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CNN Sunday Morning
Remembering Jack Kemp; Supreme Court Vacancy
Aired May 03, 2009 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING for this May 3rd. Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. It's 6:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, 5:00 in Dallas, Texas. And that is where this dramatic video comes from.
Look at it. The Dallas Cowboys indoor practice arena just collapsed yesterday, injuring 12 people. We're going to have more on this story in just a moment.
HOLMES: Also, the number of flu cases worldwide on the rise up to 787 now in 17 countries. The latest on that -- straight ahead as well.
NGUYEN: All right. But first this morning, let's get to this story. Former Congressman Jack Kemp has died from cancer. He was Bob Dole's running mate in 1996, also a winning quarterback for the Buffalo Bills. Kemp will be remembered for pushing the Republican Party to be more diverse and backing tax cuts, like few before him.
CNN's Don Lemon takes a look back at his life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As a star quarterback in the old American Football League, Jack Kemp led the Buffalo Bills to back-to-back championships in 1964 and '65. When he retired from football in 1970, Buffalo area voters elected him to the House of Representatives.
Kemp often said he was more interested in ideas than partisan politics and regarded his political foes as opponents not enemies.
JACK KEMP, FORMER U.S. CONGRESSMAN: You know what helped me? Playing football. When they got to my head and (INAUDIBLE) by Meg Bunacani (ph) or Ernie Ladd or my -- they're my friends today. And I realize that they didn't make it personal and I don't take it personal, and I think politics can be in the same way.
LEMON: In 1978, Kemp teamed up with Senator William Roth of Delaware to propose the Kemp/Roth tax cuts. After Ronald Reagan became president in 1981, much of that proposal became law.
KEMP: From 1981 to 1988, the tax rate came down from 70 to 28. LEMON: Those tax cuts established Kemp as a leading advocate of conservative supply side economics. But unlike many of the other conservatives of his era, Kemp actively courted African-American support.
KEMP: Ability that our party could be a Lincoln party in terms of attracting black and brown and men and women of color, and low- income status, and immigrant status who want a shot of the American Dream for their children.
LEMON: Kemp made a bid for the 1988 Republican presidential nomination. He was unsuccessful. But the man who won that nomination, the first President Bush, put Kemp in his cabinet. As secretary of housing and urban development, Kemp stuck to his supply side philosophy, advocating tax breaks for inner city businesses and home ownership for the poor.
KEMP: We are here to tell every single resident in public housing in the United States of American, you, too, can manage and control and ultimately own your own property.
LEMON: In 1996, Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole picked Kemp to be his vice presidential running mate.
BOB DOLE, FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I like people around me with ideas. That's why I picked Jack Kemp for my running mate. Jack has ideas.
LEMON: On the vice presidential campaign trail, the football star was a team player.
KEMP: I played second string quarterback a lot of times in my life.
LEMON: Dole and Kemp lost to the incumbents, President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore.
KEMP: I called Vice President Gore and offered my congratulations to him and the president.
LEMON: The defeat ended Kemp's career as a political candidate, but it did not dim his influence inside his Republican Party. He continued to write and speak about his ideas, inspiring a new generation of supply side conservatives.
KEMP: The only way to oppose a bad idea is to replace it with a good idea. And I'd like to think that I have spent my life trying to promote good ideas.
LEMON: Jack Kemp was 73 years old.
Don Lemon, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: The Dallas Cowboys indoor practice facility is now an outdoor facility after winds tore through Dallas yesterday and ripped the roof off this place. You can see some of this video here, the photographers inside at the time. Practice was going on.
Those winds, we're told, were 60-plus miles an hour. Twelve people hurt and at least one coach broke his back.
Now, I want you to take a look and take a listen to this. Our Don Lemon talked with the photographer who was taking this footage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: I was looking at some of your images there, Arnold, and it looks like at times there were people that were trapped under the metal. You caught some of that on tape. Explain to us what the guys were doing. It appears that they were not only running for cover but they were trying to help each other out and point out people who were trapped in this thing.
ARNOLD PAYNE, WFAA PHOTOGRAPHER: No question. Well, initially everybody was really trying to get out. And -- I mean, players were about as frightened as anybody else, obviously. It just happened so fast. So, once the guys figured that they could actually get out, that's when their attention immediately turned to helping their partners, and then calling out their names and their teammates.
And it was just a lot of screaming of names. And they knew how many players were here, and, obviously, the coaching staff and a contingent of media people. And at that point in time, it was not about football but people helping people. There was nowhere to go.
And, obviously, you had light fixtures falling and the metal that's holding the tarp up, all of the stuff collapsed onto the field. And these guys couldn't go anywhere. And the players were calling other players' names because those were their partners, their friends.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And again, we understand there were about 70 people who were in that facility at that time. Most of them escaped serious injury but, again, one coach broke his back, another 11 people were injured.
There were at least 27 players in that facility at the time, we're told, Betty -- all of them rookies. So, welcome to the NFL.
NGUYEN: Yes, that is one way to welcome them in.
Let's talk a little bit about the weather that was going on at the time. Bonnie Schneider is in for Reynolds Wolf this morning.
And, Bonnie, just looking at that picture behind you, this is something you don't see all the time.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No, absolutely not. Betty and T.J., what you're looking at now is a rare image captured by our iReporter Rick Seno. And it kind of looks like a tornado turned upside down. But it's not a tornado. What you're looking at is a microburst. And the reason it looks like a tornado is because, really, the reverse winds are occurring.
In a tornado, you see the finest point in the bottom as the winds go in an upright fashion, sucking up, going spiral, all the way up to the top of the clouds. However, with a microburst, it's completely different. We have cold air falling very rapidly and you can see the movement actually fanning out as it hits the bottom. And the winds coming down from a microburst could come down at the rate of 70 miles per hour, and then, all of a sudden, as it gets to the bottom, a few hundred feet, can accelerate up to 100 miles per hour.
So, we have that rapid downburst of cold air coming down as the warm, moist air condensed in the thunderstorm, it comes in contact with drier, cooler air aloft, that air is heavy and dense and it falls fast. It doesn't happen all the time, but occasionally, you get an image like this. But unusual to get it captured on film. We do appreciate that from our iReporter Rick Seno.
I want to show what's going on right now, what we're looking at. We definitely still have the threat for severe weather across Texas. You can see some very strong thunderstorms, as well as frequent lightning strikes, really to the east of Dallas at this point, but we are tracking some severe weather in and around Mississippi. We have a tornado warning in effect for about another 40 minutes north of Jackson, Mississippi.
Now, with this thunderstorm, Doppler radar has indicated some rotation. That's different than what you saw with the microburst. So we could see a tornado fall in this system in Mississippi. This is going to be active day in terms of severe weather.
With that said, the bigger picture shows -- while the threat for Dallas is minimizing, the threat for severe thunderstorms with very strong winds is on the increase for areas further east of that storm system. So, we have a severe thunderstorm watch straight into the afternoon hours for parts of Texas, into Mississippi and Louisiana. So, this will be an area we'll watch today for frequent lightning strikes and very strong winds.
The bigger picture shows that we have a flood threat as well all the way further off to the east into Tennessee, for cities like Memphis and Nashville. That's where it's been raining for days. So, more rain on top of rain. Well, the flood threat is really going to be problematic because we do see the ground completely saturated.
We are watching this as well as other weather stories. I'll have more a little bit later on. Betty and T.J.?
NGUYEN: All right, Bonnie. Thank you. We'll be checking in.
OK. Look at this video. A tour bus crashed in southern California, injured all 28 people on board, eight of them critically. The bus hit a median, smashed through a wall, and then came to a stop -- well, in someone's yard. It happened yesterday on Interstate 215 in the city of Perris. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
HOLMES: Well, we want to pass along now the latest numbers in this global flu scare. The World Health Organization says the number of cases worldwide is now up to a confirmed 787. That's the number we get today. Nineteen confirmed deaths in Mexico and one in the U.S. Also, that big jump in case to 787, not new cases really. These were just suspected cases that have now been confirmed through laboratory tests. So, no reason to think this thing is spreading on a much wider scale.
Also, we can tell you that Iowa's governor has announced the first confirmed H1N1 flu case in that state. President Obama and Mexico's president, Felipe Calderon, spoke on the phone for 20 minutes yesterday; both presidents shared information about efforts to contain this outbreak as well as the importance of close operation during this flu scare.
NGUYEN: Well, a flu outbreak, a senator switching parties, and a Supreme Court justice retiring -- President Obama is taking a breather today after a very busy week. But, soon, it's back to business when he welcomes leaders from some of the world's trouble spots this week.
Let's bring in CNN deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, joining us live from Washington.
OK, Paul. So, President Obama meets with Israeli's president on Tuesday, the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan on Wednesday. What is he hoping to accomplish with all these meetings?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, not a slow week at all.
NGUYEN: Yes.
STEINHAUSER: On Tuesday, Israeli's president, Shimon Peres, be at the White House. And yes, Mideast peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. That will be a topic of discussion.
Wednesday, this is a big deal. Pakistan's leader and Afghanistan's leader meet with Barack Obama at the White House. I think what's going to come up here is the deal between Pakistan's president and the Taliban that some in the U.S. say was basically giving over of territory to the Taliban. Remember, the Taliban right now are fighting U.S. and NATOR forces in neighboring Afghanistan. So, that is going to be a big topic of discussion this week, Betty.
NGUYEN: All right. And on Thursday, back to his top priority -- the economy right here in the U.S. What's an update with those bank bailouts? What do you know on that?
STEINHAUSER: Yes, the Treasury Department on Thursday is going to give us these long awaited stress tests on the banks -- the largest 19 banks in the U.S. And basically, these tests were conducted to see if these banks, how their health is, their financial health, will they be able to withstand further eroding of the economy if that happens. And everybody in Wall Street and across the country in the financial sector is going to keeping a close eye on just what these tests say, how these banks were doing. Originally, this was coming out tomorrow. It's been pushed back now until Thursday, Betty.
NGUYEN: All right. CNN's Paul Steinhauser -- as always, we do appreciate it. Thank you.
STEINHAUSER: Thank you.
HOLMES: All right. Let's turn to the history-making Kentucky Derby we saw yesterday. History because a long shot won this race and made it look easy, 50-to-one, Mine That Bird won the race. You see on out front there, again, a 50-to-one long shot, on a pretty nasty and muddy track. Some of them even called it a fast track. I don't know that much about horseracing. But they say it can be just right and make it a pretty fast track when it's wet like that.
But, either way, second place went to Pioneer of the Nile. Third, Musket Man. The favorite, I Want Revenge, where was that horse in the race? It wasn't in the race. It was scratched just before that's the news we got right here on ...
NGUYEN: It had a bad ankle.
HOLMES: ... yesterday because of a bad ankle.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: They didn't want to take any chances. So, all eyes now on the Preakness Stakes happening May 16th, trying to see if this horse can possibly win the Triple Crown.
NGUYEN: Fifty -to-one odds, the long shot. But, I mean, as you watched it there, it won by a long shot. I mean, there is really, what was it? Six lengths ahead of the other horses?
HOLMES: And the man who owned that horse paid $9,500 for it. A lot of these horses can be million dollar horses.
NGUYEN: Yes, absolutely.
HOLMES: These millionaires own these horses. He's a new guy to this club, and he said I'm here, I bet they know me now.
NGUYEN: That is one lucky man.
All right. You know, has the economy actually got you down? You're a little depressed about the situation out there? Well, we will show you reason why you can actually find hope in it. We've got some advice from Reverend Michael Bernard Beckwith, you see him right there. He is featured in a book, "The Secret," also serves as a spiritual leader to Oprah.
HOLMES: A lot of people would say, Oprah listens to him. Maybe we all should. NGUYEN: And President Obama.
HOLMES: And President Obama. Well, this is a message that could have a special meaning for families like this -- out of their homes and soon might be out of their homeless shelters as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Well, the Washington, D.C. area, the number of homeless families up dramatically over the last year, actually up 15 percent. You have to assume that sort of relates to the economy.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. And, you know, they are the new face of homelessness.
And CNN's Kate Bolduan gives us a look at it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHEILA WASH, HOMELESS MOTHER: Yes, right on schedule.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every day, just past 4:00, Sheila Wash meets her daughter, Shiliya (ph) as she arrives home from school.
SHEILA WASH: Hey! I brought a jacket because I know it's cold.
SHILIYA (ph) WASH, HOMELESS CHILD: Yes, it's really, really cold!
BOLDUAN: But every day is anything but a homecoming for the Wash family. Sheila and her two children are homeless, and have been since 2007 after Sheila lost her job with the government. The Washes are now living in this Washington, D.C. shelter.
SHEILA WASH: I just thank God that we have a roof over our head right now. You know? You have to accept the things that come to you.
BOLDUAN: Their situation only made worse as the economic recession set in.
SHEILA WASH: Trying to find a job, it's been hard and then now that a lot of people being laid off, it's even harder, you know? Trying to find a job when other people are looking for the same job.
BOLDUAN: The Washes are part of the changing face of homelessness. Not just individuals but families. The D.C. regional loan is reporting a 15 percent jump in homeless families since last year.
(on camera): What would you say to those people who don't understand this face of homelessness?
SHEILA WASH: I mean, you can't just judge a book by its cover. I mean, it's always a story behind a person that's fortunate than you. BOLDUAN (voice-over): School officials in Prince George's County, Maryland, where the Wash kids go to school, say a day doesn't go by without enrolling more children as homeless.
Denise Ross handles outreach to homeless families.
DENISE ROSS, HOMELESS EDUCATION SUPERVISOR: Some of them are embarrassed. Some of them are scared. Some of them are sad. Students who are displaced or homeless students feel that school is a safe haven. That's really -- they really want to come to school.
BOLDUAN: And school is the one source of stability Sheila Wash says they can count on right now. Their shopping for new uniforms with the help of school vouchers.
SHEILA WASH: Team work.
BOLDUAN: However, they are facing another setback. Their current shelter is about to close and the Washes don't know where they'll stay next. But one wish keeps them going.
SHILIYA (ph) WASH: I pray that we wake up in the morning and my mom -- we get a house and everything that we wanted.
BOLDUAN: Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Tougher times out there for so many families.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: You know, and speaking of families who are also in danger of losing their homes and jobs, these big concerns (ph), one of the country's most influential spiritual leaders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL BERNARD BECKWITH, SPIRITUAL LEADER: How can we help each other? How can we share? How can we give?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Reverend Michael Bernard Beckwith uplifting advice next in our Faces of Faith.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: You know, tough times can rock even the strongest faith. So, how do you recharge and get back on track when life becomes such a struggle? It's a question that led me to Los Angeles for a candid conversation in this Faces of Faith segment with spiritualist Michael Beckwith, the founder of Agape International Spiritual Center.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BECWITH: People are being inundated with the news of the day. You know, it's in every newspaper. It's in most news items about the economic system and how it possibly is affecting us. So, people are inundated with negativity and it's taking a toll on them emotionally, and they're losing their spiritual base, that inner feeling that lets them know that they can make it through this; that it's going to be OK, there are solutions, there are ways out.
You know, every -- there is an old statement that says that, you know, recession renews resourcefulness. And so, if you're going to develop a level of resource for this to make it through this, you have to have a level of confidence and a level of faith. You're not going to get that if you're constantly inundated with bad news.
So, I invite people to definitely stop a couple times a day, pull away from the negative, and begin to just feel whether it's prayer, whether it's meditation, whether it's reading something that's going to help you, help you center, and grab that feeling back -- that it's going to be OK, that you're connected.
And then, too, begin to look around and see that you're alive. Look around and see what blessings are in your life. Look around and see what's working and begin to celebrate that. So that the inner feeling tone that you're carrying of celebration, of gratitude, and thanksgiving, it begins to outweigh the onslaught of negativity. Now, what happens then, the lens you look at life through is clearer. You see potential.
NGUYEN: But Reverend Michael, there are many families that are on the verge of losing their home, their car. They may have already lost their jobs. How do you create that sense of a new lens, per se, when everything around you is falling apart?
BECKWITH: Absolutely. I mean, I'm dealing with this myself with individuals in my own congregation. So, this is not foreign to me. And when individuals come to me, again, I have to let them know there's a way out of this. This is not their final epithet. This is not the end game. They're going through a tough time.
And in going through this tough time, whenever anyone goes through a tough time, it means that there is something within them that's trying to be born. There is a quality, there's a gift, there's a strength. And this is the time for that strength to come forward.
So, if you -- again, if you ask these very empowering questions, what do I have to be grateful for and thankful for? Place your attention there. The feeling, your feeling will change and then from that feeling, you get insights and guidance as to what your next steps are. You're not going to get guidance and insights when you're town in the dumps. You're only going to keep making mistakes.
NGUYEN: Would you also say that sometimes, once you make it through those very dark and difficult times, you're going to see some of the best times of your life?
BECKWITH: Not only will you see some of the best times, your framework will change from getting to giving -- your way of living. I discovered that people, even when they are going through tough times, even if they have, somewhere within them where they're asking the question, how can I serve, how can I give somewhere? For some interesting reasons, when they put themselves in a position to give, the universe takes care of them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Really, some sound advice there. You know, and I went to interview the reverend, because he has an amazing story about how he was signing books one day and he heard this inner voice which told him to sell all of his stocks. This was an economy story.
HOLMES: Oh, yes. I heard this.
NGUYEN: And because of doing that and listening to that inner voice, was it divine intervention? We'll get into that. But, because of that, he saved a fortune by selling right before the markets plunged. And then while we were there, you know, obviously, we were just really kind of, you know, taken aback by the sense of calm and the sense of peace in these troubled times, and just the words that he had to share.
HOLMES: He is -- he is one of those people you just get around and he just has a calming influence on you.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: He just settles you and relaxes you. You want to listen to him or not, he at least settles you down. We had an opportunity to being around him. Just looking forward to that next week.
NGUYEN: Sure.
HOLMES: I know you should tell me about the economic story. It's interesting to hear about it.
NGUYEN: Oh, it's really fascinating.
But in the meantime, we need to get to this because we have some severe weather out there and Bonnie Schneider is following that for us.
Hey, Bonnie.
SCHNEIDER: Hi, Betty and T.J.
We are tracking tornado warnings in parts of Mississippi right now. You can see the real-time lightning strikes happening. This is a very strong and intense storm.
I want to zoom in on the region and show you that the tornado warning encompasses four counties. We have Attala, Leake, Madison and Neshoba. This goes until 7:45 Central Time.
We don't have a tornado on the ground but we do have some very strong thunderstorms that are indicating some rotation on Doppler radar. That means a tornado could touch down at any time. When there is warning, you want to take cover.
This is really the beginning for a rough day for Mississippi. Right now, Jackson is getting hard hit with very strong thunderstorms. That tornado warning, real time showing you that it's just about to expire. But we're still watching for that threat for severe weather really throughout much of the afternoon across Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee.
Back to you.
NGUYEN: All right. We'll be on top of that. Thank you, Bonnie.
HOLMES: Thank you, Bonnie.
Well, some Republican heavyweights had a pretty big meeting Saturday. It could breathe some new life into the battered party. Our John King will have more on that. Also, he has a big show coming up at the top of the hour on "STATE OF THE UNION."
NGUYEN: And it's not your typical date night, not when you're the first couple. We have details of their brief get-away from the White House.
(VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Now good morning, everybody. And welcome back to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Good morning, T.J.
HOLMES: Good morning. Are you well?
NGUYEN: So far, so good. Good morning, everybody. Thanks for joining us today. We do have a lot to tell you about.
First off, new numbers in the global flu scare. Health officials report 160 confirmed cases in 21 states. New York confirmed 11 more cases yesterday. But those haven't been included in the CDC figures just yet; also not on the CDC list, one case in Iowa. All right, so, overall, there has been one death, that in Texas and 19 confirmed deaths in Mexico.
HOLMES: And take a look at this picture now in Irving, Texas. Why would I would be showing you this -- why would I be showing you a picture of the Cowboys indoor practice facility?
Well, because let me show you what it looks like now. Some rearranging done by Mother Nature, this was after a storm there. The entire facility collapsed. Twelve people injured, including one coach, who broke his back. No players, even though there were 27 in there, 27 rookies; no players were seriously injured. NGUYEN: And in Mumbai, India, the Associated Press reports a judge has ruled that the only surviving gunman in last year's terrorist attack will be tried as an adult.
The suspect's attorney says he was only 17 at the time of the attack. The government says medical tests indicate that he is at least 20. And being tried as an adult means the suspect could face the death penalty.
HOLMES: And President Obama, predicting that Wall Street will play a smaller role in our economy. He says so in an interview with the New York Time's magazine. He believes tighter regulations will cut down on the leveraging and risk taking that led to so much trouble.
The President tells the magazine, quote, "What I think will change, what I think was an aberration, was a situation where corporate profits in the financial sector were such a heavy part of our overall profitability over the last decade. That I think will change."
Also a show of confidence for the government's handling of the economic crisis from a man who knows a thing or two about money. He's got a lot of money. Every time you introduce him you have to say billionaire Warren Buffett.
This is one talk of how Buffett spoke at a shareholder meeting for his company Berkshire Hathaway in Omaha, Nebraska yesterday. He told the 35,000 people there that the U.S. is making the right move.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WARREN BUFFETT, CEO, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY: It isn't Pearl Harbor anymore. We're in an economic war of sorts, but the situation has come along a long way since we talked in October. At that time, the financial system, shortly before that, middle of September, had been very, very close to a meltdown. I mean, it was a strike at the very heart of the American economy system.
A lot of smart things were done then. I give great credit to the people over who are working on the problem. I mean, getting in there and guaranteeing the commercial paper, the money market funds and it brought stability to the system. And that has laid the framework for an improved economic situation but that's going to take time.
So we are now in the more drawn-out phase of fighting the battles of the war and, you know, they come along like Chrysler or whatever it may be and you take them one at a time, you don't win them all, but the crisis has passed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: He is optimistic. However, Buffett did not go as far predicting when the economy would recover.
NGUYEN: Former politician and pro football quarterback Jack Kemp has died. Kemp was a former Republican Congressman from New York. He was Bob Dole's running mate in 1996 and sought the Republican Presidential nomination in 1988. He was also Housing Secretary under President George H.W. Bush. He played quarterback for the Buffalo Bills. Well, Jack Kemp he did die last night of cancer. He was 73.
HOLMES: Yes and Kemp just one of the things people are talking about in Washington also. Parties gearing up for the fight over the Supreme Court nomination as well, and that's happening in Washington.
NGUYEN: Yes, "STATE OF THE UNION" with John King is coming up at the top of the hour. And he joins us now with a closer look.
All right, we've got a lot to talk about today. Let's start with Jack Kemp, if you will. Because, we know this is a man who has made a lot of progress and a lot of people remembering him today.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a great loss, Betty and T.J. A lot of people say they were foot soldiers in the Reagan revolution. Well, Jack Kemp was a foot soldier. It was the Kemp Rock tax cut bill that ushered in the Reagan economic revolution. Whether you were for it or against it, Jack Kemp was a powerhouse behind those tax cuts.
He also was an incredibly infectious guy with his personality. The former quarterback, an athletic guy, a very strong guy; had this reach out and grab you handshake, always had a smile no matter what is going on. And so just an infectious personality.
When you think about optimism in politics and a message, Jack Kemp was just a fun guy to cover, always a fun guy to be around. And as the Republican Party is looking for a way back, he was a Vice Presidential nominee and he tried to run for President. And his spirit is something the Republican Party would do well to copy.
HOLMES: Well, -- you know, maybe they'll take that advice but there's a lot going on with the Republican Party right now. And it's not just about losing elections now. It's about trying to find an identity and trying to find a leader. And you have people, major leaders of the party who are defecting to the other party.
What's going on, what's the next step?
KING: The party is on the skids, there's no doubt about it, T.J. They got thumped in 2006 at Congressional Elections, thumped in 2008 at the Presidential Elections. The defection -- I just heard Arlen Specter deciding to leave the Republicans and go to the Democrats.
Look, Arlen Specter did that thinking he might survive. We would not survive as a Republican but still it's a reflection that if you're looking at a -- we think of our stock charts going up is what we like. Well, the Republican Party's trend line is going down right now.
We sat down yesterday with two leaders of this new effort to try to got out and re-brand, to listen to people to say what are we doing wrong and what can we do better? Eric Cantor is the House Republican whip, a young Republican in the House. Mitt Romney many people know, the former Massachusetts governor and ran for President last time. Jeb Bush is also part of the effort and Haley Barbour, the governors of Florida -- a former Governor Bush of Florida, the governor of Mississippi, the governor of Louisiana.
Their thing is look, we got beat last time in part they think because the economy fell -- the bottom fell out of the economy. And they think that was part of it, they think people were mad at George W. Bush. But they're trying to figure out is it just those rare circumstances of 2008 or other more bigger fundamental issues for the party to face.
And so it's an interesting time as we watch them try -- and try to rebuild their image.
NGUYEN: Interesting nevertheless, because as we talk about the future, a need to fill a spot on the Supreme Court. That's a big thing on his to-do list when it comes to the President.
KING: It is a big thing to do. And it's a rare gift, a rare opportunity for a president. He has only been President for three months and here is this Harvard Law School Graduate -- a former constitutional law professor who gets one of the legacy choices that presidents covet. He gets to fill a spot on the Supreme Court.
These things don't come all that often. George Bush got two in eight years, Barack Obama now gets one in his first three months in Office, first four months in office; all sorts of pressures, Betty and T.J.
Women's groups want a woman and Latino groups want Latino, African-American say the first black President should put an African- American on the court. Then, there's the whole question about cases coming through the pipeline whether it be affirmative action or same- sex marriage, this torture and detainee treatment thing. This is a very big deal.
And we'll have the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee -- excuse me, on the program this program and a leading conservative Republican voice to lay out what they think are the framework, the stakes of this coming battle here in Washington.
HOLMES: And these are always some of the biggest battles over the Supreme Court justices.
NGUYEN: Aren't they.
KING: Amen, they are.
HOLMES: I know you've got a big show coming up. We will see this thing up for you here. John King.
KING: Thank you both very much. HOLMES: See you here shortly but again he's coming in your way at the top of the hour at 9:00 "STATE OF THE UNION" with our John King, a big show coming up.
NGUYEN: And we want to look back at last night.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: Because you know, it was a pretty important moment for the first couple.
HOLMES: It was a big -- it was a big night.
NGUYEN: Yes, they took a night out and went...
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: ...and had a date, in fact, at the Chernel's, an upscale spot in Washington. And I know they don't play the song every time they get together but it almost feels like it because every time we see the first couple together...
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: We're always hearing this lovely song. But yes, and they deserve a night out on the town, he's been busy hasn't he?
HOLMES: Actually a natural sound, this is booming outside the White House.
NGUYEN: That's how it is?
HOLMES: They have this playing right now.
But it is. He's a busy guy tonight. And a lot of people give him kudos for always making sure he makes time for his family and his kids and, yes, things like that are important. A date night that is a big deal.
NGUYEN: Hey, who knows? Maybe Michelle Obama was saying, "At last we get a night out on the town."
HOLMES: After 100 days in office.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: All right, we're glad they had a good night out.
Well, coming up here now, Carl Azuz, he's coming with our "Extra Credit" report.
NGUYEN: Yes, and this week the students turn the tables and give the grades instead of getting them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) NGUYEN: All right, this week on "Extra Credit" the students are flipping the script. They are the ones actually handing out the grades instead of getting them.
We're also going to find out of how the next generation feels about President Obama's first 100 days.
HOLMES: Carl Azuz our guy from CNN Student News here with us. Everybody is grading the president it seems these days and why not the students? So are they giving him a passing grade?
CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENTNEWS.COM: They are -- more or less. It's pretty mixed, actually. We have at cnnstudentnews.com and we have our blog up and we ask students on the scale of A to F, to grade the President and tell us what you're thinking.
And this is how the result stood. A, 35 percent, that was followed by F at 28 percent. The B, C range garnered 25 percent and the C, D range garnered 12.
Now there are two things I want to point out about this.
NGUYEN: All right.
AZUZ: One, it's not scientific.
HOLMES: Thank you.
AZUZ: So I don't think they let you vote multiple times. But it's not something that we would call a scientific poll. And the other thing I want to point out is there are students like Hanna who wrote in. We have a comment for you from her.
And she was saying, "Obama has been doing ok. He's made a lot of promises that helped him win the election and hopefully, he'll carry them out but it's still too early to tell."
And a lot of students are writing in and saying...
NGUYEN: We have a lot of adults say that, in fact.
AZUZ: Yes and we just don't know yet and so we gave them a little history about the hundred milestone and kind of going back to the days of FDR and to explain to them why this day is getting so much coverage. And a lot of them are just saying, well, that's fine but it's too early.
NGUYEN: You know another thing you do is trivia.
HOLMES: Oh yes.
NGUYEN: He brought one last week. You weren't here for it.
HOLMES: I wasn't here for it.
NGUYEN: But we actually mean Reggie Aqui who was filling in for you actually got the answer correct.
HOLMES: All right.
NGUYEN: So he's going to try to stump us this week, T.J.
AZUZ: Oh, you didn't just get the answer right, you said it was too easy.
NGUYEN: No.
AZUZ: So I'm back with a vengeance today.
NGUYEN: And that was my downfall.
AZUZ: Ok there you go.
All right, for which of these can you get a college scholarship?
NGUYEN: All right.
AZUZ: Is it being left-handed, playing marbles, Starfleet academy membership or being named ZOLP (ph)? Any guesses?
HOLMES: Oh my goodness, gracious. I'll take the marbles.
NGUYEN: I was going to say the marbles too.
HOLMES: I'll take the marbles.
NGUYEN: No, the other way I'll switch it up and I'll say being left-handed.
AZUZ: It really doesn't matter because you can get a scholarship for all of this.
NGUYEN: Are serious?
AZUZ: Yes absolutely, and the ZOLP play -- it was a trick, it was dirty trick. And you unfairly got...
NGUYEN: I'm kind of surprised, though. Marbles? Really?
HOLMES: The left-handed and...
AZUZ: Oh, yes. And they're not all full rides.
HOLMES: Ok.
AZUZ: Now, I'll point that out but the reason why we went through this, and the ZOLP point surprised me the most...
NGUYEN: Yes.
AZUZ: That's at Loyola University Chicago. But the reason why we point this out is because Rapper Nelly showed up at a high school not too long ago to give a full-ride scholarship to a student there. And he said of course, this is the time when people need it.
So we started looking at ok, he gave a full-ride scholarship but what are some of the more obscure scholarships you can get?
NGUYEN: Yes.
AZUZ: And believe it or not, all of those are available. They might just be in small denominations.
NGUYEN: Ok, so folks at home if you're having a child name her Zolp, Z-o-l-p right?
AZUZ: That's right, z-o-l-p and given that last name they got a shot a Loyola University at Chicago.
HOLMES: All right, who do you want to -- everybody is waiting. They want to see if you're going to say hello. Everybody loves these shout-outs. Go ahead.
AZUZ: Yes, yes, sir. We have two shout-outs this morning.
One to Marlboro Middle school that is in Morganville, New Jersey, thank you all for watching.
And one to Mr. Cimino's World History Class and that is in Woodville, Wisconsin.
HOLMES: Marlboro, they give them younger and younger. They should quit smoking.
AZUZ: Marlboro Memorial Middle School. I'm not saying a word.
HOLMES: All right, we're just kidding Marlboro, it's just in the name.
Mr. Carl Azuz, always good to see you my man.
AZUZ: Thank you both and see you next week.
NGUYEN: All right, yes we'll seek you next week.
All right, in the meantime, "Coming Back from Catastrophe." Greensburg, Kansas makes an amazing turn around after a devastating tornado and in the process have redefined what it means to be environmentally smart.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: This week Greensburg, Kansas, is celebrating its recovery. Just two years ago, a deadly tornado nearly wiped the town off the map but, today, it is setting a standard for the rest of the nation to follow. I sat down with Greensburg's mayor to talk about the town's effort to go green.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MAYOR BOB DIXSON, GREENSBURG, KANSAS: It's about 50 percent of the homes back from the building permits and everything. So we're very excited about that opportunity to have people come back and repopulate the town because this is their home. And most of the team that want to be here and have jobs have either started a home or in a new home.
Business-wise, we're at that 40 percent, 50 percent level to businesses that were here prior to the disaster have got back in business. So I think in two years, we've made tremendous progress and tremendous strides for a community that was basically wiped off the map.
NGUYEN: Do you think you're still on track for being an example to the rest of the world on how you can have an eco-friendly town?
DIXSON: And that is the one thing that we do struggle with daily is to make sure we stay on task and we stay focused to where we're going to be because we're being watched by the world and we understand that.
So us being new pioneers in the green initiatives and being in the eco-friendly sustainable areas, we need to make sure that we continue to offer hope and guidance of what we've learned and sharing of good practices with other communities all over the United States and the world. So when we do that, it's about us as individuals sharing those best practices with each other.
NGUYEN: Mayor, those projects take money and when it comes to the stimulus package, what are you hoping to get?
DIXSON: As to the stimulus package, as we gain more information on that, as I said, we have streets to work on, industrial park, we got a museum. There are projects all over the town that are in the works plan and we need to make sure that we have a solid plan for that.
Now, also in the midst of that, we also got to be good stewards of those resources that are coming down. So we have to maximize our plans of how we're going to spend any money that's available to us.
We have to make sure that we're sustainable financially, not just to get the money to have something, but we want to invest that here to make sure that it's sustainable financially in the creation of jobs, in the creation of homes, of businesses that are ongoing to help your sales tax base and help your property tax base. All those issues that bring it together that benefit all of us as taxpayers. So I like it as more than to say it's a stimulus, it's an investment.
NGUYEN: Half of the town has been rebuilt, about two-thirds of the population back. But you told me even before the storm, your biggest export were the children of Greensburg. They would go off to college and then they would get jobs in other cities and not come back here. How are you hoping to entice them to come back to Greensburg and to stay and build a life here? DIXSON: There's two issues on that that I feel very passionate about. Number one is it's the appeal to their roots, to quality of life issues as they are starting families and they want their children to attend a school where they know their classmates' parents and they know their teachers personally.
The other thing is for that to happen, we need those jobs in employment, whether they are green jobs, whether they are just jobs, but we want to focus on those green initiatives, on that sustainability and eco-friendly jobs that are sustainable, not just flash in the pan jobs, because that's not going to keep us growing. We want businesses to come and grow with us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And, yes, they do. In fact, in order to help those folks, say, the young people even other people who decided, "I'm not going to move away. I'm going to be here and be a part of the future," they have created one of the greenest towns in the nation. And they are trying to set that standard for the rest of the nation. You're looking at video of just the devastation.
We invite you to go to our blog. We have a show blog here at CNN at cnn.com and on there you'll see some of the other efforts that are being made.
In fact, they have a home there which they call the silo home. Essentially, they dropped a Ford Escort on the roof to show how sound it is, how strong it is to withstand 200 miles per hour winds, the kind that destroyed much of the town.
HOLMES: I've been waiting to see that. You've been teasing me with that so I've been waiting to see that. I will check that out. But good to see these follow-ups about that town after they've been through so much.
NGUYEN: Yes, there it is right there, online. Just go to our blog here on CNN.
In fact, there's plenty of other stories they have up there including your interview with Olympian Dara Torres.
HOLMES: So a lot of ways that they can get a hold of us now. So good we have that out.
Up next, the changing face of the Supreme Court. Replacing David Souter could a political mine field for the president.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: A live look at the White House where the president is kind of taking it easy today after a date night with the first lady last night. No public events on his schedule but certainly a busy week ahead for the president.
Part of that busy week is going to be facing another dilemma replacing Supreme Court Justice David Souter who announced his retirement last week.
CNN political analyst, Bill Schneider, explains there are a lot of factors to consider before making his pick.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): An ideological showdown? Maybe not. Replacing one moderately liberal justice like David Souter with another would mean little change. But there are other pressures on President Obama like diversity. How about the first Latino justice? Another woman? An African-American with different views than Clarence Thomas?
All of the current justices were taken right off the federal bench. What about someone who doesn't come out of what has been called the judicial monastery? Right now not one justice was ever elected to anything.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we can find people who have life experience and they understand what it means to be on the outside, what it means to have the system not work for them that is the person I want in the Supreme Court.
SCHNEIDER: Presidents used to pick political figures with practical real world experience like three chief justices who deserved with distinction. William Howard Taft had been President of the United States; his successor, Charles Evans Hughes had been governor of New York and ran for president. Earl Warren was elected governor of California three times and ran for vice president.
It was the war in court that made the landmark Brown decision desegregating the public schools.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brown v. Board was decided by a court which pulled the country together and it had three ex-senators on them.
SCHNEIDER: If the Supreme Court justices were less removed from the world they might avoid making foolish decisions like the 1997 decision that allowed Paula Jones' harassment sexual lawsuit against President Clinton to go forward. The court ruled that the suit would not be a burden on the president's time and energy. Ha!
(on camera): This appointment may not be happening at an ideal time for President Obama. So far, the president has been cautious about social issues like abortion and gay rights and guns. He doesn't want to divide the country. But in a debate over a Supreme Court nominee, those issues are unavoidable.
Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And there's more politics ahead with John King on "STATE OF THE UNION." But first, now in the news.
HOLMES: Former Republican vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp has died. Kemp, the running mate of Bob Dole in 1996 died last night of cancer. Kemp was a former New York Congressman and quarterback for the Buffalo Bills. He was 73 years old.
A powerful storm tore off the canopy roof of the Dallas Cowboys indoor training facility. Twelve people injured including a team coach who broke his back. An official says he'll most likely need surgery. No players, however, were injured even though there were at least 27 in at the time.
World health organization says the number of cases of swine flu has reached 787 worldwide. Also in Iowa, the governor there announced their first confirmed case of this new flu. The president did speak to the Mexican president about the situation.
But now it's time for us to hand it over to John King and "STATE OF THE UNION."
