Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

GM Chief to Resign; New Government Rescue Plan for Auto Industry; Gunman Kills 8 at Nursing Home; Red River Still Dangerous; Candid Conversation with RNC Chair Michael Steele; Blasting Pope on Condom Stance; Newspapers Stop the Presses

Aired March 29, 2009 - 22:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. I'm Don Lemon.

Breaking news out of Detroit tonight. Rick Wagoner is out as chairman and CEO at General Motors. An official announcement is expected tomorrow. And the timing is no accident, because tomorrow President Barack Obama will announce his new plan to rescue GM and Chrysler, and before he commits to another multi-billion dollar bailout, the president says he wants major changes at the two automakers. And tonight, that change includes new leadership at GM. Current COO Fritz Henderson is expected to take over for Wagoner on an interim basis.

And we're just getting some details on what the president's plan will mean for GM and Chrysler. For General Motors, the administration will give the company enough money to get through the next 60 days while it completes its restructuring.

And for Chrysler, we have learned, the government will come through with up to $6 billion and give the company 30 days to complete its planned alliance with the Italian automaker Fiat.

CNN's Susan Candiotti is in Detroit tonight with reaction to these breaking developments.

What are you finding out, Susan?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, workers that we spoke with are on both sides of the fence. Some are saying that this could get the company moving in the right direction again, but others are badly shaken by it and they don't blame all the company's troubles on Wagoner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STAN REAM, GENERAL MOTORS EMPLOYEE: I'm outraged because it's a forced resignation. I can't believe that the -- that our country, our administration, has the power to force a CEO out of his job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Now, this, of course, comes on the eve of the president's restructuring plan. So far, we know that he might just give enough money to keep the company afloat for a while. But if this means that more jobs will be lost, well, other union workers don't like that at all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL FERGUSON, UAW LOCAL 160: We need customers. We need people with money in their pockets to buy products. We don't need any -- well, broke auto workers that can't buy their own products.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Don, I think it is safe to say that when these workers return to their jobs first thing in the morning, this will be the talk of the town. It already is.

LEMON: That's the talk of the nation now. Thank you very much for that. Susan Candiotti in Detroit.

And as we have reported, President Barack Obama will announce that updated government rescue plan for GM and Chrysler. He'll do that tomorrow. In an interview aired this morning, Mr. Obama said the automakers still have work to do when it comes to restructuring their operations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What we're trying to let them know is that we want to have a successful auto industry, U.S. auto industry. We think we can have a successful U.S. auto industry, but it's got to be one that's realistically designed to weather this storm and to emerge at the other end much more lean, mean and competitive than it currently is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And not everyone in Washington is convinced the automakers can or should survive in their current form. Republican senator and former presidential candidate John McCain says pouring more government money into GM and Chrysler isn't worth it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: They should be put into bankruptcy in a prepackaged fashion, which they can emerge and then be viable and competitive. To keep feeding them billions of American taxpayers' dollars is a gross misuse of American taxpayers' dollars.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: GM and Chrysler have been kept afloat since December by more than $17 billion in government loans. The two companies employ about 140,000 workers right here in the U.S.

In other news tonight, a senseless mass killing today at an Alzheimer's facility in Carthage, North Carolina. At least eight people are dead, several others are wounded. The gunman, identified as 45-year-old Robert Stewart, was also wounded and is in custody. Witnesses say he was heavily armed when he walked in and opened fire. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAMMY CLARK, CARTHAGE, N.C. RESIDENT: Started shooting. To my understanding, he was shooting at the residents and the workers.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Shooting everywhere and anybody? I mean, just shooting at everything?

CLARK: To my understanding, he went into some of the rooms and shot some of the people right there in their bed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Seven patients ranging from 78 to 98 years old were killed. A nurse also died. No word yet on the possible motive. The suspect did not work at the home, and it appears he was not related to any of the patients there.

To the weather now. In the upper Midwest, Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota are still in the icy grip of an epic flood. The swollen Red River crested yesterday just shy of 41 feet. It is inching downward, but remains dangerously high and threatens temporary levees there. It's already found one weak point on the Fargo side, flooding a local school. And there's more snow on the way, so the river will start to rise again.

CNN's reporters and all of our resources monitoring the situation minute by minute. Our Jacqui Jeras, you see her there in the CNN severe weather center. We want to go to the ground now. We begin with Ted Rowlands in Moorhead, Minnesota.

Ted, some homes lost in Moorhead, but overall folks have really got a little bit of breathing room right now.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Don. The level of the Red River down, which is great news, but the battle continues in this form. There are dozens of homes right now on 24/7 watch using these sump pumps and sandbags to keep the Red River water out of their homes. It is a battle that they are not going to end until the river goes down to normal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS (voice-over): The pumps under Mark and Cathy Vanyos's Moorhead, Minnesota home have been working around the clock, while a wall of sandbags holds back the Red River. The ice on this tree shows how much the water has dropped. While the Vanyos are happy they're winning the battle, they said their thoughts are with their neighbors whose homes are flooded.

MARK VANYOS, MOORHEAD, MINNESOTA RESIDENT: Those neighbors are my friends and we see them all the time, and we know and have looked at their homes that are under three feet of water on the main floor of their houses, and they're going to come back and see that and the cleanup is going to be horrendous. ROWLANDS: Across the Fargo-Moorhead area, all eyes remain on the river. Overnight, water broke through a floodwall in Fargo, damaging a local high school. Blackhawk helicopters dropped several one-ton bags full of sand and clay to help fix the problem.

Meanwhile, Fargo city officials accuse the federal government of pressuring them to evacuate the city. Mayor David Walaker said people here are different than they are in the rest of the country, and insinuated that federal officials should take a back seat.

MAYOR DAVID WALAKER, FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA: We will have losses. We understand that. But we're not going to abandon our city. We have too many. We invested too much in this process to walk away from it.

ROWLANDS: According to FEMA, there was never a directive to do anything. This statement was given to CNN saying, quote, "We've had frank and open discussions, and we feel they've done very good work in getting vulnerable citizens out of harm's way. These are tough decisions that, in the end, are up to local governments to make."

Meanwhile, the Vanyos, their neighbors and thousands of others here are keeping a close eye on the river and the dikes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are not out of the woods yet. This dike could fail.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: And, Don, it really is amazing that this is playing out for the fifth day in some cases of homes barricaded up with these sandbags and dikes. People staying up 24 hours a day in shifts. Neighbors are helping out, coming in, taking different shifts, making sure that these pumps continue to pump the water so that these homes can withstand the pressure of the Red River, which is just constant and will be until the river level drops.

LEMON: Ted Rowlands, Moorhead, Minnesota. Thank you very much for your reporting, Ted.

Let's turn now to our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras standing by in the CNN severe weather center.

Jacqui, what's the latest?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, the latest is that that river continues to go down, but not by much. Actually, this is how much it's gone down here, Don -- about a foot. That's it. We still need to go down 20 more of this to get the river back to its banks. So, just to have an idea of the long road that we still have against -- up against us, and, you know, all that pressure that's still being pushed upon those dikes and upon those levees.

Now, precautions were taken today to help support some of the weak spots. Take a look at this video that we have coming in out of the Fargo and Moorhead area, and look at the bottom of that chopper at the end of that string. That is one ton of sand. So, they're taking these huge sandbags, basically, and gently putting them down to reinforce some of those weak spots.

Now, let me talk about where some of these weak spots are, and a lot of it has to do with just the shape of the river. Take a look at all these bends and curves on the river. We call these oxbows. And as the water moves around these curves, it pushes additional pressure, and today that's kind of what happened, we think, where the school got flooded and one of those levees were breached.

Let's go ahead and take a look at the flood forecast in this area. There you can see that decline. We're below the record stage now. So that's good. But a good week, at least, in major flood.

Now, there are some complications to talk about, unfortunately. We've got a pretty powerful storm that's going to be tracking south of the Dakotas tomorrow and into Tuesday, and that will be bringing in some heavy snow and some strong winds. The worst of it will be to the south and west, we think, of the Red River valley.

But look at that forecast snowfall totals. We could see anywhere between 6 and 12 inches, but what we're more concerned about probably, Don, is the winds, because the winds are going to be gusting between 20 and maybe 30 miles per hour. And that's going to push the water in the Red River and create some waves and create more pressure upon those dikes.

LEMON: Exactly what they don't need. OK. Thank you very much for that, Jacqui.

JERAS: Yes.

LEMON: And make sure you stay with us. Lots of questions about the auto bailout like, does outgoing GM CEO Rick Wagoner get a golden parachute?

Plus, the spotlight on RNC Chairman Michael Steele. This week, I talked with him about his political aspirations and his personal side -- something you never hear. Twitter, MySpace, Facebook or iReport.com is how you get your responses on the air. We want to hear them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We'll talk more about President Obama's new attempt to rescue the U.S. automakers and tonight's breaking news that General Motors Chairman Rick Wagoner is resigning. An official announcement about GM CEO is expected tomorrow right after the president reveals his plan to provide billions of dollars to GM and Chrysler in return for major corporate restructuring.

We're going to talk now about the breaking developments surrounding the auto industry with Peter Morici. He is a professor of international business at the University of Maryland, and he joins us now from Washington.

Thank you, sir, so much for joining us. You know, how much -- starting off, we've got a lot to cover here. How much did President Obama have to do with the resignation or the stepping down of Rick Wagoner?

PROF. PETER MORICI, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: Well, certainly, Mr. Bloom, who's in charge of the task force, would have wanted this done, but he couldn't do it without President Obama's say-so. Clearly, Obama wants change and this is one way he's motivating it.

LEMON: OK. What does it have to do with the president's plan then?

MORICI: Well, essentially, the president wants these guys to negotiate new labor contracts and to negotiate with the bond holders. They've been unable to get deals with either group. He can't fire Ron Gettelfinger, the president of the UAW, but he can fire -- or the bond holders, but he can fire the CEO. So that's what he's done.

LEMON: So, he's got to make changes somewhere and that's where he's doing it. Here's the thing that a lot of people have been asking me about on Facebook, Twitter, just e-mail me -- is Rick Wagoner going to get a golden parachute?

MORICI: Well, he would normally get something in a circumstance like this. However, they got TARP money, and that puts restrictions on it. We'll just have to see what's announced tomorrow.

LEMON: OK. I mean, how does this affect other CEOs who, I'm sure, are paying attention to this?

MORICI: Well, actually, I think this strengthens the hands of Ford and Chrysler, because the CEOs there can say to Gettelfinger, the president of the UAW, look, I've got to get this done or I'm going to get fired, too. Because sooner or later, Ford's going to be at federal door just like General Motors and Chrysler. It certainly strengthens Nardelli's hands.

LEMON: Yes, you know, but Wall Street CEOs aren't being asked to resign. Is this a double standard?

MORICI: Absolutely. It seems as though on Wall Street, you know, they created much bigger problems, they've taken much more money for themselves, but yet they don't get fired. I think part of the fact is that Wall Street delivers lots of campaign contributions from all those rich, young MBAs. General Motors, Ford, Chrysler don't. Certainly a double standard. Campaign money taints the whole issue.

LEMON: Is this the beginning of the end for the Big Three?

MORICI: I don't believe so. I think the country has made a commitment to preserving General Motors and Chrysler. Excuse me, General Motors and Ford. Chrysler's an open question. Chrysler emerged from the 10-year merger with Daimler without adequate engineering capability and not a lot of cash. So, it really needs a joint venture partner. Enter Fiat. Makes a lot of sense. They provide the small cars designs and engineering they need in exchange for some stock. So, I think that they will all continue to exist.

LEMON: Peter Morici, we appreciate your expertise. Thank you, sir.

MORICI: Take care.

LEMON: Here's what you guys are writing about.

Soxwriter says, "I want GM to succeed. We need an auto industry in the U.S.A. People forget we wanted the big SUVs GM provided. GM can adapt."

MeLaMachinko says, "I think it's funny how efficiently the White House can bully the auto industry while bending over for Wall Street."

Marloarts says, "Make smaller cars with innovative storage and shut up and drive. Stop crying!"

Idakota says, "I think it's great to help them. This way the people who work there can continue and help grow the economy."

Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com is how you get to us here and you get your responses on the air just like those folks.

We're going to stay on the auto industry restructuring plan, and we'll be talking with "Chicago Sun-Times" Washington bureau chief Lynn Sweet and our own political editor Mark Preston in just a bit.

We're also going to talk to them about another story making headlines this week. Caught on tape. A Dallas police officer refuses to let a young man get to the bedside of his dying mother-in-law. You have to hear what happens to believe it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: President Barack Obama is getting ready to travel overseas, but before he leaves, he is expected to announce tomorrow his plan to help save the auto industry. On Tuesday, he is traveling to London, ahead of the G-20 summit. There, Mr. Obama and other leaders will talk about the global economic crises. When that's over, the president is off to France for a NATO summit on Friday.

CNN political editor Mark Preston and "Chicago Sun-Times" Washington Bureau Chief Lynn Sweet, both joining me tonight.

Hello to both of you. Mark, I will start with you. What do you expect the president to say tomorrow during his auto industry rescue announcement?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, Don, I think he previewed today on "Face the Nation" when he talked about sacrifice. It's going to be the unions. It's going to be the GM executives. It's going to be the shareholders. There needs to be some sacrifice if the U.S. auto industry is going to survive.

And, Don, what we do know is that Barack Obama is doing very well on just about every issue. One of the issues he's not doing very well on is how he's handling the auto crisis. In a recent CNN poll, it shows that only about 46 percent, 47 percent of Americans agree with how he's handling it.

LEMON: Well, you know what, Lynn? For the first time, really, I mean, this one, you know, all the Wall Street, that does affect people but in a very different way. I mean, he's going to an industry that was once the backbone of the American economy, and this really goes to the heart of Americans, this issue of the bailing out the automakers.

LYNN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "CHICAGO SUN-TIMES": Yes, it does. It's not only the autoworkers that are employed right now that are at issue. But there's more than 100,000 people on pensions right now who would face trouble if, if the Big Three go under entirely. Tomorrow, watch for a president who's going to ask for GM, in effect, to have the new 2009 model come out of the company. We already know, as you said, that the CEO has been forced out by the White House.

LEMON: Yes. And, you know, I'm just looking at -- I have some of the information back here that we've been talking about. What's been coming out, what he's going to do for General Motors. Going to give the company enough money to get through the next 60 days. I mean, these are, you know, what we can confirm this evening. And then Chrysler, the government is going to give them up to $6 billion and give the company 30 days to complete its planned alliance with the Italian automakers.

John McCain said this morning, Mark, that, hey, we shouldn't be rescuing the automakers. We should just -- if they're going to falter, just let them falter and let them go.

PRESTON: You know, and we've heard that a lot from Republicans specifically, Don, who say that, you know, the markets will correct itself. Capitalism will thrive and when big automakers like GM are out of date, maybe they shouldn't be around any more.

LEMON: OK. Let's talk about the G-20 summit that's coming up. You know, he's taking his stimulus message really to the world. It's just not about selling Americans, Lynn Sweet. You know, back in -- I think it was in July when he was in Europe and he had crowds of like 3,000 in Berlin and what have you, do you think he's going to get that sort of reception when he goes to sell the stimulus package to the G- 20?

SWEET: Well, I was in Europe then and that crowd in Berlin was something that they, you know, helped organize. So, no, there's no mass rally like that. But I do have -- he had a great reception from all the leaders in Europe and I think he will have a great reception. But now, he has to also get the buy-in from the other leaders of the G-20 to get them to boost their stimulus packages, too.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Yes. Perhaps the better question is, do you think they'll buy -- the G-20 leaders are going to buy into this stimulus package?

SWEET: Well, the answer is, I'm not sure right now. And this also is coming at the same time when there might be some protest over his policy of adding more troops to Afghanistan. You know, there might be some, you know, we've seen some reaction already in England -- in foreshadowing this.

But the finance ministers have already met with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner in the run-up to this. And I think that there's an understanding that this is a global economic crisis. Just not sure what the global response is going to be.

LEMON: And very interesting, Mark. We're going to turn the corner here because, Mark, we worked together this week in Washington, D.C., and I've never really seen so much of a response to not just one question -- two questions. Would you consider running for president and why did you do the thing with Rush Limbaugh?

I've never seen so much of a response, really, than those two questions to the Republican national chair. Yesterday, the Florida chair for the Republican National Committee said that Michael Steele wasn't in trouble. I'm hearing from others in the Republican Party that he might be. Why?

PRESTON: Well, I'll tell you. I don't think he's in trouble either. I have to agree with Jim Greer, who's the Republican Party of Florida chairman. There are a lot of people frustrated with him, particularly social conservatives, Don. They don't necessarily like his public views, his public stands on issues such as abortion and gay marriage.

But you know something? Michael Steele has had a tough couple of months since he was elected chairman. He's gone out. He's done some interviews. He said some things. He really needs to focus in on building up the national party and we certainly have seen that until you did your interview and he said a couple of things there.

LEMON: Yes. But the interesting thing is, you know, any Republican will tell you that the party is in need of diversity and is in need of growing. And in many ways, may be irrelevant when it comes to some of the issues. They're not speaking to the issues that Americans find relevant, Lynn Sweet. Do you agree with what Michael Steele says that minorities should look at the GOP because it's the best way to leverage their vote and their political clout?

SWEET: Well, I think he had a message that I've heard from other Republicans who said that this is message-specific, not even race- specific or even gender-specific, and that you should work in your own self-interest. In the case of the Republican chairman, he's saying the answer then leads you back to the Republican Party.

But, you know, he has a tough challenge to get more minority Republicans in his fold. It will be interesting to see if he puts out a budget, if he has a budget, to do recruitment. It's interesting to see if he can recruit more minority candidates in areas. So, he has a lot of work to do, but, you know, yes, it was an interesting interview. One quick point you were able to make with him is that he seemed to bristle over the idea that somehow President Obama paved the way for him, Don. I thought that was a pretty interesting point. LEMON: Well, yes, there's a lot more to that interview. I wish we could get more of it now. Unfortunately, we only have so much airtime. We appreciate both of you. Thank you so much for your input and have a good two hours or whatever is left with us.

SWEET: Thank you.

LEMON: All right. Good to see both of you.

Just ahead, more on the president's plan to rescue General Motors and the latest on the flooding situation in Fargo, North Dakota.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: You might have tuned out yesterday or been doing something on the weekend. In case you missed it, a lively discussion happened here last night about the Republican Party. The topics? Reaching out to minorities, easing up on radical issues or become irrelevant. Florida's RNC chair Jim Greer and outspoken radio host Michelangelo Signorelli.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM GREER, CHRMN., FLORIDA REPUBLICAN PARTY: Let us not forget African-Americans and Hispanics are Americans, too. The same challenges that Americans across this country face, African-Americans and Hispanics face those same challenges.

MICHELANGELO SIGNORELLI, SIRIUS XM RADIO HOST: That is true. But as long as the Republican Party as under George Bush maintains a very extreme view on affirmative action on cracking down assault weapons...

GREER: OK, but we don't have George Bush anymore. George Bush is not in the White House anymore.

(CROSSTALK)

SIGNORELLI: ...in cities against the assault weapons then.

(CROSSTALK)

GREER: Well, the Republican Party, come on.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Hang on. Hang on. One at a time, please.

SIGNORELLI: We have seen African-Americans disenfranchised because of Republican officials, when they tried to go and vote. All of these issues. That's not window dressing. That's really changing the issues.

GREER: We can't talk about the future. We can't talk about the future if we're constantly going to revisit the past. I agree. Maybe we did some things wrong in the past. (END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The latest now on two breaking stories we're following ahead. At General Motors, a stepping down according to White House and GM sources. CEO Rick Wagoner's resignation comes just one day before President Barack Obama officially announces his plan to restructure GM and Chrysler. But, tonight, we have learned from senior administration officials that the Obama administration is giving GMN two months' worth of financing. Chrysler will receive as much as $6 billion and 30 days to complete an agreement with Italian automaker Fiat. Both have already received billions in government bailout loans.

Other breaking story tonight is out of North Carolina. That's where 45-year-old Robert Stewart is accused of killing seven elderly patients and a nurse at a nursing home near Raleigh. Now, several others were wounded, including a police officer and the suspect. Investigators don't have a motive. The suspect did not work at the home and it appears he was not related to any patients. The dead patients range in age from 78 to 98.

People along the Red River in the upper Midwest hope it will be lower tomorrow than it is right now. The river reached its historic high yesterday, just short of 41 feet. It's gone down a bit since then, but up to 10 inches of snow is expected over the next several days. So, residents in North Dakota and Minnesota are urged to stay on guard.

It is not just the Red River Valley, all across the country, the weather has been wild most of the weekend. The Great Plains are dealing with the aftermath of a major blizzard. The storm is blamed for two deaths in Kansas and in Tennessee. Local officials say the sky turned strange colors as powerful winds ripped through Murphysboro. No serious injuries were reported there.

Jacqui Jeras in the CNN severe weather center to tell us about -- we can call it crazy weather. This is bizarre.

JERAS: Yes, I mean, I can't remember the last time I was this busy with so many different storm systems and natural disasters at one time. So, yes, really juggling a lot.

And we've got a new one to put into the mix, Don. And this is a new blizzard. Different system. A little further north than the last one. And our big concern with this blizzard is not only that we think it's going to be very crippling for travel, people really need to stay put with this one, but it's also going to be bringing in some heavy snow into the Red River Valley along with some strong winds and those winds will be pushing the waves in that river and into the flood plain and pushing up against some of those dikes.

So, that's what our worry is -- that tomorrow is going to be a really critical day on whether or not those dikes are going to be holding. There you can see the snowfall accumulations for the Dakotas. 8 to 15 inches expected in South Dakota. And you head on over into Montana, we're talking 10 to 18 inches of snowfall. So, that's quite a doozy of a storm.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: Jacqui, thank you very much for that.

There are a number of organizations that are providing volunteers, food and supplies for people in the path of the rough weather there. You'll find the links right here, CNN.com/Impact. That's "Impact Your World" page. CNN.com/Impact.

OK. Time for your comments, and I know there are some good ones tonight.

LaMonte says, "Reading the newspaper seems a bit cumbersome in comparison to the web version. Web is easier to navigate and interactive." As we've been talking about -- is this the death of newspapers?

WoodyWoodcaster says "How come my ZO6 Vette gets 48 miles per gallon on the highway and they say America doesn't make economical cars. Goes 0-60 in under 5 seconds." Be careful.

Mesha3 says, "We all know that these CEOs are going to get paid. The Big Three need to go out of business. I love my Kia. Had no problems."

Tiffany says, "Let them fold. The ones that can survive will survive."

I can see you laughing, Mark, especially at the Corvette one.

Log on to Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com. Tell us what you're thinking. We'll get your responses on the air. OK. So that's what they're saying on Twitter and on Facebook and all those things.

So, Warren and Martha, what's on tap for the radio? Those are our radio hosts tonight. There they are. Warren Ballentine, Martha Zoller.

Martha, let me start with you.

MARTHA ZOLLER, RADIO HOST, "THE MARTHA ZOLLER SHOW": Sure.

LEMON: My conversation with Michael Steele. He seems to be pretty serious about reaching out. And, you know, I've been doing this a lot because people think that African-Americans and Hispanics, at least in the last election, were tied to the Democratic Party. He says we've got to reach out, but he says he doesn't want to change any of the core values. How do you do that without any compromise?

ZOLLER: By communicating it better. I mean, that's what you do. And you do like Ronald Reagan did. Ronald Reagan reached out to the masses instead of just to the base. I think with the Republican Party and the Democrats, to some extent, have made mistakes over the last number of years. Has been that they think they've got to shore up their base first rather than reaching out. And I like what Michael Steele had to say. I've been a strong supporter for years. I mean, he has been, you know, a very strong communicator of the message.

LEMON: So, the issues, Warren, that are important to the Republican Party, you know, abortion, gay marriage, no gay marriage, guns, those sorts of things, are they selling something that African- Americans would want to buy?

WARREN BALLENTINE, RADIO HOST, "THE WARREN BALLENTINE SHOW": I think the Republicans need to do a couple things. First, I think they need to show African-Americans that, you know what, 90 percent of African-Americans can have the core values of Republicans. They really do, if you look at abortion to gay right issues to other issues.

But more importantly, they have to go back and get to know the people. I mean, even with radio and television, you have some talented people who are running these companies, but they're so far up that they don't really understand what the people want. And that's the same thing that's going on with the Republican Party.

They have, you know, if I was advising it more, if I was in the Republican Party, I would tell them, look, go to these major cities. Let's take Chicago, for example. It's been Democratic my whole life. The schools aren't any better. The crime rate is still up. Why not give us, the Republicans, a shot. They need to take it to the people.

LEMON: I think he says that, you know, that's what they're doing. He said the Republican Party actually is a party of Lincoln and Douglas. Abolitionists went to the Republican Party and that's why they started, because it's the party of the people.

All right. So, let's move on. Let's move on. We're going to talk about something else. I want to go and talk about the Dallas story with the police officer and the football player. Warren, I know that your listeners were -- they were talking about this. Did you have this on Friday?

BALLENTINE: Yes, I did.

LEMON: And what were they saying about it? Because when you listen to it, it's like, oh, my gosh, how insensitive can you be? Why can't you just escort him to the hospital and figure out if what they're saying is true.

BALLENTINE: Well, you know, Friday was very interesting for me because a lot of my listeners wanted to jump to race on this and I purposely steered them away from that because this isn't about race. This is about training. We have to educate our officers the right way. And my suggestion to everybody, to all the police forces out here, we need to have town hall meetings with the officers so they can become more familiar with the areas they are actually policing to be able to work with the community.

LEMON: Martha, do you think this was a case of profiling or was just a rude officer?

ZOLLER: Well, I mean, I hope it was just a rude officer, but I can't deny that profiling goes on. I don't know if it's just among black men. I think younger men in general get profiled more than, say, a middle-aged woman like myself.

LEMON: You're not middle-aged. You're still young.

ZOLLER: Thank you, thank you. But, you know, what I'm saying is that -- is that I think young men, younger men, have a harder time being believed by the police than do the rest of us.

LEMON: I agree with that because when I was younger, I would get stopped. Well, you know, my parents had a nice car. What are you doing in this car? And I couldn't distinguish if it was because I was young or because I was African-American, or maybe it was a combination.

(CROSSTALK)

BALLENTINE: I don't know, Don. I don't know, Don. If you look at the statistics, if you look at what happened over the last 15 or 20 years, I haven't seen anybody white get gunned down for a traffic stop. But I've seen a lot of black and Latinos get gunned down for a traffic stop.

LEMON: OK. Let's talk about Mexico. You e-mailed me, Warren, because you saw our conversation about Mexico last night, and you're like, we have got to talk about this. OK. Go for it. What do you want to talk about?

BALLENTINE: Well, I think we need to be focusing on this. I mean, when you think about all the drugs that's coming into this country and it's really just overtaking our teens. I mean, I can honestly say this, Don. You know this. I go around and I speak in college campuses all the time. And what I tell to these young men and women, and I would say 95 percent of the room has either done drugs or know somebody who's done it.

LEMON: Well, here's the thing, here's the thing. Mostly, people have been saying this about marijuana, about marijuana. It is a double standard. The government is selling medical marijuana.

BALLENTINE: Yes, that's right.

LEMON: Yet, they're arresting people who have small amounts of marijuana. And if you want to control it, if you want to make sure that what you're selling isn't going to kill anyone or isn't going to be harmful to anyone, if it's used as prescribed, wouldn't the best way to do it is to decriminalize it or either to regulate it, Martha?

ZOLLER: Well, the problem, though, is when you got Hillary Clinton saying we're as much to blame as the cartel leaders are in what's happening across here. Look, I am reconsidering my position on marijuana because I think that it's right out there.

But, when you look at it, the border of the United States of America is as dangerous as the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan right now. It is a serious, serious problem and they're using the same methods -- beheading people, shooting people down in their cars. We've got to take a serious look at this, but by blaming the users as much and the United States of America as much as the cartel runners, that's not going to get you anywhere.

LEMON: Well, it's because...

BALLENTINE: America plays a role in this, though. Even when you go back to when Reagan was in office and they're putting the drugs in the black communities to support the Iran-Contra war.

ZOLLER: Oh, come on.

BALLENTINE: I mean, we play -- we play a big role in this. You don't believe that, Martha, but that was going on in the black community.

ZOLLER: I don't believe it.

BALLENTINE: It was going on.

LEMON: Do you guys remember this? Just what was the slogan for the Reagan administration for drugs?

ZOLLER: Just say no.

LEMON: Just say no. I say just say no to any more conversation because we're done with both of you.

BALLENTINE: What happened to dare?

LEMON: Hey, thank you, guys. Appreciate it.

ZOLLER: Thanks, Don.

BALLENTINE: Thank you.

LEMON: Good talk to you.

Spotlight on Michael Steele. Our exclusive conversation, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Michael Steele is an African-American first, the first black man to chair the RNC, and I spoke with him this week. Did you know that he got kicked out of John Hopkins University, that his mom refused to go on welfare, or that he attended a monastery and thought about becoming a priest? Tonight, the personal side of Michael Steele.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: The cornerstone of your life, your mother?

MICHAEL STEELE, RNC CHAIRMAN: Yes, I mean, she's the one that made it happen. You know, she kind of -- she kind of, you know, put the markers in place and sort of set the pathway.

LEMON: Second chances. I know you believe in them because of what happened at John Hopkins. So, how much does that mean? I mean, you actually, you almost lost it.

STEELE: I did lose it. I got kicked out of school when I was a freshman at Hopkins. Absolutely. They were like, I'm sorry, this isn't going to work. And I was like, no, you don't understand, I got to go tell Mabel. You don't understand. I have a black mama. No, you do not understand. I cannot have this conversation.

Then, I'm like, Mom, I have something to tell you. She's like, what? Well, I just got kicked out of Hopkins. Nothing, she didn't say a word. She's still stirring the grits. Puts the food on the table. Her back is stooped. She turns her back. Starts cleaning up the kitchen.

LEMON: So you know you're in trouble.

STEELE: I know. I just know this is not good. That no good is going to come from this at this point. And she just looked at me and she was leaving the kitchen. The only time she looked at me and said, well, baby, I don't know what you're going to do, but come September you're going to be at Hopkins. And she left the kitchen.

I was like, OK, maybe she didn't quite understand what I said. And I went back every single day to meet with this dean and to plead my case.

LEMON: Persistence.

STEELE: And let him know, look, I get it, I know where I blew it. Because, look, I, you know, I went to Hopkins and, you know, my first day I'm running for class president.

LEMON: But were you partying?

STEELE: Was I partying? Absolutely. Absolutely. I was like, look, I'm not going to play, you know. I was actually a very studious kid. No, I was like, oh, look at her, hey, what's up? You know, I was doing the whole thing.

LEMON: It's probably the reason you didn't become a priest, as well.

STEELE: No. Actually, I entered the monastery after I graduated college.

LEMON: OK. But still could be the same reason, the same motivation behind it. But I say that to say that you believe in second chances. Do you believe in giving people? STEELE: Sure, absolutely. I believe that there -- I believe in the redemptive power that comes from that. And that everyone, at some point, has something or some circumstance in which they want to redeem themselves, because they know themselves better than how they perform.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Next, he talks about the importance of family and how he balances his personal and professional life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: In our continuing series, "Up From a Past: African- American Firsts," the first African-American to lead the GOP in its history talks about family and the importance of his own legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: I know that you're very committed to your work, but what about your family, your sons and your wife?

STEELE: They're my life's blood. I mean, you know, the tough thing about doing what I do and why a lot of many women like me, and I'm sure even true for the president, whether you're running for a higher office or running for a dog catcher, if you put yourself out in the public in any measurable way, there's a huge toll on the family. It's time taken away from them. There are conversations that are missed. There are things that happen that you look back on and go -- damn, you know.

LEMON: It sounds like your one regret.

STEELE: Pardon me?

LEMON: It sounds like your one regret -- not being able to spend as much time...

STEELE: Yes, it is, it is. I mean, and I don't regret much. I'm not a regretful person. I don't look back and second-guess.

LEMON: Do you think Dr. King would be proud of you?

STEELE: I would like to think so. I would like to think so that Dr. King wouldn't sit back and go, well, he's a Republican, therefore. That's not right. Particularly given that, you know, this great debate. He was a Republican. At least we know his daddy was, you know.

So, what does it matter what his political affiliation? What matters was what the man tried to do with his actions. And he tried to create a world in which there could be a Barack Obama and a Michael Steele. Think about it. 43 years after he told us of his dream, you have two African-American men sitting at the pinnacle of political power in this country. One running the country and the Democratic Party. The other running the Republican, the National Republican Party. The loyal opposition. How cool is that? I think that to me is just -- that's the testament of King's dream, it's a testament to the resilience of the black community. And something I hope we appreciate about ourselves is that from within our community can come two competing ideals, visions, directions that empower us to make a choice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Michael Steele.

The ailing newspaper industry, can it be saved? What you have to say, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A show of support and attacks over the Pope's controversial position on condom use.

Today, about 100 African Catholics gathered in St. Peter's Square backing the Pope's statement that condoms can aggravate the AIDS crisis. Well, the Pontiff made that comment during his recent trip to Africa.

In the other corner, tens of thousands of critics of the Pope's stand have vented their fury on Facebook, pledging to send millions of condoms to the Vatican. And the British medical journal, "The Lancet," is urging the Pope to retract what it calls his wildly inaccurate statements.

In case you haven't noticed, U.S. newspapers are folding at an alarming rate. Some are switching to online only. Others have pulled the plug completely. The "Rocky Mountain News" stopped its presses at the end of February after 150 years. The "Seattle Post-Intelligencer" fell right behind it and it's almost as old. Even some of the biggest newspapers and the most well-known papers in the country are bleeding red ink and might not survive.

Here's what you guys are saying about all these stories including that one.

This is sura_93. She says, "It would be a terrible loss to culture as a whole if newspaper were to die. It would be greatly missed."

And Prophetess1015 says -- Prophetess, Prophetess1015. Stop laughing, Tom (ph). It looks weird on the prompter. We still need trained journalists to investigate stories, to report accurate news. Papers need help, but I'm tired of bailouts." A lot of us are.

Tallh77 says, "No need to bail them out. They need to adapt to the new way of media communication."

All right, those are your comments about newspapers. Possible death of newspapers.

Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, iReport.com, that's how you get to us.

Keep in touch with friends, help catch crooks. Facebook can help you do both. A neighborhood crime is now solved, thanks to the popular Web site.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: For all you who think social networking sites are all fun and games, it's really not true. The Facebook community helped snag a crook. A man in Brunswick, Georgia had two of his company trucks broken into and items were stolen from them. He told his wife, who immediately posted the news on Facebook, and her post led to other posts that eventually led police to their man.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL CHAPMAN, THEFT VICTIM: The officer was on a tough job (ph). She had fingerprints. She had a suspect, but Facebook went just like cyberspace, straight to the crime, and got our criminal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Here's what Al Chapman says. He says he wasn't a fan of Facebook until it helped solve the crime. Glad you're a fan now.

We are on Facebook and we're also on Twitter. Hey, look, this is the last thing that I have to say. Wlperie says, "The newspaper industry can't be saved. A bailout will only delay its demise. CNN carries the only news we need anyways." I agree with you on that one.

Here's what Cholmes says -- Cholmes6 says, "GM's problems started a long time ago with Roger Smith. The head of GM doesn't usually deserve to be, he was just next."

OK. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, iReport.com. That's how you get to us. We even take your comments when not in the air. I check them all the time. People say, is that really you, Don Lemon? It is me. I'm Don Lemon. I'll see you back here next weekend. "D.L. HUGHLEY BREAKS THE NEWS" starts right now.