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D.L. Hughley Breaks The News
D.L. HUGHLEY BREAKS THE NEWS
Aired November 29, 2008 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
D.L. HUGHLEY, HOST: This weekend after Thanksgiving is a time for leftovers, which is why tonight's show is leftover from the election. So join me as I reach into back of CNN's fridge and try to pull out something that ain't going to bag it.
(LAUGHTER)
ANNOUNCER: Tonight's regularly scheduled program, the 'Election's Over, We've Got Nothing," will not be seen so that we may bring you this special presentation.
From CNN studios in New York, D.L. HUGHLEY BREAKS THE NEWS.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
HUGHLEY: Good evening, you guys. How are you doing? I am D.L. Hughley. And it is official, after 232 years, America has elected its first black president.
This is...
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
HUGHLEY: I mean, this is just an amazing time. An African- American is moving into a house that was built by slaves. Of course, he had to beat a man who was old enough to have owned one, but he did it.
Now on election night, Barack Obama gave this amazing acceptance speech. And it may be seconds, it was behind bulletproof glass. So I'm like, wow, so you're the president of the United States and you look like you're standing in a check cashing place. Is it...
(LAUGHTER)
HUGHLEY: I will restore this nation to greatness, and let me get two lotto tickets and a pack of Newports.
(LAUGHTER)
HUGHLEY: The state of Colorado voted for Barack, but against affirmative action. For Barack, against affirmative action. I guess when they say he's the one, they mean it, the one.
(LAUGHTER) HUGHLEY: Now voter turnout broke records this year. You know, I had to wait in line for five hours just to vote? Hell, I don't to wait in line that long when it's ladies' night.
(LAUGHTER)
HUGHLEY: Now Obama said his first order of business is to get a puppy for his two daughters. Now, you know when Michael Vick heard that, he's like, damn, there goes my pardon.
(LAUGHTER)
HUGHLEY: I got to say that John McCain just gave a classy speech congratulating Obama on Tuesday, which is funny, because on Monday, he said he was a communist, a terrorist, and stole his mama's purse.
On election night, the Palin family, they gathered around in their home in Alaska to rest up and recover. All except for Levi, the pregnant daughter's boyfriend. He went out for cigarettes and never came back so.
(LAUGHTER)
HUGHLEY: He said I' am so out of here.
Now fortunately in this year's elections, there were no problems with chads, except for two guys named Chad who wanted to get married in California.
That's right, California just passed Proposition 8, a gay marriage ban, ending the marriages of 18,000 gay couples. Ending their marriages. You lucky bastards.
(LAUGHTER)
HUGHLEY: While it was obviously an historic week in politics and world culture, joining me now is a man at the very center of it all, live via satellite from Chicago, please welcome Obama transition team leader, Frank Cooper.
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you, D.L.
HUGHLEY: Well, I want to say congratulations, Mr. Cooper.
COOPER: Thank you. But there's still a lot of work still ahead of us.
HUGHLEY: Oh, yes, of course. But I'm surprised you're not a little more excited.
COOPER: No time for that. There's so much to do.
HUGHLEY: Oh OK, I understand. Picking the Cabinet, meeting with the outgoing administration. COOPER: No, no, no, D.L., I'm talking about the recount.
(LAUGHTER)
HUGHLEY: Recount? Are you kidding?
COOPER: I wish I was.
HUGHLEY: But Obama won in a landslide.
COOPER: You damn right he did. And I want to hear it all over again. I demand a recount! Let's go! We made it rain like T-Pain with four from main, four from New Hampshire. What, what? Three from Vermont. Can you say cheese, please? 12 from Boston, shouts to the Red Sox, not!
And from Rhode Island we had five. Shout out to my brother, you! Brooklyn's in the house for 31. Shout to the tribe state area when the Eagle's in the house, oh, my god, danger!
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: Call from North Carolina, better late than never, suckers, because you're going to Miami for 21. Thank you, white people in the middle. (INAUDIBLE) California. Don't forget Hawaii, (INAUDIBLE), with 11. A grand total of, what more can I say, 364. Yes!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
HUGHLEY: Wow. That was fun. But seriously, you guys shouldn't be doing more than recounting votes right now, right?
COOPER: Oh come on, D.L. I'm just having fun. But in all seriousness, we're preparing to take office on January 20th and get back to the business of the American people. Right after we have 25 inauguration balls and celebrate in Jamaica!
HUGHLEY: Thank you, Frank.
Well, it looks like Obama won big, but there were still 55 million McCain voters. To help heal the divide, we brought in a pro. Joining me now is the host of "Celebrity Rehab," and "Sex with Mom and Dad," Dr. Drew Pinsky.
How are you doing, Doc?
DR. DREW PINSKY, HOST, CELEBRITY REHAB WITH DR. DREW: I'm good. Thank you so much.
HUGHLEY: But you know that the McCain voters, they are mad as hell that their guy lost. So how do we work then? How do we make them feel better?
You know what, I was very disturbed with how cantankerous and rancorous this election was. I was a very moderate... HUGHLEY: Dr. Drew, I got a GED, so cantankerous and rancorous...
(LAUGHTER)
PINSKY: How hostile and angry and unpleasant...
HUGHLEY: There you go. Hostile and angry. I got it, baby, I got that one.
PINSKY: And I really -- I'm a moderate guy myself, so I was sort of sitting on the sidelines thinking, oh, man, the day after is going to be really bad, no matter who wins.
And you know what, my experience has been that it's not as bad as what I expected. That a lot of the McCain folks kind of sat down and went, all right, I got it. He's a good guy. Let's get on with it.
And I -- I have been -- with the people I've been dealing with, they've been very sincere in their desire to sort of be bipartisan and get behind this guy to help him out.
HUGHLEY: Tuesday something changed, and now I felt like, I felt like a sense of sadness, because the way that I saw this country is dead now. It's a distinctly different place. I just -- I feel like a little off.
PINSKY: It's interesting. I feel sadness that you had felt that way. And maybe for those of us that weren't -- didn't have that same life experience it comes into sharper focus for us when you tell us things like that.
It's like, wow, that's really felt like that, and that's sad for me and the fact that we are in a different world now. Something we should feel grateful about. But it's funny, isn't it, how humans are that even when you lose something bad that you didn't like, it -- you still feel kind of a sense of grief...
HUGHLEY: Right. I was like hey...
PINSKY: ... even though you're on to something better.
Yes, it is something better we're going on to and I for one, I think one of the people that I speak for many when I say it's very exciting, and even people who lost and are angry still feel that sense of excitement, it seems to me.
HUGHLEY: I think that -- you know, people placed their expectation, they are really high for him. I wonder if that's going to be something...
PINSKY: That's going to be -- listen, you're going to have me back here in three months or six months when we're dealing with the frustrations of the -- levers of government and how problematic they are to wield.
And yes, that's going to be a real letdown. But I predict -- I'll make a prediction, because I remember some other shifts in this country where there's a lot of enthusiasm. The enthusiasm tends to last about one to two years before we bog down in the reality of how our government functions.
But that enthusiasm does carry a great deal of importance. It is the case that it is -- really, it's us psychologically as a group and our motivations that cause things to move forward, though -- even though it's a frustrating system, it will lean forward a little bit.
We will become frustrated with the reality of it. But that's -- I'm sorry to say, it's the beauty of our system. It's a -- system of checks and balances. And it doesn't go all one way or all another, it pulls back, it goes forward in fits and starts.
HUGHLEY: OK. Well, I'm just going to feel good while I'm feeling good then, baby.
PINSKY: I'm glad you're feeling better. Really, I felt kind of sad when you're talking about the world you thought this country was. I'm so glad that it isn't that country anymore.
HUGHLEY: Well, you know what, I'm glad it isn't, too.
Give it up for Dr. Drew Pinsky. Thank you, man. Thank you, Doc.
(APPLAUSE)
PINSKY: Thanks, guys.
HUGHLEY: See you again.
Of course, the election is over. But think of all the people that we met along the way. And don't forget, their lives went on after the race was called. Check this out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Chris Dodd founded Silver Haired Studs from Connecticut magazine.
Dennis Kucinich left politics to open a chain of big and tall earmuff stores.
Hillary Clinton graciously donated her pantsuit collection to Samoan Army.
Joe Lieberman shocked Jews worldwide when he declared himself the anti-Mensch.
The Snowman from the YouTube debate went insane when he realized that each of his flakes was not unique.
James Carville returned to his lizard cave.
Fred Thompson is still contemplating getting into the race.
Mitt Romney modeled special Mormon underwear for Calvin Klein. Todd and Sarah Palin moved to France so they could see Africa from their terrace.
ObamaGirl went to get a sex change and became ObamaBoy.
D.L. Hughley went on to perform standup in venues throughout the country, including the Kansas City Improv this coming November 15th and 16th. Tickets still available.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HUGHLEY: Well, of course, this Tuesday was an amazing night, and I went out to the streets of New York to talk to folks. Here's what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HUGHLEY (voice over): Election night, Times Square. New York City.
(On camera): I wonder who this guy's for. Obama's leading the nation in votes. And bootleg t-shirts.
(Voice over): These people knew that history could be made, and they were going to celebrate with dignity.
(On camera): How will you celebrate?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to get drunk.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It'll be probably a lot of alcohol consumption.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to go with him and get drunk.
HUGHLEY: When did you have your weed?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When do I have my weed? I don't smoke.
HUGHLEY (voice over): Now, even though it was early, Obama and McCain supporters alike were ready for the festivities to begin.
(On camera): How excited would you be if your candidate won?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Be very excited.
HUGHLEY: Show me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hallelujah, praise the lord.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can I hug you again?
HUGHLEY: Of course. If your candidate wins, show me how you'll smile.
(LAUGHTER)
HUGHLEY: Turn the cameras off. I got something else to do.
(Voice over): McCain was in the lead. So we wanted to see how the Republicans were partying.
(On camera): We've been to the rally at Times Square. And now we're here with the young Republicans. I'm surprised that they're letting me in. This is the young Republicans convention, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
HUGHLEY: And you're a young Republican?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Not anymore. I'm past that stage.
(LAUGHTER)
HUGHLEY (voice over): Let me tell you, these party animals are rocking.
(On camera): You're excited tonight?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm very excited. I'm very (INAUDIBLE). I'm very happy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
HUGHLEY: Now, you guys are married?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
HUGHLEY: Just fooling around?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course.
HUGHLEY: Every Republican rally I've ever been to, there was a dude with a bow tie. McCain won West Virginia.
(LAUGHTER)
HUGHLEY (voice over): We even talked to (INAUDIBLE) because times are tough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I make less than $250,000. Not very much.
HUGHLEY: If McCain wins, these people are finally going to get loose.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: High five my kids.
HUGHLEY: The night was wearing on. And I knew where I had to go.
(On camera): We're here in Harlem. And we just left the young Republican convention. It was a little slower there. We're going to go to see if perhaps an Obama rally here is different.
(Voice over): Right away, black celebrities were showing up.
(On camera): I'm here with Colin Powell. Come here, Colin Powell. Don't be like that. I'm here with Sam Jackson. Colin Powell, I love you, man.
(LAUGHTER)
HUGHLEY (voice over): Even the spirit of Rosa Parks dropped by.
(On camera): You've got to be very excited.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I am.
HUGHLEY: Wait a minute. Obama won Ohio.
(Voice over): One thing everybody hoped for was that the night wouldn't turn ugly.
(On camera): If McCain loses, do you think old people are going to riot?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a possibility.
(LAUGHTER)
HUGHLEY: How do you riot? You can't even walk.
(Voice over): Harlem is the center of African-American culture in America. And as Obama's chances grew, I could feel the pride and emotion in the air.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It means a history for me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To have a black president, that's something we never thought could happen.
HUGHLEY (on camera): I never thought it could happen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I never thought I would have an opportunity to see something as magnificent as this. It's the greatest night of my life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have infinite possibilities, infinite power.
HUGHLEY: Are you excited tonight?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Overwhelmed.
HUGHLEY: Did you ever think you would see anything like this? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I never thought I would get a chance to see anything like this.
HUGHLEY: How does it make you feel?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It makes me feels wonderful.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It means so much to me and to my grandchildren to be able to really realize the dream.
HUGHLEY (voice over): 10:45 at a rally at the state house in Harlem, things were reaching a fever pitch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obama!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barack Obama!
HUGHLEY: It was a special night. A night of firsts.
(On camera): This the first time you've ever voted?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
HUGHLEY: Ever in your life?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. For Obama.
HUGHLEY: All right. Wow! So you never voted before at any other election?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. This is worth -- I was saving my one and only.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got to be strong.
HUGHLEY: Yes, man. We -- you could have voted for Lincoln, but you saved it for Obama, right?
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a black man, I feel a sense of pride. As a chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, I think I get something done. You know?
HUGHLEY (voice over): Apparently even the Dutch wanted Obama to be president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the image of America is proved a lot by...
HUGHLEY (on camera): What was it before?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In Holland? Pretty bad. Pretty bad. Pretty bad. Pretty bad. Pretty bad.
HUGHLEY: You guys are saying that many times.
(Voice over): The organizers even asked yours truly to say a few words.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: D.L. Hughley.
HUGHLEY (on camera): I'm not going to take up too much of your time but I want to say this. We should be proud of ourselves and we should be proud of this country for doing something we never thought it would do, ladies and gentlemen.
Anybody out here, the young children out here, you ain't got to be a comedian or a rapper or a basketball player or a baseball player, you can educate yourselves to be the most powerful man in the world.
(Voice over): At 11:00 p.m. on the dot, the word finally came down.
(On camera): We are here in Harlem. They've just called the election for Barack Obama. He is now officially the 44th president of the United States of America. And California carried him over.
(CHEERS)
HUGHLEY (voice over): Now, all that's left for Obama is to make good on his campaign promises.
(On camera): You said Barack is going to fix your teeth?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
HUGHLEY: I know I'm working for CNN and objectivity is a big thing here. But we've got a black president, and I'm celebrating tonight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUGHLEY: We've got a whole lot more coming up. We'll be right back.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HUGHLEY: Well, if you were watching CNN election night coverage, then you may have seen Will I. Am being interviewed by Anderson Cooper via hologram.
Well tonight using this amazing technology, joining us live via hologram is our nation's very first president, George Washington.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
HUGHLEY: Good evening, Mr. President. I've got to tell you, it's an honor to meet you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Christmas (INAUDIBLE), it's wonderful to meet you.
HUGHLEY: No, I'm D.L. Hughley from CNN.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: CNN? I'm not familiar with that plantation.
HUGHLEY: Well, you know, things have changed. You -- even though it's been 300 years, you are still a very big deal around here. Your face is on our money. In fact, Washington happens to be the last name of my favorite cousin.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, there's a Negro named Washington? Please, that's like saying there's black people named Jefferson.
(LAUGHTER)
HUGHLEY: Which brings me to my point. We just had an historic election. Barack Obama is our first black president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A Negro president?
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a good one. You're very funny. You were bred very well.
HUGHLEY: Mr. President, I'm completely serious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're telling me, George Washington, that a Negro's been elected president?
HUGHLEY: We haven't been called Negro in 50 years, but yes, we have a black president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of America?
HUGHLEY: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I cannot tell a lie. That is absolutely fantastic.
HUGHLEY: Really?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No. It is not fantastic. Honestly, I'm trying to wrap my head around this. I mean, there are equal rights -- you've got to admit, it's weird, a black -- just weird. I don't know what to say.
HUGHLEY: Nut isn't that what you fought the American Revolution was for? I mean you risked your life for the idea that every American, regardless of race, creed, or color had an inherit right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, yes. So, you know what, maybe this Obama fellow symbolizes the principles our nation was founded upon. I mean, who knows, perhaps one day America will be a land where two men who love each other may form a legal union.
HUGHLEY: Not in California.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: California? Who is he?
HUGHLEY: Good-bye, President Washington. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
HUGHLEY: Well, Barack Obama's father was Kenyan, and so the people of Kenya were celebrating our election big-time on Tuesday.
I wanted to talk to someone from that country, and thanks to the magic of CNN, I can. So with me today for real, this is not a bit, are a trio of Kenyan comedians called Redykyulass.
(APPLAUSE)
HUGHLEY: Welcome Walter Mongare, John Kiarie, or K.J., and Tony Njuguna.
How are you guys doing, man?
So, in Kenya, you guys were excited as we were. What was that like watching our elections from there?
JOHN KIARIE, REDYKYULASS: We were more excited than you guys were. You guys did not take a holiday after the elections. We took a whole day to be a public holiday. Obama Day. The day after the U.S. elections. We were more excited than America was.
HUGHLEY: Now, wait a minute, we're going to get a holiday in 30 years or so. It'll be fine. We'll catch up to you.
(LAUGHTER)
HUGHLEY: Now, isn't it true that...
KIARIE: You know how to play catch-up.
HUGHLEY: We will. Is it true that your country named a beer after Obama and called it Senator Beer?
KIARIE: There was a beer called Senator. And immediately after the elections, and after he won, the new name of the beer is -- the President.
HUGHLEY: All right. He got his own beer. All right.
KIARIE: And he's also (INAUDIBLE) now.
HUGHLEY: OK. Now, I read a poll that said that 80 percent of Kenyans believe that their lives would improve with the election of Obama. Is that something you guys really feel?
KIARIE: Yes. Truly, 90 percent of Kenyans believe that their lives will change with the election of Obama. Actually, we do believe that now Kenya is the 55th state of the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
HUGHLEY: Oh, you guys are going to be disappointed. So you guys really feel a kinship, you guys really feel a kinship to Barack? You guys really feel as if he is -- you guys really feel like you're the 55th state?
KIARIE: Let me tell you what, Hughley. You're probably 75th generation American. Barack Obama is first generation American. He's actually a Kenyan and migrant to the United States. That's some talent that we're exporting. We're exporting presidents all over the world.
(APPLAUSE)
HUGHLEY: Well, let me tell you, thank you.
(LAUGHTER)
HUGHLEY: But we already have one from Texas, and you all can have him back. No, I'm just kidding. I'm just -- I'm just serious.
Now you guys actually do a lot of satire in your political apparatus there. And I understand that that can get you in a little bit of trouble. How are you able to get away with that?
KIARIE: First of all, we're just rude like that. And secondly, probably the administration is too corrupt to even realize that this is happening on TV.
HUGHLEY: So you have a corrupt government, too? You could be the 55th state.
No, I'm just -- so you guys had a comedy show that you ran for a long time, a political comedy show. Have you got any words of advice for me?
KIARIE: First of all, you need to visit the motherland. You need to make a stop in Kenya. And we're going to give you a tips from the precinct. Number one, how to run.
(LAUGHTER)
KIARIE: And that's how Barack Obama won this election. You never get into a race with any Kenyan. And if you get into a race with any Kenyan, you don't expect to win the race.
(LAUGHTER)
HUGHLEY: All right. Thank you so much for talking to me.
(APPLAUSE)
HUGHLEY: We'll be right back.
(APPLAUSE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK
HUGHLEY: Well, on Thursday, Barack Obama received his first top- secret briefing from the Director of National Intelligence; things that only a president can know.
Well, we actually got a hold of some of these files and they are pretty scary. Check them out.
Now, first of all, Obama learned that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gets night terrors and insists on sleeping between the President and the First Lady.
In addition, as soon as the President-elect is determined, he's immediately given an ATM card to the U.S. Treasury with a daily limit of $1 trillion. Also, anyone who stares directly at Nancy Pelosi turns into stone.
On November 4th, this country made history by electing the first black president. Well, there were a lot of people who worked very hard to get Senator Obama elected. Joining me now from Chicago is one of those key folks; Representative Jesse Jackson Jr.
REP. JESSE L. JACKSON, JR., (D) ILLINOIS: How are you doing? Thank you, D.L. Congratulations on your new show.
HUGHLEY: And congratulations to you, man, a job well done.
JACKSON JR.: Thank you.
HUGHLEY: You know, I was watching the coverage, I was actually in Harlem, and they flashed this picture of your father, Jesse Jackson Sr., and he was crying. And it occurred to me, that I remember seeing my father cried twice. And they were both traumatic to me. What was that like for you to watch?
JACKSON JR.: Well, kind of painful. But I sat back and I watched across the span of his life and thought about John Lewis walking across Edmond Pettis Bridge and Viola Liuzzo, a white Italian housewife getting killed trying to help Americans register to vote for the first time.
The deaths of Sworner, Goodman and Cheney; two Jews and a black in Alabama and Mississippi during that period; 45 years later, to watch Barack Obama accept the responsibility, the obligation of being the President of the United States had to be extraordinarily tough for a generation of Americans who watched people really lose their lives to make that moment possible.
HUGHLEY: That is an amazing thing.
Are you and your father -- times are tough, and sometimes you can go through things, but things like that, you just -- don't you kind of wish you were sharing it together at that very moment?
JACKSON JR.: Well, I was there. I wasn't sitting necessarily as close to him as I would have liked to have been. But, you know, as a national co-chair of Barack's campaign, this was an extraordinary moment for all Americans. People who paid the price across our country to make that moment possible. An extraordinarily emotional moment for millions of Americans. And the next day moving beyond the emotion it's about running the government, it's about giving the American people the kind of government that they deserve.
And so, you know, we're still ecstatic about it, but now the work begins. The economic numbers that we got this week are terrible. Barack has a lot of work to do. We should all be prayerful for him during this period.
HUGHLEY: Absolutely.
There's news of you that you might potentially be filling Barack's spot. And it's got to be a good time for a 40-year-old black dude from Chicago right now. You guys are doing well. I should move. What about that?
JACKSON, JR.: Come on home, man.
HUGHLEY: What do you think?
JACKSON, JR.: You know, it would be my honor. D.L., it would be my honor to succeed Barack in the United States Senate. I've served in the Congress of the United States for 13 years. I've only missed two votes. I was there at the foundation of Barack Obama's campaign for the United States Senate.
I've served diligently and very hard for the course of his campaign to be President of the United States. And we need representation in the United States Senate. In fact, I'm willing to bet, I'm one of the few United States Senators, if appointed, to ever be willing to even do your show.
So I'm your only access to keeping it real on the floor of the United States Senate.
HUGHLEY: Absolutely.
JACKSON, JR.: You need me, D.L. And I need you, man.
HUGHLEY: You know what's hilarious? He was all button nervous but did you see how he did that little lean-in?
JACKSON, JR.: Come on, now.
HUGHLEY: You couldn't forget.
JACKSON, JR.: I'm trying to keep it real for you.
HUGHLEY: At the same time I was elated. And, you know, I was excited. I still see something that need our attention, like in California, there was a bill to protect animals that we're going to consume. They had to be housed humanely and treated more humanely before we consumed them.
And it occurred to me that if young black men were an animal of some type, they would be endangered species and they would protected more so than they are now. Last year in Philadelphia, 345 black men murdered; Newark, 101; Chicago, 418. Why do we seem to care more about animals than we do human beings? I've never understood that.
JACKSON, JR.: You know, D.L., I don't have the answer to that. But let me tell you what I do believe in an Obama Presidency. I believe many of our young men, because we have a symbol in the White House of dignity and honor, are going to be challenged psychologically in some profound ways.
I mean, I think we're now going to enter a period, I hope, of respect, where we talk to each other, where we try to work out our problems, where some of our young men can pull up their pants and assume greater responsibility for the babies that they make.
When we have a beautiful symbol like Michelle Obama in the White House, I hope that young women in our community will look up to Michelle Obama and say, wow, here's a family that treated each other with respect, that are treating the American people with respect.
I think we're entering into a new era of caring. And I think Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are going to bring about that kind of civility and that kind of relationship in our community, because every time we step out of our homes now, we represent the President of the United States of America. You are an ambassador for this nation.
HUGHLEY: You're absolutely right. You're absolutely right. So what do you think the future of civil rights is in this country?
JACKSON, JR.: Well, there is a transition in our community from the profound and prophetic leadership of the church to the elected and the accountable. Barack Obama has engaged the American people in a way that forces the American people now to pay attention to every word that is uttered out of the mouth of every politician.
We are engaged now. And it will be President Obama's responsibility and obligation in order to move his agenda through the Congress for all Americans to keep voters engaged. That's really what this process has now become.
HUGHLEY: Man, you are an amazing young cat, man. Give it up for Jesse Jackson Jr.
JACKSON, JR.: Thanks, D.L.
HUGHLEY: And we've got plenty more coming up. Please stick around. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HUGHLEY: In 1968, Tim Reid was a black marketing manager at Dupont and Tom Grison was a white insurance salesman. They met at a Junior Chamber of Commerce gathering in Chicago. Though I don't know what a brother is doing at a Chamber of Commerce gathering. Then they decided that the world was ready for a black and white comedy team.
Take a look at a clip of them in 1968.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM GRISON: We're brothers in the ghetto.
TIM REID: All right. Hey, what's happening, Tom? My main man. Well look you baby that is why mike I got to ease up town and get me some new rags you know a couple of front pass and get us go check them traps. Go to night crawling and through the hood.
GRISON: As I was saying, man, I didn't know you spoke a foreign language.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUGHLEY: You got to love those leisure suits.
REID: We were dressed to kill.
HUGHLEY: Joining me now from the first interracial comedy duo, and the author of "Tom and Tim: American Comedy in Black and White," Tim Reid.
REID: You put the white man first?
HUGHLEY: Let me get it right.
REID: You put him first.
HUGHLEY: It's Tim and Tom.
REID: You're just so trained.
HUGHLEY: What happened?
REID: His car broke down. They couldn't get him here. Well, I paid the driver. But other than that --
HUGHLEY: That must have been rough in the '60s.
REID: That was really rough. Back then comedy was a blood sport.
HUGHLEY: Absolutely.
REID: So it was serious business. And there wasn't much racial humor. There were only two comics back then really doing racial humor. That was Dig Gregory and Arthur Cambridge. And then Tom and I decided to do that, you know, '68; Democratic Convention; riots in the streets. Four years removed from the passage of the Civil Rights Act.
HUGHLEY: Yes, that's a great time for comedy.
REID: Oh, yes. And we went out there and, of course, we were met with a lot of skepticism, and sometimes fights; chased out of town. Fourth time on stage a guy put a cigarette out on my face. And a fight broke out. And we fought for, I don't know how long. And finally we get in the car, I'm all scarred. Tom's ribs are all bruised. I looked at him and said, welcome to showbiz.
It was a difficult time.
HUGHLEY: Now, what do you think, because was it hard to tell jokes like that in front of audiences?
REID: Well, you know, you had to keep it in context. And we worked all white audiences, all black audiences. Back then we were calling it the chitlin circuit.
We were at the Sugar Shack in Boston, 20 grand club in Detroit, Club Harlem in Atlantic City which was one of the finest clubs in all of America for black performers. And we would change our material, not so much the punch line, but in terms of the delivery and the context based on the audience.
And we didn't run into that many integrated audiences back then. Because, you know, blacks were just feeling comfortable to go to clubs in large numbers. I mean, in a great audience.
HUGHLEY: It's funny, I've play a lot of clubs. And a lot of clubs, it will be one or two -- like if I'm doing the sixth or seventh show run, it will be all one audience but they'll all black. And they won't -- still a lot of places where they're going, nah, I'm not -- still, to some degree --
REID: Well, see, back then, if there were like 12 blacks out of 150 in a nightclub like Mr. Kelly's in Chicago, the white people wouldn't laugh at the black people. So we would deliver a line, and they would look at the black people. And when they left ok that's right. So we always had a three-second delay in our comedy.
HUGHLEY: Even on accident.
REID: On accident, yes.
D.L. HUGHLEY, CNN HOST: So what -- I was talking to you earlier and you said you didn't like it.
TIM REID, COMEDIAN: I didn't like clubs. You know, we did colleges. We did prisons. Back then there were no comedy clubs. There was only one in all of America, in New York, the improv and they didn't pay.
HUGHLEY: I'll tell you a story. About eight, ten years ago, was the first time I was allowed to play the improv. Really, ten years ago. They said, no one knows you, so we'll give you the door deal. That means I get to keep 90 percent of the door. Man, I got rich. I was so happy. I was like, who are you? A dude with 90 percent of the door; but it's always been like that.
REID: Always been. And back then, I had two kids and a wife. Tom had three kids and a wife. And we had to eat. We weren't making a lot of money. We would travel on the road, he and I, we had to stay in the same hotel room.
Imagine leaving a gig somewhere in Missouri, about 3:00 in the morning, you check into a hotel on the road, and we walk up, he and I we look at the guy behind the counter, and, we'd like one room. You want a queen size or king? We said, give us a room. We didn't care if they thought we were gay. We just wanted them to think we were mean gays.
HUGHLEY: You eventually did it for about --
REID: We were together six years. It's the longest running black and white comedy team in the history of America. I'm amazed that since that time, no one has ever attempted to do that, even today.
HUGHLEY: Nobody wants to sleep in a room with another man. Don't be amazed.
REID: I'm amazed that nobody's taken that shot.
HUGHLEY: Why do you think nobody's done it since then?
REID: Comedy's certainly changed. The things that we did back then, the kind of comedy we had, I don't think you could do today. Because somebody would take a cell phone, take a picture and put you on YouTube and you would be out of business.
HUGHLEY: I think it's different for a couple of reasons. One of my favorite shows when I was growing up was "All in the Family." And I just thought it was funny as hell. But you couldn't do a show like that these days because we're so politically correct.
That has to be more difficult. You know, now, it's so difficult, because everybody's very sensitive about it. I hope through this, you know, through Obama being elected, and us finally starting to evolve a little bit, I hope we can learn how to take a joke again.
REID: The pundits declare what's funny and what's not funny; no longer the comics. It's got to come back to us. We have to change. There's got to be a new paradigm for comedy.
HUGHLEY: Now, you would never do it again? You gave it up.
REID: I don't know. I don't think that it would be the same. We'd have to do it a different way. The world has to change now. We've been talking about change. Well, it's here. Comics are going to have to give up the "f" word. They're going to have to give up a lot of stuff. I'm sorry, it's changed.
HUGHLEY: Well, now, not everybody.
REID: I'm sorry.
We had a whole different paradigm then, brother. They have to pull up their pants, start showing them nasty drawers. They've got to change. We've got to change. So comedy has to change. I think it's time. I think we rely too much on cursing in comedy. We've got a lot more comics than we ever had and a lot less humor.
HUGHLEY: Man, that's amazing. Tim Reid, ladies and gentlemen.
We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HUGHLEY: On Election Day, the most powerful day of expression in this country, the Supreme Court heard a case that may take some of the more colorful expressions off the air. Here to explain this to me is CNN's legal analyst, Sunny Hostin. How are you doing, gorgeous?
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Thank you. Thank you for having me here.
HUGHLEY: Yes. So you were a former federal prosecutor?
HOSTIN: That's right.
HUGHLEY: As pretty as you are, the last thing somebody saw before they went to jail.
HOSTIN: That's right. Thank you for saying that.
HUGHLEY: The law is cruel. So the FCC was basically -- the Supreme Court was hearing the FCC regarding the foul language or obscene language?
HOSTIN: Foul language. The FCC doesn't like the F bomb.
HUGHLEY: So I don't have a job.
HOSTIN: You're not going to have a job if you drop the F bomb here a couple of times. The Supreme Court was deciding whether or not you have a guest on the show or if you use the F bomb, the C word, the S word, one time, whether or not the FCC can fine you $325,000. $325,000, let me say that again.
And that's what the debate is about whether or not that should not be part of our television anymore during daytime television, early evening television. Should people be allowed to express themselves in that way?
HUGHLEY: Now, I understand the argument. But what if a guest were to come on the show, and he said something out of -- off color. The show would be fined? HOSTIN: That's right.
HUGHLEY: Automatically?
HOSTIN: John Klein is not going to be happy. That's right.
HUGHLEY: Oh, my goodness.
HOSTIN: F bomb, F bomb, F bomb, $1 million.
HUGHLEY: This all started from the Janet Jackson?
HOSTIN: It really started -- I think it did, I think it started from BoobGate. Everybody remembers that. She flashed her boob. CBS was fined $550,000 for that. It was sort of the boob heard round the world, right?
HUGHLEY: That's a hell of a lap dance right there.
HOSTIN: Exactly. And since then, you know, for the past, I would say four to five years, the FCC has said, we don't want this sort of indecency on the air. And while I think most people understand that that was the Super Bowl, there are a lot of children watching, we don't necessarily want to see Janet Jackson's pierced boob.
HUGHLEY: You know what's funny, I remember watching the Janet Jackson thing, and everybody was like, Janet Jackson's breast came out at the Super Bowl, and the Super Bowl is family hour. And right after that a commercial came on for beer and Viagra.
HOSTIN: Yes.
HUGHLEY: I know when I have a beer and a Viagra, I need to see a breast. That's just weird to me. But isn't -- that seems to be more a parent's responsibility than the government. They can't even deliver my mail.
HOSTIN: That is the argument. That is the argument. Where does the parent fit in? Gabriel, if you're watching, it's past your bedtime, turn off the television. That's really what it's about.
HUGHLEY: Freedom of speech is coming. I fundamentally believe that's a right. I believe that no matter what -- you have the right to kind of say anything. I understand the language can get that colorful on TV. But I do see it as a freedom of speech issue.
I don't like the idea that the government tells me what they think or what they -- you know, what is appropriate. But when does it stop? Is it just going to be on television, or radio? Is it going to be live performances? Is it going to be --
HOSTIN: Well, that's one of the questions. Right now, this is about the FCC and Fox News and television; early-morning television, early-evening television, daytime television. But where do you really draw the line, D.L. As you mentioned, where do you draw the line. That's what the Supreme Court is going to have to determine.
HUGHLEY: Which way do you think they're going to go?
HOSTIN: It's very hard to tell. Chief Justice Roberts said he didn't like what Obama said. He was offended by it. Scalia was offended by it. Ginsburg was talking about free speech. Clarence Thomas didn't say anything. So who knows? Who knows where it's going to go. We don't know.
HUGHLEY: Thank you very much.
HOSTIN: Thank you.
HUGHLEY: We're going to be right back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HUGHLEY: Now, I never claim to be a real news reporter. But sometimes life imitates comedy.
On last week's show, we did a sketch about McCain and Obama's election night parties. Now, watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joe Biden is in the building. It's fun! What fun!
HUGHLEY: Richard White, any final thoughts about McCain's election party?
RICHARD WHITE: D.L., we would like to invite all McCain supporters to come on down and celebrate with us. It's a cash bar.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
And here's a clip from the actual election night party. The crazy thing is, when I went to the Republicans' election party here in New York, it really was a cash bar. Swear to God. You hear that? I am the most trusted name in news.
Guys thanks for watching. Thanks to our studio audience. Thanks to you guys. Good night. We're going to see you next week.
