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Web Goes Crazy Over #Blackoutbowl; Boy Scouts Poised for Historical Shift; Boy Scouts Poised for Historical Shift; Anheuser- Busch Wins Super Bowl Ad Meter; Beyonce Stuns in Super Bowl Outfit

Aired February 04, 2013 - 09:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BEAK)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Carol Costello. It's 30 minutes past the hour.

Time to check our top stories:

The opening bell on Wall Street. The Dow beginning the week at its highest level in more than five years. It closed above the 14,000 mark on Friday.

Ringing the opening bell are executives with Ellie Mae, a software provider for the mortgage industry.

John Kerry is reporting to work for the first time this morning in his new role as secretary of state. The former Massachusetts senator is taken over the job left vacant by Hillary Clinton, and he's had a busy weekend. He spoke to Palestinian and Israeli leaders and other world leaders as America's new top diplomat.

Beginning today, you can buy a forever stamp in honor of civil rights icon Rosa Parks. The release coincides with what would have been her 100th birthday. Parks made her way into the history books following her 1955 arrest for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus to a white man. Parks died in 2005.

The moment that got everyone talking about the Super Bowl wasn't a touchdown, it was when the lights went out at the Superdome. Then the Internet practically exploded. Some blamed the power outage on Beyonce, others blamed it on the Batman villain Bane.

Don Lemon is following this side of the story this morning.

So, do we know for sure what caused the power outage?

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I slept her last night. Is Alicia Keys still doing the national anthem?

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: We're going to talk about how long it took her to get through the national anthem, carol. That was part of social media. I was on this anchor desk last night until midnight with all of this going on, checking social media, and, yes, my trusty tweet deck was going crazy. But I want to show you some of the tweets that were going through. And as you said, you mentioned Bain and you mentioned Batman.

This one viewer said, "People of Gotham" -- talking about the classic scene in the last Batman movie, where someone took over a movie theater. One viewer said, "Luckily the bar for worst power outage at the Superdome is set really high."

Next viewer said, "In hindsight, maybe installing the clapper was a bad idea." You know that clap on, clap off thing.

Another viewer says, "The Harbaugh sisters shut off the lights screaming stop fighting. Can you both just get along?" Talking about the Harbaugh brothers.

Let's talk about the hot searches, because people are still searching and looking at this.

Number one, of course, Carol, you know what it is, it is, I like to her Beyonce, or bouncy, it's Beyonce. Over 1 million people still searching for Beyonce and people looking up the Super Bowl commercials, the hot model and the Mercedes Benz commercial.

There's Beyonce right there during her performance. Listen a little bit.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

LEMON: Obviously, she was not lip syncing last night. She was performing live.

Among the other top searches from last night, Bar Refaeli, the hot model involved in the kiss with way too much sound, and also Alicia Keys.

Speaking of Alicia Keys and taking so long to do the national anthem. You want to bet what the over/under among sporting groups, among betting groups, for her singing, how long it would take her to do the national anthem. What do you think it was?

COSTELLO: I have no clue.

LEMON: OK. One site set the over/under at two minutes and 15 seconds. Do you know what she came in at?

COSTELLO: Well, I think the national anthem is about a minute 35. She added a few words at the end. So, maybe 1:47.

LEMON: She came in at two minutes and 36.4 seconds, only second to Natalie Cole at 1:52 back in 1994.

COSTELLO: Well, I thought it was a beautiful rendition. She had to carefully sing it with what happened at the inauguration and all.

LEMON: She was great. We're just joking. She was great, but it was long. (VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

LEMON: So, as we said, it was long. And now, it's time for "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Wolf Blitzer it took us to get that out.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: Ray Lewis was trying to sing along with her, and he couldn't.

LEMON: Ray Lewis was lip-syncing. She was singing. He was lip- syncing.

COSTELLO: He was trying.

Don Lemon, thanks so much. That was a lot of fun.

LEMON: All right, Carol.

COSTELLO: Just before the game, Barack Obama weighed in on the showdown away from the football field. The Boy Scouts of America could announce as early as today the end to a ban on openly gay members.

In an interview with CBS, the president talks about why he feels changing that policy is so important.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, my attitude is, is that gays and lesbians should have access and opportunity the same way everybody else does in every institution and walk of life. And, you know, the Scouts are a great institution that are promoting young people and exposing them to, you know, opportunities and leadership that will serve people for the rest of their lives. And I think that nobody should be barred from that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Joining me now is Peter Sprigg, senior fellow with the Family Research Council.

Good morning.

PETER SPRIGG, FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Peter, your group and many others bought some ad time in "USA Today." what are you saying in that ad?

SPRIGG: Well, we're encouraging the boy scouts to stand firm by the timeless principles they've always represented.

You know, it's ironic President Obama talks about what a great organization they are, but part of what makes them a great organization is because they stand on this foundation of timeless moral principles. We think it would be a grave mistake for them to abandon that.

COSTELLO: You know, it seems history is -- you know, you're not -- I mean, you have football players in the National Football League coming out and saying, it's time that we have gay equality in this country. Kids are hearing these football players, their heroes, talking about it.

So, you don't want them to hear about it in some place like the Boy Scouts?

SPRIGGS: Well, people who want to promote the acceptance of homosexuality have the complete freedom to form their own youth development organization, and that's what they should do rather than trying to transform the nature of a longstanding organization.

We believe that the Scouts have been well-served by the policy they have. They defended it all the way to the United States Supreme Court and won. And so -- and I think it's exaggerated how much society is changing. A majority of Americans, according to a recent poll, still believe -- still believe that it's morally wrong to engage in sexual relations with a person of the same sex, and parents who share that view --

COSTELLO: Let me interject for just a second. It's also true that a majority of Americans think that gay people have a right to be married in this country.

So, times are changing, and thoughts about the gay lifestyle, it's changing. It's just a fact. You see it everywhere.

And do you really think a gay scout leader is going to become a gay scout leader to push a gay agenda? Seriously?

SPRIGG: Well, the mere fact that someone openly identifies themselves as homosexual means that they are modeling for boys the acceptability of homosexual conduct. And parents who do not agree with that view have a right to protect children from that. They have a right to protect their children just from being exposed to the topic prematurely, and they have a right to protect their children from potential risk at child sexual abuse at the hands of men who might be attracted to other males.

COSTELLO: Well, I'll just say that the American Psychological Association has studied the issue that you just mentioned. Homosexuals aren't any more likely to molest kids than straight men.

SPRIGG: Well, I think most parents --

COSTELLO: Plus, you're condemning every single homosexual in the country as being a possible pedophile, and that's not fair.

SPRIGG: Well, without even debating that issue, I think most parents would not feel comfortable sending their daughters on overnight camping trips with men who are sexually attracted to females. And by the same token, most parents would not want to send their sons on overnight camping trips with adult men who are sexually attracted to males.

COSTELLO: But I believe in the Girl Scouts of America, don't they accept gay scout leaders there? There doesn't seem to be a huge problem there.

SPRIGG: Well, there's quite a bit of controversy about the Girl Scouts of America, and that's why some traditionally minded people have created alternative organizations, such as the American Heritage Girls, because the Girl Scouts have actually given in to this liberal, politically correct agenda.

COSTELLO: Peter Sprigg with the Family Research Council, thank you very much.

Coming up after the break, I'm going to talk with someone on the other side of the debate, a former assistant scoutmaster expelled from the Boy Scouts for being gay. I'll be right back.

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COSTELLO: We're continuing our discussion on a historical shift for the Boy Scouts of America, as a group continues ending its ban, its national ban on gay members. Well, some are praising the potential change. Others, including Texas governor and Eagle Scout Rick Perry, are voicing concern.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK PERRY (R), TEXAS: Scouting is about teaching a substantial amount of life lessons. Sexuality is not one of them. Never has been. It doesn't need to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: James Dale is a former assistant scoutmaster who was expelled by the Boy Scouts in 1990 for being gay. He filed a lawsuit to be reinstated -- a suit that was later dismissed after the U.S. Supreme Court said forcing the scouts to accept him would violate their First Amendment freedom of association rights.

Good morning, James.

JAMES DALE, FORMER ASST. SCOUT MASTER PLAINTIFF: Good morning.

COSTELLO: As you listen to Governor Perry, what goes through your mind?

DALE: I think there are always going to be different opinions out there. Governor Perry was never particularly sensitive on the issues of racism, and back to the camp episode from about 2 1/2 years, 2 years ago or.

So, I wouldn't look to him as a model of fairness and nondiscrimination. So, he's definitely entitled to his opinion. It was unfortunate he made the battleground, when he's talking to young people in the Boy Scouts. I believe that's when he made those comments.

I prefer to direct my attention to the president of the United States, who's the honorary chief scout executive, who as you mentioned just yesterday, implored that the Boy Scouts should open their ranks to young gay children and allow them to feel equal and allow them to be respected for who they are.

COSTELLO: You heard Governor Perry talk about sexuality. I mean, you were a scoutmaster. Did you ever talk to your troop members about sexuality?

DALE: No. Boy Scouts has never really been about sexuality. And I think that's where people that are on the quote, unquote "other side of this debate" are wrong. It's not about discussing sexuality in the Boy Scouts. It's allowing young -- young people to be who they are and not have to lie to meet some outdated descriptions of unclean and immoral, as the Boy Scouts have labeled young children.

COSTELLO: Those on the other side of the issue from you would say, hey, you lost in court. So that must mean that we have a valid argument. So why not follow it, Boy Scouts of America?

DALE: Sure. What the United States Supreme Court gave the Boy Scouts the right to discriminate by granting them a First Amendment shield from New Jersey's law against discrimination. But they in no way said that discrimination is right. And I think what we see going on in the 13 years since that decision is America is changing. If the Boy Scouts want to be relevant, if the Boy Scouts want to continue to solicit funds around the country and sort of position themselves as representing everything good in America, they need a change.

And this is why the Boy Scout -- this issue has come up again. Just last year they reviewed the policy, and there was so much backlash from their members, from -- from children in the organization, from parents there, that they had to take another look at it and also from members of their board. I think it's -- now is the time. The Boy Scouts need to do this once and do it right. They shouldn't allow a half decision saying there can be one troop that discriminates and another troop that doesn't. What the Boy Scouts must do this week is they need to put an end to discrimination in the Boy Scouts because everybody knows discrimination is wrong.

COSTELLO: Well we'll see what they decide. Former Scoutmaster James Dale, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

DALE: Thank you.

COSTELLO: The Ravens won the Super Bowl, but who won the ad battle? "USA Today's" ad meter has the top three spots. We'll talk about them.

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COSTELLO: "Talk Back" question for you today, who were the winners and losers of the Super Bowl. This from Don. "Beyonce was the real winner. What a great show. I don't normally listen to her music, but last night I was glued to the television."

This from Cole, "Jay-Z took home the real trophy."

From Mary, "Clydesdale, JEEP, Doritos and Jennifer Hudson and the kids."

From Michelle, "The Sandy Hook Elementary choir."

And from Justin, "The Harbaughs, of course."

Please keep the conversation going Facebook.com/carolCNN.

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COSTELLO: Baltimore won the Super Bowl but who won the Super Bowl ad battle? According to "USA Today's" ad meter, Anheuser-Busch took first place with the big Clydesdale spot. Procter & Gamble took second with this Tide ad featuring an image of Joe Montana on a fan- stained jersey. And Chrysler placed third with this homage to the American farmer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL HARVEY: -- and on the eighth day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said I need a caretaker. So God made a farmer. God said I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: That's Paul Harvey. Brings back lots of memories. "USA Today's" Laura Petrecca joins us now. Good morning.

LAURA PETRECCA, REPORTER, USA TODAY: Hi, good morning.

COSTELLO: Explain to us how this ad meter works.

PETRECCA: So "USA Today", for 25 years, has been getting consumer reaction to the game. And we've been doing that by having focus groups for 24 of the last 25 years. So we would have smaller focus groups across the country. And having them rate the ads. But this year we opened it up to adults nationwide so we had them go into a password protected site and they rated the ads simply from one to ten. And just let us know how they felt about them.

COSTELLO: But the most interesting thing to me is the Chrysler ad with Paul Harvey's voice. It was long. It was two minutes long. And it wasn't for any -- I mean, seemingly it wasn't for any particular product. So what do you think struck people about this particular ad?

PETRECCA: I definitely think the imagery in the ad struck people. So if you are watching a game with lots of high-production ads, lots of celebrities, lots of big production issues, you stop for a minute and you just look at those images and they are beautiful. They are just shot in such an incredibly real way. And I think that's what really got people's attention. And then you heard that voice, the soothing voice.

Also adding to Chrysler's favor is a lot of people know to look for the Chrysler ads. So they are keeping an eye out for it.

COSTELLO: Yes it struck me just to hear Paul Harvey's voice. It just brought me back to my childhood.

PETRECCA: Yes.

COSTELLO: I listened to him every day on the radio.

The Anheuser-Busch ad, I mean, you can understand why people like that because it was an animal ad. And people love animal ads.

PETRECCA: Yes people go crazy for animal ads. And the music in that spot was fantastic, too. It really made it very powerful.

COSTELLO: And what do you think of Joe Montana on the fan-stained jersey. That was just funny but that was a funny ad in the midst of lots of funny ads what stood out about that one?

PETRECCA: I think -- I think there's a few reasons why the Tide ad stood out. In particular, they did something very different than other marketers. They didn't pre-release the ad before the game. Many other advertisers put their ad out a week or so before the game to get lots of buzz. They're spending lots of money on this ad time so they want to really elongate the buzz for their bang for the buck.

But Tide decided to put it up that night and have a surprise ending. So I think people hadn't seen that joke before so they laughed at it, it was something new for them.

COSTELLO: It's good. It makes me happy because all of this pre hype I don't know it doesn't make the ads as exciting. Laura Petrecca --

(CROSSTALK)

PETRECCA: Right, we all like a little surprise.

COSTELLO: Exactly. Thank you so much for being with us this morning.

The Super Bowl fashion winner was one -- was none other than Beyonce I should say. She not only gave us a show-stopping halftime performance but she also had heads turning with her black leather outfit. Alina Cho is in New York to talk about the designer behind Beyonce's sexy little get-up.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a sexy little get-up, wasn't it Carol?

COSTELLO: Yes.

CHO: And you know what; what an incredible moment for little known designer New York based designer Rubin Singer. You know I spoke to him about an hour ago from New Orleans just before he got his flight back up to New York.

And to this question about inspiration. Singer told me that the inspiration behind Beyonce's Super Bowl outfit was a Valkyrie, a warrior woman. Sounds pretty appropriate, doesn't it?

Well the outfit itself took 200 to 250 hours to make. It's made of five different kinds of leather, including python, wait for it, iguana and two kinds of lamb skin. There's also lace of course you saw that. And you saw the beginning of her performance. Beyonce was also wearing this matching motorcycle jacket a cropped one and a skirt. She shed that midway through.

Now Singer, who is just 34 years old, with a 6-year-old namesake label, told me he beat out some of the biggest designers on the planet. Why? He says because he and Beyonce were just in sync in their vision of what she should look like on this big night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIN SINGER, FASHION DESIGNER: There's certain moments that designers have that define their arrival. And I -- I hope to believe -- I mean I think that's what's happening here. You know. She has been such a fierce defender of this project with me and supporter that, you know, it's been a gift because of it. It truly has.

She has allowed somebody that she believed in and somebody that she has worked with and somebody that she knew could deliver but the rest of the world necessarily may have not and you know, here we are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: It's just an incredible moment for him. You know Singer told me he actually spent the past two weeks or so in New Orleans just to be on hand for fittings. He also designed not just Beyonce's outfit but outfits for Michelle Williams and Carol all 120 backup singers. You know when I spoke to him by phone last night, he -- I said to him, you know, what an amazing gift that she gave you. He said, yes, what an amazing gift and guess what, she knew she was giving it to me.

And so what a moment for this designer. She on his way back to New York now. You can bet his presentation this season will be much more busier than last season.

COSTELLO: I bet so. Alina Cho, thanks so much.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts after a quick break.

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