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Gay Rights Activists March in D.C.; Weighing Afghan War Options; U.S. Troops Face Hidden Dangers; Teen Gays Talks About Obama's Speech; Blocking Rush Limbaugh; Jim Plunkett: Latino First
Aired October 11, 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: Tonight, thousands of gay Americans out and proud converge on the nation's capital with a message to the country and the president.
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(CROWD CHANTING)
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LEMON: President Barack Obama, hearing their calls, speaks out on gay rights.
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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I will end "don't ask, don't tell." That's my commitment to you.
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LEMON: But will lawmakers let him keep his promises?
Professor Henry Louis Gates and one of America's favorite talk show hosts traveling back in time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Legal electrocution. Cause of death - legal electrocution. They electrocuted him?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: It's an emotional history lesson for Tom Joyner and his new fight for justice tonight.
And Rush Limbaugh, ready for some football, but is the NFL ready for him? Tonight, the players union is speaking out, and it is not so nice.
Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live in the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
It was a big weekend for America's gays and lesbians. Today, thousands of them marched through Washington to make their case for equal rights. Their walk from the White House to the capital comes a day after the nation's largest gay rights group hosted President Barack Obama at a black tie dinner.
And the president aligned his political agenda with the group's goals on several major issues, but he offered no time lines on when he would fulfill his ambitious promises.
President Obama got a warm reception last night. He told the Human Rights Campaign that he supports the group's views on legal protections against job discrimination and a range of other issues, but his pledge to end the military's "don't ask don't tell" policy got some of the loudest applause.
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OBAMA: We cannot afford to cut from our ranks people with the critical skills we need to fight anymore than we can afford for our military's integrity to force those willing to do so into careers encumbered and compromised by having to live a lie.
So, I'm working with the Pentagon, its leadership, and the members of the House and Senate on ending this policy. Legislation has been introduced in the House to make this happen. I will end "don't ask don't tell." That's my commitment to you.
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LEMON: The president's pledge remains a work in progress and he still has work to do with lawmakers opposed to changes in the current policy.
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SEN. SAXBY CHAMBLISS (R), GEORGIA: We've got a program that's working within the military. It's been very effective, very accommodating for about 15, 16 years now. And it's worked well. And I think there's no reason to change it. I get calls from military personnel on a regular basis every time this issue gets stirred up. And this is not a popular discussion within the military, I can assure you.
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LEMON: All right. Let's get the meaning behind the words now from CNN's political editor, Mark Preston, and Lynn Sweet with the "Chicago Sun-Times" and PoliticsDaily.com.
Mark, I'll start with you. The president has received praise and criticism, but the question is -- was this speech politically risky?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: You know, for President Obama, I'm not sure if it was politically risky for him, Don. He had said similar things on the campaign trail.
You know, what he's done now, though, is that he's actually said it officially. He's gone out giving a major speech. So, he's going to take major action. So, for him, he's going to take critics. You know, they're going to come after him. But the fact is now he needs to try to put it into force.
For some Democrats, though, this is going to cause some problems. They represent constituencies that don't agree with everything that President Obama said last night.
And it's also going to be problematic for Republicans who are trying to talk about growing a big tent party at a time when they're trying to rebuild the party.
So, I think it's going to cause a little consternation for both Democrats and Republicans.
LEMON: That's an interesting perspective. I haven't heard that one.
But, Lynn, in your last column, you quote Steve Hildebrand, the president's former deputy campaign manager, as saying, "We have to hurry up and get things done because we are not going to have a Democratic president and Democratic majorities forever."
Talk about that.
LYNN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "CHICAGO SUN-TIMES": The president noted that his -- these activists among his biggest supporters were impatient with him. He acknowledged it. But, Don, the point is, if you have a Democratic president and Democratic House and Senate now, this is the only way to get any of these gay rights measures passed. That's what Steve Hildebrand was talking about. The window is closing. That's why the pressure Obama acknowledged needed to be put on him and on Congress.
LEMON: OK, guys, let's talk about the Nobel Peace Prize now.
Mark, there has been considerable criticism about whether the president is deserving of the Peace Prize. He actually said it himself when he made that speech in the Rose Garden when he got it.
RNC Chairman Michael Steele, though, had this to say. He said, "The real question Americans are asking is: What has President Obama actually accomplished?"
He goes on to say, "One thing is certain -- President Obama won't be receiving any award from Americans for job creation, fiscal responsibility or backing up rhetoric with concrete action."
Fair criticism, Mark?
PRESTON: Well, you know, Don, oftentimes politicians try to go to the plate or use a baseball metaphor here and they swing for the fences. They try to hit a home run.
I'll tell you, once he made that statement, I talked to several Republicans who work for leaders on Capitol Hill, and they were shocked that that statement was made.
Look, it is his job as RNC chairman to attack President Obama, to try to knock him down. On this issue, though, he might have swung from the fences and missed.
LEMON: All right. Well, Lynn, you know, the president went to church today, took his family to church in Washington possibly counting his blessings. Everyone likes a win here, but is there a downside for him being awarded a Nobel Prize?
SWEET: Absolutely. Who would have thought with a bad run of luck Obama had last week, he won the Nobel Peace Prize?
For him, it's a distraction. All it does is raise expectations. All it does is bring out conversations like this where people say you're a superstar that hasn't accomplished anything.
And that's why this is a distraction for the Obama team. This was not on their radar. They don't need these conversations about whether or not he deserves a prize. He did not seek and never even thought he was in the running for.
LEMON: Yes and, you know, maybe a little bit troubling to the Democrats as well, Mark. There's a new Mason-Dixon poll that shows Harry Reid in trouble in his home state of Nevada. Is this indicative of what we're seeing around the country? I mean, he is behind 10 points from Sue Lowden there, his Republican and possible Republican opponent. She hasn't even got the nomination yet, has she?
PRESTON: No, no, she hasn't got the nomination. And look, he is down 10 points in that poll. There was a poll done a few months earlier that showed that Harry Reid was in just as deep trouble.
Look, this could be indicative of what we're seeing across the country from Nevada. I mean, we're seeing an unemployment rate, Don, of over 13 percent. The national unemployment rate is 9.8 percent.
And for Harry Reid, he knows that Republicans are going to be gunning for him. He says that he'll raise up to $25 million to try to hold onto this seat. And let's not forget that, you know, his predecessor, Tom Daschle, was taken out by Republicans just a few years ago.
So, you know, this could be problematic for Harry Reid, could be problematic for Democrats.
LEMON: Well, Lynn, isn't that point you were raising when you were talking about gays putting pressure on the president now?
SWEET: Yes. These are not permanent majorities, especially in the Senate. They don't have too many seats to spare. So, if there is a Democratic agenda, if there's an Obama agenda, there's more pressure as each month goes by to get it done now while you have these majorities and just a year from now you might not.
LEMON: All right. Lynn Sweet and Mark Preston, thank you so much.
SWEET: Thank you.
LEMON: What does it take to win the war in Afghanistan?
President Barack Obama getting a flurry of advice from the right and the left over a potential troop surge. Democratic Senator Carl Levin, head of the Armed Services Committee, says right now he doesn't want to send over any more combat troops. And compare that to what Republican Senator John McCain told our John King today.
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JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you think the United States can win in Afghanistan with fewer than 40,000 more troops?
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I do not. And I think the great danger now is not an American pull-out. I think the great danger now is a half-measure, sort of, you know, trying to please all ends of the political spectrum.
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LEMON: President Obama will meet with his top advisers again on Wednesday to discuss the future of Afghanistan.
A new song sounds a lot like the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. It was leaked on the Internet hours before an official release. You're going to hear it here on CNN.
And imagine finding out your relatives were wrongly executed. It happened to one of America's favorite radio hosts, Tom Joyner, who will be here in the Newsroom to share his incredible story.
But first, a chilling 911 tape released in the investigation of an Arizona sweat lodge. Two people on a spiritual retreat are dead. We take you inside what's now a criminal investigation.
And be a part of our conversation tonight. Join us on any of the social networking sites you see right there on your screen.
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LEMON: A celebrated high school marching band is singing the praises of a music teacher who died when the bus -- the band's bus flipped over.
The American Fork High School Band was heading home to Utah from a competition in Idaho last night when the bus driver suffered a medical emergency. That's when 33-year-old Heather Christensen spring into action -- that's according to the band director. She grabbed the steering wheel, but fell out of the window and was killed when the bus rolled over. Dozens of students were hurt but none of the injuries are life-threatening.
A 40-year-old hunt for a fugitive hijacking suspect has ended right where it started at New York's JFK airport. In 1968, prosecutors say Luis Armando Pena Soltren and his accomplices boarded a Pan Am flight at JFK and diverted it from Puerto Rico to Havana. Well, today, the 66-year-old Soltren was finally nabbed getting off a flight from Cuba to JFK. He is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday.
A crowded carpool headed to -- filled with little girls, they were going to a slumber party, well, becomes a highway nightmare with an accused drunken mom at the wheel. The car flipped on Manhattan's Henry Hudson Parkway early today, killing 11-year-old Leandra Rosado.
You see her there with her single dad, who says Leandra dreamed of becoming an actress.
Police say 31-year-old Carmen Huertas lost control of that smashed sedan that you see right there while driving seven girls to the Bronx including her own daughter. She's charged with driving while intoxicated and also with vehicular manslaughter. The driver and the surviving girls were treated for minor injuries.
Deathly ill from sitting in a sweat lodge. Twenty-one people got sick and two of them actually died after a spiritual cleansing in Arizona. They were 40-year-old James Shore and 38-year-old Kirby Brown. Brown's family says, well, she was a hiker, a surfer, a picture of good health. So, what happened inside that sauna-like hut?
KNXV's Rudabeh Shahbazi has the chilling 911 tape for you.
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CALLER: To people aren't breathing with no pulse.
OPERATOR: Not breathing?
CALLER: Yes.
OPERATOR: OK. Is this the result of a shooting or something?
CALLER: No, it's a sweat lodge.
OPERATOR: Are you there by yourself?
CALLER: No, there's a lot of people here.
OPERATOR: OK. Well, get them out of the sweat.
CALLER: Yes, we are.
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RUDABEH SHAHBAZI, KNXV-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Twenty-one people rushed to area hospitals Thursday night after sitting for hours in what was supposed to be a spiritual cleanse.
ANNA LISA BROWN, SEDONA RESIDENT: I was surprised that people would put themselves in that situation, but not surprised because, you know, people are really looking for things to fulfill themselves and make them -- give them purpose. SHAHBAZI: Sixty-four people were at the Angel Valley property at a retreat put on by the famous spiritual guide and author James Ray. You may have seen him on "Oprah" or "Larry King." He also helped write the book "The Secret."
Investigators say some paid up to $9,000 to spend time with him.
MARIO BLACK WOLF, OWNS A SWEAT LODGE: Everybody has the right to believe and practice the way they wish to. But when it endangers the lives of others or when you have to pay for it, that's not a spiritual belief.
SHAHBAZI: Sweat lodges are a traditional Indian cleansing ritual. It's basically a sauna where waters poured over hot rocks and steamed as in case inside a shelter.
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LEMON: Rudabeh Shahbazi from our affiliate KNXV.
No charges have been filed yet, but detectives are trying to determine if criminal negligence played a role in the deaths.
Did toxic water at Camp Lejeune caused an outbreak of male breast cancer in Marines and their children? It is a special investigation that you're only going to see here on CNN.
Also, gay and transgender teens speak openly about their difficult choices.
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KATE HILL, TRANSGENDER TEEN: People just don't understand exactly what we go through. They think that, you know, they think that they choose -- we choose to be this way.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Which is to get harassed or something.
HILL: Yes. I don't see who would wake up one day and say I choose to be hated by everyone at my school.
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LEMON: We'll hear much more from two teens -- one lesbian, one transgender, coming up.
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LEMON: At least 23 people are dead in the Iraqi city of Ramadi. It's sealed off following a string of three deadly car bombings. Iraq's interior ministry says the bombs targeted federal buildings. Two of the bombs exploded within 10 minutes of each other, just 15 yards apart. The third blast rocked the hospitals, where dozens of wounded were taken. Officials believe the attacks were carried out by al Qaeda in Iraq.
Now, the latest on a shocking and sad tale, one that may have you asking -- what kind of hell are we putting our troops through?
We have new developments in a story we first brought you two weeks ago. A group of men who believe they got breast cancer from toxic water at Camp Lejeune. Since CNN aired the story, more men are now speaking out and Congress is paying attention to what may be a case of poisoned Marines.
CNN's Abbie Boudreau has more of our special investigation.
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ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are the faces of a rare disease -- male breast cancer. Marines or children of Marines who believe their illnesses came from drinking and bathing in toxic tap water at Camp Lejeune decades ago.
Within two weeks after CNN story first aired, the number of men coming forward with this disease has nearly doubled. The total is now 40 men, all Marines or their children.
MIKE PARTAIN, SON OF MARINE: That's blown me away. I mean, I expected to find some, but to double our number with just one story. And it just -- it begs to ask how many people are out there with male breast cancer from Camp Lejeune.
BOUDREAU: Mike Partain was one of those we first interviewed. As a result of the story, he was asked to testimony before the U.S. Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. Partain was born at Camp Lejeune 40 years ago.
PARTAIN: I was conceived and carried while my parents lived on the base. During the time of my mother's pregnancy, we were exposed to high levels of perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene, dichloroethylene, benzene and bino-chloride in the tap water provided to my family by the Marine Corps.
SEN. KAY HAGAN, (D) NORTH CAROLINA: Mr. Chairman, between 1957 and 1987, Marines and their families at Camp Lejeune drank and bathed in water that was contaminated with toxins at concentrations up to 280 times what is currently considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency.
BOUDREAU: Senator Kay Hagan is from North Carolina where Camp Lejeune is located.
HAGAN: My heart certainly goes out to the Marines and their families who were exposed and affected. A compelling CNN piece just last month highlighted the cases of former Marines and their families who have been diagnosed with male breast cancer. Today, there are over 40 individuals of those cases.
MAJ. GEN. EUGENE PAYNE JR., U.S. MARINE CORPS: The Marine Corps is deeply concerned with all the military and civilian families who are experiencing or have experienced any health issues. We understand that there are those who believe their health concerns may be a result of time spent at Camp Lejeune.
BOUDREAU: The Marines point out, however, that several scientific studies have not identified a link between exposure to the historically impacted water at Camp Lejeune and adverse health effects. With no proven link, many of those who are sick are denied V.A. benefits.
North Carolina Senators Hagan and Richard Burr say those who are ill deserve help.
SEN. RICHARD BURR, (R) NORTH CAROLINA: If they were at Camp Lejeune for those years, that is absolutely essential to the V.A.'s side to take care of them.
BOUDREAU: Partain told CNN that would be a start.
PARTAIN: It is up to the Senate and up to Congress to force the Marine Corps to answer these questions and hold their feet to the fire when they give them the answers and make them explain their answers. That's the only way we're going to get to the bottom of the truth of this.
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BOUDREAU: Senators Hagan and Burr have just sponsored submitted a bill that would give V.A. medical benefits to Marines and their families who may have been exposed to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
LEMON: All right, Abbie. Thank you very much for that.
You usually hear him on the radio in the morning, but you're going to see him right here on CNN in just a moment. Tom Joyner just faced his genealogy and made some incredible discoveries. He has a new fight for justice now as well because of it.
Plus, a rare look inside the battle that killed eight American soldiers in Afghanistan last week. Four of the survivors tell their story.
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ROSS LEWALLEN, APACHE PILOT, U.S. ARMY: My initial impressions were unfortunately when we came over the hill, I first tried to call them and we get no response, that everybody was gone.
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LEMON: The political battle lines are being drawn over the future of the war in Afghanistan. Many Republicans and Democrats are at odds, and there's even some in-party disagreements as President Barack Obama prepares to discuss a possible shift in strategy with his top advisers. He'll do that on Wednesday. But behind all of the political what-ifs of war, there are real men and women putting their lives on the line every day in Afghanistan. Just ask the troops who were serving in the remote Nuristan region last weekend. A brutal Taliban attack left eight soldiers dead, and now the surviving troops are opening up about how they held their ground.
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1ST LT. CASON SHRODE, U.S. ARMY: Probably 90 seconds into the fight, they ended up hitting one of our generators so we lost all power. At that point, I made a call up to -- to Paul Bostick (ph), and I basically just said, you know, we're taking heavy, heavy contact. At that point, I knew that this was something bigger than normal.
SGT. JAYSON SOUTER, U.S. ARMY: We found out that our mortar systems were unable to fire at that time. So, me, I started working on the fire assets with nearby OPs and cops to see exactly what fire support assets we can use.
SHRODE: I think the numbers were so more significant than 25 to 30 that we got -- they got 25 to 30 without initial push but because we were basically surrounded 360 degrees, I think they have significant numbers that allowed them to continue to fight throughout the day.
ROSS LEWALLEN, APACHE PILOT, U.S. ARMY: My initial impressions were unfortunately we came over the hill, I first tried to call them and we get no response, that everybody was gone. We could tell that everything around them was going to hell and we could hear in the microphones, we could hear the guns going off. So we knew that it was a -- it was a pretty intense situation that they were facing.
SOUTER: After the aftermath, Camp Keating was completely changed. Like he said, almost all of the buildings had burned down. There were trees that were cut down trying to save other buildings from catching fire, and then just remnants of a mass attack afterwards.
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LEMON: Strong words about heroic deeds from the survivors, but eight U.S. troops didn't live to tell their stories. And tonight we're remembering the fallen -- Sergeant Justin Gallegos, Specialist Christopher Griffin, Private First Class Kevin Thompson, Specialist Michael Scusa and Sergeant Joshua Hardt, Sergeant Joshua Kirk, Specialist Stephen Mace, Staff Sergeant Vernon Martin.
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LEMON: Professor Henry Louis Gates's program on PBS digs into the lives of African Americans tracing their ancestry. It's called "African-American Lives." He did this project for talk radio host Tom Joyner. Take a look.
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PROF. HENRY LOUIS GATES, DOCUMENTARY FILMAKER/AUTHOR (voice- over): Ruth Griffin was born in South Carolina in 1897. Why they fled South Carolina has long been shrouded in mystery.
(on camera): Now, Ruth Griffin, your grandma, had been born and raised in Blackstock, South Carolina, and her family owned land there. Did you know that?
TOM JOYNER, TALK RADIO HOST: No, I don't know anything about her background. Well, all I know is she left home like he did, and she ended up in Florida, and she didn't stay in touch with her people either.
GATES: Well, her family not only owned land, Tom, they owned 130 acres.
JOYNER: They had 130 acres right outside of Columbia?
GATES: One-hundred thirty acres outside of Columbia, South Carolina. But do you know why your grandmother moved away...
JOYNER: No.
GATES: ... from a place where they owned so much land and had such deep roots?
JOYNER: I have no idea.
GATES (voice-over): According to the 1930 census, the Griffins had disappeared from Blackstock, South Carolina. Now, we know that Ruth moved to Florida, but what happened to the rest of the family?
Two of her brothers were named Meeks and Tom Griffin.
(on camera): I'm going to show you they're destitute.
JOYNER: Richmond County, Columbia, Meeks Griffin, male, colored. No date of birth. Date of death, 1915.
GATES: What's it say?
JOYNER: Legal electrocution? Cause of death, legal electrocution? They electrocuted my (INAUDIBLE)?
GATES: Yes.
We discovered that in 1913, your great-uncles along with three other men were charged with killing a Confederate Civil War veteran, a white man named John Lewis.
JOYNER: Pop said something about that he knew that her brother or her brothers had some problems, and that she left.
GATES: The entire Griffin family, your mama's family, picked up and left South Carolina. And the life that they had built, all that land, they just split.
JOYNER: And what happened to the land?
GATES: Well, they had to sell the land to pay for the lawyer, the lawyer to defend your great-uncles.
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LEMON: Here's Tom Joyner in Plantation, Florida. I imagine you've seen that a number of times. What do you think?
JOYNER: It's an amazing story. What the story doesn't -- what it doesn't say is that John Lewis, the Confederate soldier that was killed, was killed by a pimp.
He was having an affair with a black prostitute, and the pimp was trying to rob John Stevens, and he ended up murdering him. And to make sure that his legacy was intact, they didn't want it known. They didn't want it to be in the record books that John Stevens was having an affair with a black prostitute and killed by her pimp.
And so, they framed my two uncles. The guy who did it confessed in jail that he pointed out my uncles because, quote, "They were the richest 'n-words' in the town and they could afford legal representation."
My uncles got -- my uncles had one day to prepare for a murder trial. And they were found guilty.
There were a lot of good people in that town, too, so much so that they petitioned the governor, saying that it was unjust. And some of those people that signed the petition included the former sheriff of the town, a mayor of the town. There were some good people there in that town that knew that this was wrong.
LEMON: I just let you speak because it is such a fascinating story and the more you learn about it, the more amazing it is.
What does this do for you? Because I could see you, I know you, and I know that your -- the body language is telling me that you're, you know, you're emotional or nervous or. What does that do for you to hear that and to find that out in that moment, you found that out right there in the taping?
JOYNER: I found that out and when Skip does those things, you find out right then and there what your background is. And so when I found that out, I immediately wanted to make it right for my uncles almost 100 years later. So, I hired lawyers. I did my research and we have petitioned the Pardons and Paroles Board of South Carolina. We go before the board on Wednesday morning to get my uncles posthumously pardoned.
LEMON: So, to get them pardoned. And this will make you feel better and I would imagine your family members feel better. Talk to me about that. Why? JOYNER: Well, you know, it's a chapter -- it's a chapter in our life that we can finally find closure to. You see, what most of America doesn't understand is that most of black America, we can only go back so far and when we try to trace our genealogy. This was amazing that we actually found out about this.
And old black people back in the day never talked about these struggles. They never talked about the negative past. They only looked forward. They only look forward to the future, because they didn't have much to look back on that was happy.
And so my father never knew the story about his uncles. He never knew why his mother just suddenly appeared in central Florida in a migrant town called Plant City, and of course, she married my grandfather. But he never knew the story. He knew that something happened that made her run, but he had no idea until Skip, a year before my father passed, came to our house and gave us the results of our genealogy study.
LEMON: Because of the history of the country and the way many African-Americans -- probably most African-Americans came into the country, many of us don't know our histories and our genealogy.
JOYNER: Yes.
LEMON: How does this -- does it, I would imagine, help with personal dignity to find out about your past and where you came from?
JOYNER: You know, I have to admit, Don, that before the -- before the O.J. trial, I knew nothing of DNA. And since then and since Skip did my genealogy study, I have much respect for the science of DNA.
You are where you are because of the people who came before you. And if you know where you have come from, you'll probably be better in the moment and better in the future. And I strongly urge anyone, African-Americans or any race, to go back, find your -- find your roots, find the stories of your ancestors and be inspired.
LEMON: Tom Joyner, will you let us know when there is some sort of movement or closure when it comes to the case in South Carolina?
JOYNER: Wednesday morning, 9:00. And we're supposed to - we're supposed to get a ruling then. Hopefully, it will be positive. If not, you really will hear from me.
LEMON: And I will be listening and hopefully you will come on to talk about that as well, Tom, OK? Best of luck to you. Thank you so much. We appreciate it.
JOYNER: Thank you, thank you.
LEMON: Tom Joyner.
Coming up, as a teenager it can be very tough, so what does a promise of equal treatment for gay Americans mean for young people and their families? I talked with a group of kids to find out about that.
And he's a powerhouse on the air waves, but the head of the NFL players union doesn't want to see conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh as one of the owners of the St. Louis Rams.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: He has not forgotten about gay rights. That's the central theme of President Obama's address last night to the Human Rights Campaign in Washington. He said before -- he said that before, that he supports a repeal of the Defensive of Marriage Act, but he's never taken such a strong stand on protections for same-sex relationships as he did last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: So, I know you want me working on jobs and the economy and all the other issues that we're dealing with. But my commitment to you is unwavering even as we wrestle with these enormous problems. And while progress may be taking longer than you'd like as a results of all that we face, and that's the truth, do not doubt the direction we are heading and the destination we will reach.
(APPLAUSE)
My expectation is that when you look back on these years, you will see a time in which we put a stop to discrimination against gays and lesbians, whether in the office or on the battlefield.
(APPLAUSE)
You will see a time in which we as a nation finally recognize relationships between two men or two women as just as real and admirable as relationships between a man and a woman.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: A presidential promise to fight for equal rights for men and women regardless of sexual orientation. But what does that mean for gay boys and girls and their identity struggle?
Some young people are coming out really early, even in middle school nowadays. So, I talked with two teens from Tulsa and their moms, and here's what they think about the president's speech.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATIE HILL, TRANSGENDER TEEN: It makes me feel really good that he has actually taken a stand for gay rights.
LEMON: And you came out in middle school, right?
HILL: I came out numerous times around middle school and high school. I really came out last year in my freshman year in high school.
LEMON: Transgender, and I've been getting comments from people saying, you know what, these people, leave the transgender people out of the conversation, I want to hear more about transgender people.
As a transgender person, I wonder if it was tougher for you to come out because it's, you know, it's not the gender role that most people would think that you would have.
HILL: Yes. Being transgender, it wasn't as hard to come out to my friends. It was really hard to come out to my family. I really didn't know how to explain it to them, because even until last year, my freshman year, I didn't even know myself, exactly what I was.
And over the past years, they've tried to give gay acceptance and lesbian acceptance and lately I've seen from different shows and from newscasts about transgenders now starting to get more affiliated. I want to talk to my friends about it and told them about myself. They didn't...
LEMON: It kind of makes it easier when people start to know that there are other people, you know, that you're not alone, right, and they start to learn more about transgender. I think it may be -- it may become easier for people to come out.
I want to talk now to Misty. Misty, you came out in middle school as well, right?
MISTY TEUFUL, GAY TEEN: Yes. I came out in my sixth grade year, I was 12. And I came out to a group of friends at a party. And I wanted to get it out there because I didn't know if I was the only one who was going through it. And I was like -- I was like, I'm bisexual and everybody was like, oh, that's cool. And I asked them to keep it to themselves. And next day at school, it wasn't kept to themselves.
LEMON: How do you know, though, in sixth grade?
TEUFUL: It's something that you always know, I guess. I think it's not a choice. It's something you're born with. It's not you wake up one morning, oh, I want to be gay. My mommy didn't tell me that. When I was little, I would tell me the waitresses they were pretty. I mean, I guess I had it from the gitgo.
LEMON: What do you say to people who say, oh, my gosh, these kids shouldn't be coming out in middle school and that, you know, their parents should encourage them to be in their -- to live in their own gender, the gender in which they were born, or to have a relationship with the opposite sex?
Misty, I'll start with you.
TEUFUL: I say that they need to stay behind their kids. It's their person that they created, and they should be able to stand behind them and say, this is who you are and I accept you no matter what. No parent in this world raises their kid to be gay. No parent raises their kid to be transgender. It's not something you sit down and tell your kid. You're just supposed to stand behind them and be with them 100 percent.
LEMON: Hey, Katie, in the short time we have left, I'll give you the last word, real quickly here.
I'm sorry, yes, Katie, go ahead.
HILL: I think parents should, just like Misty said, stay behind their daughter and son in whatever they choose. People just don't understand exactly what we go through. They think that everything we choose, we choose to be this way.
TEUFUL: We choose to get harassed? It's not like that.
HILL: Yes. I don't see who would wake up one day and be I choose to be hated by everyone at my school. I choose to be having the fear of being beaten up every day. I choose to be abnormal. It doesn't make sense.
LEMON: Well, Misty and Katie, you are very lucky to have such understanding and loving parents. So, I thank you, Katie, Misty, Devian (ph) and also Jazlyn (ph). Thanks to you. Have a great evening, OK?
HILL: Thank you.
TEUFUL: Thank you.
LEMON: Best of luck.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Amazing teens there.
The official release of what might be Michael Jackson's final song isn't until midnight, but there's a version floating around on the Internet claiming to be the real thing. You're going to hear it right here on CNN.
And as we count down to our "LATINO IN AMERICA" special, we're taking a closer look at some Hispanic pioneers. Want you to meet Jim Plunkett, the first Hispanic to win the Heisman Trophy. But his accomplishments certainly don't end there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: The head of the NFL Players Union is trying to block Rush Limbaugh's attempt to buy the St. Louis Rams football team. Executive Director DeMaurice Smith criticized the potential bid by Limbaugh's group in a statement sent to the union's executive committee. And it reads in part...
"Sport is at its best when it unifies, gives us all reason to cheer, and when it transcends. Our sport does exactly that when it overcomes division and rejects discrimination and hatred."
Smith said he had been in touch with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. The 32 NFL owners will have the final say on a new owner.
Right here on this program, we are profiling Latinos who overcame obstacles and shattered stereotypes to make history. It's part of our series, "Pioneros: Latino Firsts."
Tonight, the first Hispanic to win the Heisman Trophy and quarterback team to the Super Bowl championship. His name is Jim Plunkett, the son of blind Mexican-American parents. He played at Stanford and later led the Oakland Raiders to two NFL titles.
I talked with him just earlier tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Having two blind parents, I would imagine that that was probably challenging for you as a child, but it probably gave you, I don't know, some initiative or you probably -- it helped you to overcome many obstacles in your life.
JIM PLUNKETT, FIRST LATINO HEISMAN TROPHY WINNER: Well, I think it did. You know, they raised three children, they worked and everything they did was to provide for their kids. And we didn't have much to begin with, and whatever we had they sacrificed for us.
And as -- getting married and having my own kids, you know, you know how hard it is to take care of children when you have, you know, four good eyes between the two of you. And they literally had none.
And so it was a challenge for them, and I think I drew a lot from their strength.
LEMON: You excelled in athletics. What was the focus on academia, on education, in your family?
PLUNKETT: Well, I think, you know, both my parents, they never got past the seventh grade. There wasn't really a lot of learning from them as far as academics go. But I knew that I wanted to make a better life for myself growing up with two parents who couldn't see, who were on welfare.
And every day was kind of a struggle, but I wanted a better life for me and my family to be whoever that might be in the end. So, you know, I was determined, you know, to do well in school and I fell in love with sports no matter what it was on a court or on a field. You know, I wanted to be out there, you know, doing something every day and getting better at whatever I was doing.
LEMON: The reason I asked you that is because I'm looking over the list. You have a long list when it talks about philanthropy and charitable organizations that you have. You know, you speak to Hispanic boys and girls in school. You have a scholarship fund for athletes. And that's the reason I asked you that because it appears education and charity work, very important to you. PLUNKETT: It is. You know, I've been very fortunate that I got out from, you know, poverty situation myself. I know what it's like to struggle. Growing up in particular. And I think when you talk to children and you can reach them early, I think it makes a bigger impact than when they're a little bit older. And so it gets them to strive for things early on in their youth.
LEMON: OK. So I think this is going to be our last question. You know, we talked about you, you know, and what you do. But can I go over your resume for a little bit?
PLUNKETT: Sure.
LEMON: Because you mentioned you led Stanford to the Rose Bowl. Rose Bowl win in Ohio state. That was in 1971.
PLUNKETT: Correct.
LEMON: 1970, Heisman Trophy winner. Number one draft pick for the New England Patriots in 1971. You finished your rookie season passing for 2158 yards and winning the Rookie of the Year honors. You were acquired by the Oakland Raiders, MVP of Super Bowl XV and on and on and on.
So, I have to ask you, do you feel like a pioneer?
PLUNKETT: Well, you know what? Not unless people bring it up. You know, I accomplished all that stuff or many of those things obviously with a lot of help from my teammates and that goes without saying. But, you know, I was very fortunate. I've always been a hard worker. I always strive to be the best that I can possibly be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Thanks very much to Jim Plunkett. And next week as we continue our series here, we'll focus on the first Hispanic to become attorney general of the United States, Alberto Gonzales. You want to see my conversation with him. He opens up about a lot.
And we are just 10 days away from "LATINO IN AMERICA," a comprehensive look at how Latinos are changing America, reshaping politics, business, schools, churches and neighborhoods. "LATINO IN AMERICA" coming up October 21st and 22nd on CNN, the worldwide leader in news.
What happens when the first lady, Big Bird and Conan O'Brien all get together? Is it funny? Is it controversial? We'll show you, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK. So, you know, a lot of people have been talking about the new music from Michael Jackson that is supposed to come out at midnight tonight. But a song that appears to be the music of the late pop star, it's made its way on the Internet. The single "This Is It," that's what it's called, scheduled to be released at midnight tonight on michaeljackson.com. But a song purported to be by the "King of Pop," well, can be found on the Internet. We want to show it to you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK. It wasn't supposed to be released for just a little over an hour from now. Sounds like him, doesn't it, Bonnie?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It sure does.
LEMON: And it sounds like a good song, actually.
SCHNEIDER: And that's only a little clip of it. So, we'll see the -- hear the whole entire song I think very soon.
LEMON: Yes. And it's amazing when you consider now, Michael Jackson even after, his songs are still, I think, on the billboard charts. So, this one...
SCHNEIDER: Yes, still number one.
LEMON: ...yes, is probably going to sell a lot.
OK. So, let's talk about what's going on in the country. We have extreme temperatures, heat and cold. So, what's up with the commute?
(WEATHER REPORT)
LEMON: You're way, way younger than me. Do you remember the "Electric Company" when you were a kid?
SCHNEIDER: Of course, I do.
LEMON: Do you remember "Zoom"?
SCHNEIDER: It was my favorite show, yes.
LEMON: What about "Sesame Street"? I always wanted to be in "Sesame Street."
SCHNEIDER: Love it.
LEMON: The reason I asked is because I've never seen "Sesame Street" like this. Big Bird, Bonnie, and the gang heckling the first lady during a visit to Sesame Street. What gives?
SCHNEIDER: That does not sound like them.
LEMON: Well, I think it's satire, but "Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" spoofs the Obamas. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIG BIRD: Well, look who is here to push her husband's socialist health care agenda.
ACTRESS SPOOFING FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA: Well, Big Bird.
BIG BIRD: Or maybe you're here to finally show us your husband's United States birth certificate.
ACTRESS SPOOFING FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA: No, Big Bird, I'm not.
BIG BIRD: That's because you can't. Are you absolutely sure he wasn't born in Kenya?
ACTRESS SPOOFING FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA: I'm sure, Big Bird.
BIG BIRD: That's not what the basket bunch says.
SESAME STREET CARTOON CHARACTER: Yeah, your husband is a stinking liar.
SESAME STREET CARTOON CHARACTER: We're going to run him out of office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Certainly not the "Sesame Street" you know or I know.
SCHNEIDER: Lettuce and Tomato are usually much nicer. They don't say something like that.
LEMON: Most people find it funny, but there are some people who were a bit offended by it.
SCHNEIDER: I'm sure.
LEMON: It was supposed to be all in fun. Thank you, Bonnie.
SCHNEIDER: You're welcome.
LEMON: Stay right here. At the top of the hour, CNN's John King asks Senator John McCain what he thinks about President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: You have been writing in on Twitter about the gay rights issue and especially the kids.
This one is from BroonsOunce (ph) and says, "I knew in third grade" -- talking about being gay.
FifthGrader (ph) says, "I didn't tell anyone until freshman year of college. Time for this to stop now." Deamumar (ph) says, "Something tells me that much of this early coming out is done as a fad or for following. Too early to really know."
I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. I'll see you back here next weekend.
"STATE OF THE UNION" with John King starts right now.
