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Countdown to Election Day
Aired October 21, 2010 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It's the top of the hour, and we want to talk about what sounds like a case of old-fashioned in your face, racism. It's from a city council meeting in the town of Warner Robins, Georgia, a town near Macon, with a large Air Force base. Two council members get into it. One is African-American, and one is white. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DARON LEE, WARNER ROBINS CITY COUNCIL: I was disrespected last Monday, and I'm getting about tired of y'all talking to me in that kind of way. I'm not in a cotton field.
JOHN WILLIAMS, WARNER ROBINS CITY COUNCIL: You should be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: That's right. He actually said "you should be in a cotton field."
It's 2010, right, folks? City councilman Daron Lee says he's put up with other racist jabs besides that one, but fellow councilman John Williams says his cotton field jab wasn't racist at all. Here's what the men said about that uncomfortable exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: He smiles in your face and then makes racial remarks. You know, I'm pretty much used to it by now. I had it last council meeting and again another racial remark. It's a poor the representation of the council (INAUDIBLE).
WILLIAMS: Absolutely not. I worked in the cotton field. I drove a cotton truck many a mile. It's not a racial remark at all.
LEE: He makes everything racial.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, the "Macon Newspaper Report" says the local NAACP sent a letter stating council members who can't represent everyone in the city should step down.
Just a dozen more days before the midterm elections. The clock is ticking. The anger is growing and the topic of race bubbling there, too. We have seen the images of the Tea Party rallies. The Tea Party faithful rallying against big government, out of control spending and ever, increasing taxes, but now the NAACP warns that some members of the movement have links to hate groups. Tea party leaders denounced that report as a liberal smear tactic that's both insulting and laughable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMY KREMER, TEA PARTY EXPRESS: This is a tactic that the Democratic Party is using to stir up their base and to get us off message. I mean, we're not going to fall for it. We are here to focus on the fiscal issues, fiscal responsibility, limited government, free markets. That's what we are going to focus on. This is completely bogus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, the NAACP says the Tea Party movement as a whole should not be labeled as racist. But that leaders do need to stand the stand against it's fringe element.
Here's some of that conversation from last night's "AC 360."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN JEALOUS, PRESIDENT & CEO, NAACP: We have released it now because we need to call this country to basic civility. This report really shouldn't be controversial. When we made the call before, and it came out, it was basic. And then a week later, they threw out Mark Williams and a few weeks after that they kicked out Mr. Ravnedahl (ph) for suggesting that gay people should be killed. You know, we keep on (INAUDIBLE) denying the facts, we keep presenting it to them. They made a few good steps. Stop denying it. Here's the truth, do something about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, the story took a year to complete and analyze the membership of six Tea Party organizations in the country.
The anger has definitely energized many voters who are ready for a big change in Washington. But we got to wondering, what about the young voters who are so critical in getting Barack Obama elected? T.J. Holmes on the road with the Election Express. Today, he's in Gainesville, Florida, talking to some of those students about politics, apathy and the future. T.J..
T.J. HOLMES, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, hello to you, dear lady. Election Express rolling along. We are on our fourth day, fifth stop, no this latest tour. We're here at the University of Florida, beautiful campus here. I have to tell you I never seen anything like it. These kids are freaked out right now. They're scared to death.
School just started and they are just in a terrifying mood right now because their beloved football team is 4-3. They just lost three straight games and there is no Tim Tebow around to save them. But once you get past that, the other stuff that's on their minds right now - the economy, jobs, of course, these young folks are going to be graduating, many of them, coming up within the next year.
What does it look like for them as they move forward? This campus, like many others across the state and across the country are seeing tuition increases, 15 percent increase just this year in tuition, here at this school. You remember the 30 percent hike they did in California that led to protests? They're going through some of the same things with so much at stake with these young folks, that's going on in Washington, D.C..
I talked to two ladies today whose job it is to get the young people involved and boy, listen to them. They got a heck of a job on their hands.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTIN KLEIN, PRESIDENT, COLLEGE DEMOCRATS: It's a challenge. To be honest, it's a really tough challenge. I don't know how much easier it could get if we were actually driving people, but even then some people, you know, seem to be apathetic, which is really discouraging to me but, you know, we're persistent and we're optimistic about it.
CARLY WILSON, PRESIDENT, COLLEGE REPUBLICAN: We meet the same challenges. I don't have time. This isn't important. It's disheartening again because people pay so much in taxes, and the government affects their lives so much, and unless it's some big issue that they actually care about, affecting them directly, they don't vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: So, you hear them, head of the Republicans here on campus, head of the Democrats. They say they can literally, offer people a ride, we will literally pick you up and take you to vote, and they still can't people to vote often times. And sure enough, during this midterm, the kids simply say they are not engaged this time around.
The only way to get them engaged is if you tell them directly "hey, this is going to cost you $200, then they might do a protest and then they might get engaged but unless they can see it, touch it, taste it, smell it right there in front of them, Kyra, they just are not engaged this time around. Maybe they will surprise us on election day. But from everything we've been collecting on this trip and including on this campus, it just does not seem to be the case.
PHILLIPS: You want to see people rally and get involved. That's the only way we can make a difference. That's for sure. T.J., thanks. And T.J. is going to be on the Election Express and on the road for the entire week. The next stop tomorrow ill be Tampa, Florida, and we will take him live once right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. She's been dubbed Mexico's bravest woman, policing a town that no one else would. Meet the 20-year-old student in charge of a town in the violent drug corridor.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: You're watching 134 tons of marijuana burn in Tijuana, Mexico, just over the border there from San Diego. By military estimates, that's a couple hundred million joints, shall I say, all of it seized Monday in the biggest dope bust in recent memory. It will take two days to burn through that stash, which is believed to belong to the notorious Saloa Cartel, and the "L.A. Times" is reporting that the buss will actually deprive the cartel of about $200 million.
All right. Let's stay in Mexico, shall we, and the bloodiest city, Juarez, where the victim of a deadly drive-by shooting may be an American service members. The FBI is now working with Army investigators to try to get more details. Mexican authorities say 21- year-old Jose Hernandez Ramirez was shot and killed yesterday in Juarez, just south of El Paso, Texas. The local paper says that he was negotiating a car sale when he was gunned down. The victim's dad told Mexican officer that Ramirez was member of the National Guard, but the city is considered off-limits to U.S. service members because of the drug violence.
At least in the cities in the heart of Mexico's drug war has to be one of the most dangerous job in the world. You see it because we cover those stories every day. But there's a new sheriff in town just a few miles from Ciudad Juarez. It's a 20-year-old woman. A college student. She is actually and the new police chief of Praxedis Guerrero, stepping up because no one else wanted the job.
Our Nick Valencia, CNN producer is here to talk about this now. Now you caught me off guard, how do you pronounce that?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN PRODUCER: Praxedis G. Guerrero.
PHILLIPS: Say it again.
VALENCIA: Praxedis G. Guerrero.
PHILLIPS: (INAUDIBLE) as in G.
VALENCIA: As in G, Guerrero.
PHILLIPS: I have to work on my Spanish. That set me up to fail on that one and I thought my Spanish was pretty good. I'm like I'm not going there. But seriously, she's being considered the bravest woman in Mexico right now.
VALENCIA: She is an incredible profile of a woman, a resilient woman. She says that she's tired of people being afraid. Now this is a woman and with good reason, area law makers there have actually fled the area to Juarez, as we mentioned, Mexico's most violent city, the deadliest city and lawmakers are fleeing this part of town to go to Juarez. That gives you a sense of how bad it is. She held a press conference yesterday and she spoke a little bit about why she wants to be the new police chief and why she accepted the position.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARISOL VALLES GARCIA, POLICE CHIEF, PRAXEDIS G. GUERRERO (through translator): Because it's a position that's very interesting. I believe there's a lot that can be done. It's something I believe in. I think it's something that can be done by working with families and children. We just want to help children and make their dreams come true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, you know, I guess what caught our attention was not only the fact that she's a college student but she's also a woman. I mean, isn't this just setting her up for - I mean, just putting a big bull's eye right there on her forehead. And why would she - I mean, we're hearing what she said, but you've had a conversation, you've seen the deeper interview.
VALENCIA: Right.
PHILLIPS: Why would she want to do this?
VALENCIA: This is a narco haven, for all people watching this, this is an area controlled by organized criminals, and these are the types of rural areas that are giving authorities problems. These rural areas, Praxedis G. Guerrero is a town of about 8,500 people. And it's where cartels that are dominating this area are fighting for control of the territory. And they are influencing the residents a lot. Actually a lot of the residents have affinity for cartels in areas like this. Narcos reign like kings.
Now what she is doing now is introducing social programs and attacking the problem that way. Now, the youth are the most vulnerable in this drug war, to becoming organized criminals and drug traffickers. She's coming in and attacking the problem at the social root. A lot of authorities have said, the problem with drug wars is a social (INAUDIBLE) in Mexico and she's going after them.
PHILLIPS: She's thinking, I represent what the cartel wants, it's my age group. It's my vulnerability, right?
VALENCIA: Right.
PHILLIPS: OK. So but, still, doesn't - I mean, has she said anything about the dangers of this? I mean, it's twofold. She's young, she's a female.
VALENCIA: Absolutely.
PHILLIPS: And is she armed? I mean, has she been trained in weapons?
VALENCIA: Well, you bring up a good point about her being a female. This is not a typical position for a woman to be in power. In fact, one of the blog web sites in Mexico led with "are there no men lift in this city that can take this job?" And we spoke earlier with the spokesman for the state attorney general's office in Chihuahua, and he said to us, he said "Nick, there is an upsurge in violence against women and now with the ratcheting up of violence in these border cities, no one is safe. Be it women, husbands, children, everybody's vulnerable and there is absolutely no code of ethics, Kyra, among the drug traffickers and organized criminals in Mexico.
PHILLIPS: And do we know about her protection, or whether she is trained in weapons? Do we know any of that, Nick?
VALENCIA: We don't know too much about her background. But we do know that the police force that she has is about 13 people, and they're not expected to be carrying weapons, which is an interesting fact.
PHILLIPS: We have to follow up more on this. Nick, thanks so much.
VALENCIA: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: All right. We're talking hoops with Tony Harris coming up next. Can you hear him? What is that? Give it to me again, Tony.
TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hoops!
PHILLIPS: He's raving about an NBA star, some guy named Lebron something or other. He's coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Baseball playoffs, Yankees Stadium.
HARRIS: Look at this, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: It's a moment, right? Oh! (INAUDIBLE) close-up is him with him lying flat on the ground.
HARRIS: That's a long slide.
PHILLIPS: He's a fill-in first baseman, right?
HARRIS: He's had a really nice career but he is sort of at the tail end of his career. But he is filling in for (INAUDIBLE) who is the real star, the first baseman for the Yankees. The only point here is it's embarrassing, and the other point here to make is that the folks in New York couldn't see this because they're in a cable dispute and Cablevision isn't carrying the games because Fox and Cablevision won't come together and love one another.
PHILLIPS: Hi, Tony. How are you doing?
HARRIS: Great.
PHILLIPS: It's a twofold thing, (INAUDIBLE) and a raspberry all of the way down the side. (INAUDIBLE)
HARRIS: The kind you find in a secondhand store. Raspberry (INAUDIBLE).
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk NBA because from what I understand here -, regular season just a few days away.
HARRIS: The 26th. October 26.
PHILLIPS: OK. And what's the big talk?
HARRIS: The buzz now, obviously, is the Miami Heat. All right. This superstar mega team, high-powered super team with Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and, of course, Lebron James, but the emerging star of the NBA this year - take a look at "Sports Illustrated." Now you get to sort of, at east, lay the framework for the season. It is this kid out of Oklahoma City.
PHILLIPS: Look at that look.
HARRIS: Kevin Durant, 6'10", 6'11", can handle the ball like Magic Johnson, like a point guard right. Tremendous jump shot. He is thought to be the emerging star. He is thought to be the emerging star - he was in the conversation for MVP last year, which Lebron won but he is one of the front runners, pre season to be MVP of the league and you love this story because it's small down Oklahoma City with a real superstar. They should have beaten the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs last year.
But a lot of people believe this kid is going to be the superstar of the league and supplant Lebron James and there's a lot of backlash, as you know, against Lebron James for making the move to Miami.
PHILLIPS: Not only the move but they're not happy how he handled everything and how he (INAUDIBLE), right?
HARRIS: Yes, yes. He went on ESPN on a totally made-for- television event that really came off badly, a, as a television show, and, b, as a way to break the news to your city, not your home town city but certainly your home state of Ohio. Lebron was from Akron, and he was playing for the Cavaliers, but to announce to your city that you were making the move in this way on television, not having contacted the owner of the team left a very sour taste in a lot of people's mouths.
PHILLIPS: Real quickly. NFL - we talked about this yesterday, players are being fined for the vicious hits. Players are coming forward saying this is how we want to play, right?
HARRIS: Hard hits.
PHILLIPS: This is what we're all about. We want to do this. Too bad. HARRIS: So a lot of players are reacting. Hard hits. Guess what? It's in the game. It's in the game. So one quote I have to share with you before we got to go.
PHILLIPS: Nasty play is not in the game. That there's rules.
HARRIS: Hard hit. The players are saying these are hard hits. But I will tell you that there is at least one of the players, who is (INAUDIBLE) Meriwether who stepped forward to say "Look, I apologized. It is not the way I should play."
PHILLIPS: He got fined a lot of money.
HARRIS: But James Harrison of the Steelers who is fined for two hits in the game against (INAUDIBLE) is saying, "Look, I may retire. This is the way I play the game." But I love this quote from Brian Urlacher, a superstar line backer, right? For the Bears.
PHILLIPS: OK.
HARRIS: He says, "there are going to be big hits, and I can't understand how they, the league, can suspend us for it, right? You know what we should do? We should just put flags on everybody. Let's make it the NFFL, the national flag football league. It is unbelievable." And that's the kind of reaction that you're getting from the players. A lot of players saying, "look, we're going to play the game." If they want to fine us, they fine us. If they want to suspend us, suspend us. We're going to play the game.
PHILLIPS: We're going to see more concussions and we're going to see guys getting paralyzed.
HARRIS: Yes. It's a culture change.
(INAUDIBLE)
PHILLIPS: I'll see you on Monday. No, I'll see you tomorrow.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: Bring something good tomorrow. I love your energy. Tony Harris walking off. Ready, here we go.
HARRIS: Good-bye, everybody.
PHILLIPS: Adios.
Up next, 30-second pitch, a half minutes that will hopefully change the life of a jobless American. Today's pitcher, an artist that has turned, well, taken this economy, this bad economy into something really beautiful. You'll get his story coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, we got a new measure of the economy this morning, the number of Americans filing their first jobless claims dropped last week to 450,000. About 475,000 jobless Americans had filed initial claims the week before. That means that the employment picture is pretty much unchanged.
First-time filings have bounced around in this range for about a year. And that's far from encouraging. Economists say that a recovery doesn't really take hold until we see the number drop below 400,000 and stays there.
All right. Time now for our 30-second pitch. A half minute for a job seeker to sell themselves to a potential employer who may be watching. Today's guest came to our attention not because he needed us but because we all need more people like him.
Warren Miller is an unemployed graphic designer butting his downtime to extremely good use. He's actually creating beautiful art work and volunteering his time. He helps out at his daughter's school, in the community, and for groups that help people with disabilities. Now you see, Warren is deaf, but don't think for a second that that is a disability. Warren's ability to see things differently not only makes him a gifted artist, but an incredibly talented graphic designer. Warren joins us live from Indianapolis with his interpreter.
Warren, great to see you this morning.
WARREN MILLER, GRAPHIC ARTIST (through translator): Good morning.
PHILLIPS: Great to see you. OK. Actually, too, if you don't mind, I know that Darren is interpreting for you. If we could get the camera to pull out just a little bit more so we are able to see your sign language perfectly, that would be great. Can we do that?
MILLER: Sure.
PHILLIPS: OK. Great. There we go. A little bit more. Perfect. Warren, I want to be - my mom's a teacher for the deaf, so she will be very upset with me, Warren if we can't see your ASL.
MILLER: Great.
PHILLIPS: Terrific.
And while you're signing, Darryn (ph), make sure you interpret for us so we hear your voice as we're doing the interview here. OK. So, Warren, tell me what you have been doing in your downtime while looking for a job. I understand that you've been volunteering through the arts center and also at your daughter's school using your artist's therapy.
MILLER: Yes. I volunteered to work with the Art Work Indiana, and I help disability artists to give encouragement to look for funding and things for their, you know, for their art work. And once a month, we have a meeting to discuss, to help, to encourage, the disability artists here and in Indiana. PHILLIPS: Oh, that's fantastic. I'm going to point out. Warren, this wasn't made clear to me, and I'm doing this specifically for our deaf viewers. You are using your speech and sign language. Your speech is fantastic. So I want to point out that our interpreter is signing for you, but we are hearing your voice. So that's fantastic.
Now that that's clear, let's move on and talk about how tough has it been for you to find a job? Because you're so talented. You even worked for the Museum of Art there in Indiana. You've done amazing graphic design work. Has being deaf helped you, hurt you, made it more challenging? Because obviously being deaf adds so many assets to art.
MILLER: Well, thank you. I tried to look for a job for about a year. I went downtown during the - I had a sandwich board and walked downtown around Indianapolis, and I wasn't getting much result. So I changed my ideas, and my wife helped me out with some ideas, like start painting, broadcast, internet, meet deaf people, and it helped me to get through and make connections, and that's where I'm going right now. I try to send a lot of resumes all over the U.S., and I have not heard any response. So I want to use my energy to focus on my painting and volunteering and helping other people as well.
PHILLIPS: That's so fantastic and I know that won't stop. Let's go ahead and get the clock ready. You've got 30 seconds to make your pitch. So when you're ready, Warren, take it away.
MILLER: All right. My name is Warren Miller, and I'm a graphic designer and I like to help business to succeed and to creating their marketing material. I am very proficient in CS-4, and I help to work with the printer and direct their photo shoot, and, you know, if you have any - if you need to look for a quality design, just send me an e-mail and I'm here. Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Fantastic. Warren Miller. The e-mail once again, warrenmiller50@yahoo.com.
Warren, thank you so much for telling us your story. We really appreciate it.
MILLER: Thank you for inviting me here.
PHILLIPS: It was our pleasure.
And if you are out of work and want to sell yourself to prospective employers, let us know. Send us your resume and a letter to 30secondpitch@CNN.com. Also, if you want to hire our 30-Second Pitchers, like Warren, who you just saw, just go to my blog, CNN.com/kyra. All the information and the e-mails will be there.
So, you want to lose weight? Got to go on a diet. Want to lose debt? You put your money on a diet. That means cutting out some of your favorite things, unfortunately.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Retail, clothing, and eating out. That's where a lot of my money goes to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: This single mom went on a 21-day financial fast and tried to give up stuff like that. And three weeks are up. We're going to try to see if she stuck to the plan.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, Ryan Sutton has a problem. She's a single mom, she's working in a tough economy and worried about her money. Is she wasting too much? Is she saving enough? Is she making the right decisions? Those are questions a lot of us are asking right now.
Enter Michelle Singletary, author, expert and checkbook dietician.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN SUTTON, WENT ON FINANCIAL DIET: Retail, clothing and eating out. That's where a lot of my money goes to.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Ryan Sutton is like many Americans. She works hard for her money and feels like she should be able to splurge a little on herself, but during a tough economy, like Americans, she also knows she should put away more money for savings and paying off her credit card.
SUTTON: Hi, how are you?
MICHELLE SINGLETARY, FINANCIAL EXPERT: I'm Michelle Singletary.
SUTTON: Nice to meet you. Ryan Sutton.
PHILLIPS: That's where author Michelle Singletary says she can help. In her latest book, "The Power to Prosper: 21 Days to Financial Freedom," she says anyone can get on the road to debt freedom, and it starts with three weeks of financial fasting.
SINGLETARY: I want you to remove yourself from places and things that encourage to you spend, and spend that 21 days concentrating on "What do I want to do with my money?".
PHILLIPS: For three weeks, Ryan is limited to spending on essentials only, like food and gas.
SUTTON: That first week, really frustrated. I was going through withdrawals. I wanted to go shopping, I wanted to prepare for my homecoming. I couldn't get my hair done.
PHILLIPS: With a preplanned trip to her college for homecoming, Ryan finds the money diet hard to stick with.
SUTTON: I got to the airport and noticed I left my debit card. I was livid. I didn't know what to do. I said, "I'm going to homecoming and I don't have my card." But guess what? I wasn't supposed to spend money anyway.
PHILLIPS; After two weeks, she says she begins to feel withdrawal symptoms.
SUTTON: Day 14 is here, and it's been a challenge. I even experienced, like the stages of death and dying, where I began to -- I became depressed. I became angry.
PHILLIPS: But Ryan stays committed and nears the end of the fast. And as the single parent of an active 10-year-old, she gains a new perspective on her money.
SUTTON: It's made me notice that I spend way too much money eating out. I kind of felt foolish about the money that I had been spending because it wasn't necessary.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, those 21 days are up, and it's time to weigh in. Ryan Sutton joins us here in Atlanta, and Michelle Singletary is with us from D.C. I was saying, no matter what, you better make sure your son keeps up those tennis lessons.
SUTTON: He certainly will. He loves to play.
PHILLIPS: And he's undefeated?
SUTTON: He is. With the Alta (ph) league this fall.
PHILLIPS: That's fantastic! All right, so Michelle, we're going to have to give her a little wiggle room for that now. Her son's got to have his tennis lessons.
SINGLETARY: Yes, we can give a little wiggle room.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: OK, good! Now, Michelle, I was giving Ryan a hard time because she looks wuite beautiful here in her fancy suit and the jewelry. And I said, "OK, you've been spending money." And you said, Ryan --
SUTTON: This is old. Straight out of my closet, I promise.
SINGLETARY: Yay!
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: You have been well behaved.
SUTTON: Yes, I have.
PHILLIPS: So, Ryan, seriously though, what was the hardest part? I mean, hearing you talk about being depressed. I mean, gosh, it made my heart sink. Because you don't realize how addicted we get to spending.
SUTTON: Exactly. The hardest part for me probably was not getting my hair done, staying out of the mall, not getting my nails done, and the fact that I was going to homecoming with nothing new to wear. I wasn't happy about that.
PHILLIPS: And Michelle, you know, women want to feel beautiful. Those are the things that make us feel good about ourselves when we're going through tough times.
SINGLETARY: That's absolutely right, but the beauty comes from within. Especially when you have a whole bunch of debt, which Ryan noticed she does because of her student loans.
And so what I tried to impress upon her, -- look at her. She's a beautiful woman. I knew she had stuff in her closet. And I was sitting there talking to her, I said, you didn't need to buy a single blessed thing. If someone saw you in it already, just say, didn't I look good the last time I wore it?
PHILLIPS: There you go. Now, and it's true. You barely have any makeup on. Your hair is fabulous. Yes, it's true. It's a matter of perspective, right? Because a lot of times we think, ugh, we want something new.
How was it for your son, going through it? It wasn't just you. But did he say to you, mom, you're killing me?
SUTTON: Right, in the beginning, he thought it was funny because he says, I don't have to go to the mall anymore. My mom is not going to drag me to the mall.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: It was a benefit?
SUTTON: Right. We got to day 15 or 16, and he said, when is this going to be over? He wanted to know when I would get him video games, (INAUDIBLE) or whatever. He was ready for it to be over. Even the times that we eat out -- we don't eat out a whole lot, but we typically do on Fridays. And he was really going through withdrawal.
PHILLIPS: There could be sort of a reverse psychology here. Michelle, help me out. I mean, this could be good for the kids, because, look, mama can't spoil you right now. This is a tough time. This is not a bad tool, I guess, for raising our kids in a tough economy, actually. It sort of humbles them.
SINGLETARY: It definitely humbles. Andlisten to her conversation. Even though she was having withdrawals and she was talking about the pain of it, they were having conversations about money. And then she had to explain why am I on the fast. What am I doing with my money?
This 21-day financial fast is a unique thing, but it -- can revolutionize your financial life. It's sort of like - and I don't want to say she was an addict or other people are addicts, but it's like when you remove yourself from harmful things and overspending and being piled on with debt and not concentrating on what you are spending and not having a budget is the same as withdrawing from drugs. Not that I ever done drugs, but I heard it's really hard.
(LAUGHTER)
SINGLETARY: The whole point is to get her to focus on what's really important. It's just 21 days to jump start you, but the 21 days is just the beginning of changing your financial life. And I'm really proud of her because I think she now understands that she has room in her budget to attack her student loan debt and to save.
PHILLIPS: OK. Is it true? Are you glad you did this? Is there a payoff, and do you feel this has changed the way you spend? Are you going to be in better shape now?
SUTTON: I believe so. I am glad I did it. I'm going to take away no more lunches, as far as eating out. So, it was definitely helpful for me.
PHILLIPS: OK. And anything, any advice to anybody else that might be in your situation, to why they should or shouldn't do this?
SUTTON: I would say do it. I actually already recommended it to a friend of mine, and he plans to go ahead and do the 21-day fast. He's going to purchase the book. And I would say do it. It makes you realize that you are spending money unnecessarily. A lot of thing that you didn't have to do, you don't need to spend on. It makes you take notice to it.
PHILLIPS: We'll all do it. And we can't wait to see you son playing in Wimbledon. You just let us know. It should be just a few years away.
SUTTON: That's right.
PHILLIPS: All right, there we go. Thank you so much, Ryan. Michelle, thank you so much. I know your book is doing really well. We appreciate you joining us, too.
SINGLETARY: You're welcome. Get it, "The Power to Prosper" because you have the power to prosper.
PHILLIPS: There you go. She sounds like she should be a preacher, shouldn't she?
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: And tonight, Soledad O'Brien shows us people who are fighting the financial crisis - speaking from the pulpit. "ALMIGHTY DEBT," a "Black in America" special. Tonight, 9:00 Eastern. Only on CNN
Well, the girls of "Glee" wearing high heels and really, not much else in next month's "GQ." The photos have actually been called disturbing, even bordering on pedophilia. We're examining the thin line between risque and overexposed.
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PHILLIPS: Well, a lot of "Glee" fans are blushing this morning, thanks to a racy "GQ" photo shoot. Three of the cast members on the hit TV show strike some pretty provocative poses. But things get downright steamy in some of those shots.
Two of the young women are actually stripped down to high heels, push-up bras and well, really, not much else. Lollipops and pom-poms for props. Keep in mind, now, these actors play awkward teens. A lot of teens watch the show. But the women are both 24, and the young man nearing 30.
Still, the Parents Television Council says the gallery borders on pedophilia. Fox, which airs the show, declined to comment.
Eric Deggans is a TV and media critic for the "St. Petersburg Times" joining us now live from St. Petersburg, Florida. So, what do you think about this, Eric? The outcry is pretty instant and quite overwhelming.
ERIC DEGGANS, TV AND MEDIA CRITIC, "ST. PETERSBURG TIMES": I'm amazed. The outcry is coming from people who never watched an episode of "Glee."
(LAUGHTER) because anybody who is shocked that sexuality is a big part of how people are consuming glee has not been paying attention.
PHILLIPS: Well -
DEGGANS: The fact of the matter is there was an episode just last season set to one of Madonna's songs, "Like a Virgins" where three of the characters considered losing their virginity, and one of them did. So, I don't know what planet these people are living on that they don't realize the sexual overtones embedded in every episode of "Glee."
PHILLIPS: OK, that's true. This show is definitely known for pushing the envelope, and I think a lot of parents sit back and go, "Oh, my God, is my kid really like that in high school?" You know, because it is. It talks about getting pregnant --
DEGGANS: Be honest. Be honest.
PHILLIPS: Yes, I know. It's true! It deals with faith, sexuality, bullying. I mean, it all of those issues. But these pictures, I mean, you don't see these types of pictures in the show. I mean, you don't see them half naked sucking on lollipops. I mean, really. This looks like "Hustler" magazine, Eric.
DEGGANS: Did you see the episode that attributed to Britney Spears -
PHILLIPS: I did. DEGGANS: Did you see what the character who was dreaming that she was Britney Spears looked like? I mean, what she was wearing is not very different than what we see in these photos.
The fact of the matter is, if you want to talk about sexualizing teen characters, I think that's a debate worth having. But "Glee" has done that for a season or more. They have 20-year-old women playing high school characters. So, of course, they're sexual. They're beautiful, and they dress them to accentuate that quite often.
So, if you want to have that debate, that's fine. But these pictures only slightly exaggerate what has been a theme on the show since it started.
PHILLIPS: OK. Well, one of the cast members, Dianna Agron. She's the blond who plays Quinn. She's the other one in these pictures. She is actually responding to this on her blog. She puts responsibility solely on the parents. Take a look at what she says there.
"If you are hurt or these photos make you uncomfortable, it was never our intention. If your 8-year-old has a copy of our 'GQ' cover in hand, again, I'm sorry. But I would have to ask, how on earth did it get there?"
(LAUGHTER)
DEGGANS: I would have to ask, how on earth does an 8-year-old know what "Glee" is?
(LAUGHTER)
DEGGANS: Again, this is a show where characters -- we have gay characters wrestling with being open about their sexuality. We have people losing their virginity. We have a teen who has had a baby. We had another character that came back from spring break - or summer break, rather -- with breast implants.
I mean, this is not a show that is at all, you know, shies away from talking about sex and depicting sexual situations.
PHILLIPS: It's not "Happy Days" in the high school party at Mr. C's house?
DEGGANS: No, no, again. It is not "Happy Days." Much more "Three's Company" than "Happy Days."
PHILLIPS: Yes, there you go.
DEGGANS: But again, and there are a lot of shows that speak to teens that talk frankly about sex and have sexual imagery in it. You know, "Secret Life of an American Teenager" on ABC Family also depicts a character that's had a baby. And there's a lot of frank talk about sex.
So, I think that shows that speak to teens now talk more frankly about sex and depict sex a little more frankly than I think maybe parents are used to.
PHILLIPS: Eric, it's always great talking to you. Thanks.
DEGGANS: Thank you very much.
PHILLIPS: Countdown to election day. Twelve days to go. And The Best Political Team on Television is crunching new poll numbers from Florida. We've got them for you.
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PHILLIPS: All right. Got some breaking news to tell you out of the University of Connecticut. We don't have a live shot for you right now, but we can tell you UConn is posting a statement on its Web site. Apparently, the university's west Hartford campus is being evacuated after receiving a bomb threat.
Police there now investigating that threat. We are making calls. We will try and bring you as much information as we gather it.
Twelve days away from an election that could change our political landscape. We've got it all covered for you, of course. Deputy political director Paul Steinhauser at the CNNpolitics.com desk. What do you got, Paul?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, Kyra. Here's what I got. Florida. Let's talk about the Senate race and governor's race. We've got two brand new polls, CNN/"Time" Opinion Research Corporation.
Let's start with this Senate race. This is that wild, three-way battle but our new numbers suggests that Marco Rubio, the Republican nominee, former House speaker down there in the state, has a pretty decent lead. Double-digit lead. Forty-six percent for him, 32 percent for Charlie Crist, the Republican governor running as an independent candidate. And only one out of five backing Kendrick Meek, the congressman from South Florida, who is the Democrats' nominee.
Let's move right to the next board. And this is the governor's race down there. This is a doozy right now. It is deadlocked between Rick Scott, the Republican nominee, former health care executive and Alex Sink, the chief financial officer of the state.
Now, why did I want to bring those up? Because they are great poll numbers, but also a little shameless promotion. We have two great debates coming that way in Florida. Candy Crowley, "STATE OF THE UNION," Senate Florida debate on Sunday, 9 a.m., followed by Monday night at 7 p.m. Eastern. John King on "JKUSA" will be doing the governor's debate. So, two must-see TV events.
Let's talk about the next election. Enough alraedy about the midterms. Let's move ahead to the race for the White House. Brand new numbers from Gallup this morning suggest that only 4 in 10 Americans think that president Barack Obama deserves to be re- elected. Fifty-four percent say they don't think he deserves to be re-elected in 2012.
But wait a minute. This is a long way away. It's two years. And also, let's remind viewers that back in 1994 at the same time, Bill Clinton had similar re-election numbers and polls. And of course, we all remember in 1996, he did in fact win re-election. A long way away from November 2012, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Paul, thanks. We're going to have your next political update in an hour. A reminder, for all of the latest political news, go to our Web site, CNNpolitics.com.
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PHILLIPS: Well, every day at this time, we honor the men and women in uniform who have given their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan for us. We call it "Home and Away." Today, we're lifting up Sergeant Jesse Richard Tilten of Decatur, Illinios. He was one of four troops killed in a July attack on an Afghan police headquarters in Kandahar. Jesse was treating a fellow paratrooper when he was shot.
Samantha Benson, one of his closest friends wrote us. "I hope Jesse is remembered for what he died for, that he died doing his job and saving someone else's life. Not a day goes by that I don't think about him and wish he was home. I love you, Jesse."
If you have a loved one you'd like to honor, here's all you have to do. Just go to CNN.com/homeandaway, type in your service member's name in the upper right-hand search file, and pull up the profile. Send us your thoughts, your pictures. We promise to keep the memory of your hero alive.
That does it for us. We'll see you back here tomorrow. Tony Harris takes it from here.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: That's good stuff, Kyra. Good to see you. See you tomorrow.
PHILLIPS: Have a good one.
