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Rick's List

Unrest in Haiti; Will Ted Kennedy's Seat Go Republican?

Aired January 18, 2010 - 15:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): This is what is making THE LIST now.

Trapped -- interviews now coming in of what it's like to be trapped under the rubble.

RICK SANTOS, SURVIVED 50 HOURS BURIED IN RUBBLE: It was very difficult. We were in a space that was five foot by eight foot, three foot high, rubble, concrete all around us, pitch-dark.

SANCHEZ: Danny Glover blames the earthquake on global warming. Huh?

With health care in the balance, Ted Kennedy's seat may go to the GOP. The candidates, Republican Brown, who accuses Obama's mom of having him out of wedlock, Democrat, Coakley, who thinks the Red Sox most famous pitcher played for the Yankees. Oops.

An all-out assault on Kabul, you will see it.

And who is this guy? This will freak you out.

And we debut the lists you need to know about, which include the most intriguing person of the day and the list you don't want to be on. Who's on it?

You will find out as our national conversation on Twitter and on the air starts right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez.

Making THE LIST today, a huge attack and the explosion in Kabul. Ted Kennedy's old Senate seat and health care are on the brink right now, but are going to begin with the unrest in Haiti.

And you think the urgency there has lessened? Well, you're wrong. The state of absolute emergency continues. And it seems, at times, that everywhere that CNN's cameras are pointed -- and let me tell you we have got a lot of CNN cameras there -- we see desperation.

Case in point, watch this narrative. It's described to us by my colleague just a couple of hours ago. This is CNN's Anderson Cooper. This is raw video as it arrived here at CNN. Let's watch it together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": I'm on Center Street in downtown Port-au-Prince. I'm very close to the National Cathedral. Who's the anchor? Guys are doing international. And then they want domestic.

They asked about a (INAUDIBLE)

Well, Jim, you know, basically, there is a full-scale looting situation in downtown Port-au-Prince very close to the National Cathedral, in an area where there's a lot of shops, a lot of supply stores.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: That's just one of the stories as it was unfolding as being told by Anderson.

Now the story of Rick Santos. This is a charitable man who was trying to help patients even before the earthquake when suddenly his hotel crashed on top of him and he was buried in the darkness in a space of only about three feet.

Here's his conversation with Kiran Chetry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANTOS: We were in a space that was basically five foot by eight foot, and about three foot high -- rubble, concrete, all around us, pitch-dark. I think we made it because we talked to each other, we helped each other, and we had this hope that we would be rescued at some point.

To illuminate the small space, we used, you know, cell phones, our iPhones and BlackBerrys. My colleague from IMA World Health, Sarla Chand, was in another compartment. In some ways she was the one -- she's a lovely person, 65 years old, crawling around the rubble because she was the only one who could actually move and was looking for air spaces and looking for light. And, you know, we could hear helicopters going above us.

And, you know, we didn't really hear sounds close to us. And, you know, every time we might have heard a voice or something like a saw or something, we would scream and yell, but there was no response.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Unbelievable. Can you even imagine what that would be like, especially if you're claustrophobic? And there's more.

Now the very first recorded earthquake moments just right after it struck. You are going to see this only right here on CNN. I want to share it with you.

The reporter that you might hear in the background as probably confused as everyone else is my colleague Karl Penhaul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Video shot minutes after Tuesday's quake. Classmates carry a friend through the streets of Leogane. A local cameraman records others, dazed, bleeding, shrieking. And a woman throws up her arms and asks why.

(WOMAN CRYING, SHOUTING)

PENHAUL: More students after a prayer, moments after escaping the ruins of their school.

Five days on, relatives carry loved ones on doors to a makeshift clinic. Patients wait their turn for treatment on the grass.

(on camera): In Leogane, until today, until Sunday, they saw no sign of international aid. So this emergency center was being run by a group of nurses and trainee nurses all from Haiti. And they say that in the course of the week they treated almost 5,000 patients.

(voice-over): This is 5-year-old Sandu LaPierre (ph). She has to clutch a toy bear in her left hand. Her right is now a stump. She is trying to be so brave. But it hurts too much. This was never intended to be a hospital. It's a nursing school. After the quake, nurses say they ran around town begging supplies. They still lack vital medicine and have only cardboard to make temporary splits for shattered limbs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any time we see (INAUDIBLE) could go somewhere together. And we keep asking, we keep asking.

PENHAUL: Leogane is an hour west of Port-au-Prince. Until this weekend, the relief effort focused on the capital, leaving earthquake survivors elsewhere to fend for themselves.

Leogane Mayor Santos Alexis says the town has no heavy lifting equipment.

MAYOR SANTOS ALEXIS, LEOGANE, HAITI: I feel weak. Nothing I could do. There was nothing I could do. I think 90 percent of Leogane is destroyed. And the other 10 percent is only surviving, trying to make it.

PENHAUL: Rue D'Emphere (ph) means the Street of Hell in French, and after the quake, every street here deserves the same name. It's no better on the outskirts, dogs pick away the flesh of the unburied.

Back at the clinic, at least now the exhausted nurses have backup from international aid group, Doctors Without Borders.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape and in good spirits.

PENHAUL: But as hard as they try, it's tough to soothe the pain of broken bones and broken lives. (END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back, as I have just learned that we have pretty much nailed down the very first interview with former President Bill Clinton in Haiti. He's arrived. And he sat down just moments ago and talked to my colleague, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Dr. Gupta, I should say, has had a full day. Earlier today, he was taken to a hospital ship, where he had to operate on a 12-year- old.

Do we have Sanjay?

Sanjay, are you there?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I am, Rick.

SANCHEZ: Sanjay, first, let me congratulate you on the work that you have been doing down there. I hope you're OK. We're real proud of what you guys have been doing for us and the way you have been representing us here at CNN.

I know it's a very difficult story. And the fact that you were taken onto a hospital ship today to do an operation says an awful lot about you just not only as a journalist, but obviously in your profession as a doctor as well. And now I understand that, back to you as a journalist, you have just nailed down an interview with the former President of the United States Bill Clinton. Tell me about it.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: He is the special envoy to Haiti as well, as you know, Rick, for the U.N., and has had a great affinity for this place for some time.

He in fact honeymooned down here after he got married and, you know, has been very interested in Haiti. He had a couple of missions today. One was to bring down a lot of supplies. He brought a plane full of supplies. The types of supplies were dictated by what he had been hearing on the ground from his team for some time.

And he also toured around hospitals today to see firsthand about some of the stories that he told me he had been watching on television and wanted to see with his own eyes. So, that's -- we had a long discussion, Rick, about all sorts of different things, what's next, have things happened fast enough, what is Haiti going to look like months from now?

It's an interesting discussion overall, but I think he's very focused on the fact that medical relief is measured in minutes and hours, as opposed to some of the longer-term things that we talk about that are measured in months and years.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: A lot of this is measured in money. And Bill Clinton, as I heard him describe his mission this weekend, along with former President Bush, was to get the folks around the world who have made commitments to give up that money to actually hand it over, right?

GUPTA: That's right. And, you know, he talked. And it was interesting, because I asked him a couple of questions along those lines. We tried to get at the idea of how much money is going to be necessary, where should it come from. Should it be coming from governments, or how much are individuals going to contribute to this cause?

And he brought up a lot of the work that he did in the tsunami, after the tsunami and talked about the fact that, you know, right now as things stand in Haiti he says that about half the load, as he put it, so to speak, is being carried by the Americans, but fully acknowledged that both in terms of money and resources, other countries, such as Israel, they were very fast at setting up hospitals that had high capabilities. And money has been coming in from lots of different places.

Sort of figuring out how to best strategize where that money is going to go he acknowledges is a very difficult problem. And what will Haiti look like several years from now? Will it be what it was last Monday, a week ago from today, or will it look better than that? Because it wasn't that good last Monday, as you know, Rick, a lot worse on Tuesday.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

GUPTA: But this is a -- as you have been reporting all week, a very impoverished country with a lot of challenges even before the earthquake.

SANCHEZ: Sanjay Gupta reporting for us, making us proud down there.

I have heard of some of the stuff that you have been doing just today, Sanjay. Once again, we congratulate you. If you are able to turn around that interview with the former president, let us know. We will share that with our viewers right away.

Meanwhile, we have also just learned that the present president of the United States has just spoken to the Red Cross specifically about their mission. We are hoping to be able to turn that around for you as well.

And this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think, if Coakley loses, particularly with Obama coming, Republicans, of course, are going to be so excited. They are going to feel emboldened by this result, I mean, winning here, of all places, for Ted Kennedy's seat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Ted Kennedy's seat up for grabs, and President Obama's domestic agenda literally hanging in the balance, plus, the candidates saying some pretty stupid stuff at times.

Speaking of stupid, if you have to try and get away from the police, be sure that you have a good escape plan. I am going to show you what not to do when you are trying to make a clean getaway when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: RICK'S LIST has many facets. We welcome you back.

And one of the things that we're going to do every day is, we're going to go on Twitter and we're try and curate for you the people, the organizations that are relevant, that are sharing information that is making news on any given day.

Here's one we learned just a little while ago. Let's go over here.

The Red Cross tells us that: "President Obama and the first lady are there visiting our disaster operation center right now."

When we heard that, we wanted to make sure we should turn tape around for you, and we have got it. Here now, the president talking to the Red Cross.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have seen $21 million raised already, which just shows how generous the American people are in times of need. And so we are very grateful for those contributions. It's also a testimony, though, to the confidence people have in the Red Cross and the ability of using that money wisely.

So, congratulations to all of you, both staff and volunteers, for the great work.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

OBAMA: I should also mention, by the way, a USAID search-and- rescue team today unearthed 10 people who were alive out of the rubble. That's the single biggest rescue post-earthquake in one day that people have ever seen. And I think the team in part was from Fairfax, Virginia. So, we're very proud of that. So...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And there you go, the president of the United States going over to the Red Cross.

By the way, we got a tweet just moments ago from our own Larry King. Let me share that with you.

"Hey, Rick Sanchez at CNN, we are tweeting live during our special. Let us know your thoughts by tweeting to @CNNImpact and using CNNHelpHaiti." That's right, Larry tonight between 8:00 and 10:00, a special on Haiti. He is going to be talking to all our correspondents and all the heads of agencies about what's going on in Haiti right now and actually bringing you as well reports from Haiti as they happen.

And I understand that Larry is going to be calling in to us in just a little bit. So, we will share that with you as well.

And this: There are rallies in Massachusetts making for some -- well, nail-biting moments for the president of the United States, who you just saw, and also for Republicans and for health care. We're going to talk to both sides right here. And our own Jessica Yellin is going to be live from Boston with some of the last-minute drama in just a little bit. I'm going to share that with you.

Also, who are the people making THE LIST that you don't want to be on? That list, the list nobody wants to be on, is part of what we do here every day from now on from 3:00 to 5:00, as we follow THE LIST.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to THE LIST. I'm Rick Sanchez.

Have you seen what's happening in Massachusetts? Could the Democrats lose that Senate seat and, because of that, end up losing the fight for health care reform? Could this be a Republican breakthrough?

Let me tell you straight out they play rough in Massachusetts. Watch closely. There is a reporter tailing the Democrat, Martha Coakley, and that reporter goes down, like down goes Frazier. A Coakley aide suddenly shoves him. Talk about rough.

Now, Republican Scott Brown, the guy running against Coakley, he once suggested that Barack Obama was born out of wedlock, which is false.

Now, here's the deal. This is a race the Democrats figured they had in the bag as late as last week, but it's close enough now that they are pulling out all the stops to try and keep this seat Democratic. They have sent in the president, they have sent in Bill Clinton for a Senate race, because, if they lose this seat, here's what happens. They lose their filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

And that would mean that Barack Obama, seen here, could lose the fight for health care, just like Bill Clinton lost it. So, this is a race with really large national implications. How large?

Well, let me show you. Let's go to RICK'S LIST on the Twitter board, if we possibly can. Look what is going on. Both candidates are struggling for votes, because the polls show them to be neck and neck. I got this moments ago to me here from Martha Coakley. Talk about my access becoming your access.

"I'm going to stand with working families," she writes to me, "and lead us into a brighter future. Every vote matters."

Her opponent sent me a tweet as well. There's Scott Brown. What is he saying? He says: "This race is going to be close. Supporters can make calls from home to help out." He tells you to go to brownforussenate.com.

To the very last minute, they are looking for these kind of votes and using every avenue they can, including ours.

That's why Jessica Yellin is there.

Jessica, first of all, welcome aboard.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Rick. It's great to be part of THE LIST. Congrats on the new show.

SANCHEZ: You're part of THE LIST, Jessica.

The polls are all over the place on this thing -- I mentioned that a little while ago -- which is...

YELLIN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Look, this isn't a good sign for Democrats. What is driving this Republican surge in Massachusetts, of all places?

YELLIN: Yes. It's a big shocker to the Democrats that they are in this position, a state that was for so long known as a liberal stronghold, but no longer.

There are three things I will give you, Rick, dissatisfaction with the Democratic candidate, Martha Coakley. Many voters feel that she's been acting entitled and sort of out of touch with regular folk. Dissatisfaction with the economy. You know, the economy is always -- when it's bad, it hurts the incumbent party. Democrats control the statehouse here. They control both Senate seats. They control the White House. That's bad for Democrats.

And, then, Rick, it's got to be said there is a growing sense here that there's also dissatisfaction with the president's agenda, with this Congress, even with health care. This is, remember, is a state that already passed its own universal health care plan. They have own ambivalent feelings about health care. It's all hurting the Dems.

SANCHEZ: But it's not about Massachusetts' health care plan or reform or changes that we're talking about. We are talking about the national implications that this race could have on our entire country, correct?

YELLIN: Yes. It could affect every American.

If she loses tomorrow, if the Democrat loses tomorrow, it will change the agenda in Washington, first because of what you said when you talked to him, because Democrats don't know how they get from here to there on health care reform without a Democrat in this Senate seat. SANCHEZ: Bingo.

YELLIN: So, health care is up in the air. And that's huge.

And then there is also just the psychological effect this loss would have on the Democratic Party. It could send ripple waves through this party, really energize the Republican base. And who knows what happens in the midterm elections if that should...

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Well, let me ask you what happens if the Democrats lose this race? Do they have a plan to somehow rush the health care reform legislation through?

YELLIN: You know, there are a bunch of options. It seems the most sort of feasible of a bunch of unsavory options for Democrats is that they could try to take the version that was already passed by the Senate, walk it over to the House, and try to have the House pass that version.

But I'm told by people who are very plugged in, in the House who are counting the votes, they do not have the votes to do it. So, it's like losing your homework the day before the final exam. You don't know what you're going to do, but you have got to get through it somehow. That's where the Democrats are right now.

SANCHEZ: I will tell you, what a story it is.

Jessica Yellin, you are on THE LIST.

YELLIN: Remarkable.

SANCHEZ: All right.

You're looking now at live pictures of the effort to help the victims in Haiti. Here is why we are showing you some of these new pictures here on RICK'S LIST. Every day, we're going to bring you the three most intriguing people of the day, announced, CNN's three most intriguing people of the day announced right here.

And Haiti is obviously today bringing a lot of them together. So, here's a hint for our first person, someone who is making a huge difference in the fund-raising efforts in Haiti. Who is that? He's an A-lister. We're continuing down our "LIST," the most intriguing person, number three. Stay there. Help us figure it out. See if you have figured it out right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back.

Making THE LIST. Every single day about this time, we are going to reveal one of three people who CNN has chosen as the most intriguing person of the day. Who is first to make THE LIST today? Are you ready? Here we go. You can find him with some of the most beautiful women and in the most beautiful places in the world, but he's not just a ladies' man. He's a guy's guy as well and described as surprisingly accessible, a great host who tends to put people at ease. This Kentucky native was born to entertain. His dad's a TV host. His aunt is a famous singer.

Despite that pedigree, he sold shoes and worked as a farmhand picking tomatoes and tobacco. Visits to refugee camps in Darfur took him from "People"'s sexiest man alive to U.N. messenger of peace. Who is it?

One of today's most intriguing persons is George Clooney, who, as we speak, is busy gathering stars for a massive telethon to help Haiti. Even last night, at the Golden Globes, Clooney was working the red carpet recruiting the rich and famous. So far, he's lined up more than three dozen celebs, Bono, Sting, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys.

Hope for Haiti is what it's called. It's going to air Friday right here on CNN.

Who's second on THE LIST? Find out as we continue this newscast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The island that came to be known as Hispaniola was discovered by Europeans when Christopher Columbus landed there in 1492. And Haiti, the nation that emerged, is the only nation in the entire world that was founded by slaves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Founded by slaves and now the big topic of conversation all over the world and two hours of which is going to be discussed tonight on "LARRY KING LIVE" from 8:00 to 10:00 p.

And, Larry, I understand, is joining us now. He's calling us from L.A.

Larry, are you there?

LARRY KING, CNN HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Hey, Rickster, how are you?

SANCHEZ: Fine. Good to hear from you, Lar.

KING: We have got a big one tonight, Rick.

Congratulations on two hours now.

SANCHEZ: Hey, listen, we are so excited that we are going to be able to get something this branded on the air and something different with the lists. You know, we have got this list of the most intriguing people. We have got a list of the -- well, a list that you don't want to be on. We still have our "Fotos," which I know you're a big fan of. KING: Yes.

SANCHEZ: And the thing is, Larry, you and grew up in and around Miami most of our lives. The Haitian community in South Florida is such an important part of it. I know I have spent a lot of time thinking about it this week. I know you were in Miami just recently. You were at a Miami Dolphins game and you were on national television.

What are your thoughts on the story as it's unfolded over the last week?

KING: It's -- first, it's mind-boggling to think -- I never in 20 years living in Miami ever thought of an earthquake in the tropics.

SANCHEZ: Me -- you know, I -- same here.

KING: I just -- it just didn't connect to me.

Hurricane, sure. Earthquake, never. Now I'm in L.A., I think earthquake.

SANCHEZ: Right.

KING: But tropics, never. So, that -- that blew my mind.

And then the severity of it -- the fact that the worst place in the world to have one would be Haiti. You pick the poorest country, these wonderful people -- all the Haitians I ever met were really sweet, musical, artistic -- and devastated like this. And that's why we are doing this tonight. The whole world's chipping in. And so we are trying to raise as much money as we can. Wendy Walker, our executive producer came up with this idea to do two hours and call it "How Can People Help."

And we're all over the world, of course, and we have phone numbers, and Twitter. We have Mick Jagger and Ben Stiller, Colin Powell, Danny Glover, Nicole Ritchie, Ryan Seacrest is going to man the Twitter desk, Ashley Judd, Seal and John Mayer doing musical performances.

And we have a "tweet suite." Get this.

SANCHEZ: You're copying me, man.

KING: It's a Rick Sanchez invention. So we have people who can respond to messages on twitter. You can tweet me at "Kings things" or use the hash tag, CNNhelpHaiti, all one word.

And we'll be there tonight from, I guess, the times now will be instead of 9:00 to 10:00 as I'm usually on, it will 8:00 to 10:00 eastern, if you're in the pacific time zone, 5:00 to 7:00. It will be two hours and you can help.

SANCHEZ: And I will make sure everyone I know does, Larry.

Being a guy from Brooklyn, not for nothing, OK, but our guys and gals who are covering the story down in Haiti are doing a remarkable job. I'm telling you, look, not because it's CNN and not because they are my friends and we work with them, but they are working under extreme conditions, getting the stories, turning around video, getting it back to us.

I don't know how you feel about it, but I just couldn't be prouder.

KING: I never have been prouder. I'll be 25 years with "LARRY KING LIVE" next June 1st. And in all those years had a lot of dramatic moments, and a lot of things we have done and covered that have been extraordinary -- wars, other efforts, of course. We'll never forget New Orleans.

But I have to say this, sometimes memory can fade. This is our crowning achievement. This network, all these people we have sent to this place where most of them had never been...

SANCHEZ: Yes.

KING: ... to be amidst this kind of tragedy with almost -- I mean, every day is another -- we had this man on last night. I don't know if you saw it. His daughter is missing. She was on the third floor of the Hotel Montana. That whole hotel collapsed. And so there's almost no chance that she's around.

SANCHEZ: Oh.

KING: And he was begging me, Larry, who he'd watched all these years, please find my daughter.

SANCHEZ: Oh. It's amazing.

KING: But to be there, all these people, Anderson and Sanjay Gupta -- that's above and beyond the call of duty. He's being a doctor and a reporter.

SANCHEZ: And look, when you're in that situation, I know from Katrina and Andrew, you don't have a bed, you don't have air conditioning, you barely have water. There is very little food. You don't get a lot of sleep.

And maybe it's just important to point it out from time to time that when you cover these stories it's that difficult. And we appreciate, not just the guys at CNN, but all the guys at the networks and newspapers who are down there trying to bring us this story so that we can help those people.

KING: They deserve a special hand. But I have never been prouder of CNN.

SANCHEZ: Larry, my friend, take care. Thanks for calling in.

KING: Thank you, Rick, and good luck with the new gig.

SANCHEZ: Thanks, makes me feel good. See you later. Also this -- take a look at this picture. Think you know who it is? Remember, looks can be deceiving, in this case, really deceiving. The answer is coming up in "Fotos del Dia."

Also, you can join us for the national conversation whenever you visit Atlanta. Just call 877-4-CNN-tour. And you can drop on in just like Larry King.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. You know what they say about best intentions, the road to hell is paved with them on paper or in pictures. This must have sounded like a great plan for the FBI. Let's do our list of "Fotos del Dia."

Question -- oh, no. Well, they gave it away. I was hoping we wouldn't show it like this. Yes, the guy on the left is Osama bin Laden and the guy on the right is Osama bin Laden. I'm not sure how to tell this story because of the way it's edited. They are both Osama bin Laden. Let's go to the next one.

(LAUGHTER)

OK. We all know IEDs have been the terrorist weapon of choice, so it's pretty satisfying seeing a whole IED factory taken down by British troops. Watch.

Who knows how many lives may have been saved with this one "Foto del Dia." It's a good thing guys.

Also, what's a guy got to do to get away from the police? You can try running, but that has limits, especially when both ends of the hallway are blocked by officers. How about the window? No. That didn't work. Guess not. Look at the rebound -- the reinforced glass. Bang. Get an assist in the police report? I thought you would like this.

It's the crown jewel of the Caribbean. Look at Haiti now. Where did it all go wrong? You can't blame it all on hurricanes and earthquakes. We'll give you a history lesson when we come back on Haiti.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: You know, with all the talk about Haiti, I thought we'd give you information about it. In the best of times Haiti is known as the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. You heard Sanjay Gupta say it moments ago.

Many people view this island nation as cursed since Columbus first landed there in 1492, but it wasn't always that way. Brooke Baldwin is here with a look at Haiti's storied past. It has some history.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It does some history. And we see the pictures of devastation, but it didn't start that way. I think a lot of people didn't realize it, so let's go with Haiti's history, three minutes, go. Here we go.

So Haiti was really considered pretty much the crown jewel for the French colonies back in the day. You had coffee, tobacco, sugar plantations. And that made the French a lot of money or gold or silver.

SANCHEZ: Like all the other colonies.

BALDWIN: Right. But you look at the pictures and realize who operated the plantations, and it was the slaves, hundreds of thousands of slaves who, yes, the French imported from Africa. But this is the big piece of history here -- in 1791 the slaves led the revolt after word of the French Revolution.

SANCHEZ: First in the world.

BALDWIN: First one in the world. And after basically thousands of these soldiers against the slaves, and the slaves won. A lot of people don't that realize Haiti is the first island and the only nation to be founded by slaves.

SANCHEZ: They gained their independence.

BALDWIN: They did.

SANCHEZ: Well, a fresh start. Good news at the time, but then no.

BALDWIN: Not so much, because from that came, hey, guess what, the French, Napoleon was saying, you owe us a lot of money. We're slapping you with a huge debt, about $21 billion as it would translates today. So that crippled the nation into the 21st century.

But in 72 years there were 22 different heads of state. So the U.S., we invaded. We sent in the marines to try to help, to inject stability. That didn't so much work. Fast forward to two people you covered. Really two names that...

SANCHEZ: Baby Doc, Papa Doc.

BALDWIN: Father and son, and their names are synonymous with corruption and turmoil. Tens of thousands of people were killed during that time.

SANCHEZ: And it continued.

BALDWIN: You covered it as a cub reporter. What was that like?

SANCHEZ: Well, it was interesting. One of the things about Haiti is you can't walk away. I was talking to Larry King about this -- you can't walk away but be impressed with the people, their sense of family, how hard they work. These are a good, noble people, And good luck trying to find anyone who can make a good argument against me on that.

And yet, Pat Robertson makes this comment last week where he says that they made a deal with the devil and he's sure of it looking at the history. Have you looked into this so-called deal with the devil?

BALDWIN: I found this awesome blog. And I recommend it to anyone with five minutes. This is from a great political blog, 538.com. They have a guest blogger, this historian, and he is saying, you know, Pat Robertson's comment did not come out of thin air. It actually has some basis, but it was twisted.

Let me read you just a snippet, if I can, from his blog.

SANCHEZ: OK. We need to know this.

BALDWIN: He's talking about Robertson's comments, and his comments come straight out of a blend of theology and history that at the grassroots pervades Haiti's political discourse.

He's talking about voodoo. Labeling the event is Bois Caman, a Satanic pact which touches on those potent parts of a vibrant oral tradition and national myth that attempts to explain Haiti's relationship with god and the world.

SANCHEZ: But that's the mix of Catholicism with the African- American culture you find in Louisiana, Cuba, parts of the Caribbean, Dominican Republic, Haiti. It's not specific to Haiti, is it?

BALDWIN: It is not specific to Haiti. That's why some people are saying this isn't -- what Pat Robertson is saying this pact with the devil is absolutely false. It is simply offering Haitians a path to hope.

SANCHEZ: It may be an unfair extrapolation or a hasty generalization. I'm glad you took it through us and, by the way, you're on THE LIST.

BALDWIN: Great, super.

SANCHEZ: A critical election in Massachusetts. Martha Coakley struggles to hold Ted Kennedy's Senate seat for the Democrats in a state that is solidly Democratic. Figure that out. Is this possibly going to mean the end of the health care reform legislation? Stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to THE LIST. I'm Rick and I want to take you back to the Senate race in Massachusetts. As I told you, this could be a breakthrough for the Republicans.

This is Ted Kennedy's old seat, huge national implications, health care reform, Obama's broader agenda. Both will take hits if the seat in Massachusetts goes Republican.

Let me show you the candidates. Here's the Democrat, Martha Coakley, you've been hearing about her. She's the state attorney general and was the early favorite endorsed by "The Boston Globe" and the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police among others.

Republican Scott Brown has not been a strong challenge to say the very least. Brown is a state senator and an Army National Guardsman. He has been endorsed by "The Boston Herald," the "Tea Party Express," among others.

Joining me from Boston, Democrat Tim Murray, the Massachusetts lieutenant-governor, and from Washington Doug Heye, he's the Republican communication strategist. Doug, hi.

DOUG HEYE, REPUBLICAN COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIST: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Pardon me. Let me start with you, Doug. Massachusetts Republican party is looking at this race, and if Scott Brown wins, do you expect that he would hop a flight to Washington and demand to be seated immediately to prevent the Democrats from passing health care reform while they are still enjoying this filibuster-proof majority of 60?

HEYE: There is no question about it. If Scott Brown is leading in the polls on Tuesday night he will be in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday morning, and Republicans will make the effort to have him sworn in as a senator.

Really, it comes down to the detail of what the law is, and the law says there need to be qualified candidates, not certified candidates. So it's not really a process that affected, say, the Al Franken, Norm Coleman race. And I know the Republicans have tons of lawyers on this that are working really hard.

SANCHEZ: But you will put him on a plane the very next day and have him in Washington saying, I want my seat? I won the election. I want to be seated?

HEYE: Absolutely. And that's something that happens any time a special election is held.

SANCHEZ: What if it's too close and they have to canvas the different boards and do some kind of recount as we've seen a multitude of times?

HEYE: We've certainly seen that everywhere. No better example than Florida. That's certainly a different example. But if it's clear that he's the winner, he will be in Washington D.C. the next day, and he will be sworn in hopefully as the next United States senator from Massachusetts.

SANCHEZ: Tim, this thing could turn into a mess. It wouldn't be that way in the past because, after all, we're talking about Massachusetts. And usually Democrats win in Massachusetts. What is going on here? Why is your candidate down in so many polls?

TIM MURRAY, (D) MASSACHUSETTS LT. GOVERNOR: Well, it's interesting to hear that Scott Brown's already lawyering up. Whatever the legal process is in Massachusetts, in Washington, D.C., it should be followed. But, you know, Martha Coakley is going to win because people right now are really scrutinizing the records or the lack thereof between the two candidates. Martha has a track record in Massachusetts as attorney general of protecting taxpayers. Scott Brown has raised taxes, $300 million back in 2003, voted for a gas tax.

Martha Coakley is the only candidate that hasn't raised a tax.

SANCHEZ: Then why isn't she winning? She should be killing this guy. She's in Massachusetts, she's a Democrat, it's Ted Kennedy's seat, you should be winning this race and you're not.

MURRAY: And she is going to win. But let me tell you, un- enrolled are the largest portion of voters in Massachusetts. And I give Scott Brown, he's done a good job of running from his record. But he's the only one who has voted to raise taxes of the two candidates.

SANCHEZ: But is there something outside the candidates that's going on here?

Doug, let me go back to you on this. We've seen the tea parties, we've seen a real resentment in this country about the taxes, the bailouts, all of the different efforts that have been made, like TARP, for example, not to mention Wall Street. Is that what's really fuelling the anti-Democrat resentment that we may be seeing in Massachusetts?

HEYE: We're seeing it in Massachusetts, we're seeing it all over the country. Voters are dissatisfied, especially independent voters. A lot of voters who voted for Barack Obama in 2008 are not happy with what's going on.

And that's why if you're a Democrat representing a conservative district or a swing district, you've seen what the political landscape is going to be in 2010, and it's not pretty for you.

SANCHEZ: Does that mean, Tim, that if you -- if Martha Coakley was a Republican right now she would be doing well simply because -- in other words, it said big D in front of your name that is going to hurt you no matter who you are. And is this going to be the first showing of that?

HEYE: Rick, I don't necessarily agree with that. I think when people get -- you talked about the corporate excesses and people's frustrations. Martha Coakley has been incredibly successful as an attorney general going after illegal corporate activities, unscrupulous illegal activity by companies, whether it be the foreclosure crisis, one of the first attorney generals in the country to aggressively go after Goldman Sachs. She's going after the utility companies in the state...

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: I get it. But does she -- does she root for the Red Sox? That's the question I think a lot of Bostonians want to know.

MURRAY: Martha Coakley grew up in North Adams with a big family of five. She roots for the Red Sox, trust me.

SANCHEZ: If you're following this story in Massachusetts, you know what we mean.

My thanks to both of you. Tim, Doug, thanks for being on THE LIST.

Some daring rescues this weekend, and you're going to be hearing from a Miami-Dade rescue captain. I have known him for years, he has traveled all over the world, helping out in amazing rescues, and now he is in Haiti. I will talk to him in ten minutes.

Also, Conan O'Brien's ratings keep climbing. Friday night was his biggest show yet. So in the Alice in Wonderland world of NBC it looks like they're about to show him the door? What's next on the late show smack down? THE LIST returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: I mean, when this video came in today, we were all sitting in the newsroom preparing this show. I sweat we jumped out of our seats. Hard to take your eyes off of this, right? It's a wave of bold attacks today, happening still in Kabul, a gunfight in a shopping mall, Taliban militants firing on government targets, including the presidential palace.

Also next, the list that you don't want to be on. One of my nominees maybe should take an elementary school science class. Stay right there. THE LIST is back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back.

When you call Hugo Chavez your friend, you need to expect that from time to time some Americans are going to take issue with you. That's only fair.

But when you say something that doesn't make any sense, then you become the first entry in what we call every single day from now on THE LIST you don't want to be on."

Danny Glover, you make my list today, not because you blasted your own country and said it should respond as well as Venezuela did to the situation in Haiti, but because your earthquake theory, according to scientists and just about anybody with a fifth grade education, is a bit loony.

Mr. Glover called into an Internet talk show and blamed global warming and something about the Copenhagen conference for the horrible disaster in Haiti. Listen to this and try to understand what it is that he's saying. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANNY GLOVER, ACTOR: Because what happened to Haiti is a threat that can happen anywhere in the Caribbean to these island nations. You know...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is true.

GLOVER: They are all in peril because of global warming, they all in peril because of climate change. And when we did what we did at the climate summit in Copenhagen, this is the response, this is what happened, you know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Danny Glover, ladies and gentlemen, the first entry on THE LIST you don't want to be on.