Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Tea Party Activists Assemble in Nevada Desert Town; President Obama to Recess Appoint 15 Nominees to Administration Posts; Pentagon Announces "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Changes; Sandwich Board-Wearing Unemployed Man Receives Job; President Bush Hand-wiping Video Goes Viral

Aired March 27, 2010 - 17:00   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: What got Sarah Palin so fired up today that she again told the Tea Party to go, quote, "reload"?

No job for two years. Two long years. He took drastic measures including making himself a walking billboard. Tonight, he's pounding the pavement might just have paid off. Might have won something.

They're young and violent and they're terrorizing one of America's biggest cities. Police don't know when the flash mob will strike again. We'll take you there.

And the hand wipe seen around the world. Have you seen this? And it's talked about all over, too. What was the former president thinking? Well delve into that.

Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live here at CNN Headquarters in Atlanta. They have traveled from across the American west to gather in a tiny Nevada desert town for one reason, they say, and that's to send a message to Washington. Tea Party activists are in Democratic Senator Harry Reid's hometown of searchlight today to protest his role in advancing President Obama's agenda. Kicked off a new nationwide bus tour and to hear from Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. She took down some democrats today, liberals and all things big government. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: Washington has broken faith with the people that they are to be serving. That's why here in searchlight and across the country we're sending a message to Washington. It's loud and it's clear and in these upcoming elections, we're saying that the big government, big debt, Obama-Pelosi-Reid spending spree is over. You're fired!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. So, you know it's always interesting when Sarah Palin takes to the stage and there's a microphone there and a camera. So, we're going to go now to our National Political Correspondent Jessica Yellin, she is covering the Tea Party rally. Thanks for joining us Jessie, good to see you. I was actually watching you a little bit earlier. And as I said, it's always interesting. Did she live up to the billing here?

Jessica Yellin, National Political Correspondent: Well, to the folks here, she certainly did, Don. These folks are here because they've come up from across the country to call for what they think needs to be smaller government, to ask for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to be voted out of office. And above all, to see Sarah Palin because she is the rock star of this movement and she took the opportunity while here to slam basically the media for being in her view biased against her and against conservatives in general and defended the remarks she's made in the past about targeting democrats who voted for health care. Her message is that she's never advocated violence and the media has taken her words, her images out of context. Here's Sarah Palin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALIN: When I talk about it's not a time to retreat, it's a time to reload, what I'm talking about -- now, media, try to get this right, OK? That's not inciting violence. What's that? That is doing -- trying to inspire people to get involved in their local elections and these upcoming federal elections. It's telling people that their arms are their vote. It's not inciting violence. It's telling people, don't ever let anybody tell you to sit down and shut up, Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Yellin: And the message here is that these folks should get out and vote and get their friends out to vote. I'm joined, Don, by Sara Andrew who drove here in from California to attend this rally in Nevada. Sara, tell me, this is your first event. What made you come out today?

SARA ANDREW, TEA PARTY EXPRESS ATTENDEE: Sarah Palin.

Yellin: Why?

ANDREW: I love what she stands for. I think she's a great example for a lot of young women out there to get up and stand up for what you believe in.

Yellin: And what does she stand for to you?

ANDREW: Back to basics, to the morals, to caring about people and not being bought off by a buck. You know, I love what she stands for. I think that's hopeful for our country. It's what we need.

Yellin: Thank you. Thank you so much. A big message here, Sara Andrew. A big message, Don, from a number, strings of speakers who feel that politicians are motivated by money more than principle. They don't point to specifics but they say they can see it in the actions that come from Washington. And a very, very energized crowd here in Nevada today --Don.

LEMON: I guess the next question, is Jessica, if you're in, you know, Harry Reid's town, then where is he?

Yellin: Well, Reid actually is doing some campaign events. He is at -- was at a shooting range, a shooting club earlier today, I guess furnishing his second amendment, a values. He is with one of the leaders of the NRA, so showing that he can be a tough guy himself and he is going to -- he's issued a statement as well saying that he's grateful to all these people to come to his small town of searchlight to spend their money here because the economy needs it, but he says the Nevada election will be decided by locals, not people who, as he says, parachute in for one day. And there's a big democratic dinner in Las Vegas tonight featuring Al Gore. So, a lot of action on the other side this weekend as well, Don.

LEMON: All right. There she is in a very windy searchlight, Nevada.

Yellin: Yes.

LEMON: Jessica Yellin. Jessica, thank you very much.

And you know, while Tea Party activists have grabbed the spotlight in searchlight, another political movement is taking a much more low-key approach. The Coffee Party U.S.A. held its second get together and that's today. It's one of hundreds of Coffee Parties all across the nation. Members say they're not aligned with any political party, corporation, or any lobbying network. Their goal, they say, is corporation in government. The Coffee Party says it supports leaders who work toward positive solutions and work against those who obstruct.

It is a job the Obama administration hasn't been able to fill for more than a year, and now it will take even longer than that. The president's second pick to lead the transportation security administration has withdrawn his name.

And our Kate Bolduan joins us now live from Washington with the very latest on this. So, Kate, you cover the confirmation hearings for Robert Harding this week. Was there any indication that this nomination was in so much trouble?

Kate Bolduan, CNN ANCHOR: I have to tell you, not really, Don. It still is somewhat of a mystery why he pulled out. I mean, first, let me read you a bit from his statement that he did release about his -- about withdrawing his name. He said that he was honored to be nominated but that, quote, "Ultimately my goal was to improve the security of our nation's transportation systems. However, I feel that the distractions caused by my work as a defense contractor would not be good for this administration nor for the Department of Homeland Security."

Now, Harding's three decades of military intelligence experience was really seen as a plus for his confirmation but it's the -- just six years that he served as a security contractor that did come under scrutiny. And he noted that. Came under scrutiny during the hearings. Senators, Don, were really pushing Harding to learn more about a company he founded after leaving government and then subsequently word that the government said, his firm had over-billed them by $2.4 million for their work. Harding in these hearings, he acknowledged that he'd made mistakes. And that really seemed to satisfy the senators. Senators choosing Collins, the ranking republican on one of these key committees involved in confirmation, she was one of the people who really pushed him on this issue and then she released a statement after a hearing that Harding had, quote, "adequately addressed all of her concerns." So, there really wasn't any indication.

LEMON: All right. Kate, thank you very much. We'll check back with you. If you get any more information, we'll get you back on. Thanks again.

BOLDUAN: All right.

LEMON: More action in Washington today involving president nominees, this time, it involves more than a dozen nominees who have been waiting for confirmation by the full senate.

And our White House Correspondent Dan Lothian is standing by with more. So, Dan, lawmakers are supposedly out of town back in their own districts but there's a lot going on in Washington with -- what's up here?

Dan Lothian, White House Correspondent: That's right. The president making his -- making it clear today that he plans to appoint or make recess appointments, he said more than a dozen. The actual number now is 15. The president has been pointing out in the White House and democrats in general have been pointing out the republicans have been setting up these roadblocks and blocking these nominations. The president in a statement today, saying that either republicans have been refusing to exercise their responsibility in the interest of scoring political points. And so, he makes these recess appointments, Homeland Security, Commerce and Treasury.

And one name that really jumps out a Craig Becker for the National Labor Relations board. This is a board that sort of referees all labor management disputes. And republicans have opposed that man. And already you're hearing some pushback, one organization saying that it's a quote, payoff for union bosses because the legal work he's done in the past for unions and some feel that he will unfairly represent the interest of labor unions. So, controversy surrounding these recent appointments of the programs essentially.

LEMON: And he -- Dan, just before I got to you, I saw an e-mail that you sent here saying that there is some news in regards to Medicare and Medicaid appointee or appointees. What do you know?

LOTHIAN: That's right. The president, according to a senior administration official, plans to nominate Donald Berwick to the top post to senators from Medicare and Medicaid. Although, you know, the official pointed out the nomination has not yet been made but he did confirm that. This is a role that has been open now for quite some time, since the last administrator left permanently this year that last in 2006. It's really important though because, as you know, there will changes in Medicaid and Medicare in light of the recent law that was passed. So, it's a critical role again. It's been vacant since 2006. The president plans to nominate Donald Berwick.

LEMON: Hey, listen. I'm up against a break here. And, you know, how that is. But real quickly, why would all of this come out on a Saturday?

LOTHIAN: Well, I mean, it's because you have the break here. You know, this is something that other presidents have done in recess appointments. It's not unusual. And in fact, the administration also points out this is something that President Bush did as well. But what they say is the big difference is that he only had a handful of outstanding nominees when, in fact, they had 217 names the senate has yet to confirm. So, it's usual for president to do this but they point out they have a lot more outstanding names, they're really pushing the senators to do something.

LEMON: All right. Dan Lothian. Thank you very much, Dan. I appreciate you coming in and doing this on a Saturday. Thanks so much.

The Pentagon announces changes for "Don't ask, Don't tell." Is this a step toward ending the controversial policy or make it will make things worse? And what happened to a little harmless fun? Last month, it takes a dangerous turn in one of America's biggest cities. What the city is doing to counter a gathering plan for tonight, they said they can break out at any time. And police don't know. We're live.

Of course, it's time for you to join our conversation. Omar is logging me on, there he is, Omar logging me on to twitter right now, so that I can look at your comments and on Facebook. There he is. See his handprint there behind the screen. We want you to be part of our conversation. So, make sure you logon. We'll read some of your comments on the air.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: There are a lot of changes happening in the country. And that's why -- maybe why so many people are protesting, maybe you see the Tea Partiers and what have you, over health care. There's also going to be some changes in "Don't ask, Don't tell." They're calling it a major shift in the Pentagon's policy this week. The military will stop acting on anonymous complaints against supposedly gay service members. It will raise a level of rank for officers who are allowed to start increase or proceedings. And there are new limits on what kinds of confidential information that can be used in discharge proceedings. Now, the changes take effect in less than a month. It is a step toward President Obama's call to end "Don't ask, Don't tell." But as our Barbara Starr tells us, not everyone in the service is ready to go along with this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Barbara Starr, PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Once a Senior Commander in Iraq, Lieutenant General Benjamin Mixon now finds himself in very hot water after opposing President Obama's plans to allow gays to openly serve in the military. Mixon spoke out soon after the Pentagon announced it was considering how to handle the repeal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. BENJAMIN MIXON, U.S. ARMY PACIFIC COMMANDER: The central question that has to be asked, if homosexual activity is in accordance with those values of not only the military but those in America. That's not a question for me to answer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: But answer, he did. In a letter to "Stars and Stripes," Mixon wrote, many service members, their families, veterans and citizens are wondering what to do to stop this ill-advised repeal. He also said, quote, "If those of us who are in favor of retaining the current policy, do not speak up, there is no chance to retain the current policy." The Pentagon leadership is furious.

(BEGIN VIDEO CIP)

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I think that for an active duty officer to comment on an issue like this is inappropriate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARRY: Military officials tell CNN, Mixon is now seen as challenging the Commander in Chief, President Obama. No one expects charges, but military law prohibits officers from using contemptuous words against the president. So, what did Mixon do wrong? Doesn't an officer have the right to free speech?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADM. MICHAEL MULLEN, JOINT CHIEF CHAIRMAN: As a three-star leader in command, by virtue of just that position alone, he has great influence. And all of us in uniform are obliged to certainly follow the direction of leadership right up to the president. And I've said this before. The answer -- and you feel so strongly about it, you know, the answer is, is not advocacy, it is, in fact, to vote with your feet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR (on camera): The Pentagon says, it is serving, the troops getting their candid opinions about what it means to them if the law is changed. But the Pentagon also says that doesn't mean a three-star general can go out in public and criticize the president. Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Let's dig into this a little bit more because Lieutenant Dan Choi has served under "Don't ask, Don't tell" for ten years. He was a WestPoint grad and an Iraq war veteran. And an Arabic speaking linguist. But he is facing a possible discharge from the Army National Guard after he came out a year ago. So, Lieutenant Choi joins me now from New York. It's always good to see you. Thank you so much. That information was right that I read before, right? Possible discharge, right?

LT. Dan Choi, OPENLY GAY SOLDIER: That's right, Don.

LEMON: So, listen. Where does your case stand now? And would these changes make any difference for you at this point?

CHOI: No. All these changes that are being mentioned here this week have no bearing on my particular case. And what you're going to see throughout this year is people are still going to get discharged, fired, just for doing what I did, telling the truth about who we are and who we love. And when you talk about values, when you talk about the things that the military and America are founded on, our institutions of integrity and honor and standing up, me personally as an army officer standing up for people who cannot speak up for themselves. That is all those gay and lesbian soldiers under "Don't ask, Don't tell" who quite literally must be silent about who they are or have to lie about who they are, my responsibility is to speak up.

LEMON: I have ask you this because, you know, sometimes change comes really slowly, and I know that people are anxious and many people are anxious about this and there are many others as we showed you in the story who really don't want it to happen. Is it possible, Dan, that these changes are pushing some of the old guard maybe too far too fast?

CHOI: Don, I think you hit it right on the head. There's a lot of people that I see all around the country. We saw 200,000 people at Washington with this national equally March. These young people, gay and straight. No problem. You know, you look at other countries. You look even in our own country, there's no federal agency like the CIA or the FBI that you can take a look at all of these other groups, we don't have these policies and we don't make policies based on fear. In the end, it isn't though -- it's not just a generation issue. I do know people in the older generation that are very educated, they are not afraid of gay people. So, in the end, it's not a generation issue as much as it is an education issue.

LEMON: OK. I want to play something for you. This is a sound bite from Marine Commandant General James Conway about the prospect of restraining gay soldiers rooming together. Listen to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. JAMES CONWAY, MARINE COMMANDANT: We're the only service that billets by twos. We like that. We want to continue doing that. But I would not ask our marines to live with someone that is homosexual if we can possibly avoid it. And to me, that means we've got to build beds and have single rooms.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMOM: So, Daniel, is Conway right about gay marines bunking with straight ones? Does it sound, I don't know, maybe like separate but equal? Does it sound like that to you? CHOI: It certainly repeat of history. And I think a lot of people, what they need to focus on is as a country we have come so far in our history and to bring up this idea that you're going to have separate bunks based on fears, it's scary to think that we have progressed so far and we're still stuck in these kinds of, I think, ridiculous ideas that we need to base our policies on fears, in Israel and all around the world, we don't have these issues. But when people talk about access to certain resources or sharing, resources as when people bring up the separate but equal ideas, what's really the thing that gay people cannot access in the military. And the frightening thing is that they're not given the same equal access to their own integrity, the truth to being able to... (CROSSTALK)

LEMON: I understand what you're saying. And you know, we've talked about this before. But there are people who are going to say you're changing something for -- you're changing the many for the few. It's not even a majority. It's a minority. And so why do that?

CHOI: Well, in the military, we need every single person that you can possibly get to serve, especially those people right now, in a time of war where we're mission critical. You're saying that for the entire sake of the entire unit, you're going to kick out mission critical people because of certain fears of minority, maybe those people who are afraid or uneducated about what gay people are? This is absolutely counter to everything that America stands for. And when we think about what we can do right now, I think the president does have a responsibility. And it's on his desk right now, his former of the defense budget, the defense authorization bill, he can put the repeal language in and make good on his promise. All we need is good, strong leadership.

LEMON: I'm glad you went there. And, I say, you know, rights or civil rights, however you may deem it, it's not a majority/minority thing. So, well I get that...

(CROSSTALK)

CHOI: It's not about rights at all when it comes down to it. It's about responsibilities.

LEMON: Right.

CHOI: We all have a responsibility to speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves. I worked with a group, and organization...

LEMON: Hey, listen again, I want to get this out.

CHOI: And that's what we're doing.

LEMON: I want to get this out. I'm sorry to cut you off here because, again, you know, time issue. You've been on here enough to know that. What's the name of the organization again, real quick?

CHOI: Getequal.org.

LEMON: OK.

CHOI: You can follow it on twitter at get equal as well.

LEMON: Why were you arrested last week?

CHOI: We are essentially...

LEMON: And why were you arrested last week?

CHOI: Well, I chained myself up to the White House. And so, I was not alone. So many inspiring people, young people, more than a dozen people, the entire day. We are fed up with being in a country that says there's liberty and justice for all and we still have "Don't ask, Don't tell." We still have discriminatory policies that say gay people are somehow second class. I think the whole country gets as to why we have to stand up and continue speaking up. The president himself said to organizations and activists, I will repeal "Don't ask, and Don't tell" this year. And I need you to pressure leaders like me, as an army officer I heard a directive. I need to do everything that I can to make the message very clear, loud and clear. I have the resolve and I am going to continue speaking out. And all of these people that you're seeing across the country, we do not accept inequality in America.

LEMON: That's going to have to be the last word. Daniel Choi. Thank you so much. Glad you're out of jail. Because otherwise you wouldn't be able to be here to do this interview. I appreciate it.

CHOI: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: Keep us updated, all right. You know what, recalls have embarrassed Toyota over the past few months. Right? There's news today of another one, but this time it's an American carmaker.

And he is a sandwich board job seeker. Remember him? He talked to us about his unique way of finding employment. See that guy. Remember him? You will remember once you see him on television. So, did it pay off? He is joining us with a live update.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Sarah Palin is blasting the new health care law and what she calls the Obama-Pelosi-Reid spending spree. Palin was a main attraction today at a major gathering at a Tea Party activists in Nevada. The rally kicks off a new nationwide bus tour of the Tea Party express. It was held in the tiny desert hometown of Democratic Senator Leader Harry Reid.

A rock selection results are in and it means new leadership in the country. A coalition lead by Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi took the most seats in the parliamentary elections. And Allawi says, he's open to direct talks with all parties and he forms a new government in Iraq.

A current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki wants a recount but the U.N. says, the election results are credible now. General Motors is recalling 5,000 of its heavy-duty cargo and passenger vans because of a risk of engine fire. Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana built in February and March of this year are affected by this recall. Owners are being advised to stop driving the vans and park them away from other vehicles and also other buildings. A suspected faulty accelerator prompted the recall. We heard a lot about recalls lately.

Also, we heard a lot about some weird weather happening around the country. And, of course, our Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is on top of that. Jacqui, what do you have?

Jacqui Jeras, AMS Meteorologist: Hey, we're watching the nation's mid section at this hour. We were concerned that we could see a few of these thunderstorms become severe today. So at this hour, you can kind of see that swirl where an area of low pressure is. You've seen that rotation and that movement. And we're tracking this line as it moves across parts of Arkansas. Now, you can see some of these storms intensifying. Especially that one when you start to see those purple colors, you start worrying about high reflectivity and the potential for hail out of these. So, we'll continue to monitor the situation. No watchers are out there at this time. But severe weather will likely be a factor throughout the weekend. Today across parts of the plains states and then tomorrow into the southeast.

Now, on the back side of this storm system, not severe weather per se but some really strong gusty winds. And we've got some wind advisories in effect from parts of South Dakota all away down through the Lone Star State. And check out this picture that we have from our affiliate KDAF out of Dallas, Fort Worth. That really kind of makes you nauseous just looking at that today, you know, that's because of those winds are gusting 37 miles per hour. You're under a wind advisory. So, we could see those gusts maybe as strong as 45 before all is said and done. And advisory in effect until 7:00 local time tonight. Temperature is 73 degrees. So, really nice. But this is ushering some much cooler air. So, we'll watch for those temperatures a lot.

LEMON: You need some drama music with that, Jacqui.

(LAUGHTER)

JERAS: Don't you? Gets you a little sick.

So tomorrow, you know, things look better in Dallas. Still a little bit breezy. Our severe weather threat then across the southeast, the Carolinas, down into Georgia, Alabama, and also into Florida. This could come in early Sunday as well as into the afternoon. So that will be the big thing that we're watching.

A couple of hours away, Don, would be Earth Hour. Have you heard about Earth Hour?

LEMON: Earth Hour, yes.

JERAS: Everybody is asked to turn their lights out for one hour starting at 8:30 local time so you sort of get that ripple effect across the world.

LEMON: Does that work? When everybody pops them back on, doesn't that create a big surge?

JERAS: I don't know.

LEMON: I don't know.

JERAS: I'm just saying part of the point is to help create awareness, to help people think about energy conservation to help reduce global warming or climate change.

But this is a cool satellite we got from NASA. I want to give you an idea from a satellite showing you all the light pollution across the U.S. And you know check it out. You can pick out the cities. Here's Houston, Dallas, Chicago. There you can see New York City. Here's Boston, Philadelphia, D.C. So you can really pick out the states and the cities across the U.S. just by our lights.

LEMON: There you go. Remember the 2003, the big blackout and the northeast was gone. They showed us satellite images as well.

JERAS: Yes.

LEMOLN: Jacqui, you have something coming up later, what, 7:00, you're going to talk about earthquakes?

JERAS: Right. In someplace you might not expect across the U.S.

LEMON: Thank you, Jacqui. We will see you then.

JERAS: OK.

LEMON: A simple text message can summon hundreds of people to one place at the same time, but what happens next has police really on edge in Philadelphia. A live report on the city's crack down of the so-called flash mobs. That's coming up next.

And later, more hot emotions over health care. Look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stupak, you low life, baby-murdering scum bag pile of steaming crap. You are a cowardly punk, Stupak, that's what you are, Stupak. You're a piece of crap. You and your family are scum.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Members of Congress on the receiving end of some extremely angry words and threats. What's behind all of this heated rhetoric? We'll look at how some words can cause such a stir, even incite violence. I want you to tune in at 7:00 for an interesting conversation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: All right. So we have an update on the story we first told you about in 2008. Paul Nawrocki had spent a lifetime working as an executive in the toy industry when he lost his job in the economic downturn. He took to wearing a sandwich board and handing out his resume to strangers on the street. You see it right there.

This week, he received an e-mail from Paul that, after more than two years of unemployment, he finally landed another job. We're very happy for him.

Paul Nawrocki joins us now from New York to explain how he and his family were able to get by without income.

Paul, thank you so much. Tell us about your job.

PAUL NAWROCKI, PREVIOUSLY UNEMPLOYED: I'm operations manager for Fantasma toys, a wholesale toy company, that specializes in magic items. They also have a magic shop connected right next to us where they call Fantasma Magic. It's a magical place. A lot of fun.

LEMON: Congratulations.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Your new boss said that someone could be like Houdini was a good fit for his company. What do you think he meant by that?

(LAUGHTER)

NAWROCKI: I think he liked the fact that I used an out of the -- thought out of the box for this marketing stunt to try and get attention to find health care and employment for myself and my family.

LEMON: OK. So listen, you mentioned your family. Your wife is diabetic. Everyone wants to know, how did you and your family, especially having to deal with your wife, how did you survive without health benefits?

NAWROCKI: Well, we had -- we had health benefits, but it was a struggle. When I first was unemployed, I went on COBRA. My company, of course, had a health plan. They were still in existence for about six months after I lost my job. I emptied out my 401K plan and we went through -- in six months we went through about $9,000. And then we went on Healthy New York. I had to get my own insurance because when they filed bankruptcy we lost COBRA. It was a struggle to pay for our health care and our mortgages and all of our expenses every month.

By the end of February of 2009, we were holding up paying our health insurance premiums because we were having to make choices about are we going to pay the mortgage, are we going to pay for the health care. We unexpectedly got a big tax return that we didn't expect. I was able to pay my property taxes and catch up on our health care premiums to bring us up through the end of April. We raced to the doctor and had tests done and everything that we should have been having done. My wife discovered at that time that she had uterine cancer. And it was very serendipitous because had I'm not gotten the tax return she would be having cancer growing in her even now and we wouldn't have any health coverage. So suddenly, health coverage became our priority over paying mortgage.

LEMON: You take issue with the health care debate and the bill signed. I'm sure you're paying close attention to it.

NAWROCKI: Absolutely. Absolutely. In fact, I think it's rather interesting when I hear people say I don't want to pay tax money for someone who is not contributing to the economy. I contributed for 38 years. This was an unexpected turn of events when I lost my job. And I'm not the only one in this position. I've gotten letters and e- mails and phone calls from people all over the country, in fact, everywhere. And they're in the same situation. They contributed, you know. And now many of them are losing their health care and they don't know what they're going to do.

So when -- I get a little put off when I hear people say I don't want to pay for someone who doesn't contribute. You know what, a lot of people contributed for 30 or 40 years who are now without health care.

LEMON: So, Paul, listen --

NAWROCKI: I was happy to hear that --

LEMON: Sorry about this. We have this weird delay today. Sorry about that, which seems to be coming from New York, which is not that far away. But listen, we're happy to hear you have a job. Literally, I have five seconds. What do you say to people like you who have been waiting a long time? Hope?

NAWROCKI: Be positive. Loran Zander (ph), my job coach from the Handle Group (ph), got me to focus on being positive, on keeping yourself together, not reading the news. You're one person looking for one job.

LEMON: Thank you, sir.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: That's a little bit longer than five seconds but, again, we are happy for you. Congratulations. Give the best to your wife. OK?

NAWROCKI: Thank you.

LEMON: Less than four months now until our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, takes a dip in the Hudson River along with six CNN viewers. Six CNN viewers and Dr. Gupta, they're going to take a dip. But that's not all. They're will also be running and biking as they compete in the New York City Triathlon.

Sanjay checks into -- now how the viewers and how they will be training and how is it going now.

(FIT NATION)

LEMON: Good luck, guys. Good luck, Dr. Gupta as well.

Thousands rally in the Nevada desert to blast businesses as usual. Sarah Palin is the star attraction as activists get the wheels rolling on the tea party express.

Plus, an update on a "CNN Hero" who didn't stop when she won our award. She used it to help even more people.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A small town, a big rally and a big political headliner, a big-time political headliner. Sarah Palin is blasting the nation's new health care law and what she calls the Obama-Pelosi-Reid spending spree. She's the main attraction at a rally of tea party activists in Nevada. Democratic Senate Leader Harry Reid is taking a lot of criticism at the event. It's being held right in his hometown.

A civilian contractor in Iraq is back in the hands of the U.S. military after he was believed to be abducted and Baghdad two months ago. Department of Defense says 60-year-old Isas Salami (ph), of California, was returned to military control on Thursday. There are no details on how Salami (ph) was returned. He was assigned to U.S. forces in Iraq when he turned up missing in January of this year.

British Airways says flights got off to a good start today despite the second cabin crew strike in a week. The airline says flights were normal out of two London airports today, Gatwick (ph) and the city airport. And enough workers at Heathrow crossed the picket line to operate its planned schedule. The crews walked out at midnight in a strike set to last for four days after staging a three- day walkout just last weekend.

It is a presidential moment you won't find in the history books. Did former President George W. Bush rub former President Bill Clinton the wrong way? Wait until our Jeanne Moos gets her hands on this one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: "The Situation Room" is straight ahead.

Wolf Blitzer, what do you have for us?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, THE SITUATION ROOM: Don, thanks very much.

Lots coming up right at the top of the hour. My rare interview with the White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel. We'll talk about a lot of subjects, including the fall out from health care reform, and what's going on in U.S./Israeli relations.

Also, a special interview with the foreign minister of Pakistan. How close is the U.S. and Pakistan to finding bin Laden? We'll update you on that.

And a closer look also on the state of black America with Roland Martin and Donna Brazil. All of that, and a lot more coming up right here in "The Situation Room."

Back to you, Don.

LEMON: Sounds good, Wolf. Thank you very much.

In 2008, Ann Mahlum started a program to help the homeless get back on their feet. That earned her a "CNN Hero" award. As our Anderson Cooper tells us, she was just getting started.

(CNN HEROES)

LEMON: If you want to find out more about Anne's program, it's coming to your city next? Well, you can think about changing the world. You can do this. Go to CNN.com/heroes. Find more of her story. If you think there are other people who are chaining world, go there as well and nominate them. Our heroes are great.

It was the hand wipe -- did you see this? -- seen around the world and talked about all over, too. What was the former president thinking when he did that? Jeanne Moos explores.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: This is the video that everyone is talking about. We got a question for you about this video. Did former President George W. Bush rub former President Bill Clinton the wrong way, literally, by wiping his hands on him? You've probably seen the video. We're going to play it again. But I want you to see the most in-depth and unusual analysis you're going to see on television.

Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bill Clinton, human handy wipe? With handy work like this while shaking hands in Haiti, comedians didn't even have to write a joke. They just rolled the video.

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE: President Bush, first time we've seen him in two months, this is what he does. He's the best.

MOOS: The former president's office had no comment on hand-wipe- gate. Though some floated alternate theories.

DYLAN RATIGAN, MSNBC HOST: Signaling to Clinton he was ready to move on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Check out what soft-core porn music does to the video.

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Bush thought marriage should be between a man and a woman. MOOS: Maybe the brouhaha over the back rub he gave Germany's chancellor led to a more subtle affectionate touch when it came to Bill Clinton. Former President Bush is said to be somewhat germophobic. Who wouldn't be, shaking all those hands?

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R), ARIZONA: Shall we get on?

MOOS: Barack Obama writes in his book that when he shook President Bush's hand the first time they met, Bush "turned to an aide nearby who squirted a big dollop of hand sanitizer in the president's hand, not wanting to see unhygienic, Obama wrote, 'I took a squirt'."

KIMMEL: By the way, if you're germophobic, is Bill Clinton the best place to wipe your hands? (LAUGHTER).

MOOS: Speaking of human hankies, remember, that's who they called the stranger whose shoulder Oprah cried on after Obama won the elections.

OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW: At one point I was just sobbing on his shoulder. Mascara everywhere. Anyway, thank you, Mr. Man, for letting me cry on your shoulder. (LAUGHTER).

MOOS: Impersonators already tend to portray former President Bush --

UNIDENTIFIED IMPERSONATOR: Besides, when I'm going to put the Iraq war on my credit card, I never dreamed I would be paying 28 percent in interest rates.

MOOS: -- as somewhat uncouth.

If George Bush wiped his hand on Bill Clinton, and it's only an if, it wouldn't be the first time he used someone as a human tissue.

Letterman loves the show. The time George Bush cleaned his glasses on a staff member during a commercial break.

You've got to hand it to the former president, at least he's clean --

(SINGING)

MOOS: Or at least wipe us.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And there you go.

Tonight, at 7:00 p.m. eastern tonight, right here on CNN, emotions over health care boil over. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stupak, you're a low life, baby-murdering scum bag pile of steaming crap. You are cowardly punk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That's just one really. Members of Congress on the receiving end of extremely angry words and threats. What's behind the heated rhetoric? We're going to look at how some words can cause such a stir, even incite violence. That's in our 7:00 p.m. hour right here on CNN, 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

In the meantime, I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer begins right now.