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CNN Sunday Morning
Glenn Beck Criticizes Republican Party at CPAC; Tiger Woods Apologizes
Aired February 21, 2010 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is February 21st.
Hopefully, you're having a great morning so far. We do appreciate your being here, though. I'm Betty Nguyen.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rob Marciano, in today for T.J. Holmes. It's 6:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, 5:00 a.m. in Memphis and 3:00 on the west coast. Thanks for starting your day with us and thanks me for letting me join you.
NGUYEN: Glad to have you.
MARCIANO: T.J. kind of just, you know, getting ready for his big day.
NGUYEN: He is. He's got a lot coming up. So, he's taking a little time off. But you'll see him back here in no time.
MARCIANO: Yes, he will.
Last year, he was driving his car -- not T.J. -- but another guy. And he was listening to Rush Limbaugh gave his keynote address. And this year, he's actually -- the conservative talk show host, Glenn Beck, he took the mike --
NGUYEN: Yes.
MARCIANO: -- and kind of ripped his own party.
NGUYEN: He did.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLENN BECK, CONSERVATIVE TALK SHOW HOST: Hello! My name is the Republican Party and I got a problem. I'm addicted to spending and big government.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Yes, that kind of went off, challenging the GOP and giving his take on a lot of topics, including O.J. Simpson? Yes, we'll have more of his speech straight ahead.
MARCIANO: Plus, the world watched Friday as Tiger Woods said he was sorry for his marital indiscretions. Celebrities have often invoked their faith in past public apologies. In his own speech, Woods cited the role of Buddhism in his life.
Coming up in "Faces of Faith" this morning: We look at Buddhism, its teachings and traditions.
NGUYEN: But first, we're going to take a look at some top stories you.
A deadly train incident in central Florida to tell you about. Three teenager girls were killed last night when they were hit by a freight train while crossing a trestle in Melbourne. A male friend with them had already crossed and he tried to warn them but it was simply too late.
MARCIANO: A Pennsylvania high school accused of spying on a student. The FBI is investigating claims that an assistant principal tapped into the webcam of a school-issued laptop to watch a student at home. That's according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the case. The school is denying the allegations and says it only uses webcams to track stolen or lost computers.
NGUYEN: Well, last hour, we spoke with Roslyn Brock. She has just been picked to be the new chair of the NAACP. Brock, who's only 44 years old, will be the organization's youngest chair ever.
And coming up later in the show, we'll play part of that interview. She talks about her election and how she plans to attract younger members to the group.
All right. So, radio and TV talk show host Glenn beck was in his element, and had a captivated audience, almost all well-versed in politics. And here are some of the keywords that they were worked up and angry about, some of them, Beck did not disappoint. In the final hours of this year's CPAC convention, he basically told Republicans to repent.
Wrong message for the right crowd? Well, let's find out.
Democratic Maria Cardona joins me now.
Maria, yes -- I mean, he had quite a lot to say, and boy, did he say it. Let's take a listen to some of his words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BECK: We believe in the right of the individual, we -- I believe in redemption, but the first step to getting redemption is you got to admit you got a problem. I have not heard people in the Republican Party yet admit that they have a problem, and when they do say they have a problem I don't know if I believe them.
(END VIDEO CLIP) NGUYEN: All right. So, while the Dems may revel in these kinds of comments, did that hurt his party? Did it help it? Did it motivate them? Or did it just frustrate them?
MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think that, clearly, his remarks last night were hurtful to the Republican Party for one reason, they -- the Republican Party candidates whether in 2010 or 2012 absolutely needs the support of the crowd that Glenn Beck was addressing last night. And what Glenn Beck was saying to them, basically, is that you're not going to get the support of this crowd unless you tack even more to the right, and that is not where mainstream voters are. That is not where independents are, that is not where African-Americans are, Hispanics are.
And, in addition, there was one line that I found very interesting. He made fun of the big tent, that Republicans talk about having a big tent. The reality in politics is that you cannot win a national election without a big tent.
So, again, it poses a big problem for Republicans and I think that they're going to find themselves in a situation very similar to the situation where they found themselves in New York 23, where there was a big infighting in the Republican Party, and the Democrats won that election.
NGUYEN: Well, you know, he also went on to say it's going to be a long road ahead, not just for the Republican Party, but for Americans in general. I want you to take a listen to this little piece of sound that we have.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BECK: -- demonized or penalized for it.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BECK: The worse is still ahead of us. But nobody has the spine in Washington to tell you that, because they --
(APPLAUSE)
BECK: -- because they don't think that you can handle it as an American. Let me tell you something, we are on to you Washington, we know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: So, let me ask you this. Is that so -- I mean, does that hold true that the worst is still ahead and regardless of who the leader is, who the politician is on which side, they are not telling us the truth about it?
CARDONA: Well, I'll say two things about that. I'll say, the first thing is that President Obama, during his campaign and a lot of Democrats have said when they took control of Congress, and President Obama, when he took control in the Oval Office, he said that this is going to get worse before it was going to get better. Now, there's no question that all of the policies that he put in place really brought the country back from the brink of economic disaster.
So, while things are going in the right direction, they have not gotten good enough because clearly, job losses are not where they need to be. The American economy clearly is still hurting, and until voters feel that there is a recovery, there is no recovery.
NGUYEN: Yes. But they're talking --
CARDONA: Democrats talk about that and they talk about helping middle class families and working class families and Republicans don't.
NGUYEN: Well, yes. Well -- but they are also talking about helping middle class families as well, and you can't say they are not talking about it at all. But we're also talking about the stimulus program too and how it was supposed to be this emergency relief -- and yet, after a year of it, not all of it has been spent, not all these jobs have been created or saved. So, there's a lot on the table.
I want to shift gears for just a second --
CARDONA: Sure.
NGUYEN: -- because there was a straw poll last night, and Ron Paul won. He won with 31 percent of the vote.
CARDONA: Right.
NGUYEN: Mitt Romney came in second with 22 percent, and then Sarah Palin followed with 7 percent.
Do you think any of these candidates have a shot at winning the presidency if they do run in 2012?
CARDONA: Well, you know, again, that -- there is a lifetime in politics between now and then. And so, I think that all of that is clearly up to the Republican Party and the voters. The folks in the room will have a big say, I think. But I think --
NGUYEN: So, who will be the biggest challenge for the Democrats then of those three?
CARDONA: Well, I think it depends on how they run. I think that what Democrats need to focus on is to continue to talk about solutions. You know, the American voters and independent voters have been very clear for the last several months that they are frustrated with the way that Washington works.
And another problem that came out of CPAC is, there was no talk of solutions in that room. And I want to bring up the stimulus package, because what is interesting about the stimulus package is that Republicans, left and right, all across the board, were very quick to go after the stimulus package, but yet, when they were in the districts, they were the first ones at the ribbon-cutting ceremonies where there were jobs being created. So, there's a bit of hypocrisy there going on.
And, again, American voters, they are looking for solutions.
NGUYEN: Yes. They are looking for solutions and they're trying to find some answers on both sides.
CARDONA: Absolutely.
NGUYEN: And there is a lot of frustration out there.
But, Maria, we do appreciate your insight. Thanks for joining us today.
CARDONA: Thanks so much, Betty. Appreciate it.
NGUYEN: Sure.
OK. So, more than eight in 10 Americans believe there is something wrong with the government. We have been talking about it, and a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll finds 86 percent of those questions saying yes, when asked is the government broken; 81 percent say it can be fixed, only 5 percent say it's broken and cannot be fixed.
Now, the same question was asked in 2006. Then, 78 percent said the government was broken.
This most recent poll was taken February 12th through the 15th. It has a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percent.
All right. So, the right, the left, and everybody in-between agree on one thing, that the government is broken. And all this week, CNN digs into this mess to find out what could be done to clean it all up. No more politics. It is time for answers folks.
"Broken Government" is the name of the program and it's on all week right here on CNN.
MARCIANO: Well, the nation's governors are in Washington for their winter meeting and there are a lot of long faces. A report on state finances finds many continue to face huge revenue deficits.
Well, First Lady Michelle Obama also addressed the group about another pressing issue, asking for help in her initiative to fight child obesity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, U.S. FIRST LADY: Let's stop wringing our hands and talking about it and citing statistics. Let's act. Let's move. Let's give our kids the future they deserve.
Look, I look forward to working with all of you in these efforts over the months and years ahead. I'm going to need you. I'm going to need you championing these causes, giving me feedback, giving me direction and guidance. It will not work any other way. And our kids can't afford for us to get this wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: All right. Let's go live to Sarah Lee in Washington now.
Sarah, the first lady's initiative, health care, money problems -- the governors certainly have a lot to discuss, don't they?
SARAH LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Rob. And they will resume that conference this morning here in the Marriot behind in downtown Washington, D.C.
Now, economists have been saying that the country is on the rebound; however, the states' governors say that the bottom has not fallen out for them yet. They are expecting the worse is yet to come.
According to the National Governors Association, the NGA, according to their figure, they say that states are looking at a projected estimated $134 billion in budget short falls over the next three fiscal years. And they are trimming where they can, they say. They already shed about 18,000 jobs just in the month of January 2010 alone, and that more pink slips will be handed out coming up.
So, right now, the headline out of this conference so far is the economy; also, health care, because that measure has stalled here in the nation's capital. So, we are looking at states that are saying that Congress, that Washington is not being flexible enough, that they are trying to oppose a one-size-fits-all, that seems to be a major complaint here at this winter meeting, and so, they say that they plan to truly cast partisanship aside and roll up their own sleeves and try to get something done.
Here's what we're hearing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. BRIAN SCHWEITZER (D), MONTANA: We have a health care system that is broken. By broken, I mean we pay twice as much as the other industrialized nations and we don't have a healthier population. And, of course, we have people that have been thrown out of work.
So, we're actually looking for action. In states, we have to move. We have to balance budgets and we have to educate, medicate and incarcerate.
GOV. TIM PAWLENTY (R), MINNESOTA: Well, I think there is a sense of frustration across the country that Washington doesn't work anymore, but I think people still have faith in their local governments and their state governments. They tend to be smaller and more nimble and produce better results.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LEE: So, the economy and health care are major issues that these governors will be discussing during this winter meeting. Other panels this afternoon will include education, transportation, as well as homeland security -- Rob.
MARCIANO: Sarah, what's the mood of these governors? I mean, I can't -- I can't imagine as a governor trying to balance your budget. You can't really print money like the federal government can when it comes to boosting your budget. Are they frustrated? Are they angry? What's the mood of these guys?
LEE: I think, right now, there is a bit of distrust and just frustration among the governors generally speaking. And they started out yesterday really saying that they wanted to cast aside partisanship. They said they can't get this done on the federal level, we are more nimble, we are more flexible, and we can get this done ourselves.
MARCIANO: All right. It should be a busy week. Sarah Lee, live for us in Washington -- thank you, Sarah.
Also a busy week for the president. Tomorrow, he'll meet with the nation's governors who are in town, as we mentioned, for their association's winter meeting. And Tuesday, he'll get a series of meetings at the White House scheduled. Wednesday, President Obama talks dollars and cents as he addresses the Business Roundtable. Thursday, it's the big health care meeting with the bipartisan group of lawmakers, and yet, more meetings hosted at the White House on Friday.
NGUYEN: Well, flooding and massive mudslides kill dozens, plus causing all kinds of damage. Just look at those video. We're going to tell you where it's happening and bring you more of these just dramatic pictures.
MARCIANO: And the $862 billion economic stimulus plan was enacted one year ago. So, how is it helping you? We track all of those dollars -- coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. If you have not seen this video, we do urge you to stop and just take a look at it. Flooding from the Portuguese island of Madeira. Look at all of that, river rapids of mud all the way through the streets, and not only is it dangerous, it has been deadly. At least 40 people have been killed, 100 hurt, and an unknown number of people missing after just all the heavy rain spawned mudslides on the southern part of the island.
Now, significant damage is being reported, obviously from these pictures. The rain has let up -- that's a little bit of good news -- but the search and cleanup, well, that is sure to be intense.
MARCIANO: For sure.
Well, that's international weather there, but, Reynolds, you have your hands full as far as the winter that just won't quit here in the lower 48. Good morning.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. Good morning, guys.
You know, we have been talking this morning about some of the snowfall in parts of the Midwest, some in the Rocky Mountains. Now, we're seeing some of that moving perhaps a little bit closer to the Great Lakes.
Right now, as we speak, heavy snowfall actually forming in places, like Kansas City. But as we pan our way back over towards St. Louis, and eventually into Chicago, this is a place whereby tomorrow could get fairly interesting, especially here in the Chicago area, and the reason why is because, again, you have this area of low pressure marching its way to the east. As it moves into the southern half of the Ohio Valley, it's going to have moisture not only from the Gulf of Mexico but also from the Great Lakes. So, places like Chicago could see up to a foot of snowfall by tomorrow. So, it looks like the bulk of that is going to come overnight into tomorrow.
There is a shot that we have from one of the airports. From this vantage, I'm not sure of that happens, which airport that happens to be, if that is O'Hare or -- I'll tell you what, regardless at this point, really, it doesn't matter. Both are going to have some problems in the days to come, and they may see backups in terms of travel, not just into Tuesday but perhaps even into Wednesday as well. And that's what it always happens with the airports when one of the big hubs happen to be affected. It will have a trickle effect everywhere else around the country.
For the rest of the country and in parts of the southeast, pretty nice day today. Places like Atlanta should be just spectacular, plenty of sunshine. Back into Texas, a mix of scattered showers, maybe some thunderstorms in places like Louisiana. Now, here's the tradeoff though: Atlanta, although the day is going to be nice for you, all of this is also going to be driving off towards the east. So, tonight, you might hear a rumble of thunder near midnight hour, possibly some strong thunderstorms.
Back out to the west, some showers possible for much of the Golden State of California, high elevations, not rain but snow, and, of course, the snow back in the four corners.
Very quickly, 37 degrees currently, or rather 30s now are warming up to 37 degrees in Chicago, with 33 in Kansas City, 64 in Atlanta -- your high for the day, 68 in Tampa, and we wrap up with 66 in Phoenix.
That is a look at your forecast. We got more coming up in just a few moments. You are watching CNN SUNDAY. See you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, it is now officially 1-year-old, the $862 billion stimulus. So, in the year since President Obama signed it into law, what's happened?
MARCIANO: Well, the CNN stimulus desk has been breaking it down for us all -- well, the last couple of weeks, as a matter of fact.
Josh Levs is here to show us how much of that money has actually been spent. Hey, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hey, guys.
We've been at it right here day-in, day-out, piecing through all sorts of projects, asking you -- asking you -- if you have been stimulated.
Let's first do this. We have some video. It was a year ago that President Obama signed it into law, that's why we're saying it's now 1-year-old. That is when it actually became an act one year ago, on February 17th. Now, this is one thing that he said at the time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hope this investment will ignite our imagination once more, spurring new discoveries and breakthroughs in science, in medicine, in energy, to make our economy stronger and our nation more secure, and our planet safer for our children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: All right. Now, it is a fact that there have projects that met all of those descriptions, that have gotten some funding so far. But the vast majority of it has not been spent at all.
Let me show a couple of figures here. First of all, the reason it's $862 billion is that the Congressional Budget Office, nonpartisan, recently said that's what it will cost the country over 10 years, $862 billion. The vast majority of it goes to -- not projects near you, but to other kinds of things. It goes to fund unemployment. It goes to tax cuts.
Now, I'll show you how much actually has been spent on this next screen. That's what you got here: $119 billion in tax cuts have gone through so far; $179 billion has been paid out in total. And when you hear about those shovel-ready projects that every city in America was coming out with, that's where you get $31 billion has been paid out so far on projects.
So, Rob and Betty, what we're looking at here is still the vast majority of all of that stimulus funding not spent yet. The administration is saying they're going to increase how much they spend. Especially as this spring and this summer come along, you can get more construction crews out there to start doing some things, then maybe people will see more activity near them.
NGUYEN: All right. So, not all the money has been spent yet. How many jobs has the money so far created?
LEVS: Yes, unfortunately, the short version there is that we're never going to really know. The administration likes to say that there are 2 million people working today who would not be working otherwise if it were not for this, but we're not ever going to know how many actually is. It's hypothetical about what would happen if we hadn't had this.
And when they come up with that figure, they are imagining these things called indirect jobs and induced jobs. If you are paying some people to work on a construction site, they need to buy concrete, that gets some people at the concrete company working, then you and they have more money, and then they're spending it, and that means can you go to the grocery store and buy stuff, so they're thinking more jobs come from that.
So, what they are doing is with these broad estimates saying a couple million people -- we can't know how many people are actually working that would not be working otherwise. All we can say is that most of the studies say there are certainly jobs that have been created out of it, but the real, big question as far as I'm concerned, remains: did the Recovery Act --
NGUYEN: So there is no number? I'm sorry to interrupt.
LEVS: Oh, sure.
NGUYEN: I've just listened to all of that.
LEVS: Yes.
NGUYEN: So, there is no number?
LEVS: We can't give you a final number. Like I said, the administration says there are 2 million, but the thing is, we'll never know how many people would --
NGUYEN: Oh, OK.
LEVS: -- or would not be working if it wasn't for that.
NGUYEN: Got it.
MARCIANO: I mean, for instance, there are some money going into weather research.
NGUYEN: Yes.
MARCIANO: You know, just to buy equipment --
LEVS: Right.
NGUYEN: Right.
MARCIANO: -- and instruments. But, that doesn't necessarily employ a person but the person who makes that instrument, you know --
NGUYEN: Still keeps their job.
LEVS: And, you know what? I mean, I'll just tell you quickly on the figures. You know, the way they are doing it now, Recovery.gov, you can take a look at some numbers, but what all these agencies are reporting is how many jobs are funded by the stimulus, not how many jobs are saved or created anymore.
So, they're saying we took that money and we paid these people. But they don't have to report that those people would definitely never have a job otherwise. That's why this gets complicated.
NGUYEN: That's tough to track. OK.
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: Well, hey, hats off to you for trying.
LEVS: Thanks, guys.
NGUYEN: Thank you, Josh.
Well, Tiger Woods mentioned in his apology, we're talking about Buddhism. Where does that fit in with all of this? And in our "Faces of Faith." We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Well, CPAC, NGA, we got plenty of acronyms to throw around this morning with the "STATE OF THE UNION" host, Candy Crowley.
NGUYEN: Yes, a lot of conferences, conventions going on. Who's live in our Washington bureau? Well, of course, that's being Candy. And we're looking forward to your show coming up at the top of the hour. I know you're definitely going to be talking about CPAC and then also, Glenn Beck's comments overnight.
CANDY CROWLEY, "STATE OF THE UNION" HOST: Well, here's the problem for the Republican Party, and I think it is certainly framed by Glenn Beck's arguments in speech last night, which essentially said, "Hey, hold the Republicans accountable, too, because Republicans haven't towed the party line."
Well, all well and good, except when you get to that ballot box and what the Republican Party needs to do, particularly with the tea party people is get together. Because otherwise, what you're going to end up with is another New York 23, where Republicans fought so much that the Democrat ended up winning the election.
So, I think that's what you found in the CPAC, that is the Conservative Political Action Conference, basically a group of conservatives who get together for a big old pep rally, and lots of how-tos on how to organize. And what we are finding is that inside that arena, there are, of course, people of like-minds. Outside, there are other Republicans who look at the sorts of things that Glenn Beck says, and don't think it's particularly helpful in election year.
So, while there was wild applause and a lot of unanimity inside that hotel ballroom, not so much outside when you look at the Republican Party as a whole.
MARCIANO: Well, let's talk about NGA. I don't know for sure, but I assume it means National Governors Association, Candy.
CROWLEY: It does. Yes. Acronyms are my business, OK?
NGUYEN: They are.
MARCIANO: Tell us about this one. What we can expect today in "STATE OF THE UNION" and the rest of this week?
CROWLEY: Well, we do have two governors on today, Jim Douglas, who's the governor of Vermont. We also have Deval Patrick who, as you know, is the governor of Massachusetts, taking a look at how Washington looks from outside this Beltway. As you know, CNN is doing an entire week sort of dedicated to the issue of broken government, is it broken, how do you fix it, is a broken government all that bad?
So, we want to get an outside-the-Beltway look from both of those governors.
And then, we talked all this week about Evan Bayh, the Indiana Democrat who quits, saying, "I'm so fed up, we don't get anything done on the Senate, and I want to leave, because I'm an executive at heart and nothing gets done." So, we will talk about with a couple f been there-done that people, who have been in Congress, who have been on the Senate and say, what was it like and is there any way to fix this so Congress is a little more productive?
NGUYEN: All right. Candy Crowley, that is and so much. And you're also talking about broken government this morning, how to fix that. At the top of the hour, "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley -- Candy, looking forward to it. See you soon.
MARCIANO: See you, Candy.
CROWLEY: Thanks, guys.
NGUYEN: And there's much more to come right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: The top stories right now, your state could be in financial trouble and it could be getting worse, folks. The National Governor's Association says several states face combined budget gaps of $134 billion over the next three years. Several state leaders complained the federal government is not doing enough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. BRIAN SCHWEITZER (D), MONTANA: We now have two wars and we don't have an exit strategy for either one of them. We have a health care system that is broken. By broken I mean, we pay twice as much as the other industrialized nations and we don't have a healthier population.
GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: My view is that Washington needs to listen more to the states. The Congress needs to listen more to governors. We're the ones that deal directly with health care, with education, with the economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, tonight the First Family is hosting a dinner for the governors at the White House.
Another big convention wrapped-up in Washington yesterday. More than 10,000 people attended the American Conservative Union -- Conservative Political Action Conference. Now conservatives from the base of the Republican Party, they are hoping to gain some ground in mid-term elections and use those as a spring board to win the White House in 2012.
But according to radio TV and talk show host, Glenn Beck, the Republicans have some work to do.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLENN BECK, TV, RADIO HOST: I'm a recovering alcoholic and I screwed up my life six ways to Sunday and I believe in redemption, but the first step to getting redemption is you've got to admit you've got a problem.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amen.
BECK: I have not heard people in the Republican Party yet admit that they have a problem and when they do say they have a problem, I don't know I believe them. I haven't seen the come to Jesus moment of the Republican Party yet.
I voted Republicans almost every time and every time, I've gone, I don't know what they even stand for anymore and they've got to recognize that they have a problem. Hello, my name is the Republican Party and I've got a problem. I'm addicted to spending and big government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: All right, well, Texas Representative Ron Paul, he finished first in a presidential straw poll at the same gathering.
The NAACP elects its youngest chairman ever, 44-year-old Roslyn Brock has been picked to take over for civil rights leader Julian Bond. Brock says she will focus on attracting new members. I talked with her last hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: So what's the first thing that you want to do now that you are chairman?
ROSLYN BROCK, NAACP CHAIR: I want to be able to get the word out that the NAACP is alive and well and that we are a multicultural, multiracial organization and it's our goal to extend a broader net to encourage all Americans who believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to come and join us. (END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Brock has been involved with the organization for more than 25 years, most recently serving as the vice chair.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, Tiger Woods may be the most famous golfer in the world, but there is at least one person who isn't keeping up with Woods' fall from grace. The Dalai Lama says he's never heard of him.
Interesting because Woods says he's looking to his Buddhist faith for help right now. This morning, well, we're looking into Buddhism.
The "New York Times" magazine refers to Robert Thurman as the Dalai Lama's man in America. He's also a professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhists Studies at Columbia University. And this morning he joins us by Skype from his home in upstate New York.
Welcome Dr. Thurman, thanks for joining us.
ROBERT THURMAN, PROFESSOR OF INDO-TIBETAN BUDDHIST STUDIES AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: Good morning, my pleasure.
MARCIANO: Dr. Thurman, can you just give us a quick 101 lesson on Buddhism, its practices, its traditions? What are the core beliefs?
THURMAN: The core beliefs of Buddhism are that it is possible to reduce suffering if you gain control of your mind and your instinctual drives and that there are -- in Buddhism -- there's a series of methods to do that and to achieve real happiness actually, happiness from within and be helpful and loving towards others and not harmful to them. And that there are many enlightened beings Buddhas and (INAUDIBLE) as they are called in the universe where they are to help you when you decide to move in that direction.
MARCIANO: Now it is --
THURMAN: So I would say that's the core beliefs of Buddhism.
MARCIANO: Tell me -- tell me what Buddha is -- who Buddha was? It's not necessarily God, it was a man who gained enlightenment. Buddhists don't necessarily worship a God, do they?
THURMAN: That's right, well, the Buddhist don't disbelieve in God, they just don't think that God has total power over everything. And they believe that it's up to the human beings to do something to improve the world and improve their own condition and that of their loved ones in the world.
And so -- but they don't say there are no gods. They have a feeling of the presence of divinity, many of them actually. There's no one who is completely in charge but they don't believe in a single creator, no. But there are divine beings and the divine presence in the universe, they do believe that actually.
MARCIANO: All right.
THURMAN: And they -- the human beings have a very good opportunity to find happiness, because the human life form has evolved to be a very, very intelligent and very loving and compassionate animal that can find happiness in the world if they make the effort.
MARCIANO: We are all searching for happiness, for sure and one man in the spotlight is Tiger Woods who -- who practices Buddhism. And here's what he had to say about his faith.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIGER WOODS, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: Buddhism teaches that a craving for things outside ourselves causes an unhappy and pointless search for security. It teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint. Obviously I lost track of what I was taught.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Question number one. Is Buddhism a forgiving religion? And question number two, if you were Tiger Woods what would be your game plan going forward?
THURMAN: Well, I think he has outlined a very good game plan, if you will. He said he got away from the self restraint and the ethical, toeing the ethical line that Buddhism recommends. And he says he's going to get back to it and he's going to learn to reduce those cravings. And he's going to restrain all of his different impulses for things outside himself.
Of course, the root of that -- doing that is to understand yourself and when you do, you become more friendly towards others. When you are too ego-centric and too self-indulgent is when you tend to get into trouble the way he did.
And of course, I don't blame him and Buddhism doesn't blame beings, and it's not that -- and Buddhism is not a thing that either forgives or blames. Buddhism is a method that you can use to develop yourself, by being ethical by being mindful of your mind and controlling your impulses and being wise about how you understand the way your mind and your instincts work.
And he sounds like he's doing the right thing, he's using psychology, which Buddhism would recommend and he's using his own mind to control his own mind and that's the key thing in Buddhism.
MARCIANO: Interesting --
THURMAN: And that you -- you are repentant yourself and you feel remorseful for being negative but you don't wallow in blaming yourself or in a kind of guilt that is hopeless. If you realize that you can change, you have changed to become negative and you were unfaithful, for example in a relationship, you can also change to be faithful and loving and think of others before yourself. And then you can follow the path of Buddhism to restore happiness in your life and then that of your loved ones. MAR: Dr. Thurman, we have to leave it there. Thank you very much for your insight on what seemingly is a complex religion, but the way you break it down of being selfless, of being disciplined and making others happy, we certainly suggest that that's a good game plan for Tiger.
A game for Betty Nguyen and she is interviewing the Dalai Lama. I know you're pals with him. What would win the Dalai Lama over if you want to butter him up? Cookies, chocolates, flowers. What would you recommend?
THURMAN: That's right, the Dalai Lama is the great example of that because he -- everyday he looks at his mind as he tries to develop the positive and reduce the negative in his mind. And he gets up at 4:00 a.m. to do that, and goes to bed around 8:00 p.m. And he's very much on his own case all the time and therefore he is very effective in helping others and he's become renowned in the world for becoming a really friendly guy.
MARCIANO: All right, we will -- we'll look forward to that interview that Betty has with the -- with the Dalai Lama. I apologize for interrupting, Dr. Thurman we've got to leave it there, unfortunately we're out of time. I can talk to you all day about this. We appreciate your time from upstate New York this morning.
THURMAN: The best to Tiger, too.
MARCIANO: Have a good day.
THURMAN: Thank you.
NGUYEN: Hey, maybe, chocolate or dough nuts. Who knows what will work? We'll see. I'll do some research on that Rob.
Well, you know the first lady's initiative fighting childhood obesity, speaking of food.
Up next, we hear from students on how to fight this growing problem.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, one of the hot topics students are talking about is childhood obesity.
MARCIANO: Carl Azuz is here from "CNN Student News" to talk about that. Hey Carl.
CARL AZUZ, CNN'S EXTRA CREDIT: Hey, you all. Thanks for having me. It's good to be back.
We have some interesting solutions for you today. What's different this time around is our student audience middle and high schoolers love to talk about health topics. And this is part of an ongoing conversation we're having with the. We've talked about health care reform. We've talked about meatless Mondays in certain schools. This time the difference was, we asked them for their solutions, how would you solve childhood obesity? We've got hundreds of really good responses --
NGUYEN: Yes, imagine yes. What did they say?
AZUZ: Yes. They were great. I want to start with a comment from Charlie today.
NGUYEN: Ok.
AZUZ: Charlie's solution is, well, he's just saying unhealthy food is much cheaper therefore easier to obtain in this economy. If healthy food were cheaper we would see a drastic decrease in obesity.
NGUYEN: He does have a point I mean, fast food.
AZUZ: Yes.
NGUYEN: I mean it can be easy to feed a family of four.
AZUZ: And she -
NGUYEN: Yes, and if you have to buy organic, the price of that is going to go up.
AZUZ: It always goes up. Leaner meat, leaner foods are always more expensive. And I thought that was interesting for that reason alone.
Cindy wrote in, "Put two mandatory recess times back into the elementary schools and middle school." One student telling us that recess had been cut in his school because of budget concerns.
NGUYEN: Really.
AZUZ: So that's something that needs to --
MARCIANO: Yes, you got to get out there and burn some calories.
AZUZ: Stay in place, absolutely.
"If kids don't learn to associate junk food, TV and soda with obesity," according to Henry, "then no progress will be made. We'll just keep on getting fatter and fatter."
And finally, Josiah says, "I guess if you think about it, the power to keep obesity under control falls on the parents. Maybe they should work on that.
NGUYEN: Well, you know, a lot of people are pointing fingers at parent and saying, hey you need to have more control over what your kids eat, what they're doing, you know, physically to make sure they are not just sitting on the couch and watching TV.
AZUZ: Sure. NGUYEN: But at the same time, you know, kids should be aware of what they're putting in their bodies too.
AZUZ: They should be.
NGUYEN: Yes.
MARCIANO: But kids are kids.
NGUYEN: Yes.
MARCIANO: I mean they would go what tastes good and not like eating any candy all day long.
NGUYEN: That's true.
AZUZ: They need some guidance. Guidance never hurts.
NGUYEN: Until it catches up with them. All right.
AZUZ: Thank you for having me here.
NGUYEN: Well, Carl it's been great.
MARCIANO: Thank you Carl.
NGUYEN: Yes. We'll see you next weekend?
AZUZ: Yes, ma'am I look forward to it.
NGUYEN: All right, see you then. "Extra Credit" with Carl.
Well, that's going to wrap it up for these guys right here.
MARCIANO: We're not quite done yet. The "Endeavour" though, is that -- they want to get home. They're going to try to do it today. The debrief is on the way and what they accomplished on their mission and what's next for NASA.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Well "Endeavour" is heading home for a late-night landing. The shuttle is set to touch down tonight at 10:16 Eastern at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NGUYEN: Yes. Our John Zarrella is following the space mission and tells us how the astronauts installed a room with a view.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When "Endeavour" pulled away from the space station, it was a bittersweet moment for the crew. With the shuttle program only months from ending, these six astronauts would not likely see the station from this view ever again.
BOB BEHNKEN, SHUTTLE ASTRONAUT: Each one of us took the extra moment to get a chance to take in that view of this completed space station at this point. Really, we are just in awe as we backed away from it.
ZARRELLA: When it comes to views, space-walking astronauts worked to attach to the station a domed room with seven windows.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Terrific job pulling that off. You guys made that look easy.
ZARRELLA: The successful installation prompted Houston to pipe up a little Jimmy Buffett tune.
The (INAUDIBLE) as it's called will allow space station crews to more easily guide and dock robotic supply ships. As a bonus, breath- taking views of the earth.
STEVE ROBINSON, SHUTTLE ASTRONAUT: A round earth in three dimensions is spinning by below you and you see this beautiful space station almost kind of wrapped around you. And then this sort of other worldly looking space shuttle attached to that. And there is so much to look at and so much changing, that I don't think the human race has really evolved to come up with an adjective to describe a scene like that.
TERRY VIRTS, SHUTTLE PILOT: Out of the side of your eyes and the top of your eyes and the bottom of your eyes, in all directions, you can see the earth, and you can see space and you can see so much more than you can looking out just one flat window.
ZARRELLA: The mission's success prompted a job well done call from President Obama. The president was joined by a group of youngsters who fired questions to the shuttle and station crew.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. I am curious about the thoughts and emotions that you guys feel when you are in space?
BEHNKEN: For me it was a kind of a sense of wonder as you explore what you can do in zero gravity, and then the things that you can see out the window.
ZARRELLA: With "Endeavour"'s visit over, the space station is now 90 percent complete. The last 4 shuttle flights before the fleet is retired will be primarily to stock the station's cupboards and pantries.
John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: Again trying to get that space shuttle home tonight. There may be some weather issues at Kennedy Space Center. They definitely have some issues as far as winter weather goes.
NGUYEN: No doubt.
(CROSSTALK) MARCIANO: Places like Chicago -- what else you got?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Exactly. You know, I mean, we think of the shuttle landing, whether it's going to be picture perfect. Right now, we're going to have anything but picture perfect for people who are going to be trying to take off from Chicago tomorrow as you mentioned Rob. I mean we're looking at some raw stuff.
To tell you the truth, I mean Chicago for the time being, really goes, have just a big old bull's eye right on top in terms of rough weather. You see some snow forming just a little bit to the south, parts of say 65, south of (INAUDIBLE) and just to the west of Kokomo at this time.
What we're going to be seeing is that snow fall really intensified. Here's why. Take a look. We have this area of low pressure. This is almost like a giant mixing bowl. It's going to bring in a lot of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, but also tapping that moisture off Lake Michigan. And then right behind it gets very cold air that's going to be sifting in from the Northern Plains.
It's going to be that combination, cold air on the surfacing, over any moisture that's going to give you the rain, the sleet and yes possibly the snow up to a foot in some places around the suburbs of Chicago.
(INAUDIBLE) express way tomorrow morning and into Tuesday, have fun with that.
Meanwhile, into the southeast, high pressure is going to be basically your big feature. They're going to gather a compressing effect on the atmosphere. But there's always going to be sunshine, but not only that but that southerly flow is going to give you just beautiful temperatures.
Take a look at this. Going to 64 for an afternoon high some place around Atlanta. We wouldn't be surprised if you see spots like say Powder Springs (INAUDIBLE) up to 67, maybe 68 degrees. 74, Miami; 69 degrees in Houston; 23 in Billings on the other side of the coin; 58 in Seattle with partly cloudy skies then when you get back to San Francisco southward to Los Angeles all along highway 1, look for some rain, could be heavy at times, especially in the higher elevations.
That's the latest on your forecast, let's pitch it back to you guys at the desk.
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you Reny (ph).
WOLF: You bet.
MARCIANO: You mentioned maybe having some trouble flying out of Chicago because of weather. Well, if your afraid of flying because of just flying or terrorists attacks, you have to see this video.
NGUYEN: Well, you know, this is something completely different. A near miss, and in fact, some of these images from the FAA show that they are more common than you think.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. For a lot of folks who do fly, you sit down, and you get everything situated, and then a recording comes on that CNN has obtained, well, that was the scenario on the plane right. You sit down, you get everything ready.
And then we're going to show you this; a recording that CNN has obtained that you may find unnerving.
MARCIANO: Yes. On it you can actually hear the air traffic controller scrambling to avert a collision between two planes. Here's CNN's Brian Todd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look up near any major airport and you'll see them; lines of planes in the sky on approach, seemingly not much margin for error. And in one recent incident, a frightening near miss.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Traffic at 1:00 and four miles --
TODD: Newly released audio recordings and radar images reveal one passenger plane steering right toward a line of others. It happened as the planes were approaching Denver's airport just before Thanksgiving.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 1539, traffic alert. One o'clock, less than 2 miles at same altitude. Descend immediately.
TODD: CNN obtained the sound and radar images from the FAA. The story was first reported by CNN's Denver affiliate KMGA.
On that busy day, a line of planes approaching the Denver Airport was directed over a fixed position on the ground, then funneled into something like a highway in the sky. That fixed possession and that highway route over Denver are both named Sayge.
A Republic Airlines code named Brickyard was flying parallel to that line and had already passed the fix position according to FAA officials. After he questioned the controller's guidance, the pilot proceeded making something close to a U-turn right toward the oncoming traffic and narrowly flew behind one of the planes in line. As he veered, a controller caught the error and scrambled.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who's heading back towards Sayge? Brickyard? Turn left then descend immediately. I don't care what altitude. Descend. You got traffic off your right.
TODD: FAA officials tell us the Republic Airlines plane missed one of the planes in line by less than 2 miles and had descended 200 feet below it. I asked retired commercial pilot Mark Weiss, just how close that was. The plane in orange is the one that is directed to fly to the fixed point, he crosses paths with the other two planes essentially, flying behind one and just ahead of another, almost the same altitude, a little less than two miles apart at 700 miles per hour. What is the scenario there for a collision?
MARK WEISS, SPECTRUM GROUP: Well the opportunity for something catastrophic obviously exists and it is just in very fast time. I mean the closure rate of aircraft at that speed is only a couple of seconds.
TODD: But FAA officials insist even if no evasive action had been taken, the planes would not have collided.
Still the FAA's preliminary investigation indicates this was an operational error on the part of an air traffic controller.
Brian Todd, CNN at Reagan National Airport.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Boy, that is a bit frightening. A lot of times you don't even know sitting there on the plane.
MARCIANO: No, just don't think about it and fly safe out there.
Betty and T.J. are going to be gone next weekend because T.J. is getting hitched and you're going to be there to witness it.
NGUYEN: I'm going to be there.
MARCIANO: Don't interrupt when they ask if anybody objects?
NGUYEN: Of course not. Never, never. It's going to be a beautiful union. Looking forward to that.
Thanks for joining us today.
Speaking of unions "STATE OF THE UNION WITH CANDY CROWLEY" is coming up at the top of the hour. But first, here's a quick check of the morning headlines.
Three teenager girls were killed last night when they were hit by a freight train on Central Florida's eastern coast. The three w were crossing a trussle (ph) in Melbourne. A teenage male friend had already crossed and then tried to warn them, but it was just too late.
Conservatives have wrapped up their meetings in the national's capital. The big theme at the Conservative Political Action Conference: fiscal discipline, less taxes, limited government. And they talked about taking Congress and the White House back from the Democrats.
Also meeting in Washington this weekend, the National Governors Association. A new report says state revenues keep dropping and this fiscal could be more difficult than the last. The governors are invited to the White House for a dinner tonight.
Also very quickly, the death toll is rising off the coast of Portugal this morning after heavy rains. The flooding is just a sight to be seen.
We'll have much more on that throughout the day.
Right now, "STATE OF THE UNION WITH CANDY CROWLEY".
