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Morganza Spillway Will Be Opened; Hank Aaron Interviewed; Weekend Marks Fifth Anniversary of Major League Baseball's Civil Rights Game; Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich Announce Presidential Candidacy; Michael Vick Chosen to Speak at Philadelphia School Commencement

Aired May 14, 2011 - 10:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody.

It has not been done in some 40 years. So why is it necessary to do it today?

I'm T.J. Holmes. Glad you could be here.

I'm talking about the Army Corps of Engineers expected to open a spillway which will determine who gets spared and who gets flooded.

The decision is being made, and they're going to have to sacrifice some homes and businesses in order to save many, many more. The army corps expected to open Louisiana's huge Morganza spillway when the river flow hits 1.5 million cubic feet per second.

Now, what does that mean? All you need to know is that rate continues to go up and getting closer and closer to that point. The spillway was last opened in 1973, but we are expecting it today and maybe in the next few hours.

Now, doing that, what does that do? It takes the pressure off levees in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, but it will also flood seven Louisiana parishes west of the river. The National Guard is out. You see them here. They have been working around the clock filling sandbags in Morgan City. That's a community of 12,000 that is expected to be just flooded out when this water is released.

Can you imagine this, folks, people just standing by and waiting on the water to come and destroy everything?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLI TRIMM, EXPECTS HOME TO BE FLOODED: It's worse than we thought. It's really worse than we thought. We thought maybe we might have water in our yard and stuff. This is going to come into our homes and this is going to take everything we've got. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: This Morganza spillway is at a critical point on the river. It's just north of Baton Rouge. People living southwest of the Mississippi in the flood plain have been told that the water will flood their homes and their farms. Our Ed Lavandera is in Morganza, Louisiana, for us. Ed, you have been giving us these updates all morning. I guess it is not open yet, but when they do anticipate they will, literally, open the floodgates.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: T.J., we anticipate it will happen sometime mid-afternoon, 2:30, 3:30 eastern time. This is the Morganza spillway behind me. There are 125 gates. You might be able to see there, way in the distance, a gray structure over the top of the bridge, that is what will pull up one of the gates and what will happen when that happens, the water will push through the gate and you can see over here the dry land that is out on this way. It will go 100 miles and curve around like this through the river basin and 100 miles down towards Morgan City.

And that's where we caught up with the mayor of Morgan City, Tim Matte, who has spent the last few weeks getting his city ready for the incoming flood waters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM MATTE, MAYOR, MORGAN CITY, LOUISIANA: Well, it is the heart of the city and it's primarily protected, of course, by that wall right there and it would take a failure of that wall, I think, before this would really be at risk. What we're really concerned about, though, that high river stage raising the water level back where the lake is and then if that got topped because that level of protection is not nearly as high as this. That water would flow throughout the city and not be held within a particular compartment of the city.

We are an island. We have the river on one side and both our east end boundary and southern end boundary of the river and western boundaries of the lake.

LAVANDERA: So this water threat surrounds you.

MATTE: Absolutely.

Well, you can see, it's just starting to lap up under the planks of the wharf, so the water is just getting here. It will touch this wall and extend all the way to that wall over there. Those buildings right there that you see across the way, those will be under water.

LAVANDERA: It's just a staggering amount of water, isn't it?

MATTE: When you look at it from this perspective and, like I said, our people and nor has anyone else seen anything like this. Not here. Not in this spot.

LAVANDERA: You're confident about these walls holding up?

MATTE: I have to be, yes. Have to be.

LAVANDERA: And if for whatever reason they fail --

MATTE: Total catastrophe. There's this entire city would flood without a doubt. LAVANDERA: Are you angry that they're opening up the Morganza spillway?

MATTE: Am I angry about it? No, I think we all live with this potential and this is what this whole floodway system is for. I wouldn't want to live any place else, but that's part of what comes with it. Certainly, this is a floodway and built as a floodway. No, there was no, that decision was made way back in 1928 and the '30s all of those after the '27 flood. This was the design. So from that perspective, that's what it is here for. It's here to provide that relieve valve for the river.

LAVANDERA: This is where the water level reached in '73.

MATTE: In '73.

LAVANDERA: This is part of the wall that held it back.

MATTE: That's correct.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: And, T.J., the most important thing right now for officials here in south central Louisiana is to get people out of the path of the water. They've been going through a lot of these small towns that are in the path of the water, urging them all to evacuate. We've seen that in places like Butte LaRose, where people have been literally packing up every belonging they have into moving trucks and vans and trailers to get out of town. T.J.?

HOLMES: It's interesting to hear his attitude about it. He said we understand. He's not upset about them opening that spillway. It's a reality they have lived with and they don't expect it to come, hadn't come in a long time. My goodness, interesting perspective from him. Ed, great to talk to you this morning. We'll talk to you, once again.

And to our viewers, Memphis was one place that got so much attention, it has been getting a lot of attention because of the flood waters there. Finally, the river started to crest there in Memphis, I believe it's starting to recede now.

The president is actually going to be in Memphis on Monday giving a speech there to some high school kids for their commencement but also visiting with some of the people who have lost a lot. A lot of people still dealing with that loss, the president coming to help out.

But another group coming to their aid, the Memphis Grizzlies, the NBA team. The team is not supposed to still be in the playoffs right now. The eighth seed who is now tied three-three with Oklahoma City going into a game seven. People there, really a rallying cry for the city. They have gotten behind the Grizzlies and the Grizzlies have gotten behind them.

The team organized what they're calling these watch parties for the playoff games and taking donations that will go to the Red Cross. Reynolds, we look at this video here, I'll bring you in. The FedEx Forum sits right there in downtown Memphis and I read something this morning from a columnist at the commercial appeal, the Memphis paper that really tells the story in the flooding.

Reynolds, let me read this to you verbatim. The man says, "If you walk out the front door of FedEx Forum, take a right, walk 25 yards to Bill Street, walk two blocks, then roll a basketball down a hill, that ball might end up in the Gulf of Mexico.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Unbelievable.

HOLMES: Isn't that unreal, the way he put that? That lets you know it's right there and right downtown. You roll a ball down, it's just flooded out in downtown Memphis.

WOLF: When you're a community that has been under such duress, they are lucky to have a distraction. I'm not saying if you're tuning in and you are a fan of another team, let's pull for the Grizzlies a little bit.

(LAUGHTER)

Farther downstream in the Mississippi river, the situation is very dire. We've been talking all morning how they are going to divert part of the water away from the main part of the Mississippi river and push it past the Morganza flood gates. Where you happen to see red, that is the Mississippi river. This area surrounded by blue, that is going to be the place we're going to see those flood waters come right on in. It's not something that will happen instantaneously but a gradual development of that water flowing southward and flowing over places where, well, places that have been settled.

But it's not just empty territory. You have around 11,000 structures and homes of 25,000 people and at the very end of this, you run right smack dab into Morgan City. All that water moving that direction.

One thing that we have that works to our advantage, or at least the people of Morgan City have, they have a pretty decent levee system. We hope it holds back of the waters. Without the levees, the water would escape the shoreline and then move farther inland, at times a mile inland on either side of the river bank. The levee will hold it back a bit and we hope substantial enough to hold back the swelling waters as they invade from the north.

What we don't need is more rainfall in that part of the world, and thankfully today it appears it is dry. Most of the rainfall and most of the heavy action takes part in the Great Lakes and a storm system there making its way from west to east bringing scattered showers and storms to parts of the east coast, even in right now in parts of southern Georgia and into the far north we're seeing rain developing out towards the west and another low moving in and bring rainfall and snow showers that parts to the cascades and the Sierra Nevada.

T.J., that is your weather story. Let's pitch it back to you at the news desk.

HOLMES: Appreciate Reynolds. We'll talk to you again here shortly.

I'm going to give our viewers other news that is making headlines. We're still getting more and more information that trickles out about what the Navy Seals found at the compound. They found pornography, apparently lots of it. Officials aren't saying who it belonged to. It possibly could have belonged to his son or one of the couriers.

Also, a great victory in the war on terror, that's how President George W. Bush described in his first public comments. He got a call from President Obama telling him about the suck said raid and bin Laden's death. And President Bush says he responded by saying, quote, "Good call."

And Pakistan's parliament condemning the U.S. over that raid and also demanding an end to U.S. drone strikes in their country. Pakistan's government has not hidden its anger over the U.S. military coming in unannounced.

Ten minutes past the hour now. Hank Aaron being honored this weekend. It seems like he's honored every weekend around baseball. It's part of baseball's civil rights celebration. I got the opportunity to sit down with hammering hank and asked him about homeruns and the record he used to hold.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANK AARON, FORMER MLB PLAYER: We are talking about Barry Bonds and, you know, Barry Bonds hit more homeruns than I did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Yes, he did hit more homeruns than Hank Aaron, but that wasn't the end of Hank Aaron's comments. You need to hear the rest of it and you will in two and a half minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It's 13 minutes past the hour now. This weekend marks the fifth anniversary of Major League Baseball's civil rights game. It's happening here in Atlanta, Sunday afternoon. The Braves are playing the Phillies.

The game is just a small part of the weekend over the weekend. Honoring and remembering those who played a big part in breaking down walls, the Jackie Robinsons of the world, Willie Mays, Ernie Banks, but also Hank Aaron. I got a chance to sit down with this homerun king and ask him about his march towards the homerun record. You would think it might have been one of the highlights of his career, but it wasn't.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) AARON: That was probably the hardest part because I was, I was not able to really enjoy my teammates. I wasn't really able to enjoy my kids who were in school because they had to be escorted back and forth from high school, from school, home. I had to be escorted from ballparks to the hotel, and I was not able to stay with my teammates.

So, all of these things, you know, I think about now and I say, that was a part of my life that really didn't exist as far as I was concerned.

HOLMES: After the fact do you look back and hearing that answer there, do you ever look back and think, you know what, I could have done without it, without the record?

AARON: No, I never did. No, I felt like it was my responsibility. God had given me the ability to play baseball.

HOLMES: Is it only a matter of time before we see A-Rod's name and then Albert Pujols name on top of that homerun list?

AARON: Yes. And I would say legitimately Albert Pujols' name deserves to be there.

HOLMES: Are you saying A-Rod's name does not deserve to be there?

(LAUGHTER)

AARON: No, I didn't say that.

HOLMES: You said it not.

AARON: I said Albert Pujols' name will be there, I didn't say anything about A-Rod.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: Last thing here. What would you say to those fans who say, Hank Aaron is the homerun king, he will always be my homerun king, and they refuse to acknowledge anybody at this point that's above your name. Would you say to them, hey, let it go, folks. The guy above me has more homeruns. He's your homerun king or would you say --

AARON: I would tell them -- I would say thank you. I would thank them first of all. I thank them if they think that way. We were talking about Barry Bonds. And Barry Bonds hit more homeruns than I did. And he should be justifiably, should be the homerun king. That's the way I look at it. I look at it as saying that he's done everything he wanted to do, everything he was supposed to do in baseball.

Now people say, well, you know, he was on this, he was on that. I don't know what he was on. You know, I have no idea. I'm not god. I have no idea. The only thing I know is that Barry Bonds was a terrific ballplayer. I hit 755 homeruns, and no matter how you look at it, I am not going to hit another homerun, not in this era. I may do it somewhere else, but not here. He hit more homeruns than I did on earth, so, he should be classified as the homerun king.

HOLMES: You don't believe he was on anything.

AARON: I didn't say I didn't believe he was on anything, I said no matter what it was, I don't know what he was on. I have no idea. As I said before, I'm not god and I don't make those kinds of rules.

HOLMES: You're the same guy who said once we get up to 50, 60 homeruns --

AARON: I think it's something funny. I think. And there's a difference when you say you think. I didn't say I know, I said I think something's different.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: You are a scholar and a gentleman and I love it, I love it, I love it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: We can smile about that there, but a serious topic he wanted to take up was the number of players has gone down. It's at about 8.5 percent African-American players in the league right now. Back in the 90s it hovered anywhere between 16, 17, 18 percent. He has a concern about that and what can be done about it. You'll hear more from him in just a bit.

Meanwhile, we continue with what's happening here this weekend and the big game, certainly tomorrow, but a lot more surrounding the Braves versus the Phillies. Let me bring in Jennifer Mayerle. Good morning to you.

Once again, we're showing a wide shot as we talk to you, giving people an idea of where you are. But do these kids down here so far from what you've been able to find out, do they get it? Do they understand how big of a deal this weekend is and what these legends did to make it possible for them to have a major league career?

JENNIFER MAYERLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's interesting, you always wonder if the people out here to play and shoot, you know, do some pitching practice and get in the batting cage, if they understand what it is all about.

And I can introduce you to one teenager who does understand what it is all about. I'll come over here and talk to Jordan. He's with one of the local RBI teams. I understand, Jordan, you really get what this weekend is about. It's the civil rights game. What does it mean to you to be a part of this and kind of some of the leaders in baseball that really made this happen?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think, to me, it means the world because I never got to meet as anybody as big as Jason Hayward or anybody who plays pro-baseball. And it will keep me going to Braves' games because I'll keep my dream alive by seeing them and saying, I can do that, too, and knowing it.

And I think it's going to bring everybody around here in the environment, everybody who are minorities and everything to come to the games and say, you know what, I can do that, too. It's just going to keep everybody loving the game of baseball.

MAYERLE: You talked about Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson, some of the leaders who played a role in the civil rights movement and pushing through barriers in baseball. What does it mean to you to have them do this and open the way for you. I know you talked about doing what you're able to do now because of some guys like them and even Jason Hayward today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would have never thought that somebody would go through so much struggle and pain to let someone like me or someone like my teammates to play this game of baseball and love it and be accepted by lots of other people.

MAYERLE: Thank you, Jordan, so much. So, T.J., you can hear that some of these teenagers and youth here do understand what's going on and they get the true meaning of what this weekend is all about.

HOLMES: Jennifer, it makes you happy to hear they get it and what the weekend is about. We appreciate you. We'll check in with Jennifer throughout the day here on CNN.

It's 20 minutes past the hour. Quick break, I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It's about that time, time to start traveling. Summer is upon us. It's time for people to think to travel smart, as well. It starts with your luggage. Joe Carter has more in this edition of "On the Go."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE CARTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The best way to protect your belongings is to use a carry on, but it's not always possible to fit all your stuff in one bag.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you do have to check luggage, make sure you keep all your small valuables, jewelry, cameras, things like that with you in your carry-on bag.

CARTER: Make sure your connections are not too close together.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here's why. You might make it on to the next flight, but maybe your bag won't because the connecting time was too tight. What will happen then? Your bag could be left out in the open next to the unclaimed baggage area overnight, just inviting theft.

CARTER: Airlines limit the amount of money they'll reimburse for stolen items. Bag insurance is available in airports for about $10 a person.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They can give you compensation for purchases you need to make.

CARTER: And you need to know exactly what you packed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Make an inventory and even take a picture of it. That will help you in the long term if you have to get reimbursed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right, if you need more travel news, of course, and you need the tips, as well, go to our travel page at CNN.com.

It wasn't too long ago, a couple weeks ago we were telling you that commercial airline pilots have the most stressful jobs out there. Also on the list, newscasters made it to number five. That's not good. Career Cast came out with a list of the least stressful jobs.

At number five, the people who clean your teeth, dental hygienists. At number four, computer programmers. At number three, software engineers. What are the two least stressful careers out there according to Career Cast? I am going to tell you in one minute, and then we can all apply for those jobs together.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Career Cast has released its list of the least stressful jobs. I was telling you a dental hygienist, computer programmer, and software engineer made the top five. The top two, though, these are for you folks who want to avoid stress in your life. You need to go the food route for this one.

Number two, a dietician, number two. Also at number one, audiologists. These are the people who diagnose and treat hearing problems. You expect an income of around $63,000 a year, but sounds like I might need to go back to school for that one.

Every day in Vietnam an estimated 23,000 children living and working on the streets, many come from rural areas to the cities seeking opportunity. Instead what they find, a daily struggle to survive. And that is where this week's CNN hero comes in. He's an Australian who moved to Vietnam and now gives street kids a chance for better life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL BROSOWSKI, CNN HERO: Here in Hanoi kids come to the streets hoping it will be better than living in poverty in the countryside, but often they find it is much worse for them here. You can actually identify kids who are living and working on the streets. They may get detained by the authorities. They may get beaten up. There are gangs selling heroin and we are finding kids being tricked and sold into prostitution.

It was just a case of I can help, so I should help. My name is Michael Brosowski. I work in Vietnam with street kids trying to get the kids off the streets and back into school and safe homes. When we started out, our goal was just to get them back to school. To do that, we realized we would have to take that place of providing an income, food, providing the shelter. Our center is where the kids know to come. This is where they feel safe. They can join in our activities. They can talk to the staff, and then we have to make sure they're working towards education or getting a job or improving their health.

We've also got to be careful that if the child has a family, the family is as involved as possible. It's an amazing feeling getting to watch these kids go from being malnourished and just completely lacking confidence to wanting to make a change.

I grew up in poverty and I often used to think, I could do something good with my life. If I knew someone would come and give me my chance, now I'm the guy that can help these kids and give them a chance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, since 2004 Michael and his Blue Dragon Children's Foundation has helped to get more than 350 Vietnamese youngsters off the streets. All of this year's CNN's heroes were chosen from people you told us about. You can still nominate someone you know who is making a big difference in your community by going to CNNheroes.com.

Well, did you hear this yesterday? The number of Republicans in the race for the White House doubled yesterday. It's up to two. We'll tell you who these big names are. You'll recognize them both because they've been there before, and we're going to be talking about it with our big names, Lenny and Maria standing by. It looks like we have the technical issues from last weekend with Maria worked out. Lenny is not able to sabotage them. I'm talking to them right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, like I said, the Republican field of challengers to president Obama doubled yesterday up to two. First, former house speaker Newt Gingrich used social media sites, Facebook and twitter on Wednesday to tell everybody he's in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH, (R) FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER: I'm Newt Gingrich and I'm announcing my candidacy for president of the United States because I believe we can return America to hope and opportunity, to full employment, to real security, to an American energy program, to a balanced budget.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right, that was Newt Gingrich. Then yesterday on ABC, Texas congressman Ron Paul also announced he is a candidate for the GOP nomination.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RON PAUL, (R) TEXAS: Today and at this moment I'm officially announcing that I am a candidate for president in the Republican primary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why?

PAUL: Because time has come around to the point where the people are agreeing with much of what I have been saying for 30 years. So, I think the time is right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right, and then there is tonight. On his FOX News program, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is expected to announce whether he is running for president. Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels who hasn't said what he is going to do and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Chris Christie has said repeatedly that he's not getting into the race.

So, joining me now, my favorites to talk about this and the rest of the world of power of politics, Democrat strategist Maria Cardona in Washington for us, and Republican strategist Lenny McAllister in Chicago. Guys, good to see you, as always. As we always do here, first question first. I'll ask you, Maria, what was your political headline of the week?

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Where are the presidential candidates that can actually beat President Obama?

HOLMES: You are such a good democrat. And, Lenny, Lenny, for you, what was the political headline of the week?

LENNY MCALLISTER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Presidential pivot back into politics.

HOLMES: Presidential pivot back into politics, all right. So, let's go back. Maria, I hope we get that worked out. I think you have some issues with the ear piece. Let me start with you then, Lenny. What about this field at a time when some say we need to move this country forward with new ideas in a new millennium, just a new era. But we're getting some old faces, if you will, literally and figuratively. What do you think about the two that got in?

MCALLISTER: Number one, they have interesting angles. Look, for example, look at Newt Gingrich. He does remind people of the 1990s when there was success and balance in government where you had a Democratic president that went too far after the first two years, was snapped back by a Republican wave in 1994 and the two of them, President Clinton and speaker Gingrich were able to move America through an unprecedented phase of prosperity. So, he has that working for him.

Ron Paul actually has the Republican Party coming back to him. He leans more libertarian. These reviews that we are seeing as being too far outside the mainstream in 2008, well, now because of the Tea Party momentum, which, by the way, he is considered the god father of the Tea Party.

So, his philosophies are now more main stream with not only the Republican Party, but the Republican and conservative momentum that have been taking over elections. So, now, they both can be influential in these elections.

But I still think that Speaker Boehner has it right. The people that will be influential coming up in 2012 for the general population will be along the lines of Mitch Daniels or Chris Christie.

HOLMES: Maria, does he not make a point in that, yes, they do harken back to different times and, yes, they have been around a while, but that could play to that advantage, if people can remember what Newt Gingrich was doing at the time and some of the, at least the positive things, the upside to having him in the House and the upside to Ron Paul, as well. Don't they have that working for him?

CARDONA: Absolutely not. I think that Newt Gingrich's biggest liability is Newt Gingrich himself because what people will remember about Newt Gingrich in the 1990s is his arrogance, his divisive politics, his hypocritical stance when he was criticizing President Clinton, and what was he doing, carrying on himself with an affair?

HOLMES: Is that really what it is going to be about, Maria?

CARDONA: The second one, the first one, the third one. So I think that is going to be a critical uphill battle for him with his own conservative base. And you even have conservatives saying he is not going to be able to clear that hurdle.

And then you have Ron Paul who is saying he wants to legalize heroin, doesn't believe in taxes whatsoever. These are not mainstream issues or mainstream candidates, and they have no chance of winning the presidency.

HOLMES: Do you agree with any of that, Lenny?

MCALLISTER: I do. I'm not going to say the fifth word of this phrase from President Clinton, but I'm going to use the first four. It's about the economy. People are going to care less about affairs. We've gone through enough presidents that had their fatal personal flaws and we have forgiven them and voted them into office.

If Newt Gingrich can remind people with relatability and his camp and show how America can get back on the right path economically. Now that Osama bin Laden is gone, that whole issue is going to be taken off the table. Everybody is going to focus on the economy with gas prices, inflation, unemployment. You look at some of the bases that President Obama has to look at and those bases are, they're facing unemployment rates that are doubled.

And if Newt Gingrich can go after that, it won't matter much. He'll have a chance if he can relate to the American people and in the general election.

HOLMES: It's still early, so we don't know who else might get in, might not get in. So it's still early. There will be different names, including Mike Huckabee. We'll hear from him tonight and what he's going to do. You talk about the big issues, Lenny. Immigration, the president put that back on the table this week. Let's take a quick listen and then, Maria, I'll bring you in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The most significant step we can now take to secure the borders is to fix the system as a whole so that fewer people have the incentive to enter illegally in the search of work in the first place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right, Maria. Good politics here or is the president serious about getting something done? You know the criticism out there is, hey, it's the time. You have to ramp up that base and you have to make sure Hispanics are going to come out and vote for you, again.

CARDONA: It's both. The president has been serious about doing something on immigration since the day that he came into the Oval Office. What he has tried to do is try to bring Republicans to the table because he can't get this done by himself. And what happens? Absolutely not one single Republican has come forward to say, I will help you fix this, Mr. President, because this is an American problem, it's a bipartisan problem, and it's something that we all need to come together to fix.

Are the politics good here for the president? Absolutely. The policy, though, is one that is good for America. It is a national security imperative and it's an economic imperative. If we were to find a way to pass comprehensive reform which includes a pathway to include the 11 million undocumented immigrants that are here, we would have an injection of $1.5 trillion in our economy in the next ten years. That's something we desperately need right now.

HOLMES: Lenny, is she right? Republicans are not willing to help out this president because they don't want to political reasons or they just disagree with the policy?

MCALLISTER: This is a political move. This is trying to get a base to vote for the president, once again. Again, I go back to 2009. There's a super majority in the Senate. There is a huge majority in the House of Representatives. Instead of focusing on the borders and getting immigration reform policy in place, they went after health care.

The economy is still messed up. Illegal immigration is still a problem throughout the United States. And now he's going back and trying to use the political bomb from the bin Laden situation in order to ramp up the troops in time for the campaign. Again, this is the billion dollar man out there trying to raise funds.

And unfortunately, instead of being the leader he was just two weeks ago, he's decided to go right back to being a politician. HOLMES: All right.

CARDONA: T.J., can I just add one thing?

HOLMES: Go ahead.

CARDONA: The border is more secure than it ever has been. When are the Republicans going to say, the border is secure. Now, let's find a way to do comprehensive immigration reform. It is never going to happen because the conservative base doesn't want it. The president wants to do it and Republicans don't. It's very simple.

MCALLISTER: We want to do it the right way, Maria. We have to do it the right way.

CARDONA: Come and talk to us. Which Republican? Name me one Republican who is willing to try to work with the president to pass comprehensive immigration reform. There is none.

MCALLISTER: I think that, for example, if you put people such as John McCain, who's talked about issues that George W. Bush wanted to put into place previously, they would be willing to work with Democrats to do this the right way.

But it's very hard to get a base to agree to things such as the Dream Act when we have African-American children killing themselves unable to get into college, unable to get the funds they need, and we'll bring in millions more to compete with them in order to get Pell grants. That funding is going down. This is something that is not going to work and the president is using this as a political ploy to get back in the good graces of the Hispanic population.

HOLMES: I let it run a little longer than I should have. I wanted to make sure both of you got your points in. You will get them in next weekend, as well. Good to see you guys.

CARDONA: Thank you, as always.

MCALLISTER: Thank you.

HOLMES: Have a good weekend. Talk to you real soon.

It's about 20 minutes until the top of the hour. It's hard, it's hard to be upset with somebody when they end the conversation like that. You should see Maria, she's smiling even though she just went off on him. Quick break right here and we're right back.

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HOLMES: Well, another Democrat has decided he will not seek reelection in 2012, now becoming the sixth Democrat in the Senate to say he's stepping back. Let me bring in our CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser joining from Washington. What is it this time, and are we seeing some kind of trend here?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: We are seeing a trend, T.J. and I have to say, you and Lenny and Maria were showing a lot of love for the race for the White House, and let me show a little love for the battle for Congress.

Herb Cole is the guy, as you just mentioned. He's from Wisconsin, long-time Democratic senator up there and he announced he will not run for reelection next year. Democrats say this is good news. We get all these retirements out. Get them out early. Republicans say look at all the Democrats who are announcing they are not going to run for reelection.

T.J., let's look at it by the numbers. Let's go to this graphic we put together for you and for our viewers at home. This is interesting. Right now the Democrats have a 53-47 majority in the Senate. So it's a lot slimmer than it was last November. And there are 33 seats up for re-election next year. Look at that -- 23 of those 33 seats, the Democrats have to defend. And now, as for those open seats, there are eight open seats, six Democrats. Only two Republicans have said they are not going to run for reelection next year.

That is interesting, though. because a new development this week for one of those, too. Kay Bailey Hutchinson said she is not going to run for re-election. The Democrats had a big announcement. They think maybe for the first time in a generation they can win in Texas. Who is their candidate? Take a look at this, retired Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez. Maybe this makes sense for the Democrats. Here you have a military man, hard to paint him as a liberal in Texas. And he is a Mexican American, born in Texas, exploding Latino and Hispanic population in Texas and the Democrats think they have something going here.

But I will say one thing about him, he may have a little bit of baggage, because he was the commanding U.S. general in Iraq during the Abu Ghraib terror controversy. That may come into play in this election. It's still a long way away, 2012, November.

HOLMES: You talk about a long way away, it's around the corner, my man.

(LAUGHTER)

Good to see you, as always. Paul giving love to the Senate after we talk presidential politics. We'll talk to you again soon here.

We'll talk to Reynolds Wolf in just a moment. Of course, the weather is a big issue, in particular, not even weather so much anymore. It's the actual flooding. All these cities along the Mississippi river right now are on standby. Vicksburg, Mississippi, one of the latest. We're going to be hearing from the mayor live.

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HOLMES: Ten minutes to the top of the hour.

(WEATHER BREAK) HOLMES: To our viewers, Michael Vick, he is spending his time wisely. He's expected to speak at the commencement ceremony for schools in Philadelphia to help troubled children. Some are questioning whether he is the right person to speak, but you need to hear all the details.

Also at 11:00 Eastern time, saving New Orleans, the latest on a plan to open the Morganza spillway.

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HOLMES: All right, let's bring in Ray D'Alessio, our friend from HLN sports. Unfortunately, not good news. Second time this week we have seen an athlete just drop dead or just found in an apartment.

RAY D'ALESSIO, HLN SPORTS: Yes, we're talking about Robert Rrailer from Michigan. He was found earlier this week in his apartment down in Puerto Rico, I believe. Then you have Derek Boogaard of the New York Rangers who was found by his family members in his apartment last night in Minneapolis. They found him around 6:00. Right now, investigators are trying to determine the cause of death. There is an autopsy has been scheduled for today.

The thing about Derek Boogaard, a lot of hockey fans they know this guy as an enforcer, a guy that likes to fight all the time, and here's some shots of Boogaard on the ice. What people don't see is his humanitarian work off the ice. He was involved in a lot of charities and, you know, was really heavily involved with military members and their families and would even invite kids of military members to come to each and every home game.

So, he really did a lot off the ice. Only 28 years old, just struck down in the prime of his career, really. He only played 22 games last year for the New York rangers because of a concussion, so most of his time was spent as a player for Minnesota. But, really, you just listen to some of the players, just an all-around nice guy and this is really, truly a shock to the league.

HOLMES: You say an autopsy is being done, and no one said anything about foul play.

D'ALESSIO: All the investigators would tell CNN is that it's solely being investigated. So, they would not say, foul play was suspected, a cause of death or they don't want to speculate anything.

HOLMES: Let's pivot now to Michael Vick. He has gone through a lot since he's gotten out of jail and he was meeting some protests, if you will, when he first got out and get this opportunity to play, again. He's still meeting some protests.

D'ALESSIO: Still getting a lot of protests.

HOLMES: But now, this. He is going to be a commencement speaker.

D'ALESSIO: He was chosen by these students and the Camelot schools to speak at their commencement ceremony. And already there's some debate. OK, is he the one that should be doing this? He's a convicted felon, is he a role model for these kids? This Camelot program consists of troubled youths who are trying to get back into the school system.

Who better to talk about the rise and fall of someone than Michael Vick himself? He's been to the top and lost millions of dollars, lost millions of endorsements, spent those two plus years in Leavenworth. He admitted he was awake at night crying, crying himself to sleep wishing he could do better. Now here he has a chance to speak to these kids. Something he needs to do as part of that rehabilitation process.

HOLMES: And they had to pick. They had some options. Young kids, it would be a blowout and he would run away with it.

D'ALESSIO: They did a survey of the kids. Three options came back -- Philadelphia's mayor, the school superintendent in Philadelphia, and Michael Vick. And all the kids voted to have Michael Vick come talk to them.

HOLMES: That's nice. We'll see what happens here, but, you're right, when you hear it initially, Michael Vick get to talk to kids and you hear who the kids are and maybe he won't get so much protests. Good to see you.

D'ALESSIO: Good to see you, too. Hopefully we have cheerier stuff to talk about tomorrow.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: Tomorrow. I'll pick nothing but cherry stuff tomorrow.

Quick break now, folks, and we'll be right back. We've got to restart this thing at the top of the hour.

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