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Tiger Woods Speaks Out; President Obama Visits Las Vegas; Interview With Ted Haggard; Interview with Danica Patrick

Aired February 19, 2010 - 16:00   ET

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

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Did you finally see Tiger Woods coming clean today? He talked about multiple affairs. He actually looked at the camera and said, "I cheated." He looked at the camera and said, "I am embarrassed." He said, "I was wrong." He said, "I was foolish." He said, "I was selfish."

For a guy like Tiger Woods, those are tough words to say, look, no doubt about it, right? And a lot of people are saying, hey, good for him. He came out and he faced the cameras, faced the judge, so to speak.

But, before I play this entire speech for you, which we're going to let you hear -- I know a lot of you missed it, because it's now 4:00 and a lot of you guys are getting home from work -- I want you to hear what Tiger says.

This was, you have to understand, though -- and this is important as well -- this was a scripted production. It was orchestrated right down to the second and the word. They kept the media far away, except for a single pool camera. No questions were allowed. So, the few reporters who actually got invited launched a boycott.

Now, once upon a time, the press was accused of enabling Tiger Woods. But I want you to know something. This is a tweet now from writer Alan Shipnuck of "Sports Illustrated." We have been monitoring these tweets all day long: "It sends a very clear message: Tiger and his ham-handed people do not own this story. We do not need their permission to report on it."

That's the mood, folks, that's coming out of the media now: Get ready, Tiger Woods, where you're in an environment where you don't control the setting, like when you're playing golf.

All right, the world around Tiger Woods is changing. And we're going to have to see where it goes.

Here he is, Tiger Woods, from PGA headquarters. This is in Ponte Vedra, Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIGER WOODS, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: Good morning. And thank you for joining me.

Many of you in this room are my friends. Many in this room know me. Many of you have cheered for me or you worked with me or you supported me. Now every one of you has good reason to be critical of me.

I want to say to each of you simply and directly, I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior I engaged in.

I know people want to find out how I could be so selfish and so foolish. People want to know how I could have done these things to my wife, Elin, and to my children. And while I have always tried to be a private person, there are some things I want to say.

Elin and I have started the process of discussing the damage caused by my behavior. As Elin pointed out to me, my real apology to her will not come in the form of words. It will come from my behavior over time.

We have a lot to discuss. However, what we say to each other will remain between the two of us.

I am also aware of the pain my behavior has caused to those of you in this room. I have let you down. And I have let down my fans.

For many of you, especially my friends, my behavior has been a personal disappointment. To those of you who work for me, I have let you down personally and professionally.

My behavior has caused considerable worry to my business partners, to everyone involved in my foundation, including my staff, board of directors, sponsors and, most importantly, the young students we reach. Our work is more important than ever.

Thirteen years ago, my dad and I envisioned helping young people achieve their dreams through education. This work remains unchanged and will continue to grow.

From the Learning Center students in southern California to the Earl Woods scholars in Washington, D.C., millions of kids have changed their lives, and I am dedicated to making sure that continues. But still, I know I have bitterly disappointed all of you.

I have made you question who I am and how I could have done the things I did. I am embarrassed that I have put you in this position. For all that I have done, I am so sorry.

I have a lot to atone for. But there's one issue I really want to discuss.

Some people have speculated that Elin somehow hurt or attacked me on Thanksgiving night. It angers me that people would fabricate a story like that.

Elin never hit me that night or any other night. There has never been an episode of domestic violence in our marriage, ever.

Elin has shown enormous grace and poise throughout this ordeal. Elin deserves praise, not blame.

The issue involved here was my repeated irresponsible behavior. I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. What I did is not acceptable, and I am the only person to blame.

I stopped living by the core values that I was taught to believe in. I knew my actions were wrong, but I convinced myself that normal rules didn't apply.

I never thought about who I was hurting. Instead, I thought only about myself. I ran straight through the boundaries that a married couple should live by. I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to.

I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled.

Thanks to money and fame, I didn't have far -- I didn't have to go far to find them.

I was wrong. I was foolish. I don't get to play by different rules. The same boundaries that apply to everyone apply to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: What do you think of that so far? We're going to let you hear the entire thing.

"My repeated affairs," he said. "I thought the rules didn't apply to me," he said -- stunning admissions from Tiger Woods, no doubt. And he was really just getting started.

We're going to play the rest of his statement for you in just a couple minutes.

I want you to know something else. I know you to know what it's like when a scandal turns your world upside-down, a sex scandal, an embarrassing, humiliating sex scandal. Ted Haggard, think Ted Haggard when you think of humiliating, embarrassing sex scandals.

He went from being an evangelist with millions of followers, access to the Bush White House, to suddenly a man preaching from a barn, after getting caught with a male prostitute. And the whole world knew about it. We're going to talk with him in just a little bit.

We're also going to talk with his wife and ask why she chose to stay with him, after she found out what he had done, after all this embarrassment. It's a story you're asking us to ask, so we will.

This is THE LIST. I'm Rick Sanchez.

We're scrolling on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

President Obama did his best to make amends in Las Vegas last hour. In a city that's clobbered by the slow economy, some thought that his recent comments had kept even more tourists away. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I did receive a little bit of heat, I know, from maybe some in this room, when I said that folks shouldn't blow their college savings in Vegas.

That doesn't mean I don't love Vegas. It wasn't meant to be a shot. I think everybody here would agree that the only place where people should spend their college savings is in college.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: There's no contradiction there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: By the way, the president did also give a shout-out, where he said, "I love Vegas." And he got a rousing applause.

Vegas' mayor, though, he skipped the chance to meet with the president, still miffed over his comments. But before the Chamber of Commerce and Convention Bureau, President Obama did get a big applause when he mentioned that he was happy to be in Vegas. The president also was in campaign mode, pumping up the struggling reelection bid for Senator Harry Reid. And he criticized the political atmosphere in Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Imagine if you had to run a business like this, where the people who are in your office are constantly yelling at you, running ads against you, more interested in you failing than the company succeeding.

That's what we've been seeing in Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LARRY KING LIVE")

TED HAGGARD, FORMER NEW LIFE CHURCH PASTOR: I embarrassed my wife, and violated her, and my children, and everybody that trusted me, and myself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: You know, there's no question this is one of the most bizarre sex scandals with a male prostitute. It ruined Ted Haggard's life as a popular televangelist, as a man inside the politics of this country. What his life and his marriage are like now, I'm going to ask him that.

And I'm going to also ask him about his belief that he's been somehow cured of homosexuality. Can you be cured of homosexuality? Think about that for a moment. And, as promised, more of Tiger Woods' emotional apology. We want you to hear the entire thing without anybody telling you what it meant or what's going on. Just, those are the man's words. You hear it. You make your own decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOODS: Good morning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: That's what you will hear.

Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CALLER: Yes, Rick, this is Ed Stelter (ph) in Virginia.

And I think people should leave Tiger alone, because the old saying is, those who are without sin should throw the first stone. And I guarantee you, everybody out there has something in their background that they don't want nobody to know about. Leave the man alone. It's something that's private, completely private.

Thank you.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to the world headquarters of CNN. I'm Rick Sanchez.

It seems everybody today is having something to say about Tiger Woods. And everyone seems to have something to say on this day.

As a matter of fact, did you hear a little while ago right here on this show when Ann Coulter compared the Iraq war to World War II? It's getting a lot of attention, certainly on the blogs and on the Twitter board as well.

I'm hearing what a lot of you have to say about that. It's an interesting contention. I'm glad we had a chance to talk to Ann. She said she will be back. And maybe we will have a chance to continue the discussion.

Then there's Danica Patrick. Danica Patrick is easily becoming one of the most famous athletes in the world. And I had a chance to talk to her. And, when I asked her about that, she challenged me, threw it back in my face, asked me to explain to her what it was that was making her popular.

It's an interesting moment, almost a little uncomfortable, caught by surprise. And I'm going to bring you that in just a little bit as well. But, before we do that, let's bring you back now to the story that everybody else seems to be talking about. It's Tiger Woods. He decided that he was going to come out and say exactly what he finally needed to say, or what all the PR experts say he needed to say.

Was it enough? Was the venue right? Did he handle it properly? This is where you get to decide and then let me know on my blog or on Twitter.

Let's Listen to Tiger Woods, part two.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOODS: I brought this shame on myself. I hurt my wife, my kids, my mother, my wife's family, my friends, my foundation, and kids all around the world who admired me.

I have had a lot of time to think about what I have done. My failures have made me look at myself in a way I never wanted to before.

It's now up to me to make amends. And that starts by never repeating the mistakes I have made. It's up to me to start living a life of integrity.

I once heard, and I believe it's true, it's not what you achieve in life that matters, it's what you overcome. Achievements on the golf course are only part of setting an example. Character and decency are what really count.

Parents used to point to me as a role model for their kids. I owe all those families a special apology. I want to say to them that I am truly sorry.

It's hard to admit that I need help, but I do. For 45 days, from the end of December to early February, I was in in-patient therapy receiving guidance for the issues I'm facing. I have a long way to go, but I have taken my first steps in the right direction.

As I proceed, I understand people have questions. I understand the press wants me -- wants to ask me for the details and the times I was unfaithful. I understand people want to know whether Elin and I will remain together.

Please know that as far as I'm concerned, every one of these questions and answers is a matter between Elin and me. These are issues between a husband and a wife.

Some people have made up things that never happened. They said I used performance-enhancing drugs. This is completely and utterly false.

Some have written things about my family. Despite the damage I have done, I still believe it is right to shield my family from the public spotlight. They did not do these things, I did.

I have always tried to maintain a private space for my wife and children. They have been kept separate from my sponsors, my commercial endorsements. When my children were born, we only released photographs so that the paparazzi could not chase them.

However, my behavior doesn't make it right for the media to follow my two-and-a-half-year-old daughter to school and report the school's location. They staked out my wife and they pursued my mom.

Whatever my wrongdoings, for the sake of my family, please leave my wife and kids alone.

I recognize I have brought this on myself, and I know, above all, I am the one who needs to change. I owe it to my family to become a better person. I owe it to those closest to me to become a better man.

That's where my focus will be. I have a lot of work to do, and I intend to dedicate myself to doing it.

Part of following this path for me is Buddhism, which my mother taught me at a young age. People probably don't realize it, but I was raised a Buddhist and I actively practiced my faith from childhood until I drifted away from it in recent years.

Buddhism teaches that a craving for things outside ourselves causes an unhappy and pointless search for security. It teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint. Obviously, I lost track of what I was taught.

As I move forward, I will continue to receive help because I have learned that's how people really do change. Starting tomorrow, I will leave for more treatment and more therapy.

I would like to thank my friends at Accenture and the players in the field this week for understanding why I'm making these remarks today.

In therapy, I have learned the importance of looking at my spiritual life and keeping in balance with my professional life. I need to regain my balance and be centered so I can save the things that are most important to me, my marriage and my children.

That also means relying on others for help. I have learned to seek support from my peers in therapy, and I hope someday to return that support to others who are seeking help.

I do plan to return to golf one day. I just don't know when that day will be. I don't rule out that it will be this year. When I do return, I need to make my behavior more respectful of the game.

In recent weeks, I have received many thousands of e-mails, letters and phone calls from people expressing good wishes. To everyone who has reached out to me and my family, thank you. Your encouragement means the world to Elin and me.

I want to thank the PGA Tour, commissioner Finchem, and the players for their patience and understanding while I work on my private life. I look forward to seeing my fellow players on the course.

Finally, there are many people in this room and there are many people at home who believed in me. Today I want to ask for your help. I ask you to find room in your heart to one day believe in me again.

Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Was he authentic? Did he read that script too much? Did he read it well? These are all the things that many of you are commenting on right now.

Tiger Woods, as he hugs his mother, then goes down the line, and shakes hands and hugs some of the other friends, as he referred to them, in attendance, and then he goes out the door -- Tiger Woods, by the way, saying that he is going back to sex rehab as soon as he's done with this statement -- Tiger Woods's words.

Now, this whole idea of sex scandals and whether they should be covered, the whole idea of sex addiction, even, is something that we want to talk about as well. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LARRY KING LIVE")

T. HAGGARD: I made the worst mistake of my life. I embarrassed my wife, and violated her, and my children, and everybody that trusted me, and myself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: When we were thinking of someone who's been in a situation similar to Tiger's, we started thinking of all the people we could invite, and we thought of televangelist Ted Haggard. And we reached out to him.

I mean, there he was talking about the scandal that crippled his ministry and damaged his marriage. He might know what Tiger Woods is probably going through, right?

So, we're going to ask him about temptation, about redemption, about second chances. We're going to ask him and his wife the big question that you have been telling us you want asked: Why did she stay with him?

Also, wacko, paranoid, schizophrenic, a tough case to take on, a burden -- and these are comments from the attorney for the professor who shot three colleagues in Huntsville, Alabama. Surprised? The latest on that case is coming up as well.

Stay right there. I'm Rick Sanchez.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back.

The professor charged with shooting her colleagues, her lawyer says that she doesn't remember killing anyone. Three people are dead. Three people are hurt. And it's been more than a week, and she still doesn't remember any of it. Insanity defense, anyone?

And, today, we're finally seeing her husband.

Brooke Baldwin, you have been following this story. You have found a bunch of parts of this story that are interesting, including the fact that there's a possibility that she may have purposely shot and killed her own brother a long time ago, although, you know, that's not what she was charged with at the time.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right.

SANCHEZ: What do you have today?

BALDWIN: Well, First of all, because you -- you just read her lawyer saying that she doesn't remember any of this, so that's -- that's kind of a headline that grabbed my attention today. We will get to that in just a moment.

But, yes, I talked to her husband, Jim Anderson, earlier on in the week. And, you know, he's basically saying the same thing that he did to ABC News, saying he has no idea why.

But he did tell ABC News he just gets a couple of minutes with his wife, who you know is in the jail cell down in Huntsville, Alabama, gets a couple minutes on the phone, is not allowed to visit her.

But the biggest concern in their phone conversations that's related to him is she's very concerned about their children. They have four kids -- three teenage girls, an 8-year-old boy. By the way, we found out today, according to reports, the eldest was a student at that same university, the University of Alabama Huntsville.

According to Jim Anderson, they're barely holding up, but they're strong, referring to the kids. He says Bishop was a good teacher, a capable researchers, but she wanted tenure, and that, he says, might have been the tipping point.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES ANDERSON, AMY BISHOP ANDERSON'S HUSBAND: It's the battle for tenure. Only someone who's been intimately involved with that fight understands what a tough, long, hard battle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think the stress of that tenure fight is involved here?

ANDERSON: That, I would say, is a factor. The whole why did this happen, how did it happen, and then how do I get up the next day and take care of the kids, I have to make sure that they're shielded, isolated and insulated from this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Yes, but here's what -- can I ask you a question?

BALDWIN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Tiger Woods is having relationships with many, many, many different women, so he's a sex addict all of a sudden, which allows Tiger Woods to then say, I'm a victim. This woman wanted tenure, and she doesn't get tenure, she allegedly shoots and kills three people. Suddenly, she's a victim because she was so desperate to get tenure.

You know, I probably --

BALDWIN: Well, she's a victim in one sense. We can't label her yet. And I think that's part of the issue that the lawyer brought up today.

There was this lawyer that was assigned to her on Tuesday. And she is apparently telling him, I do not remember anything that happened last Friday in that biology meeting. He has several labels for her.

In fact, let's just roll the tape. Listen.

SANCHEZ: All right. Go ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROY MILLER, BISHOP'S ATTORNEY: I did definitely says that she does not remember this at all. I think she's a classic paranoid- schizophrenic, from when I'm talking to her and listening to her on things that are developing in the cell down there. I just think the case speaks for itself. I think she's whacko.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: That's her own lawyer?

BALDWIN: That's her lawyer. Now, we want to say he's off of the stance a little bit later after realizing that kind of went out to the whole nation.

SANCHEZ: Yes. But remember, he's making a case.

BALDWIN: He's making a case, correct. But he did later say, look, yes, she is mentally incompetent, let's get some psychiatrists on the scene to evaluate.

But again, you know, she's charged with three counts of attempted murder, capital murder in Alabama. That means she's eligible for the death penalty.

SANCHEZ: It just comes down to the question I think a lot of people are thinking about, both in her case, both in Tiger's case. You know, when does someone own up to responsibility as a result of blaming what they do or did on some condition --

BALDWIN: Scapegoating, right.

SANCHEZ: Just a question. BALDWIN: Sure. It's a good one. It's a valid one.

SANCHEZ: And maybe I ask it -- I'm not saying I'm an expert on it, I just ask it.

And I thank you for bringing that thought to my head.

BALDWIN: Sure. Thanks.

SANCHEZ: Maybe it wasn't a good thought, but it's a thought nonetheless.

Brooke, appreciate it.

BALDWIN: Thanks.

SANCHEZ: Watch this, folks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANICA PATRICK, NASCAR DRIVER: I think I want to flip it and ask you why -- like, why would you watch? What would make you interested?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Oh, she thinks she wants to flip it. What did she mean by that?

You're doing an interview with Danica Patrick, and suddenly she turns on you. What was that all about? You're going to see it in just a minute.

Professional auto racer Danica Patrick, not only does she talk about her big NASCAR race, but she challenges me, by golly, during my own interview.

BALDWIN: You didn't like that.

SANCHEZ: You don't do that to me.

BALDWIN: Not yet.

SANCHEZ: Except every other day.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: Stay right there. Danica Patrick coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We are getting so many comments from you on Twitter, that it seems like the thing's going to burst today. We're going to check on some of those in just a little bit.

But first, let me tell you what is one of the topics that you're talking about -- Tiger Woods. He apologized to his wife. He confessed about his affairs. And he talked about his "sex addiction."

Now, Ted Haggard confessed his sins, and he and his wife Gayle are still together. Are you surprised by that?

Well, I'm going to ask them because they're both going to join me here in just a little bit. I understand they're just now getting out of their car and making their way up to the studio, so stand by, because I think he's a perfect person to ask about the Tiger Woods situation.

He's not a psychologist talking about psycho babble or a sports guy talking about what he thinks of Tiger or doesn't. Now, he's a guy who actually went through this very experience -- a sex scandal, public, ugly sex scandal that Tiger Woods is going through.

So I'm going to ask him and I'm going to ask her what it was like to go through this, and why she stayed with her husband despite all of that. How they survived the scandal and what they think about Tiger's problems.

And then later, a story that I know you guys have been wanting to see, my interview with the gal who goes from NASCAR to RICK'S LIST. Well, wait until you see how Danica Patrick kind of tries to turn the tables on me. And we were taken aback, but we thought it made for good television and we think you'll enjoy it as well.

And yes, we will run it in just a little bit.

Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Kind of like Tiger Woods, who every time he shows up at a sporting event, the ratings go up. When Danica Patrick shows up at her sporting events, the ratings go up.

Everyone seems to be recognizing that she is a legitimate superstar. Everyone, perhaps, except Danica Patrick.

Watch this interview I do with her.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: The bottom line is, when you're on, people watch. Ratings pop.

What's your reaction to that?

PATRICK: Well, you know, I -- you know, that's been brought up a couple of times now in the last week or so. And I think I want to flip it and ask you, why would you watch? What would make you interested?

SANCHEZ: Why would I -- because --

PATRICK: Why would you want to watch it?

SANCHEZ: OK. No, that's fair. You're going to challenge me and I'm going to try to challenge you right back.

You are not the prototypical race car driver. I think Americans are intrigued by your persona, and it's drawing them to their television sets.

Is that fair?

PATRICK: Cool. Yes -- no, that's good. They're curious. I'm something different and unique. And how will I stack up?

And, you know --

SANCHEZ: What do you mean how will you stack up? You think some of them are watching to see you fail?

PATRICK: Well, I think they're watching to see how I do. It's the same reason that you turn on the TV to watch any other sports, right?

How's your favorite basketball player doing? How's your favorite golfer doing? You know, you want to just see how they're doing, and so I'm lucky to have a following like that.

SANCHEZ: We're going to show the accident. Hey, can I just ask you, where was your spotter?

PATRICK: Well, I think he was trying to say something, but I have to say, in that moment it's kind of chaotic. And, you know, there's probably two seconds between when it starts and ends. So, you know, how much can you really say in two seconds?

SANCHEZ: Is that how -- really, two seconds? That's how long -- you have to react that fast?

PATRICK: I mean, the whole lap, to go two and a half miles around there, takes about 50 seconds or something like that. So, you know, I mean, break it down. It wasn't that far, so maybe five seconds? I don't know.

SANCHEZ: But most people who understand the sport would look at that and say this was not your fault.

PATRICK: Right. No, it wasn't my fault, but that's just the nature of that kind of racing, and it's called super speedway racing.

And so everybody is so close out there, you're nose to tail. And unlike in an Indy car, in a stockcar you can run literally right behind one another. And so when somebody loses control, it's very difficult to avoid it because you're literally straight behind them, probably even touching their rear bumper. So, when accidents happen on those big super speedways, it's usually quite the pileup.

(END VIDEOTAPE) SANCHEZ: Danica Patrick. And I should let you know that Monday, we're going to play part two of my interview with Danica Patrick. She talks about the pressures of being in a male-dominated sport, and also a special cause that she drives for -- heart disease.

You're going to see that Monday.

Now, before Tiger Woods' scandal, there was Ted Haggard's scandal. He and his wife Gayle are going to be joining us to talk about Tiger's apology. I think you can say they are experts on this topic, what their life is like after the scandal.

This is a very honest, very open, very courageous thing to do. And they're doing it with us.

I invite you to stick around and watch the Haggards as they take us through the life of a sex scandal, really.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK FALDO, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: He had the golfing world in his hands and, you know, to come back now knowing there's so many people behind his back talking, he's a very sensitive guy, sensitive to comment, let alone criticism. So he still wants to do things Tiger's way, and that's why he did this press conference his way, reading a statement, no questions, which has obviously really upset the golfing media.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: I could spend the entire rest of the show doing nothing but going to my Twitter lists, which I keep for you every day, why we call this RICK'S LIST, in many ways. And I can show you what the PGA has put out. And they're allowing all the golfers to literally comment on Tiger Woods.

We don't have enough time to do that, folks, so let me just pick one.

Yes, John Daly. Everybody knows him, whether you're a golfer or not. Right?

And here's what he wrote about Tiger. Here's his comment after listening to Tiger's comments today.

"Tiger, where is your wedding ring? Most important, I would think, to prove."

All right. Let me do something else for you. This is interesting.

I'm going to go to -- see this right here? Shoot that real quick.

You see that? All right. That is a list of all the words that Tiger said.

Now, I've got a better way of showing you this. See, the bigger the word, the more Tiger used it. There we go. We have got it on this telestrator.

And let me show you the words. You see the word "Elin"? He said "Elin" a lot. That's why "Elin" is as large as it is.

He said "behavior" a lot. He said "people" a lot. Those are words that he repeated often, over and over again.

He talked about work, he talked about life. Those are a little smaller, which means he didn't use those quite as much.

Now, this is not necessarily scientific, but I thought it would be interesting to share with you. Let me clear all of those now and show you the other words.

Here's "foolish." See how tiny that is? It means he didn't say that very often.

Look at "apology." Not very big, is it?

Look at "sorry." A little bigger, but not very large.

Some other medium words are "therapy." Remember, the size of the word is determined by how often he referred to it during his speech. An interesting, nonscientific way of looking at what Tiger Woods said today.

Speaking of Tiger Woods, I'm going to show you a lovely couple. These are the Haggards. The Haggards have decided to come on CNN today and discuss their experience as it relates to Tiger Woods' experience.

I think you'll agree that they understand what a sex scandal is all about. They've lived it.

Stay right there. They're next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIGER WOODS, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: Elin has shown enormous grace and poise throughout this ordeal. Elin deserves praise, not blame.

The issue involved here was my repeated irresponsible behavior. I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

Tiger's situation is not unique. In fact, the tabs are littered with famous people who have fallen in disgrace and tried to get back up again. Some do, some obviously don't. Before Tiger, there was Ted Haggard. And some would say his scandal was as bad, if not worse, than Tiger's.

Haggard was one of the top evangelical preachers -- a big church, 14,000 members. But in 2006, a male prostitute accused Haggard of paying him for sex and using crystal meth.

Now, he said this went on for three years. Haggard denied it at first, but finally came clean -- sort of -- and quit his church. But his wife Gayle stood by her man and is with him to this day.

Ted and Gayle Haggard are good enough to join me now.

Thanks, guys, for joining me. I know this is a heck of a thing to go on national television and talk about, so I appreciate your courage.

TED HAGGARD, FMR. EVANGELICAL PREACHER: Well, thank you.

GAYLE HAGGARD, TED HAGGARD'S WIFE: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Is there -- Ted, let me begin with you. Is there really such a thing as a sex addiction? Or is this something to easily be used as an excuse for selfish irresponsibility?

TED HAGGARD: Well, psychologists have worked for a long time on the definition of an addiction, and an addiction is a behavior that's incongruent with the person, and that once they've started to pay a penalty, they keep doing it compulsively. And so, it needs treatment just like alcoholism would or some other type of compulsive behavior.

SANCHEZ: But you get what I'm getting at.

TED HAGGARD: Yes.

SANCHEZ: There's people all over the country -- I mean, you probably turn on your radio. As I've been driving back and home from work, I've listened to this a million times on the radio. Nobody seems to be buying this sex addiction from Tiger Woods.

People are saying, you know what? We're all sex addicts. It's just that most of us are responsible in what we do. We're all -- I'd like to rob a bank and take all the money, but I know I shouldn't.

TED HAGGARD: Sure. Well, the ability to choose is something healthy people are able to do more than people that have a problem. And so, Tiger's doing the right thing by being in counseling, going through therapy, having them work on it, and then working with his wife. That's the right approach.

SANCHEZ: What was it like for you when the report came out basically saying what you later confirmed, that you, a minister, known to most throughout the country in public, access to the White House, to the Bush White House, were involved in a relationship with a male prostitute that even involved drugs?

TED HAGGARD: Well, it was a love/hate thing. I mean, it was a compulsive behavior. And once I was able to deal with that through therapy, I haven't had that compulsion since.

And as a heterosexual man, it was something that was incongruent with me, and it was something that I needed to work out, which we did three years ago. And that's been a great thing.

And that's why I was so pleased with what Tiger did today. I thought it was perfect.

I thought he took personal responsibility. He focused on his marriage. He focused on his own life. He said that he was sorry and he said he was going to correct it. There's nothing more any of us could ask.

SANCHEZ: Mr. Haggard, you just said as a heterosexual man. Why do you point that out? Is it because -- I mean --

TED HAGGARD: Well, it's an incongruity, just like Tiger had. Tiger was married, loved his wife, loved his children, but was still doing something that was contrary to his belief system, which he talked about today, him being a Buddhist, and now he wants to get all that in line.

SANCHEZ: So are you saying that if you had had sex with a woman instead of a male prostitute -- I suppose you would have had sex with a female prostitute -- that would have been OK?

TED HAGGARD: No, it still would have been incongruent, because I'm married to my wife and had been married to her 28 years at that time.

SANCHEZ: Let me ask your wife a question.

Gayle, what was it like when you found out that your husband had slept with a male prostitute?

GAYLE HAGGARD: Well, I was shocked on many levels. I did not know that he had this going on his life, this struggle going on. I didn't know that he was acting out on it. And so I was devastated by it.

SANCHEZ: Why did you stay with him? And I ask you this question because, it's funny, but it seems like every single person on our Twitter board today wanted me to ask you this question. And most of them, by the way, are women who are curious as to why you would stay with a man who you had found out had been in a room with another man who was selling his sexual favors.

GAYLE HAGGARD: Well, I feel like that is an important question for me to answer. And that's why I wrote a book by that title, "Why I Stayed." And it took me a book to explain my position on this.

But, basically, it's that I believed that my husband was so much more than the struggle that was going on in him, and I wanted to find out why this developed. I wanted to understand it. And I wanted to fight for my marriage.

After all, this is my husband, this is my marriage. And I really wanted us to get to the other side because I felt there was so much value in the lives -- the life that we had built together.

SANCHEZ: We just showed your book a little while ago. I suppose it is an appropriate title, "Why I Stayed."

Gayle, do you doubt his story about being a heterosexual who suddenly had sex with a male prostitute, or do you think there's a part of him that is denying who he really is?

GAYLE HAGGARD: I don't think he's denying at all who he really is. I think he is identifying who he is in this process.

And I've lived with this man now for more than 30 years. So I know that there is so much to his life, that that validates that he is who he says he is.

SANCHEZ: You know, a lot of folks are listening, and I just want to be open and as honest with you as I think I possibly can be. You know, it's almost like a person who's gay just, all of a sudden, saying, you know, I'm going to go over here and be non-gay, or a person who's a heterosexual all of a sudden waking up one day and saying, you know, I think I'm going to go have a homosexual relationship with a man in a hotel room.

It doesn't sound -- it just doesn't seem to make sense to me. Can you somehow make it make sense to me? If you're heterosexual, why were you even thinking about having a homosexual relationship, Ted?

TED HAGGARD: The boxes that people construct in their mind don't fit for most people. And so, when we have a heterosexual person that has -- or, sorry, when we have a homosexual person that has a heterosexual encounter, we don't say that he needs to come out of the closet and admit that he's really a heterosexual. And so, things are confusing in sexuality, things are complex in sexuality, and we're seeing that more and more and more because of the Internet and things like that.

And so, that's why clinics like the one that Tiger is reportedly to have gone to and is going back to, that's why they're so busy and so active. And that's why fidelity, faithfulness, sexual preferences, it is a major social discussion going on right now because people are trying to work this through honestly. And most people, many people don't fit into the boxes that others construct for them.

That's why with Tiger we need to have grace on him and encourage him.

SANCHEZ: I understand. And I'll tell you what -- you guys have been through hell and back. And I understand that you've lost everything, including your friends, your church associates, and everything else. So, it's courageous and instructive for you to come on and share your story as you have with us here on CNN.

Ted and Gayle Haggard, good luck to you.

Good luck, Gayle, with the book. And hopefully we'll be able to catch up once again.

TED HAGGARD: Thank you. We'd like that. GAYLE HAGGARD: Great. Thanks.

SANCHEZ: Here now is Wolf Blitzer and "THE SITUATION ROOM."

Wolf, over to you.