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CNN Larry King Live

The Crisis in Haiti; John Edwards Admits Paternity of Rielle Hunter's Daughter

Aired January 21, 2010 - 21:00   ET

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

LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, more aftershocks in Haiti. And the plight of the orphans -- the fate of more than 100 Haitian babies in limbo.

What's going to happen to them?

Plus, another story of survival live from the earthquake zone.

And then, John Edwards admits he fathered his one time mistress' little daughter. A former campaign adviser is here to speak for him.

And then Usher joins us with his Haitian relief efforts.

All next on LARRY KING LIVE.

We begin in Port-au-Prince with Anderson Cooper, the anchor of CNN's "A. 360" -- "A.C. 360" rather -- Anderson, what's the latest on our little 5-year-old survivor?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we actually went to find him today. The last we had seen him, he was being cared for by doctors from the International Medical Corps. They say he was showing good signs. He actually had started to eat something. He -- he had actually passed some urine, which is a good sign. It means his kidneys were still functioning.

But he was taken, we believe, by his uncle today from the hospital. And so far we haven't been able to find him. We're probably going to try to do that tomorrow.

But, apparently, his uncle has taken him away back, I guess, to the uncle's home. We're not really sure. We're going to try to figure it out.

But his condition seems to be OK. But we came across -- Larry, we ended up in the pediatric Ward at General Hospital. And, you know, there's this whole new generation of orphans now in -- in Port-au- Prince, and probably other places in Haiti -- a lot of kids whose parents have died, who are in the hospital, who end up with nowhere to go.

We saw a little boy named Johnny -- a broken leg. He had no parents. He had no clothes. He had been treated, but the nurses, who are Haitian-American nurses from New York, couldn't send him away. They -- they -- he was -- he is staying in a mattress on the floor because he had nowhere else to go.

KING: Anderson, with so many people -- so many in America -- parents wanting to adopt children -- couldn't things be expedited through red tape and get these kids quickly here?

COOPER: Well, for a lot of the -- the -- the little kids who -- whose adoptions had already been approved, that is being ex -- expedited. And the U.S. Embassy is working on that.

You know, the real problem is for these kids who have no paperwork, for the kids who are in orphanages. The paperwork has been lost or it wasn't at the stage where everything had been signed and sealed and, also, for all these new orphans that are going to be cropping up, what is going to be done about them?

I mean, the Haitian government is barely functioning. There is, you know, a lot of these orphanages are very badly damaged. And now there's all these people who are either separated from their parents or -- or their parents have -- have -- have died.

KING: Do you see any light at the end of the tunnel -- Anderson?

COOPER: You know, there's many points of light here. I mean there -- there's -- there's greater food distribution and water distribution. They've set up a number of distribution points throughout the city. Look, I mean, you know, the aid is in the pipeline. There's a lot of aid sitting at the airport. A lot of it is getting distributed. It's not happening fast enough.

You know, I think it's the medical supplies that have been the weakest link in this chain so far. (INAUDIBLE) there was a -- it seems, from the people we've talked to, that there wasn't a high enough priority put on getting emergency medical supplies -- surgeons, surgical theaters -- up and running. You have a lot of people and -- you know, there -- there are huge numbers of different estimates. But you have a lot of people dying because they're not getting the life saving surgery in time.

KING: An article -- an op-ed article in "The New York Times" today seemed to say -- the author seeming to -- I think it was Nick Kristof, that there's yet a lot of faith in the -- in this government, in the Haitian government and the leader of this government -- to make progress.

Do you see that?

COOPER: That there's not a lot of faith?

Certainly.

KING: No, there is.

COOPER: If you talk to Haitians on the street...

KING: No, there is a lot of faith.

COOPER: Oh, there is a lot of faith.

KING: Yes.

COOPER: I don't know. A lot of the Haitians I've talked to don't seem to have much confidence in their government. I mean they -- there is not a great history of Haitian governments that really respond to the needs of the people. And it's not the Haitian government that people are saying, you know, where are they?

It's the U.S. It's the United Nations. It's -- it's the international community that most Haitians are looking to for -- for help. They kind of have shrugged their shoulders about their own government -- at least the ones that I've talked to.

KING: But you're not one of those giving up on that country, are you?

COOPER: Listen, Haiti is an incredibly strong country. The people are -- are remarkably strong. They have survived an awful lot. You know, what -- what the average person here has been through in their lifetime is -- is greater than -- than most people should ever face. So, no, I wouldn't count Haiti out. This is a great country. It is down, but it's certainly not out.

KING: Anderson Cooper.

He'll be back at the top of the hour, hosting "A.C. 360."

There's more from Haiti.

Here's some of Gary Tuchman's reporting today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We had received an e- mail that an orphanage had collapsed, that most of the children survived, but many died. We weren't sure if the e-mail was true. We've gotten a lot of rumors during this coverage. But, unfortunately, this was, sadly, true.

It appears that 36 children died here. Twenty of the bodies have already been recovered. Inside that hole right there are the bodies that were found a short time ago of two children. They can't get them out of the hole because there's no room. And, as we speak to you right now and as we cover the story right now, over here are men from the neighborhood -- no international aid, no other aid, just men from the neighborhood digging with their hands, digging with tools. They're taking a well-earned break right now because they've been working for hours looking for the bodies of the orphans who are down there.

It's terribly sad. And this is what we've encountered the whole time we've been in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Our viewers say to us, how come there's not more help here?

I mean, these are children we're talking about. Help get their bodies out.

What if there are survivors?

We don't think there are survivors, but what if they are?

And the fact is, there are so many scenes like this -- not all as heartbreaking, not all quite as sad, but so many rescue and recovery scenes, there's just not enough help around.

One thing I want to tell you, while we were covering this story, this is the part of the orphanage that did not fall. This is where the children -- the 74 children who are still alive were.

My photographer, who is holding the camera right now, Phil Littleton, was actually inside this orphanage a short time ago when we had a relatively strong aftershock. It was very concerning because, obviously, there was a major catastrophe here and that's something that scares us a great deal.

My producer, Justine Redman, and I were out here. It was scary enough being outside. We yelled, "Phil, come on out!"

And Phil ran out pretty quickly, the smart guy that he is.

But this gives you an idea. We've experienced a lot of aftershocks. It makes it much harder, much more challenging, and, frankly, much more scary to cover a story like this. But we're reassured that when we are here telling these stories of the lack of aid, that it's helping get aid in places like this.

This is Gary Tuchman, CNN, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

KING: And we'll be back, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Back to Port-au-Prince with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent, also a practicing neurosurgeon.

I saw your piece earlier, where you were out at the airport. You were looking at a bunch of supplies.

Why can't the supplies get from the airport to the interior?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that -- that's exactly what we were trying to answer. You know, we keep talking about this night after night, the fact that the supplies are here in Port-au-Prince stuck at the airport.

What's the problem here?

I wanted to go see for myself, actually, walk and, first of all, confirm that the supplies are there and then basically tell the guys, look, here's what's needed. They gave me a bunch of supplies and I walked out and delivered them to the hospital, mainly to prove that -- that this could be done.

The problem really seems to be -- it seems to be easy to get stuff into the airport. They seem to be doing a pretty good job of that. But there is no central distribution within the airport after that.

Now, organizations, whether they be from specific countries or relief organizations, are supposed to come to the airport. They're supposed to come with a specific lot number and identification and then claim their supplies and walk out with it. Somewhere in that process, things are breaking down. They're not able to get into the airport. They don't have the right lot number. There is confusion at that point of things. And -- and that really seems to be the problem more than anything else.

But again, I -- you know, antibiotics, pain medications, various other things -- I was able to walk out and -- and give it to a hospital that said, here's what we need. We could deliver that today.

KING: So there's no one in charge of going out and distributing?

I don't -- I don't understand that.

GUPTA: Well, you know, all -- they have several different organizations here -- a lot of relief organizations, for example. Then you have countries like China, Switzerland, Israel. They all have their own organizations. They all are -- are asking for things to be flown into the airport. And those things are getting to the airport, as far as we can tell. There was huge boxes of all sorts of different supplies. But at that point, there's no single person who sort of says, OK, China's stuff is over here; Israel's stuff is over here; let's give this to these folks; let's give this to these folks. That -- that part of the process seems to be breaking down.

Some of it is just because it's still a bit chaotic eight -- eight, nine days now after the earthquake.

KING: That's Dr. Sanjay Gupta in Port-au-Prince.

Now we swing to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Soledad O'Brien is back home, the CNN anchor and special correspondent reporter.

She has followed the journey of orphans from Haiti to Miami.

There she is.

What's the situation there -- Soledad?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Wow, I've got to tell you, you have never seen happier parents who, just moments ago, saw their adopted children come off that airplane. It's been quite a voyage. And what an amazing reunion. I -- I think the parents were pretty tense, because it was really unclear if they were going to be able to -- to get out. But the paperwork was in order. These are infants from -- it's young children from Cresh Lampon de Jesus (ph). And the day started with them being choppered out of their orphanage. And when they were choppered out of their orphanage, they were then able to get on an aircraft, which was over there. And they were able to then make the flight from Haiti.

So it's been quite a process for these kids, who now are in the United States. They were processed through Immigration and Customs. The whole thing has taken many, many hours come -- start to finish, Larry. But they are with their parents today and tremendous, tremendous joy.

It was not the same story for some of the young infants and toddlers and young children at Maison D'Enfants de Jour (ph), which we've been following the story. You'll remember, of those babies that were in that truck -- and, of course, we had traveled with them on a bus as they got ready to leave their orphanage. And -- and they could not get to the embassy. They were told by someone who was there not to come with the kids without all their paperwork finished. So they turned back.

On that bus, though, it was sweltering hot -- 90 degrees. Kids were throwing up. It was really quite scary, because some of the infants are very small and -- and pretty fragile.

So a -- a wonderful story for these parents. Twenty-two children were on this flight. And -- and not such great news for the 135 kids who are trying to leave Maison D'Enfants. But they say they will continue to try to -- to get their kids to their adoptive parents -- parents who had paperwork in the process -- adoption process.

So mixed news, I guess, for families both here and there -- Larry.

KING: Thanks, Soledad.

Great job.

What a great sight.

You're very lucky girl.

Hey, by the way, you like these suspenders?

They're yours if you're the highest bidder.

Go to CNN.com/larryking and ante up. Proceeds will help the people of Haiti.

More after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Our correspondents in Haiti have been telling us about the potential for violence as the situation there grows more desperate.

Tonight, Karl Penhaul witnessed a desperate act that had deadly consequences.

We warn you, some of the images in this report are disturbing -- Karl.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, indeed, Larry. We were driving just beyond the airport this -- this -- this day. And as we drove by, we saw -- or we heard a single shot ring out. That got our attention.

We looked across. And at that point, we saw two Haitian police officers holding two detained young men. And at that point, as we spotted them, more shots rang out. And we saw those police officers shoot their young detainees at point blank range.

In the process of stopping the car, we run out to see what is happening. And on the ground, one of these men was gasping his last breaths. There was another man who was badly wounded. And -- and the police evidently thought that they had been stealing bags of rice. The wounded man denied it. And the witnesses nearby said no such thing had occurred -- Larry.

KING: God. Unbelievable.

Thanks, Karl.

Karl Penhaul.

Incredible stories every day.

Dan Woolley was buried in the rubble of the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince for 65 hours. As you can see, he survived the ordeal. His wife, Christy, joins us, too.

They're in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

How did you do it, Dan?

DAN WOOLLEY, SURVIVED 65 HOURS IN RUBBLE: You know what, I had a lot of people praying for me, praying for safety for this trip. And God was -- God was there. He was listening to their prayers and he helped -- he helped me survive.

KING: What were you doing in Haiti?

D. WOOLLEY: I work with Compassion International. And I was there with a filmmaker, David Hames. And we were shooting a documentary to shine a light on the poverty -- the extreme poverty of children there.

KING: Now I understand you wrote notes while buried under the rubble to your wife and your two sons.

What are -- how did you do that? D. WOOLLEY: Well, I realized that -- I -- I was always hoping for a rescue, but I realized that I may not have that opportunity -- that might not be God's plan for me at that time.

So I had -- I had a camera with me and I was able to use the light from that and the focus on the camera to shine on a page. And then I'd write a couple lines and move my finger down and then write a couple more lines.

I just wanted to say to my wife and kids the things I would want them to carry with them if I wasn't able to get out.

KING: Christy, have you seen those notes?

CHRISTY WOOLLEY, HUSBAND BURIED ALIVE, RESCUED: I've seen some of them, yes.

KING: What were you going through when this...

D. WOOLLEY: I'm not ready to...

KING: You're not -- what did you say, Dan?

D. WOOLLEY: Oh, I'm not ready to share them all yet. We're still working through some -- some of that.

KING: All right, Christy, what was it like for you?

Did you -- did you give up hope?

C. WOOLLEY: I did in the end. I did give up hope because oh, gosh, I just -- I just kept crying out to God. I didn't know if Dan was in heaven or in Haiti. And I went from times of despair to times of hope. But it was hard to go back and forth.

And then we have two young sons. And it's hard to stay strong for them and say, daddy's coming home, daddy's coming home and then not know for sure.

KING: How did you learn he was OK?

C. WOOLLEY: The State Department called me at 6:00 in the morning, Friday morning. And I started packing. And they said that they found him, he was alive, but they couldn't get to him. So I packed my boots and my gloves and my hat and my sunglasses. And I was on my way to Haiti to dig.

And I got a call in the Dallas airport that they had been able to extract him.

KING: Wow!

I understand there was another man buried and you were talking to him, too, Dan?

Is that true? D. WOOLLEY: That's right. I was able to communicate with about seven other people. But right next to me -- in the elevator shaft next to me was a Haitian gentleman. And we actually -- we could hear each other well and we talked a lot. And we prayed together and we sang songs together and just really encouraged each other.

And you know what, holding onto hope in a situation like that was -- was just really vital. And I wanted to do everything I could to get back to my wife and my boys.

KING: Christy, when that phone rang at 6:00 a.m., that could have been anything on that call, right?

That could have been bad news.

C. WOOLLEY: Yes.

KING: Did you -- do you remember what you felt before you picked up the phone?

C. WOOLLEY: Well, my sister answered it. And then she brought the phone to me. And she said, Christy, it's the State Department. They're calling.

And I had to fall on the floor. I couldn't even stand up, my legs were shaking so badly. And I just said, have you heard anything from my husband?

And they said, well, a man named Dan Woolley has been identified.

And I said, is he alive?

And they said, yes, he's alive.

And I said, could he identify himself?

Can you tell me of his injuries?

And they said, we don't know anything; also, and we can't get to him. So...

KING: Wow!

C. WOOLLEY: But, you know...

KING: Dan, are you OK?

C. WOOLLEY: Yes.

D. WOOLLEY: You know what, I'm doing great. I -- I've got, you know, a big cut on my leg that's -- that's healing. I'm going to have a great scar there. And other than that...

C. WOOLLEY: He had a broken leg, got a broken foot.

D. WOOLLEY: Yes. But I'm alive and I'm with my family and -- and just grateful to God and all the people around the world who are praying for me.

KING: Congratulations to both of you.

Dan and Christy Woolley.

What a story.

C. WOOLLEY: Thank you.

Thank you.

KING: Tonight, rather than honoring one...

D. WOOLLEY: (INAUDIBLE).

KING: Thank you, guys.

Rather than honoring one everyday person that does something extraordinary to help others as our CNN Hero of the week, we're taking a slight turn to recognize everyday people helping each other. We simply could not ignore the courage and resilience of the Haitians.

CNN Heroes salutes the survivors of the Haiti earthquake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (voice-over): One of the worst ever natural disasters in the Western Hemisphere couldn't have chosen a more fragile target. Through it all, the Haitian people rallied their strength and persevered. People dig through rubble with their bare hands, searching for trapped relatives and rescuing neighbors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we're here (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is she alive?

Is she OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes. She's OK. She's all right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Survivors share food and water and in random moments high above the ruins, a new sound -- hope.

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid because God is with me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the midst of grave tragedy, the Haitian people remain hopeful, embracing life and each other.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: The more than six million survivors of the Haiti earthquake are still in dire need of food, water and medical supplies.

For more information on how you can help, go to CNN.com/heroes.

John Edwards' confession, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Joining us now from Columbia, South Carolina, John Moylan, who served as South Carolina state chairman and senior adviser for Senator John Edwards' 2004 and 2008 presidential campaigns.

Here's the statement John Edwards issued today: "I am Quinn's father. I will do everything in my power to provide her with the love and support she deserves. I've been able to spend time with her during the past year and trust that future efforts to show her the love and affection she deserves can be done privately and in peace.

It was wrong for me ever to deny she was my daughter and, hopefully, one day when she understands, she'll forgive me. I have been providing financial support for Quinn and have reached an agreement with her mother to continue providing support in for the -- in the future. For all those that are disappointed and hurt, these words will never be enough, but I am truly sorry."

John, are -- are the words enough for you?

JOHN MOYLAN, SENIOR ADVISER, EDWARDS' PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: You know, Larry, I think there are a lot of us who feel tremendous disappointment over what's happened. And there's certainly those -- Elizabeth the family and others -- who have been hurt. You know, I think John Edwards is very, very serious in expressing his remorse. And for some, that will never be enough.

For me, I'm grateful that he has done that. But there is still tremendous disappointment that -- that we will always have.

KING: How surprised were you when this whole thing broke, John?

MOYLAN: Yes, I guess it depends on -- on how far back you go, Larry, as to -- as to when the whole thing broke. I mean, as you know, it's sort of come out in -- in bits and pieces. You know, I was very surprised to first learn of the affair and have -- have, you know, hoped that we would get to this day, when John Edwards acknowledged and accepted responsibility for what he's done.

KING: This was quite a career, wasn't it, destroyed?

MOYLAN: I'm sorry, Larry?

KING: This career was quite a career that he destroyed?

MOYLAN: Yes. You know, it's -- absolutely. I mean he is a tremendously talented politician, a tremendously talented speaker. And, you know, for many of us, I mean we fought in the campaign, not just for the personality of John Edwards, but for the policies that he believed in, that were of vital importance to many of us and that are still of critical importance to people in America -- I mean, for poverty, for giving a voice to those who don't have a voice. I mean John Edwards gave life to some of those causes. And I hope that other -- other politicians and other elected officials will pick up that mantle and go forward with it, so that this was not all done for naught

KING: He initially denied he'd had an affair and he appeared on "Nightline" after the White House bid was over.

Here's what he said about the paternity of Miss. Hunter's baby at the time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "NIGHTLINE," COURTESY ABC)

JOHN EDWARDS (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would welcome participating in a test. I'd be happy to participate in one. I know that it's not possible that this child could be mine because of the timing of events. So I know it's not possible. I'm happy to take a paternity test and would love to see it happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: And, John, his wife was a guest on this show in mid-August of last year, discuss health care reform. But she did address a few personal issues.

Watch and I want to ask you about Elizabeth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING: I know you were so candid in the past about the impact of your husband's problems and your relationship.

How are things going?

ELIZABETH EDWARDS: Things are going fine. We're getting children ready for a new school year. Everything seems to be going pretty smoothly at my house.

KING: And the...

E. EDWARDS: But thanks for asking.

KING: And the continued questions about the paternity factor, is there any solution there -- a DNA test?

Do you know if anything is going to happen?

E. EDWARDS: I -- my expectation is at some point, something happens. And I hope, for the -- for the sake of -- of this child, that -- that it happens, you know, in a quiet way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: John, have you read the book, "Game Change?"

MOYLAN: I have certainly read the relevant portions, Larry. KING: Are you shocked by what you've learned?

Or -- well, you were so close to him.

What have you learned about both him and her?

MOYLAN: You know, I -- I have, you know, read the book with great interest. The concern I have -- and I don't think it's the intention of the authors. But I think you have to be very careful when you relegate someone's entire life to taking a snapshot of what happened during one of the most stressful periods, particularly for Elizabeth. You know, going through what she has been through in life, I wouldn't want to put myself in that position. And I certainly wouldn't want to guess how I would react.

She is a very strong person. And -- and they have been through very, very trying times. You know, what -- what Senator Edwards did was wrong. He has acknowledged that. He has accepted responsibility. You know, and I -- I hope and pray that he is going to move on and do good things in the future.

KING: Are you still friendly with both?

MOYLAN: I am, frankly. I consider both John and Elizabeth my friends. You know, I hate the -- what has happened to each of them. I regret it, you know, for them personally. I regret it for those of us who worked very hard for them, for his children, Kate and Jack and Emma Claire, and for Quinn. There are many, many people who have been hurt in this.

But I'm very glad he has now stepped up, acknowledged the wrongdoing, accepted responsibility. And as I said, I hope to see him doing good things in the future.

KING: Are they still together, John?

MOYLAN: Larry, I don't have independent knowledge of that. My understanding is that they are living separately at this time. At least temporarily.

KING: Thanks, John. John Moylan, standing up for a friend. John Edwards' story isn't just a personal one. We'll talk more about political ramifications and that Supreme Court decision today with an outstanding panel, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Lots of political news breaking today. An outstanding panel to discuss it. Mark Penn is in New York. He served as a pollster and campaign strategist for Hillary Clinton, was also a pollster and adviser to President Bill Clinton, and is CEO of the public relations firm Burson Marsteller. Ben Stein, our old friend, the economist and best selling author, columnist for "Fortune Magazine." He's in New York -- in Washington, rather. In New York, Stephanie Miller, host of her own radio show, her website, StephanieMiller.com. And in New York, S. E. Cupp. Ms. Cupp is a columnist for the "New York Daily News" and a senior writer for the Daily Caller website.

First, the big news of the day, the Supreme Court; five to four vote rules that corporations can contribute anything and take credit for the contributions in political campaigns, pretty much handing a major defeat to the McCain/Feingold law. What do you make of that ruling, Mark?

MARK PENN, FORMER POLLSTER, HILLARY CLINTON: This really takes us into uncharted territory. The whole goal of campaign finance was to reduce the influence of money in politics. And, in fact, the whole thing has boomeranged with this Supreme Court decision. The law has now resulted in a decision that's overturned precedent. And this is historically unprecedented that corporations now can take out political ads.

KING: Ben, what do you make of it?

BEN STEIN, ECONOMIST: Well, the story is really that a contribution is a form of free speech. That's how the Supreme Court now sees it, that giving money is a way to express yourself. Now everyone can express himself or herself.

The way it had been, certain groups were more favored in expressing themselves than others, and very wealthy people who were running for office were gigantically more favored than other people. This has, in fact, worked enormously to the advantage of the Democratic party, whose campaign contributions in the last several cycles dwarfed those of the Republicans. Now maybe the playing field will be leveled a little bit.

It does makes me uneasy, though. I'm with Mr. Penn on that. The idea that there are no limits whatsoever, it makes me a bit uneasy.

KING: Stephanie, what's your read?

STEPHANIE MILLER, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: You know, Larry, I think the next ruling has to be we have to make sure they look like -- Congress people look like Nascar drivers. There has to be strips over every piece of their clothing as to who actually bought them.

You know, I think this is a horrible decision obviously. And, you know, this is what happens with a George Bush Republican-packed court. I think it's ironic that we elected this man of the people who drives a truck in Massachusetts, who the big Wall Street bankers were very much behind. And, you know, this is who won in this decision. This is -- this is not about the people, Larry. This is about the fat cats again.

KING: Ms. Cupp, unions can now give more, too, can't they?

S. E. CUPP, "THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS": Exactly. This really kind of splits it down the middle. I mean, corporations generally give more to Republicans, but now the unions get to give, and they generally give more to Democrats. Frankly, this is not a -- I think, a big deal. I mean, corporations and unions are both going to have to take a risk in whether they decide to become political. They can -- they risk losing revenue if they become openly political. It's a risk either way.

Frankly, money has always influenced politics. This is not really anything new.

KING: All right. I'm going to take a break and come back and discuss John Edwards next with this panel. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: All right, Mark Penn, in the new book "Game Change," what do you make of the whole Edwards saga, which is reported there ad infinitem.

PENN: This is now a personal story, not a political one. I think the less time spent on this, probably, the better. I think there's no excuse that even so long after the campaign, when he knew it was his child, and a child was involved, that he waited until another book was going to come out, you know, by one of his aides about this very thing to disclose this.

A child was involved from the beginning. He knew it. There's really no excuse for this. But it's a personal story now, not a political one. It's a no political --

KING: Ben? What do you make of a career going down like this, Ben?

STEIN: Well, when Jesus came upon the woman taken in adultery, and the elder says, do we have to stone her? Jesus said, yes, I agree, the law says we have to stone her. Let him who is without sin among you cast the first stone. That's one.

And Dr. Dre said, just recently, "lord, this is the way you made us; you shouldn't blame us." This is how people are. It's very, very unfortunate. It's very unfortunate that we're sinful, hypocritical beings. But this is the way God made us. And it's unfortunate that he chose politics as his career.

KING: Stephanie?

MILLER: Oh boy. I don't know if this is a man/woman thing, Larry, but he's a little more forgiving than I would be. There's so many words for John Edwards, Larry, and so few that I can say on basic cable. You know, I think that a lot of us -- I've had Elizabeth Edwards on my show. I'm a big fan. But I think most of us -- again, I don't know if it's a female thing or a human thing. Imagine, like, losing a child, having cancer, having your husband not just be unfaithful, but father a child with someone else, when you're raising two young children, and then have you supporting a presidential campaign all the time?

I mean, it's just beyond unconscionable. He could have taken down the whole Democratic party with him.

KING: Yeah. Ms. Cupp, what's your read? CUPP: Certainly, it's an embarrassing day for the Edwards, absolutely. But it's also an embarrassing day for the mainstream media. If you remember back at the mere whiff of innuendo that John McCain had an extramarital affair with a lobbyist, which proved false, "The New York Times" put this on their front page, a completely unsourced story. Despite much photographic proof of John Edwards' affair, a lot of media sat on this. I hope this is not only teaching a lesson to would-be politicians out there, but most of the mainstream media as well.

KING: Ms. Cupp, what do you make of the Cindy McCain support of same-sex marriage, with the husband now openly disagreeing with the wife?

CUPP: Look, all you have to do is look at Mary Matalin and James Carville to know that a happy marriage does not always mean political agreement. I know Meghan McCain and I know she's a very -- you know, a great advocate for gay rights. I'm not surprised that she's convinced her mom to go public along with her. And, you know, that's Cindy McCain's decisions. She's a great advocate for really any cause that she wants to put her muscle behind.

KING: Is that an embarrassment to the senator, Mark?

PENN: Oh, look, I don't think so. I think people are really used to couples taking, as I think she said, all sorts of different positions now. I just think that goes with the territory these days.

KING: Ben?

STEIN: Well, what we have in California that's a real embarrassment is a full scale nut job whack case running a trial about whether or not Proposition 8 will be overturned. I agree there should be a trial about it. This guy is a full-scale lunatic --

KING: Who?

STEIN: The judge in this case. He's turning this case into a circus, a travesty of trial law. It's an embarrassment. I guess you would probably nothing could embarrass California, but its an embarrassment to California.

KING: Stephanie?

MILLER: Oh, I think it's an embarrassment to California that they voted to discriminate against gay people and not give them equal rights. So, you know, I'm glad Cindy McCain's doing this, Larry. But I wish she'd done it when it might have helped gay people, before this ridiculous Prop 8 ruling, and when it could have affected her husband and some real policy. So --

KING: All right. We're going to take a break. When we come back, we'll talk about the newest star on the political horizon, the junior senator-elect from Massachusetts, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KING: This Sunday night, you can see our telethon again and donate again. It's a great two hours. Check it out Sunday night.

OK, Ben Stein, can we see a Scott Brown/Sarah Palin ticket in 2012? Politics can change overnight. What do you make of Massachusetts?

STEIN: Scott Brown is a superstar. I've never seen a person burst upon the national scene so fast and powerfully as this man. He says all the right things. He's a great looking guy. He's got a lot of self-confidence, and a lot of modesty at the same time.

Sarah Palin is yesterday's news. A very nice woman and has the right heart on a lot of issues. This guy is a meteor. This guy is so bright, it's unbelievable. Massachusetts may be a cradle of presidents again.

KING: Mark, he's going to be up for re-election for the senate in 2012. Does he go national?

PENN: Well, look, I think it's too early. I don't think this election was as much about him as it was about the voters, you know, wanting to express that they have, you know, tough times, high unemployment, high deficits, and sending a message to Washington. I don't know whether it's going to be about him or about the message that was sent out of that election. I think it was mostly the message.

KING: Ms. Cupp, doesn't it appear he's on his way, though, politically? I mean, he's so fast he's on the scene?

CUPP: Absolutely. He's a superstar. What happened in Massachusetts this week was the political equivalent of the Boston Massacre. And anyone who tries to spin it differently is just wrong. Conservatives need to be careful. He has yet to serve a single day in the United States Senate. Let's wait and see if he can prove us right before we anoint him as the next great right hope.

KING: Stephanie, what's the effect of that election on legislation like health care?

MILLER: I don't know, Larry. I know things have changed when the Republicans elected a former nude model who tried to auction his daughters off at his victory speech. That's a little bit of a change for the family values party, you're right. I think he has run as an obstructionist, like the rest of his party. He has run as I'm the 41st vote against everything.

So, you know, I'm not sure how this is different. I agree he's good looking and charismatic. And I think Martha Coakley, unfortunately, was not a good candidate. I don't know how -- you know, if this is the end of civilization as we know it, as a lot of the Republicans like to cast this.

KING: Mark, do you think there will be a health bill coming forth? PENN: Well, I think there will be a health bill, but I think that it's really going to be changed over time here. I think this election says that there's a lot of opposition to this bill, a lot of concern about it. You know, I think that, you know, you may take a step-by-step approach. It might be a wiser approach than these things. I think people are looking for some progress first on the economy before health care. And so I think this is going to be a process that now gets considerably slowed down.

KING: Ben, what's the effect on the president, who apparently retains his personal popularity?

STEIN: I think the effect on the president is to say, go back to square one and say, look, the country has got a really bad recession. It's not getting better as fast as we thought it would. Foreclosure crisis is still a crisis. Let's concentrate on that. Let's put everything else on the back burner. Put America back to work. Do all you can to do that. Worry about these other ideological issues later. Get Americans back to work.

KING: Ms. Cupp, what do you make of the president and his standing right now?

CUPP: It's not good, Larry. I think you can tell by his spinsters. They're trying to market him now as a populist, which is hilarious. The guy who made fun of Scott Brown for driving a pickup truck is now suddenly the man of the people. I think they're desperate. I think what they should do is have the president start over, as Ben said, come back to the middle, be the centrist he was elected to be, and start listening to the voices of the American people, incorporate a lot more bipartisanship, whether on health care or jobs or the economy. Open his ears.

KING: OK. Lots more. We'll be doing a lot of this all next week. Thank you. We will, Stephanie. We'll have you back. Thank you, all.

The Michael Jackson opus is up for bid on our website. You go to CNN.com/LarryKing if you'd like to own it. Somebody's willing to pay 19,000 for it right now. So you have to do better than this if you want to take it home.

Usher is here right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Joining us now in Atlanta is Usher, the Grammy winning recording artist. His New Look foundation is partnering with the UN Foundation, which is founded by Ted Turner, to help raise funds for Haitian relief efforts. New Look has launched what is called a powered by service initiative. What is that, Usher?

USHER, GRAMMY WINNING RECORDING ARTIST: Well, Power by Service is our youth ability to utilize service, to hopefully bring about relief, specifically in regards to Haiti, and the relief that they're dealing with there. For instance, I have one of my kids that I'm going to introduce to you later, Ivan Jackson, who through simply raising his voice and speaking to his family and also speaking on his Twitter raised money for relief there in Haiti. This is the idea that, you know, the 50 percent of our population which is youth are able to utilize their voices to make a difference.

You know, I know a lot of people are at home watching and asking what they can do, a lot of youth, specifically. Well, this is what they can do. Through Power by Service, you can use your voice to raise money and also awareness for relief there in Haiti.

KING: So you're saying young people can be key players in the Haiti disaster? You obviously have a lot of faith in young people. How do they get aboard? How do they get involved?

USHER: Well, just to give you an example, like if I share statistics with you -- out of the 50 percent of the population that is youth, if one percent of the youth raise just five dollars, 150 million dollars would be raised simply out of that. For Ivan and other youth that are all over the world asking what they can do, they can simply raise money. They can -- we can begin to make a difference.

There's a lot of issues that are there that, you know, daily we're finding out about. Like, for instance, medication being on the ground and not being able to necessarily get it to the people who need it. But, you know, we are doing everything that we can. This is just something -- or an indication of where it has worked. I really wanted to let him talk to you about it as well.

KING: Ivan Jackson is in New York. He's a student at the Eagle Academy for Young Men. It's in the Bronx. He raised 1,000 dollars for Haitian relief after hearing about Usher's call to action. How did you do that, Ivan?

IVAN JACKSON, ACTED ON USHER'S CALL TO ACTION: Last Sunday, actually, me and my family had a get together, kind of a reunion. And we decided in the eve of the crisis that we would help. And we sent around a basket and at the end of the night we came up with 1,000 dollars.

KING: How did you hear about what Usher was doing?

JACKSON: It was posted all over Facebook and Twitter. I've been involved with New Look through leadership tactics and their workshops. And they taught me how to be power by service.

KING: Your New Look has partnered with the UN Foundation before, hasn't it, Usher?

USHER: Yeah, with malaria prevention in Africa. That's one thing we partnered on. And now, you know, doing everything that we can, the money that is raised can actually be sent to the UN Foundation, Cerf, C-E-R-F, and the money will be properly placed.

KING: How do they --

USHER: This is a --

KING: Go ahead.

USHER: No, this is a time when you see Malaysia, when you see Germany, when you see, you know, so many youth all over the world making a difference. And, you know, this call to service is something that, you know, I -- you know, I've been speaking about for the last ten years. Now here's a reality. Here's an opportunity for youth to truly show how they can be influential in making a difference.

KING: How do people check in to the new -- how do people check in to the New Look Foundation? How do you get information?

USHER: Well, you check in to the New Look Foundation by going to UshersNewLook.org. But if you want to make a donation specifically towards Haiti relief, you actually can go to the UNFoundation/Cerf.

KING: UNFoundation/Cerf. You can make a donation or go to Usher's New Look foundation. Ivan, are you going to continue to do efforts like this?

JACKSON: Definitely, I will continue to work with Usher's New Look and the UN Foundation and power by service. This is a milestone. And I want to surpass it. I want to keep helping. Those are my brothers and sisters and aunts down there.

USHER: Ivan is an example of what all youth can do.

KING: Go ahead, Usher.

USHER: Ivan is an example of what all youth can do in America. Simply by raising awareness amongst your family, you know, through your Twitter sites, through your Facebooks. You could raise funds and also awareness.

KING: I salute you both. By the way, the president of Usher's New Look Foundation has written an exclusive blog for us. You can check it out on our web page, CNN.com/LarryKing. Great salute to usher, to young Mr. Jackson. Congratulations to both of you. Please help.

By the way, we won't be with you at our regular time tomorrow. Good reason. "Hope For Haiti Now" with George Clooney, Wyclef Jean and Anderson Cooper will air in this time period. Please by generous as you were with us earlier this week.