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Syrian Violence Surging; Yahoo! CEO Out; Gay Marriage Stirs Pastors; President Obama Favors Same-Sex Marriage; People Talking about Mormonism; Romney and the Auto Industry Bailout

Aired May 13, 2012 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in the "CNN Newsroom."

A new report out of Syria that gunfire and terror are gripping much of the country. Opposition groups claim more than 20 people have been killed just today. The number of U.N. monitors is increasing, but foreign journalists still have little access to the country. But CNN's Ivan Watson has just returned to Turkey after being in Syria. I spoke with him earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, Fredricka, we just got back from Syria a couple of hours ago. And what is striking is that it's 15 months now that Syrians have been protesting, and conducting this uprising against their government. We have seen incredible amounts of violence by conservative estimates, more than 9,000 people killed with artillery and tanks and helicopters against opposition demonstrators. And they've grown increasingly armed.

And despite of that incredible loss of life, there's no sign in sight that the population is willing to give up this rebellion. You have people proudly flying the flag of the opposition. We met rebels that are - that look to be better armed than we've seen in months past. They have better uniforms than they've had in the past. They seem to be better mobilized as well, and preparing what appears to be for what they think may be the next phase in the fighting there.

And we also talked to some of the civilians who have suffered. I talked to a mother who had lost three of her sons. Three of her sons who tried to defend their village from two subsequent Syrian military attacks on their village. And she described how her house was destroyed, how her livestock was even killed. The conflict there is far from over.

Despite the fact that there's been a ceasefire, that the Syrian government and the rebels have nominally agreed to for weeks now. And there are no signs that the population that is protesting against their government are going to give up their rebellion, even after 15 months.

WHITFIELD: And so Ivan, clearly, you know, the president, Al Assad, still digging in his heels. Is there any indication whatsoever, even any, I guess new sentiment being expressed from him and his government about how to move forward?

WATSON: Well, you know, the Syrian government has proposed for months now a number of reforms that are led by the Syrian government. There's a lot of skepticism about it, certainly from the population, the opposition who have suffered so much as a result of the government crackdown, and also from the international community. Even the United Nations Secretary-general who basically discounted a Syrian attempt at parliamentary elections within the last two weeks.

The Syrian government has promised reforms, while also carrying out, you know, massive attacks on Syrian population centers at the same time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: That's Ivan Watson reporting. Monday night, Anderson Cooper reports live from the Syrian region as well. Watch "AC 360" live from the Syrian border with Turkey, CNN Monday night 8:00 Eastern time.

Students at Boston University are mourning today. Overnight a candlelight vigil took place for three students killed in a crash in New Zealand. The three were killed when the van they were traveling in swerved off a road, and then rolled over Saturday. Five other students were injured. The group of study abroad students was visiting locations in New Zealand where the "Lord of the Rings" movies were filmed.

Right now, in Arizona, crews are battling three wildfires. One fire now covers more than four square miles. And it's growing. For a time last night people had been forced to evacuate near Presscot but have since been allowed to return to their homes. Another fire which is spreading across 2,000 acres can be seen from Phoenix.

Yahoo!'s embattled CEO is out. A new guy is set to take over the web company. Scott Thompson got into trouble after it was learned that he embellished his academic credentials. He had been on the job only four months. Yahoo! announced today Rosh Levison is the company's new CEO effective immediately.

And now to an issue church leaders across America are taking up with their congregations today. Gay marriage, specifically President Obama's decision to support it, the message is delivered, varied, with some pastors calling the president's position a deal breaker and others asking worshippers to rally behind the president.

CNN's Athena Jones has been listening to what the pastors have been saying and she's joining us right now from Washington. Athena.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. The reaction has been, as you mentioned, quite varied all across the board. We've had cameras at churches, you just showed some footage from Atlanta, here in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, New York, and what's interesting is that a lot of the preachers we've been hearing from, while they don't necessarily, while they don't agree with Obama, many of them, President Obama, many have also said they would still support him. They don't expect this to be a problem for him. But there are others, of course, as you mentioned, who has said that's not at all the case.

Let's listen to some of the quotes from Baltimore minister, the Reverend Emmitt Burns and from Reverend Wallace Charles Smith from right here in D.C.. We'll just play that sound for you right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. EMMETT BURNS: People I know, people come up to me, are saying that they don't support this. They don't like this. They're disappointed with the president. And they plan to stay home. And I don't plan to vote for Romney, for sure. And right now I plan to stay home.

REV. WALLACE CHARLES SMITH, PASTOR, SHILOH BAPTIST CHURCH: Whether this hurt the African-American community support for the president in the upcoming election. Well, I would hope not. Amen.

We've got some larger challenges that we've got to struggle with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: So you can see there, some disagreement there from the pulpit. When we talked to a lot of the churchgoers, again, we had - me and other producers and people interviewing folks all up and down the eastern seaboard, a lot of people either supported the president for coming out, making this declaration, in favor of same sex marriage, whether or not they agree with him. A lot of people said it doesn't matter, it's about love. And even the people who said that they didn't agree with President Obama's position, said that they still absolutely would support him.

So I guess you've got to get a sense of the idea at least from the two pastors, too, that of course the black community, as you and I well know, is not a monolith. There are many, many different views, many different opinions. But this has really been a concern, of course, this idea that this is going to hurt the president politically.

And I guess the bottom line is we really don't know in the end, we just know what each of these pastors has said and some of the people - the man on the street interviews we've done. I should mention thought that the first pastor we played from Baltimore, Pastor Burns, is behind an effort in Maryland to try to get a vote on a law recently signed into law by their governor in March, that legalized same-sex marriage.

So you've got a pastor who's also a delegate of the general assembly there in Maryland who's really going to fight to try to make sure that people aren't allowed to have same-sex marriages in Maryland. So a lot of diversity of opinions. It's been very interesting to follow.

WHITFIELD: Yes, well, so it's extraordinary to hear a pastor encourage people not to vote in a presidential election. But he's hoping that people will vote on that particular measure. I wonder, is there a White House response coming today as a result of various messages that have been going through the churches today?

JONES: We shouldn't expect any sort of official, on the record response from the White House. But, you know, Fredricka, they're well aware of how this issue can be divisive in the black community. Of course, the black community has been a strong base of support for the president. Many people don't believe that they are going to abandon the president. And we've seen a lot of that in our reporting. But in terms of an official response to any of this, I don't expect to see that.

WHITFIELD: All right. Athena Jones, thanks so much in Washington. Appreciate that.

JONES: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right. James Carville, he's helped Democrats win elections in the past. Now he says the party needs to wake up, or it could lose come November. We'll ask him if the gay marriage issue has shaken things up enough.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President Obama may have said I do to gay marriage this week, but the question now is, what is the honeymoon going to look like? The election is just six months away, but will this declaration sway many voters. In his interview with ABC, the president denies he was moved by politics, but rather conscience, fairness and his own family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, Malia and Sasha - they've got friends whose parents are same sex couples. It wouldn't dawn on them that somehow their friends' parents would be treated differently. And frankly, that's the kind of thing that prompts a change of perspective. You know, not wanting to somehow explain to your child why somebody should be treated differently, when it comes to the eyes of the law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN political contributor and democratic strategist James Carville is with me now from New Orleans. Good to see you, James.

JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: You write in an opinion column for cnn.com, the democratic party needs to wake the you-know-what up, your words -

CARVILLE: Right.

WHITFIELD: Did the president and vice president just do that in your opinion on same-sex marriage, directing dialogue, kind of shaking things up? CARVILLE: Well, I think what happened, what I was addressing there is I would go around the country and people would tell me it looks like we've got this one in the bag. And the point I was making, no incumbent, any way in the world, has anything in the bag in this environment. And that we better wake up and you know, understand we're in a big fight here.

I'm not sure how much the marriage debate is going to be determinative of the outcome in November. I don't know. Everybody has a different theory on this. But I do know we can't take a single thing for granted. We're in a tough race here. It would be really remarkable if an incumbent won a race. And that would be a very unusual thing around the world.

WHITFIELD: But is it your view that the same-sex marriage could be influential come November?

CARVILLE: No, I wouldn't say that's my view. I mean I guess anything could be. You know, I think there's going to be - I think this is one of these issues that I think the president, I'd like to believe and I think I'm correct in this, always was for it. I think the political move is when he said that he was against it. I think this is probably represents what his true position is. Certainly I agree with the position. And it's become almost mainstream position, if you will, in the democratic party.

It doesn't - this is going to be a lot more direct mail on that kind of thing on this issue on both sides than there's going to be airwaves, I would suspect. I think people still, you know, are very concerned with what sort of bread and butter issues, if you will. So you know, it will help in some places, it will hurt in other places. You know, I mean down for the future, it's the ultimate and very right call and the public opinion has moved on this dramatically.

WHITFIELD: So apparently it was going to be part of the president's plan that it would be on the platform at some point, but perhaps it just came a little bit prematurely.

CARVILLE: Right.

WHITFIELD: As a result of, you know, Joe Biden speaking out on it. Do you think this dialogue now, that is taking place, is going to force the Republican party to be a bit more forthright, or perhaps even change the direction that the party - shift the position that the party may have on same-sex marriage, despite what we heard from Mitt Romney at Liberty University?

CARVILLE: I don't know. I don't think they can. I think they have a little -you know, people in a large part of that party would have a conniption, if they came out in favor of same sex marriage just in my opinion, my political opinion. I think this is a thing where, in the future, if you have democratic presidential nominee, you're going to have to be for this. It's just the politics of it. Like that, and at least as far as the future I can see, you know, for some, is Republicans have to be for it. Although there are some Republican strategists who say they need to change. And the country certainly moved dramatically toward allowing marriage equality. And I applaud that. But I think in a Republican Party, it's going to be tough to catch up with the country here for at least the immediate future.

WHITFIELD: Young voters, much more open to this same-sex marriage?

CARVILLE: Yes.

WHITFIELD: So, you know, was this enough to kind of reignite some interest among those who were very apathetic?

CARVILLE: It could help some. I mean I don't want to downplay this thing totally, but, you know, it might get some of the other people a little gassed up. I just don't know. I don't have a good feeling. I've talked to a lot of people, where the political advantage lies. You know, I certainly hope it lies with us (INAUDIBLE) with the democrats is always a good place to be.

And I think it will help some, with younger voters. The president's absolutely right, his daughters, everybody has kids, they don't even understand what the whole thing is about. They're kind of shocked that gay people can't get married, if anything. That's been sort of my observation.

WHITFIELD: Mitt Romney says, you know, it's not the social issues that are going to get people to the polls, but economic, immigration issues. Does he have that right? Or do you have to have a little bit of both?

CARVILLE: I bet you if Mitt Romney - if that's the case, I wonder how much direct mail that the Romney campaign and the Republican National Committee is going to send in North Carolina and Indiana and Ohio, trumpeting the southern gay marriage issue, if you will. He says that. But they're definitely going to try to use this just to turn out some of their voters. And I'm sure as will the president's campaign use it to get to our voters, all jazzed up about this.

WHITFIELD: All right. Do you think this is a short-term discussion, or do you think this thing has legs all the way to November?

CARVILLE: Oh, I think it's got a lot legs all the way to the next 10 years. You know (INAUDIBLE) it's got a lot of legs.

WHITFIELD: All right. James Carville, thanks so much.

CARVILLE: You bet.

WHITFIELD: Joining us from New Orleans. Always good to see you.

CARVILLE: You bet.

WHITFIELD: All right. Big economic changes sweeping across Africa. I spoke to singer and activist Sir Bob Geldof about what is propelling this continent towards prosperity. But first this week, "Fortune" magazine is out with its list of the top 500 companies and we're counting them down. One of the few African-Americans on the list runs the companies behind some of America's most recognizable restaurants.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD (voice-over): Clearance Otis Jr. has a lot on his plate. He is the CEO of Darden Restaurants which owns brands like Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse and Seasons 52. Since the first Red Lobster opened in 1968, Darden has grown to become one of the largest full service restaurant companies in the world. Otis stepped into the CEO role in 2004, with no previous restaurant experience. His background is in law and theater. He is one of only five African-American CEOs on the "Fortune" 500 list.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The World Economic Forum on Africa is under way in Ethiopia right now. The topic that has world leaders talking is the sudden economic growth in Africa. Singer and activist Sir Bob Geldof has been involved for years in raising funds and awareness for African nations. He is in Addis Ababa and spoke to me earlier about the change sweeping across the continent driven by advances in technology.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB GELDOF, SINGER AND ACTIVIST: One of the great African leaders, Kofi Annan, sort of the super diplomat of the world, now dealing with Syria. I was with him here two days ago at the forum. And, you know, he called it the willbercom moment for Africa, it's when the world decided to just stop the poorest countries paying back this unnecessary debt payments. Of course, we're all trying to stop debt repayments in the United States and Europe to try to get our economies going. But that was the moment of kickoff. That increased aid. Chinese investment. And really critically mobile connectivity.

When Africans began to be able to connect with each other, you saw the difference in North Africa, politically the difference it made. But the difference in terms of business, farmers out in the boondocks being able to talk to the markets and realize that they're growing too much wheat, that they need to grow a different crop, the difference this has made is profound. And so in the last six years, you've had takeoff.

WHITFIELD: You have made some observations there in Ethiopia, along the Somalian border as well, you have visited a number of neighborhoods. What have you seen?

GELDOF: Yes. Well, we were at just about a mile from the Somalian border where the refugees are coming in from the conflict. And there was no famine. They haven't had rain in this part of the north of here for about three years. But there wasn't a famine in Ethiopia or Kenya, unlike 20 years ago, because those states have grown. They're growing at about eight percent per annum GDP. They got infrastructure they can deal with this. But in Somalia, which is a mess. It's rather like Afghanistan. Loads of competing clans with different agendas.

And there's a lot of international interests in there. And the people died in there, the drought became a famine because they couldn't move. That famine is over. And the people are beginning to come into Ethiopia. Ethiopia is strong enough to take a completely different people. I mean, what would happen if a million Mexicans in a couple of months arrived north of the border into the United States. Could you deal with it? Could you deal with it socially? Could you deal with the structures of absorbing these people? Probably not. Yet they're strong enough to do that.

So we were at the receiving camps. We saw what was happening with international assistance, of course. We saw these desperate people, these marginalized people by violence. Brought in and accepted. And given food, and their children given education and a life. That's pretty fantastic.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Sir Bob Geldof there.

Buzz is building over the Facebook IPO. It's just one of the big events that we're looking forward to this week. A look ahead at what's making news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Stories we're watching right now. Churches across the U.S. are packed this Mother's Day weekend. And how many pastors are focusing on issue in particular. President Obama's decision to back gay marriage. Some are voicing support for the president and urging their congregants to do the same, others call his move an attack on traditional marriage. And say they will not vote for him come November.

In a little more than a week, U.S. Secret Service director Mark Sullivan and acting inspector general Charles Edwards will face a public grilling over the Secret Service prostitution scandal. The Senate Homeland Security Committed scheduled a public hearing for May 23rd. It's one of four congressional committees looking into the scandal which came to light a month ago, ahead of President Obama's trip to Colombia.

Within weeks a science journal is expected to release a study on the Avian flu virus. It takes a look at an experiment that made the flu virus deadlier to mammals by making it airborne. The U.S. government funded the experiment and said it could ultimately prevent a pandemic by figuring out how the virus mutates.

Other big stories that you'll be hearing a lot about this week. Josh Levs is here with a look. Josh?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred, Monday is the deadline for the story you were just talking about. The Secret Service, to respond to the Senate Homeland Security Committee with some answers to 16 questions stemming from the scandal involving prostitutes at that hotel in Colombia that took a month ago in Cartagena just before President Obama's trip to the Summit of the Americas. Nine Secret Service members have lost their jobs so far.

And it was today CNN learned that the committee will be holding a public hearing in May 23rd. Senator Joe Lieberman, the committee chairman tells us that the Secret Service director Mark Sullivan, also acting inspector general Charles Edwards, will face three central questions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (I-CT), HOMELAND SECURITY CHAIRMAN: Is the inspector general satisfied with the investigation of what happened in Cartagena that the Secret Service did. Secondly, were there indications before the Colombian scandal of behavior by Secret Service agents off-duty, on assignment, that should have been a warning that this was coming. And then third, what are you going to do, Director Sullivan, to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: It will be a very interesting public hearing. Four congressional committees are looking into the incident.

Also ahead this week, folks, the biggest technology IPO ever, Facebook is expected to price its initial public offering Thursday evening. Most likely begin trading Friday. We're going to see how the dates play out this week. Some analysts said to expect jubilation from investors. The company's already in the midst of its road show pitching its shock with 27-year-old gazillionaire Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder and chief executor taking part. Just how many tens of billions of dollars they will be valued at? Could it be valued at close to $100 million? We'll find that out this week.

If you want to know how smaller investors can get in on the action and whether it's even a good idea, check out CNNMONEY.com. I've got that up and a lot more for you on my page as you see up there, Josh Levs CNN, CNN.com/Josh. And folks, stay on top of this, and much more, every Sunday what you want to do is check out CNN.com's ahead of the curve. It's right there for you.

Fred, at the top of the hour, I'll tell you about competing fund- raisers coming up this week between President Obama and Mitt Romney, top of the next hour.

WHITFIELD: All right. Trying to roll in the big bank.

LEVS: You bet it.

WHITFIELD: You know it. All right. Josh appreciate that.

All right. Speaking of President Obama, well he's making it clear he supports same-sex marriage. But how is his message playing out in black churches today?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES DAVID HALE: My name is Captain James David Hale with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. I just want to say Happy Mother's Day to my mom, Berana (ph) Hale. I look forward to seeing you soon; I look forward enjoying good home cooked food. I love you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President Obama has made his stance clear; he believes same-sex couples should be able to get married. On this first Sunday after Obama's announcement, the topic dominated some Mother's Day services today. Earlier I spoke to two pastors. One in Chicago, who said churches, should strive to be inclusive. Another in Washington who said it's about protecting the sacred definition of marriage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PASTOR CARLTON PEARSON, NEW DIMENSIONS: President Obama is president of the United States, not pastor of the United States. And he's president of all of America. I'm an inclusionist. So I believe that whether you're Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, gay, straight, bi, or tri, whoever you are, you are entitled to the normal pursuit of happiness, and prosperity that we believe that we should have justice for all. That is constitutional. That is the president's responsibility.

PASTOR HARRY JACKSON, HOPE CHRISTIAN CHURCH: Why experiment with this foundational institution. We change families and marriages you got to also change education and in the classroom kids are going to be taught your gay, tri or by sexual, or you're in some particular category. Why encourage all these changes when we could keep things as they are, give them another category, not change the name, the definition and outcomes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Joining me to talk more about the issue of same-sex marriage and how it's resonating in churches, Dan Gilgoff, he is the religion editor for CNN "Belief Blog." Dan good to see you.

So the reactions are not cut and dry. And actually not really balanced either, right? You've gotten responses from more than 2,000 people, and there's quite the variation of responses.

DAN GILGOFF, CNN "BELIEF BLOG:" Right. And there's a lot of response going on on this first Sunday after Obama comes out in support of gay marriage. I think if we had one word to describe what it was in the black church, which is this huge key support base for President Obama, it would be complex. I think we sent folks to church in New York, and Atlanta, and Washington, and what we're finding is, there are a lot of black pastors who are disagreeing from the pulpit with President Obama about supporting gay marriage. At the same time, they're saying what the pastor from Chicago said; this is our president, not our pastor. And there seems to be a real reluctance to Part Company with Obama, even if there's a disagreement over this specific issue.

WHITFIELD: Do people say that they are torn between, you know, their social beliefs, their religious beliefs and their political beliefs?

GILGOFF: Yes, the big difference, I think, between blacks and whites on this issue really has to do with theology. Black Americans tend to go to church more often than white Americans. And you'll see support for same-sex marriage substantially higher among white Americans than it is among African-Americans. So what we're seeing here is really kind of a religious or theological difference between how blacks and whites see the world.

I think what happened now will happen on Election Day, though, is that Obama has opened up something of a new conversation within the African-American community, and within the church community about same-sex marriage. Something that wasn't talked about a great deal in black churches maybe five years ago, today it's being talked about everywhere. I mean, it's so many thousands of black churches around the country, this morning, despite Mother's Day; we're talking about this very issue.

WHITFIELD: Just as this perhaps has evoked lots of conversations about same-sex marriage, and now we also understand a lot more people are talking about Mormonism as a result of Mitt Romney running for the White House. That's something else you've been following.

GILGOFF: Right. We have a big story up today on CNN's "Belief Blog." And it's about how surprisingly Washington, D.C., is a very Mormon town in some ways. And of course, this is at a moment where we're awaiting the possibility of our first Mormon president in American history. And it turns out that Mormons have a really special affinity for Washington, D.C. They're kind of described as super patriots. They believe that the constitution is divinely inspired document. So our piece gets into why there are so many Mormons here already.

WHITFIELD: Does that mean that's also driving a stronger campaign, so the people can have a better understanding of what it is to be Mormon?

GILGOFF: I think Mormons feel mixed about it. On one hand, Fredricka, I think they feel exactly as you say that this is a moment where their religion, really unprecedented fashion, is getting a viewing and examination within the mainstream media. At the same time, a lot of Mormons think that we in the media focus on the wrong things. You know, Mormons and baptisms for the dead or special Mormon undergarments. There's really a mix of reactions. They're really eager for this moment for Americans to find out more about their religion, but they're worried they're finding out that the most salacious things as opposed to the most meaningful. WHITFIELD: All right. Dan Gilgoff thanks so much. Appreciate that. Of course, you can check out those stories and more on our "Belief Blog" at CNN.com.

All right. It is the topic of discussion. Black churches across the country today. But does the president's endorsement of gay marriage force Mitt Romney to reaffirm his position.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: This week the Romney campaign wants to return the focus to the economy. The Republican presidential candidate did reaffirm his position on marriage at a commencement ceremony, at Liberty University over the weekend. But will the issue of same-sex marriage continue to upstage other issues in a race for the White House? Lenny McAllister is a Republican analyst and he joins us from Chicago. Lenny good to see you.

We know from the White House that this item was going to be on the president's platform. However, it came prematurely. Can Governor Romney avoid talking about same-sex marriage, even though he says he really wants to focus on the economy and other issues?

LENNY MCALLISTER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think that Governor Romney needs to speak about same-sex marriages just enough to make sure that his conservative base, the one that's already been luke-warm for him for months, sticks around, doesn't bail out and doesn't stay home. That's one of the things that President Obama is worried about. Will these folks that came out for me in 2008 stay home based on this issue.

Well, Governor Romney has the same thing. He has to make sure that those social conservatives that were for Gingrich and Cain and Perry and Bachmann and Santorum will stick around for him and make sure that will continue to stay on fire going toward November to vote President Obama out of office and vote him into the White House in 2013. As long as he can get that going, he'll think about it and talk about it, just enough to keep them in pocket for that goal.

WHITFIELD: Trying to secure those social conservatives, we heard James Carville say earlier that it would be his bet that most likely Mitt Romney would likely have some direct mail outs particularly to those southern states on the issue of same-sex marriage, to make sure that he is considered conservative enough.

MCALLISTER: That's probably the strategy that he will take. When he's talking to independents, he can't scare them off with this issue. But when it comes to those social conservatives, he not only needs them to vote for him, he needs them to contribute to them and he needs them to volunteer for him. Again we have to remember, this is the first presidential election that the Tea Party has a chance to vote on the presidency of the United States.

In order to capitalize on all the resources out there, it's not just about money. It's about folks going out there and knocking on doors. It's about making sure folks drag somebody to the polls as well. It's about making sure conservatives will vote in early voting as well. Where President Obama did very well four years ago. If he can get those individuals engaged, and stay engage at the grass roots level, it gives him more of a shot in November.

WHITFIELD: How do you suppose Mitt Romney can appeal to these young voters? Because many have expressed being extremely apathetic now that the issue of same-sex marriage has been brought into the equation, many young voters are feeling that there is motivation for them to go to the polls now.

MCALLISTER: Well, the social issues will matter in some regards, but again, these things are coming up in May. Same thing with contraception in the Catholic Church. This came up in March, in April. The bottom line is, it's going to be about the economy. As long as Governor Romney can talk to these individuals coming out of high school and college, and say that jobs are not there right now. But with President Romney these jobs will be coming back to America for you. And tell those independents, the younger generation generally is more independently affiliated when it comes to politics. If he can say to them, I'm not the scary Republican that they are telling you that I am but I am better at this economy them President Obama and this is why you have to vote me into office starting next year.

WHITFIELD: Earlier today on ABC, Ralph Reed called the president a flip-flopper on same-sex marriage. But is it the Romney camp that has to be most concerned about being labeled a flip-flopper on the issue of the auto industry bailout?

MCALLISTER: That is something that is definitely going to come up for Governor Romney. But we're --

WHITFIELD: How does he overcome that?

MCALLISTER: Well, one of the ways he's going to overcome that is try to show how GM went through the process that was being devised when it comes to bankruptcy court. Try to show some of the parallels that he brought up previously. It is going to be a hard sell and he's probably not going to win Michigan at this point in time. Once GM and the auto industry started turning around, GM, and part of that rust belt was going to go for President Obama anyway. That's the reason why Rick Santorum did so well. What Governor Romney has to do is focus on the rest of the rust belt, focus on Pennsylvania and focus on Ohio and still say, although Michigan went the way of President Obama based on the auto industry, what type of jobs are still there for you.

And if you're still looking at high unemployment rates in those type of swing states as well as Wisconsin, as well as places down in the southeast, including North Carolina, that's where he's going to make his living, if you will in November. If he can give away Michigan but still get Ohio and Pennsylvania, he's going to do pretty well in November. And he will be on his way to winning this presidency.

WHITFIELD: All right. Lenny McAllister always good to see you, thanks so much from Chicago.

MCALLISTER: Good to see you Fred. God Bless. Happy Mother's Day. WHITFIELD: Thanks so much. Appreciate that.

In Kenya now, a radio talk show is making some waves. We'll tell you why hundreds of women in the country are tuning in. The program called "Busted."

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WHITFIELD: Men in Kenya beware, there is a radio show in that country that specializes in catching cheating husbands red handed. Eva (ph) talks to the woman who pioneered the show.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you doing? It's about the time when we bust a cheating spouse, so --

EVA (PH), CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the radio phenomena that are sweeping east Africa. And no one is safe. Ciku Muiruri's show "Busted" is Kenya's most popular radio show, specializing in calling out cheating other halves. Callers across east Africa now turn to Ciku when they want to know for sure.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Take your cheap talk to lodging.

EVA: It's no wonder that on the streets of Nairobi, men are growing wary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm very careful. Get caught --

CIKU MUIRURI, RADIO HOST: Just purely for entertainment purposes. After that, it just took a life of its own. And it became more. It became about, as a society, are we a cheating nation, because a lot of people believe that Kenya is full of cheaters. I think it's probably true of most countries in the world. It's just that they don't have "Busted."

EVA: But not everyone is a fan. Two years ago "Busted" recorded the now infamous "Oh my god" incident in which Ciku told the man which she was suspected of sleeping with was HIV positive.

MUIRURI: I'm just calling to warn you, that my husband has been diagnosed with something very serious.

EVA: The episode went viral. Last month the Kenyan media council fined "Busted" parent station Classic 105 FM nearly 10,000 U.S. dollars over the incident and called Muiruri reckless after the Aids organization, the Aids Law Project complained. Stating that even though the true HIV status of the woman "Busted" was never revealed, the episode was stigmatizing to those living with the disease.

JACINTA NYACHAE, AIDS LAW PROJECT: Forever, the issue was the way that we are trying so hard as a country to fight this stigma.

EVA: Ciku, though, remains unrepentant. MUIRURI: The legal council is made up of our competitors, to be candid here. When you have a very, very successful radio station like we do, what are they going to do? What are they going to say? Give me a pat on the back? Of course they're going to call me reckless.

EVA: Even her own life isn't out of bounds.

MUIRURI: It is a bit of airing dirty linen in public. But they do it. They do it. I've done it. I've busted my boyfriend on the radio. I received a message where somebody said that they thought that this guy was cheating, and the phone number was his number. And I was horrified. And I thought, do I handle this quietly or do I put it out there for everyone? And I thought people call me all the time and they want to bare their souls for me. Why not do it as well.

EVA: Despite the controversy and criticism, the so-called bad girl of Kenyan radio says, she has no regrets.

MUIRURI: No, they're not the victims. I don't feel sorry for her.

EVA: Eva, CNN, Nairobi.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Words to live by, as college students enter the real world.

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MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The university is anywhere on the earth. So it is today. He believed when the first graduating class consisted of only 13 students --

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WHITFIELD: Advice for many including that of Mitt Romney. The best commencement messages from big-name speakers.

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WHITFIELD: Words of inspiration across college campuses this weekend as students became graduates.

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CONDOLEEZZA RICE, FMR. SECRETARY OF STATE: You see, education is transformative. It literally changes lives. That is why people work so hard to become educated and that is why education has always been the key to human beings and their dreams.

SEN. MARK WARNER, (D) VIRGINIA: If you're honest with yourself, you know you didn't get here alone.

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: My dad did not have the chance to attend college himself. But he and my mom, they saved and they sacrificed, they poured everything they had into me and my brother, because they wanted us to get an education they could only dream of.

MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Even though job opportunities are scarce in this economy, it's not for nothing that you have spent this time preparing.

S. TRUETT CATHY, CHICK FIL A FOUNDER: I didn't get to go to college, but it never bothered me because I never did like school anyway.

SEN. MARK WARNER, (D) VIRGINIA: For America to remain a great nation of incredible destiny, your generation must step forward and embrace the motto of this university that I may serve.

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: Often it is only through serving others that we find what's been missing in our own lives.

MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Opportunities for you to serve in meaningful ways may come at inconvenient times. But that will make them all the more precious.

SEN. MARK WARNER, (D) VIRGINIA: Congratulations 2012.

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: Congratulations again on everything that you've achieved.

MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: God bless you. And god bless the United States of America.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Lots of sunshine in all of those commencement ceremonies, which all happen to be in Virginia.

All right. Jacqui Jeras at the Weather Center. So the sun was shining over Virginia which is nice.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Which is nice because it is really miserable here.

We're talking tropics here, Fredricka. Because we're two days away from the start of the eastern pacific hurricane season, which begins May 15th. We're already starting to see some areas of interest. Here is an area, this is Mexico here, and there's a 50 percent chance that this could develop into our first tropical depression of the season already. Now, at the same time, we're also seeing an area in the Atlantic. This is up by the Azores, so it is in the middle of the ocean, it is in the middle of nowhere. But this is a nontropical low, which has a low probability. But I just wanted to show you this, to give you an idea that, yes, hurricane season is right around the corner and we need to start getting ready for it and we need to start preparing for it.

School's out, hurricane season is in, all right? What do we see on average? Well in the Atlantic, we typically see 11 named storms, six becoming hurricanes, two major hurricanes. And the east pacific where we do have this probability this week already on average we see 15 to 16 named storms, 8 to 9 of which become hurricanes, 4 of which become major hurricanes.

Now, all predictions so far we've that seen by climatologists this year are pointing to a quiet hurricane season. Of course typically we start out pretty slow and then we peak into the month of September. But we're expecting more of an El Nino type pattern that would keep hurricanes at bay. But keep in mind, it only takes one. Hurricane Andrew was a quiet season, and already in August we get our "a" named storms and that was a dozy. A named storm in the Atlantic, Alberto.

WHITFIELD: All right. There was a Fred a couple of years ago back in the day.

JERAS: I remember.

WHITFIELD: I saved that news headline, Hurricane Fred. Like it. All right. Thanks so much Jacqui.