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Advocacy Groups Organize Rally on D.C.; Personal Finance Expert Gives Advice; Author Terry McMillan Talks about Life after Divorce; New CNN Show Reviews News Stories from the Previous Week

Aired October 02, 2010 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Here's a look at what we'll be bringing you over the next three hours -- deadly flooding along the eastern seaboard, homes and businesses and roads are submerged in water.

And then next hour at 3:00 Eastern, with chicken nuggets and fries served at schools, childhood obesity is on the rise. Now food activists are telling the government it's time to put its money where its mouth is.

And in our 4:00 eastern hour, a family food makeover, you may want to try it in your house with your kids.

You're in the CNN Newsroom where the news unfolds live this Saturday October 2. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

First up, a big rally in Washington at the Lincoln Memorial right now. The gathering is called "One Nation Working Together," including a host of individuals and advocacy groups pushing for issues relating to education, justice, and jobs, this with midterm elections just 31 days away.

Let's go live now to CNN's Kate Bolduan who is at the rally. A pretty significant turnout there at the Lincoln Memorial.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fredricka, I think we have some great video of the crowds turning out here on the National Mall, right here at the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

Really there are a range of issues that they're touching on here from the podium and from the signs I see in the crowd. But what it comes down to seriously is jobs and November 2, those are the two big themes that we're hearing here.

A coalition of liberal and progressive groups coming together including civil rights groups, union groups, gay rights groups, environmentalists just to name a few, all coming together for this rally, really aimed at getting out the vote as well as stirring the same emotion and the same energy that we have already seen amongst conservative groups and that we have seen here on the national mall with Glenn Beck and tea parties earlier this summer.

Listen here to the president of NAACP, Ben Jealous, as well as Ed Schultz, one of the speakers here. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN JEALOUS, PRESIDENT, NAACP: We're not the answer to the Tea Party, we're not the alternative to the Tea Party, but we're very much the antidote to the Tea Party. We're in a different response to the same situation.

Some people see prosperity going up and tension going up. We say let's create a tide that lifts all boats. Let's make sure the firefighters and the cops can keep their jobs to keep us safe and teach our kids. In tough times there's a playbook for how to get out of the Great Depression, it's the same one that can get us out of the great recession. We have to focus on jobs and schools.

ED SCHULTZ, MSNBC HOST: We cannot give up on November 2, we have not gotten everything we have wanted in the first two years, but have to stand behind our leaders on the progressive agenda, that is for the people and not always the corporations. It is for the family of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And again that is Ed Schultz. He's a radio personality as well as an MSNBC talk show host speaking here of a range of people. We're in the middle of this rally right now it's very beautiful here, so it may turn out a range of issues, Fredricka, everything from education to immigration reform, really that they're talking about.

But again, all set against the very important backdrop of the midterm elections, one month from today and that's no coincidence in timing.

WHITFIELD: Kate Bolduan, we'll check back with you later on.

Mexican police are trying to free a busload of tourists in Acapulco. Gunmen apparently seized the bus last night. There were at least 22 people on board and all the tourists are described as Mexican nationals from a neighboring state. No Americans are involved. We'll bring you more details on this developing story as they become available.

And U.S. authorities are working with Mexican police to find the culprits behind an attack near the U.S. consulate in Mexico. It happened last night in Monterey. A series of grenade blasts rocked the consulate, but none were close enough to actually damage the facility and no Americans were injured in that either.

A watchman at the nearby courthouse was hit by shrapnel. U.S. officials don't believe the consulate was the target of that attack.

All along the east coast, floodwaters are starting to recede. It's been a pretty ugly situation for the past couple of days, but it's still very dangerous. You're looking at some of the rescues that took place too. At least eight deaths from North Carolina to New England are now blamed on the high water, hundreds of people, including nursing home patients, were forced to higher ground. And among the hardest hit areas, hundreds of people have been rescued from their flooded homes. And while the region is starting to destroy out just slightly, flood watches and flood warnings are still in place, all the rain came from tropical storm Nicole, and another weather system is moving through the region as well.

Bonnie Schneider in the weather center, is this other system going to be related to another named storm?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No, actually the new system that will probably come more towards tomorrow is just a cold front coming through. But any time you see rain on top of drenching rain, the flood risk goes back up again.

You have got to see these rainfall totals since Tuesday. Some of the amounts of rain that have occurred in just four or five days time, they're more than what you would see in an entire half-year period. You can see we have over 11 inches in Norfolk, Virginia has accumulated.

Also heavy rain in New York City, almost three inches. There was a time yesterday morning where the New York City subway system was shut down because of flooding.

I want to show you where we stand with the flood watches and warnings. We still have flood warnings from North Carolina up to Vermont and the driving has been treacherous if you were traveling on I95. Our iReport comes from the Philadelphia-Baltimore area on I95.

You've got to see these pictures of what it looks like on the roads. You can see that the cars had to come to a complete stop because they couldn't cross the road in front of them. This was reported by Jake Miller who was driving up near the Baltimore area, and he said the rain was coming down so heavy and hard he had to stop what he was doing and he actually watched cars hydroplaning on an interstate like that.

Here's the next system Fredricka. It's bringing rain to the northwest. We're going to watch it advance eastward tomorrow. We're going to talk more about that. Plus we're not done with the tropics. We'll have more on that coming up, too.

WHITFIELD: That's right, because if you're talking about hurricane season and that lasts until November 30.

SCHNEIDER: October is still a busy time.

WHITFIELD: We got a long way to go. Thanks, Bonnie, appreciate it.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

WHITFIELD: So it's open enrollment season for employees of a lot of companies out there, lots of options, including those flexible spending accounts. What are they? And should you sign up? That's next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Live pictures we want to show you from the Lincoln Memorial in the nation's capitol. You can see right there AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka is speaking now. This rally is called the One Nation Working Together gathering there at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

The idea here is the number of people representing themselves as well as advocacy groups, they're focusing on three issues in particular -- jobs, justice, and education. Let's listen in right now to Richard Trumka.

RICHARD L. TRUMKA, PRESIDENT, AFL-CIO: We come together today because America needs jobs, jobs that will support families, all families, jobs that will give our young people paths of opportunity, not obstacles, jobs that will allow people to retire with dignity, jobs that provide the means to support small businesses like the one owned by Diana Ortiz who came all the way from pueblo, Colorado, to tell us that we need an economy that works for main street so that small business --

WHITFIELD: OK, you've been listening to AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka. Also today there were a number of speakers including Reverend Al Sharpton, television host Ed Schultz. And on the list today of those who are going to be speaking, Harry Belafonte, Mary Wright, just to name a few on what's being called One Nation Working Together in the nation's capital.

Now let's talk about your job and your benefits. It is open enrollment time at many companies right now, the time to sign up for health care plans and other benefits. And one benefit that promises to save you big money is a flexible spending account. So here to tell us about the three major ways FSAs can help you, personal financial expert Manisha Thakor, good to see you.

MANISHA THAKOR, PERSONAL FINANCE EXPERT: Great to see you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Let's tackle the basics first, what exactly are FSAs and why do I need to consider it as a good option?

THAKOR: So an FSA is short for "flexible spending account," and it's a benefit offered to employees by many employers that enables you to pay for out of pocket health care costs with pretax dollars.

And if you're like most people, what I just said will make your eyes glaze over. So think about it this way. You're at the pharmacy, you've got a basket of things that you have to purchase and the person behind you taps you on the shoulder and says hey, would you like a coupon for up to 40 percent off, no strings attached?

That's what an FSA is, and yet four out of five Americans, Fredricka, who have this benefit, aren't using it.

WHITFIELD: So you can pay for those out of pocket medical related things through this FSA. But how it works is, you put money in it along the way throughout the year, whether it's taken from your paycheck, et cetera, it's put into a separate account. You can only use it for these medical out of -- out of pocket expenses, right?

THAKOR: Qualified expenses. And there are 100,000 items that actually qualify, so it's a very hefty list.

WHITFIELD: So you say that the real big lure is it's tax efficiency, and how it can save you in the long run on taxes. But it can also save you in other ways too. How?

THAKOR: So the number one benefit is this, you have to work less in order to pay for an expense.

Let me give you an example. Let's say you go to the dentist and you don't have dental coverage and it costs you $100, that's the bill. If you didn't have an FSA, you would have to earn $150 if your tax rate were 33 percent because Uncle Sam would take $50 right off the top. If you use an FSA, you only have to earn $100 to pay for the $100 visit, not $150 to pay for the $100 visit.

And you might say I have dental coverage. If you go to this website, save smart spend healthy, you can see the list. Again, there are over 100,000 items that are eligible.

WHITFIELD: That's how it may safe you some money, but how does it keep you on a budget, so to speak?

THAKOR: What I have noticed, Fredricka is that what gets measured gets managed. So if you're on a diet, you write down how much you eat, you eat less. If you write down how much you exercise, you exercise more. The simple act of signing up for an FSA often encourages people to be more mindful about their healthcare spending and look for ways to spend smarter.

WHITFIELD: And before I let you go, you say ultimately this really does keep you healthy because the incentive is you don't want to lose this money that you've saved so you really are going to take care of yourself and address all these medical needs because of this FSA, right?

THAKOR: Exactly. This money enables you to pay for co-pays, it will help you stay on the medications your doctor prescribes and it will help you have extra money to go take advantage of preventative care.

WHITFIELD: Because if you don't use that money in an FSA, you lose it. Manisha Thakor out of Santa Fe, New Mexico, thanks so much, good to see you.

THAKOR: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, financial success, fame, love, everything, right? Bestselling novels. Terry McMillan had all of it. But when her husband revealed he's gay, her happiness turned to anger in a very public way, if you'll remember. Face to face on McMillan on getting to happen and rising from deception. And technology to the rescue, this time it's helping us answer that age old question, what's for dinner? CNN's Gary Tuchman serves up this week's edge of discovery.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Researchers at Intel Labs Seattle are cooking up something new, 3D technology that turns your kitchen counter into an interactive touch screen surface. It's called Oasis.

RYDER ZIOLA, RESEARCH ASSISTANT, INTER LABS: The Oasis camera uses cameras to turn every day work space into an intelligent work space where objects that come in, get recognized, and give you access to a whole world of digital information.

TUCHMAN: Just put an item on the counter, a camera and a computer work together to identify it.

BEVERLY HARRISON, SR. SCIENTIST, INTEL LABS: There's nothing special about the objects we're using. There's no bar codes or special tags on these.

TUCHMAN: Then a projector creates a touch screen display right after your fingertips. Put two items together like this steak and pepper, and Oasis gives recipe suggestions, timers, and cooking instructions. When you're finished, you can store what you've learned in a virtual drawer.

Researchers are also taking Oasis out of the kitchen to see what else it can do.

ZIOLA: We will be able to take this unit and drop it down in a million different environments and just see what happens.

TUCHMAN: Chess, anyone?

Gary Tuchman, CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Conquering anger and resentment, a bitter battle that bestselling novelist Terry McMillan says he has waged and won. The author, who's books "Waiting to Exhale" and "How Stella got her Groove back," sold millions of copies.

But her personal life came crashing down several years ago when her husband admitted he's gay. McMillan described that shocking moment during a 2005 appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Maybe you remember this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRY MCMILLAN, AUTHOR: He said he was confused it about his sexuality and then he said, I think I might be gay. I said what?

OPRAH WINFREY: You were surprised to hear that?

MCMILLAN: He was on the bed. I was sitting in a chair.

WINFREY: Yes.

MCMILLAN: And then he said, "I think I might be gay." And there's a halogen lamp that I had, and I said I feel like taking this lamp and bashing it in your face in, but I'm not going to. And he stood up and he said, "I am gay." And I said, well, finally you told the truth about something and look what it turned out to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Ouch. Well, that deep sense of betrayal ate away at McMillan for years. But she tackled her anger head on in a fierce internal battle that proved to be the launching point for her book "Getting to Happy." Terry McMillan face to face with me and never for a moment holding back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCMILLAN: After my divorce I was really bitter and angry and all that, and I realized how it was wearing me out and I didn't like the person that I had become. I didn't expect my marriage to last forever. I know and knew to some extent that nothing is promised, and I know people that had married their quote, unquote "soul mates" and all that and their marriages lasted three years, five years or whatever.

And so I said as long as -- I'll take this and feel good until it runs out. And it just so happens it ran out in a weird way. But I had seven really good years being married to Jonathan and I loved him dearly and vice versa.

But ultimately, when I found out, I mean I was divorcing him when he desired to tell me what he thought he was. When you've been deceived, when you've been lied to and someone that you trusted, I don't care who they are, you are angry about it because you really did feel safe with this person, and now you realize that you don't know how much of your inside that they really did violate.

You don't know how much of it was deliberate or inadvertent. It wore me out. I didn't even recognize myself after a couple of years.

WHITFIELD: What was that moment where you said, suddenly I didn't even recognize who I was?

MCMILLAN: I was swearing a lot and I was grinding my teeth, all kinds of things. And it was not who I was. And it just started dawning on me how much energy it takes to be angry. Oh, my goodness, it's like an emotional termite, it was wearing me out.

WHITFIELD: So it was years, you felt angry for years?

MCMILLAN: Oh, yes. WHITFIELD: At what point did you say, you know what? I'm tired of being mad.

MCMILLAN: Well, I didn't just say I'm tired of being mad. You just get tired of being mad. Some women never recover from any kind of emotional abuse or deception. Some women don't. And I wanted to write about that.

WHITFIELD: And you feel that's OK too?

MCMILLAN: I don't think that's OK, no. I think you allow your past to destroy your present, and you can't even enjoy, you can't let love in, you can't let anybody in if you're angry. And you're stuck in the path, it can destroy you.

And my attitude even in writing this book, you know what? Hold up a minute here, I deserve to be happy.

WHITFIELD: And how is Terry McMillan feeling these days? Are you breathing? Are you at a comfortable place?

MCMILLAN: I feel like I'm floating in my on sky, sort of. And that I'm -- that I got my center back. I basically wrote myself to happy to be very honest with you, because I know also that it's a temporary thing, but I know when it's being snatched from me and I know how to snatch it back now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: She says she's breathing, breathing and exhaling all at once. So Terry McMillan has some ideas for women struggling to overcome sadness and seeking a more fulfilling life. That's in our next hour of CNN newsroom.

Meantime, a big rally taking place at the Lincoln Memorial, being billed as the antidote to the Tea Party. We'll see who's there, and we'll also check out our other top stories.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back, a look at our top stories right now.

It's being called the "antidote to the Tea Party." Thousands of progressive and liberal activists are gathering in Washington -- take a look -- to focus attention on the needs of working class Americans, like jobs, education, and equality. The rally is taking place at the same spot Tea Party activists gathered just five weeks ago. We're talking the Lincoln memorial.

In Indonesia, a train crash has killed at least 36 people. Dozens more are injured. Officials say a train from Jakarta was traveling at high speed when it crashed into the back of a stock train. Indonesia's transportation ministry says it is investigating whether the crash was caused by human or technical error.

And no trace of two American balloonists who disappeared over the Adriatic Sea. The Americans vanished Wednesday morning while taking part in one of the world's most celebrated long distance balloon races. Crews from the U.S., Croatia, and Italy are involved in the search. The pair has been missing since Thursday morning.

And here's Pete Dominick with a look back at this week that was.

PETE DOMINICK, CNN HOST, "WHAT THE WEEK?": It's been six days since Israel started building again in the West Bank, five days since Vice President Joe Biden told his base to buck up, four days since Eddie Long declared spiritual warfare on his accusers, and you, you've had 14 seconds to adjust your eyes to this beautiful, bald head.

We're going to take you through all of it right now. Welcome to "What the Week."

There's a fine line between news and noise. I'm Pete Dominick. I'm one of 6.8 billion people on this planet. It's 2010. We have thousands of TV channels, the digital superhighways, Democrats, Republicans, and apathetics, gays, straights, bis, Jews, Muslims, Christians, and atheists, and 15 different flavors of toothpaste? Information overload.

But this, this is what made TV. This is what we watch and this, this week, this is the week that was. Hit it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have been accused, I'm under attack.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Four men are accusing long of coercing them into sex when they were teenagers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to fight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is shades of Vietnam.

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "AC 360": Five Midwest American soldiers accused of killing civilians.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Former president Jimmy carter was hospitalized. He went to the hospital just for observation.

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": A woman asked Mr. Obama this direct question.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you a Christian?

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: High anxiety on the streets of Paris, new reports suggesting a plot by a terrorist commando team had been foiled.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tony Curtis has died. The corner says he suffered a heart attack in his Las Vegas home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By all accounts, Tyler Clemente was a good- natured soul. His roommates secretly streamed video of him kissing another man on the Internet. Authorities say Clemente committed suicide, jumped from the George Washington Bridge.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is resigning in order to run for mayor of Chicago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If authentic, it is the first we have heard from Usama bin Laden since March.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOMINICK: That's what the main stream media hammered into your head and some important stuff and we'll get into it. But what was undercover? A couple of things come to mind. Michelle Obama's child nutrition bill came to a screeching halt in the house. And she's always championed for healthier school lunches, she's got that garden.

But the biggest issue for some is that the first lady's bill would take money from food stamp programs.

The number two under-covered issue, Kim Jong-il's son was promoted to a four star general, pretty much identifying him as the heir apparent to lead North Korea. But nothing was more important than the testimony of the director of the Congressional Budget Office Greg Elmendorf this week on tax cuts he characterized as devastating.

Here to talk to me with it, our specially handpicked panel, David Webb, he's the cofounder of the Tea Party 365 in New York, Stephanie Miller, national radio talk show host, and Sam Seder, a comedian, writer and a director, and some of the funniest tweets I have ever read in my life.

Welcome, guys. Listen, this is a no win, nobody wins, and that's why it's a great story. Republicans and Democrats, everybody loses, if it's not OK to cut from the top, it's not OK to cut from the bottom. They all raise the deficit. Let's start with you David Webb. What do we do here?

DAVID WEBB, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I mean if you read the whole report, it basically says that it's going to raise it in the short- term, it's going to be good in the short-term, it's going to raise it in the long-term unless you offset it with either increasing taxes or spending cuts. So hey Washington, cut some taxes and maybe cut some spending. That helps.

DOMINICK: Stephanie Miller, Democrats aren't highlighting this this week because it breaks Obama's promise. We know President Obama is not going to raise taxes above $250,000 for those making that, right?

STEPHANIE MILLER, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, you know, Pete, one thing it does prove is what the president's saying is right, these Bush tax cuts for the rich are largely what got us to this deficit. So they got to stop screaming about the deficits.

I think the one thing that did come out of it is at least they did a temporary extension of tax cuts for people under $250,000 that seems to be the best idea in there. But he has -- they also can't keep telling the lie that he hasn't given tax cuts, because he has to most Americans.

DOMINICK: Sam Seder, this trickle-down economics theory, Doug Elmendorf kind of bashes it and he says tax cuts aren't good. They're raising the deficit. Sam?

SAM SEDER, COMEDIAN: Well, I mean trickle-down economics has been completely discredited by anybody but, you know, maybe the Tea Party. I'm not a deficit hawk so I'm not terribly worried about the deficit, frankly. But I think we should have tax cuts for people under $250,000 because we have seen study after study which suggests that these people are going to spend more money.

And the one thing about that OMB report is that it does not actually measure the difference, which has been proven, like I said in study after study, that people who get tax cuts under $250,000, they put that money into the economy. If you get tax cuts over $250,000, you put it into the bank and you just wait.

DOMINICK: David Webb, you're a very, very wealthy guy, are you putting your money into the bank? This is what I want to ask the Tea Party and Republicans, David Webb, where are you cutting?

WEBB: You start by cutting programs that are bloated.

DOMINICK: Give me one.

WEBB: Cut down on department of education. Cut it down, push it back down to the states. Decentralize it.

DOMINICK: Every state has their own department of education, you want to get rid of the department of education?

WEBB: Education works best when it's at the state level and you knee a DOE to oversee some of the --

SEDER: OK, cut the department of education. You've now gone .00001 percent of the way. That's ridiculous.

WEBB: Let me give you a little lesson in economics. When the rich, the so-called evil rich above $250,000 have money to invest, it helps grow wealth capital in the country.

And unless you offset the tax cuts one of two ways, you either cut spending across the board, which is what we need to do, you raise taxes, which is what Obama's going to do. But it delivers -- it will deliver over $3.4 trillion in actual revenue for the government.

DOMINICK: Stephanie Miller?

MILLER: Oh, please, I'm out here in California, Pete, and Meg Whitman is a billionaire and she can't even afford legal household help, apparently.

(LAUGHTER)

So the rich don't spend their money. So, you know, I think you're right, it certainly benefits more people to give tax cuts at lower levels. And the other thing that we're screaming about is these tax levels are still so much lower than they ever were. Let's go back to the 90 percent Eisenhower years, right?

(CROSSTALK)

DOMINICK: All right guys, we're almost out of time here. But when we come back, up next the political plagues of the week. This week folks on the disorder, the Democrats seem to be suffering from, we're calling it "electile" dysfunction. Want me to explain? Don't change the channel.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DOMINICK: Welcome back to "What the Week?" I'm Pete Dominick and every week I'm heading out with CNN cameras to talk with you about issues that matter the most to you. This week "don't ask, don't tell," and CNN poll said two-thirds of Americans, 67 percent now in favor of allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military. Do you agree? I hit the streets to talk it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOMINICK: Of all these countries that allow gays to openly serve in the military -- Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Finland, Japan, Canada, the United States of America, no.

Welcome to democracy. Where are you guys from in come here, cowboys? So, 67 percent of Americans in a new CNN poll said gays and lesbians should be able to serve openly in the military. What do you think?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they should.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think they should.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody has the right to protect and serve our country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it should be up to the men and women in the military.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My take is I used to be uncomfortable around gay people and then I got around gay people. God bless anybody for being attracted to me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I love gays and I love lesbians but I don't agree with what they do because in the word --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I understand that, but you're making a religious argument for -- what other jobs can I not do? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just saying.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What other jobs can gays and lesbians not do?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said openly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said you don't have the foundation in the bible, where it ought to be, you read the bible and it tells you what you should and should not believe. And I don't want to turn that into a biblical conversation.

DOMINICK: You are, and the military is separated from religion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know how you can say let's let them in openly if you haven't served.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, 20 years in the Air Force, I think that don't ask, don't tell is appropriate. It was known about in the military even back then, but if you did your job, that's all that really mattered.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I disagree with that totally. Put them out front.

DOMINICK: What's that, put them out front?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOMINICK: Put them out front? Does that mean they can serve openly? David Webb, you're a conservative Tea Party organizer and a conservative radio talk show host. Should gays be allowed to serve openly in the military?

WEBB: I trust Gates on this one and he says we need to study it and move forward to where it can happen. What somebody wants to do in their bedroom is their own business. But the military is an environment where you need transition and integration. It's going to happen immediately.

DOMINICK: Sam Seder, this one seems like a slam dunk.

SEDER: It is a slam dunk, it's going to happen eventually, so let's start the process right now. There's absolutely no reason why we have this incredibly anachronistic policy.

DOMINICK: Stephanie Miller, 24 countries allow gays to serve openly in the military. Are we not as professional in our military, Stephanie?

MILLER: I'm still in shock over that cowboy. Let me just say somebody ought to write a song, Mama, don't let your sons grow up to be homophobic cowboys. That is really stunning in this day and age. I'm going to quote my dad's old running mate, Barry Goldwater, you don't have to be straight, you just have to shoot straight.

DOMINICK: I love that. Congress already has better health care than most Americans, right guys, but "What the Week?" wants to take things a little further and give everyone in politics a weekly check up.

This week we're examining the Democrats who are suffering from what plagues many of the brass in Washington. It's when a rock star president and mighty Democrats of 2008 go limp and lose their mission of hope of change. It's when all the party's money and experts can't explain to America that it takes a long time to get out of this jam. It's our political plague of the week, we call it "electile dysfunction" and there's no magic pill that can save the Democrats.

Their mission is soft, and they lost their mojo. What can they do to win elections in 2010 and 2012. David Webb, of course you're happy the Republicans are away in the lead, but you have been here before with "electile dysfunction."

WEBB: It happens in both parties, but right now the reaction to bad policies since 2006 by the Pelosi-led Congress and the president and in a basically liberalism on steroids is proven not to work. The stimulus didn't work, the health care bill now is going to cost everybody more money. And nothing and jobs, well, they're not coming back.

So, you know, people are going to just stay no more Democrats, no more big government, no more entitlements, let's get back to a rational government.

DOMINICK: Stephanie?

MILLER: You know, you guys just keep nominating more and more alarming candidates over there in the Tea Party, I'm sorry. I think we are going to take Joe Biden's advice and get it together, otherwise in Delaware we're going to have Samantha from "Bewitched" who think that mice have fully functioning human brains. I have yet to see a Tea Party candidate with a fully functioning brain.

WEBB: Whoa, whoa, Stephanie, there are 39 seats need, there are 70 in play and there are 100 that are really -- 30 of them are close. They're not all Tea Party candidates. Nice try, and by the way, the real witchcraft --

(CROSSTALK)

DOMINICK: Let David Webb get his joke out.

WEBB: The real witchcraft is the voodoo economics that's going on in Washington that's where a president has spent more than every president behind him on the deficit.

DOMINICK: Sam Seder, is that true?

SEDER: Back during the 2008 campaign, everybody knew whoever was going to win the presidency was going to get blamed for the disastrous policies of the Republicans for the past eight years, and it's coming to fruition. And I'm not one who actually thinks, I don't think you're going to see GOP control of either the House or the Senate because you can get very excited if you're a Tea Party member, but the fact is you can only vote once and apparently because Sharia law is coming you may not be able to vote at all according to these people.

But I think we're going to see the Democrats at least retain control. I was making a joke at the fact that Sharron Angle said today that Sharia law is taking over this country, and I was making a joke of the fact that a lot of Tea Party members seem to believe that, and that is in fact the joke. It's ridiculous.

DOMINICK: Everybody got a joke in and we'll let everybody at home decide who's was the best.

All right, President Obama's chief of staff calling it a day to run for mayor of Chicago? I thought that was kind of crazy myself until I did some research. Rahm Emanuel's week on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DOMINICK: Friday morning, president Obama made this announcement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: My chief of staff Rahm Emanuel has informed me that he will be leaving his post today to explore other opportunities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOMINICK: Like maybe mayor of Chicago? This brings us to our segment we call "You are here." So how did we get here? Let's go back three weeks when Mayor Daley announced that he would not be seeking another term effectively ending a political dynasty in the windy city.

And of course the talk of Rahm Emanuel's replacement, that starts immediately. Why? Well, let's go back to April when Rahm Emanuel made some news on the "Charlie Rose" program.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAHM EMANUEL: I hope Mayor Daley seeks reelection. I will work and support him if he seeks reelection. But if Mayor doesn't, one day I would like to run for mayor of the city of Chicago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOMINICK: There you have it.

Now, let's go back even further, like 50 years further to find out who is Rahm Emanuel and how did he get here? He was born and raised in Chicago. He was a ballet dancer who lost his middle finger in a meet slicer accident while working at an Arby's in high school. His brothers Ari Emanuel, the guy that Ari Gold on the HBO show "Entourage" is based on, that's his brother, the most powerful agent in entertainment.

Here's Rahm Emanuel's professional bio. He was senior adviser to Richard Daley when he campaigned for mayor of Chicago in 1989. He was one of President Bill Clinton's senior advisors, we'll put him right there on the road. He represented in the House of Representatives from 2003 to 2008, he represented Chicago. President Obama tapped him in 2008 to be his chief of staff.

And, well, I have to say, when I heard that this ambitious guy was going to leave such a powerful job to run for mayor, I thought, that doesn't sound very ambitious, until I realized even a guy called Rahmbo isn't superhero. The average tenure of a chief of staff is about two years, except of course, the first chief of staff, Harry Truman's chief of staff, John Steelman. He served the longest, six years, because he didn't know that he could get out a little earlier. That trend was started much later.

And that brings us to his replacement, the new chief of staff, President Obama's new left hand, he's left-handed. His name is Pete Rouse. He's not quite the ball buster that Rahm Emanuel was, but he was the Obama's Senate chief of staff, and before that people called him the 101st senator when he worked for Majority Leader Tom Daschle.

Now if more and more people are getting their news from comedians these days, well, then exactly what are they getting? Stick around, we'll hear who's getting roasted by the late-night comedians.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DOMINICK: Welcome back to "What the Week?" I'm Pete Dominick, and this section is called why this person is better than me. Lets' get started.

Haley Met, she is only 12 years old and she started her own charity. Go to every-one.org and donate just one dollar. Do it now to a really, really great cause. Patricia Moran, she is better than me -- why? She just joined the Peace Corps to study Spanish and learn the culture.

Who else is better than me? The students of Mona Shore high school in Michigan. They elected a transgender peer homecoming king despite school officials barring it.

Mark Zuckerburg, we know why he's better than me. He donated $100 million to Newark public schools. OR maybe he's not better than me. There's a very controversial movie coming out saying that he stole Facebook.

They're all better than me.

All right, well, late-night comedy has become a legitimate news source. Traditional journalists might balk at that idea, but as a standup comedian, I think it's kind of awesome. As Carol Burnett said "comedy is tragedy plus time." And in the age of 24 hour media, time moves pretty fast.

Here's what late-night comedians found funny this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sarah Palin made her first appearance on the who "Dancing with the Stars" to support her daughter, Bristol.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything she says, she says in threes like this.

SARAH PALIN, (R) FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: This is amazing, it's so exciting, it's great to see all this courage and joy and exuberance by every dancer is awesome.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It turns out she does this all the time.

PALIN: Absolutely amazing, awesome, invigorating -- the determination and resolve and sheer guts -- democracy and tolerance and freedom.

It's a humbling, humbling experience already. It's very humbling.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Stephanie Miller, Sarah Palin continues to take a beating, what do you think?

MILLER: She is just comedy gold, Caribou Barbie. I don't care what she says. I think it's a good day when you can understand anything she says.

DOMINICK: We're out of time, but I thank you guys so much for coming on this panel. I really, really appreciate you joining me for our first show.

And now using my beautiful bald head as a Magic-8 ball, here's the next big things. Next week we'll mark the anniversary of the war in Afghanistan. Nine years, the longest war in U.S. history. And this week a poll found two-thirds of you don't want us to be there anymore. Next week we'll see if the war on the war in Afghanistan is going to heat up.

And finally this week, the world lost a great comedian, I lost a great friend, and three boys lost a great dad. Greg Giraldo, this one's for you.