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Rick's List
Charlie Sheen's Mystery Car Wreck; Tim Tebow's Super Bowl Controversy
Aired February 05, 2010 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: First of all, take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Here's what's making news on your national conversation.
Get ready to be snowed in along the East Coast. Can you say blizzard? Chad Myers on the LIST and all over it.
Jobs, jobs, jobs.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These numbers are a cause for hope, but not celebration.
SANCHEZ: Does this number prove more people are finding them?
And, hey, Charlie Sheen, it is going to take you more than two-and-a- half men to get your stolen car out of this mess.
The lists you need to know about. Who's today's most intriguing person? Who's on list you don't want to be on? You will find out as our national conversation on Twitter, on the air continues.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Hey, welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
Before we do anything else, let's go to the Dow, because it's been teetering around the 10,000 mark. And there was some concern or word -- I don't know if you would call it concern -- that it was going to end up finally under 10000. That's the number.
Stephanie Elam is standing by.
Tell us what this thing did.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We were kind of all over the place today, to be honest with you, Rick.
We started off slightly to the green, and then spent the rest of the day in the red. And it was getting quite scary there, as we were down 167 points, after the fact that we have lost about 300 points earlier this week, that all together saying that people were very nervous about this. So, we had a little bit of a fight back here at the end of the day. And managed to close on the positive here, so, not below 10000.
Now, does it really matter if we go below 10000?
SANCHEZ: Yes.
ELAM: Psychologically? Sure, maybe, but does it really mean anything? No. But it's just showing that, over these last few weeks, that there's been a bit of a push towards what some people will call a correction, perhaps. But maybe we tested it a bit today.
So, the Dow on the upside by 10 points, 10012 right now. The number is still settling, but it looks like we will be above it.
Obviously, we got big jobs report today, and it was mixed. And some of that factored to what we saw in the markets today, also some overseas issues, other Asian markets selling off, all of that factoring into the markets today.
SANCHEZ: Stephanie Elam all over it. My thanks to you for bringing us up to date on what is happening there with the Dow all of a sudden, as we said, teetering around 10000.
(WEATHER UPDATE)
SANCHEZ: All right, watch this, folks.
ALAN KEYES, ACTIVIST: I don't see how you impeach somebody who may not be president in the first place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: That's Alan Keyes. Remember him? A favorite of the Tea Party crowd and a passenger on a special conservative cruise. That's what it is. It's a conservative cruise. Is he going overboard when talking about the president? We will let you guys decide. His answer is coming up, by the way.
Also, we also have an update on the 10 Americans held on kidnapping charges in Haiti. Former President Bill Clinton is now there. He's going to be able to make some diplomatic headway in this case, possibly. It's unclear as to whether he's even going to get involved. Look at these people behind bars. It's a heck of a story. Brooke Baldwin is going to be along to bring us up to date on that.
And then developments in the Michael Jackson homicide case, word that charges are coming. Is Dr. Conrad Murray going to surrender or not? This has been going on for more than 72 hours now. We're going to bring you up-to-date information on this in just two minutes. Stay right there. I'm going to be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
(WEATHER UPDATE)
SANCHEZ: By the way, let me bring you up to date on what is going on right now in Los Angeles. And this a moving story, to say the very least.
Seventy-two hours or so ago, we were under the impression that Dr. Conrad Murray was going to actually turn himself in to police. That's what we believed. I think that's what prosecutors and police in Los Angeles believed. Something happened, folks. During the negotiations with lawyers for Dr. Conrad Murray, everything basically fell apart.
At least Dr. Murray's walked out of the meeting. They're now saying they're not turning themselves in. Apparently, it was over conversations as to what the logistics would be, how he would turn himself in, under what conditions, or possibly what charges he was going to be copping to in this case.
There was one report released earlier today by the lawyers of Dr. Conrad Murray saying, no, the problem isn't even with us. It's between the DA and the police officials out there. So, this story has gotten extremely convoluted. We went into this moments ago under the impression that there was going to be a news conference coming up in about 15 minutes from Dr. Conrad Murray's lawyer. Now we're told that news conference has been canceled as well.
So, we're going to take you through this. And as we get more information, we will bring you up to date.
And now we have got a chance to -- to join CNN's Sarah Lee, who is live, I understand, in Washington, D.C.
Sarah, what are you getting there? Take us through it.
Chad is joining me as well, by the way.
SARAH LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure.
Well, guys, you know, we're in the nation's capital. And people to the north of us, our neighbors in the Midwest, yes, you like to give a little chuckle whenever Washington, D.C., hunkers down whenever there's a hint of snow.
But, really, this is something, especially in a city where the annual totals are around 15 inches or so. Take a look. I'm just a couple blocks away from the nation's capital, the dome there basically obscured in all of this.
And, then, if you go down here, again, we're on the National Mall. You got a couple guys here getting ready to make a snowman, another monument, I guess, that they're going to add here to the National Mall now.
We're hearing about members of Congress, their staffers, spottings at the airport. They're trying to get out of Dodge right now. And if you look at the road right now, this is 4:00 on a Friday afternoon. This is prime rush hour in Washington, and the streets are basically empty. The federal government was open this morning, but then they let everyone go around 1:00 this afternoon. Also trying to get out ahead of the storm today, people that help the elderly, the infirm, programs like Meals on Wheels.
We rode along with a woman who is a volunteer with Meals on Wheels. And she was telling us how they got scores of volunteers coming in last night, coming in this morning helping to package foods. They're getting extra food out, because we had a snow day earlier, this week to get to those people that need to have those meals and get them through the weekend and through Monday in case there is yet more difficulty getting around.
She was saying that even some sheriff's deputies, and a sheriff from a local jurisdiction came over and helped to get that food out.
Let's take a listen to what Ginger Arnold was telling us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GINGER ARNOLD, MEALS ON WHEELS VOLUNTEER: We had a snow day Wednesday. Meals were not delivered. And we will probably have a snow day Monday, and they won't be delivered. So, they were -- we thought we would try to get them out today as an exception to the rule and deliver double meals today. That's also different.
So, everyone's going to get double meals. They try to help them with one extra meal to get through the bad weather.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Sarah, it's Chad Myers here.
(CROSSTALK)
LEE: And, so, it is bad weather -- oh, go ahead, Chad.
MYERS: No, that's OK.
I'm just -- you know, this is the kind of snowman we build here in Georgia. We call them dirty snowmen, just because you can't get a clean piece of snow until all of the sudden you get thatch and grass in there.
(LAUGHTER)
MYERS: In the Northeast, they use coal to make eyes. You know what we use here? Tootsie Pops.
SANCHEZ: Oh, really?
MYERS: Yes, because you can mold them and make little eyes of out them. Is this snow still very wet?
LEE: They're also good weapons. This is the kind of stuff that... (LAUGHTER)
LEE: ... the kind of stuff you can pack really well. It makes a good weapon.
MYERS: Yes, but don't throw them at cars. We used to do that and used to get in trouble for that.
SANCHEZ: So, is this rain or snow or sleet? What is it?
MYERS: It's -- it's snow.
SANCHEZ: It's snow?
MYERS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Is it turning later into snow -- I mean, into like a sleety kind of...
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: Slop. It never gets to sleet. It will be razen (ph), rain- snow mix.
SANCHEZ: Really?
MYERS: So, you're going to have to try to stay warm and also try to stay dry, Sarah, because every snowflake that hits you is going to melt on contact for a while. And then you get cold. Then you get wet. Then you get windy. And then, all of a sudden, you get hypothermia, not our reporters, of course, but people out there have to work in it.
SANCHEZ: Well, exactly. And, hopefully, a lot of people will be staying home.
Go ahead, Sarah. Finish us up.
LEE: Yes.
And, also, guys, as you can see, the way the snow is coming down, because we do have a breeze and this will likely pick up during the night, as Chad has been saying, it also is uncomfortable, because then it gets down in your neck, because it's actually not coming down on the bill of my hat.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
MYERS: Yes.
LEE: But it's hitting you sideways.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Sarah, thanks for sharing with us. Now we know how that works. Thanks. MYERS: That's why you get that big gator. It goes all the way up across your neck.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Well, a lot of folks who are watching us from different cities as well want to know what's going on in their area. So, we're going to tell them. And Chad is going to be staying with us throughout the hour to take us through it.
MYERS: Sure.
SANCHEZ: And we thank you for that, by the way.
MYERS: Sure.
SANCHEZ: All right.
All right, Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow is about to make his mark on the Super Bowl in an advocacy ad that's outraged a whole lot of people before they have even seen it. Is that fair? We are going to cut through some of the protests and bring you some of the answers in this controversy.
Up next, though, she wrote the book on one of the most bizarre political marriages we have heard about in some time. That makes her, no doubt, one of today's most intriguing.
Stay with us. The LIST scrolls on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back.
There is a lot of snow falling right now. Let me take you through some of these pictures. That's the White House you see there, obviously, on the left. There's Capitol Hill, top right quadrant, the Mall bottom right quadrant. And just there at the left is looking out from the Executive Office Building of the snow as it's coming down right now in our nation's capital.
So, once again, we're going to keep you up to date on all the goings on with the weather. And Chad Myers is going to be taking -- that's pretty cool, huh, that little four-box that Rog put together there?
MYERS: Yes, I like it.
SANCHEZ: It's like, if you were in Washington, it's like you would be able to check out all the different parts.
And, once again, we should underscore it's not just Washington.
MYERS: Of course, right. We're going to get to Columbus. We're going to get to Indianapolis. We're going to do all the big cities.
SANCHEZ: All right. Tammy Wynette saying, stand by your man, but a high-profile political wife has done just the opposite. Meet our most intriguing person.
Let me tell you about her. She quit investment banking and managed her husband's campaigns. And he became governor. And, as governor, he cheated on her and completely humiliated her by announcing publicly that he had found his real soul mate, and it wasn't her. It was some woman in Argentina. She filed for divorce and she wrote a book. South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford is one of today's most intriguing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA WALTERS, ABC NEWS: Mark refused to promise to be faithful when he took his vows. Did that bother you?
JENNY SANFORD, WIFE OF SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR MARK SANFORD: You know, I have thought long and hard about that now, given where we are today. And it bothered me to some extent, but, you know, it just -- I questioned it, but I got past it, you know, along with other doubts that I had.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Intriguing as she is, Jenny Sanford makes the list. By the way, Jenny Sanford will be on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE" Monday night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEYES: It's quite obvious that this isn't about Republicans and Democrats. It may be about the failure of both parties and the whole party system.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: If the political system is broken, is the Tea Party the right fix? Up next, we check in with conservatives cruising for better political options.
And then later, a mystery surrounding Charlie Sheen's car. Was anybody driving it before it crashed? And how did it end up at the bottom of a ravine? Lots of questions, Charlie, or Charlie's lawyer.
We will be right back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez in the world headquarters of CNN.
Tea Party organizers like to compare themselves with our forefathers, so let's do that. Let's do a little comparison. When our forefathers Adams, Jefferson, and the rest of these unbelievable men who created our country wanted to meet and form our union, they would ride on horseback for days and days on end, only to arrive in Philly for a convention with sparse or no accommodations. And, of course, they were not paid.
In fact, it cost them, dearly, to get there. Sarah Palin is flying into Nashville to speak, and if people want to hear her speak, they need to pay $350. That's on top of the $550, as we understand it, that they're paying for the nonprofit event in the first place, which is why some folks are criticizing this particular event, including people who consider themselves part of the Tea Party movement.
Then there's this: the Tea Party cruise. Did you hear about it?
Hear's CNN's Jim Acosta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bye, baby!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On board this cruise ship, easing into the U.S. Virgin Islands, among the thousands of passengers ready for some fun in the sun...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are just not ready for this mad charge to the left.
ACOSTA: Members of a rising American political movement are having a meeting of the minds. Led by former Republican presidential candidate Alan Keyes, more than 100 conservative and Tea Party activists and their families rented out space on this ship for what was billed as the Cruise for Liberty.
MICHAEL O'FALLON, SOVEREIGN CRUISE PRESIDENT: We believe in free enterprise.
ACOSTA: Cruise organizer Michael O'Fallon markets the seven-day voyage as a chance to talk politics in paradise.
O'FALLON: Right now, people are wanting to be with other conservatives. Maybe they feel like they're a little bit out on an island someplace by themselves. And they're...
ACOSTA (on camera): So to speak.
O'FALLON: Yes, so to speak. Right, exactly.
ALAN KEYES, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Give everybody access to health care. And if you don't want it, we'll shove it down your throat.
ACOSTA (voice-over): At the pre-cruise kickoff at this Miami hotel, Keyes explained why he believes the Tea Party is gaining steam.
KEYES: I think it's quite obvious that this isn't about Republicans and Democrats. It may be about the failure of both parties and the whole party system.
ACOSTA: Conservative activist Alan Gottlieb sees a golden opportunity.
ALAN GOTTLIEB, SECOND AMENDMENT FOUNDATION: A lot of people have never been involved in politics before. They know nothing about politics. They're extremely naive. They're angry and they're upset. And they're venting their frustration by attending these rallies.
ACOSTA (on camera): And so your job is to get them involved.
GOTTLIEB: Capitalizing, mobilizing.
FLOYD BROWN, CONSERVATIVE ACTIVIST: We could easily slip back into slavery.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Cruise for Liberty speakers Floyd and Mary Beth Brown have a Web site calling for President Obama's impeachment.
MARY BETH BROWN, CONSERVATIVE ACTIVIST: I know all of us need some encouragement in fighting this battle and -- against Obama who's trying to destroy America. And I know all of you love America and are fellow patriots.
ACOSTA (on camera): When it comes to President Obama, this is no love boat. Liberal critics of these conservative expeditions through the Caribbean say they're another picture-perfect example how the Tea Party movement can sometimes go overboard.
(voice-over): Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons worries the tone at some Tea Party events onshore and off is getting out of hand.
JAMAL SIMMONS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Are we just talking about voting differently or are we talking about something a little bit more edgy than that?
ACOSTA: Want edgy? Keyes refers to the president as "the present occupant of the Oval Office". He still questions Mr. Obama's citizenship, even though the White House and the Republican Governor of Hawaii, where the president was born, have produced evidence refuting the charge. ALAN KEYES, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't see how you impeach somebody who may not be president in the first place. So because -- and that's...
ACOSTA (on camera): That's your position (ph)?
KEYES: ... if, according to the Constitution, you are not eligible for the presidency and that does turn out to be the case, then Barack Obama was never president. You don't impeach somebody who never was...
ACOSTA: Oh, come on. How can that be? How can he...
KEYES: No. I'm sorry. You don't understand what constitutional government is all about.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Later this year, there'll be more Tea Parties in the Caribbean aboard the Liberty ship and the Newsmax Cruise, sponsored by the popular Conservative Web site. But the founders of one leading Tea Party group wonder whether this is the best use of the movement's time during an election year.
ACOSTA (on camera): Would you go on a Tea Party cruise?
JENNY BETH MARTIN, CO-FOUNDER, TEA PARTY PATRIOTS: I -- You know, right now we're working about 20 hours a day. I can't even imagine any cruise, much less a Tea Party cruise.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. We have no time for cruising.
ACOSTA (voice-over): But other Tea Partiers on these trips argue hitting the high seas is just a new way of cruising with a cause.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: And just to let you know, once again, on a programming note, that we are going to be committed to covering everything coming out of Nashville this weekend during that Tea Party convention. We have several correspondents following all the developments there. And you will be able to see them here live as they happen during our Saturday and Sunday coverage.
Meanwhile, we also have this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm pretty freaked out by it. And I don't want to get any closer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just can't believe that we're not warned before we come in here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Well, you don't need to be warned. They're fine. They're not even going to mess with you. You would want to be warned, too, though, wouldn't you, if you're smack in the middle of thousands of alligators? We Gates take you there, from a safe distance, of course.
By the way, did I tell you that's my hometown? I used to jog there?
And, by the way, this too, the blizzard or the blizzard-like conditions, as they're being called. Depends on the winds, as Chad told us. Capitol Hill is getting hit hard right now, but so is a whole lot of other places along the Eastern Seaboard.
This is the LIST. I'm Rick Sanchez. We're scrolling on for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. I want to show you the place where I used to jog. It's beautiful scenery, by the way, well-paved paths and giant reptiles.
Let's do "Fotos."
This is Shark Valley. It's about 45 minutes from my house in South Florida, where I grew up, where my mommy and daddy still are. People come here from all over the world to check out the gators, lots and lots of gators. They ride their bikes, they take pictures up close to the gators, they gawk.
Now, you're going to notice here that there is very little distance, and certainly no bars preventing you from coming up close to those gators. However, if you feed or taunt the gators, you will be thrown behind bars.
BALDWIN: You love the gators.
SANCHEZ: I love the gators. I do. It's my favorite animal in the world. Them and pigs. Don't put them together though.
SANCHEZ: To California. Police showed up at actor Charlie Sheen's house. And once they weren't coming for him, the actor's car was found at the bottom of a cliff. His rep released a bizarre statement about this incident to police, saying the reports that police have received thus far are accurate enough.
BALDWIN: Hmm. What does that mean?
SANCHEZ: Accurate enough. Exactly. Are we leaving something out here?
And finally, to Brazil. When you are on live television, anything can happen -- like this.
BALDWIN: Oh, down he goes.
SANCHEZ: Down goes Frazier. One minute he's doing football commentating -- I mean, football, as in goal!
BALDWIN: Goal.
SANCHEZ: He's fired up, and the next minute he's falling down. I guess television isn't for the faint of hard in soccer, as we call it.
Don't worry, he's OK. He says the heat just got to him. Poor guy.
BALDWIN: Poor guy.
SANCHEZ: Talk about timing. President Clinton heads to Haiti on a humanitarian mission on the very day that 10 Americans are charged with kidnapping. Suddenly he's embroiled in this entire thing. Can he possibly get them out of jail and out of the country, out of trouble?
Details coming up. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
SANCHEZ: Meanwhile, we've got breaking news going on once again. Boy, I'll tell you, we've been full of developing stories.
I told you about what's going on in Haiti. All right?
Ten Baptist missionaries are down there. They're incarcerated. They're in jail. They're being charged with child trafficking, just as the man who's in charge of the Haiti relief effort, the former president of the United States, Bill Clinton, arrives.
Well, guess what? Bill Clinton is now speaking. There are some questions as to whether or not he's going to even be involved in this thing.
Our Joe Johns is in Port-au-Prince, and he's caught up with the president.
Stay there. When we come back, exclusive access to Bill Clinton right here on CNN.
RICK'S LIST returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Boy, I'll tell you, this is one of the most captivating story we've seen in a long time.
Ten Americans go to Haiti. It seems like their intentions, their hearts are in the right place. They're going to try to help some children, maybe even ferry them out of the country.
The problem is -- there we see them now where they remain behind bars. The problem is, in the process they may have violated the laws of Haiti when it comes to taking children out of the country.
And I've got some new information I was just given, by the way, that I just learned that seems to indicate that, according to Haitian law, a judge now has three months to decide whether he's going to prosecute them. In the meantime, they could sit there in jail. Because the seriousness of their crime is so -- because it's such a serious crime, they don't get to post bail. They've got to stay behind bars in Haiti.
Joe Johns is joining us now. He's there. He's picking up the story for us.
And Joe, as strange as this may seem, Bill Clinton, who's the envoy to Haiti and in charge of the relief there, has suddenly come into the country, and there seems to have developed some expectation that he's going to step into this fray.
What do you know? JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as far as stepping into the fray, I asked him point blank, "There are people here who are saying you're going to be the governor of Haiti," and he said, "The answer to that is no." He told me that as far as he's concerned, if they think he's going to become a neo-colonialist, if you will, that's not something he's going to do. He said he's too old for that.
But then he sort of went back and re-articulated all the things that the U.N. asked him to originally do, and then pointed out, of course, that there's been an earthquake since he got that charge. And now he has some additional responsibilities.
But now, getting back to the point that you're asking about, which is the missionaries, more or less, it's clear that he's talking to people here in Haiti about it -- the prime minister, the president. And among the things President Clinton said is that they don't want this to be become a distraction to the larger relief effort. Also said that the government of Haiti is not looking for a fight on this issue, that they're simply trying to protect their children because of concerns of people coming into the country and believing that they can just walk away with children, especially in this time of crisis.
And he also said that, in his view, it's likely that the government is going to be able to get together, figure something out and, in his words, defuse the crisis. So, Bill Clinton clearly is putting the onus right now on the government of Haiti to work this out.
Nonetheless, it doesn't sound like they really want to go to a full trial. You know, I asked him, look, the judicial institution in this country has pretty much collapsed. And he points out that, yes, yesterday they had to have their hearing outside -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: You know, I've got to wonder, though, because I guess what I'm getting at here -- and I'm wondering if you've got a handle on this part of the story -- is we've seen people like former President Jimmy Carter go to countries and create a position where they're actually conduits to try and see if they can talk to both sides and get Americans released. We've seen the Reverend Jesse Jackson do it in Cuba, do it in parts of Africa.
Is that a role this former president, Bill Clinton, would be comfortable with, dealing with this particular case? Or do you think he's even interested in it?
JOHNS: You're talking about being a facilitator here. And it's an interesting position for the United States government, because on the one hand, they're going to be very active in whatever happens here in Haiti, as is the United Nations. On the other hand, they don't want to be accused of taking over a sovereign nation like Haiti. That would be politically a really big problem for the United States government, including the former president of the United States.
So it looks like they're trying to sort of stay in the background and say, you're a sovereign nation, you have your own laws, you have your own duties and obligations, and you handle this, and we're sure you're going to do the right thing. That seems to be what's going on here -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Right, right, right. And there's always those meetings from time to time that nobody finds out about as well.
Joe Johns, great job reporting on that story that a lot of folks here have been carefully following.
Take care, my friend. Appreciate it.
Now this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These numbers, while positive, are a cause for hope, but not celebration, because far too many of our neighbors and friends and family are still out of work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: OK. That's President Obama's cautious take on today's jobs report. It's also been a rough week on Wall Street, by the way. We're talking the politics of money and some Tea Party as well, next with Wolf Blitzer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Perhaps the most watched football player in the world, and in many ways the most respected football player in the world, he's there at the Super Bowl. No, he's not going to be playing. He's just a college kid.
Still, former Gator quarterback Tim Tebow is going to appear in a 30- second spot with his mother during the Super Bowl. Imagine how many millions and millions and millions of people are going to see that thing. You'll never hear the word "abortion," but the message is going to be very clear, whether you agree or disagree. Allowing a highly-charged advocacy ad during the Super Bowl represents a sea change for television.
Marjorie Dennenfelser is president of the Susan B. Anthony List, a longtime anti-abortion activist who supports CBS' decision to air the Tebow ad. Also with us is the opposing point of view. That's Terry O'Neill. She's the president of the National Organization for Women.
Let me start off with this question. You know what's interesting? Do you know the one complaint I've been hearing about this -- and I hear it all the time, because on my way home, I like to listen to sports talk radio -- I hear a lot of people complaining, not taking sides one way or another. They're angry that something so serious is going to be introduced into a sports game, the one time when Americans get to sit back and just kind of relax.
Terry, what do you make of that?
TERRY O'NEILL, PRESIDENT, NOW: Well, you know, Rick, the reality is that a third of women in this country have abortions. Now, just picture a living room with friends and family watching the Super Bowl, and this ad comes on. It's quite divisive.
I think the underlying message of the ad is that women who choose to have abortions should be shamed. And that is going to me a very real -- it seems to me a real downer. It poisons the atmosphere in the living rooms of people all around the country watching.
SANCHEZ: Well, describe divisive. Describe divisive, because there's people who say, look, they're using the airwaves to state their position. Why do you say it's divisive?
O'NEILL: The abortion issue in this country is one that is heated. Most people know where they stand, they know what they believe. And like I said, for the millions of women that have had abortions in this country, to be told subtly, maybe inferentially, that they should be ashamed, that's not the thing that you want in your living rooms, it's not the kind of thing...
SANCHEZ: But are they being told?
Well, let me bring Marjorie into that.
MARJORIE DANNENFELSER, PRESIDENT, SUSAN B. ANTHONY LIST: Thanks.
SANCHEZ: Are they being told that they should be shamed? Look, I haven't seen the ad. OK? Have you guys seen it?
DANNENFELSER: No, no. Look -- no, they're smarter than that. None of us have seen it yet. No. Nobody has seen it yet. They're a lot smarter than that.
O'NEILL: No.
DANNENFELSER: But no, listen, this is a beautiful, uplifting story of one woman's decision to mother, a choice to mother. And the result of that, which is the inestimable value of her son. It is uplifting and beautiful, it says nothing about any other choice. And I would say...
SANCHEZ: And just to...
DANNENFELSER: ... that if you're opposed to this idea...
SANCHEZ: Hold on. Hold on. Let me just -- because you just said something. And some of the viewers who are following the conversation may not know what we're talking about.
DANNENFELSER: Go ahead.
SANCHEZ: In the ad, Tim Tebow's mother is interviewed, and she said she could have made a decision because her doctors recommended, because she was ill at the time, that she should have an abortion. She chose not to, she chose to go ahead and have her son. That's the general plot of the ad.
DANNENFELSER: Right.
SANCHEZ: So that's what you're talking about. DANNENFELSER: And the -- right. And NOW's response is that this should be silenced, this message should be silenced.
And my question is, what are you so afraid of? And I say, be not afraid.
Women can handle information. They can handle this beautiful story.
They are not so feebleminded that they can't filter it. And be not afraid at the free market of ideas. Put your best, most compelling, loving, ,beautiful sacrificial ad about abortion up, put them next to each other, and see who wins in the free market of ideas. That's the pro-choice approach, I would have thought.
SANCHEZ: What about it, Terry?
O'NEILL: You know, we all celebrate when Pam Tebow can make the decision herself about her own health care, her own future and her own family. But Focus on the Family, which paid $2.8 million or $2.5 million for this ad, they're not going to use their donors' money that way unless it advances their agenda.
Focus on the Family's agenda is to overturn Roe versus Wade, to make abortion "illegal and unthinkable." That is the message of the ad, that's the messenger of the ad. And of course we celebrate that Pam Tebow could make the decision that she made for herself, but Focus on the Family doesn't want another woman, same situation, to perhaps make a different situation for herself.
SANCHEZ: What about a competing ad? Why not just put up another ad that gives the contrasting message?
O'NEILL: Man, if I had $2.5 million -- first of all, that's not free speech, and I wouldn't spend it on CBS. I would spend it achieving my organization's agenda by going to the grassroots.
SANCHEZ: OK. That's fair.
DANNENFELSER: A lot of people are listening.
SANCHEZ: Marjorie, what would you do with that?
DANNENFELSER: I just said a lot of people are listening.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: By the way, is the ad going to air? Are we positive this thing has already been cleared for air?
DANNENFELSER: Yes.
SANCHEZ: It has?
DANNENFELSER: Yes. I think every indication is that it would.
But let me just address her point, because if you really want to love and serve women, and help them bring their children into the world, because you believe their children ought to have a chance, then you inspire and then you provide the practical means. This ad is inspiration that will reach millions and millions of women who may be in a difficult place. And if it allows several children, even a handful of children to come into the world that might not have, and the pro-life movement comes in to help, or whoever helps to come and let those children be brought into the world, it will have been worth it. $2.5 million is nothing compared to the life of one child.
SANCHEZ: Terry and Marjorie, we're going to have to leave it there. Interesting discussion.
I'm glad that both of you were here to share your points of view on this. It's the type of discussion, as I always say, that a lot of Americans have over their dinners as well.
DANNENFELSER: Thanks, Rick.
SANCHEZ: Thanks again.
By the way, when we come back, Wolf Blitzer is going to be joining me, and he's going to be talking about some of the issues that you're going to be talking about around your dinner table. And we'll even see if we can et get him to pick somebody for the Super Bowl. I doubt he'll do it, but we'll try.
Stay there. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: My buddy Wolf Blitzer is joining me now. He's getting ready to do his weekend.
Except, hey, Wolf, I don't even know how you're going to be able to get around. Have you looked outside? Have you looked outside your window?
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Rick, Rick, everybody's got to calm down. You know where I'm from originally. You know that.
SANCHEZ: Well, you're from Buffalo.
BLITZER: Well, you know what? Those of us who grew up in Buffalo, we know snow. This will be a nice little snowstorm, but let's not get crazy.
SANCHEZ: It's going to be over in a wink, right?
BLITZER: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Hey, before we move on to the more heady stuff, I need to ask you about the Super Bowl.
I know your Bills aren't in it. My Dolphins aren't in it.
BLITZER: Yes, 30-28 -- 30-28, that's going to be the final score. SANCHEZ: Manning, right? You going with Manning?
BLITZER: I'm not saying who's going to win. I'm just telling you it's going to be 30-28.
SANCHEZ: You know, I got interviewed by SI., and I tweeted my response.
BLITZER: What was yours?
SANCHEZ: I said my heart is with the Saints.
BLITZER: Of course.
SANCHEZ: But my brain tells me that Manning's kid is going to pull it out.
BLITZER: Of course.
SANCHEZ: I mean, you know. I mean, I hope not. You can't help but root for the Saints because...
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: I just want a great game that will be exciting all four quarters. I'm hoping it goes into extra -- a little overtime would be good.
SANCHEZ: Yes, that would be nice. Wouldn't it? And it's in my hometown, by the way.
BLITZER: In Miami.
SANCHEZ: In Miami.
BLITZER: They've got a good crowd there, I know.
SANCHEZ: Hey, listen, I've got to ask about the Tea Party convention, because everyone seems to be talking about it. And it was a big part of our conversation today.
I made an analogy that a lot of folks at the Tea Party say we're just like the forefathers were, and that we're doing something -- and comparing it with the words "Tea Party." But a lot of folks are having a problem with that, giving the fact that people are paying over $500 to go to this thing.
It's more ritzy than you would think. I mean, you think of our forefathers getting on a horse and traveling for days to get to the convention in Pennsylvania. These folks are getting there in style.
Is it the right message?
BLITZER: You know, I guess it's up to all these individuals, how they want to do it. And you hear about the Tea Party. There's no one national Tea Party. There's a lot of different sides of this. All of them are upset about the huge amount of spending that's going on right now -- the national debt, the annual budget deficits. They're not happy with big government. But, you know, you hear a lot of different sides of the Tea Party. There's no one single movement. A lot of it, though, as you know, most of it, I think it's fair to say, is very critical of the Obama administration.
SANCHEZ: But it also has the potential, does it not -- and I know you've spoken with a lot of your associates there -- doesn't it have the potential of creating that separation, creating a rift in the Republican Party, a la Ross Perot?
BLITZER: I think it's fair to say that this is -- this is sort of an air to not only Ross Perot, but Ron Paul as well. You'll remember the influence he had in 2008. And I think it's fair that this is an extension of that, but not necessarily exactly the same thing.
And one thing that's really interesting right now, there is no one leader, no one national leader of the Tea Party. Maybe Sarah Palin is about as close as they're going to get. Tomorrow night, she's going to be delivering the big keynote address in Nashville, but there is no real individual who's the leader.
There's a lot of different parts of the Tea Part. It's a major movement now. It's got a lot of influence. It's a political phenomenon, and we're going to take a close look at it in "THE SITUATION ROOM" as well.
SANCHEZ: Yes. It's a great phenomenon and it's a great story. I'd like to see if they can deliver -- if they can deliver a candidate like a Marco Rubio, for example, in Florida. Or, you know...
BLITZER: Yes. If Marco Rubio could beat Charlie Crist for the Republican senatorial nomination, that would be a big deal.
SANCHEZ: Hey, Wolf, look forward to "THE SITUATION ROOM."
BLITZER: One more question you've got to ask me.
SANCHEZ: Go ahead.
BLITZER: Why am I wearing this red tie?
SANCHEZ: OK. Why are you wearing this red tie?
BLITZER: Because it's a very special moment for the American Heart Association.
Do you know what the number one killer of women in the United States is?
SANCHEZ: What's that?
BLITZER: Heart disease.
SANCHEZ: Wow. BLITZER: A lot of cardiologists, male cardiologists, don't even know that more women die from heart disease than men. So a lot of us are wearing red today to highlight the importance of women understanding all the issues involving heart disease.
SANCHEZ: You see the one I'm wearing?
Gary, go in tight on this.
You see this?
BLITZER: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Yes, breast cancer awareness.
BLITZER: That's good, too.
SANCHEZ: It's the one that I'm wearing as well.
See the little mark right there? I've got one of those ties.
Boy, you got me on the right day, Wolf.
BLITZER: All right.
SANCHEZ: All right, buddy. Appreciate it.
"The List U Don't Want 2 Be On," that's next. Stay there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On."
Number three, Sheila Dixon, was the mayor of Baltimore, pleaded guilty to taking gift cards meant for poor people. Went shopping and brought herself a spot on her list.
Tom Tancredo, former congressman, told Tea Partiers the people who supported President Obama couldn't spell the word "vote" or say it in English.
Who is number one? Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota, taking the hit for two bad, bad weeks for his car company, apologizing today for the problems that triggered an eight million car recall. In Tokyo, he says, "I feel we are in stormy weather. We lost customer perspective. It's very unfortunate."
Toyota's going to shell out more than $2 billion to fix all those cars.
Akio Toyoda topping "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On."
Wolf Blitzer, here now in snowy Washington in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
