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Politicians Campaign as Midterms Near; One Man's Job to Review Marijuana; City Councilman Speaks Out Against Bullying Gay Teens; Bill O'Reilly Has Conflict with Hosts of "The View"; Study Finds that Thinner Woman and Heavier Men More Successful

Aired October 16, 2010 - 10:00   ET

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

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning once again. A blackout in New York. The lights aren't out, rather one particular channel is, and it could mean -- could keep millions of sports fans from seeing playoff baseball and NFL football this weekend.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Also, happy bridge day. Whoa. Yes, folks. Take a look at these nuts -- no. They call themselves enthusiasts, I guess. Check this one out. It is bridge day in West Virginia. Base jumpers get to jump off the bridge today.

This is a live look at it. They only have about a six-hour window where it's legal to do this, to drop some 876 feet, a nine- second drop. Hope that parachute works before you get to the bottom. We'll have more on exactly what they're doing, why they do it.

BOLDUAN: Why?

HOLMES: Why is a good question for it. Reynolds Wolf will help us with that story. Hello. This is your CNN Saturday morning, 10:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, Georgia. 9:00 a.m. in Fayetteville, Arkansas, or wherever you may be. I'm T.J. Holmes.

BOLDUAN: I'm Kate Bolduan. Thanks for joining us today.

HOLMES: We've got over the next two hours here in the "CNN Newsroom," several things to tell you about. One of them is going to be about that young man, rapper T.I. He is headed back to prison less than a year after he got out of prison. We'll tell you what he did this time around and why the judge said he's reached, quote, "the limit on second chances."

Also you're going to meet a man who had his dream job. A lot of people would call it their dream job as well. He gets to smoke weed for a living. Seriously, folks, that's his job. We'll explain.

BOLDUAN: But first, let's begin with the looming midterm election this is morning. We're 17 days away now from it, and coast to coast some of the biggest names in politics are hitting the campaign trail.

The president is in Massachusetts for his old friend Governor Duval Patrick. Patrick, on the left you see there, he faces a tough reelection against Republican Charles Baker. Obama hopes to rev up the voters, especially independents, very important this election. But a recent poll shows more than half the independents in Massachusetts have an unfavorable view of him.

And former president Bill Clinton campaigned on the opposite coast for Jerry Brown and his run for governor. Brown faces former eBay CEO Meg Whitman who's spent more than $119 million of her own money. That's a lot of change. Not to be outdone, Sarah Palin and Republican national committee chairman Michael Steele are speaking at a fund raiser in California tonight. Palin all but endorsed Whitman without using her name.

HOLMES: A big challenge for Democrats right now is trying to bridge this so called enthusiasm gap. Republicans seem to be a little more enthused about going to the polls coming up in 17 days than Democrats seem to right now. And that is a problem. You need to have your people excited, get them motivated to get to the polls.

Our Brianna Keilar is joining us this morning from Maryland. How are they doing with this so called enthusiasm gap there?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I have to tell you, in this parking lot that I'm standing in you're really not sensing an enthusiasm gap. These are union members with the SEIU and they're going to be going out to the surrounding neighborhoods knocking on doors, trying to get people to vote. So they're very enthusiastic.

We were just listening to them firing themselves up. There was someone was giving a speech about how November 2nd is really the beginning of president Obama's reelection campaign and they were doing a cheer from his -- from when he was campaigning, fired up, ready to go.

That said, the issue has to do with this Democratic stronghold in Maryland, there does seem to be an enthusiasm gap. The unemployment here is seven percent or so, lower than the national average here. But you're seeing the Democratic governor here, Martin O'Malley who these folks are trying to get out the vote for, he's in a tighter race than expected. And he's facing Bob Urlich, the Republican he ousted four years ago.

So essentially this is just apples to apples, T.J., and we'll see if Maryland voters change their mind from what they decided four years ago at least in the gubernatorial race, T.J.

HOLMES: And you can put on a rally and you can do a few chants here and there. But at the same time, is anybody -- can Democrats really turn around in a place they're supposed to be winning, expected to be winning, and they're fighting to fire Democrats up in a Democratic stronghold?

KEILAR: Well, certainly. And these folks are obviously union folks supporting Democrats. The question is, 2008, unions really came out, delivered for Democrats. Can they do that again? We're going to be seeing that in 17 days. Can they bring those votes? And in a place like prince Georges County which is predominantly African-American, there's a whole different element to the Democratic base. Will African-Americans come out for Democrats with the same enthusiasm we're seeing some of the voters who are pushing for Republicans in this election?

And there's certainly a bit of unknown here. Democrats are very worried about it and Republicans feel that they have some momentum and right now that enthusiasm gap is certainly on their side.

HOLMES: Brianna Keilar for us this morning. We appreciate you, as always, thanks so much.

BOLDUAN: The U.S. has been fighting in Afghanistan for almost nine years now, more than 1,300 troops have lost their lives, and the war has cost more than $300 billion so far.

But as midterm elections approach the war barely registers as one of the top issues on the ballot for voters. A nationwide poll conducted last month finds only three percent mention the war in Afghanistan, and 60 percent of Americans say the economy or jobs are the most important problems facing the country right now.

HOLMES: And a big part of our coverage heading into Election Day right here, CNN election express bus is coming to a town near you, if you will. Monday, we'll be in Charlotte, North Carolina. Tuesday, Columbia, South Carolina, Macon, Georgia, on Wednesday, we'll be in Jacksonville on Thursday and in Tampa on Friday.

I want you to right now let me know ahead of time where we should go and who we should talk to in those towns. Send those messages to me on twitter and on Facebook/tjholmescnn.

BOLDUAN: And some mixed news for the Obama administration. The federal budget deficit is actually down from last year's numbers, but those numbers are still eye-popping. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the deficit is slightly less than $1.3 trillion in 2010. While that is historically quite high, it's slightly better than last year's all-time high-just over $1.4 trillion. Those numbers simply amaze me.

It is a tough job, but someone's got to do it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You get paid to smoke pot and write about it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can be high doing your job?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And my boss knows it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Smoking pot to pay the bills is. Meet the man who's paid to test each and every medical marijuana dispensary in Denver.

HOLMES: Reynolds, what's your dream job?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, looks like pretty good sunshine across parts of the southeast today -- yes, no, dream job I'm working on today. It is going to be spectacular across much of the nation. There is a chance of scattered showers in the northeast. That's coming up, your travel weather, football forecast, full plate here on CNN Saturday.

BOLDUAN: But first, this morning's news quiz. "Money" magazine has come out with its list of the highest paying jobs in America. Do you have one of these jobs? What do you think is number one? Attorney, anesthesiologist, or network news anchor? The answer after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Before the break, we asked you what is the highest paying job in America according to "Money" magazine. What do you think, an attorney, anesthesiologist, network news anchor? T.J., what do you think?

HOLMES: It is anesthesiologist. I'm just the network news anchor who can't even say "anesthesiologist," so clearly we don't get paid more. These are the guys who put you to sleep during surgery. It was kind of just a general ambiguous term.

The average pay for those guys and gals is about $290,000, top pay closer to $400,000. For more information on the highest paying jobs, you can go to money.CNN.com.

These guys were playing last night. If you didn't see this, this was a really good game last night in the ALCS. Yankees were down by five runs, came back and won it late in the eighth inning. They put runs on the board.

But I tell you that not just because we want to do sports highlights, but millions of New Yorkers may not be able to see the games as the Yankees progress. Why? News Corp has pulled the plug on Cablevision customers. They own FOX and sister nation My-9 up in New York. Both companies are tied in a legal dispute now over programming.

So Cablevision says FOX is asking for too much money. FOX says it deserves more money for the quality programming. So what has happened now is that many millions of folks up in the northeast, in particular, New York who have cablevision, they do not have FOX. It got blacked out midnight last night.

And if the Yankees make to it the World Series, FOX covers the World Series, you won't be able to see fit you're a Yankee fan. Can you imagine?

BOLDUAN: All I'm saying is New Yorkers, outspoken anyway. And my friends in New York who are Yankees fans, I can't even imagine how furious people will be.

HOLMES: Yes, this won't fly. They'll get it worked out.

WOLF: There is some poor soul that's going to be in a call center working for a cable company tonight or wherever they're working who's going to be dealing with the most unbelievable language in their ear. And you can totally understand that. If you're a passionate fan, I couldn't imagine not being able to watch my favorite sports team and that happens.

We have great weather, great things to talk about and we also have interesting video of a different type of sport. This is off the charts crazy. This is a shot we have from West Virginia. We've got live video we had just moments ago. People just going -- unbelievable.

BOLDUAN: They can't even see where they're going.

WOLF: They do vanish and then you see the canopy of the parachutes. They actually reach about 90 to 100 miles per hour. On average, when a skydiver jumps out of an airplane, they can get up to 120 miles an hour in terms of terminal velocity. This is still scary as can be. Not a whole lot of room for error.

BOLDUAN: I'd say not.

HOLMES: This is officially bridge day. They only get six hours. They've been doing this for about 30 years. But it's legal to do this --

BOLDUAN: For this little period of time, you can jump off a bridge.

HOLMES: About 876 feet down and they all do it. You can do it as many as times as you want to. Hundreds of folks come from all over the world to be able to do this. It cleared up --

BOLDUAN: Would you do that?

HOLMES: No, no.

BOLDUAN: Would you do this?

WOLF: No way in hell.

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: That would be three's companies on this one folks. We are not jumping off a bridge.

HOLMES: Insane.

(WEATHER BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Bill O'Reilly with the ladies of "The View." That combination, you clearly know that's not going to be a garden party. HOLMES: Probably not.

BOLDUAN: Not so much. Our Josh Levs is standing by to show you what went down on the show that everyone is talking about.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It's 20 minutes past the hour now. There's always a little drama -- I don't get to watch "The View" a lot. Do you?

BOLDUAN: No, I don't.

HOLMES: Why are you laughing at me? I just don't get to watch it because I'm working during the day and it's on.

BOLDUAN: Exactly.

HOLMES: But this week had a big guest. FOX News host Bill O'Reilly. There he is. He comes out. Everything seems cool, gives a couple of hugs, kisses. It's all good, right?

BOLDUAN: Right, but then not so much. Let's just bring in Josh Levs.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It got a little heated.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Tell us about what happened, Josh.

LEVS: Well, you know, this is interesting to me. You're talking about seeing "The View," I don't get to see it that much either. But every time something happens it becomes such a big news story and there's so much traffic online. It's been one of the top stories on CNN.com for a few days now.

Let me talk about what happened. Fox News' Bill O'Reilly was the guest. He brought up the planned Islamic center near ground zero.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL O'REILLY, FOX NEWS HOST: Muslims killed us on 9/11.

JOY BEHAR, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": No, oh, my god!

O'REILLY: Muslims didn't kill us on 9/11?

BEHAR: Extremists did that.

(CROSSTALK)

O'REILLY: I'm telling you, 70 percent of the country --

(CROSSTALK)

WHOOPI GOLDBERG, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": I don't want to sit here now, I don't. I'm outraged by that statement.

O'REILLY: You're outraged about Muslims killed us on 9/11?

(APPLAUSE)

BARBARA WALTERS, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": I want to say something. I want to say something to all of you. You have just seen what should not happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: Barbara Walters went on to say people should not walk out. There should be respectful disagreement. Joy Behar and Whoopi actually came back after Barbara Walters calmed things down and only after O'Reilly clarified saying that he meant that Muslim extremists were responsible for the attack.

Then that night, he addressed the issue Thursday night on his show, Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor." He said no one he knows wants to insult Muslims but he says that people are tired of political correctness.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O'REILLY: I'm not in the business of sugar-coating harsh reality. This program and my book state the truth as I see it. I enjoy jousting with "The View" ladies because with the exception of Elisabeth Hasselback, they don't see it my way and I want their audience to hear both sides. I loved that exposition today. Didn't you?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: And on our sister network HLN that same night, Joy Behar talked about it. And to understand what she says, you need to know that O'Reilly's new book is called "Pinheads and Patriots".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEHAR: Today on "The View," Bill O'Reilly had a real pinhead movement. I was really angry. I thought he was saying something that I construe has hate speech, frankly.

I'm joined now by former governor Minnesota Jesse Ventura. It upsets me because I really think that to say Muslims killed us on 9/11 is like you could say that about any group to lump an entire group like that --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: She then went on to have a conversation with Jesse Ventura.

It is interesting -- I was taking a look at this story and saying, can anything be learned from this? Maybe it's at least a touchstone moment to talk about how we as a society can have respectful disagreements, talk about 9/11 and some of the concerns people have about the Islamic center without grouping Muslims in an inappropriate way.

I set up a conversation on my Facebook and Twitter pages. Feel free to join the conversation. I'm happy to say, so far we've heard from a couple of hundred people. And there are many among them who are being respectful and trying to have a dialogue about these issues.

But obviously a lot of people weighing in, and this is OK, with some passion on both sides about what they saw in that debate. Some people saying that they think he was really offensive, others saying they think no one should ever walk out. It's interesting to see all the takes on this.

BOLDUAN: Yes, very interesting. It was definitely a memorable show, I'm sure, for all of them.

LEVS: I'm hearing reports that they're going to address it on "The View" on Monday.

BOLDUAN: Maybe they'll say they've all made up.

LEVS: And maybe T.J. will catch that one.

HOLMES: I'm on the road.

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: Thanks, Josh.

LEVS: OK.

BOLDUAN: Let's get a check of our top stories. A gas explosion has killed at least 20 coal miners in China. Authorities believe some survivors may still be trapped there. China says it has closed more than 1,300 small coal mines already this year. China has one of the world's deadliest records when it comes to mining.

The Mexican government has suspended the search for David Hartley. Tiffany Hartley says her husband was shot by drug pirates last month while they were jet skiing on the Mexico side of Falcon Lake. After speaking with Mexican authorities Friday, Hartley's family says it hopes the search will resume Monday.

And a medical breakthrough could offer hope for millions struggling with brain injuries. Medical researchers with the military say they've developed a test that can detect if someone has suffered a concussion or mild traumatic brain injury.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. PETER CHIARELLI, ARMY VICE CHIEF OF STAFF: It allows us to isolate immediately after an event whether a soldier has had a concussion or a traumatic brain injury, which would allow us to be able to ensure that we give him or her the proper treatment rather than trying to guess at a later date whether or not they have posttraumatic stress or traumatic brain injury.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And if more research confirms the accuracy of this test, it could also be used on people who are injured on a football field or in a car accident or any other situation where there's a potential head injury.

HOLMES: Well, he just got out of prison about ten months ago, got out of a halfway house seven months ago. Two weeks from now, he'll be back behind bars. I'm talking about superstar rapper T.I. who yesterday is going to be sent back to prison.

He learned from a federal judge here in Atlanta. His real name is Clifford Harris. He's now getting another 11 months for violating terms of his probation relating to his conviction on weapons charges. This happening just days after T.I. talked a person down from the rooftop of an Atlanta building.

Back in September, Harris was arrested in California on drug charges. Yesterday he told the judge he needs treatment, called himself an addict. He says he is a victim of a disease of addiction. He says he actually needs rehab, not prison time.

I sat down with him earlier this year after he got out of prison. Listen to the assurances he gave me and the public about him never being in this position again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

T.I., RAPPER: I don't feel the need to make any assurance to others. I think when you watch me live my life and you see how I move different than I did before and you see how I behave different than I did before, I think that that in itself will be your assurance.

I mean, I think that's the main question everybody wants to know. How do we know it's not going to happen again? Well, you know -- you have to sit and watch and see. You know what I'm saying? I know it's not going to happen again. But I can't convince you without action.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, the judge and the prosecutors expressed disappointment, the judge even saying that T.I. "threw smut" on the experiment, that experiment being not sending a young man to prison for that conviction on the gun charges. He got a special deal to keep him out of prison to shorten that prison term, and essentially he said he screwed up.

BOLDUAN: And just ahead, I'll introduce you to a man some would say has their dream job. Others can't believe he's getting paid for this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's legal advice for California, federal law trumps state statutes. The nation's top law official preemptively telling California voters he'll vigorously enforce federal drug laws even if voters pass Proposition 19, which would legalize recreational marijuana use in California. But you can only have small amounts of it.

Holder says if voters approve the measure it would, quote, "greatly complicate federal drug enforcement." At the same time, a lot of people say if prop 19 passes, still that would essentially legalize marijuana because the federal government is not going to go after every single person that's busted with an ounce of marijuana. Just for all practical purpose, they just can't do that. They're not going to have the resources. So despite what he says, many believe they will legalize pot.

BOLDUAN: And speaking of pot, imagine your job depends on smoking marijuana. CNN's Poppy Harlow introduces us to a reporter whose main beat means lighting up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Not only is this legal, it pays the bills.

HARLOW (on camera): So you get paid to smoke pot and write about it?

"WILLIAM BREATHES," MARIJUANA CRITIC: I get paid to smoke pot and write about it. Yes.

HARLOW (voice-over): His pen name is "William Breathes" and he is one of the first medical marijuana critics in the country. We can't show you his face because his job depends on staying anonymous, just like a restaurant critic.

HARLOW (on camera): So you can be high doing your job?

"BREATHES": And my boss knows it.

HARLOW (voice-over): A decade after medical marijuana was legalized in Colorado, it's estimated about two percent of the state's population or more than 100,000 people have applied for medical marijuana licenses.

According to one Harvard economist roughly $18 billion is spent on pot every year in the U.S., and Denver's westward paper had capitalized on just that, hiring Breathes as a pot critic who reviews the dispensaries and the quality of the marijuana they sell.

JONATHAN SHIKES, MANAGING EDITOR, "DENVER WESTWORD": He has a journalism degree, he is a good writer, and he can also punctuate and spell, which was very different than a lot of people who applied for the job.

HARLOW: As for Breathes, he has been smoking for 15 years to ease chronic stomach pains, but now his medicine pays his mortgage. We tagged along to see for ourselves, and we didn't take our cameras inside, but take a listen.

"BREATHES": Oh, that's great.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Want to go with the cough?

"BREATHES": I'm going to have to go with that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: An eighth?

"BREATHES": Yes, I'll go with an eighth.

HARLOW (on camera): Can you show us what you bought?

"BREATHES": Yes. I got a joint, a pre-rolled joint and some sour diesel, really chunky, real good-looking pot.

HARLOW: I can smell it like permeating the whole car.

"BREATHES": Yes. Exactly. That muskiness is something you really look for.

HARLOW: Does that mean it's good?

"BREATHES": Yes.

HARLOW (voice-over): Back at his home office it's time to get to work.

"BREATHES": I load up a little bit and taste it. I try and taste the smoke as it comes out. And it has a real woody finish. And then after a few hits of it, you try and feel what type of buzz it is and what it's doing to my body medically.

HARLOW: So you know the critics say you just want to get high.

"BREATHES": Yes, definitely. And I'm not going to lie, there is a fun aspect to this medicine. But if you could see me on a morning when I'm really sick, when pot really helps ne most, it's truly medical.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Truly medical. And he says he's not just doing it by taste, and the reviews he's giving, he actually says it depends on how it treats his body, how it makes him feel, does it help him feel a little bit better. And people have been using his reviews.

You can't get past somebody smoking weed for a living?

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: I have to move on.

HOLMES: Coming up, we're going to show you video that has gone viral. Take a listen to it and you'll probably understand why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BURNS, FORT WORTH CITY COUNCILMAN: I've never told this story to anyone before tonight. Not my family, not my husband, not anyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: What caused this councilman to break down in tears? We'll play the tearful speech for you coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It's 39 minutes past the hour now. We're told by Reynolds it's going to be a beautiful fall day. Is it fall? It doesn't feel like fall here in Atlanta.

BOLDUAN: Technically fall. I love this time of year. I love this.

(WEATHER BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Let's do a check of the top stories now.

Strikes, protests in France have shut down ten of the country's 12 refineries. They're angry, these protesters, over planned reforms in the country's pension system, among them, raising the retirement age from 60 to 62. People are already lining up at the gas pumps to top off their tanks for fear of what this will do, and a fuel shortage could impact France's two major airports.

And there are new sentencing guidelines for those convicted of possessing crack cocaine. Instead of five grams it will now take 28 grams or an ounce of the drug to trigger a mandatory five-year sentence. A ten-year mandatory sentence would kick in at 280 gram, up from 50 grams.

This has been kind of a controversy over the past few years. The new guidelines bring prison terms in crack cocaine in line with those for powder cocaine convictions.

And remember this scene? It didn't take long to topple Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq. But the war cost more than 4,000 American lives and billions of taxpayer dollars. Still, while admitting she might do some things differently, former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice has tough talk for the late dictator.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, (R) FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I do believe -- look, I would take Saddam Hussein out of power again. But, of course, in the rebuilding of Iraq, there are things that I would do differently. I think we put too much emphasis on Baghdad, not enough emphasis on the provinces.

Perhaps we didn't fully understand how the degree to which the society would start to come apart as a result of having been held in tyranny for all of those years. I'm also a believer that history's arc is long, not short. And sometimes things that looked terrific at the time look pretty bad in retrospect and vice versa. So ultimately this is a story that will be written by history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right, we're 43 minutes past the hour now. All you geeks, nerds, whiz kids out there, that's a good thing to be smart. But if you get those smart folks together, they might have one thing in common -- might be inebriated.

A new study in "Psychology Today" says intelligent people are more likely to drink. The study analyzed kids' intelligence and then their drinking behaviors as adults. The study found that bright kids in the U.S. and the U.K. are more likely to grow up drinking alcohol, even binge drinking, over their, quote, "very dull or dumb classmates."

Amelia Parry is editor in chief of "The Frisky." She's been following this story and so many others that we're going to discuss with her right now. Does that make sense? Where's the logic there? Why would smart kids end up drinking more?

AMELIA PARRY, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THEFRISKY.COM: I think there's a couple of things that could be to blame. If you're a smart kid whose folks is on studying, getting into college, by the time you reach drinking age you need that sort of release to let go after all the years of studying so hard and focusing.

There's also some indication that people who are smart have more stressful jobs and that that as a result could drive them to drink. So that's a couple of the different components that could be blamed.

HOLMES: I was a really smart kid. Draw your own conclusions from that.

(LAUGHTER)

Amelia, I see here the reasons you describe. But just in your day-to-day life and a lot of people out there, think about it, do you notice this in your day-to-day life, when you stop and think about it?

PARRY: Yes, I think I do actually notice it. I think the correlation to work as a big deal to do with it. I think if you're a smart person who's really focused on work, you're achieving, you have a big job, you're probably very stressed out. At the end of the day, you want a serious nightcap or five.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: Another study I want to bring up here, and is this right? It says that thinner women make more money? How much more money are we talking about here?

PARRY: I think it's about $16,000 more than the group norm. What's interesting about this study is they also studied men and they discovered the opposite is true, which is that heavier men, so long as they don't reach the point of being obese, make more than their thin counterparts.

HOLMES: Explain that.

PARRY: And so I think people will leap to the conclusion that for women, being thin is better and that you're rewarded for being thin. But I don't think it's that clear. I think that society puts more pressure on women to focus on their looks.

And as a result, if you don't measure up to some sort of thin standard, you may be lacking a sort of confidence. And I think confidence at work is sort of everything.

Whereas men, I think men, frankly, think they're awesome no matter what their weight is. So I don't think that not living up to some sort of beauty standard affects men as much and that as a result, that doesn't stand in their way.

So I think the main thing about the study is that it sort of shows a correlation between looks and career advancement, but I don't think it explicitly is saying that thin women are rewarded for being thin with women.

HOLMES: Amelia, what I got from this today is I need to drink more and put on a few pounds as well and I'm going to be doing OK in life.

(LAUGHTER)

PARRY: That might help you out.

HOLMES: Amelia Parry, we appreciate you. We've got several other topics. But always interesting stuff you're writing about. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

PARRY: Good to see you, too.

BOLDUAN: There's a lot to talk about following that.

HOLMES: That was a lot in there.

BOLDUAN: And the takeaway is I have to stop eating, apparently.

(LAUGHTER)

This is not working for me.

HOLMES: Well, it makes sense once you explain it. But guys, we all, no matter what size we are, we all think we're awesome.

BOLDUAN: Think they're awesome, "think" is the operative word.

(LAUGHTER) Back to politics. It's hard to turn on the television these days and not see or hear about Sarah Palin. Guess what? We're about to see a whole lot more of her.

HOLMES: As the self-described mama grizzly, she's showing off her state, showing off her life in that state, part of a new reality TV shore. We've got a sneak peek for you.

BOLDUAN: But first, another question from "Money" magazine's highest paying jobs in America list. Lawyers are number 15 on the list. But there is one job you see here that makes on average more money. Which is it, senior sales executive, management consultant or network meteorologist? The answer is after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Back to politics. Just 17 days until those all important midterm elections. And "The Best Political Team in Television" is keeping track of the campaigns leading up to the election day. Deputy Political Director Paul steinhauser has a look at the political superstars on the campaign trail this weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, good morning, Kate and T.J. A busy weekend in politics.

Let's start with the president. Barack Obama is heading up to Massachusetts to help out a friend. I'm talking about Duval Patrick, the governor in Massachusetts. He faces a pretty tough reelection this year. So the president on his way up there today.

What about the Republicans? They're busy as well. Let's talk about Sarah Palin. She is teaming up today with Michael Steele, Republican National Committee chairman. They will be in Anaheim, California, doing a fundraising rally there. The idea is to raise bucks for the Republican Party to help out candidates in the November 2nd election.

This is interesting because Palin and the Republican National Committee didn't always see eye to eye but they're teaming up today to help raise money. Back to you guys.

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HOLMES: Our Paul Steinhauser as always, on politics, thank you. We're following the money trail this morning that can often tell you a lot about the candidates. Take a look here.

In the Senate race alone the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has raised more than $100 million, on the Republican side, $86 million. We're just talking party committees here.

Also, a lot of money coming in from outside groups, conservative groups have spent about $121 million on the midterm elections liberal- leaning groups, about $79 million. We'll see who comes out on top if all that money is going to translate into wins on Election Day.

BOLDUAN: And leading up to Election Day are the ads. There have been some fabulous ads. This election season to watch, including this one --

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Voters, look at your ballot, now look at him. This is Joe Miller. Now back to your ballot. You see his name. Now look at her. Now back to your ballot. Sadly, she is not on your ballot. Why? Because she lost, she lost to Joe Miller.

Look up. It's Joe Miller, an officer in the U.S. army who served in the first Gulf War. Now look there. Joe Miller is the father of eight and was a respected judge in Alaska.

Look up, it's Joe Miller in Washington restoring that thing you love called the constitution. Now look again -- it's money, money Joe Miller has saved you by stopping the outrageous spending in Washington. Now look at your ballot. Vote for Joe Miller for United States Senate.

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HOLMES: No matter what side of the aisle you come down on, no matter what, if you have no dog in that fight, that is a brilliant ad.

BOLDUAN: You just love the Old Spice guy.

HOLMES: I love that. But as you pointed out, you don't hear his opponent's name. He says her. He says her name's not there -- you never hear a reference to her. It is a brilliant ad.

HOLMES: And the point of the ad is to catch your attention, right? Well, part of it. And that definitely has.

But continuing with politics, Sarah Palin, she can now check reality TV show star off her to-do list.

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SARAH PALIN, (R) FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: We are somewhere that people dream object.

Family comes first.

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BOLDUAN: Sarah Palin's "Alaska" debuts on TLC in a month. Some of the things we'll watch, the former Alaska and vice presidential candidate do, tracking up the mountains, kayaking over river rapids, and dog sledding.

HOLMES: You know it's going to be a hit. People will tune in just to see how this goes.

BOLDUAN: Of course.

HOLMES: But if you didn't think you saw enough of Sarah Palin, you're about to see a little more.

We're going to see a lot on the road next week.

BOLDUAN: A lot more T.J., too.

HOLMES: Not quite that much. It is reality TV, I guess, out there on the road. We're hitting the road again next week with CNN election express bus coming out there to talk to you, in particular you in Charlotte, North Carolina on Monday, in Columbia, South Carolina on Tuesday, Macon, Georgia, on Wednesday Jacksonville, Florida, on Thursday, and on Friday we'll wrap up in Tampa, Florida. Again, one more swing through the U.S. with the election express bus getting ready for the next 17 days right up to the midterm Election Day.

Well, a recent rise in gay youth suicides blamed on bullying prompted a Fort Worth, Texas, city councilman to open up about his own experiences. Joel Burns is his name. He broke down as he told fellow council members how he, too, was the victim of bullying as a young man. He offered words of encouragement to young people who may be considering suicide because they, too, are gay.

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BURNS: I've never told this story to anyone before tonight, not my family, not my husband, not anyone. But the number of suicides in recent days has upset me so much and has just tore at my heart. And even though there may be some political repercussions for telling my story, the story is not just for the adults or choose to support or not choose to support me.

The story is for the student who may be holding the gun tonight or the rope or the bill bottle. Give yourself a chance to see how much better life will get. And it will get better.

You will get out of the household that doesn't accept you. You will get out of that high school, and you never have to deal with those jerks again if you don't want to. You will find and you will make new friends who will understand you, and life will get so, so, so much better.

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BOLDUAN: We'll be right back after this.

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