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Obama Stirs Same-Sex Marriage Debate; Interview with Wanda Sykes; Wanda Sykes Is Married With Twins; Gay Marriage's Unlikely Couple; Not Saving For Retirement

Aired May 10, 2012 - 12:00   ET

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

(MUSIC)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Live from CNN headquarters in Atlanta, where it's 12:00 noon, 9:00 a.m. on the West Coast, I'm Suzanne Malveaux.

I want to get you up to speed for this Thursday, May 10th.

President Obama stirs up the national debate over same-sex marriage after announcing that he thinks gay people should be allowed to marry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've just concluded that for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Political pundits are weighing in on what this means for the November election.

We're also listening to you, what you're saying about same-sex marriage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am in support of gay marriage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do I support gay marriage? No, I don't. Like I said, it's unnatural. God didn't set it up that way. It kind of destroys the whole sanctity of what marriage is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: We'll have much more from supporters as well as opponents. We'll talk about the political implications of the president's historic announcement.

This is an enormous bomb crater in the center of Damascus, Syria. Two explosions. Police say they were suicide car bombings that killed at least 5 people, wounded almost 400 others. It is the single deadliest attack in Damascus since the rebel uprising began more than a year ago. More than 1,000 people have been killed in Syria since last month when a U.N. ceasefire went into effect.

An Army mom and dad say they don't believe the government is doing enough to get their son back. We're talking about the parents of Bo Bergdahl. He is the only American POW from the war in Afghanistan. Now, his parents, they are speaking publicly for first time since his capture three years ago.

Bergdahl's family tells "The New York Times" that the government has secretly been negotiating a prisoner swap aimed at freeing their son but they're frustrated by the lack of progress. They have not heard from their son in more than a year.

Two California police officers are going to stand trial for the beating death of a mentally ill homeless man last year. Now, the surveillance video is very disturbing here. It shows these officers, Kelly Thomas, with batons beating, kneeling on his chest, punching repeatedly, tasering him. Thomas died five days later and one officer is charged with second degree murder. Both of them face involuntary manslaughter charges.

All right. Let the Olympic journey begin. This is pretty cool.

Actors dressed in traditional Greek costumes lit the Olympic torch today at the site of the first Olympics in ancient Greece. The lighting marks the start of the flame's week-long journey to Great Britain. Once long the torch will begin an 8,000 mile trek across the U.K. before arriving in London just in time for the 2012 Olympic Games in late July.

Now, this is a question that is dividing the country in half. Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry? Well, now President Obama has jumped into the fray just six months before he's up for re- election. He says his views on gay marriage have evolved over the years.

Dan Lothian, he is taking a look at what the presidents a said in the past and now what he is saying today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: For me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Obama made the announcement Wednesday in an interview with ABC News, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to publicly support same-sex marriage. His remarks come on the heels of North Carolina passing a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, and Vice President Biden's public support on "Meet the Press" on Sunday.

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women and heterosexual, men and women marrying another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties.

LOTHIAN: Presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney reiterated his long standing position on the issue after the president's interview.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My view is that marriage itself is a relationship between a man and a woman, and that's my own preference.

LOTHIAN: Mr. Obama once opposed same-sex marriage but says his stance on the issue evolved after conversations with the first lady, his daughters and friends.

OBAMA: I've always been adamant that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly, and equally.

LOTHIAN: In 1996, then-Illinois Senate candidate Barack Obama supported marriages for same-sex couples. In a questionnaire for a gay newspaper, he responded, "I favor legalizing same-sex marriages and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages."

By 2004, the political climate was demanding clarity. In a debate, Obama clarified.

OBAMA: I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman.

LOTHIAN: That was before this, his 2004 convention speech.

OBAMA: We coached Little League in the blue states and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states.

LOTHIAN: And then once in the White House --

OBAMA: My feelings about this are constantly evolving. I struggle with this.

Everyone ought to be treated equally and everybody deserves to be able to live and love as they see fit.

LOTHIAN: With the nation split on the issue of same-sex marriage, the president called his endorsement one of personal conviction. With less than six months before the election, a decision fraught with political implications.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Dan is joining us live.

Dan, you got that one right -- political implications and really a risky move when you think about this. There are some people who believe that this is going to galvanize those who were not inspired by Mitt Romney, the social conservatives, to come out in droves now to support him.

Is that something that the Obama campaign is worried about?

LOTHIAN: Well, they certainly hear that, but they also believe that they can energize the base with this move. I mean, there's been a lot of pressure on this president to come out and provide some clarity from the left, and, you know, one way that you see the White House or at least the re-election campaign pushing this theme is that last night, they sent around a mass e-mail laying out how the president came to his decision, the role that his daughters played in coming to that decision, and then raising support around that message.

They also focus on some of the polling that's out there. They're quite aware of the fact that, yes, this is a very important issue. Social issues are very important, but ultimately the American people care most about fixing the economy and economic issues and jobs -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: What's the calculation here, Dan, when it comes to the African-American community? Back in 2008, he got nearly 95 percent from that group.

But if you listen to the popular radio host Tom Joyner this morning, there were a lot of people calling in and they were not happy with Obama's support of same-sex marriage.

Is there concern from the White House that perhaps some black voters might just sit it out this time?

LOTHIAN: You know, and that's an important issue because I also heard that on the radio this morning. They're also aware of those media reports out there and also these interview that is have been conducted not only by African-American community leaders but also some of these pastors. But what they're focused on is the fact of what some of them are saying, which is, yes, they might not be happy with what the president did here, but ultimately they still plan to support him.

MALVEAUX: And finally, Dan, here we are talking about same-sex marriage today. We are not talking about the economy. We're not talking about national security.

Does the Obama administration, does the president, feel confident that he is setting and controlling the agenda here, the focus of the debate?

LOTHIAN: They do. When you talk about these social issues, they don't see this as part of any sort of policy agenda here. They don't see this as the cornerstone of the campaign. They still believe that it's all about the economy.

And while the president today is out west doing some major fund- raising, he will also tomorrow visit Reno where he will be talking again about the economy, specifically about what his administration plans to do in order to help those struggling homeowners stay in their homes.

MALVEAUX: All right. Dan, good to see you, as always. Thanks, Dan.

Here is a rundown on some of the stories that we are covering.

First, very different reactions from Americans on the president's support for same-sex marriage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's really out of sync.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pretty spectacular for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And I talk to a pastor as well as a comedian from the right and left about the president's comments. What it means moving forward.

And these two truly an odd couple in the issue of gay rights. Conservative and liberal lawyers who fought over hanging chads and the Bush versus Gore election.

And then, do you think you have enough money to retire? Most Americans don't. Half of them not even saving. Hear of the latest numbers.

And don't forget, you can watch CNN live on your computer while you're at work. Head to CNN.com/TV.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: The buzz today is over President Obama coming out in support of same-sex marriage, and what it means for the November election. Is going to hurt him among Latino voters? Is it going to rally the conservatives around Mitt Romney.

I want to bring in Republican consultant, CNN contributor, Alex Castellanos.

Alex, good to see you, as always.

I want to show you something, first of all. The Obama team already, overnight, the campaign ad which they put out on the issue of same-sex marriage. And here's how they portrait it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

OBAMA: Same sex couples should be able to get married.

ROMNEY: I indicated my view, which is I do not favor marriage between people of the same gender. And I don't favor civil unions if they're identical to marriage other than by name.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So, some of the other things they talk about is that Romney would deny health insurance for same-sex partners, adoptions, emergency medical decisions, all those kinds of things. How does the Romney campaign counter this because it seems like a very strong case here when you portray this issue as one of rights?

ALEX CASTELLANOS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, there's certainly that's the case the president is making. But I think many Republicans would make the case that it's also a case of rights on the Republican side, that your religious principles may compel you to believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, and that's understandable and should be respected.

Romney's position has been consistent on this. As governor in Massachusetts, you know, a state that was leaning the other way, he opposed gay marriage and stopped it in Massachusetts years ago.

MALVEAUX: It's pretty tough when you look at the case if you say, look, this is about health insurance, this is about medical emergencies, this is about kids. I mean, do you think that he really has a winning argument?

CASTELLANOS: Well, I think actually, and to the president's credit, overall I think this is going to be a net minus for the president. I think he stood up for something here that may end up hurting him more than helping him.

So I'm not sure that it's a liability for Republicans politically. You know, President Obama's not going to lose Republican voters on this. He doesn't have any.

He's not going to lose black voters on this because he's a historic figure. He is going to lose, I think, a few Reagan Democrats in Ohio and Pennsylvania and Michigan and North Carolina, working class white males, for example, that have their names on their work shirts when they go to work who culturally just think this is a bridge too far for them.

So admire the president for doing that. There is a political plus for the president here, and that is it does intensify his base and the president, I think their campaign is -- I'll give up the middle, but I'll intensify the base and crank that out, and that's I think their campaign.

MALVEAUX: You are a Republican. You also support same-sex marriage. What do you think of what the president did?

CASTELLANOS: Well, you know, I think this is the way the country is going, and I think it's the right thing to do. If we're Republicans and we think big government is a bad idea telling you how to live your life, then why should big government be telling people who they can love and who they can marry? Big government doesn't become a good thing for Republicans just because, say, it agrees with us. So I think there's an inconsistency there for us.

But also, you know, the next generation of voters, this is a country that I think has opened its heart to everybody in that next generation. It's a big wave coming that thinks you ought to be able to marry whoever you want, and Republicans are either going to get swamped by that wave or they're going to ride that wave.

So politically I think we have to address it, and I think morally we have to address it just to be consistent with our principles..

MALVEAUX: Do you think Mitt Romney is on the wrong side of this issue then, the wrong side of history when it comes to this?

CASTELLANOS: You know, I think history is going in a different direction, but I'm not going to say Mitt Romney is on the wrong side of this because I understand where he comes from. You know, for him this is a matter of faith.

I don't think that people who oppose gay marriage are haters. When you see Americans in 32 different states opposing gay marriage amendments, then these folks -- they are parents, they are our friends. And a lot of folks say marriage meant something when I accepted it as a religious sacrament and now somebody is trying to change the rules, and I think that's an argument that you may think is outweighed by other factors.

I do, but I understand it and respect it, and I think we would actually advance the cause a little more if we spoke a little more civilly about people who feel the other way.

MALVEAUX: All right. Alex, thanks. Good to talk to you as always.

Hollywood chiming in on President Obama's announcement as well. Celebrities, gay ands straight, turn to Twitter. Many of them gave the president some props.

Neil Patrick Harris tweeted, "President Obama announces his support for same-sex marriage. Bravo, Mr. President and thank you."

From Ellen DeGeneres, "Thank you, President Barack Obama, for your beautiful and brave words. I am overwhelmed."

Tyra Banks tweeted this, "A fierce day for my gays and my prez, Barack Obama. Way to stand up for love for all."

And from Alec Baldwin, "Obama gets it right on gay marriage. Bravo."

Comedian Wanda Sykes married her partner four years ago. We're going to talk to her about what the president's comments mean to her personally.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: This weekend on CNN's "NEXT LIST," they call it urban bee keeping. It's getting a ton of buzz. Check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Many, many businesses have approached me to put bees on their roofs, but I only work with those whom I feel truly embrace the concept of wanting to be greener, wanting to help the environment, wanting to raise awareness of the environment and bees seem to be a very good way to do that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today, this is the first day in the chef's garden. We're selling six bee hives today and we hope to be harvesting honey within a month.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have wanted to have bees on the roof and grow honey for years. When city council finally repealed the law, I was like, oh, my God, I don't know how. That's how Andrew and I got connected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: All right. That's "THE NEXT LIST." That is this Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.

Up next, comedienne Wanda Sykes married her partner four years, started a family. We're going to talk with her about the president's support for gay marriage, what that means for her personally.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: The president says yes. The nation today reacting. Americans are evenly split over same-sex marriage.

That's what everybody is talking about now that President Obama has come out in favor of it. Actress and comedienne Wanda Sykes, she joins us by phone from Los Angeles to talk about it.

Wanda, great to -- I can't see you but I can hear you. Thanks for being a part of the show here. So --

WANDA SYKES, COMEDIENNE (via telephone): It's a good thing you can't see me because I look a mess right now.

MALVEAUX: Well, hopefully, you're not in your pajamas.

We're seeing beautiful pictures of you and your partner, Alex. You got married back in October 2008. You have beautiful twins.

Tell us, first of all, just your reaction to the president's endorsement.

SYKES: Oh, I was overwhelmed. I still have a smile on my face. You know, it's like you said, he came out basically, and to have that support, there's just not enough words. To know that the most powerful man in the world recognizes your family and, you know, and is supportive, it just means -- it just means so much.

MALVEAUX: Do you think when your kids grow up, the twins, do you think it will have an impact on how they feel about themselves and their parents?

SYKES: Oh, definitely, definitely.

You know, we had the news on, and, you know, I was pointing to the TV and, you know, telling the kids, that's President Obama, you know, he supports us. And, of course, they're 3 and they're looking at me like, can't you turn back the "Sesame Street" please? I need to see Elmo, you know.

It's going to mean -- it's going to mean so much to them. And also, it's funny, kids who are born in this generation having an African-American president is not going to be as big a deal. I actually tease them and I say, see, you're going to have to work a little bit harder being white kids to be president.

MALVEAUX: We're looking at some pictures of you and Alex, but we also see you at the White House correspondents' dinner back in 2009. You had a chance to spoof the president and the first lady.

Did you ever take them aside and talk to them and talk to them about gay rights or, hey, nudge them a little bit and say this would mean a lot to me?

SYKES: You know, what I do is basically just in my actions and just in my life. I was at the dinner, and I had my wife with me. And when I met him, I introduced him to my wife as my wife, and the same thing with the first lady, and they both were very gracious and warm. The first lady even made some jokes to my wife about having to put up with me, and, you know, my wife is French and they were about to take a trip -- the first lady and the girls, they were about to take a trip over to France, so, you know, they just had a conversation.

And to me that said it all. That, you know, we were welcomed and didn't really have to make a big deal or a statement to me. That just said it.

MALVEAUX: Wanda, do you think the president needs to do more? Should he do more? Obviously this is a very big deal, that he's supporting this. Do you think he should take it a step further and introduce legislation?

SYKES: Good Lord. I mean, how much more can the man do?

You know, to me no other sitting U.S. president has ever been a support -- openly been in support of marriage equality. What I want him to focus on right now is getting re-elected and then we'll see what else.

I mean, is there more to do? Definitely. But right now, my focus is to -- and where I hope what happens and his focus is to get re-elected.

MALVEAUX: I want folks to see a little bit about what you've done here. You're one of many celebrities who is featured in think before you speak campaign targeting anti-gay language.

I want to play just a little bit of that for our viewers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So gay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's really gay.

SYKES: Please don't say that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?

SYKES: Don't say that something is gay when you mean that something is dumb or stupid. It's insulting.

It's like if I thought this pepper shaker was stupid and I said, man, this pepper shaker is so 16-year-old boy with a cheesy mustache. Just saying.

When you say that's so gay, do you realize what you say? Knock it off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Wanda, what do you think about that? Do you think that attitudes are changing in our society here? Do you think that message that you're trying to convey there is actually making a difference?

SYKES: I think so. I mean, I think people -- people who want to change or people who want to be correct, you know, and not be hurtful, I think it helps them. First I have a lot of friends who are special ed teachers or, you know, they work with kids with learning disabilities, and they got on me years ago. I was saying stuff and I said retarded. They said, hey, don't say that.

I'm like, you know what? They're right. I would never use that word in years since.

And I think it goes the same thing with this. And who it really helps is -- I had so many kids who have come up to me and thanked me for doing that because they said it helped them, you know, discuss that with their friends, and just to move forward.

MALVEAUX: Sure.

SYKES: I'm proud to be a part of it and it's -- you know, it's good to have that out there.

MALVEAUX: And, Wanda, finally, this is an issue that a lot of people are split on here. They're divided. When you take a look at some of the polls, you talk to people and it looks like it's pretty evenly split. Is there something that you would like to convey who do not approve of your union with Alex? Is there anything you feel you could say or do that might help you understand your point of view, where you're coming from?

SYKES: It's just that, you know, as Americans we all have the right to -- we all should have the right to love who we want to love and to, you know, have our families and to have the same rights.

And it's not -- people keep making it a religious, you know, a religious topic or reference point, but there's so many things that married people get to do that we don't get to do although we are legally married in California.

It involves -- it's not just about religion. Marriage is about there's health care, immigration, taxes. We pay different taxes. If marriage was strictly a religious thing, that it was just something that you went to your church and that's all it was, then fine.

But this is -- this carries on into so many other aspects of your life, and everyone should be able to enjoy those same privileges. Next of kin, next of kin is not even -- we don't even get to have that.

You should see the stacks of legal documents we had to go through to a lawyer just to try to work out things in case something does happen, you know, to each other and married people you don't have to do all that.

MALVEAUX: Wanda Sykes, we're going to have to leave it there. Thank you so much for calling in and talking to us. Really appreciate it, and thank you for sharing very openly your life with Alex and your children as well. Thank you.

SYKES: Thank you very much, Suzanne. Appreciate it. Suzanne, Suzanne, say it right.

MALVEAUX: You got it right.

Next hour African-American pastor who supported President Obama in the last election. He is angry over the stand -- over Obama's stand on gay marriage. We'll talk to Ralph Martino about his views.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Same-sex marriage is front and center thanks to President Obama. Many observers are watching what happens now in California. An appeals court recently ruled the state's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

That was a victory for two powerhouse lawyers usually on opposite sides. One, Ted Olson, he is a Republican, and David Boies, Democrat. Here is the story by Gloria Borger.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): It's a script that could have been written in Hollywood. The opening shot, a lunch in the polo lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel. And it starts where you might expect, with a Hollywood heavy hitter, director and actor Rob Reiner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was after Proposition 8 went the wrong way for us.

BORGER: The launch took place in November 2008, a week after the election. Obama won the White House, but gays and lesbians lost the right to marry in California.

ROB REINER, DIRECTOR: We're trying to figure out what we do next. And then we thought about the idea of a possible legal challenge to Proposition 8, and serendipitously, a friend of my wife's came by the table.

BORGER: The friend suggested they would find an ally in her former brother-in-law, who turned out to be Ted Olson, a towering figure in the conservative legal movement.

(on camera): So that stunned you, right?

REINER: It more than stunned me, but I said if this is true, this is the home run of all times. I mean, the idea that Ted Olson. This arch conservative, solicitor general for George Bush who had argued Bush v. Gore and basically put me in bed for a couple days I was so depressed after Bush v. Gore was interested in gay rights. I thought, let's check it out.

BORGER: But didn't you have any doubts about Ted Olson?

REINER: You know, they say that politics makes strange bedfellows. Well, you don't have a stranger bedfellow than me and Ted Olson.

BORGER (voice-over): Chad Griffin was also at the polo lounge that day. He and Rob Reiner are old friends and political allies. They met when Chad was just 19 and a press aide in the Clinton White House.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, Mr. President.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you today?

BORGER: He gave Reiner the west wing tour when the director was scouting for his film "An American President." They decided Griffin would be the one to make that first uneasy call to Olson.

CHAD GRIFFIN, HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN INCOMING PRESIDENT: Much to my surprise it was an issue he had clearly thought a lot about. But the moment I hung up the phone, I realized there was a chance I was talking to someone who overnight could become the most important, significant advocate for marriage equality that this movement has ever seen.

TED OLSON, LAWYER: We talked for a while on the telephone, and then he said can I come and talk to you in your office in Washington, D.C.

BORGER: Weren't you stunned?

OLSON: I wasn't so stunned. I'm a lawyer. I represent cases involving the constitution. This is an important constitutional question. Yes, I think that we hurt people when we tell them they're no good.

We tell them that they're not equal to us, and we say your loving relationship doesn't count? The words in the California constitution are that your relationship is not recognized. What harm do we do?

What harm do we do to those individuals every day, to fair their family, to their friends? We're putting a badge on them that says unequal and that's contrary to everything we believe in this country.

BORGER (voice-over): So Ted Olson took the meeting with Griffin. They kept it a secret though. After all, Olson is a conservative legal icon.

(on camera): One of the first things you see when you walk through your door in this office is a picture of Ronald Reagan.

OLSON: He was a wonderful, wonderful man to know and to work for. And, of course, President Bush is here, too.

BORGER (voice-over): That would be Bush XLIII. The president whose election Olson successfully defended before the Supreme Court in 2000. A memory that wasn't lost on Chad Griffin.

GRIFFIN: I knew I was in foreign territory, but I saw enough in that office to know just how Republican of a world that Ted Olson comes from, and my world could not be more different than that.

BORGER: Also on display was Olson's extraordinary legal track record with 44 Supreme Court victories under his belt.

(on camera): And here are the quills. You get one of these --

OLSON: Every time you argue a case in the Supreme Court at the desk is the quill.

BORGER (voice-over): Weeks later Reiner says the deal was sealed here in his California home.

(on camera): Was this kind of like an out of body experience for you? I mean, here you are sitting and talking to Ted Olson, whom you probably regarded as --

REIDNER: Yes, the enemy. The devil, they say, the devil.

BORGER: Now what are you?

REIDNER: Well, I'm the devil to a different group of people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It really is a betrayal that everything Ted Olson has purported to stand for.

BORGER: Ed Whalen, a conservative legal analyst and former Olson fan, now, like many conservatives, feels betrayed.

ED WHELAN, CONSERVATIVE LEGAL ANALYST: He was someone who fought the good fight. I think most people assumed he was a man of principle. I thought it was a shocking act on his part.

BORGER (on camera): So do you think he has destroyed his reputation?

WHELAN: I think so.

OLSON: This is a case that challenges the status of individuals.

BORGER: So why did Olson do it?

OLSON: People say you must be doing this because someone in your family is gay. That is not the case. I'm doing this because I think it's the right thing to do.

BORGER: And once Olson made the decision, it became an emotional journey.

OLSON: A younger woman who works here is a lawyer. She came up to me, and she said, Ted, I want to tell you what I think about what you're doing. She said I'm a lesbian. I don't think you know me. We haven't worked together. My partner and I have children. I can't tell you what you're doing for us by taking this case, and she started to cry, and then I did.

BORGER (voice-over): Then Olson made another move right out of central casting. He wanted to hire a co-counsel. Of all people, the liberal David Boies, his former Supreme Court rival, the man he beat in Bush versus Gore. The director loved it.

REIDNER: When he suggested that we get David Boies to be his co- counsel, I thought, wow, to get the two guys who opposed each other on Bush versus Gore to team up was saying that this is a nonpartisan issue.

BORGER: Not to mention irresistible public relations.

WHELAN: I think ted recognized that this odd bedfellows combination would get a lot of attention.

BORGER (on camera): Some people call them the odd couple.

WHELAN: Well, it is a very odd couple, isn't it?

BORGER: Or is it? Judge for yourself.

OLSON: As we were getting ready to argue Bush versus Gore -- we said some day someone is going to come to us who will want to get married, and they'll be gay, and we'll do this together. We actually talked about that. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That second part I don't remember.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: California's same-sex marriage fight goes before a full appeals court soon. Many expect it's eventually going to make its way up to the Supreme Court all because an alliance of two of the nation's most prominent lawyers, one Democrat, one Republican. You can hear the rest of the story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: The debate over same-sex marriage is back in the forefront. A California case now back in the spotlight. Two legal rivals, they teamed up to take on the state's ban on same-sex marriage. They're the same lawyers who were on opposite sides of the landmark case Bush versus Gore. Gloria Borger, she picks up the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: We now need to resolve this election.

CROWD: Let us in! Let us in!

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): It was the historic case that decided the presidency and divided the nation. Olson and Boies were the ones on the steps of the Supreme Court battling it out.

That was then. This is now. On the streets of New York, they're talking anything but the law.

TED OLSON, LAWYER: It's called "Crazy Heart," Jeff Bridges.

DAVID BOIES, LAWYER: Oh, I know, I know.

OLSEN: Have you seen it?

BOIES: I haven't seen that. I want to see that, though, and "Avatar."

OLSEN: Yes.

BORGER: They've come a long way.

BORGER (on camera): Let me just play a little game with you, OK? Great lawyer.

BOIES: Ted.

OLSON: David.

BORGER: OK.

BORGER (voice-over): The adversaries are now friends. Really good friends. And when we asked to meet with them, they suggested a personal spot -- David Boies' apartment in New York City.

BORGER (on camera): If anybody had said to me nine years ago that I was about to be interviewing the two men who fought each other tooth and nail in Bush versus Gore on the same side of a constitutional fight, I would have said, are you crazy?

OLSON: Actually, David and I talked about this in 2000 as we were getting ready to argue in the Supreme Court that some day we'd like to be on the same side in the United States Supreme Court. And we said --

BOIES: (INAUDIBLE) actually in the chambers.

OLSON: Some day -- some day --

BOIES: Right.

OLSON: Someone's going to come to us who will want to get married and they'll be gay.

BORGER (voice-over): It would take nearly a decade for that to actually happen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do we want?

CROWD: Equal rights.

BORGER: Olson was recruited by a group of Hollywood activists who wanted to challenge Proposition 8, the controversial 2008 ballot initiative that banned same-sex marriage in California.

OLSON: Good morning, everyone. Thank you for being here.

BORGER: He said, yes, which was startling enough. But he knew he needed some political balance on the team. So he picked up the phone.

BOIES: He told me what the case was about and I think it took me about 15 seconds to --

OLSON: No, it didn't even take you 15 seconds.

BOIES: Not that much?

OLSON: It took you less than one second.

BOIES: Yes, right.

BORGER: It was a case made for David Boies, and Olson knew it.

BOIES: I think it is, in some senses, the last major civil rights battle that we're fighting in this country, hopefully. This is not a liberal conservative issue. It's not a Republican/Democratic issue. It's an issue of civil rights and human rights.

BORGER (on camera): Do you find yourself defending Ted Olson to your Democratic friends, when they say to you, how can you work with him? BOIES: No. I find myself defending Ted Olson to my Republican friends. The Democratic friends are easy. It's the Republican friends I have the trouble with.

BORGER (voice-over): Politics aside, their wives joke that they're like an old married couple. They go biking together and both enjoy the finer things.

BORGER (on camera): Well, what do you like about each other?

BOIES: Oh, well, where should we start? Should we start with the wine or the bike trips.

BORGER: Yes, let's start with the wine.

OLSON: Yes, start with the wine.

BORGER: So after a long day, a glass of --

BOIES: Oh, gosh, definitely.

OLSON: Or a short day.

BOIES: Or a short day, exactly.

BORGER (voice-over): They have known each other for decades as super lawyers practicing in a rarified legal stratosphere. Then came Bush versus Gore, the hottest case of all. A case that to this day they don't agree on.

BORGER (on camera): Do you still think you were right?

BOIES: Absolutely.

OLSON: Well, he wasn't, obviously. The Supreme Court decided. Furthermore, by the way, the journalists all went back to Florida and counted these votes about 12 different ways and it all came out the same way. But I will say this about --

BOIES: Well, they didn't all come out all the same way.

OLSON: Well --

BORGER (voice-over): They'll never resolve that professional argument, but ironically that case brought them together personally.

BOIES: Something happens in a sense that you get so deeply involved in a case that about the only person that really appreciates what's going on is the lawyer on the other side, who is just as deep into the weeds as you are. They can appreciate all these little nuances. And so it's a natural kind of affinity.

BORGER: That affinity was strengthened by tragedy. A year later, on September 11, 2001, Olson's wife Barbara was killed on Flight 77, the flight that crashed into the Pentagon. Boies knew his friend was suffering and reached out to him. BOIES: I was being given an award by the lab school in Washington. And it was an annual award that they give. I'm dyslexic. And they give it to somebody who has achieved. And I said, well, if you could get Ted Olson, I'd like to have Ted Olson give me the award.

OLSON: I'm very honored to be here with my colleague, David Boies, because he is the best.

And I can hardly talk about it because it was such an emotional event. That gesture of David asking me to be with him on the stand receiving that award in front of the 2,000 to 3,000 people was a wonderful gesture by him. It's 10 years ago now I can hardly talk about it.

BORGER: That strong bond is still there a decade later as together they take on the fight for gay marriage.

JEFF ZARRILLO: They're the wonder twins. They're not the odd couple.

BORGER: Paul Katami (ph) and Jeff Zarrillo are one of the couples that Olson and Boies are representing.

ZARRILLO: I can tell you that both those guys, they put their heart and soul into this. And when they're fighting for our equal rights, they are on the same page. And they are doing it together.

OLSON: Our nation was founded on the principle that all Americans are created equal.

BORGER: Their legal strategy is simple. Olson and Boies argue that banning same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, period. They expect the Supreme Court to be the ultimate decider for the nation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would be the Roe versus Wade of our generation.

BORGER: They have their critics. Conservative legal analyst Ed Whelan.

ED WHELAN, CONSERVATIVE LEGAL ANALYST: There's nothing in the Constitution properly construed that remotely supports a right to same-sex marriage.

BORGER: And even some of those who agree with Olson and Boies say that same-sex marriage should be left to the states.

BORGER (on camera): There are lots of skeptics out there who say that you're going to quickly here. That you're essentially going to wind up at the Supreme Court and you're asking the Supreme Court to do a pretty heavy lift.

BOIES: Every civil rights struggle, there have always been people who have said, you're moving too fast, the country's not ready for it. How many people in 1954 were saying, the country's not ready for desegregation? Brown against Board of Education is just too soon. BORGER: But everyone says this is a conservative court. So, why are you doing it now. It's a conservative court.

BOIES: Well, everybody says Ted is a conservative guy. I mean there are lots of conservative people -- I mean the idea that civil rights and human rights is exclusively a liberal preserve, I just think it's flat wrong.

BORGER (voice-over): Their clients have faith their lawyers will win.

BORGER (on camera): Will David and Ted be at the wedding?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They better be.

ZARRILLO: They just might officiate the wedding.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That would be interesting.

BORGER: Or they could be best --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

BORGER: Best man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Man and man, right. Yes.

BORGER: Whatever?

ZARRILLO: In our wedding and in life.

BORGER (voice-over): But in the end, that's likely to be a decision for the high court.

BORGER (on camera): Last time you went to the Supreme Court, it didn't go so well for you. What's going to be different this time with the two of you together?

BOIES: Well, one thing, this time I've got Ted on my side.

OLSON: I would say the one thing that would be different is this time we'll get all the votes that I can persuade and all the votes David can persuade and there will be no votes left on the other side.

BORGER: No recount?

BOIES: No, no recount.

OLSON: No recount.

BOIES: No recount necessary.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Gloria Borger, she's joining us from Washington. Wow, Gloria, this is just an excellent piece, a series there. And, obviously, you spent a lot of time with them. They clearly get along very well. I spent a lot of time with them covering Bush versus Gore. It's hard to believe they are such good buddies today, you know?

BORGER: I know.

MALVEAUX: It's like, incredible. Give us a sense of why do you suppose -- what do you suppose they see as the role of the courts in this fight? Do they really believe that that is the appropriate place to fight over marriage equality?

BORGER: Well, they believe that it's fine for the states to take up these issues. It's fine for ballot initiatives to take up these issues. But in talking to them in great detail about this, they also believe that the courts, in our history, particularly the Supreme Court, but also lower courts, have had the ability to do sometimes the heavy lift, if you will, when the public really wasn't ready to do it.

And in talking to Ted Olson about it, for example, you know, the case he cites is the case -- the Loving case, the interracial marriage case. And the political opinion in the country was very, very much against allowing interracial marriage.

MALVEAUX: Right.

BORGER: Yet the court decided that, in fact, it should allow interracial marriage. So now what you've got is you've got public opinion moving in that direction. But when I asked sort of, well, why don't you wait until the younger generation grows up, because it is a generational issue, and the answer is, do you tell somebody that they ought to wait to get their civil rights and that it's just a matter of time and then this country will give you your civil rights? And their answer to that rhetorical question is, of course, no, you don't wait. You do it when you think you can.

MALVEAUX: And they are certainly working hard to make sure they can. So, thank you, Gloria. Excellent --

BORGER: With some success.

MALVEAUX: Some success, yes. Thank you very much. Excellent report.

BORGER: Thanks.

MALVEAUX: Sure.

When money is tight, people don't save. According to a new survey by the financial services industry, almost half of Americans say they aren't even contributing to any kind of retirement plan. Alison Kosik, she's live at the New York Stock Exchange with more of the details about this statistic here.

It's rather surprising here. Do we know who's actually not saving, I mean, and why? ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know who's not saving? Young people. In fact, 56 percent of 18 to 34-year-olds, Suzanne, they aren't saving a dime for retirement, nada. They're saving nothing. This is after a federal -- Financial Trade Association looked at what contributions were being made to IRAs and 401(k)s and nothing was being put into these. And, unfortunately, the time to save is when you're young.

Look at the difference. So let's say you save $200 a month starting let's say when you're 25 years old. You earn about 7 percent a year. You're going to have about a half million dollars by 65. Look, it's not enough to retire on, but it's a great start, right?

But look at what happens if you wait until you're 35 and you start saving that $200. You get less than half as much by age 65. You have $235,000. Now, keep in mind, $200 a month, it may seem like a lot when you do start out, but what this does is it assumes you're going to make more money as time goes on. And if you're like me and you know this, Suzanne, you've got to start somewhere. Even if you don't feel like you're making a lot of money, you've got to start putting it away early.

Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Good advice. Put it away early. Thank you, Alison. Good to see you.

KOSIK: Yes.

MALVEAUX: The prosecution in the John Edwards' trial is close to resting their case now without putting his former mistress on the stand. We're going to have the latest from the trial.

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