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CNN Sunday Morning
Post-Snowpocalypse; Palin Effect; Score One For New Orleans
Aired February 07, 2010 - 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: Hello there, everybody. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm Brooke Baldwin, back in for Betty this morning.
It is 8:00 a.m. here in Atlanta; bright and early 7:00 a.m. in New Orleans where they are getting ready for tonight's -- they're hoping Super Bowl celebration; and 5:00 a.m. in Los Angeles, where a lot of homeowners waking up because of mudslides -- a lot of rain.
But again, thanks for starting your Super Bowl Sunday with us.
HOLMES: Yes, clean up going on in California and cleanup also going on in D.C. and many other cities in the Mid-Atlantic because of that huge snowstorm. Snowmageddon many dubbed it.
Yes, the storm for the most part has passed but let the clean-up now begin. Also, we've got tens of thousands of people who are still without power this morning. And they are working around the clock in D.C. trying to get that place in the ready for the commute in the morning. Do they have a chance?
We'll be checking in with our meteorologists.
BALDWIN: And you've heard of this big Nashville TEA party movement. (AUDIO GAP) an acronym for Taxed Enough Already. And they held their very first convention for the last two days in Nashville last night.
The keynote speaker, Sarah Palin and she took to the stage essentially slamming Democrats on national security and the economy. She also took a couple jabs at the president. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: This is about the people and it's bigger than any king or queen of a TEA party and it's a lot bigger than any charismatic guy with a teleprompter.
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Oh. We will have a live report from Mary Snow this morning, as the TEA party rolls on. It's coming up in just a couple minutes.
But first, let's check the top stories, shall we?
Three people have died after two planes collided in the midair yesterday, near Boulder, Colorado. Local authorities say one of the planes was apparently towing a glider at the impact, at the moment of the impact. Now, the glider did land safely. Both planes crashed all to the ground. Victims not yet identified but both the FAA and NTSB are investigating.
HOLMES: New Orleans has a new mayor. Democratic Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu was elected yesterday with 66 percent of the vote. For the first time 30 years now, that city has a white mayor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITCH LANDRIEU (D), NEW ORLEANS MAYOR-ELECT: The people of New Orleans understand that it has fallen upon our solders to serve. We have been asked to serve, so we should respond and say yes. The people of New Orleans have called us to work hard, so we should accept the call. The people of New Orleans have asked to sacrifice, and so we should.
But the only way to do that is for us to seek, to find, and to secure higher common ground, where we come together as one people, and do what is necessary to secure our future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Landrieu replaces the term-limited Ray Nagin. He's the son of a former New Orleans mayor, Moon Landrieu, and also his sister, Mary Landrieu, a U.S. senator.
BALDWIN: Well, launch must go on. That was pictures of space shuttle Endeavour down at Cape Canaveral earlier this morning. It did not continue on without a hitch -- the hitch being the low ceiling. The weather was not exactly cooperating with the crew this morning. The low cloud cover over Kennedy Space Center thwarted the launch.
The mission is essentially to bring extra room to the International Space Station. They say they will try yet again tomorrow morning very early, 4:14 a.m. Eastern Time.
By the way, the Endeavour would be the fifth to last space shuttle to head up to space in the history this year.
HOLMES: We will turn to some weather now. Let me give you the good news. The snow has stopped falling, but there's bad news as well.
BALDWIN: Shoveling for a lot of you has just begun. That's really the big story this morning: the cleanup. And the task at hand, it kind of depends on where you live. We're seeing two feet to three feet. So, in Baltimore for you, plenty of job security for these guys. Shoveling out there jeep, there are trucks. Snow totals ranging in Baltimore somewhere between 24 to 38 inches. HOLMES: Philadelphia, a mess as well. They got about 27 inches there, and more than 27 inches in some parts of that state as well.
We got a couple of a live look we can give you -- Baltimore and Philadelphia, as well. Baltimore, of course, is on the left. The sun is coming up, looks gorgeous. Philly on the right.
Airports, you still need to check in, folks, before you go even -- try to venture out to the airport, because even though the airports are technically open, a lot of the flights -- most of the flights we can say are closed.
The I-95 corridor is trying to recover as well. The mayor there -- excuse me, the governor of Maryland is telling people to stay off the roads unless it is absolutely necessary.
BALDWIN: Well, we are keeping our eye on the roads and the airports and everywhere in between it seems for, really, the entire Mid-Atlantic area.
It's important for us to deploy our severe weather team for this historic snow event in the Mid-Atlantic area. We have meteorologist Karen Maginnis in our weather center severe weather center this weekend; and Reynolds Wolf, out and about, kind of trying to shovel out this -- look at him. He's shoveling this guy's car out of the snow.
Reynolds Wolf, I cannot believe. You made progress. Look at you.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I know, we did make a little bit of progress. Let's tell you what we do know in this particular situation. We are aware that this -- it appears to be a vehicle, yes, I feel like an archaeologists here. It appears that this is a part of a gas cap, and this is a taillight, and at least one wheel, one wheel that we're sure of. There maybe I think three others, just throwing there as a guess.
The thing is, this is nothing unusual. They're going to be people in the eastern seaboard, at least in this part, it's just freezing, they're going to be dealing this, dealing with this kind of situation this morning. We got a lot of snow, of course, on the group.
Snow freeze for the time being, but there are a lot of people without power. In fact, hundreds of thousands of people without power. People who are able to get their cars free are still told not to go out in any of the major roads, because the roads are still in pretty bad shape.
But that doesn't keep people from coming out and about enjoying themselves, going for a walk, walking the dogs, having a great time. The dogs are wagging their tails and enjoying this.
But there's going to be a lot of trouble for a lot of people for days to come. We were talking about the power outages throughout much of the morning. Hundreds of thousands of people without power. They got a lot of trees that have been knocked down from the heavy snowfall and, of course, the strong winds.
Here in Virginia, in Alexandria, we actually had wind gusts hurricane force just about a day ago, and that couple with those trees cover with ice. It's not a good equation you're going to see all kinds of problems. So, no question about that, that things have been awfully frustrating.
We're going to have a lot more coming up from, the old (INAUDIBLE), just south of the nation's capital. That's coming up in a few moments.
But first, to get a better handle on the forecast and what's to come, let's pitch it back to Karen Maginnis back at the CNN weather center.
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Reynolds.
Look at these gorgeous shots, beautiful shots coming out of D.C., where they had just tons of snowfall over the last several days. There were record-setters in some cases, two-day snowfall records. Dulles, we had 32 inched plus of snowfall, overall two to three feet of snowfall were some of the common amounts.
Look at this beautiful shot as the glorious sunshine does come out. It's going to take a little while for things to recuperate across this area. Look at the beautiful capital. Sunshine is hitting this. Maybe you've got your Nikon or your Canon out, ready to take a gorgeous shot if you are a visitor there.
This is the view as we take a look at across that Mid-Atlantic region. This was the area that was blasted with an area of low pressure that is now well offshore, and just a few high clouds affecting this region. But for the most part, what we saw were the averages of two to three feet.
Now, I did see one report of 40 inches of snowfall. But in its wake, we are looking at teens and 20s across the region with Richmond at 19 degrees. But the wind chill factor in some cases makes it feel like single digits.
Now, when we come back, we will take a look at some warmer climates. Maybe Miami sounds like a nice place to be this time of year. We'll let you know about that coming up -- T.J., Brooke.
BALDWIN: Not a bad way to wake up in Miami. We'll take it.
Karen Maginnis, thank you.
MAGINNIS: Thanks.
HOLMES: Well, Republican Sarah Palin was the keynote speaker last night at a political convention. But it wasn't a political convention for her party, it was for the TEA party. Our Mary Snow with the story now about the former governor and vice presidential candidate, and what she said last night could get the crowd on its feet.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(APPLAUSE AND CHEERING)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For all the talk of big government spending dominating the TEA party convention, it was national security that Sarah Palin targeted first in her speech of policy issues. She took aim of the Obama administration's handling of the attempted Christmas Day bombing attack and blasted the fact that suspect Umar Abdulmutallab was read his Miranda rights.
SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: We need a commander-in- chief, not a professor of law standing at the lectern.
SNOW: She turned to the issues that brought many here, and called a crackdown on government spending and she slammed the stimulus package, and said the TEA party movement is at the forefront of preserving conservative values.
PALIN: This is the movement, and America is ready for another revolution, and you are part of this.
(CHEERING)
SNOW: The convention's organizer hopes that revolution will bring conservative victories in the 2010 House and Senate elections. In a question and answer session, Judson Phillips asked Palin her top three priorities should that happen.
She listed reining in spending, jumpstarting energy projects, and what she describes as getting America back to its roots of being a God-fearing nation.
PALIN: We don't have all the answers as fallible men and women. So, it would be wise of us to start seeking some divine intervention again in this country.
SNOW: But the most forceful response from the crowd came when Palin was asked about 2010.
JUDSON PHILLIPS, CONVENTION ORGANIZER: I can think of two words right now that scare liberals: President Palin.
(CHEERING)
SNOW: There were plenty in the crowd endorsing that idea.
CROWD: Run, Sarah, run! Run, Sarah, run!
TANYA ASHE, TEA PARTY CONVENTION ATTENDEE: I would love to see her run, you know? But if she doesn't, I'm sure she's going to be right where she needs to be. JORDAN MARKS, TEA PARTY CONVENTION ATTENDEE: I think she has a lot of people to still win over. It was disappointing to her mention that she was still kind going to be loyal to presidential candidate McCain.
SNOW: "Daily Beast" columnist John Avlon, who attended the dinner, says it's clear Palin is leaving the door open to running for president.
JOHN AVLON, DAILY BEAST COLUMNIST: The fact that she spent so much time on foreign policy tells me that she's aiming a lot higher than just the TEA party movement. She knows that this wave, that she may be able to ride to this wake into the Republican nomination. She's going to surf that wave as far as it can take her.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, the party has wrapped up. We want to bring in our Mary -- Mary Snow joins us now live from Nashville.
All right. We just saw this TEA party convention. The first of it's kind. So, now, what?
SNOW: Hey there, T.J. Good morning.
Well, you know, as people leave now and go back to their home states, Sarah Palin last night cautioned against following anyone leader in this movement, saying it's bigger than anyone person or organization. But she does see a future for herself in this movement. She says she's going to be taking part in a number of TEA party events in coming months.
HOLMES: (AUDIO BREAK) herself in the movement. I'm sure they can make some room for her. Mary Snow for us this morning in a much quieter Gaylord Hotel there in Nashville -- thank you so much.
And this TEA party -- for the most part -- backs conservative politics, but not necessarily just a group of disgruntled Republicans trying to change the party from inside-out. Activists are actually from every political party.
The movement gained momentum from an MSNBC -- excuse me -- a CNBC reporting had a rant on television about the mortgage bailout about a year ago. That video has gotten a million hits on YouTube. Now, TEA -- TEA party, that's an acronym for Taxed Enough Already.
Several recent polls suggest Americans view the TEA party movement in a better light than either the Democratic or Republican parties.
BALDWIN: So, this weekend, we've been all over the TEA party convention. We've talked a little bit about the snow. But there's little story we should probably mention today, and that being the Super Bowl.
HOLMES: That's happening tonight. I probably don't have to tell you who is playing, but it's not just Drew Brees versus Peyton Manning. It's not just Colts versus Saints. This is the Colts versus the city of New Orleans.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Checking our top stories for you this Sunday morning. Mexico cleaning up after last week's flooding and mudslides. Heavy, heavy rainstorms slamming some areas there, turning roads into rivers. Look at this -- 29 people now reported dead. About two dozen others reported missing, and thousands of homes said to be damaged by the storm.
HOLMES: That's the picture we're going to show you, some scary stuff out of California. Fifty homes north of L.A. damaged or destroyed by mudslides. Nobody hurt, that's great news to hear there.
Officials are blaming heavy rain and those summer wildfires for this damage. They say hundreds of homes had to be evacuated. However, most of those orders have been lifted.
BALDWIN: And more weather pictures to show. Does this look familiar? If look at your weather this morning, in D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania, big snow turning into big clean up here for many of the Mid-Atlantic region.
Loosen up the muscles, grab the shovel, and get to work here.
More than two feet fell in some areas. The blizzard has also left thousands of people without power.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Saints, Colts -- everybody has their eye on the game this evening, but a lot of people are going to have their eyes on the commercials as well. There was always a big deal. There was a really big one last year you may remember, but you may have missed it if you blinked.
It's the one-second Miller High Life ad. Get ready. Keep your eyes on the screen. There it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: High Life!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And that was it. It was a hit with the creativity.
The guy in that ad and guy in all the Miller High Life ads you've been seeing is with us now, Windell.
My man...
WINDELL MIDDLEBROOK, MILLER HIGH LIFE PITCH GUY: Hey. HOLMES: Windell Middlebrooks, who got bumped for the president yesterday. We're supposed to talk to you yesterday. We didn't want to have to talk about beer on Sunday, but everybody is going to be drinking and stuff for the game, and I say, we might as well. Good to see you, again. How are you doing in Miami?
MIDDLEBROOKS: I'm good, man. Good to see you. Thank you all for having me back.
HOLMES: Now, can you believe what this turned into for you? You are the face of Miller High Life. Probably -- your mama probably never thought she raised you to be that. But, you're the face. This thing has really taken off.
Did you ever imagine it would become what is it now?
MIDDLEBROOKS: Man, I'll tell you what, when we started with the first High Life commercial, we just, you know, we were getting the campaign started and we had no idea that we would start this common sense movement that we started. So, I'll tell you what, it has been a fun ride and we are enjoying every minute of it.
HOLMES: Now, how much do you enjoy the fact that it's so timely now? It seems like you've been doing it for a couple of years. I'm not exactly sure when it started, but it's been a couple of years, and now, with the tough turn in the economy, a lot of people suffering, your message -- I mean, through beer, really resonates.
MIDDLEBROOKS: Man, I'll tell you what, it -- like you said -- it is so important right now with everything that's going on in the economy. And, I mean, just everything in society in general, this could be -- I don't even know how to explain it, because, you know, it's something that we're very passionate about. This is so timely. You know, we have so many people that we got to come together and help, man, and bring up in this economy.
HOLMES: Now, a little bit about you here, just your background. A lot of people may not know what were you up to. I mean, you're in L.A. now, but just of what is your background.
MIDDLEBROOKS: I was out of school for a year and a half. I got a master's from U.C. Irvine in acting, I just graduated and been out of school about a year and a half and doing guest stars on TV and stuff when I went in for this High Life commercial. And so, that was around fall of '06.
And so, that's when it kind of really just kicked off, because, you know, this has really opened many doors for me. And so, it has just turned into something -- it's just, man, I can't even explain in words.
HOLMES: Well, I want to get to the ad you all are doing this year. Again, you are sticking with the High Life theme essentially, of being every man's beer kind of a thing, that blue color beer, and you have the one-second commercial last year showing fiscal responsibility, if you will, not spending all that money on a 30- second ad.
But this year...
MIDDLEBROOKS: Yes.
HOLMES: ... a longer ad but you're highlighting small businesses.
MIDDLEBROOKS: Yes. You know, we didn't need 30 seconds last year to tell our story. That's why you saw the one-second commercial, High Life. And guess what? We don't need 30 seconds this year, man, but I'll tell you, there are a lot of small businesses around the country that could use this to help them thrive.
You know, and so, what -- being what the High Life is, we've decided that we're going to take our 30 seconds and give it to four small businesses around the country and introduce them to the world.
And we got Loretta Pralines in New Orleans. You know, she made it through Katrina, has two locations. So, why not help her to take it to the next level?
Del's Barber Shop in Escondido. I'll you one thing that really stood out about them is what they do. They are in a big military area.
HOLMES: Yes.
MIDDLEBROOKS: So, what they do, the last hair cut before deployment and the first one when they return for soldiers is free.
HOLMES: Very cool.
MIDDLEBROOKS: So, that's what the High Life is about. So, why not show the world that we have -- I mean, tons of people out there living the High Life and who believe that it's time that we make a difference.
HOLMES: You know, is it -- is it not amazing to you that a beer company was ahead of the curve in a lot of ways on this particular time, but you hear so many people now and it's other companies talking about getting back to basics, it's not about -- I mean, there are some insurance commercials talking about, it's not what we drive, but it's about the journey. I mean, just going back to that every man principle.
Is it amazing that a beer commercial -- beer -- has -- was kind of ahead of the curve on this thing?
MIDDLEBROOKS: Well, you know what? What I think is amazing that everybody is surprised by that, but if you look at where MillerCoors started, man, High Life was the only brand when they started, back in 1903. You know what I mean?
So, it wasn't the big company that it is now. And now, thank God for the success of it, but they started somewhere as a smaller business. So, that's why they understand what it's like to need the push or to help pull people along.
And so, we were ahead of the curve with taking back the High Life, but now, we want to do something with it. You know, we're going to take on that responsibility. Now that we've taken it back and got people back to a common sense way of thinking, now let's see what the next step is. And what that is, is we're going to giving back.
HOLMES: Windell, that is -- it is amazing. Miller High Life. People are such a fan of those commercials. Congratulations to you and all the success that has come your way. But, really, it's a great thing and putting that common sense into peoples' heads.
Are you a beer drinker even, in general?
MIDDLEBROOKS: I am beer drinker, man. I'll tell you what, that makes my job a lot of fun, living the high life.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Well, enjoy the high life down there in Miami. I know you've been there all week and have a good time. And they're shuffling you all around.
So, Windell, good to see you. I hope to see you down the road.
MIDDLEBROOKS: Thank you, T.J. And good to see you all, too, man.
HOLMES: Thanks so much, man.
BALDWIN: What a great interview. Four seconds last year, and now, look at that -- beer ahead of the curve. And maybe, some people will jump onboard. I mean, good for the small businesses.
HOLMES: Awesome.
BALDWIN: They need their help.
HOLMES: Also, they're giving small businesses...
BALDWIN: What a platform, huh?
HOLMES: ... a Super Bowl platform that they could never afford on their own.
BALDWIN: Wow.
HOLMES: That's great.
BALDWIN: That's awesome.
HOLMES: That's great.
BALDWIN: So, anyway -- yes, so tonight, 6:35, kickoff for the big game, right? But a lot of people see it as you said before, and you said it perfectly, I thought. It's really sort of like Colts instead of versus Saints -- it's versus the City of New Orleans.
HOLMES: The entire city of New Orleans.
BALDWIN: Yes.
HOLMES: We're going to head down to Miami, because our Joe Carter is reporting down there for us. And he has a story about, again, just that point. It's not just Colt-Saints. If you are going against the Saints, you are going against the entire city of New Orleans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DREW BREES, NEW ORLEANS SAINTS: I felt like coming here was a calling. I felt like it was my destiny. And when you're a Saint, you belong to New Orleans.
(MUSIC)
JOE CARTER, CNN SPORTS (voice-over): The sounds are different these days in New Orleans, the cries are gone and the cheers have returned, much different even from when Drew Brees signed with the Saints in 2006, just 197 days removed from one of the greatest tragedies in American history.
DREW BREES, NEW ORLEANS SAINTS: That was definitely a defining moment in my life. And one that's brought me to New Orleans with the sense that, you know, this is a calling for me. This is an opportunity that I have to not only come to a city and be part of the rebuilding of an organization but also the rebuilding of a city and a community and a region.
CARTER: When he signed with the Saints, Brees was coming off major shoulder surgery, his career at a crossroads. The Big Easy provided a chance to both the city and its quarterback to make a comeback, though it has to be big and certainly not easy.
BREES: At times, you know, God is going to put you in a position where you kind of wonder, why is this happening to me, or why is this happening us? And yet, you know that it's happening for a reason. You know it's there to make you stronger and to give you the opportunity to accomplish something later on, which, here we are.
CARTER: Through his Brees Dream Foundation, Drew has spent years working just as hard off the field as he has rebuilding the Saints on it. In a city familiar with voodoo, Brees has found a kindred spirit in his coach, Sean Payton, who's pumped life back into the team's fans and money back into the community.
SEAN PAYTON, SAINTS' HEAD COACH: I think all of us, as coaches and players, you know, have that responsibility to help, and certainly, in that city, at that time and that region, not just that city, it pulled on you.
CARTER: It pulled Brees and Payton to help places like George Washington Carver High School in the Upper Ninth Ward, where they were part of raising over $1 million to build a new sports complex in an area ravaged by the hurricane.
BRIAN BORDAINICK, ATHLETIC DIR., CARVER HIGH SCHOOL: The rebuilding process of the school into the community was certainly not on the job description, I'm sure, for those guys, but it's something that they've really embraced and are doing a great job at it.
JOHN DESHAZIER, WRITER, TIMES PICAYUNE 4: When you do that kind of think, you become part of the fabric immediately. You are saying, "Look, I don't just play here, I live here, I love here, I want to be here and I want to help make the situation better.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARTER: Drew Brees told us earlier this week that when he enters Super Bowl XLIV tonight, he'll be carrying the hopes of an entire city on his shoulders. He said it's not a burden, but a responsibility he gladly accepts. And you can see that these guys, the connection between Brees and city, only a few short years, has already grown to be a great bond.
HOLMES: You know, amazing that he has taken on that responsibility. A lot of people say -- would say, you know, Drew, that's too heavy of a load. But he's taking it upon himself.
I know you're supposed to be there in a neutral site for these two teams, but being there and getting a sense, are you going to see more blue in the stadium, or we're going to see more black and gold? And just around town in general, are you seeing more of who?
CARTER: Well, I don't know about the stadium. You know, when the game kicks off, you don't know really how many people are going to be on each side. But as far as the town goes, we were in South Beach yesterday, and I could tell you, I've seen more Saints fans than Colts fans.
And, you can make it -- make of it what you will because, you know, New Orleans, of course, is closer than Indianapolis, and, of course, the Colts were in Super Bowl here in Miami just a few short years ago, in 2007. So, maybe some folks didn't want to make the trip twice -- guys.
HOLMES: Well, there's the point there as well, make the trip twice.
All right. Joe, good to see you. We really appreciate you reporting for us and getting up early with us this morning. Thanks so much. And, again, enjoy the game.
CARTER: You bet.
BALDWIN: Well, coming up here in about half an hour, I'm just really excited to be a CNN viewer, because there will be a very lovely woman who will be hosting starting today, CNN "STATE OF THE UNION." It's no longer John King, it is veteran political reporter, correspondent Candy Crowley. And we will chat with her on the other side of this break, about what it's like making up so early on a Sunday morning and what she has going on for the "STATE OF THE UNION."
That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We love John King around here. We love him. But we love Candy Crowley more. Sorry, John.
BALDWIN: We're kind of big geek up fans over Candy Crowley here at CNN Atlanta. Candy Crowley taking a big chair starting this morning, "STATE OF THE UNION."
How does that feel sitting at that studio?
CANDY CROWLEY, "STATE OF THE UNION" HOST: Pretty good. You know, I've substituted before, but it's a whole lot different when all of the sudden, you walk in and your name is on the wall, you know?
(LAUGHTER)
CROWLEY: You know, it's certainly funny, because print people love to see themselves on TV and TV people really love to see their names in print. So, I have my name in print. So...
HOLMES: Well...
BALDWIN: Congratulation.
HOLMES: ...congratulations...
CROWLEY: Thank you.
HOLMES: ... some adjusting I guess that needs to be done. We're happy to have you here on the morning shift, the weekend morning shift. Now, what kind of adjustments are you having to make for these hours?
CROWLEY: Can I tell you the campaign trail -- I was talking to a friend of mine who did the campaign trail with me last year. And, oh boy it was -- yes, it was it last year, right? Yes, two years ago now.
HOLMES: Two years ago now, yes.
CROWLEY: Wow, time is flying. And I said this is no different. We used to get up at 3:00 in hotel rooms and drive pell-mell 150 miles away and not get back in until midnight. And so what we're losing here is, I don't think I'm going to be here until midnight.
So I can do the early -- with enough caffeine, I ought to be ok. Although one of my children said why don't you just stay up rather than go to sleep and get up, so that may -- I may have to do that at times.
HOLMES: Well, you can call me for advice on that, because I had to do that plenty. BALDWIN: We've had that a few times, you try that.
Anyway, so what do you have going on the show this morning? Talking about Sarah Palin, the keynote speaker last night in Nashville at the TEA party convention, a big story.
CROWLEY: It really is and she hit on a huge issue. We've been talking this whole time about how this year, like a big election year, what are people going to be talking about, it's all about the economy.
Except for one thing, every since Scott Brown a Republican got elected for the U.S. Senate seat of the late Ted Kennedy, you know what? Republicans are talking about national security. And it was a huge, huge issue in that Massachusetts race.
We'll be talking about that with the three top political reporters, including our own Dana Bash who knows a lot about that race.
We also have though, for a big guest, Hillary Clinton. That was a great deal of fun. I talked to her at the State Department. And it's a good thing -- we were thinking today it was great we talked to her earlier, because as you know we've got 30 inches of snow on the ground here.
So I now owe to the three people are going to come and be on our panel, I owe them a lot. They have trudged through the snow to get here. Otherwise you would have listened to me for the entire time.
HOLMES: Of course, we could have done that...
BALDWIN: We could have done that...
HOLMES: ...easily.
BALDWIN: ...definitely.
HOLMES: The panel of three was supposed to be the panel of eight and you lost five in the weather maybe.
CROWLEY: No, these were my three top choices and they came. So I'm glad.
HOLMES: Well...
BALDWIN: And let me do -- with Hillary Clinton, you talked -- of course politics and everything in between but what about the wedding? Chelsea's wedding? Have you talked about that?
CROWLEY: I couldn't resist. Simply because I'm a recent mother of the groom and I have to tell you the choices for dresses for mothers of the -- anything in the wedding are hideous. And so I just thought-- you know this is like totally at the end of the interview.
We talked very serious at terrorism and Pakistan, Afghanistan. And I couldn't resist and I asked her about that dress and whether she found it yet.
So you're going to have to wait until the end of the interview, but I know.
BALDWIN: Awesome; Candy Crowley taking the big chair starting at 9:00 this morning, "STATE OF THE UNION". Thank you.
HOLMES: Candy, congratulations we'll be watching for sure. Thank you so much.
CROWLEY: Thank you. Thank you, see you next Sunday.
HOLMES: All right, yes, you will; every Sunday.
We've got a rundown now of CNN's revamped SUNDAY MORNING lineup after our newscast. The first hour, "STATE OF THE UNION" of course Candy Crowley that starts right at 9:00 Eastern and then it's "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" at 10:00 and then after that "RELIABLE SOURCES" with Howard Kurtz that's at 11:00 and then Candy's second hour live, "STATE OF THE UNION", hits at noon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, big snowstorm, yes, but we've got a big dig out now. Those in the Middle Atlantic States is going to be busy probably today, tomorrow and maybe a couple of days after that.
BALDWIN: And luckily for a little while, a lot of snow to talk about. And don't forget under the snow you've got the black ice to deal with on the sidewalks, the roads. Wow and, of course, power lines; power lines down; hundreds of thousands of people without power.
The Washington, D.C. area got anywhere between two to three feet of snow. Dulles Airport, in North of Virginia they saw a record 32 inches.
HOLMES: A record in Philadelphia as well, 27 inches just about there; the second largest snowfall in that city's history. Virginia, two to three feet of snow in places, officials there and several other states are urging people to stay off the highways until crews can clear it. That's kind of common sense thing that's still needs to be said.
Karen is over in our Severe Weather Center today and for the most part it's -- it's done with the big punch. Cold temperatures now, but for the most part, we're not going to see any more heavy snowfall is that right?
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That is correct and I want to point out one thing and that is Dulles is supposed to open at 6:00 this morning. I continue to check the Web site, I continue to check Flight Explorer and we don't see any flights going in or out of Dulles. And they say that you can go in or out of with prior permission, because they're still taking care of the runways there, still kind of getting things in order. And I'm sure a lot of folks are still standing by because their flights have been cancelled and not just for the past 24 hours, but for quite some time.
Here is our beauty shot out of Washington, D.C. there you can see out a snowfall. I saw a couple of guys on top of the White House kind of clearing things off there. And no, the president was not out shoveling snow. And look at the snowfall totals that we did see; 28- plus inches of snow for Philadelphia, Baltimore, 24-plus inches.
But I even saw one report of 40 inches of snowfall and now, they'll be adjusting these totals as we go in to the next several days. Temperatures in the teens and 20s across the Mid-Atlantic, we've got one degree in Pittsburgh.
But look at this, its 61 degrees in Miami. And I want to take you to Miami; this courtesy of our affiliate WPLG. Take a look at that beautiful skyline and maybe I can get it just about right here. Mostly sunny skies and the temperatures expected to make it to just about 70 degrees for today.
Winds coming out of the north and northwest and should be about five to 10 miles an hour. It looks like it's going to be just a gorgeous afternoon there and the evening temperatures expected to be in the 50s as we go towards the evening hours.
Brooke, back to you.
BALDWIN: Nice, Karen Maginnis, thank you, thank you.
All right, well, we've been talking about this, this week, ""don't ask don't tell"; the military now trying to figure out if that controversial policy will end? What do students know about it and do they think it should be repealed? We will ask Carl Azuz, our "Student News" expert, next.
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BALDWIN: We are talking about the U.S. military's "don't ask don't tell" policy. Might it be changed, might it be repealed? A lot of people talking about that this week.
CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS: And a lot of strong opinions on both sides.
HOLMES: And let's say good morning Carl Azuz...
AZUZ: Thank you T.J.
HOLMES: ...with CNN Student News.
This is one of -- I'm sure students got a lot to say about.
AZUZ: They do and you know what really impressed us this time around was how articulate, how thoughtful some of their comments were on that controversial topic. The topics where you know so many folks have so many passionate feelings.
There are a lot of students who commented on our blog this past week and there are a couple I want to bring you this morning.
The first one is from Brett, he's a student who supports repealing "don't ask don't tell". And Brett tells us, "There were many in the Army who protested when Truman desegregated the Armed Forces and allowed blacks to serve alongside whites. Why are we giving credence to those who discriminate against homosexuals?"
Now, on the blog I want to say that most students agreed with Brett, most of them feel that it's time to get rid of this policy.
But we had a couple of veterans write in and they said that they felt the policy is important and needs to stay right where it is.
And then there was a comment I want to bring you from Sarah, she said, "I believe this policy should be left alone. I feel things may be worse for gays and lesbians if the policy is dropped. I also believe that the military has more to be concerned about during this troubled times."
So we had a lot of really well-worded arguments for and against this argument in our blog. You check it out at CNNStudentNews.com.
HOLMES: I know you put a lot of things out there, topics every week. But I guess, how would you gauge the response to this one versus so many other topics you have. Pretty good response?
AZUZ: Very good. Hundreds of students on any given topic and you don't always -- you know, a lot of the topics that get more of a response are those that relate directly to students.
So it's always impressive to us when so many of them comment on something. With a middle of high school audience, you don't have a lot of kids and they're thinking about the military and they haven't served yet. So it's impressive to us that they are thinking in terms of what things could be like for them or how they sort of view something from the outside.
BALDWIN: If they're engaged...
AZUZ: They are.
BALDWIN: ...they pay attention and know what's going on...
AZUZ: Oh yes.
BALDWIN: ... what's being talked about.
AZUZ: It was very exciting for us.
BALDWIN: It's nice to hear that.
AZUZ: Yes, they're listening and that's good for us.
BALDWIN: Great, Carl Azuz of Student News thank you so much.
AZUZ: Thank you both for having me. I appreciate it. HOLMES: see you Carl.
Well, the Job market, tough out there right now. But "Fortune" magazine out with its list of 100 best companies to work for and 22 of those businesses have at least 500 job openings.
BALDWIN: Google has 1,000 openings, Deloitte has 11,000 but before we tell you the name of the number one company on "Fortune's" top 100 list, see if you can guess.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: This software company pampers its employees from head to toe. Work and work or shoot some Hoops or get a new hairstyle without leaving the corporate campus? The answer after the break.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What company has an on site gym and a hair salon? Software giant SAS takes the number one spot on "Fortune" magazine's list of the 100 best companies to work for. The firm's North Carolina headquarters also has a free health care clinic, a day care center, massages and live music during lunch.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love it. I love it. I would not want to work anywhere else.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A work-life balance is also a priority. The private company offers flexible hours, a 35-hour workweek and unlimited sick time. No wonder it's number one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLME: The faith segment this morning. It was almost a year ago President Obama named the members of his faith-based council. What have they been up to? It's a question a lot of people are asking right now and in the interim. The critics for it are chiming in today.
Today, two member of the president's council are with us. We interviewed both gentlemen back in April, Rabbi David Saperstein, director of Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. He joins us from D.C. Yes folks, he got out and braved it and made it into our studio D.C. with all that snow, so we thank you for being here. Also Reverend Jim Wallis, author of the new book called "The Great Awakening". He's here with us in Atlanta.
So, Rabbi I will start with you. And like I said we interviewed both of you guys back in April when you were named. And you said something to us here on the air. You said it conveys -- this council -- how seriously the administration takes the voice of the faith community. Do you still have faith in that statement now; here we are a year later? Do you think your voice is being heard and the administration is listening and taking you seriously?
The evidence is there in the extraordinary range of 60 recommendations that the council has tentatively approved, and it needs to finalize them in the next few weeks and send them on to the administration. But if accepted it would improve transparency. It would improve effectiveness. It would cut through red tape. It would ensure constitutional re: Church and state; restraints are inspected. Protect the religious rights of recipients and find much more affective ways for the government and not just the faith communities, but community organizations of all kind to work together, avoid duplication of reporting et cetera.
So this would be a huge advance.
HOLMES: Reverend Wallis, I know have you heard the criticism out there as well and some are even suggesting that this was essentially just a political front -- if you will -- by President Obama to name this council, and that he is not really listening.
You just heard Rabbi list off a number of things you guys are working on. Is it too early to judge results just yet?
JIM WALLIS, AUTHOR, "THE GREAT AWAKENING": Well, first of all, the faith community should not be seen as a special interest group. We are supposed to raise the things that often are not being raised; so the poor and the planet. Washington, D.C. listens way too much I think to Wall Street.
We will raise the voices of Main Street and the back streets who are being left out and left behind. That's our job.
David's right. These recommendations are strong. They will be offered in the next few weeks. And I think they are designed to change the way Washington works in partnership with faith-based organization. Our job is often to speak the truth to power and that's our vocation as a faith community.
And Reverend Wallis, you hit on a point there. You said you want him to listen to members of the faith-based community as much as he listens maybe to the guys on Wall Street. Over the past year evidence, are you satisfied at least that the president is doing that so far?
WALLIS: I think the president has tried to take politics off the table here and listen to the moral voice of the faith community. And the council is very diverse; it's interfaith. It's also across the political spectrum. I think they are trying to listen. I think it's a good beginning. We are off to a good start. I just want us to go further and deeper. And I think that's what the president wants.
We have to have a moral voice alongside the political voice that is screaming at the White House all the time.
HOLMES: And Rabbi Saperstein, do you feel that we have so many other problems that people are focused on with the economy, health care and all of those debates taking place that sometimes you may find it hard to get your voice in, but at the same time I assume you probably feel that your voice at this time is just as or maybe more important than ever?
SAPERSTEIN: Of course there are always groups who are competing for attention: political leaders, the media and the American public, but this is an administration that has been as open to the faith community as any that I can think of.
Meetings at the highest levels of the administration with a broad of religious leaders, lifting up the concerns Jim talked about, about the poor. Look at what the president did at Copenhagen after meetings with the faith community and leaders hip in every area of the environmental work of the administration.
This has been an administration that really has been open. We'll have to see when the recommendations come, will they be implemented; will they be listened to then. But every indication has been very, very encouraging. We could not ask for more at this time.
HOLMES: Reverend Wallis what kind of access do you all have to the president? Can you get him on the cell phone right now?
WALLIS: The council has been working on these recommendations, but beyond that, as David said, we have had broad conversations in the White House with the administration on fundamental issues of domestic and global poverty, making sure the economic recovery also includes the poorest and most vulnerable, those left behind, that the global poor are on God's agenda.
So they'll be on our agenda whether or not they are on the agenda of U.S. domestic politics: the environment, creation (ph) care -- this is huge for us, center for us; fatherhood, and strengthening families, inner faith collaboration and cooperation and not conflict.
I think the administration from the transition on, has been trying to bring in the voices of the faith community. In the past, sometimes it has been we're there to clean up the mess of bad social policy. That's been a shift now. We are trying to actually, you know, offer our voice, a prophetic voice even on policy. That's a change, that's a good direction. I hope it continues; I trust that it will.
HOLMES: You know, you just wrapped -- that was going to be my last question but you wrapped it up there well, instead of being called in after we have the mess you be part of the solutions beforehand. And if you are at the table at the beginning maybe you don't have to be brought in at the last minute to help clean up a mess.
WALLIS: Right.
HOLMES: Gentlemen, we will continue to have your back -- another report, I believe, a month away. Is that right, Reverend Wallis, a month the recommendations are going to the president?
WALLIS: That's right. HOLMES: We will see what the president does with it. Reverend Wallis, Reverend Saperstein. Gentlemen, as always a pleasure and thank you both for being here; we'll see you soon. Good luck getting back home, there, Rabbi, in D.C.
SAPERSTEIN: Thank you T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Brooke.
BALDWIN: Yes, we thank him braving the elements in coming in because we've been talking all weekend about this big snow event in the mid-Atlantic. It is turning into the big cleanup for a lot of you. We will show you what is going on, one final check with Reynolds Wolf in Alexandria, Virginia, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: We have to revamp the rundown we want to show you for our Sunday morning lineup. Coming up right after our newscast here, the first hour, "STATE OF THE UNION WITH CANDY CROWLEY"; that begins in just a couple of minutes at 9:00 Eastern.
BALDWIN: We are a little excited about that.
Then it's Fareed Zakaria GPS at 10:00 Eastern. After that, "Reliable Sources" live with Howard Kurtz at 11:00 Eastern. And then Candy's second half or second hour live, "STATE OF THE UNION" at high noon.
HOLMES: And have we mentioned we're excited about Candy Crowley this morning. We are excited we had you this morning as well...
BALDWIN: Ok. Thanks.
HOLMES: Thank you for helping out as always. Betty taking a much deserved -- a little break. But always good to have you.
BALDWIN: Hey, if my alarm's going to go off at 3:00 a.m. on the weekends, I don't mind hanging out with you.
HOLMES: Thank you for that, Brooke. Thank you very much.
BALDWIN: Thank you.
HOLMES: And again, Candy Crowley coming up in just a minute. We just want to give you a look at some of the headlines before we hand it over here. We are now talking about the big dig out, instead of the big storm. The snow has stopped falling finally, but a lot of stuff to clean up now. The Mid-Atlantic States trying to get out from under that massive snowstorm, talking two to three feet fell in some areas. Highways still slick.
Reynolds Wolf checking on the streets there in Virginia; they're going to be able to clean that mess up for rush hour tomorrow?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely they're going to try to do their best. I'm coming to you from Alexandria, Virginia where again, this is one of the spots that really bore the brunt of some of the heavy snowfall in the region, a region that's really served by three major airports, Reagan, Dulles and, of course, you have Baltimore.
In speaking of those three airports, keep in mind that all three are open but the airports are advising everyone that before you head out, before you dig your car out and get on the roads and make your way to the airport, call ahead to the airline. Because I'm telling flights are going to be sporadic for a good part of the day today and of course for much of tomorrow.
I can also tell you that Southwest Airline flights out of Baltimore, all cancelled for the day and hoping to resume some travel sometime tomorrow. But certainly some rough times here. We are still digging out, and certainly this situation is going to play out up and down throughout the region, for a good part today and tomorrow and more so possibly later in the week.
Let's send it back to you in the studio.
HOLMES: Reynolds, we appreciate you buddy. Thanks so much. Be safe and get on back to us when you can hear in Atlanta. Thanks so much.
WOLF: You bet.
HOLMES: Now it's time, if we haven't mentioned, for "STATE OF THE UNION WITH CANDY CROWLEY."
