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Search Continues For Missing 2-Year-Old; Penn State Vigil; New Presidential Polls Released; Penn State Head Football Coach Fired in Wake of Child Sex Abuse Scandal; Executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to Receive Bonuses; Rick Perry Makes Light of his Debate Gaffe

Aired November 11, 2011 - 15:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And here we go, hour two, live from Washington this on this Veterans Day. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Time to play "Reporter Roulette" at the top of this hour.

First up, big Friday on Wall Street. We're going to take a look at the numbers.

Also, another early season snow.

And a solemn vigil hours away at Penn State University.

And that is where I wanted to begin this hour, with CNN's Beth Karas, live for us in State College, Pennsylvania.

Beth, huge football game tomorrow without Joe Paterno, and a vigil tonight for the sex abuse victims held on campus among students. Just set the scene. Tell me what the mood is like there at State College.

BETH KARAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello again, Brooke.

Things are really quiet where I am right now. There where crowds around us, a little more media yesterday. People are moving toward the stadium in another part of town.

But the town is filling up with people because folks are coming for the big tomorrow. But just a little while ago, we had one of the campus' singing groups -- it's the Penn State Concert Choir -- stop by. They sang for us. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARAS: So that's the Penn State alma mater that they were singing. And this group has been going around the campus and singing spontaneously at different spots, all in an effort to raise awareness for the victims in this child abuse sex scandal. They're wearing blue ribbons, the blue ribbons also to raise awareness for child abuse -- Brooke. BALDWIN: Well, let's talk about those victims and specifically about the investigation. We know today the university is launching this full-scale into who knew what about the actions of former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.

And what can you tell us about that? Do we even know if there a time frame yet for when this investigation should be complete?

KARAS: Well, no, no time frame yet. And I expect it is going to take a while, because they are aghast, as are many people, at what was released in that grand jury report that came to light a couple of days ago, and they want to know the magnitude of it and how it started. So, they're going to be looking at it independent of the criminal case.

BALDWIN: All right, Beth Karas at State College, Beth, thank you.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

(WEATHER UPDATE)

BALDWIN: That's your "Reporter Roulette" for this Friday.

We talked about this earlier this week. We have got an update about that 2-year-old, Sky, who went missing after his mom says she left him in the car to get gas a mile away. We're going to talk to the police investigator once again about some of the inconsistencies in this particular case out of Washington State.

Also, your tax dollars saved Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac from collapse, so why in the world are millions being doled out in executive bonuses?

And Rick Perry making David Letterman's top 10. Not only does he make it. Perry delivers it himself about himself. Oops. We're going to show you. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

BALDWIN: We continue to honor our veterans this week, and specifically on this day. The World War II vet we're about to tell you about is 93 years old. Not only did he serve his country. He is still volunteering -- his inspiring story 60 seconds away.

Plus, look at this missing 2-year-old boy. We're talking to the investigator who has been looking into his disappearance. His mother, this little boy's mother say she left him in the car. She needed some gas. He was gone when she says she came back. Investigators say her story may not be adding up. They believe she has the key to his whereabouts. We will ask him about what he thinks is going on next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: As we honor America's military women and men on this Veterans Day, one soldier stands out for special commendation. Peter Poulos served with the U.S. Army in the South Pacific during some of the bloodiest fighting of World War II. And today he is 93. But you're about to see he is still serving his country with distinction.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER POULOS, WORLD WAR II VETERAN: I feel like that I'm -- this is still my squad, my guys in the front lines. They wait for me like, I don't know, like I'm their first sergeant. They depend on me. They can't move. So I have to move for them.

Here you go. Here comes the food.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What a surprise.

PAT MOSS, ASSOCIATE CHIEF NURSE, HINES VA HOSPITAL: I think everybody knows -- knows Pete. They have seen him around. It's over 24,000 hours that he has logged here in the 26 years that he has been a volunteer. He is a hero because of the time that he gives and again at his age, at 95.

POULOS: Well, I was with the infantry. We did everything. Out in the field sometimes, you can help so much and that's it. When a comrade had fallen, you would try to give him as much help as you could, but then sometimes you would just have to carry on. You couldn't just leave him there.

So, here -- at least here, I was able to help them. I can do -- help them along with what they need. And that's it. And the day came by. Before you know it, 30 years went by, and I'm still there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We take care of each other. But Pete, Pete is one of a kind.

POULOS: Boy, you look beautiful there, fellow.

The American people there, they -- they forgot about -- they don't really realize what their freedom is, how they got this freedom, and they take it for granted that it's here. They don't realize how they got it. The price of freedom, it's in these patients. You know, that's who the freedom came from.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a jolly old soul, let's put it that way.

POULOS: You come home and you -- once you leave out of there, you say to yourself, boy, you feel like you're the richest person in the world. You can walk out of there. And you look back and you think of all these guys that are still there and can't go anyplace. I see them, I say, that could have been me.

You going to go to your room now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

POULOS: You want me to take you there? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

POULOS: Their war hasn't ended, because they're not the same anymore like they were. These guys need me here. I can help them out.

That's what keeps me going. I can say that, America, I gave my best to you. At least I tried the best I could do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A sexual harassment scandal, that would be pretty much a nightmare for any politician. But for presidential hopeful Herman Cain, it's new material.

Last night, the GOP candidate was caught on camera. He was cracking a joke when asked about Anita Hill. Remember, Anita Hill is the woman who tried to derail Clarence Thomas' nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming he made unwanted sexual advances towards her.

So I'm going to play you some sound. This is Herman Cain. It's tough to hear. So we have added the subtitles. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you hear the latest news today? Anita Hill is going to come (OFF-MIKE)

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Is she going to endorse me?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, in response to that moment and the jokes about Anita Hill, we actually now have a comment from Herman Cain here. He was just outside the Russian Tea Room in New York after a fund-raiser. Let's roll that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could you watch the wheelchair, please?

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Herman, how you doing? Would you care to say something to CNN?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Watch the wheelchair.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Do you regret how you responded to the Anita Hill comment? CAIN: I want to get back on message. That's not on message. I'm back on message. I want to fix this economy, so people can go back to work, not continue this -- all of this attention on stuff that does not matter.

QUESTION: Sir, your polls have -- your polls are still up. Do you think your message is working after...

(CROSSTALK)

CAIN: Yes, I do.

QUESTION: Why?

(CROSSTALK)

CAIN: Yes, I do.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: ... responded to Anita Hill at all?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And there he goes, Herman Cain not too long ago in New York.

Let's keep talking politics, shall we? Let's get an America's 2012 choice update with some fresh poll numbers on the GOP presidential race.

Jim Acosta, let's get to you here in Washington. Nice to be in your bureau, by the way. I will come by and say hello in person.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Please do.

BALDWIN: So we have a three-way battle, three-way battle now for the number-one spot?

ACOSTA: Yes, we do. That's right.

And Herman Cain probably ought to heed what you just showed there on your show, Brooke. He cannot swing at every softball that is tossed his way. And these poll numbers will tell you why. While he has been able to hang in there in the top tier of candidates in this race, he is showing some sign of weakness.

Look at this new poll from McClatchy and Marist. Newt Gingrich just might be the new un-Romney. Look at Newt Gingrich right there at 19 percent, behind Mitt Romney at 23 percent.

BALDWIN: Wow.

ACOSTA: Herman Cain sliding a bit at 17 percent. And so it shows that there is some movement in this race. As I like to say, what is old is Newt. Newt Gingrich appears to be back and a force to be reckoned with in this campaign. And if you look, there's another CBS poll out that we should show you as well. Take a look at this, Herman Cain still hanging on to that top spot at 18 percent, a surprisingly soft number for Mitt Romney at 15 percent. That is not probably going to be going over well at Mitt Romney headquarters right now.

But look at Newt Gingrich there hanging in there at 15 percent as well. So this race is tightening up and it's wide-open. And I should mention, in that same CBS poll, the viewer -- or the voters were asked, should Herman Cain stay in the presidential race? And 69 percent said yes of these Republican voters; 22 percent said he should drop out.

And those numbers also reflect some softening among women, too. So, it appears that these allegations that have faced Herman Cain in the last couple of weeks have affected his standing among Republican women. So, he's going to have to be careful there.

And making comments about Anita Hill like that certainly not helping matters -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Jim Acosta, did you say what is old is Newt again?

(LAUGHTER)

ACOSTA: I did say that. I did.

BALDWIN: Just...

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: I try. You know, Brooke, I have to say, I'm -- every -- every once in a while, you have got to test out these one-liners. And what better place to do it than right here on the political desk?

BALDWIN: Right here on this show.

Great, Jim Acosta, thanks so much for that.

ACOSTA: That's right.

(LAUGHTER)

ACOSTA: Yes.

BALDWIN: Coming up, let's talk more Penn State. Embattled former head coach Joe Paterno reportedly has reached out to a criminal defense attorney. But why does he need one in the first place? Holly Hughes on the case next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY. COM CORRESPONDENT: Time now for the "Help Desk," where we get answers to your financial questions.

Joining us this hour, Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, the founder of the financial advice blog AskTheMoneyCoach.com, and David Novick. He's a certified financial planner and an adjunct professor at NYU.

Thank you both for being here. We appreciate it.

Lynnette, your question comes from Terrance in New York. Terrance has a 30-year mortgage with his bank. He says he refinanced three years ago, about 4. 75 percent. And he says he's tried to negotiate with the bank, but they're telling him he can't renegotiate without closing fees because the mortgage is held by another entity.

So he wants to know if there is any way to take advantage of current low rates and not take any of the closing or processing fees and we should note, of course, we don't know the specifics of his situation. It is always different, but what do you say generally?

LYNNETTE KHALFANI-COX, FOUNDER, WWW.ASKTHEMONEYCOACH.COM: In general, I don't need to know the specifics of his situation in this case because the fact is whenever you take out a mortgage, either for purchase or for refinance, you're going to have some kind of closing fees.

Some lenders tout, you know, zero points or no closing fees, but every mortgage has fees attached to it. Lender fees, escrow fees, title fees, government fees. Those are standard for any type of mortgage.

And even if you do get a loan with say zero points or no origination fee, you can be sure the bank is making up for that in terms of the interest rates you are paying for the loan.

HARLOW: All right, and David, your question comes from Kent in New Jersey. Kent's 34 years old, makes somewhere between $30,000 and $34,000 a year. He has $79,000 in liquid assets, $62,500 in his savings account that yields around 4. 8 percent. What should he invest in?

DAVID NOVICK, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER: First of all, Kent should be very proud that he saved that kind of money at his age.

The issue is he's not really telling us when he is going to use the money and what for so my answer would be it depends. If he's saving for a house or for an emergency fund, I would probably look at a short-term CD, maybe an online bank account that's paying a little better, maybe 1 percent, 1. 5 percent.

Maybe look at a short-term bond fund. If he's trying to augment his income, he might look at preferred stocks or preferred mutual funds and dividend thing, stocks and mutual funds.

If he's looking for long-term savings such as retirement, he may want to put some of the money in some Roth IRAs, look at some growth funds or growth mutual stocks.

HARLOW: Decide where his risk tolerance level is. NOVICK: And when he's going to use the money. That's probably the most important thing and that's something we don't know.

HARLOW: Sure. Thank you guys so much. Great advice.

And, folks, if you have a question you want answered, just send us an e-mail anytime to CNNHelpDesk@CNN.com.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: In today's "On the Case," we want to talk a little bit about the legal fallout from this whole Penn State sex scandal that erupted earlier this week.

A special committee, we have learned today, will now look into how the university handled all these allegations, but could the scandal put former now I should say, former football head coach Joe Paterno in some legal trouble?

Let's go to criminal defense attorney Holly Hughes in today.

And, Holly, Paterno reportedly has lawyered up? I remember watching the news conference, though, on Monday. The Pennsylvania attorney general said he had followed his legal obligations. So what must he be lawyering up for? Is he worried about a civil case potentially?

HOLLY HUGHES, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, absolutely. And he should be, because what you're talking about here is pedophilia.

This is not a one-time crime, Brooke. It's pretty common knowledge in the United States and pretty much in the world that a pedophile doesn't stop at one child. So when we're talking about the fact that he had knowledge -- now, he did -- it's called mandatory reporting. He did report it to his higher-ups at the university, to his bosses, as it were.

But when nothing came of that, he did not take any further steps. He did not then go and report it to the police. And because of that, you now have a whole host of other victims who have come forward over those ensuing years and said, you know, had he been stopped in 2002, when this was called to your attention -- just think about it, Brooke.

Stop and think about what happened. If you walked in and saw someone raping a child, raping a child, would you turn around and walk away?

BALDWIN: That has been the course of so many conversations I have had this week.

HUGHES: Really.

BALDWIN: What would you do, and it's one of those things that people have said to me, you know what you think you would do, what you hope would you do. But Jerry Sandusky, he's the one who is facing all of these allegations. HUGHES: Absolutely.

BALDWIN: Apparently he adopted six kids, fostered others. Does that, Holly, raise the level of culpability here?

HUGHES: Well, in a civil trial it raises the horror level because Joe Paterno and all of the other folks at the university who were told, Curley and the others, they knew that this man Sandusky had adopted children. They knew that he was also fostering children. So to not come out a say this was an issue, somebody needs to investigate what he was seen doing happening to this young boy puts them in his house at a risk.

And let's face it, a jury is nothing more than a member of the community sitting in the box listening to evidence. When they hear that you saw a 10-year-old little boy being raped, let's call it what it is, and you turned around and did nothing and as a result they are going to hear that victim two comes forward, three comes forward. So yes, I think when a jury hears that, we're looking at a lot more not just culpability, liability, but money award.

BALDWIN: Holly Hughes, on the case today. What a story this is. Thank you so much.

HUGHES: Thank you.

BALDWIN: A missing two-year-old boy, his mother says she left him in the car as she walked for a while to try to get gas. That's her story. He was gone, she says, when she came back. The investigator here in Washington state. He says that the story doesn't quite add up. We're going to talk to him ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Seattle area police believe the mother of the missing two- year-old missing since just this past Sunday holds the key to where he is, but they are careful not to call this mother a suspect. Julia Biryukova told police that she left her sick son named Sky in the car when she ran out of gas and when she got back to the car, Sky was gone. The thing is police say there was enough gas in this car to run a significant distance. They also say that her story holds eerie similarities to a NBC's "Law & Order SVU" episode that apparently aired the night before.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYNARD: You forgot your diapers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They stole my car. My son was in the back seat. Someone stole my baby. Someone stole my son.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I want to bring in Major Mike Johnson of the Bellevue police department joining us with more on Sky. Major, nice to have you back. Before we talk about that -- I don't know if it's a coincidence or not, do you have any news on Sky's whereabouts, your investigation?

MAJOR MIKE JOHNSON, BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON: Unfortunately, not. The whereabouts of Sky are still unknown. We're searching through hundreds of tips. We have over 150 resources on the ground looking for Sky in various Sky and no good news to report.

BALDWIN: Let me ask you about this episode of Law & Order SVU aired Saturday night, Sky went missing Sunday. This woman claimed she left her son strapped in the back seat of her car and went into the store to buy diapers, came out, son is gone. My question to you is, who made this connection here between this TV show and Sky's disappearance and is it -- how is it affecting your investigation?

JOHNSON: It's certainly part of our investigation. A tip that we received indicated similarities between our investigation and the show. So we looked into it, had several investigators watch the show. I watched some of it myself. We can't deny the fact that there are similarities and something that we have to look forward to as we move forward.

BALDWIN: I want to talk about Sky's dad. He's the estranged husband to the mother. He was on HLN's Nancy Grace last night. I want to play this sound bite. He basically says she constantly talked about suicide, enough so that the four-year-old daughter took notice. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYNARD: She kept on saying that she wan wanted to kill herself and said it so much that Miley would repeat, I want to kill myself. That's why I said, you know what, whatever we're doing right now is not enough. We have to do more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Major, I know that you and your police staff is asking her to come back down to the department and you want to ask her more questions, but you say that she holds the key. Can you elaborate?

JOHNSON: Well, Julia is the last one to see Sky, as far as we know. So she's the one that we need to talk to the most about this investigation. And yet it's the one person we've had the least contact with this week as we've continues this investigation.

BALDWIN: How many times have you talked with her?

JOHNSON: We spoke to here. Let me back up. I don't want to mislead people that we haven't talked with us at all, because that's not the case. Julia spoke with us for hours Sunday night after the disappearance. Her attorney was present for that conversation. She cooperated fully in regard to retracing her steps and showing us the route she took with her car that morning. Since then communication has been limited and has continued to be more limited day to day to the point where we reached out again yesterday and invited her to come in and talk with us a little bit more. BALDWIN: Final question, Major Johnson, I want to ask you about this shoe. I understand there were tests on a show that was found. Can you tell me about that?

JOHNSON: Late last night we received reports of a shoe in the roadway near the location where the vehicle stopped Sunday morning at 6:00. We sent teams out to check out the shoe. When I say teams, I mean rescue crews and dogs to determine whether or not there was scent that would indicate and along those lines, it doesn't appear that at this point the size is right for the type of shoe that we're looking for. Not that there is a shoe missing. I didn't mean to imply that. It doesn't appear to be the right size for Sky.

BALDWIN: Major Mike Johnson, Bellevue Police Department there in Washington state, thank you. Now this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why would you be rewarding this kind of behavior or this kind of behavior or this kind of performance?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Good question. Your tax dollars saved Fannie Mae and Freddie Cam from collapse, but now they're giving out millions of dollars in bonuses. You don't want to miss this next story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: Kyle Maynard is climbing to the top of Georgia Stone mountain, bear crawling almost 1,000 feet. Maynard is a congenital quadruple amputee. He was born without arms or legs. His parents knew the world wasn't set up for him, but they we're going to let his disability set him apart.

KYLE MAYNARD, SPEAKER, AUTHOR, MOUNTAINEER: They raised me with the attitude that they weren't going to treat me any different.

GUPTA: So like any other little kid, Maynard played sports, even joined the football team in sixth grade.

MAYNARD: I loved it because I hit somebody in every play.

GUPTA: He took up wresting when football became too intense and stuck with it even after losing his first 35 matches. After high school Maynard became a mixed martial arts fighter and wrote a book, the bestselling memoir, "No Excuses." But a whirlwind book tour left him feeling exhausted and low.

MAYNARD: I got to a point where I was ready to quit speaking.

GUPTA: Then a chance encounter with two disabled veterans in Iraq changed his mind.

MAYNARD: They made a suicide pact. They said that the day they did that they saw my story on HBO and that's what got them to stop.

GUPTA: He regrets never getting their names, but he says that those veterans re-energized him. So he continued, crisscrossing the country sharing his story again and again.

MAYNARD: I know it's going to be tough.

GUPTA: And inspired him to try for yet another milestone, scaling Africa's Mt. Kilimanjaro.

MAYNARD: It's the opposite end of the spectrum.

GUPTA: Maynard will hike with a team that includes two other disabled veterans. Their goal -- to show the world that no obstacle is to hoard to overcome. Today's hike up Stone Mountain is part of the training for the trek, and despite his rudimentary equipment, it only takes him an hour and a half from the bottom to the top.

MAYNARD: When people see me, they may think a guy born without arms and legs, that's the worst thing that ever happened to him. And I think it's the greatest gift I have ever been given.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Times are tough. You don't need me to tell you that. It's not a good time to be asking for a raise let alone a bigger bonus. But I want you to watch this report from Brian Todd on the latest bonuses approved for top executives at both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You may not know Michael Williams, but you probably want to be paid like him. Same for Ed Haldeman. They're the respective CEOs of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government sponsored firms which back at least half the mortgages in America. According records from the Securities and Exchange Commission, Williams and Haldeman each made about $900,000 in salary last year and each is getting paid about $2 million in bonuses. Earlier this year the federal government approved nearly $13 million in bonuses for Williams, Haldeman, and eight other executives from the two firms despite the fact that millions of Americans are still struggling to make it through the housing crisis and that Fannie and Freddie have been hemorrhaging cash this year. They lost $10 billion in the last quarter and just asked Congress for more money.

SEN. JOHN THUNE, (R) BUDGET COMMITTEE: This is completely excessive and uncalled for.

TODD: Republican Senator John Thune is spearheading an effort by 60 Democratic and Republican senators to cancel the bonuses. They've sent a letter to the government body that oversees Fannie and Freddie, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, asking it to revise the compensation policy for those execs. The FHFA approved those bonuses.

THUNE: Why would you be rewarding this kind of behavior or this kind of performance, at least, at a time when we've got all these national economic issues and people across the country are very frustrated?

TODD: Contacted by CNN, officials at Fannie and Freddie wouldn't comment. Their overseer says, the FHFA says it's reduced executive pay at Fannie and Freddie in recent years, that those firms have to pay that kind of money to attract the kind of talent needed to manage $5 trillion in mortgages.

And officials here tell CNN the reason they got those bonuses is because they took the right steps to turn things around at Fannie and Freddie after the meltdown, a meltdown which triggered a massive bailout from the Feds.

(on camera): How big was the bailout compared to the auto bailouts and some of the others?

CLIFF ROSSI, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: It was about $170 billion so far from both entities, both Fannie and Freddie, and I think the estimated tally from what I understand from the Congressional Budget Office is somewhere in the neighborhood of about $250 billion. So from that standpoint it's large relative to these other bailouts.

TODD: Analyst Cliff Rossi, who once worked at both Fannie and Freddie, says the current execs at those firms were put in place since the bailout to clean up the mess from before. He says they started to do that, but also says they haven't done enough to modify hour homeowners' bad mortgages. So he's on the fence about whether they deserve their bonuses.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Some you have been tweeting me through the course of the last two hours saying you look different today. The reason why I look different, I'm coming to you from Washington, D.C., and so this is the part of the time I talk to Wolf and we're in boxes, but viola, I'm standing out "THE SITUATION ROOM." So let me take you in to see the Wolf Blitzer.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Welcome. Good to have you in "THE SITUATION ROOM" literally. How was that event you emceed last night here in Washington. First of all, tell us what was going on, a very good cause.

BALDWIN: It was an amazing cause. Every Child Matters is a non- profit. They basically try to make sure politicians think about kids and especially this upcoming year with the election cycle. So basically I got to emcee this event.

BLITZER: Black tie? BALDWIN: Not black tie. It was a more casual affair.

BLITZER: You must have looked fabulous.

BALDWIN: No photos.

BLITZER: What kind of producers do you have?

BALDWIN: I fly solo.

BLITZER: We want to see what you look like at that beautiful house of Sweden.

BALDWIN: Beautiful house of Sweden, gorgeous. I didn't want to leave. Thank you again, every child matters. It's important. Child abuse, preventing child abuse.

BLITZER: Especially now in the story of Penn State.

BALDWIN: I was talking about Penn State last night.

BLITZER: What did you say?

BALDWIN: I said, every child matters, we can do better. That's sort of my mantra I've taken on. There are so many other smaller stories, though, not just Penn State, but kids dying unnecessarily in this country. I feel passionate about it.

BLITZER: You are a good person.

BALDWIN: Well, thank you.

BLITZER: Thanks for doing it last night.

Let me tell you what's coming up in "THE SITUATION ROOM." Debbie Wasserman Shultz is going to be in "THE SITUATION ROOM," chair of the DNC. One of things I want to talk to her, her good friend Gabrielle Giffords, she's already doing interviews.

BALDWIN: Hearing her voice for the first time. It was 11 months ago.

BLITZER: What a year in news this has been.

BALDWIN: Amazing year.

BLITZER: And you and I are blessed.

BALDWIN: We have the best jobs in the world.

BLITZER: So you're heading to Atlanta?

BALDWIN: Actually, I'm going to Boston tonight.

BLITZER: Wow, you are traveling all over.

(LAUGHTER) BLITZER: Next week you'll be in Atlanta.

BALDWIN: You'll be in Atlanta.

BLITZER: I'll be there.

BALDWIN: Something of which we cannot speak.

BLITZER: But it will be big. Our viewers will enjoy it.

BALDWIN: My sources are filling me in. All right Wolf Blitzer we'll see you in a matter of minutes. A couple of more minutes, though, of me here on CNN. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: I don't know if you stayed up last night to watch this. So let me take you back to Wednesday night, GOP debate was not exactly Rick Perry's finest moment, but give him major props for actually going on David Letterman to be funny on purpose. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK PERRY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Actually, there were three reasons I messed up last night. One was the nerves, and two was the headache, and three -- um, um.

(LAUGHTER)

PERRY: Hey, listen, you try concentrating with Mitt Romney smiling at you. That is one handsome dude.

(LAUGHTER)

PERRY: I had a five-hour energy drink six hours before the debate.

I wanted to help take the heat off my buddy Herman Cain.

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "THE LAST SHOW": OK. Let's put this stuff in the caboose. And the number one Rick Perry excuse --

PERRY: I just learned Justin Bieber is my father.

LETTERMAN: Oh, my gosh.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Rick Perry on the late show. So we have a Texas governor to thank for this week's red hot catch phrase. CNN's Jeanne Moos milks it. Enjoy. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What do Britney Spears and Rick Perry have in common?

PERRY: Oops.

MOOS: Oops was everywhere from headlines to impersonations. Even Rick Perry couldn't resist repeating himself as he came out of his replayed clip.

PERRY: Oops.

MOOS: When Rick Perry forgot the third department he wants to cut --

PERRY: The -- what's the third one there -- let's see.

MOOS: The forgotten department of energy gaffe took on energy of its own.

PERRY: The, ah, the --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rick Perry had an amazing meltdown, completely for getting his point.

MOOS: One defender described it as a temporary loss of cabin pressure. We all have it.

JOY BEHAR: He could be president if he only has two things to remember.

(LAUGHTER)

MOOS: Funny or die put up a parody quiz asking the governor to name three things.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three legal moves in rock paper scissors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got rock, paper -- then there's a hawk --

MOOS: The governor's gaffe was gleefully timed. Rick Perry's 53 second brain freeze dwarfed previous whoppers and made Arizona Governor Jan Brewer seem like a scholar when she blanked for a mere 13 seconds.

GOV. JAN BREWER, (R) ARIZONA: We have -- did what was right for Arizona.

MOOS: At least when President Bush did it he was answering what's been your biggest mistake?

GEORGE BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: You know I just -- I'm sure something will pop into my head here.

MOOS: Sometimes what pops out is even worse.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: South Africa and Iraq, everywhere such as.

MOOS: Like such as that, some consolation. Govern Perry after this doozy of a gaffe, Perry came up with a recovery plan, a multistep recovery plan.

PERRY: I stepped in it for sure.

PERRY: Obviously I stepped in it.

PERRY: I stepped in it last night, some stuck on my feet.

MOOS: Remember how Sarah Palin made sure she wouldn't forget her three priorities? Cartoonist Jeff Danziger drew imagined advice handed down from Palin to Rick Perry - write it on your hand, stupid.

Jeanne moos, CNN.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Name three rice crispy mascots.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Snap, crackle, sizzle --

MOOS: New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Jeanne Moos, thank you so much. And if I may here live in Washington, a quick thank you and shout out to the CNN Washington bureau. It has been an amazing 48 hours. Thank all of you for hosting me. And Wolf Blitzer, it's been amazing see you. We'll going to go to "THE SITUATION ROOM" right beyond that wall.

Wolf Blitzer, see you, my friend.