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Wildfire in Colorado Springs is Over; Katie Holmes is Filing for Divorce from Tom Cruise; Progress Report of Both President Obama and Mitt Romney Itemized

Aired June 30, 2012 - 22:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. The stories you're talking about in just a moment. But first, let's get you caught up in the day's headline.

First up, more than three million homes across nine states are dark and uncomfortably hot tonight. No electricity, no relief from the heat that is baking so much of the country. Last night's wave of powerful thunderstorms killed at least a dozen people. Triple digit record highs were the norm in many places today. Atlanta set an all- time high of 106 degrees.

New time lapse video we want to show you right now documenting the devastation of the Waldo Canyon fire in Colorado. Towering flames, as you can see, are sending families fleeing for their homes. The fire has destroyed 350 homes and killed two people. Earlier I talked with Neil Harlow, Major Neil Harlow, about the challenges of fighting fire from the air.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJOR NEIL HARLOW, WYOMING AIR NATIONAL GUARD: Extremely high temperatures. Everything is causing these fires to burn hot as they are creates big problems for us. The aircraft doesn't perform all the well, so we're flying right to the edge of the envelope to the entire drop. So, you Your concentrate is on the train. There is helicopters are on the job to watch out for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: There's one bit of good news to tell you about. Firefighters now have 100 percent containment over another Colorado fire, the massive Hyde Park fire that we've been reporting so much on.

New questions in the Jerry Sandusky rape case tonight. We have uncovered alleged content of an e-mail thread involving the Penn State president, vice president and the athletic director. The messages indicate that official knew they had a problem with Sandusky dating back to 1991 but decided to handle the issues internally.

Here's what else we're working on for you tonight on CNN Saturday night.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON (voice-over): Tonight a CNN exclusive. He had it all, basketball, money, fame.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good luck to you, Mr. Williams.

LEMON: Until he lost it all. Jayson Williams on his rise, his fall and why he says prison saved his life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It can't be her, she's my best student.

LEMON: And turning a blind eye to mean girls who turn into even meaner women.

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes and the end of Tom-Kat. Why some say scientology is to blame for the latest Hollywood breakup.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: But first we're going to be very direct here because he wants us to be. From first round draft pick to locked-up felon.

Tonight it's the CNN exclusive. By all accounts Jayson Williams was a star at the young age of 22, a first round draft pick in 1990. Few could rival the 6'10" forward when he was under the net, few people could. It seemed his career had no ceiling, he was only counting, continuing to rocket to even higher heights.

That was until a game with the Atlanta Hawks Williams collided with the team mates Stephon Marbury (ph) and broke his leg. In one moment his entire career on the court was over. His plummet hit depths unknown on Valentine's Day in 2002. Williams was showing off a shotgun to friends in his New Jersey mansion. He snapped it shut and it fired. The blast killed his chauffeur, Costas Christofi.

Eight years later he was finally sentenced in that killing. He says his time in prison changed him to his core. And Jayson Williams joins me now here tonight. How are you doing?

JAYSON WILLIAMS, FORMER NBA STAR: Thanks for having me, Don. First of all, I want to say, you know, I've caused a lot of pain, and I appreciate you having me on here today to express my remorse, and I come to you humbly and I want to say I'm sorry and I take full responsibility for my actions.

LEMON: I thank you for saying that. I know that you're a bit leery, a bit nervous about coming on. I said, just be yourself, express yourself and let people know how you're feeling.

You signed an $86 million contract. You were on top of the world with the New Jersey nets. And what really became part of what we call a dramatic fall happened when you broke your leg, right? Did you think then, my goodness, this is over or did you think that you had more to go on to?

WILLIAMS: Well, you know what happened, Don? I lost my way. As soon as I got hurt, when you take away your structure, here comes destruction. And I was a guy who woke up every morning with the same time with my dad, we fed our animals, we work construction together, then I went and played against Charles Oakley, Michael Jordan, all the great one. But once you take away the structure, then all of the destruction came in, I just had too much free time.

LEMON: You were always an affable guy even after that you had a career, I think, NBC, you were going to go on and become a commentator. But what I really want you do and I think what most people want to hear, take me back to that night. You were in your mansion. I believe you had the Harlem Globetrotters over to your house that night. Then you were in your bedroom and all of a sudden with the gun. What happened?

WILLIAMS: Well, Don, I can just say I was terribly reckless. To go back to that night, we went to a globetrotter game. I had my adopted grandchildren with me. We went out to dinner. Some of the globetrotters and some others went back, and when you are a young man -- I'm making no excuses, nobody wants to see your Picassos on your wall, if you have any, of your artwork. They want to see your guns. And I recklessly showed a gun to somebody and went to snap it close and the gun went off and it killed Mr. Christofi. And, I tell you, if I can take it all back and just be much more careful in the whole situation, I'm so sorry for all the pain that I've caused.

LEMON: Have you spoken to his family?

WILLIAMS: I've spoken to his family.

LEMON: What did you say to them?

WILLIAMS: I have spoken to his family only through written statements where I would love to sit down with his family, his sister, but that would be a private event. That won't be a media event. That would be just between me and his sister.

LEMON: What would you say to the family?

WILLIAMS: I'm terribly sorry, I am and how much pain I caused his family. And I'm just terribly sorry. It's difficult for me, Don -- I've caused so much pain.

LEMON: Does this -- how often does this replay in your mind? Do you think about this every single day and often?

WILLIAMS: All day long, you know. All day long. I'm not making any excuses for, you know, I take full responsibility. I understand the damage I've caused, collateral and everything else. I think about this all day long.

LEMON: I want to take you back to that moment, and that was a moment in 2010 when you were sentenced in the New Jersey courtroom and you had the handcuffs. And this, I mean, you know, this one for everyone I think is really tough to watch when you think that you're at the top of your game. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Williams. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With regard to the gag order, this sentence eradicates all prior orders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: He says to you, you know, I want to finish this up so that you can go and serve your sentence. Then he says good luck to you, Mr. Williams. And it looks as if you are -- your whole life is falling apart at this moment and you know it.

WILLIAMS: Well, that was ten years ago. And once you're going through a court case for eight years, you have a relationship with the court clerk. You have a relationship with the court, the lawyers and everybody else. You're seeing everybody for eight years. And I think after that, at that time right there, I honestly thought that the judge honestly thought I can, you know, showed remorse, I showed repentance and reform my life.

LEMON: Yes. Did you think you were untouchable at the time?

WILLIAMS: I think so. I think at a time where you think that you're bigger than everybody else, and you know, and when you lose your way sometimes, those are the things that happen, when you just lose your way. You know, I lost my way, Don.

LEMON: You lost your way.

WILLIAMS: I lost my way.

LEMON: I want to read something here you said in this statement from Steven Farman, the deputy attorney general involved in the prosecution. He said Mr. Williams has a dark side. Nobody knows the real Jayson William. There is a real Jekyll and Hyde like divide.

Does that dark side still exist or did it ever? You know what? Hold that thought. We need to take a break. I'll ask you that on the other side of the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. We're back now with former NBA Star Jayson Williams, everything he knew about his life changed inside his New Jersey mansion on Valentine's Day. That was 2002. He was playing around with a shotgun when it went off killing his chauffeur.

And I want to read something that he wrote to his father, mailed them to a friend while you were locked up in prison, right?

WILLIAMS: That's right.

LEMON: You mailed some letters to your father. He's now published those into a book called "humbled: letters from prison." And he's with me here now, again, thank you again. And you're a little nervous. Don't be nervous. I know this is hard for you. Let people know how you feel. Don't be nervous. You're doing a great job. As you were sentencing on February of 2010, you made a declaration and you said I will work endlessly to improve myself and make positive contributions to society. It is almost like you were shadowing to where you are now. Is that so?

WILLIAMS: Well, I think the first thing I had to do when I got to prison was examine myself. And then I had to be remorse for which are law is, then I repented, then reformed. But the first thing was examining what causes me to get this trouble all the time? What's my dark side? And it was alcohol.

LEMON: Is that what it was?

WILLIAMS: It was definitely alcohol.

LEMON: You said it took eight years -- almost eight years between when the incident happened and then you went to prison in 2010. And during that time you crashed your car, you got on probation, you had a DUI, you had a divorce, you had all these things, why did you have that moment of clarity within that time?

WILLIAMS: Well, it was a difficult time in my life. Like I said before, you know, the collateral damage that you cause, but sometimes people that you think are around you should be telling you the right thing. And as an athlete, you can't make excuses. It was all my fault. I was an alcoholic at the time, I think. I think I was a functioning alcoholic.

LEMON: Were you drinking that much?

WILLIAMS: I think I was drinking that much.

LEMON: Were you drinking a lot?

WILLIAMS: I definitely was, Don, you know. But when you have structure and you get up every morning and you have to be somewhere, but once you retire and you lose your way and you don't have the right people telling you the right things. But I'm a grown man, I take full responsibility.

LEMON: You had yes people around you, people who depended on you for their --

WILLIAMS: No excuses, Don. I was a grown man.

LEMON: Just before the break, I said to you, when the attorney general Steven Farman said. He said Mr. Williams has a dark side, no nobody knows the real Jayson Williams. There's a real Jekyll and Hyde like divide. Is he right?

WILLIAMS: I think he's incorrect. I think I'm a Christian first. I think like I said before, there's times I lost my way, but when I was drinking at times I think maybe I did have a dark side. I know I did. But I think I'm a good man who has done a lot of good, and I have to continue. LEMON: And you were in real prison, like you weren't in a celebrity prison. You were in Ricers, and then you went to New Jersey state prison in New Jersey.

WILLIAMS: That's right.

LEMON: So you were in real prison.

WILLIAMS: That's right.

LEMON: Yes. And what was the profound moment there?

WILLIAMS: Any time a 22-year-old correction officer can tell you to bend over or get naked or do anything and you lose your freedom, I think right then you realize that you are in prison. It's just not being, you know, 6'10" and being a famous athlete is going to help you. It's just at that point right there when you can't do anything. It is somebody is telling you what you do and what's done.

LEMON: Searching you for contraband and all that.

WILLIAMS: That's right.

LEMON: OK. You have two children, you adopted your sister's kids, and what's your relationship like with your kids now?

WILLIAMS: That's a personal matter. I love my kids. I can't make up time for that. I never used his kids as a pawn. I would never say, you know, I will not put my kids -- my kids did not make this decision.

LEMON: But, you are going through a divorce.

WILLIAMS: I am going through a divorce. And it is tough. I can't make up for the time I lost with my children. All I can do is better myself as a Christian and as a father.

LEMON: I've got to ask you this because we have this whole thing now with Penn State and Jerry Sandusky. And you had an issue when you were a child. Do you think that affected your behavior? You were molested. Did you think that affected your behavior growing? Did you deal with that as a child?

WILLIAMS: I definitely did. Coming from an interracial relationship with my mother being white and my father being black, there were times when I didn't want to cause any more drama to them so I kept a lot of things to myself. And until I got to prison, I just couldn't keep a memoir or journal, I just started writing letters to my father and it flowed, and when it started flowing, those things started coming out on to the paper. I never meant this to be a book. I was just sending these letters home. And those are one of the letters that came into play with me. And I'm sweating up in here.

LEMON: It's actually cold in here.

WILLIAMS: It's very difficult to explain about child molestation in two or three minutes, but I'm willing to talk to all groups and anybody I can help. I'm just trying - you know, sometimes I wake up, Don, I want to save the world, and then I want to save my community. And sometimes I got to wake up and save myself. So it's a difficult transition, and like I said, I caused all this pain. What else can I tell you but I'm sorry?

LEMON: It's a different world. You were in there three years?

WILLIAMS: Yes, I was in 26 months.

LEMON: Twenty six months. It's a different world. You said you didn't recognize the world when you came out. What did you mean by that?

WILLIAMS: Well, it's a lot much more difficult when you get out of jail. You almost become institutionalized. People say you have to be in there four or five years, no, you become afraid of certain crowds. It's difficult to be around people, you wonder what are they thinking, do they remember you for a basketball player or do they remember you for somebody who is been reckless.

But all I can do is put my confidence in God every day. And people always say did you find God in prison? And I know - let me explain some too -- that I was two phone calls away from anybody in the world, you know, and who else are you going to call on to bring you peace and comfort in jail but God. And that's the only one. I couldn't call my lawyer; I couldn't call the warden, my dad. Nobody could help me but God. And he brought me such peace and joy and comfort, and I'm just here trying to be a better Christian.

LEMON: Jayson, what do you fear worst right now? Do you fear you're going to slip up again? What's your biggest fear?

WILLIAMS: That's a fear, that being honest. You know, you got me in here sweating and I don't know what's going to make. What is tomorrow? All I can know is I got to take it one day at a time. You know, I got to stay with God first and then in the center of everything I do. That's the fear. I don't know where tomorrow lies and I know what today is. Today I'm trying to be the best man that I can be.

LEMON: What motivates you to continue to do that? Is it because you don't want to go back or do you feel that you can never make up or make good on what happened to you?

WILLIAMS: To help people to understand what makes things happen the way they happen. I don't want to just come out of prison and just say, hey -- and not explain it. Because to let people know in one instant, in one instant, how something can change your life, you know. And this is the reason this journals came about and we published them. I'm not making any money off the book. All the proceeds go to charity. I just want to make sure that a young man or young person never has to go through this without me at least giving my two cents on the situation.

LEMON: The next chapter for Jayson Williams, do you know? Will you ever work again? Because you were going to go on to be a big contributor or commentator for NBC that was the next thing, then this tragedy happened. What's next for you, do you think?

WILLIAMS: One day at a time, to be honest. Just one day at a time. God is good.

LEMON: The book is called "Humbled: Letters from Prison," and it's fascinating. I've read some excerpts from it and it is amazing. You sent those letters to your father just you got home and it is becoming a book.

WILLIAMS: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: Thank you. I appreciate it. Jayson Williams, everyone.

WILLIAMS: Thank you.

LEMON: Up next --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it be her, she's my best student.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Turning a blind eye to mean girls who turn into even meaner women.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Mean girls. There's one in every school.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God. I love your skirt. Where did you get it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was my mom's in the '80s.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Vintage. So adorable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is the ugliest skirt I've ever seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Funny enough, that's a clip from the movie "mean girls." but the reality is, a much different story. Your bully is no longer just the stereo typical meathead or a thug. Your bully can also be a she. She also now comes in designer shoes, jeans, or even pigtails. She can be stunning, or unassuming or even tom boy. But bullying is not just for boys any more. And I'm not t telling my next guest anything that they don't already know.

I want to bring now, Lori Thompson. She is the director of Bullycide project and her daughter Elizabeth. Welcome to both of you.

Thank you very much.

Elizabeth, you are a bully victim, what happened to you?

ELIZABETH THOMPSON, BULLY VICTIM: My freshman year of high school, there was a situation with my roommates, and it was just so shocking to me because I wasn't expecting that to happen in the college environment. But it would just be little things they would do to make my life harder on a daily basis and I was living with them, so it made it even more difficult.

LEMON: Well, I want to show you something that just came in this week. A mother in Belgium found a video of girls bullying her autistic daughter. Mom posted the video on facebook in an effort to make it stop. It's a bit hard to watch.

LORI THOMPSON, DIRECTOR, THE BULLYCIDE PROJECT: Yes.

LEMON: Is it a good idea for mom to post this, Lori?

LORI THOMPSON: No, absolutely not. In fact, that's definitely part of our issue. I'm a teacher, a head school teacher. And not only, you know, are battling kids videotaping harmful acts and words to bus monitors and to classmates and posting them on facebook and other Web sites, now we have adults doing the same.

And again, you know, we need role models so that we can work with our kid to speak up when they see such things happening. And adults need to be doing that as well.

LEMON: Do you think that girl bullies are worse than boy bullies? Because here's why I ask this, mom --

LORI THOMPSON: Yes.

LEMON: -- because boys will have fights, not that any of it any good, but they'll have fights and they'll move on.

LORI THOMPSON: Exactly.

LEMON: Girls will talk about each other and become a bit more insidious when it comes to language about and spreading rumors. It is a bit different. Do you think that it's different for girls?

LORI THOMPSON: Absolutely. Girls are very manipulative. It can be very silent. And it's relational bullying to something that's very simple like what you just saw in the video clip there from "mean girls," that suggest compliment, then turn around and make the smart remark. And sometimes that person, the victim there of the smart remark will still be standing there, and they want them to still be standing there. So, it's very underhanded and catty and manipulative. Yes.

LEMON: Elizabeth, was that your experience? ELIZABETH THOMPSON: Yes. They found out personal things about me and then they also played a prank on me that they videotaped and then put up on facebook, and I didn't know until the next morning when I checked my facebook. And so it was these friends that I trusted my first semester of college, and then my second semester was something much different because they got close to me, found out my weak points and turned it around on me in a negative way.

LEMON: What did that do to you, Elizabeth, being bullied in that way? What do you want all bullies, but especially girls because that's who you're speak on behalf of now to know about the way they bully other girls.

ELIZABETH THOMPSON: That it really can ruin someone's life. It ruined my freshman year of college. They think that one remark isn't going to be effective in any way. They're saying it to their friends. They think that at it is not going to hurt them. But I would go home every weekend just to get away from them. And every weekend when I had to go back to school, it was awful. I would be crying the whole time. So, it was - it really ruined my freshman year of college.

LEMON: Elizabeth and Lori, stand by, because we want to talk more about this.

If left unchecked, what happens to mean girls? Do they turn into even meaner women? I'm going to ask America's psychologist next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Mean girls, eventually they grow up and head to the boardroom, of course.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not to mention --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before today you heard of me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You work a year for her and you can get a job at any magazine you want.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have no sense of style or fashion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well I --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no, it wasn't a question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Meryl Streep does the ultimate bully in "the Devil Wears Prada." You love to hate her or you loved her or maybe you just hated her to the role. But, you don't always love to hate the real bully in your office.

I want to bring in clinical psychologist now, Dr. Jeff Gardere. Are girl bullies worse than the boy bully? And I do grow up to be board.

DOCTOR JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, what we are seeing is and the studies show they are actually meaner than the boy bullies.

LEMON: What?

GARDERE: The boys will go to fisticuffs and maybe end it in a hug or remain enemies forever, but that's about it. They go their own separate ways. What we've seen with girl bullies is because they are socialized, girls are socialized and to not be as confrontational as far as being physical, then they use more of a passive/aggressive form of bullying, and we see it through cyber bullying, we see it through hurtful words. We see it through trying to keep someone out of a certain clique. So the psychological damage that can be done by a girl bully is sometimes absolutely devastating.

LEMON: And so, if they don't learn from it when they're in grade school or high school or in college, maybe the behavior just sort of festers and grows. We saw stats there of being bullied in the workplace.

GARDERE: That's right.

LEMON: Why do women become bullies in the workplace?

GARDERE: Well, because they carry those attributes, they carry those personality traits; they carry a lot of those habits. They get reinforced for it, Don, because no one really shoots them down. They see that they are successful in mowing down enemies, if you will, and therefore, they see that as a successful strategy in the board room.

LEMON: Is there some onus on men? Do men sort of cat fight, or do men encourage it in some way in the workplace?

GARDERE: I think what we're seeing in the workplace is this whole idea of psychological splitting, I'm good, you are bad. So, if they can look at women perhaps behaving badly through some of this bullying, then they can say, well, we are much more mature in what we're doing.

They may be in a position of being the bosses and having women fight it out for territory. So, in some ways by not helping the situation, I think men make it much, much worse.

LEMON: I wanted to look at -- because those are the numbers we had up. We just want to make sure. That's from Purdue University. Can we put those numbers back up? Because I want to explain our viewers exactly what they mean here. These are numbers from Purdue University. When asked have you ever bullied in the workplace, 48 percent of women said yes, 19 percent of men said yes.

Only? 19.

GARDERE: Well, but the reason being that it is a very unfair and unequal world and women, minorities, but we're talking about women today, tonight, women sometimes feel that they have no choice but to try to get to where they need to go, try to crash that glass ceiling, if you will, by having to resort to being mean by any means possible.

So, I think at the end of the day, we as men have to take responsibility for that especially if we're in those positions of authority that in some way sanction that kind of behavior but certainly make it difficult for women to be able to get equity by normal means.

LEMON: Wow. Interesting.

Hey, Lori and Elizabeth, thank you very much. I'm glad you stuck around to listen to this.

ELIZABETH THOMPSON: Thank you.

LEMON: We all learn from your experience and we appreciate it. Of course, our thanks to Jeff Gardere as well.

GARDERE: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: Straight ahead, he promised a lot but did the president deliver? Better yet, does President Obama deserve a second term? We will lay it out for you to decide.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: I know this is going to stir up a lot of stuff on twitter. What do you mean does he see a second term? Whatever.

A huge victory on a landmark law, but when it comes to the election, how big a factor will the Supreme Court's decision on health care be?

I want to bring in Crystal Wright, the editor and blogger at conservative blackchick.com. Then in Atlanta, for some reason, we have reversed roles here. Dean Obeidallah. He's a political comedian and attorney and astute observer from the political left.

So here we go. Based on his achievements, his promises kept; does President Obama deserve a second term? And before you answer that, we want to check our very -- this is an unscientific progress report, all right?

On health care, love it or hate it, he did it. A thank you note to Justice John Roberts, of course, Mr. President. On the economy, I have to say no. We're still stuck with high unemployment, slow growth and the stimulus bill didn't stimulate much according to some.

So what do you think? Can he run on that portion of his record? First, I'm going to go to the naysayer, I'm sure, crystal whose here then we will go to Dean. Go ahead.

CRYSTAL WRIGHT, EDITOR, BLOGGER, CONSERVATIVE BLACKCHICK.COM: No, the president does not deserve another term. He has an abysmal record. He ran on hoping change. And you know what he has brought to this country? He brought debt and division.

LEMON: Listen, I didn't say. WRIGHT: And high joblessness.

LEMON: I didn't say if you liked his achievement or if you agreed with them. I said based on what he has accomplished without -- and that's hard for you to say on the right.

WRIGHT: What he's accomplished is Obama care which is now a tax as chief justice Roberts has told us. Not only are Americans out of jobs, they have to be taxed more.

LEMON: Here's a thing, and now I have to say, that is a talking point.

WRIGHT: No, it's not a talking point.

LEMON: It's under the tax clause. And you have -- if you don't pay your taxes; that is a penalty.

WRIGHT: It will always be a tax.

LEMON: No, if you don't pay your taxes, you get penalized but that is not a tax from saying it. That is a penalty.

WRIGHT: Don, have you red Obama care?

LEMON: Yes. I read Obama care.

WRIGHT: Well, I have too. And guess what, there are $500 billion in taxes --

LEMON: That's a talking point. It's not a tax. It is under the taxation part of --

WRIGHT: Over 500 billion in the first ten years.

LEMON: Let's go on. Dean, what do you think?

DEAN OBEIDALLAH, POLITICAL COMEDIAN: First of all, I love being in Atlanta, Don. I love this desk. And I want to take it over. I don't want you back. I want to stay down here, 10:00 with Dean Obeidallah. I'm just stronger out there.

Secondly, Obama definitely deserves a second term. I think it is on job growth; absolutely he'll get a c.

LEMON: I'm shocked.

OBEIDALLAH: That's not doing great. On health care, he had a great achievement. Stimulus plan did help. I mean, unemployment was at 10 percent just in October of 2010; it has come down to 8.2 percent. Not great, but it is getting better. Twenty seven months in a row job creation, 27 months in a row, job creation. It is getting there. And it's not a tax, by the way. It is not a tax.

(CROSSTALK) LEMON: Listen, that's what people don't understand. I'm not political at all. I really don't care much about politics, but no one can seem to get their brains around you don't have to be on the left or on the right. And as I read it, it is not under the commerce clause, it is on the taxation part. But it doesn't mean it's a tax because it falls under that clause. That's a talking point.

The reason crystal is so quiet when you talk, Dean, she can't hear you.

OBEIDALLAH: Perfect. This is the greatest conversation ever. Let me talk about Crystal for a few seconds.

LEMON: We want to go back to our progress report here.

On gay rights, he's basically done what he promised. He ended don't ask, don't tell. He came out in favor of gay marriage. He didn't do an overall sweeping thing saying that it must happen across the country. On terrorism also a checkmark. He killed Osama bin Laden, he pulled the troops out of Iraq, aggressive use of military drones. Is that enough for a second term?

WRIGHT: No, the use of military drones means we're killing terrorist we can't bring back home and question about their plans for future attacks on the country. And when it comes to foreign policy, this president leads from behind, Syria, Libya, Egypt. He doesn't have a plan. And he sits on the sidelines, which is why Iran now is nuclearing (ph) up, if you will, and Israel is the one who has to take the lead. So and --

LEMON: Are you at a loss for words?

WRIGHT: I was hoping to hear Dean in the background. But I don't think I'm going to hear Dean today.

OBEIDALLAH: I'm not going to interrupt her.

WRIGHT: On the foreign policy, no. It was the Bush policies that were enacted water boarding if we recall that enabled to president to capture Osama bin Laden.

LEMON: OK.

WRIGHT: So, let me give credit where credit is due.

OBEIDALLAH: That's the greatest litany of talking points I've ever heard, Don. That's why she ran out of thing to say. That was it.

In foreign policy, it's been successful. Libya's worked out well. Egypt, you know, it is a real question we'll have to wait and see. Osama bin Laden keeping us safe from terrorism. Obama did that, Bush failed.

LEMON: Yes. I'm being told my producer; both sides are getting too in leads. So, listen. Stand by. For all of you out there who is saying, why are you getting your talking points from the tea party? What's going on, Don? It's Mitt Romney's turn next.

So, this record passed a test? Here's report card, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. We are back now. We just graded the president.

Now, Crystal Wright, Dean Obeidallah are back to take a look at Mitt Romney's progress report. Romney has a record on health care. It is the inspiration for Obama care. It is basically the same thing but now it's national. Romney insists it was the right thing for Massachusetts but not for the nation. We'll give him credit for insuring almost everyone in his state.

On the economy and business career, Massachusetts ranked 47th in the country in job creation, but Romney said his career at Bain Capital created literally thousands of jobs. So we'll give him a question mark on that.

So Dean, is Mitt Romney looking presidential on these issues?

OBEIDALLAH: He looks like woody from "toy story" to be quite honest with you. He is a very stiff wooden guy. Is he looking presidential? I think Mitt Romney if the number one issue is jobs and the economy, and we know it is it will be a difficult sell. He is 47th in job creation. At Bain Capital, in his own argument, he created 100,000 jobs over 15 years. How does he ad up 15 years, it is not a job treaty. I think it is really going to be stronger firm, that's why issues like health care and stopping the individual mandate and trying to repeal and replace like he said, is a much better fight for him than the economy.

LEMON: All right, Crystal?

WRIGHT: You know, Dean, I'm laughing because President Obama was a grass roots activist, then he became a senator and didn't finish out his term. Mitt Romney was governor of Massachusetts, he took unemployment from 6.3 percent to 4.6 percent. At Bain Capital which he started in 1984, he created jobs. He created Staples, Domino's - I mean, well, he helped create Staples, Domino's, Brook stone, lots of jobs, helped companies stay alive. So, he's a job creator. And he actually - and the Olympics, let's talk about the Olympics. $300 million in debt, Mitt Romney ended the 2002 Olympics $100 million profit.

So, he does know how to run a business. This president is in over his head. All the things I've listed about Mitt Romney make him infinitely more qualified to lead the country out of this jobless morass.

LEMON: OK. Let's get back to the progress report now.

On social issues his inconsistency earns him an x. Overtime, he's been hard to pin down on everything from gun control, to abortion even immigration. He also famously took over the 2002 Olympics that were in disarray. He turned things around. So, we'll rate that a success.

But in all honesty, if you talk to people involved with the Olympics, they say he didn't do anything, he was a figure head. But regardless, it was on his watch, so you have to give him a credit for that.

WRIGHT: Barack Obama's a figure head.

LEMON: That's what I'm saying, it was on his watch. I'm saying you have to give him credit for that. Hold on. Did you hear me say that?

All right. So, what do you say? Does Romney's record meet the overall office test when it comes to that?

WRIGHT: Absolutely because Mitt Romney has struggled with tough issues, immigration, health care that you pointed out. He said Romney care was the right solution for the states, but he's also offered a new health care plan which says repeal and replace but also portability for insurance across state lines.

LEMON: I want Dean to respond to that. Go ahead, Dean.

OBEIDALLAH: I think Mitt Romney is very, very hard to pin down. The guy has been pro health care and pro choice and pro life. His campaign slogan should be "me too." The guy is on both side of every issue. That is tough to run against because he really is tough. And to me he's not a flip-flopper. I'm not changing positions. I think he's a CEO, he is a businessman. And if the slogan doesn't work, he changes the slogan or change the product.

WRIGHT: Hope and change hasn't worked.

LEMON: I've got to ask this, when we talk about this whole health care issue, I've been watching both sides from the really far left media to the far right media. And everyone, it's been -- it's a huge win, a win is a win to no, this win is now a loss because -- when does a win become a loss? How does that happen? Two seconds.

WRIGHT: OK. Thirty two percent of the American people still think that Obama care is a bad idea. They reject it.

LEMON: Is that because they don't --

WRIGHT: I'm sorry, 32 percent approve of it. I had it wrong, 32 percent approve of it. The approval has always been below 50 percent.

LEMON: Isn't that because 80 percent don't know what it does. They don't know what's in the bill?

WRIGHT: Come on. Obama care, they know exactly what it does, government takeover of health care.

OBEIDALLAH: I guess it is a good point. I don't think the Democrats or President Obama sold as well as they went to the court. They were waiting for the court to decide. And he could win this still. And if the magic Obama win it, he has motivated the right more than they were going to be able to strike down. So, it could be a problem.

LEMON: We've been talking about het care, and so my producers tell us that we're fat, meaning we're heavy.

OBEIDALLAH: What?

LEMON: That's on time and we have to go. You're the comedian; don't you get that, Dean?

WRIGHT: Dean doesn't look heavier than me.

OBEIDALLAH: Thank you. But Don looks a little chunky.

LEMON: Thank you. Don't hate Dean.

OBEIDALLAH: I'm not hating. I'm being playful.

LEMON: Thank you Dean.

OBEIDALLAH: I love your dress.

LEMON: Up next --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes and the end of Tom-Kat. Why some say scientology is to blame for the latest Hollywood breakup.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEN NEDIMYER, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: I grew up diving in the Florida keys, and it was just the most magical place. The coral reefs were so pretty and I decided that's what I wanted to do for a living was dive on coral reefs.

In an area where there is a live coral there's always more fish. Reefs provides protection for our coastal areas and recreational opportunities for millions of people. I have been diving for 40 years and over time I saw those coral reefs start to die.

Coral Reefs worldwide are in decline. If coral reefs died completely, coastal communities would be bankrupt, tourism would be virtually gone, a billion people in the world will be impacted.

I started thinking how can we fix this problem?

My name is Ken Nedimyer. I grow, protect and restore coral reefs.

GARY YOSS, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: We have developed something that's simple and we can train others to do.

NEDIMYER: We take a piece of coral this big and hang it on the trees, and after about a year or two, it becomes this big, and we cut the branches off and we do it again. BILL CAUSEY, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: Ken's coral nursery is larger than the others in the Caribbean. It's ten times larger than the others there in existence.

NEDIMYER: Since 2003, we have literally planted six corals here, but now there's over 3,000 growing in this area alone.

Before I felt helpless watching it die. Now I think there's hope, it's not too late, everybody can help. And I see all those corals and all those fish, so it's like this whole reef is coming back to life and making a difference is exciting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OPRAH WINFREY, TV HOST: We've never seen you behave this way before.

TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: I know.

WINFREY: Have you ever felt this way before?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: I'm in love! I'm in love! It seems like just yesterday that Tom Cruise jumped on Oprah's couch professing his love for Katie Holmes. But this week TomKat, as the couple became known, is calling it quits, sadly.

Political comedian and attorney Dean Obeidallah is back. I don't know why we brought him back. And the, joining me now is family law attorney Randy Kessler. We're laughing but divorce is no laughing matter. It is sad.

So Randy, welcome. Do you think scientology, that's what people are saying, played a part in their split?

RANDY KESSLER, FAMILY LAW, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Goodness, I mean, who knows really what's going on deep down inside in their own minds. But could it have? Sure. When she says she wants sole custody. There's only one real reason you want sole custody and that's to send a message that you want to be the decision maker. You want to raise your child with your beliefs and your value. And that may be the one point that says yes, maybe it was about scientology.

LEMON: Yes. It is also being reported, and this is again, this is not CNN's reporting, but it is being reported that she wants sole custody because she doesn't want Suri affiliated with scientology. Do you know anything about that? Have you heard that?

KESSLER: I've not heard that. But almost every case resolved with some kind of shared parenting. And that's the nice way to start. So say out loud in your first meeting, I want sole custody, you swore to making the statement that you want to be the one deciding which church your child goes to, which school your child goes, which doctor your child goes to, and you want to be the one making that decision, so could it be scientology. Maybe there are other decisions of his that she doesn't agree with, but time will tell. But the best one when one is very public and this possibility.

LEMON: Dean, you're an attorney as well. So is Randy. I wish I was there in Atlanta.

OBEIDALLAH: We're happy in Atlanta.

LEMON: No doubt there had to be a pre-nup with this marriage.

OBEIDALLAH: I read there was. And it is not going to affect to their custody issues. And it's funny they were fighting over Suri. I thought they were fighting over siri, it's an iphone app, let it go.

But apparently, Don, it is a human being. Bu I think if there is a really issue, I was raised with two faiths. My father is Muslim, my mom is Christian. If the parents don't make a combination of the two faiths, it can be cause problems. To put kids in a multi religious homes and they have a lot of problems. Katie Holmes is really catholic and Tom Cruise is scientologist. It could be an issue that simple.

LEMON: All right. You and Crystal ate up all the time. So Randy, we gave you short shrift, so we'll have you back.

Thank you, guys.

As long as no one doesn't get hurt, who doesn't love a good trip?

This is our video of the week and it is next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: You don't have to be in front of a television to watch CNN. You can do what I do. You can stay connected. You can do it on your cell phone or you can do it from your computer at work. Just go to CNN.com/TV.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It doesn't take much to make a clown of yourself, half an inch to be exact. This video captures New Yorkers tripping over a subway step. The problem, it's just a half inch higher than it should be. Well, it took this video going viral for the city to fix the miss- measurement. And it also got us talking or reminiscing about our favorite near-falls.

First, the president. There he is, the other day in Florida. Oh! Then here is Hillary Clinton. Whoa. She had a little trouble boarding an airplane. And even Gerald Ford took a famous tumble, and he was our most -- one of our most athletic presidents. So, even those who watch their step can find ways to be embarrassed. Former president George W. Bush, he was an expert. We all have those moments. Have a nice trip.

I'm Don Lemon. See you back here tomorrow night six, seven and 10:00 Eastern. Good night.