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Winter Storm Paralyzes East Coast; Activists Plotting Strategy and Hosting Sarah Palin; President Obama Speaks to DNC Winter Meeting; Toyota's Long Repair Job; Aaron Neville Remakes "Glory Bound"

Aired February 06, 2010 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Three big stories this hour that we're following. The crowds are gathering in Nashville for Sarah Palin. A record-breaking winter blizzard has people trapped. No electricity. Now what? And out west families are having to run from their lives and it is not fire this time.

Hello everyone, I'm Don Lemon. Winter paralysis grips the central east coast tonight. Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, all hit by more than a foot and a half of snow. And it is still coming down. President Barack Obama called it Snowmageddon. The Philadelphia airport has more than two feet of snow. Just to the south, Vice President Biden's home, his home state of Delaware is shut down to all traffic except emergency vehicles. Hundreds of thousands of people across the region face a dark night with no power. And even as crews restore power in one place, lines go down somewhere else.

One man said, he could hear electrical transformers pop as power lines snapped. Treacherous roads have caused hundreds of accidents, plows have struggled to keep major routes clear. And at least two highway deaths have been reported. Four hundred National Guard troops in West Virginia have been enlisted in the snow removal.

Our Bonnie Schneider will join us in just a little moment to tell us what to expect from this record-breaking blizzard. We believe it's going to be a record. But first now, we want to go to the ground and tell you what's happening. It already looks like it will be a record as I said to Bonnie.

Sarah Lee on the National Mall right now in front of the Capitol. Hey Sara, lots of snow.

(AUDIO GAP)

SARAH LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And the fog has lifted. So, you can actually see the dome behind me, but, again, we're talking about a situation that has crippled the city. An estimated 20 inches so far here in the Nation's Capital, but we are talking about a city that only sees about 15 inches on average for an entire season. So, it's especially challenging because we're talking about snow removal budgets that are dwindling, if not already depleted.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) LEE (voice-over): Road warriors like Virginia Department of Transportation plow driver Rick Brown are the front line in battling Mother Nature.

(on camera) Tell me about this compared to other winters.

RICK BROWN, VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PLOW DRIVER: I can only remember a couple of other ones that was this bad. But we have never had them back to back like this as long as I can remember.

LEE (voice-over): Since early December, VDOT road crews have been working shifts of 12 on and 12 off nearly nonstop because conditions like these can lead to almost anything.

BROWN: And as you can see it's pretty much a whiteout. I mean, you can only see maybe a hundred yards. And that's it. So, we try to keep our, you know, speed limit down and you hit things like that.

(on camera) And that was just ruts in the road from the snow?

BROWN: It's just rough roads, it's just snow.

LEE (voice-over): Rough rides that have crews keeping close watch, especially as the snow freezes to ice. They do that, in part, by taking occasional road temperatures.

BROWN: We're trying to get an accurate road temp.

LEE (on camera): So, this is an instrument so your supervisors can gauge what they're going to do, how they're going to go forward?

BROWN: Yes, ma'am. And like I say, they already know the air temps. They just need an idea of what the road's doing.

LEE (voice-over): And what drivers are doing. This also comes with Brown's beat, helping out when vehicles of all sizes get stuck.

BROWN: When you have storms like this, it brings a lot of people together. You know, everyone helps everyone. It's just something about the storms.

LEE (on camera): So, joining you back here live from the Nation's Capital, you can see this is Third Street. A major thoroughfare between Constitution Avenue and Independence Avenue. Still not seeing any blacktop here. People just walking around. Some folks coming along on cross-country skis. You can see the skis tracks there. So, people just walking around today because they just can't get around. As far as the airports, the planes are grounded and the subway system, any of the outdoor rails, they are closed.

So, only using the tracks that are under ground at this point and Don, reportedly about more 200,000 customers without power throughout the region. So, it's going to be a tough couple of days here while they try to get this cleaned up. And then they also have to take into consideration fixing those power lines where trees have gone down -- Don. LEMON: On the National Mall, Sarah, thank you very much. I'm going to walk over here really quickly to talk to Bonnie Schneider. She said it's starting to taper off now and you can actually start to see things. But this is only the beginning here. You said it will be a record-breaking storm, you believe, and the cleanup is to come and refreezing.

Bonnie Schneider, CNN meteorologist: That's so true because we'll see those temperatures rise during the day over the next couple of days, but then Don, at night it drops below freezing and we'll going to see a lot of problems. And we mention that with the airports, I want to show you what's going on. Right now, both airports in Washington, D.C. and in Baltimore have no flights either going to the airport or coming from the airport. That's why you see such a quiet activity here on flight explorer. The airports themselves are open, the terminals are open, but I guess you can just hang out. Unfortunately, you can't really leave the terminal by air.

So, the storm is starting to taper off. Not quite yet though. You can still see the snow bands working their way through Washington, D.C. And then further south. Philadelphia though, major improvements after all that snow on the ground -- well over a foot. But at least things are starting to improve a bit. The problem is we're going into the evening hours tonight, I think will be the wind. Notice the wind gusts on the boardwalk of Atlantic City. Up to 30 miles per hour. And then down to the south in Virginia Beach, they're even stronger. So, somewhere in between we have Washington, D.C. The latest wind guts at 25 miles per hour.

So, that means that if you're starting to get out there to see what's going on, you want to shovel out, you may want to wait longer because the winds are so strong. They could kind of re-blow the snow back up into the pile that you just shoveled. And another thing to note with this storm is that it is eventually moving off to sea. You can see, here's the low and it's really fascinating when you look at the line. And here, we have almost a horizontal line of a cut-off point through central Pennsylvania into central New Jersey. The drier air coming in from the storm is sort of blocking it. And eventually it's all going to push off to the east. So, it's a fascinating phenomenon to watch. But probably no fun Don, to have to shovel out of.

LEMON: Yes.

Schneider: Meteorologically it's really interesting. But unfortunately, it's not over yet. The blizzard warnings for the Jersey Shore including Long Beach Island will persist until 7:00 tonight and then Washington and Baltimore until 10:00.

LEMON: Oh, boy. And you know what? Have you seen a picture of out west?

Schneider: Of the mud slides.

LEMON: Oh, huge hit. All right, Bonnie. We'll going to talk with Bonnie about this little bit later on. But right now, I want to tell you about what's happening out west. Heavy rain is causing huge mud slides today. Swept away cars and damaged dozen of homes. This is just north of Los Angeles. At least 41 homes have been seriously damaged and 500 more have been ordered evacuated. The good news -- no injuries have been reported. A foot of debris is reported in some homes in an area hit by wildfires last summer. Crews are using bulldozers and other heavy equipment to clear mud and rocks that had blocks suburban streets. We're going to check again as I said, again on our Bonnie Schneider, a little bit later on in this broadcast.

The Tea Party convention is heating up in Nashville and it all boils down to politics. We're talking to tea partiers live as the clock ticks down to Sarah Palin's big speech.

And the bad news keeps rolling in for Toyota, for owners and for Toyota Company. Now there are problems with the Prius brakes. So, when can drivers expect a fix?

Also, we want to know what's on your mind tonight. Make sure you check in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Tea Party activists aren't just marching in the streets anymore. They're holding a convention this weekend, plotting strategy and hosting Sarah Palin as their keynote speaker. She takes the mic around 9:00 Eastern and you will see it here on CNN. So, let's head to Nashville and talk with our Deputy Political Director as you seeing there, Mr. Paul Steinhauser. Paul, what are the Tea Party activists trying to accomplish at this convention? Is this about a third party or what?

Mr. Paul Steinhauser, CNN Deputy Political Director: You know, they say Don, it's not about a third party, that they want other politician to influence what other politicians say but they don't want to form their own party. But this is very different from what we saw last year with some of those cross-country caravans and with the protest marches. This is much more seminars, workshops. And you have about 600 activists across the country coming here, learning how to open up their own Tea Party chapters back home and how to strengthen their group. And they've been a lot of these seminars the last couple of days, Don. And they are learning how to use social networking like Twitter and Facebook, how to use e-mail. Also, you know, how to financially raise money and build their movement. That's really what a lot of it has been about the last two days, Don.

LEMON: Speaking of Sarah Palin, she's going to be the keynote speaker tonight at the reception, what is she expected to say at this reception? Do you know? What is she expected to talk about?

Steinhauser: We haven't seen any prepared comments from her yet or any excerpts yet. But a week, ago Sarah Palin put out a letter, it was in the "USA Today," among other places and she talked about how the soul of the Tea Party is the people who belong to it. And she said that their vision is what drew her to the movement. And she said, they believe in the same principals she does. And some of those principles we have heard from a lot of people here in the last couple days. They're big believers in smaller government.

They want the federal government out of their lives. They feel the federal government is going way beyond what the constitution allows. They talk about budget deficit being way too large. To many taxes, they are not very big happy fans at all of what the President Obama and the democrats are trying to do with health care reform and clean energy and cap and trade reform. So, that's a lot of what you're hearing here. I also say though that some of the speeches, Don, we have heard here from some of the speakers starting right Thursday night, there has been some tough language, of course, directed at President Obama and what he's trying to do. So, it's been interesting mix of workshops, seminars but also some interesting speeches and some tough speeches -- Don.

LEMON: Our Deputy Political Director Mr. Paul Steinhauser, thank you very much. We really appreciate it. Tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, make sure you join us for a special hour of the CNN Newsroom as we go live with the Sarah Palin speech. Sarah Palin's keynote address to the Tea Party convention. We'll going to carry it live plus, we have some analysis beginning at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN. What will she say? What will she say? What will the reaction be? We'll have it for you.

So, we know what Tea Party supporters think of Sarah Palin. How does the rest of the country view the Former Alaska Governor? According to a new CNN research corporation poll, the country has basically divided. Forty three percent have a favorable view of her and 46 percent say, they have an unfavorable view. When you break down the responses between men and women, Palin does better among men. Forty seven percent favorable, 42 percent unfavorable. Among women, 40 percent view her as favorable and a slight majority views her as unfavorably.

As for party affiliation, the results are really no surprise. Democrats are not impressed. So, as 22 percent view Sarah Palin favorably. She does better among independents with 42 percent giving her favorable ratings. And among republicans, 73 percent have a favorable view and their parties, up their party's Former Vice President Joe F. Kennedy.

So, we want to talk more now, to a couple of people who traveled to Nashville for the Tea Party convention. You can see them right there. Stephanie Terry, she is a small business owner. She's from near Ogden, Utah. And there's also Charlotte Bergmann, she's a republican candidate for Congress in Tennessee's ninth district.

Thank you so much. It's good to see both of you. You ladies look lovely. Are you getting -- Stephanie, are you ready for the speech tonight, Stephanie?

Stephanie Terry, TEA PARTY ATTENDEE: Yes. I'm looking forward to it. I have read her book and I'm interested in hearing what she has to say tonight.

LEMON: OK. Listen, you're a small business owner and listening to, you know, what Paul Steinhauser said and what everyone else says, you're concerned about big government, big government. We hear that a lot. Can you hear me, Stephanie? Yes?

TERRY: It's a little rough. Yes.

LEMON: OK.

TERRY: You're talking about big government?

LEMON: Yes, your concern about big government. We hear that but what does that -- specifically what do you mean by that?

TERRY: Well, I think that we're being taxed so heavily with all of this -- the government stepping in and wanting to make larger social programs like the health care, the stimulus that has cost us so much, and I'm concerned about what it does to our business, how it affects our employees, how we can afford insurance for our employees and keep employees. And I'm just concerned as we see more of these programs, how this will affect us down the road.

LEMON: Before we get to Charlotte, I want to ask you one more question, Sarah. You are small business owner, your husband has a mortgage business, right? It's a mortgage business. How are you faring in these economic times right now?

TERRY: Well, it's been little tough. We find it's very difficult for people to get loans. We see that the banks have been given the stimulus money and the other half seems to trickle down to the individual. So, people are having a difficult time finding money to purchase homes or refinance their homes which is what affects us a little more personally.

LEMON: You don't qualify for any stimulus money? Have you tried to get any?

TERRY: That's not really something I'm interested in looking into. I think that we shouldn't really have this stimulus program. I don't see that it's stimulated our economy at all.

LEMON: What do you say to other small business owners? I spoke to a small business owner last week who said, he was helped by the stimulus money. And it provided some injection into his business. Some oomph. Do you disagree with that? Do you not want that?

TERRY: I have no idea. Because I don't know who you're talking about. I haven't met anyone personally who's benefited from this stimulus fund.

LEMON: OK, Stephanie. Thank you very much. We're going to talk to you in a little bit. Let's talk to Charlotte now.

TERRY: You're welcome.

LEMON: Charlotte, you are seeking the republican nomination for the ninth district in Tennessee and you're really up against an incumbent there. How are you feeling these days about the Republican Party? Because people are wondering if this is a third party that is trying to be created here. Is that what you want from this? CHARLOTTE BERGMANN, TEA PARTY ATTENDEE: No, absolutely not. I'll tell you why. If we have a third party, that is in essence continuing the liberal agenda. So, as a result of the fact that I love my community, love my country, love my family and friends, we're sticking with a party that carries the message that I speak is called constitution, it's called love of country. It is actually called small business support in terms of stimulating the economy so that people can get jobs and I just want to interject one other thing. The money has been going to our government. Unfortunately our government does not create products that can be resold that can in essence stimulate the economy.

LEMON: OK.

BERGMANN: So, people in my community are suffering as a result.

LEMON: I want to ask you. You know, I want to ask you about -- because you're using "stimulate" a lot and we have been talking a lot about the stimulus. And we have been talking a lot about this stimulus and we have this project (ph) on CNN, we've been following the money. So, to ask you as well, Stephanie said, she's not interested in getting any stimulus money. And you mentioned stimulating the economy. How do you feel about the money being spent to sort of inject some growth into small business? BERGMANN: Well, I'll tell you what. Have you ever heard of the movie "Groundhog Day"? Last year, there was a concern that the stimulus package bill should be passed and it was a hurry up, hurry up. And then all of the sudden it was a wait because the president took a few days to sign it. And we are not seeing any results of that in terms of people getting jobs in my community. So, the stimulus package, what the government plans to do with another stimulus package is not answering the questions and the concerns of the people in my community.

LEMON: OK.

BERGMANN: We need real jobs, we need real jobs in private industry.

LEMON: Charlotte, Memphis right, that's part of the district that you are hoping to represent, correct?

BERGMANN: No. That is the district that I plan to represent and...

LEMON: That's what I said, that you're hoping to represent. So, what I want to ask you is about Memphis is a very diverse community. And there are some questions about the diversity of the Tea Party. And obviously you're African-American. I want to ask you about that. How do you feel about what people are saying that it's not very diverse?

BERGMANN: You know, it's rather interesting. I have been embraced thoroughly embraced by the people that are here because we speak the same language. We don't -- I have not observed anybody that looks at me and sees my skin color. They look at me and see a person that carries the same message that they are carrying. Our constitution is important in our lives and those articles need to be observed in our government. Low taxes, less government intrusion. It's important that we get and retain our country that we love so dearly.

LEMON: And it's very interesting to see two women speaking. And you know, sort of guys, you see guys out in front a lot. But you guys are very well-spoken. Thank you so much. Stephanie Terry and Charlotte Bergmann, we'll be following your election as well. So, thank you so much.

BERGMANN: Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you.

TERRY: We appreciate it.

LEMON: OK. You know, over 1,000 people have a ticket to Sarah Palin's big speech tonight. So, what's on tap? Our Tea Party talk is just getting started. Much, much more from Nashville coming up. Listen in hour and a half, we're going to take out time and hear from the folks from the Tea Party and the people on the ground. And also, President Obama braves a blizzard to fire up democrats on Capitol Hill. We'll tell you what the Commander in Chief said to his democratic troops.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: President Obama says, he is not backing down on health care reform, he is not giving up on change and he is urging his fellow democrats to echo his optimism heading into the fall election. He spoke to the democratic national committee's winter meeting earlier today. And our Suzanne Malveaux, live at the white house to break it all down for us live at the very snowy white house. Suzanne, how are you?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Great, Don. We all survived what they called Snowmageddon here. I'm standing here in front of the white house, obviously, the office where the president works normally. There would be marine posts outside there if he was inside working, but the first family has been hunkered down, you see here in the residence over at the white house. That's where they spent much of the day. But a lot of clearing that happened here more than two feet of snow. If you can actually see here the driveway, the walkway is pretty much cleared.

A lot of folks have been working very hard. The national park service plowing through. Snow blowers. This gives you a pretty good sense here. More than two feet of snow here at the white house. But they cleared this because obviously the president was trying to get to the DNC meeting, a very important meeting to motivate members of this party to get things done. Number one on the list of course, creating jobs, getting a bipartisan jobs bill on his desk in short order. And it really, Don, sounded like and looked like, felt like a campaign event. I want you to take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For all the stories we've heard, after all the campaigns we have waged, after all the promises we have made, this is our best chance to deliver change that the American people need. If we do that, if we speak to the hopes of the American people instead of their fears, if we inspire them instead of divide them, if we respond to their challenges with the same sense of urgency they feel in their own lives, we're not just going to win elections, elections will take care of themselves. We will once again be the party that turns around the economy and moves this country forward and secures the American dream for another generation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Malveaux: Don, a couple of things the president was emphasizing trying to motivate those who are in his party, talking about a bipartisan jobs bill, hoping that the senate as early as Monday, if folks can get back here in town to introduce that on the senate side, to get that going. He's going to have tough going with that but he's definitely trying. Also, another idea that he introduced today using $30 billion out of the money that was supposed to go to bail out those banks that was not been used to try to create and use that money for loans for small businesses.

There are some republicans who disagree with that approach, saying, look, we should use that to lower the federal deficit here. So, there is obviously going to be some back and forth over that. But the president putting those two ideas on the table and pushing this party pretty hard this weekend, Don, to start getting motivated and to fight back -- Don.

LEMON: It looks like an old piece of tape from the campaign trail. That sounded like a campaign speech. Suzanne Malveaux at the white house, thank you so much, Suzanne. Toyota is repairing those recalled cars and getting them back on the road. But is this a permanent fix or do owners have more to worry about? Or it can last industry export.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A story that lots of people are paying attention to as well they should. Because, if you own a 2010 Toyota Prius, well, Toyota says a fix is on the way for brakes. The company sent a notice to dealerships saying, it will unveil a solution early next week. Toyota admits there is a problem with software that controls the anti- lock brake system on the 2010 Prius, but it is not using the word "recall" right now. About 37,000 of them are on the road right here in the United States.

Gas pedal problems in other models led Toyota to recall more than eight million cars. Toyota's CEO finally appeared publically and apologized yesterday, but the company has been criticized by those who say it didn't get out in front of all of this quickly enough.

Edward Niedermayer is the Editor in Chief of thetruthaboutcars.com. He joins me now from Portland Oregon. Edward, has Toyota moved fast enough to repair this recalled cars?

Edward Niedermayer, Editor in Chief of thetruthaboutcars.com: Yes. Well, I think Toyota Motor USA has done quite a good job. I think the real problem is sort of its global leadership. They haven't been proactive as they could be and I think that really feeds the perception that they are not doing enough and they're not taking this issue seriously enough.

LEMON: Yes. It seems like, you know, there is a little bit of difference guidance every day when it comes to Toyota. Even today saying, oh, you know, you can expect early next week, we'll going to take care of this and this is what you should do. But once repairs are made right, how concerns should car owners be? Is this going to be a permanent fix?

NIEDERMAYER: Well, I think the Prius brake issue is, I think that's a separate thing. I think with the gas pedal issue, I think there is some technical analysis on thetruthaboutcars.com, shows that there is potential for further stickiness because of wear. So, that is something that we're keeping an eye on it.

LEMON: What did you think about the apology yesterday from Akio Toyoda?

NIEDERMAYER: I think, it was overdue and potential a little bit, too little too late, I think.

LEMON: Too little too late. Do you think Toyota -- is there going to be a struggle for them to survive this?

NIEDERMAYER: No. I think in the short term the impact is going be pretty profound and it's going to knock them off their pedestal at the top of the car industry but I think in the long term, people have relatively short memories. And I think, if you look at what's happened with the domestic car industry in this country, they have overcome a lot. And so I think Toyota will survive. They're a strong company.

LEMON: Edward Niedermayer is the Editor in Chief of the truthaboutcars.com. Thank you very much for that, sir.

NIEDERMAYER: Thank you.

LEMON: I want to get to our top stories tonight here on CNN. The mid-Atlantic will be digging out for days from a powerful winter storm. Up to two feet of snow now blankets the region. This is what it looks like in Pittsburgh.

It stretches east to Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia. The storm has knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers along the way and motorists are urged to stay off the roads because of dangerous conditions that have already cost at least two lives. Heavy rain caused huge mud slides today that swept away cars and damaged dozens of homes north of Los Angeles. At least 41 homes have been seriously damaged and 500 more have been ordered evacuated. No injuries have been reported. A foot of debris is reported in some homes in an area hit by wildfires just last summer.

And we're following this developing story, out of Boulder, Colorado. Two small planes collided near the Boulder, Airport. One of the planes was pulling a glider. A CNN iReporter sent this video. Take a look at it. You can see how the planes collided there. We'll show that to you later on, but this video from our iReporter, pretty astonishing. It shows what happened in the sky over Boulder. We're hearing that there were fatalities but no specific number has been reported. We'll keep you updated as things develop on this story.

The U.S. military is actively searching for an American civilian who disappeared last month in Baghdad. Issa Sloe Solami (ph) is a contractor with the U.S. Army. A video has surfaced on an Iraqi web site, supposedly showing the missing American. But CNN has not confirmed the man's identity.

The tea party activists get ready for their main event. Sarah Palin takes the stage in just hours. You're looking at live pictures from the room, and the podium where Sarah Palin will speak in just a bit. Live here on CNN you will see it. We'll talk about the convention goers, what they want to hear, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Let's talk more about the tea party convention going on in Nashville and tonight's keynote speech by Sarah Palin. John Avalon is there for us. He's a columnist for thedailybeast.com. And a former speechwriter for Rudy Giuliani.

Hey, John.

If we can go back to the podium there. Scott, if we can go back to the podium. That's where Sarah Palin will speak and CNN will carry it live. They're preparing live for it.

I also want to say John is the author of "Wing Nuts, How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America."

OK, John, good to see you. 600 people. You know, when we talked about the tea party convention and, for me, I have gone to several tea parties, I thought that if the tea parties had a convention, there would be a lot more than 600 people there. There were 600 people at some of the protests around the country.

JOHN AVALON, AUTHOR & COLUMNIST, THEDAILYBEAST.COM: A lot more than 600 people, and that's a great point. The high watermark of this movement was the tax day protest in 2009 where over 300,000 people showed up in 300 cities. That's a lot of people. It's still less than 1 percent of the population but it's a lot of people.

This is a smaller group, partly because the price tag is pretty high. It cost $500 to buy a ticket to see Sarah Palin tonight. It was billed as a convention, a meeting of the tea party leaders. That's one of the reasons it's smaller. Of course, if the whole conference is for-profit status, it has made it a controversy. A lot of the groups have been staying away that have been previously funding this group or have been involved in this movement in a more macro sense.

LEMON: You know, 600 people, and you mentioned cost, but for 600 people to pay whatever the cost is -- you said it's a high dollar -- to pay it and take their time, especially in a bad economy to make it to Nashville, that speaks to how passionate they are about the issues.

AVALON: Yes. I mean, you know, this movement has built up because people felt a squeeze in the economic crisis and they felt angry at Washington and Wall Street. What you have heard activists say is, how can I shell out $500 for the privilege of attending the conference as well as air fare? That's made a lot of people feel this convention has turned its back on the grassroots nature of the movement.

I have spoken to people who are enthusiastic to be here. They see it as an opportunity to expand the movement's reach and mobilize into 2010. That's what they are focused on. This convention is not about creating a third party. They have made it clear. They want to run conservative candidates to run the Republican primaries in 2010 and move the Republican Party further to the right, especially on fiscal issues. That's the unifying theme.

Lemon: I want to ask you about this, John. I was reading "USA Today" earlier this week and some of the other papers, but here's what "USA Today" said Sarah Palin said. "The soul of the tea party is the people who belong to it. Everyday Americans, who grow our food, run our small businesses, teach our children how to read, serve the less fortunate and fight our wars." She added that "they have the courage to stand up and speak out." And on and on, talked about the vision and that vision drew her to the tea party movement. Do we expect to hear more of that tonight from Sarah Palin?

AVALON: Yes. Yes, I do. I think she's going to be singing to a hometown crowd, playing to her base and preaching to the choir. I don't think you will see a lot of great visions for the future of the movement, but that's partly the opportunity of this moment. She's essentially giving a primetime address. She's the big speaker. She commanded a $100,000 speaking fee. So a lot of folks will say they want more than just feel-good boilerplate from Sarah Palin. They want to see if she can provide a future for the movement. And it's a tough thing.

She's queen of the conservative populous. This is a conservative populous movement. I think there is an opportunity and obligation for her to up her game. If she doesn't, there may be folks who feel a little disappointed.

LEMON: A lot of people will be watching. And we can probably, I don't know, we might see some criticism of the current administration, which people are looking for.

John Avalon, we appreciate it. Thank you very much.

AVALON: There's always a lot of that.

LEMON: John Avalon is standing by in Nashville, as is CNN. AVALON: Thank you.

LEMON: Tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern, make sure you join us for a special hour of "CNN NEWSROOM" as we bring you Sarah Palin's keynote address to the tea party convention. You should stick around all evening. She could start speaking earlier. We'll have analysis at 9:00 p.m. eastern, but we'll carry the speech live at Nashville at the tea party convention. Sarah Palin speaking.

You know, it is winter, folks. This is what winter does. This is doing a lot of this in the Mid-Atlantic States today. People are really, really getting just blasted by snow and bad weather. Bonnie Schneider checking on the severe weather for you.

And who dat say they're gonna make glory bound? Aaron Neville, that's who he is, putting a new spin on the old Who Dat song. My conversation with his in just a few minutes. And he sings, by the way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK. We have been talking about the Saints, but politics competing with Super Bowl excitement in New Orleans as voters choose who will follow term-limited Mayor Ray Nagan. We all remember him from Hurricane Katrina when he came to prominence. Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu is seen as the front runner in the 11- candidate field. If he wins the majority, he would be the first white mayor in the city since his dad left the post in 1979.

We know that Saints slogan, who dat, who dat say they gonna beat them Saints? As if you haven't heard it enough, now there is a remake of the original "Glory Bound" recorded by New Orleans musical patriarch, Aaron Neville.

BVT

LEMON: So tell us about this "Glory Bound." Do you call it a remake? A remix?

AARON NEVILLE, MUSICIAN: It's a remake. We did the first one was just "Who Dat" back in 1983, I think.

(SINGING)

NEVILLE: The black and gold, you know.

LEMON: You've got your black and gold there. I've got mine right here. It says finish strong. Drew Brees says that. And I have the shirt that says "Our City, Our Home." That's my T-shirt. and I have the Saints shirt at home. I will wear it under my suit like a superman shirt for the Super Bowl.

(LAUGHTER)

The city is electric right now. It's good for them.

NEVILLE: No doubt. It don't take much in New Orleans anyway.

LEMON: I have been saying to people that this is much more than a game, much more than a Super Bowl. What does this mean to the folks down in New Orleans and people who have been watching that city closely after the hurricane?

NEVILLE: It's a city coming back together, you know, licking their wounds and, I mean, they had a lot of wounds. It's time to for them to heal and put the smile back on their face.

LEMON: I have never seen in a long time people there this happy, this positive. Of course, we know people there have spirit and they're partying but they need people come back. They need good images on television about New Orleans so people will come back, tourists and what have you. Where are you going to be watching the game?

NEVILLE: Right. I'm going to be on the road somewhere. I don't know.

LEMON: People ask me the same thing. They asked me if I was going to Miami. I think I would rather be in New Orleans than Miami.

NEVILLE: Yes. I can imagine when they win that game. New Orleans is going to be in Mardi Gras early.

LEMON: Win or lose, it's a win for the city.

NEVILLE: I don't know about the score though. I'm not going to take it. It's their time.

LEMON: Listen, do you mind -- can you do a little bit of "Glory Bound" for us? Who Dat, talking about beating the Saints for us? Can you do that for us?

(SINGING)

NEVILLE: Yes, they're glory bound.

LEMON: I think you're prediction is right. So, who dat?

NEVILLE: Who dat. Who dat saying they gonna beat them Saints? Ain't nobody gonna beat them.

(LAUGHTER)

EVT

LEMON: Aaron Neville, thank you, thank you.

Here's what's really cool about "Glory Bound." Proceeds from sales of the MP-3 benefit the New Orleans Musicians' Clinic. The group is committed to addressing the health care needs of musicians and families in New Orleans. Keeping the music alive as well, as they say. A man already recognized as a "CNN Hero" steps up again. This time, he's in Haiti to help the one and a half million people left homeless by the quake.

And millions of people along the east coast dealing with the first major blizzard of the year. They really just got blasted last weekend. Bonnie Schneider will have the latest. Look at there, a very snowy White House. It looks beautiful. Wouldn't want to be in it though.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Every week we honor a "CNN Hero," an everyday person doing extraordinarily work. Tonight, we salute a 2007 hero curry working amid tragedy in Haiti. Before the earthquake, Bobby Duvall was serving some 1500 kinds from nearby slums at his Sports and Feed Program. Now his center is also home to more than a hundred homeless families.

(CNN HERO)

LEMON: An estimated three million survivors of the Haiti earthquake are in need of food, water and medical supplies. For more information on how to help visit CNN.com/heroes.

"The Situation Room" is ahead.

Wolf Blitzer, what do you have for us?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, THE SITUATION ROOM: Don, lots coming up in "The Situation Room." We're going to Nashville for the latest on what's going on at the tea party movement convention.

Also, a major debate between two members of Congress on Don't Ask, Don't Tell. They have strongly differing views.

And we're going to London. Richard Quest is standing by. Question time U.S.-style, should the American president follow the lead of the British prime minister, and routinely take questions from the opposition?

All that, and a lot more right here in "The Situation Room."

LEMON: Thanks, Wolf. We'll be watching and we'll watch the tea party as well live on CNN.

When the president of the United States uses the term "snowmageddon" you know it's not an ordinary snow term. This one has buried the nation's capital and other major cities with up to two feet of snow. On the west coast, a fire-scarred hillside, heavy rain, and a California community suddenly engulfed in deep mud.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(FIT NATION)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: If you live in the mid-Atlantic, you're probably looking out of your window at nearly two feet of snow, and in some places even more. The state of Maryland has now declared a state of emergency.

That's why I want to talk to Ed McDonough, a spokesman for the Maryland Emergency Management Services. He joins us by phone now from suburban Baltimore.

Are you saying, in some areas, you got up to three feet of snow?

ED MCDONOUGH, SPOKESMAN, MARYLAND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SERVICES: The National Weather Service is telling us that we've exceeded 30 inches of snow in some parts of the state.

LEMON: My goodness. So I would imagine weight on the power lines, and the roads are just closed.

MCDONOUGH: The roads -- the highway crews are working mightily to get roads cleared again. The roads were never closed per se, but it has been a struggle to get them open, but the traffic has been very light. Very few people have gone out.

LEMON: How do you keep up with 30 inches of snow?

MCDONOUGH: Exactly. It was coming down two to three inches per hour at times and snowplows can't keep up with that.

LEMON: At last check, we were told 150,000 customers without power. Are you seeing that?

MCDONOUGH: That's the approximate number. and that number held steady for the last several hours. It is not all the same people, some people get back, brought back on and then others lose power over time. We haven't seen a huge spike since around midmorning. It stayed pretty consistent.

LEMON: So, listen, no fatalities now, so far, that you know of.

MCDONOUGH: Not that we know of, no.

LEMON: But an accident last night, you said it was in Hartford County.

MCDONOUGH: In Hartford County, there was an accident that sent several people to the hospital. There may have been other smaller accidents today that we have not heard about yet, but that's the one that we knew about overnight.

LEMON: Here's the interesting thing I want to get to. You said 30 inches of snow. People have been heeding the warnings. They may think, Mr. McDonough, since it started to taper off, it is over. The tough part will be cleaning up.

MCDONOUGH: Our highway crews still have 12 to 24 hours of work just to get the major roads completely passable. That is down to pavement. We occasionally -- on most of our interstates we have a lane or two that is passable, but to really get the roads clear and open and to get some of the U.S. state highways ready for traffic, it is going to take a while. So, no, we don't want people seeing the snow ending and start coming out on the roads. We really need the highway crews to have another 12 to 24 hours to get their work accomplished.

LEMON: Thank you very much. Ed McDonough, spokesman for the Maryland Management Services. Best of luck to you and everyone up there.

I want to read some of your comments. Most people commenting really, -- getting a lot, tons of comments on the keynote speech tonight and the tea party movement. We're going to be really honest about the comments. And I'll read them.

One says, "Do you think it is a movement?" People are saying it is not a movement.

One woman said, "I do not see people of color hanging out at the tea party convention, I'd like to know why. Look at the faces of the convention."

"I won't watch Sarah Palin's speech because I've already heard her Obama-is-a-socialist speech spiel."

"Not a movement that rates CNN's coverage like this 600 people. Media giving them more stature than earned. Buffoonery."

"I won't watch because she is boring and she makes no sense. Plus, I won't help any station with good ratings if she is on their station."

Thank you for you comments. We appreciate it. We like honesty and transparency around here and we like your comments.

I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

"THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer begins right now.