go. And then that's the northern section -- the Northern Virginia. And there's Falls Church. And that almost the north/south line there is West Annandale Road, turning into Annandale Road there right at North Washington Street.

So, we don't know where the touchdown was, but we do know there was damage there in Falls Church. And we'll give you up to date as we know more.

KEILAR: Yes. And I mean just to give people a sense, Falls Church, you can see there in that map, Chad, just how populated it is...

MYERS: Oh, absolutely.

KEILAR: ...how many buildings there are there.

MYERS: Yes.

KEILAR: This is a place where so many people who work inside of Washington, D.C. live. So we're going to keep our eye on this and figure out exactly what happened there.

Chad, we'll be checking back in with you.

Meantime, dominating the headlines here in the U.S., Barack Obama's big political victory. It is making headlines here. It's making headlines around the world. We're going to get reaction from all over.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: They may not know a whole lot about the American political process, but still people around the world are just captivated by this year's presidential race.

And our Jim Clancy joining us now from CNN's international world headquarters with some reaction.

What all are folks saying out there everywhere?

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: You know, Brianna, this race fascinated people around the world unlike any other that we have seen perhaps in my lifetime. Europeans weren't the only ones who recognized that the Barack Obama win was historic, but not necessarily for the reasons that most Americans would think.

Americans like to say in our country, anyone can grow up to become president. A lot of people around the world looking at America today and saying, you know, it's more than a saying. It actually is true. Because in their own countries, they don't believe that that's true.

Now, of course, Barack Obama hasn't won the presidency yet. A long way to go. But our correspondents gauged the reaction from India to China and Germany.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Sara Sidner in India, standing in one of the dozens of 24-hour news channels that exist in this country. The ups and downs of the U.S. primary election have made big news in this country. Those watching these stations, the politically minded, have been looking at the U.S. election. Some are glad that Hillary Clinton has not thrown her towel in yet. She came in 2005 and made a big impression, saying that she was not against all outsourcing.

And then there's Obama. Many people here say Obama looks like a good candidate.

In the end, though, when it comes to India the favorite will boil down to the person who can push India forward in the world, both politically and economically.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm John Vause in Beijing.

Hillary Clinton didn't make a lot of friends here during the primaries. She urged the U.S. president to boycott the opening ceremony of the Olympics over human rights. She called for a get tough policy on China to keep American jobs in the U.S. The bloggers called her an old-fashioned China basher.

As for Barack Obama, many here question if U.S. voters are ready to elect their first African-American president.

FREDERICK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Of course, Barack Obama clinching the Democratic nomination is making big headlines here in Germany.

Good morning, everyone.

My name is Fred Pleitgen, coming to you from Berlin.

And this country is very much in Barack Obama's corner. As early a month ago, 52 percent of Germans said Hillary Clinton should quit immediately and make room for Barack Obama. And this building here is the reason why. This is where John F. Kennedy stood as he spoke to Berliners and pledged America's allegiance to Germany in the face of the Soviet threat. And many here see Barack Obama as something like a new John F. Kennedy. And that's why this candidate is electrifying Germans.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CLANCY: Now Barack, of course, Obama's father was born in Kenya. And, as a result, I think some of the biggest celebrations that were staged anywhere in the world were last night in Nairobi, Kenya, the capital there. A lot of people -- I don't know how much they're involved in politics, but they were certainly involved in the celebrations there. And according to our correspondent, Mark McKenzie, he figured that a lot of them had hangovers this morning.

Now Hillary Clinton was popular among people. You know, a lot of people knew Hillary. And for them it's not so new, Brianna, to have a woman as president or prime minister. It's not something extraordinary. It did see -- you know, it was noted there, we did see some criticism today for her failure to accept defeat.

KEILAR: Well, you know what I thought was interesting?

We heard from David McKenzie. And he said the beer there in Kenya, or at least Nairobi, it's called Senator beer. And he said they renamed it to be Obama beer.

CLANCY: Right.

KEILAR: Did you know that?

Very interesting.

CLANCY: Yes. You know, that's at least telling us -- I wonder if it's the Tusker Beer brand. And I'll tell you, the Kenyans love to relax and have a good time. And this really is special for them. I mean they see -- see it historic. A lot of people, they're finding it hard to believe. But like I say, we've got a long way to go.

KEILAR: Yes. It was so interesting, people there saying he seems like a relative, he seems like a brother. We heard that over and over from people. It's so interesting to get this outside look. Thanks for giving it to us.

Jim Clancy with CNN-I.

LEMON: All right. Well, a lot of people thought they'd never live to see it. Others thought it might never happen. But now that Barack Obama has clinched the Democratic nomination, talk radio programs that target black listeners are being flooded with emotional calls about Obama's historic achievement.

Warren Ballentine is one of those talk radio hosts and he joins us now from Raleigh, North Carolina.

Hey, Warren, how are you doing?

WARREN BALLENTINE, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Hey, Don.

How are you, my friend?

LEMON: Hey, it's good to talk to you. I haven't talked to you in a while, because I've been away, whatever. Happy birthday, the whole nine yards.

BALLENTINE: Yes. Thanks.

LEMON: So, listen, I think a lot of this was happening in households all over America last night, and especially African- American households. I know my mom called me and family members called me to see if I was watching, because they know it's an historic moment.

So talk to us about your listeners. I e-mailed you this morning to say happy birthday. And you e-mailed me back and said oh my gosh, you would not believe the responses I'm getting from people.

BALLENTINE: Well, Don I'm going to tell you what's so exciting about this. It wasn't just black listeners...

LEMON: Yes.

BALLENTINE: It was white listeners. It was Hispanic listeners. It was Asian listeners. People were literally crying. I mean this is something that, you know, I will say what a lot of people thought Michelle Obama said but she didn't exactly say. I will say it. I am really proud of this country.

I'm proud to be an American right now. Because what we've done in this country is really start transcending a history that was tainted and making it better. And my listeners realize that and the e-mails are coming from all across the country.

And, honestly, I've got to say this, Don -- thank you, George W. Bush. I have to say that to him. And I'm saying that because, Don, you know, when you get sick and you've got to go to the pharmacist and get some medicine, you don't care who's giving you the medicine, you just want the medicine to feel better. And George Bush made this country sick.

LEMON: And, obviously, I mean, without question, I can say that's your own opinion and you know that you are...

BALLENTINE: That's right. That's right.

LEMON: And you are an ardent Barack Obama supporter. So, you know, let's make that known.

OK, let's talk about what your listeners -- and people are e- mailing CNN. You've seen some of that. And a lot of your listeners are e-mailing me, as well, with some of their -- here's some of the ones that they sent into me. This is number one. And it's from Connie, who lives in Akron, Ohio, Warren.

She says: "As I continued to watch, I thought of my parents, who are no longer here. And I felt sad. Whenever I would take mom to a new restaurant, she would say, "Are colored people allowed to eat in there?" I wish mom and dad could somehow know about Senator Obama's Democratic nomination and share his moment in history." All right, let's go on the next one, Warren, which is really amazing to me: "I cried when he was confirmed as the nominee. I am still crying. The emotions are overwhelming. My oldest son says he wants to be president today and he's going to school to talk about it." That one is from Shirelle.

And the last one is very interesting to me. It says: "I spent yesterday evening in my house glued to the television like I was watching the first space ship launch, going where no man has gone. I was fortunate to share this milestone moment with my father and my pregnant fiance. And I could think -- all I could think was wow, my unborn son may never know an America without a black president. Anything, really, is possible."

And that one is from Lee.

People were dry crying on the air.

How did you react to it when you heard all of this?

BALLENTINE: Well, I'm going to be honest with you, Don. Last night I cried. And when I got on the air, it was very humbling for me. Because when you hear not just African-Americans, but white Americans and Hispanic Americans all talking about how historic this is and how happy they are and how, you know, this really isn't about race, it's about the person and his character. I mean even in his speech last night, he showed and displayed his character.

And people are so happy, Don. I mean it was the best day I've ever had doing a radio program. I was so thrilled by my audience and by the American people.

LEMON: And, you know what, I want to say, you talked about Hillary Clinton. And even people were saying, your listeners, many of them African-Americans, saying you've got to give her her props.

BALLENTINE: Let me tell you, Don, I've got to say this, as well. I'm proud of Hillary Clinton in this sense. She broke barriers for women. She's really allowed women in this country to know there are not only equal but, you know, just as great as anybody else and they can be president.

LEMON: Right.

BALLENTINE: And I applaud her for that. I think it's time for the Democratic Party to come together and actually heal.

And I am happy on a personal level because 18 months ago on CNN, on Lou Dobbs' show, I predicted Barack Obama would be the nominee if he decided to run. And I'm glad it came to fruition.

LEMON: Well, Warren Ballentine, you've got your ear to the ground and you listen to people every single day when they call into your show.

I appreciate you telling me about people's responds today and getting some of them to us here on CNN.

I just want to show you real quick before we move on. This is what I got. You flooded my e-mail box, man. I've got probably over 200 e-mails here, so the tech people are going to have to clean it out.

Warren, thank you. Thanks, as always. And, again, happy belated birthday.

BALLENTINE: Hey, thanks, Don.

And thank you guys at CNN.

LEMON: All right. And do have you issues questions about the issues facing black America? Here's your chance to get answers from some of the most influential names in black America. Go to iReport.com/thedream and you can post a question. Your questions will be part of the CNN/"Essence" magazine special event "Reclaiming The Dream." That airs July 19 right here on CNN.

Then join us for "CNN Presents Black in America". It is a six hour television event that examines the complex issues, successes and struggles of black men, women and families.

"Black in America" airs July 23 and 24 only on CNN. See a preview at CNN.com/blackinamerica.

KEILAR: Next, a trip down memory lane.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Do you think that at this point in our country, at this point in time, that a person of color stands a chance to be the president of the United States?

KEILAR: Hear Barack Obama's answer to Don's question posed in a CNN interview from 2006.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: It is "Bring Your Kids To Work Day" here at CNN. We just want to give a little shout out to all of our guests here. They got to go all around CNN today. I talked to one of our guests and she said that she went to the morning meeting.

You know what she said, Don?

She said -- she said it was boring.

LEMON: I know.

KEILAR: Very on center. But she did say the one story that she thought was very interesting was that they...

LEMON: About the face?

KEILAR: Yes. They fixed the toilet on the International Space Station and she certain -- that made an impact. She certainly remembers.

LEMON: Yes, she came over and she talked to us about that. And she also told us about what she thought about who she wanted to be president. We won't say it. We won't say it. But she gave it.

KEILAR: Yes. It was very...

LEMON: They were very cute.

KEILAR: ...very fun. Glad to have them here.

LEMON: Welcome, kids. We're glad you're here.

OK, let's take a trip down memory lane now. Before he even decided to run, very early on in his rise on the national political stage, Barack Obama sat down with me to talk some of the very issues that he is addressing as the presumptive nominee.

It was the fall of 2006, right after his first speech on foreign policy in Chicago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Do you think that at this point in our country, at this point in time, that a person of color stands a chance to be the president of the United States?

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Absolutely. I think -- I think the American people, at their core, are a decent people. I think that we still have prejudice in our midst. But I think that the vast majority of Americans are willing -- are willing to judge people on the basis of, you know, their ideas and their character.

And in the case of the presidency, I think what's most important is whether the American people think that you understand their hopes and dreams and struggles and whether they think that you can actually help them achieve those hopes and dreams.

LEMON: You talked about -- in your speech, you said that without -- and this is a quote -- "Without a coherent strategy or better cooperation from the Iraqi people, we will only be putting more of our soldiers in the crossfire of a civil."

You're calling it a civil war.

Do you believe that?

OBAMA: I think this is a low grade civil war, in addition to an insurgency, in addition to terrorists actively involved in what's taking place in Iraq.

You know, what we have is a toxic brew in Iraq. And what my speech specifically says is that without a phased redeployment, where we are sending a strong signal to the Iraqi government that they have to take some responsibility for arriving at a political solution to what's taking place there, that we are not going to see any significant progress and we will continue to have our young men and women in the line of fire without any demonstrable steps being taken to stabilize the situation.

LEMON: You also talked about in your speech specific timelines for what we call redeployment,, which essentially means withdrawal -- getting out of Iraq. It seems exactly the opposite of what -- of what the White House says. And I'm not sure, it's possibly in contrast to what General John Abizaid spoke about last week.

OBAMA: No, I -- actually General Abizaid, it's interesting you brought him up. Last week, he said it's going to take four to six months to stabilize Baghdad.

And what I suggest is that in four to six months, having stabilized Baghdad, that it's time for us to start a phased redeployment.

So the -- what I don't do in the speech is say there's any date certain in which we have to be out. What I suggest is, is that we need to send a strong signal to the Iraqi government that the time for coddling is over. Excuses aren't going to cut it, that Shia, Sunni and Kurd have to make a determination that they are, in fact, going to govern their country.

If they do not arrive at that political settlement, we cannot force any kind of security, militarily, on the Iraqi people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And that was in the fall of 2006, a 14-minute interview right here on CNN, one of Barack Obama's first interviews here.

KEILAR: We're still keeping our eye on severe storms here in -- actually, in Washington, D.C. We're keeping an eye on them, though, from the Severe Weather Center. We're going to tell you whether the worst is over or if there is still more to come.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D), CALIFORNIA: I'm going to interrupt because we have just been notified that an alarm has gone off, that a tornado is heading for the Capitol and that we should stay away from windows and stay inside. Since there are three windows right in back of us, I think that probably we should recess this hearing temporarily and move into that hallway.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Bad, bad weather in Washington, D.C. and the surrounding area. That was a House hearing on immigration detainees that was interrupted.

Chad Myers is in our Severe Weather Center, taking a look at this -- last time we talked, Chad, there had been a tornado that had touched down in Falls Church, outside of D.C.

What do we know now?

MYERS: Correct. Now we know another one had touched down in Huntington, Virginia, which is not that -- actually that far away. It may have actually been the same tornado. And I got -- I got an animal from my son-in-law, Amy Scarton. She's legal counsel for the Transportation Committee: "Please tell us to get in the basement. Should we keep going? My desk is right next to a big window. Trees are outside. It looks like they may rip out of the garden. I biked to work today. It looks like I'm taking the Metro home."

And so everybody that's in D.C. today is really kind of shell- shocked by this weather. It is really coming down and it has now even moved into Annapolis. That's how fast these storms have moved. About 90 miles per hour for some of these -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Oh my goodness.

OK. Well, we will continue to monitor this ahead, of course, in "THE SITUATION ROOM".

Chad Myers keeping an eye on it here in the NEWSROOM for us -- thanks.

MYERS: You bet.

LEMON: The closing bell and a wrap of all of the action on Wall Street just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Let's head on over to Wall Street.

LEMON: Susan Lisovicz is standing by with a final look at the trading day.

Go, Susan.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

LEMON: All right, Susan. Thank you very much.

KEILAR: Lashes and oil. And on that note, we turn our attention to ... LEMON: ... "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Mr. Wolf Blitzer.