Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Medevac Flights to Resume in Haiti; Political Rising Star; Love Story Spanning Generations
Aired January 31, 2010 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's a love story, spanning generations. A Philadelphia couple celebrating 80 years of marriage, Mitch and Maddie Atkins got married in 1930. She is 103, he is 97. Wow. And they've witnessed some of the most important moments in history including world wars, the Great Depression and the civil rights movement. Congratulations to both of them.
We begin tonight with a developing story. There are an estimated 200,000 people in Haiti who were hurt by the earthquake of January 12th. And the most seriously injured were being air lifted to the U.S. for medical attention until those flights were halted because of concerns it would overwhelm U.S. medical facilities. Those humanitarian flights are now expected to resume within the next several hours.
I want to bring in now our national correspondent Susan Candiotti. She was one of the first correspondents to reach Haiti after the quake and she joins us tonight from New York with the latest on the Medevac flights.
You spoke to the White House yesterday. What are you hearing today?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's hard Don to explain why these flights were suspended to begin with. The White House said it was about a shortage of beds. We do know that Florida said that its hospitals were reaching a saturation point. But Florida's governor denied that he had asked that the flights be stopped and in the middle, Haitians in critical need of outside care.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): On the ground, volunteer doctors are scratching their heads.
DR. BARTH A. GREEN, CHAIR OF GLOBAL INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI: Well, this was working beautifully 48 hours ago.
CANDIOTTI: Without warning things changed.
DR. TONI EYSSALLEE, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI: They needed to be out of here a week ago. CANDIOTTI: But for now these patients suffering frightening spinal cord injuries aren't going anywhere. After 435 Medevac flights, suddenly they're suspended. No more air lifts to get critically-ill Haitian patients out of country for help.
GREEN: We have no explanation why suddenly it stopped.
CANDIOTTI: The military temporarily put the brakes on. At first a spokesman said some states were unwilling to take any more patients. Then the White House explained it's not a policy change, it's just that hospitals were starting to run out of room. Florida hospitals who've taken in more than 500 patients started to grumble about other states not pitching in.
GOV. CHARLIE CRIST (R), FLORIDA: I wrote a letter to Secretary Sebelius expressing that federal assistance would be helpful to us and if we could share that with some of our sister states it would make a big difference. Obviously because of Florida's proximity to Haiti, we've really borne the brunt of it but we're happy to continue...
CANDIOTTI: Happier if they get more emergency funding as requested.
GREEN: Public hospitals all over the southeastern United States are in tremendous fiscal crisis and a lot of our states are as well. And this burden, although the heart is in the right place, was overwhelming.
CANDIOTTI: More volunteer specialists may be coming in and the White House says it's bringing in more beds. Dr. Barth Green has told as many as 500 in a couple of weeks.
White House plans also call for the "USS Comfort" offshore to take on more critical patients and transfer those less serious somewhere else. But what about those who might be left behind?
GREEN: Some of them are going to die.
CANDIOTTI: Volunteer doctors are getting increasingly frustrated.
EYSSALLEE: With this leg in this condition she's not going to be able to walk and if it's stay that way, she's going to be frozen in that position.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: Now, perhaps she might be able to get that outside help that she needs but not without that delay. And Dr. Barth Green says at least now things are the way they should be -- Don.
LEMON: Our national correspondent, Susan Candiotti. Thank you, Susan.
Meantime, a group of Americans in Haiti have a lot of explaining to do. The five men and five women were arrested for child trafficking. They apparently were stopped at the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic with more than 30 Haitian children. But the group -- members of an Idaho-based charity -- say it's all a big misunderstanding.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA SILSBY, NEW LIFE CHILDREN'S REFUGE: We by no means acknowledge that charge because there is no -- we would have no part of that, if anything that -- and it breaks my heart. We came here to help the Restaveks and the children that are enslaved and not by any means to be a part of that horrendous trade.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: CNN continues to reach out to U.S. State Department for more information on this. All we know right now is that U.S. embassy officials in Port-au-Prince have met with the Americans.
Haiti's president came out of his shattered residence today to talk with his countrymen for about 20 minutes. It was one of his first times to appear in public since the quake. Showing up at the gate of the presidential residence was a surprise to the people outside. When a crowd quickly grew, many took the opportunity to voice their anger and frustration over the slow recovery efforts.
Those efforts got a major boost today from the World Food Program. The organization set up more than a dozen places to distribute tons of rice. Women were given tickets entitling them to 155-pound sack. WFP expects the food distribution to reach about two million people over the next two weeks.
We turn now to politics and the closest thing you'll find to a political rock star these days. Republican Scott Brown takes the political world by storm.
Our political editor Mark Preston joins me next to talk all about it. Your comments.
And independents are getting credit for putting Brown into office. Who are these independents? They could be from your very own neighborhood. They could be you even. We'll talk about that.
Make sure you join us on the social networking sites. We will get your comments on the air, Mark Preston answering them next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Time now to talk politics with our man in Washington, "Preston on Politics". Mark Preston is our political editor and he joins us now for a weekly segment that we do here.
Mark, you have been a very, very busy man dealing with everything from the president speaking in front of the GOP in Baltimore, Congressional leaders, to John Edwards, to Scott Brown. You've been a busy man. You probably worked more this weekend than you've worked in a long time. Let's talk now, since we mentioned Scott Brown, his victory tour. What do you make of that? This morning even Barbara Walters asked him, on this week whether or not he was considering running if president.
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: You know, it's interesting. I just spoke to one of his top advisers Don and just was trying to figure out how he's adjusting to this new life. If you had talked a month ago a lot of people didn't know Scott Brown, you certainly didn't think he was going to win the senate race in Massachusetts. And lo and behold and just a week from now -- a little over a week from now -- he'll be down here and he'll be sworn in.
Scott Brown is an interesting case in the fact, Don, that he is a Massachusetts Republican. He was able to give the Republican Party the 41st vote. And when I say he's a Massachusetts Republican, a lot of people really rallied around his candidacy.
However, a lot of those people who rallied around his candidacy probably think that he might be a little bit too liberal when they really dig down into some of his policy positions. And we heard this morning, he said, look, I'm a Scott Brown Republican and that's the way I'm going to vote.
And as his adviser said, yes, he might be the 41st vote on health care but he might be the 60th vote on some other issues down the road. So Scott Brown I don't think we can put into this one category of being a Republican or certainly a very hardcore conservative Republican.
LEMON: Well, you know, you bring up a very interesting point. And one of our viewers, I'm going to find it here, talked about that specific point that you're talking about saying that maybe Scott Brown was not conservative enough for the conservative -- for the GOP because he is pro choice and he admits that. He believes though, he said there should be more parental controls and restrictions when it comes to abortion and he also -- in his state, gays can get married in Massachusetts. And he said -- you know what, the state has decided. And that was all he commented on.
But there was -- there was one viewer who commented on that. And I'll find the question for you Mark and talk about it. But this is him today and yesterday at the so-called town hall meetings where he just thanked supporters. But I also want to show you something else last night.
Let's take a look at "Saturday Night Live" this just shows you when his -- how big his star power is now. When you have "SNL" spoofing you it means that you have risen to a certain level. We'll listen to it Mark and then we'll talk about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Down the hall on the right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, Speaker Pelosi. And let me just say I'm looking forward to working closely with you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Closely?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ok. Let's talk economy. With this new spending freeze job creation is going to be harder than ever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Nancy. You're the Speaker of the House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. So again, tongue in cheek. But there you go. That's how it starts.
PRESTON: Yes, he might be the best looking man in the senate when he's sworn in, you know, certainly.
Of course, Don you and I have talked in the past about how he was featured as a young man in a spread in "Cosmopolitan" or one of those magazines.
But you know, what's interesting about him as well, even though he might not have all of those so-called conservative credentials or you know the bosses check with him, he is a star when it comes to fund-raising. His adviser was telling me tonight there are a lot of people asking him to come out and campaign on their behalf.
And you know in the closing days of his campaign Don, for somebody who was unable to get the Washington establishment behind his candidacy, you know, back in November, December, he is probably going to end up with a surplus around $6 million that he was not able to spend in this special election.
You know, that's a lot of money to have going into a re-election because he, himself, will have a tough re-election in 2012 when he faces the voters again in Massachusetts.
LEMON: Hey, hey Mark real quickly I found it and this is from T.W. about McCain that's From twitter. And it says, "Don Lemon, I can't imagine he'd win the primary, pro choice and right already went moderate. So I think there's some concern even among Republicans that he may be a little bit too liberal there."
You know what? This is (INAUDIBLE) to people today that - and this weekend who were really mobbing Scott Brown. I'm going to talk a little bit when we return about the president speaking in front of the GOP, right, Mark?
PRESTON: Yes.
LEMON: Even Republicans are saying it was certainly interesting and there was some transparency, some Republicans, I should say. I'll let you have the last word here real quickly and then we'll take a break and come back to talk about it.
PRESTON: Well, you know certainly and we talk a little bit more detail. A, it was amazing the fact that on national television, you saw it here on CNN, that you had the president taking very tough questions from Republican members of Congress on a wide variety of issues.
So I'll tell you what. It was great political theater for a Friday afternoon.
LEMON: Ok, we're going to talk about that. Stick around. Mark Preston. Got much more politics to talk about in just a bit.
Also, Mardi Gras not the only reason to party in New Orleans this year. The city is coming alive with Saints fever.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right.
We're talking to our Mark Preston again for "Preston on Politics."
Ok, Mark, let's talk about the president speaking in Baltimore in front of House Republican leaders last week. I was sitting here at the time the president started speaking, and then he took questions, supposed to be private.
Some are saying he was too preachy. That's the criticism from Republicans. And then others are saying the Republicans are being snarky with their questioning and comments to the president.
So take it away. What do you think?
PRESTON: You know, I think this is a case -- you know, look, Republicans and Democrats are just not going to agree on many of the issues. We heard the House Minority Leader John Boehner say that today. And it's a fact of life.
You know, Democrats have their own ideas about how to cure the ills that are facing the nation. Republicans do as well. There was a little bit of tension in that room when President Obama took questions from Republicans. I think it was very smart of him to do so. You know, I think it put him in a position of really kind of looking down upon them and saying, like, "Look, I'll listen to your question but I'm going to answer it the way that I think it should be answered and going to have the last word."
Having said that I thought it was good for Republicans as well because it gave them an opportunity to really directly question him on some big subjects, whether it's from energy policy or the stimulus or even health care for that matter.
LEMON: Yes. I know people who -- some of my own neighbors said, "I don't really -- I didn't vote for Barack Obama. I don't really support him, but I do have to say that it was pretty gutsy for him to stand up in front of those leaders and take those questions."
They at least give him credit for that and I don't know if that says anything to -- I don't know if that's going to win over anyone who may, you know, be center or right to Barack Obama's side, Mark.
PRESTON: No. And you're right. To put yourself out in a position like that to get, you know, hammered, to get asked hard questions on some very important subjects, you know, you have to give him credit for that.
But also, look, the White House did that for a reason. They asked for that Q&A session to be opened because they know President Obama is a very good speaker and he's very quick on his feet. And politically for the White House they can say, "Look, we're doing all we can to reach out to Republicans."
Now, on the flip side, Don, if you hear what President Obama said in his speech in the State of the Union, if you saw his event the next day in Florida, even when he was talking to them on Friday, President Obama, you know, is very sharp with his criticism of Republicans. So politically I think it was smart as we head into the midterm elections for President Obama to say, "Well, at least I'm making overtures to work with Republicans."
LEMON: Let's talk about now what's maybe taking place behind closed doors with the president and administration; the consternation over where to hold the 9/11 terror trial.
I had someone on, former counterterrorism expert, saying that this was certainly political, that it was partisan and that it was Republicans who are criticizing the president and the administration on holding the trial in the United States here. Do you see that it's along party lines here?
PRESTON: You know, I think it's one of these situations where it's a NIMBY -- not in my backyard. I have to tell I'm not sure personally if I would want this terror trial to be held down the block from where I live with my family either. And then there's the whole idea of it being in New York City and does that make it a bigger target for terrorists to come in?
You know, this is a very politically sensitive subject and I think that the White House, Don, is probably thinking to themselves maybe we shouldn't do this or certainly probably hearing from some Congressional Democrats saying you might want to rethink this.
LEMON: Ok. Listen, we have to wrap it -- I want to give one more question to Mark, please, if you guys allow me here.
Mark, I want to go back to Scott Brown because I'm looking at things that I have here. I'm going to do a couple quickly. One from Twitter says, "Why is the media giving him so much attention? Not a word of the contender and in no way measures up." That's one.
One says, "Don, what is with you and the Scott Brown dude? All the guy will be is another Republican to stop Obama from getting anything."
There are people who don't understand -- may not understand what's going on with Scott Brown right now and wonder why he's getting so much media attention.
PRESTON: All right. Let me just tie this up quickly in the knot. He's the 41st vote -- he's finally given Republicans the ability to stop the Democratic agenda in Congress. Quite arguably the most powerful man in Congress now is Scott Brown because he's given Republicans that ability.
At the same time he's a rock star. The guy has raised a ton of money. He won a seat that he wasn't supposed to win. Let's not forget whose seat it was. It was Ted Kennedy's seat, the liberal lion of Massachusetts. A Republican now is going to move into Ted Kennedy's office, Don...
LEMON: Yes.
PRESTON: ... at least for the remainder of the year.
LEMON: And for people who are sending that, maybe they just don't want to understand why. I think it's pretty easy to see.
Mark Preston, thank you. I wanted to get those questions in because we promised comments and questions from our viewers. I wanted to deliver on that.
We appreciate it. I'll see you later tonight. Ok?
PRESTON: Thanks Don.
LEMON: They are the voters credited with electing Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown in the senate. So just who are the Independents? And why are both parties jumping through hoops to get after their vote?
We'll talk about that.
And parts of the south could be looking at a treacherous morning commute. The snow is over but the headaches certainly remain. Bonnie Schneider with your forecast, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right.
So get ready. Tomorrow morning's commute could be dicey in parts of the southeast and other places as well. Melting snow from a brutal winter storm will be refreezing and it's going to do that overnight.
The storm dropped several inches of snow across the mid-south and mid-Atlantic states. This is what it looks like in Roxboro, North Carolina. It actually looks kind of pretty to me, but dangerous because it's going to melt and then refreeze.
Bonnie Schneider -- so, what gives here?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Pretty, right, until you have to drive on it, Don. That's going to be problem tomorrow morning.
I want to show you this. Look at this. Snow on the ocean front; our iReporter William Bernstein was actually on the scene this morning in Virginia Beach. And I'll put this into play and you can watch the video play. This is on ireport.com; a really cool picture here of a snowy seascape. Not often you see the snow on the ground.
According to William Bernstein he's been living there 27 years. He's never seen this much snow. Thank you so much, William, for sending in this iReport. We really appreciate it.
And that's not the only place that saw snow. Check this out, Richmond, Virginia, 11.4 inches of snow. The average snowfall for the entire year is 13 inches.
Check out the other snowfall totals there. All the way up to about 13 inches in Toddville, Maryland. Washington, D.C., 6.4 inches, so we did see some snow there. Temperatures are pretty cold at this hour.
And because of that refreezing we were talking about where we are going to see some changes. The winter weather advisory actually goes straight until the morning hours. So this advisory you see here, highlighted for the Raleigh-Durham Chapel Hill area, this will go until noon tomorrow. So we're watching for that and we're watching for quite a bit of changes out there for today.
Keep in mind we'll be looking for snowy conditions to stay on the ground. But the good news is as we check out the forecast for tomorrow -- look at this -- high pressure builds into the eastern half of the country. That will bring more sunshine and more gradual snow melt. So it will take a while but eventually we'll start to see some milder temperatures.
However, off further to the northern plains we'll still be looking at snowy conditions tomorrow. And then back out to the west check out the Pacific Northwest, a little bit of rain moving in there for parts of coastal sections of northern California as well as into parts of Washington State.
High temperatures tomorrow, though, will be comfortable in many locations, much warmer; one exception in Minneapolis, a high of 16 and Chicago 29 degrees -- Don.
LEMON: High of 16. That's not really high.
Thank you, Bonnie. We really appreciate it.
Will the 9/11 trial for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed be in New York City? That is the question. The administration says no decision has been made yet. But New York City officials are making clear they don't want it in Manhattan. We'll have a report for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We want to check some of your top stories right now. Did you see this in the paper today? Toyota took out this ad to apologize to customers for its massive recall.
The company says it is working on a fix for millions of gas pedals. We hear that announcement could come as early as tomorrow. Dealers could have replacement parts sometime this week.
Pakistan investigating reports that a U.S. missile attack killed a leader of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Aqui Mullah Massoud (ph). His predecessor died in a similar strike 6 months ago. Massoud has been linked to the suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan last month that killed 7 CIA operatives. A Taliban source told CNN the report is not true.
A brutal shooting in Mexico, police say as many as 15 gunmen stormed a house party in Juarez and they opened fire. Thirteen people were killed, another 13 injured. Witnesses say the gunman arrived in several cars with tinted windows. The victims range in age from 14 to 19. Police found more than 100 AK-47 bullet casings at that crime scene.
Some consequences from a U.S. arms deal with Taiwan. China is threatening sanctions on any U.S. company involved. It is also scrapping plans for visits between the Chinese and U.S. militaries. Washington plans to sell $6.4 billion in arms to Taiwan. The Chinese claim that Taiwan is part of their territory and it doesn't want the island to formally declare independence.
The proposed trial of 9/11 master mind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four accomplices might not take place in New York City after all. Mayor Michael Bloomberg who initially welcomed the trial now has begged off saying it is too expensive, perhaps costing a billion dollars over the years that the trial is expected to last.
Other politicians have been weighing in, too. All opposed to holding the trial in Manhattan. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell put it this way earlier today on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: What we need to do is deny these people a show trial. We need to proceed to interrogate them which you couldn't do obviously with the Christmas bomber. I mean, Larry King would have a more thorough interrogation of one of his witnesses than the Christmas bomber had. The justice department, this is really dangerous nonsense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The Obama administration now concedes it's looking at other options. Senior presidential adviser, David Axelrod today stressed that the important thing is putting Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and associates on trial, not where the trial is held.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID AXELROD, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR ADVISER: The president believes that we need to take into consideration what the local authorities are saying. But he also believes this. He believes that we ought to bring Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and all others who are involved in terrorist acts to justice swift and sure in the American justice system.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Make sure you join us tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern when we'll have much, much more on what this change of heart might mean both for New York and for the White House and really for the country.
The two major political parties are seeing their support erode. So what is going on here? I'll talk with some folks who know what's going on; insights on the growing ranks of independent voters, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK. They're dome (ph) people who had nowhere else to go after Hurricane Katrina. They donated thousands of dollars in clothes and other necessities. But can the saints do the ultimate service for their city? Winning a Super Bowl?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON (voice-over): Is this really New Orleans? We haven't seen it this way in years. If ever.
In case you didn't know, the New Orleans Saints, perpetually one of the worst teams in the NFL going to the Super Bowl. And, boy, New Orleans needs it. Hurricane Katrina nearly wiped the iconic city off the map, killing nearly 1, 500 people and leaving many fighting for their lives inside a dark, dank and crumbling Super Dome. The very place the Saints call home.
Many survivors moved on to other cities but the Saints didn't. Though the owner took heat from fans when he looked to move the team in the months following Katrina. But one year after Katrina, the Saints were back in the Superdome.
Now three-and-a-half years later right at the time all eyes turn to the city famous for Mardi Gras, another reason to celebrate, as only New Orleans can.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: So, you can bet that our next guest will be glued to the game next Sunday. Clifton Harris is a blogger in New Orleans and he joins us from there, from New Orleans. And Terence Blanchard is a Grammy Award winning musician and composer. He is in Los Angeles tonight. Both are big supporters of the black and gold. So congratulations to you guys.
It's really congratulations already. Hey, I have to say congratulations to you, Terrance, because you've already won four Grammy awards?
TERENCE BLANCHARD, GRAMMY AWARD WINNING MUSICIAN: Yes. My fourth one, man. It will be nothing compared to a Super Bowl win. That's what I'm really looking forward to.
LEMON: All right. OK. OK. Touche.
So, listen, I was speaking to your friend and mine, Karen Gadbois, who was the New Orleanian of the Year, right? And she said she didn't have her television on but she can tell the Saints were winning and going to go to the Super Bowl just by listening to the neighborhood around her. She said that one of her neighbors came outside and started playing the sax "When the Saints Go Marching In." What does this mean for the city?
BLANCHARD: Oh, it's a godsend to the city. I mean, after everything we've been going through. All of the trials and tribulations. I mean, the citizens are very resilient but I mean, we still needed a pick me up. This has been a great ride from the beginning of the season all the way to this point and to actually get to the culmination of it, to be in the Super Bowl is just a miraculous thing.
You know, we were out on my porch. I was playing "When the Saints Go Marching In." We were second line up and down St. Charles Avenue. Man, we had a great time at the end of the game.
LEMON: Clifton, I don't know if you've been second lining but you've certainly been blogging about this. Does it even matter at this point, Clifton, if the Saints win?
CLIFTON HARRIS, BLOGGER: It didn't matter at first, but closer it gets to the game it matters a lot now. I would like to see us win the Super Bowl so we can prolong the feeling we have right now a little further.
LEMON: And what I meant by that, does it really make a difference when it comes to the city getting back to where it once was or even beyond where it was before Hurricane Katrina?
HARRIS: I don't think so. Because I personally think that the season we're having this year is just an outlet for us to show the pride that we already had even before Katrina and before any Saints' seasons. You know, we have so many challenges in the city and so many issues that we're dealing with and we never really have an outlet to just celebrate being on top of something.
So, that's what the winning streak and playoff run and everything, I think, brought out in everybody was just a moment to just celebrate being from New Orleans and being good and knowing that, you know, the scoreboard don't lie and no one can take it away from us.
LEMON: Yes, and you know what, Terence, this is much more than sports. People look at this as a sports story, this really isn't a sports story. This is a story of inspiration and people who are struggling to survive and to get their city back. Because there are still many new challenges that the people of New Orleans face.
BLANCHARD: You're exactly right, Don. I mean, this story here is a story about perseverance. It's about a belief in our culture and how much we love our city and to go through this right now is just a shot in the arm for us to keep moving forward. I mean, the Saints kind of represent, to me, the rebirth of a city. You know, we're becoming stronger and better than we've ever been before.
Our schools are doing better. We're about to get a new mayor. Everybody's looking up. I mean, you know, the sky is truly the limit for the city right now.
LEMON: Let's talk about this -- I'm going to ask this question to Clifton. Who dat, right? There's been the controversy about who owns who dat. You know, does the NFL own it? Do the people of New Orleans own it? Do the Saints own it? So who owns it?
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: Well, according to the NFL -- according to the NFL if it's got something to do with the Saints, they do. But I'm still working that out because up until this week I never heard of that before, so I guess we'll sort that out.
LEMON: Wait, you never heard of who dat or you've never heard of the NFL?
HARRIS: No, I've never heard of the NFL laying any claim to it.
LEMON: I was going to say, wait a minute.
HARRIS: No, we been saying who dat since '84.
LEMON: Well, I remember in the '70s, guys, I remember saying who dat in the '70s but not for the Saints, but for the Southern Jaguars.
HARRIS: You better not say that too loud. The NFL will try to come back and get something from you, too.
LEMON: And some people say, (INAUDIBLE) in your city, as well. But you know, the thing about that is, people understand what the NFL is trying to do. You know, they want to keep everything on the up and up. But really when you have people, especially artists, who are trying to survive and struggling to survive, you know, it's a little bit tough to try to come down and say we own something that you know, you guys have been saying for years.
OK, listen, I've got to run.
HARRIS: I think they could have waited until after the Super Bowl if they were going to do that.
LEMON: OK. So Cliff, you got a prediction? Game prediction?
HARRIS: I'm going to say Saints 35, Colts 27.
LEMON: All right. Terence?
BLANCHARD: I'm going to say Saints 27, Colts 24. LEMON: All right. I'm going to say the Saints -- it's good they're in the Super Bowl. I hope they win but if they don't it's still a victory anyway. Thank so much.
BLANCHARD: Who dat.
LEMON: Who dat, right? Thank you, Clifton Harris and Terence Blanchard.
BLANCHARD: Who dat, baby?
LEMON: Thank you so much.
BLANCHARD: Black and gold forever. That's right.
LEMON: All right.
BLANCHARD: Thank you.
LEMON: So, listen, we wanted to play a little bit of Terence Blanchard, show you a little bit of him playing the sax. Again, he is a four-time Grammy Award winning saxophonist and he is there at L.A. at the Grammy Awards. But if you want to hear him play, go to terenceblanchard.com and you can hear him. He's a great saxophonist. We should try to requeue that if we have time and let you hear a little bit of him.
You know what, they can mean the difference between victory and defeat. But what keeps independent voters on the fence so often?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: So they don't consider themselves Republican or Democrat and their ranks are growing. But who are the independent voters? Getting credit for electing everyone from President Obama to the new Republican senator from Massachusetts? Here's a quick look from our political editor, political director, I should say, Paul Steinhauser. Paul.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: One question often asked is just how many people are truly independent? In every CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll that we conduct, we always ask politically do you consider yourself a Republican, a Democrat or an independent?
In our most recent survey from a week ago 42 percent of those we questioned described themselves as independent. 32 percent call themselves Democrats and 26 percent say they're Republicans. Now, let's break that down. Of those 42 percent who say they're independents, 14 percent say they're independents who lean toward Democrats. Another 19 percent say they lean towards the GOP. That leaves nine percent of the public who say they are independents with no partisan preference.
Another important point, people, including independents, change their minds.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEATING HOLLAND, CNN POLLING DIRECTOR: In the past 12 months the number of men who called themselves independents has gone up. But the number of independent women has remained the same. Possibly as a result of that independents are now more conservative than they were last January.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Why do we spend so much time talking about independents? That's simple. They matter. While they don't always swing elections recently they have. Independents helped Barack Obama win the White House in 2008. But it was a very different story last November when they helped the Republicans capture two democratically- held governor seats, in Virginia and New Jersey. And of course, they helped the GOP pull off a big upset in this one set of election in Massachusetts.
LEMON: Thank you very much for that, Paul Steinhauser.
Now, let's go beyond the poll numbers and talk about who these independents really are. Who these independents really are. Omar Ali is in Baltimore tonight. He is an assistant professor of African- American history at Townsend University. Nicole Kurokawa is in Washington tonight. She is a registered independent and a senior policy analyst with the Independent Women's Forum in D.C. and Joe Gandelman joins us from San Diego. He is the editor in chief of "The Moderate Voice" blog. Thank you so much.
So listen. I'm going to be politically correct and I'll start with the lady. Nicole, listen, so I'm reading about you and it says that you advise young conservative coalition, though you deny that you're all that young or all that conservative. You look pretty young to me. You voted reluctantly for john McCain in '08 but you did not agree with his policies but felt he'd be better on the economy than Barack Obama at the time, who wasn't president then. You're from Illinois and you didn't vote for him.
So listen, if you do all these conservative things and what makes you not a conservative? Is it just or are you just an independent in title?
NICOLE KUROKAWA, SR. POLICY ANALYST, IND. WOMEN'S FORUM: I'm fiscally conservative but unfortunately the Republicans have strayed from that in the past several years. And I just feel entirely betrayed by them. So I think adhere to a fiscal conservative message and still not agree with the party as a whole.
LEMON: So you feel entirely betrayed by the Republican Party over the last couple years, you said?
KUROKAWA: Absolutely and I think -- socially, I don't agree with their platform at all.
LEMON: OK. So Omar, that brings us to our next question then. Because there are some who say there are some people who don't believe that there are independent voters and that independent voters are just the people who are not happy with the current party in power.
OMAR ALI, AUTHOR "IN THE BALANCE OF POWER": Independents make up 40 percent, at least, as the CNN poll say, 42 percent, but steadily 40 percent. That's millions of Americans. It's not just individuals who are disgruntled with what's going on. It's a movement that's been out there and gathering steam for upwards of 20 years. The question right now is really a question of the party versus -- parties versus the people and the people versus the parties.
Americans feel disenchanted with party politics. And President Obama in the "State of the Union" address was basically addressing that. But he hasn't gone far enough in taking real issues that could actually open up the process, make it more Democratic, so we get through the partisan gridlock that we're dealing with right now.
So there are real issues that independents have been dealing with, whether they should form a party, whether should work with confusion? Should they be inclusive? Is it just angry white men? Or are there different kinds of independent voices? What kinds of structural reforms are needed to open up our political...
LEMON: Omar, I'm glad you said that. because I heard when we were researching the story, I heard someone, a white woman say that. I mean, that's what she said. Well, it's basically angry white men. So you bring up a very good point there. Can you expound on that just a little bit?
ALI: I would love to. Basically the independents are across the political spectrum. They identify in all kinds of ways, fiscally conservative, socially liberal, whatever. But they're also of different categories, demographic groups. So young people tend to be much, much more independent than older people.
But one of the interesting things is how independent, actually the African-American electorate really is. Right now upwards of 30 percent of African-Americans identify themselves as independent. That's something that's not talked about. And that's very important because how Barack Obama got elected was through an alliance of independent white voters and African-Americans who are increasingly trying to remove themselves, get rid of that tether to the Democratic party.
And so there's an alliance that's coming together that's been building over many years.
LEMON: Right.
ALI: So, independents make up a lot of people and there are different kinds of people across America.
LEMON: I want to get -- let Joe come in on this. Joe, you can respond to what any of your fellow independent voters had to say or you can answer this question for me. I've heard that independent voters are just people who can't make up their minds.
JOE GANDELMAN, EDITOR "THE MODERATE VOICE" BLOG: Well, I totally disagree about that. I think independent voters they may change their minds. There's a difference between not being able to make up your mind and changing your mind and those independent voters are always, my experience, both myself and people that I know who are independent voters, they are constantly evaluated. They're constantly looking at the policies. They're evaluating the statements.
I think that many independent voters are absolutely, totally turned off by the right, left talk radio political culture in this country right now. That's why when Obama went to speak before the House Republicans, it put him in a setting where he was able to answer in substance and actually have a really engaged in response to that involved nuance.
To political partisans nuance is a dirty word. Well, to many independent voters, consensus is -- I got that wrong. To political partisans consensus is often a dirty word. But to political independents consensus is extremely important, that people are working to try to find solutions to problems. Not just simply win elections and score political points.
LEMON: Well, Joe, hold that thought. Because I thought the same thing as I watched President Obama speak in front of House Republicans in Baltimore the other day at their retreat. I said, why can't it always be this way? And I think a lot of younger people, a lot of people in my demographic and even younger wonder, why do you have to belong to a certain party? Why do you have to be a Democrat or a Republican? Why can't you just be you and vote on the issues?
GANDELMAN: It's come down this point now in this country where they're really not real political parties anymore. It's the same as the sports team. It's like the Super Bowl.
LEMON: You think it's antiquated, it's outdated and something that we will eventually move beyond?
GANDELMAN: I think political parties will be here. But I'm very, very troubled over the tone of this discourse in this country. I mean, John Avalon of CNN has that great book "Wing Nuts" coming out that pretty much documents. I think political parties are here in the form that they're here right now but you almost shudder when you project where political parties are now and the way they are heading, with the quality of debate, whether people are talking about substance, really trying to solve problems or whether the whole point is they're trying to do a gotcha in a news cycle.
LEMON: Yes.
GANDELMAN: And particularly with the blogosphere which is getting more and more important as people turn away from reading newspapers.
LEMON: It appears that way because everyone gets focused on, you know, I can't do this because that's what Republicans will do. I can't support this because that's what the Democrats will do or that's what Barack Obama supports. It just seems sort of anti- thetical -- getting anything solved. Nothing happens. So Nicole, listen, Omar brings up a good point. He talked about African-Americans. African-Americans are usually pretty socially conservative on some issues. And especially issues that relate to god, gay marriage and what have you. Abortion. All those things are pretty conservative. He brings up a good point about how the president got elected. Even women now, I understand, becoming more independent voters, turned off by both parties.
KUROKAWA: Absolutely. Unfortunately I think there are a lot of issues that appeal to women across the board that the president is not addressing, though. I think we could start talking about transparency. That's an issue that appeals to everybody. And it's just an issue that has been dropped, unfortunately. I think people are absolutely sick of the partisan ranker.
But women can be reached. Women need to be treated like every other voter. Women care about the economy. Women care about health care. Women don't just care about abortions. So I think, you know, a concerted effort needs to be made by the White House to include us in all these negotiations.
LEMON: I wonder if there's a certain trait about something that, you know, maybe the anger or being a minority of some sort, you know, African-American, Hispanic or a woman that makes people, you know, attracted to becoming an independent rather than joining a certain party.
ALI: If I can get in here for just a second...
LEMON: Really quickly. We have to get to a break, but if you can make it real quick.
ALI: In some ways, if people are angry and there's no vehicle for people to express that anger we have a troubling situation. And President Obama could do some very concrete things right now to open up the process so that these two major parties don't have so much control. Because people feel like they're stuck between one or the other. So you can have more open primaries across the country.
LEMON: Right.
ALI: You can include independents in the Federal Election Commission. There are very concrete things that President Obama could do beyond just stating that the partisan bickering is troublesome.
LEMON: And Omar Ali, thank you so much. It will have to be the last words. Also, Nicole Kurokawa, and also Joe Gandelman, we appreciate it. I want you guys to come back. That was a very interesting conversation. I really like it.
GANDELMAN: Would love to.
ALI: Well, thank you very much.
LEMON: I want to tell you, the curtain is about to go up on the Grammy Awards tonight. The excitement is growing. We're going t get you live to the red carpet. Our Brooke Anderson right in the middle of it all.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Right away to Los Angeles and our Brooke Anderson, live on the red carpet. What are you and Wyclef doing? What is that?
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: We're having a great time out here, Don. We're in 3-D.
WYCLEF JEAN, MUSICIAN: We're in 3-D. We had to put on our 3-D. All I can do is tell you is that I saw the rehearsal of the Michael Jackson tribute. And I've seen it in 3D. So get ready, it's incredible. I don't want to blow out none of the artists, but Usher looked pretty incredible. Celine Dion is going to be a masterpiece. Jennifer Hudson is going to be great.
ANDERSON: He's referring to the tribute to Michael Jackson tonight and it will show footage, performance footage from the late Michael Jackson and it will be in 3-D. So it's going to be really cool.
JEAN: Yes, so when with you're sitting in the crowd, you've got to have your 3-D on.
ANDERSON: Or at home.
JEAN: Yes. Or at home. Definitely.
ANDERSON: We're prepared. You and I are prepared, Wyclef. And you're actually going to be on stage. You're going to take the stage tonight to open Mary J. Blige's performance with Andrea Bocelli, which will benefit the American Red Cross in their Haiti Relief Fund.
JEAN: I think for me, you know, it was important to come to show my love to all of my musician and fellow friends here at the Grammys. The love, the outpouring, I mean, even the telethon we did the other day. Not one person I ever called, they said no.
Tomorrow we're going to record the tribute, of course, with Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie, the "We Are the World," the 25th anniversary for Haiti. All of the artists are coming. So it's going to be great.
ANDERSON: It's going to be very special. And you had, prior to the telethon, you had a very emotional press conference about your organization that has done a lot for the Haitian people.
JEAN: Yes, I want to be clear, when I was crying at the press conference, you know, perhaps I cried three times in my life. I mean, my mama called me, she was like, don't cry.
ANDERSON: We don't think any less of you, Wyclef (INAUDIBLE)
JEAN: I've got to tell you on CNN. I cried because when I went the first day that I went to Haiti, the day after the earthquake and I was wrapping up bodies and I picked up a -- it was a small child. And when I wrapped that child and bring her to the cemetery. That's the image that kept coming back
ANDERSON: That's tough.
JEAN: But we went past that. When I saw the smiles, the rescue, relief coming up.
ANDERSON: Yes, the recovery.
JEAN: Now it's time to rebuild the country.
ANDERSON: That's right. You've done a lot of great work. Wyclef Jean, thank you so much. Look forward to seeing you take the stage tonight and introduce (INAUDIBLE).
JEAN: Thank you so much. (INAUDIBLE) Cool guys, cool guys.
ANDERSON: Thank you, Wyclef.
JEAN: Thank you.
ANDERSON: Take care.
JEAN: All right.
ANDERSON: Have a good time tonight.
And Rihanna just entered. We did have a shot of that, but I think she's already past, Don. She was not here last year, because, as you remember, that was the whole debacle with Chris Brown. They were not able to perform and had to fill a hole in the Grammy telecast. But already big winners tonight. Beyonce with four, Taylor Swift has already picked up first Grammy of her career, Lady GaGa with two and it's all just beginning.
LEMON: Hey, guess what? I really liked that moment with you and Wyclef. Thanks for doing that. You handled that very well, and it's nice to hear. Yes, you did. It's nice to hear, you know, his response to what's happening in his country. So thank you. Have a great time, OK?
ANDERSON: Absolutely.
LEMON: Brooke Anderson.
ANDERSON: Thanks, Don.
LEMON: He is looking pretty good for his age. The last surviving U.S. veteran of World War I celebrates his birthday tomorrow. You're going to be impressed by his age and the cause that he is fighting for.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: You know, the last U.S. veteran of World War I celebrates his 109th birthday tomorrow. What he wants more than anything is a proper memorial for his fallen comrades in the nation's capital. This is a picture of Corporal Frank Buckles earlier in his military career. He's dedicated much of his free time to trying to get a national memorial for his comrades in Washington.
Time now for your comments. Let's go, Don Lemon, Wyclef looks like he's having fun. What are those 3D glasses for? The 3D tribute to Michael Jackson. Wyclef is such an inspiration, his work he's doing in his country. Independent voters are those who still have a mind and can think for themselves.
Don, got news for the NFL. Who dat belongs to blacks from slavery days when formal English was not taught to them. OK. Thanks for your comments. Have much, much more. We appreciate it.
I'm Don Lemon at the CNN World headquarters in Atlanta. See you back here at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. Meantime, our special report, "CNN Heroes, Saving Haiti" is up next.
