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CNN Saturday Morning News
CPAC Convention Wrapping Up Today; Tiger Woods Apologizes; Combining Fashion and Technology at New York Fashion Week
Aired February 20, 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, everybody, from the CNN center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is February 20th. Good morning. Thanks for watching. I'm Betty Nguyen.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Drew Griffin in for T.J. Holmes this morning, 8:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, 6:00 a.m. out in Austin, Texas. Thanks for starting your day with us.
NGUYEN: All right this morning, we are talking about the Tiger Woods apology and some politics as well. According to Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, the two topics, they go hand in hand.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TIM PAWLENTY (R), MINNESOTA: Now, I think we can learn a lot from that situation. Not from Tiger but from his wife. So she said, I've had enough. She said, no more. I think we should take a page out of her playbook and take a 9 iron and smash the window out of the big government in this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: All right. There you have it. We're going to take you live to the CPAC convention in D.C. where conservatives, they are wrapping up their last day of speeches and we're also going to go live to Florida to analyze the Tiger Woods apology.
GRIFFIN: First, though, a check of top stories. The man who flew a single engine plane into an office building in Austin, Texas, he may have been trying to cause as much damage as possible. A law enforcement official familiar with this investigation is telling CNN that several of the plane's seats were actually taken out of the plane, possibly to make room for a drum of fuel oil.
Joe Stack appears to have deliberately crashed his plane Thursday into the building, housing an IRS office. Stack and one person in that building were killed. Several hurt, two hospitalized.
Yesterday Stack's widow apologized through a statement that was read by a family friend. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAYFORD WALKER, STACK FAMILY SPOKESMAN: Words cannot adequately express my sorrow or the sympathy I feel for everyone affected by this unimaginable tragedy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Hundreds of Californians have been forced from their homes again. Heavy rain near Los Angeles is bringing back the threat of mudslides. People prepared their homes before and then they packed up. Dozens of those homes in the same area were damaged by mudslides just about two weeks ago.
GRIFFIN: Next week Republican leaders head to the White House, the big health care summit. But Republicans already have begun getting their message out. During the Republican radio address this morning, Congressman David Camp, he's from Michigan, urged leaders to start all over.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DAVE CAMP (R), MICHIGAN: Democrats must first listen to the American people and scrap their massive government takeover of health care. We must go into the summit with a clean slate, focused on making health care affordable. That's what Americans are asking for and that's what Republicans will continue to work for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: What's with that video, Betty? It's like Skype. The president's health care summit in Washington begins Thursday.
NGUYEN: Well, lots of big names in the conservative party meeting today in Washington. They're at CPAC, that is the conservative political action conference and the group is fired up and talking about winning control of Congress this year and the White House in 2012.
Our deputy political director Paul Steinhauser is here. He joins us now. So what's happening at the meeting today?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, good morning, Betty.
Right behind me you can see people starting to gather right now. This is as you mentioned the third and final day of CPAC. A lot of speakers today, including former senator from Pennsylvania Rick Santorum and later today, Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker.
What do these two men have in common? They're considered possible, possible contenders for the next Republican presidential nomination. That's part of the big things that happen later today. There's going to be a straw poll. People have been voting all week here at this conference.
Later today they're going to have the results of this straw poll. They do it every year when there's no Republican in the White House, so we're going to be keeping on eye on that. Mitt Romney has won the last three. You're also going to have more speeches today as well, the key note address later tonight by Glenn Beck of Fox news. So it's a busy day here, Betty.
NGUYEN: No doubt. We've heard a lot of fiery rhetoric come out of that, rhetoric come out of that CPAC meeting there. Is it that the people there are starting to capitalize on the frustration or is it just more of a rally cry?
STEINHAUSER: It's a little of both. I got to say, I've been covering CPAC for a couple of years now and this year, what a world of difference from like maybe the last two, in '07 and '08 and '09 even. They're energized this year where they weren't in the last couple of years. They feel that the political winds are now with them and you are hearing a lot of talk about taking back the Congress, this year 2010 and taking back the White House in 2012.
Take a listen to Congressman Steve King of Iowa, a Republican, here's what he had to say yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. STEVE KING (R), IOWA: He was elected and inaugurated with about as much political capital as any president in history and I had a ringside seat to watch that happen. He had more mojo than any president. I remember when he was inaugurated a year and a month ago. But now, the master mesmerizer has lost his mojo. And if we stand our ground as constitutional conservatives, he's not going to get it back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Just a little taste there of some of the rhetoric you're hearing all week here by the speakers and one of the reasons why is this right here, the tea party groups are here. That's a big difference from last year. The tea party really didn't even exist last year. It's basically about a year old movement.
These are pictures last night of the tea party express. They're having another cross-country caravan next month. They had a rally here to generate buzz for that big event which Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor is going to kick off in Nevada.
And Betty, that's really one of the big differences from last year. The energy, the enthusiasm of this crowd, partially because of the tea party movement. But they really think this is their year to win things back. We'll find out in November of course.
NGUYEN: No doubt, OK, Paul Steinhauser joining us live. We'll be checking in with you a little bit later this morning. Thank you.
GRIFFIN: Health care and job creation on the agenda for the nation's governors, also in the nation's capital this weekend. The governors association holding its annual winter meetings. First Lady Michelle Obama is going to open up here in just a few hours from now and she's going to be talking about her initiative to combat childhood obesity and what states can do to help.
New York Governor David Paterson, he is not going to be at that meeting. He's got more pressing things on his calendar. Paterson announcing this morning that he will run for a full term as governor in New York. Surprise to some people waking up in New York. You will remember he was Lieutenant Governor when Eliot Spitzer resigned in disgrace during the call girl scandal.
And speaking of scandals, Tiger Woods apology drew media attention from around the world and a lot of you were watching and listening to what he said.
NGUYEN: CNN's Susan Candiotti was in Ponte Verde, Florida, for that. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TIGER WOODS, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: I am deeply sorrow for my irresponsible and selfish behavior I engaged in.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tiger said it again and again.
WOODS: For all that I have done, I am so sorry.
CANDIOTTI: After emerging from a blue curtain to a hushed room, Woods never strayed from a prepared statement. In the front row, his mother between two of his female employees. Childhood friends and PGA officials were among a small group handpicked by the golfer.
WOODS: I have let you down personally and professionally. I owe it to those closest to me ...
CANDIOTTI: Woods' voice sometimes wavered and he faced a single camera in a tightly controlled setting.
WOODS: I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated.
CANDIOTTI: He tried to explain why he did it.
WOODS: I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled. Thanks to money and fame, I didn't have far -- I didn't have to go far to find them.
CANDIOTTI: As for that fateful Thanksgiving night car wreck, he wouldn't go there, except to deny his wife came after him.
WOODS: Elin has shown enormous grace and poise throughout this ordeal. Elin deserves praise, not blame.
CANDIOTTI: She wasn't in the room, her whereabouts unknown. Tiger took no questions. More than 200 reporters were kept about a mile away, watching him on closed circuit monitors, keeping track of every "I'm sorry."
WOODS: I am truly sorry.
CANDIOTTI: Around the country every major network broadcast Tiger's mea culpa live. In New York's Times Square, people were glued to TVs and ESPN sports bar. On the PGA tour, Tiger's competitors made time to watch.
NICK FALDO, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: I couldn't imagine just on the world stage and having to apologize for what he had been up to for the last however long. So that must be extremely difficult for him.
CANDIOTTI: Woods admitted he's been in rehab for 45 days and goes back for more Saturday. He promised he'll hit the links again but won't predict when. The PGA is watching.
TIM FINCHEM, PGA TOUR COMMISSIONER: At the end of the day, you know, he's a human being. We all make mistakes. We all have made mistakes. And when we're lucky, we learn from those mistakes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: So let's go live now to CNN's Susan Candiotti. Susan, Tiger obviously a big brand. What are his sponsors saying after this news conference?
CANDIOTTI: Well, of course, that apology included several I'm sorries to those sponsors. And many of them are rallying. The ones in particular, of course, who have stuck by him, including Nike, including EA Sports, Gatorade, Gillette. They all congratulated him on his apology and said that they will continue to support him and hope he does well with his family as he tries to get things together.
On the other hand, we have not heard from AT&T who had dumped him. I spoke with Accenture the other day and they said they had no plans to bring him back any time soon, that they, in their words, moved on although they did wish him well. We'll say this. There's an interesting study -- yes, Betty?
NGUYEN: Go ahead. Finish up.
CANDIOTTI: There's an interesting study, thanks, that came out not long ago by a marketing firm and they asked people for their views of what happened with Tiger Woods. A third of them said that they now have a very negative image of him. But only 5 percent of them said they would no longer buy products that were endorsed by him.
NGUYEN: That is very telling and interesting, none the less. So that being said, what kind of impact do you think this is going to have on the golf world?
CANDIOTTI: Well, they certainly, all golfers want him back. I mean let's face it, when Tiger Woods plays, more people watch. More people buy products. They watch the game. They go to the game, the tournaments and they watch television. So when he's not there, it is not the same. And that means money is lost, too.
NGUYEN: Yeah, the almighty dollar. OK. Susan Candiotti, thanks so much for that. We'll be checking in with you.
We want to know from you the viewer what do you think about Tiger's apology. Let me know your thoughts. Send me your comments to my Facebook and Twitter page. You can find me at bettynguyen@cnn and we will be reading those comments on the air a little bit later in the show.
GRIFFIN: Who would think a public service announcement, a PSA would become a viral video. Well, our Josh Levs, he has that.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there guys. This started as a really simple message. Within days, it became a worldwide phenomenon. You are going to see what has people talking and buckling up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, still very cold and snowy in many parts of the nation. Reynolds Wolf has been watching that for us. So who's going to get some more snow today?
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: If only we could all be forever young. Well, shifting to this. It's a question all sorts of organizations face. How do you get people to do something important without being preachy?
GRIFFIN: One guy came up with the answer that has turned really into a worldwide phenomenon, quite a story here, Josh.
LEVS: It's amazing. You know this started as a message to get people to wear their seat belts. It became a video praised by people all over the world for its beauty. Here it is. Beautiful, it's from England. It's from the Sussex safer road partnership. I have the website up for you on this computer here. It's from one organization in England that was trying to encourage people to start wearing their seat belts. It was the brain child of a director in England named Daniel Cox.
I got on Skype with him and I asked him his thought process behind that ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL COX, DIRECTOR, EMBRACE LIFE: The inspiration from embrace life came from wanting to offer a positive message towards road safety really. A lot of the campaigns focus on the more graphic and horrific outcomes of accidents, whereas I really wanted to bring people into the conversation.
The house represents a safety area, an area where you're normally surrounded by your loved ones. And the car can be an extension of that. It's not only yourself that's impacted if something unfortunately goes wrong, but also family and friends.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: Just hit the web, from the web a few weeks ago. In one place alone it's already had 1 1/2 million views. There are other places that are carrying it well, which means easily over two million in no time. Since I'm showing it to you and we're in the U.S., I have some statistics for you here, too. We should talk to you about this issue as well. Seat belt use, latest deaths, if you're wearing it, it reduces the risk of fatal injury by 45 percent. Seat belts are credited with saving more than 13,000 lives in 2008 and seat belt use in America has now reached 84 percent as of last year.
All that from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. You can see that beautiful ad for yourself in full. You can also tell us your thoughts about it. I got a page for you here. I've linked it for you, on my Facebook and my Twitter pages, facebook.com/joshlevscnn, Twitter as well, also getting it going for you at the blog, cnn.com/josh.
So, Betty and Drew, pretty stunning ad there. It is doing a lot to get people thinking there.
NGUYEN: No doubt, 84 percent. Maybe it will help increase that number of seat belt wearers. Thank you.
GRIFFIN: Thanks, Josh.
Plenty of hugs and tears as Baptist missionaries arrested in Haiti are now home. Three weeks ago they set out, they say, to help homeless children after the earthquake. Instead they wound up in a Port-au-Prince jail charged with child kidnapping. Eight of the missionaries are home. But two women, Laura Silsy and Cherissa Colter (ph) remain in jail. They're back in court in Haiti on Tuesday. And we'll be talking with the first lady of Haiti live later this morning.
NGUYEN: Meantime, though, back in Florida, the woman police call a con artist is now accused of murdering a $17 million lottery winner she allegedly befriended. Yesterday Hillsboro County deputies charged 37-year old Doris Moore with killing 43-year-old Abraham Shakespeare. Police say they found Shakespeare's body buried in the backyard of a home that she co-owned after Moore approached someone to dig up and move the corpse.
GRIFFIN: Back to Haiti and New York. The world's fastest man is taking part in a fun run in New York today. Not really for fun but for charity. Jamaica's Yussein Bolt (ph) is just one of thousands of runners taking part in the run for Haiti. It's in Central Park right there, a snowy Central Park. The money raised going to relief efforts.
The event scheduled to start about 40 minutes from now. Be sure to stay with us at 10:00, as we said, we're going to be talking live with Haiti's first lady, Elizabeth Preval.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. Well, New York Fashion Week, the event where new trends are set and this year clothes and shoes aren't the only items people are talking about. It is technology, yes, with a high fashion twist.
Our tech guru Mario Armstrong attended fashion week. I didn't know you were so fly, Mario. Apparently you are.
MARIO ARMSTRONG, TECHNOLOGY COMMENTATOR: I try to give my best.
NGUYEN: You talked with designer Vivienne Tam.
ARMSTRONG: That's right.
NGUYEN: What kind of fashionable gadget is she unveiling this time around?
ARMSTRONG: Check this out. She unveiled a new set of headphones. And the reason why I said headphones. I'm holding them right here. She calls these headphones wearable technology, fashionable technology. She sees headphones as a new accessory, almost like jewelry. She even at one point called these ear buds earrings. So she really kind of sees the integration of becoming more wearable, more fashionable through tech.
NGUYEN: It looks like an ear phone with -- or ear bud, as we call them, with a butterfly on it. Besides that, what kind of fashion statement is being made with all of this? Is this something that people would really want to wear around?
ARMSTRONG: I think people would definitely want to wear around. You're not just seeing the headphones, you're seeing laptops like these which is giving a first look at a brand new laptop that's going to be coming out that she's put her designs into it. It's called the digital clutch.
So it's not just headphones. It's other products as well, but let's take a listen to what Vivian actually has to say about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIVIENNE TAM, FASHION DESIGNER: You cannot live without technology, our everyday life now. You can't live without it. Technology is the most important part of our life now. Every day you have (INAUDIBLE) a computer. You have to have a head phone. And it has to look good, has to match your fashion, has to feel you're fashionable. You're in sync with what's happening now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: I didn't know I had to coordinate my ear buds with my outfit. But I guess that's where we're going these days.
ARMSTRONG: That's right.
NGUYEN: What other designers are integrating technology into fashion?
ARMSTRONG: A lot of businesses going on with technology and the fashion. It's really interesting. You see people like Norma Kamali (ph). She's actually developed an exclusive line for eBay, only. You can only shop on eBay for some of her line. She also is integrating Skype and she's using webcams to offer better customer support. So she's using the Internet and technology that way. But here's a cool one, Ralph Lauren is doing an iPhone application where you can actually put your own face on to Ralph Lauren models so you can get a sense of what the clothing that you are interested in buying would look like on you. Here's a snapshot of my head.
NGUYEN: That's not you.
ARMSTRONG: Well, I changed my hair a little bit. But that's my face. That's my face with glasses.
NGUYEN: That's you like 10 years ago. I see what you're doing here. All right. That's cool stuff. And this is technology that people really want to use. I mean, is it the latest and the greatest truly or is there just a butterfly slapped on a typical ear bud?
ARMSTRONG: No, that's a great question. It's not that simple about just slapping a butterfly on top of ear bud. Vivienne Tam as it relates to her headphones,, she wanted the sound to be as beautiful as the actual look and feel itself. But the technology that goes into it is pretty impressive.
And while at fashion week, I had a chance to talk to the CEO of Monster cable, who's behind the technology and I spoke with Noel Lee, the CEO. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NOEL LEE, CEO, MONSTER CABLE: The Vivienne Tam butterfly, we're looking to capture the delicacy of acoustic instruments, orchestral instruments and the technology involved in doing that is completely different. So, you know, lighter weight diaphragms, different construction on the surrounds. So it's a whole new design than what we've done in the past.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Very cool. I guess, you know, we've got to coordinate everything, our technology with our outfits. Who knew. I got a lot of work to do apparently.
ARMSTRONG: You've got to get one of these.
NGUYEN: I still got my CD player.
ARMSTRONG: This is your future purse right here, Betty. This is your future purse so what you do is, this is Vivienne Tam's, so what you do is you open this up and voila, you reveal your HP Vivienne Tam edition notebook. They have clothing that matches this, bags that match it. You're right, it is becoming -- it goes on and on.
So you're right, Betty, we have to make sure now, because you're fashionably on it. We know that you've got the fashion, but now we have to get the technology in it.
NGUYEN: Apparently I have more work to do. Send me that stuff. I appreciate it.
ARMSTRONG: Will do. Take care.
NGUYEN: You can join us every Saturday at this time as our tech guru Mario Armstrong gives you the lowdown on the latest technology.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, good morning, everybody. And welcome back to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Betty Nguyen.
GRIFFIN: I'm Drew Griffin. T.J. Holmes is off this morning. Thanks for starting your day with us.
NGUYEN: Well it has been a week since operation Moshtarak (ph) started in Afghanistan. And our Atia Abawi is embedded with Marines and joins us now by phone.
Atia, give us the latest on what's happening with this offensive.
ATIA ABAWI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, Betty, I can tell you that the offensive is still going on. The battle is still going on throughout the City of Marjah.
The Marines are slowly but surely making some headway in the city but they are meeting very heavy resistance when it comes to the Taliban fighters.
The Taliban are not giving up the city of Marjah very easily. It is their last stronghold in Helmand province and it's also a big money maker when it comes to narcotics. It said that the Taliban made around $200,000 a month by taxing the narcotics industry alone in this one city.
That being said, Betty, it has been a week of fighting, raging battles between the Taliban and the U.S. Marines. Even though the U.S. Marines have advanced weaponry and technology, the Taliban using their AK-47s, using their other weapons that are not as sophisticated as the U.S. Marines, they're not giving up because of the way that they're fighting the battle.
They're coming out in squad numbers. That's around 10 to 14 fighters because they know they can't come out in big numbers because of the bombs and the missiles that the U.S. has can basically cause a Taliban bloodbath. What they're doing is hiding in fortified buildings, shooting potshots, whichever areas that they can.
And they are getting fairly close to many U.S. positions, including the ones that we have been with and with the U.S. Marines, 16 Alpha Company (ph). There have been some very frightening moments but in the end resisting and pushing the Taliban away at the same time. It's not going as fast as many in NATO would have hoped for -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Well, Atia, not going as fast but they are making a bit of a foothold. Last hour you were telling us about how the U.S. Marines have set up a forward operating base in Marjah?
ABAWI: Exactly. Right now I'm actually standing on the ground where the U.S. Marines are right now building a forward operating base. This is to show that their presence will linger in the City of Marjah. This is a symbol to the civilians when they come back to see that the Marines and the Afghan soldiers will stay, that they will bring the government of Afghanistan in and they will start the building process.
There's four stages when it comes to a NATO operation now. It's the shaping phasing, the clearing, the holding and the building. Right now they're still at that second phase which is the clearing phase and they still have some way to go. It could take weeks, it could even take months. But at the same time they say they're here to stay. They want the civilians to know that they're here to stay.
But right now there are very few civilians to talk to because many of them are still gone, afraid to come back because of the fighting. And I'm sure you can hear right now those trucks rolling by me at the moment. These are the trucks that are actually building the base that we were talking about -- Betty.
NGUYEN: All right. We're having some difficulty with her line.
But obviously it's just the situation as Atia Abawi is embedded with the U.S. Marines as they are taking part in this offensive in Marjah, Afghanistan. Of course, we'll continue to follow it and bring you the latest -- Drew.
GRIFFIN: Thanks Betty.
You know, this week Joe Biden said something you may actually agree with. According to the vice president and this is a direct quote, "Washington right now is broken." Perhaps the real conversation is how to fix it. "Time" magazine and CNN are going to tackle that in a series of special reports.
That is the cover of this week's issue of "Time" and in it you'll find an article on bipartisanship by Michael Scherer who joins us this morning from Washington.
Michael good morning. I'm glad you're with us.
MICHAEL SCHERER, TIME MAGAZINE: Good morning, Drew.
GRIFFIN: Before I ask you a question, I want you to listen to this. This is the president on three different occasions talking about getting work done.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Inaction is not an option that is acceptable to me and it's certainly not acceptable to the American people, not on energy, not on the economy, not at this critical moment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Michael, he's talked about bipartisanship, about working together, about invites. And then in action, we see something completely different. You could have this conversation on both sides.
SCHERER: Sure.
GRIFFIN: Why isn't this working? Why are we talking about a broken government? Almost exactly four years after we were talking about it four years ago, broken government ...
SCHERER: Right.
GRIFFIN: ... broken government.
SCHERER: Yes. You know there's definitely a trend you can start tracking starting probably around 1992 in which both parties basically go into their trenches and begin to treat governing as sort of a tactical electoral game and trying to figure out what advantage they can get at every step of the way.
President Obama came to Washington to say he was going to change all of this and then proceeded in part by necessity to craft a legislative strategy that was essentially Democrats plus one or two Republicans. That's what he was going for. It wasn't full bipartisanship. And now we see what we have, the results of that.
I spoke with a number of retired members of Congress. And they pointed to a number of trends that are making this happen. One they said, the fund-raising race has gotten worse. More members are spending more time, you know, dialing for dollars, essentially. And that actually makes -- gives them an incentive not to solve problems.
If you have an issue outstanding like health care for instance, you can then fund-raise it on it year after year. If you solve health care, you're not going to be able to go back to the insurance companies and the drug companies and ask for more money.
A second issue they spoke about was that there's just less comedy in the legislative bodies now. And that has to do with Members of Congress and the Senate spending less time socializing, actually getting to know each other.
There are less, what we in the media like to call, junkets where Members of Congress go overseas. Historically that was a great time for members from different sides of the aisle to actually get to know each other. It's like 13-hour flights to Armenia.
There's less of that going on and more and more people are moving their families here. So there's less, just time to chitchat and get to know each other.
But in the third thing -- go ahead.
GRIFFIN: But even -- I just want to stop you there because even those codels (ph) or junkets or whatever ... SCHERER: Yes.
GRIFFIN: ... are politicized.
SCHERER: Right.
GRIFFIN: The rules say you have to have a bipartisan codel. Well, the parties, you'll have 13 Republicans on a flight and they'll get one Democrat or ...
SCHERER: Sure.
GRIFFIN: ... 15 Democrats and they'll drag one Republican to make it legal. I mean, every step of the way this process in Washington is just like -- like a glacier that's not moving. They can't stand each other.
SCHERER: Yes. I don't disagree. And I'm not suggesting that if we suddenly just put more people on planes to distant countries we'll suddenly solve our problems.
The -- you know, the biggest thing is that we have a tightly divided country. You have a geographically divided country, you have less members from -- it used to be the case that a lot of Democrats are from the south and they essentially voted like Republicans vote now. You have a lot of Republicans from the northeast who would vote like Democrats vote now.
That -- with a few exceptions, that's sort have been purified. You don't have those -- you've got moderate caucus of Democrats or that conservative caucus -- the moderate caucus of Republicans.
Another thing you have is this, the way the press covers this -- this political process has shifted. It's more and more an issue of speaking directly to specific audiences. You have a conservative press and the liberal press and they're both speaking to their niche audiences. And as a result, any attempt at compromise is reported as a sort of weakness.
You know, Republican crosses the line, oh, well, he's abandoned his ideology, his principles. A Democrat crosses the line and he's not fighting for what voters voted for to get him there. So the whole tone has really shifted.
GRIFFIN: Yes, let me just -- well, we have to go. I could talk to you forever. But I want to ask one last question.
SCHERER: Yes.
GRIFFIN: I get it in the House, I get it in the Senate but what everybody is saying is the guy in the White House is supposed to play by a higher standard.
SCHERER: Right.
GRIFFIN: And just yes or no. Is he playing by that higher standard?
SCHERER: Like I said at the top, I think he rhetorically definitely is and he's trying to reposition himself right now as someone who's outside of this game. But by necessity last year he had to get a stimulus through, he had a very ambitious agenda he wanted to get through.
And Republicans were not showing any sign with the exception of a few of them of wanting to play ball. So he crafted a strategy that wasn't very bipartisan. So in that way, no, he's not.
GRIFFIN: All right, Michael Scherer, good article by the way in "Time" magazine. Thanks -- Betty.
SCHERER: Thank you.
NGUYEN: All right, well, it is the apology that was heard around the world, Tiger Woods coming clean about his infidelities. So what's next for Tiger Woods and the Tiger brand? We'll take a look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: He says it's all his fault and that he knows he has bitterly disappointed a lot of people. Tiger Woods coming clean, promising to be a better person, saying he's got a lot of work to do. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOODS: It's hard to admit that I need help, but I do. For 45 days from the end of December to early February, I was in in-patient therapy receiving guidance for the issues I'm facing. I have a long way to go but taking my first steps in the right direction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Our sports business analyst Rick Horrow, of course you were watching Rick, joining us live now. You've got basically a score on how this went down from what we were talking about, A box score on this apology.
RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: Yes, but you know, but you don't think of looking at box scores for numbers of words of apology. This is a mea culpa on steroids. This is probably going to be, at the end of then, the most reported story in the history of the world.
And when you look at this he used "behavior" nine times, "I need help" six times, "I'm in therapy" four times. It's 19 serious apology phrases, 7 in the context of Buddhism. Most of us don't go our entire lives with that number of apologies. He did it in 13 1/2 minutes.
GRIFFIN: Rick, when I was watching this, and we talked about this during the break, I kept wondering why is he doing this, why is he doing this. Then he started to talk about people who work for him, people who supported him, people who sponsored him; business Tiger. Business Tiger is on the verge of collapse here. I don't think it will ever come back to what it was. But really this was about saving a business. This could have been the president of Toyota up there.
HORROW: Well, no, the president of Toyota doesn't make as much money as he does. That's the issue. This is the beginning stepping stone for a long-term rehabilitation of the public image of Tiger Woods. It's a number of different contexts, very well scripted. I'm not being cynical about it, just factual.
For example, about his wife Elin, mentions her ten times. Started the process for discussing the damage; what does that mean? You discuss the damage. "I'm at fault, I'm not at fault." Start the process. So we're word smithing here.
But we're also talking about the effect on sponsors, the effect on golf, the effect on kids, the effect on staff. It was for, Drew, a lot of audiences, not just one.
GRIFFIN: You know, he comes back, he plays golf, he plays well, whatever. He's just going to be a good golfer now. He's never going to be back to that Tiger that got above and beyond what everybody else on that tour got. Is that right?
HORROW: Well, you know, I'm not questioning. Nobody knows but he sure can hit a mean golf ball. What happens if he wins those 4 majors and passes Jack Nicklaus? It will be the most amazing comeback story in the history of the world.
As it is, the real impact is on the golf industry. Tim Finchem, the commissioner was in the audience. But what golf needed in this era of 50 percent reduction in rights fees is certainty. There were nine millionaires when Tiger came on tour, golfers. Now there are 91. Thank you, Tiger, but they needed too know when he's coming back. And clearly what we got is more uncertainty on that score.
GRIFFIN: All right, Rick Horrow, thanks for joining us, Rick. Always appreciate talking to you.
HORROW: See you guys next week.
NGUYEN: All right. So we are hearing from you this morning. Been asking you what do you think of when he said yesterday, the apology and all the other things. And you are sounding off.
Let me take you to my Facebook page, first of all. And let's see. Lee Kelly says, "He came off looking like a robot, stiff and emotionless. He's nothing more than a tool, always was, always will."
Wow. Ok. Let me take you to my Twitter site see what they have to say here. This person says, "Tiger Woods owes me nothing. I am a fan of his and of golf. He is a human being that made mistakes. Who isn't? Time to move on."
And Khalib (ph) says, "Good morning. Again for the record, I am a golf fan. Tiger Woods owes me nothing. Pop your collar, get your game back, Tiger."
One more here. This person says, "I think that what should matter is Woods family. He had the press conference and apology. We have to stop demonizing him."
So, appreciate your comments this morning. I know a lot of you have a lot more to say about this. So please reach out to me on my Facebook or Twitter page @bettynguyencnn and we'll be reading those comments on the air.
GRIFFIN: It's funny, Khalib, I noticed the collar, too. It's kind of weird.
NGUYEN: Yes, the collar?
Well, you know, mid-term elections, can you believe nine months out?
GRIFFIN: Many Republicans are more to focused on 2012 than 2010.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I think Barack Obama is a one-term president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Including that guy. Ok.
If that's true, who will be the Republican nominee? We're going to show you who is on the who's who list and who Republicans are talking about right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Lawmakers, they are slapping credit card companies with tighter regulations, so, if that's the case, why are interest rates suddenly skyrocketing?
GRIFFIN: Something very curious here. CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis takes a look at what's happening.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hi, Betty and Drew. Starting Monday credit card companies will be playing by new rules. That's good news, but what's happened before the deadline has consumers fuming.
(voice-over): Consumers have had it with their credit cards.
KATHLEEN DILLON, FACES INTEREST RATE HIKES: I paid my bills on time. I've been penalized for no reason.
REV. ROGER GENCH, FACES INTEREST RATE HIKE: They don't care that I've been with them for 30 years and that I might have a history. That's the bottom line.
WILLIS: Kathleen Dillon and Reverend Roger Gench are dealing with the unintended consequences of credit card reform. Facing tighter regulations, credit card issuers have been changing policies before the law goes into effect on Monday.
Among the new credit card rules, interest rates can't be raised on existing balances or on accounts that are less than a year old. And above the minimum payments must be applied to highest rate balances first. Those changes will cost banks money, $11 billion each year. And lenders are looking for new sources of revenue.
NESSA FEDDIS, SR. COUNSEL, AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION: Interest rates will be a little bit higher across the board. It will be harder for people to get cards. Limits will be lower. And beyond that, card companies are looking at annual fees, a reduction in the promotional rates, maybe a reduction in rewards programs.
WILLIS: That's already happening. Roger found out his Citibank credit card was raising his interest rate for future purchases from 18.99 percent to 29.99 percent.
GENCH: They said it was due to no fault of my own.
WILLIS: He was late with two payments in his 30-year history, before he received the notice of his future increase.
(on camera): So what was it like opening that letter from a lender you had worked with for 30 years and they're telling you they're going to jack up your interest rate?
GENCH: You know, I think this now, it is a faceless, compassionless, exploitive institution.
WILLIS (voice-over): For its part, Citibank says, quote, "price increases are necessary given the doubling of credit card losses and regulatory changes."
Kathleen has had to opt out of three credit cards because of impending interest rate hikes.
DILLON: It was scary for me because I work two jobs, I don't have a lot of money, and that left me with very little access to emergency fundage if needed.
WILLIS: But consumer experts say the Card Act does level the playing field.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are some unequivocal wins for consumers in the new credit card legislation.
WILLIS: It's estimated consumers will save at least $10 billion a year because of the new law. But for Kathleen, this is one relationship that's already soured.
DILLON: I'm just paying them down and I won't use those companies again.
WILLIS: Bottom line, you really have to open your mail from your credit card company. That's the only way you will find out about new gotcha fees or rate hikes. If you've gotten a notice of changes you don't like, you have the right to opt out, meaning you can keep your terms the same but you won't be able to make new purchases on the card.
We'll have more on what you need to know about the Card Act, plus the dos and don'ts of remodeling projects, a look at the projects that really pay and those that are simply a waste of your money.
That's "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" 9:30 a.m. right here on CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And the mayor of Las Vegas, boy, fired up over comments by the president.
GRIFFIN: Did these two guys make peace when the president visited Vegas yesterday? We'll have an update on that one.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Las Vegas, I know a little somebody who spent some time in Las Vegas. Yes, we won't be able to fly T.J. Holmes in that live shot.
GRIFFIN: Is that where he is?
NGUYEN: That's where he is.
GRIFFIN: And I'm here?
NGUYEN: He just messaged me about -- what -- 25 minutes ago. So he's still up, bless his heart. Yes. Don't ask what he's doing. Stays in Vegas, right?
Speaking of Vegas, don't blow your money there. That's what the president said a few weeks ago. A lot of people not happy about that.
GRIFFIN: Yes. It wasn't very well received in Sin City.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR OSCAR GOODMAN, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: He's got a problem with us. I don't know what it is. He's not our friend. I don't know about Nevada, but Las Vegas, he's sure not our friend.
I've got to tell you this and everybody says I shouldn't say it but I've got to tell you the way it is. This president is a real slow learner.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Oh. GRIFFIN: Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. So how would the president respond, by going to Las Vegas, of course.
NGUYEN: CNN's senior White House correspondent Ed Henry, he went along where he also got a look at the city's newest gamble.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Jim Murren (ph) knows what it's like to be in the eye of the storm. Creditors came this close last year to shutting down his sprawling, $8 billion City Center hotel and casino project. So he sympathizes with embattled senators like Harry Reid.
JIM MURREN, CEO, MGM MIRAGE: They're just voting them off the island, Republicans, Democrats, they're voting them off the island.
HENRY: Did you feel like you almost got voted off the island last year?
MURREN: I think the company almost got voted off the island. I do. We were hours away -- hours away from filing bankruptcy.
HENRY: Now business is picking up and Murren thinks Reid can survive, too.
MURREN: It's like counting Las Vegas out, which everyone did last year, right? And now we're coming back. I think he's going to come back, too.
HENRY: But Reid has not been helped by the president taking verbal swipes at Sin City twice in the past year.
OBAMA: Now, I did receive a little bit of heat, I know. Maybe some in this room, when I said that folks shouldn't blow their college savings in Vegas. That doesn't mean I don't love Vegas. It wasn't meant to be a shot.
HENRY: So when he came to visit Citi Center for the first time, the president tried to make a mends with Murren and other local business leaders.
OBAMA: Before I go any further, let me set the record straight, I love Vegas. Always have.
HENRY (on camera): A big part of whether Citi Center succeeds depends on what happens with the latest Cirque de Soleil show here, "Viva, Elvis." It's really been interesting because there's been tons of Elvis shows done with impersonators obviously. This one they're trying to make totally different.
They want to make it a transformative experience that only touches lightly on Elvis' career but really goes beyond the music. Gets into his life. You can see TCB is his motto, taking care of business. Something a lot of people in Vegas are trying to do right now. Let's go in the theater and take a look. (voice-over): The new show opened Friday. And the artistic director admits he's on edge.
GENIE LUCAS, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, "VIVA ELVIS": It's a Vegas party, so we're hoping that it's going to, you know, bring them in, fill the seats.
HENRY: You feel the anxiety now? You're getting ready to open.
LUCAS: Oh, of course. Of course.
HENRY: The president's warm words for this city may not have been enough for the flamboyant Mayor Oscar Goodman who skipped Mr. Obama's speech. But Jim Murren of MGM, a Republican who voted for Mr. Obama, says the proof that the president cares for this city is that he showed up and he thinks everybody should move on.
Ed Henry, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Hello, everybody, from the CNN center in Atlanta. This is CNN SATURDAY MORNING, February 20th. Good morning. Thanks for being here. I'm Betty Nguyen.
GRIFFIN: I'm Drew Griffin for T.J. Holmes, in Vegas, this morning. Thanks for starting your day with us. It's 9:00 a.m. in Washington, D.C. where conservatives are heading into the final day for CPAC convention, conservative convention. Tonight's closing speaker, radio and television host Glenn Beck.
This half hour we're going to take a look at the convention. What is it? What does it mean to you at home and we'll also listen to some of the fiery remarks tossed at President Obama and hear from what Democrats have to say.
NGUYEN: Yes. But first, though, let's get to your top stories this morning.
The man who flew an airplane into a building housing an IRS office in Texas this week may have been aiming for maximum damage. A law enforcement official familiar with the investigation tells CNN that several of the plane's seats may have been removed to make room for a drum of fuel oil.
Joe Stack appears to have deliberately crashed this plane Thursday into the Austin building where nearly 200 IRS employees worked. Stack and one person in that building were killed, several others were hurt, two hospitalized.
GRIFFIN: Out in California, hundreds have been forced from their homes again, heavy rain near Los Angeles bringing back the threat of mud slides. People prepared their homes before packing up. Dozens of those homes in the same area were damaged by mudslides just two weeks ago. Betty. NGUYEN: Well, Michelle Obama is talking about her childhood obesity initiative with the nation's governors today. They're holding their annual winter meetings in Washington this weekend. It was a short trip for many of the Republican governors who are already in D.C. for the CPAC convention.
GRIFFIN: Lots of big names in the conservative party meeting right now in Washington, there at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference. The group fired up, talking about winning Congress control this year and the White House in 2012.
Our deputy political director Paul Steinhauser is there. Mood upbeat, Paul, but you know, it's a little early in the game yet to be having all this fun, isn't it?
STEINHAUSER: You know, I got to say, I've been covering these CPAC meetings for a couple of years now. This is a world of difference from last year or the year before when conservatives really seemed down in the dumps. They do feel energized here. They think they can take back Congress in November in the mid terms elections. Yes, they've got their eyes also set on the White House and Barack Obama in 2012.
We've heard a lot of that from speakers today, this morning. Just how Rick Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania who may want to run for the White House next time around. He was saying some of that. Also, Ron Paul, he kind of lit up the crowd here last night.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. RON PAUL (R), TEXAS: This is a different year and anything we have ever experienced before, and I am optimistic to believe that a lot of good is going to come out of what is happening in this country today, whether it's the CPAC meeting or the tea party movements or the recent victories in the elections, but believe me, by the end of this year, I think this country is going to be a lot better off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: You know, Drew, they're not only going after Democrats here. That's understandable, obviously, with the conservative crowd but they're also criticizing some of their own party, some moderate Republicans. The conservatives here really think they can grab this party and take control of it. We've heard criticism of former President Bush and other Republicans in office. Drew.
GRIFFIN: Yes. And they're going to hear from Glenn Beck tonight who is not shy about -- really, he attacks Democrats, of course, but he's not shy about attacking Republicans as well for overspending and years of abuse.
STEINHAUSER: Yes, that's one of the themes we've heard here. We just heard it from Rick Santorum as well and other speakers criticizing the former administration and the Republican congress from earlier this decade.
And listen, smaller limited government, less taxes, those are a couple of the big themes here. Drew, one of the big differences though this year from last year is the tea party movement. About a year ago this tea party movement was just in its infancy. Now, of course, they are a big force on the conservative side. There are a lot of their leaders here.
You know, one interesting dynamic though, Drew, is the Republican Party, they want to tap into that energy and enthusiasm from the tea party. The tea party doesn't want to be coopted by either the Republicans or the Democrats. And we've got polls of recent CNN poll, CNN Research Corporation poll suggested that if a tea party candidate ran as a third party candidate that would take away from the Republicans. The Republican Party wants to avoid that, Drew.
GRIFFIN: OK. Thanks a lot, Paul. Sure loud on a Saturday morning, Betty.
NGUYEN: Yes.
All right. Let's talk more about the CPAC because it does wrap up tonight with speeches by some conservative favorites we've been talking about, Newt Gingrich and talk show host Glenn Beck. Expect to hear some jabs at the president and the Democratic majority. In fact, we've already heard some fiery comments earlier this week.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHENEY: The sky's the limit here. I think 2010 is going to be a phenomenal year. For the conservative cause. And I think Barack Obama is a one-term president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: All right. So let's talk about this, when Democratic strategist Maria Cardona. She joins me live from Washington. Maria, a lot of comment slamming the president and his administration. First of all, I want to get your response to some of them.
MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I think that what this convention is showing and what conservatives are showing is that they're basically out of touch with the mainstream of America. What we have seen with most of the comments is that they are fiery, they're full of red meat, they are not shy about personally insulting the president, and they're showing American voters exactly what they have rejected.
It seems like everybody in this convention is calling for more partisanship, is calling for more divisiveness. Where are the solutions? Where are the leaders that are going to step up and work with this president the way that American voters have said very clearly that's what they want? NGUYEN: Well, I want to get to the solutions and any talk of that in just a second. But I want to address something that you said that the people at the CPAC convention are out of touch. But at the same time if you take a look at some of the things that are being said during these speeches, they say the president is out of touch.
For example, Mitt Romney says President Obama fails to understand America. And then former House majority leader Dick Armey says, "you're intellectually shallow, you're romantic, you're self indulgent, the most incompetent president perhaps in our lifetime." This is some really tough words being thrown out there about the president, is this a sense of just the public frustration across America or is this just a rally cry on behalf of conservatives?
CARDONA: I think it's a rally cry on behalf of conservatives. If this was really an effort to find solutions that Americans want, they would be talking about trying to work with this president, because you know what? You know, regardless of how much they might dislike him, he is the president.
And nothing is going to get done without his help. He has recognized that he cannot govern without the help of Republicans. What has he been doing for the last two months? Reaching out to Republicans, bringing them to the White House. He's going to them. He's going to have a health care summit with Republicans.
And, in fact, you know, contrary to what they have been saying, he has actually been reaching out to Republicans from the first day he's been in office. The only thing he has gotten is no, no solutions, they want him to fail. That's the only thing that they're offering the American people is going to be a big problem for them because that's what independent voters do not want.
NGUYEN: You say no, some people are wearing that no as a badge at the convention. You know what, yes, I don't believe in these policies so I am going to vote no. I want to ask you, when it comes to the rhetoric, comes to the things that are being said, is it damaging to the GOP or is this something that's truly going to produce results when it comes to mid-term elections?
CARDONA: Well, I think right now they are hoping that it's going to produce results. But here's the problem, again, American voters, and you see it time and time again in your polls and in polls across the board. Independent voters are sick of this gridlock. They are sick of the partisanship. They are sick of the way Washington works.
And in fact, most of them blame Republicans for that obstructionism. So even though they might be the solution with the fact that this president has not been able to bring about the change that he talked about, they understand that it is both parties that need to work together. This president is showing that he wants to work with Republicans.
The contrast is you have Republican leaders who supposedly want to lead this country and the only thing that they are crying for is more partisanship, more divisiveness. You cannot see a more clear contrast of what is being offered to the American people. The president wants to offer middle class families working class families real solutions to the problems they're facing where the solutions ...
NGUYEN: You know, that can be a question said to both sides. We're hearing a lot of talk about what needs to be done. But where are the real solutions?
CARDONA: Well, the real solutions, you know, you have heard it from this president from day one. Jobs and the economy. Health care reform. Yes, you know, we perhaps lost the message because of all of the noise in terms of the process, but this president has been very clear from day one. Working class families, middle class families.
What he had talked about on the campaign trail, cutting taxes for middle class families, he did that. Cutting taxes for small businesses. He did that. Giving children health care reform, he gave children health insurance reform. By the way, with no help from the Republicans.
So these are things that are not really talked about because they're not that interesting apparently. But they are the things that independent voters and middle class families and working class families want to hear. This president wants to solve their problems. The Republicans don't. Very clear contrast.
NGUYEN: Yes. That's your take on it. Democratic strategist, Maria Cardona. Thanks so much for spending some time.
CARDONA: Thank you, Betty.
NGUYEN: ... and giving us your insight. Appreciate it.
GRIFFIN: You know, at the CPAC convention whenever there's a Democrat in the White House they take a straw poll to find out who is going to be their presidential front-runner. I talked about that with political columnist John Avalon. Who is going to be the Republicans pick in 2012?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN AVALON, POLITICAL COLUMNIST: In terms of the 2012 ticket, this party is still in warlord status. There's not an obvious leader. Mitt Romney has been a strong contender in straw polls before. He certainly knows how to organize. But in many ways, you know, the heart of the crowd is with Ron Paul yesterday when he spoke. So we'll see. It will be very interesting, as you said, a Golden Globes, an indicator of things to come.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Former vice president Dick Cheney made some pretty strong comments about President Barack Obama this week. CNN's Rick Sanchez recently talked with conservative commentator Ann Coulter about the meetings at CPAC.
Here's what she had to say about the war on terror. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Are you surprised that Marco Rubio didn't get the same ovation that this guy did? Now, here's a face from the past, the former vice president stands up. Surprise appearance, by the way, at the convention. And gets a big ovation after that. Do we have that, Dan? Roll that, if we've got it. This is Dick Cheney.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHENEY: I think Barack Obama is a one-term president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: That's interesting. But I'm wondering if by doing that the former vice president is not handing the Democrats an ace in a bad hand, if you will, if you know what I get -- if you know what I mean.
ANN COULTER, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: I'm not sure I do, but I heard the first part about why did he get a bigger standing ovation than Marco Rubio. And that's because conservatives reward results and we liked the vice president and he was vice president. Whereas Marco Rubio is still just a sparkle in our eyes. Though we do expect big things from him. And, no, I think Cheney is doing a fine job. We do need somebody out there.
I mean, as we discovered under Bush, Republicans need a wartime president who can talk. I think President Bush was magnificent in fighting the war on terrorism but a lot of times it was tough because he wasn't out there making the argument. When he did make the argument, (INAUDIBLE) for example, it was spectacular.
So it's nice to have one man taking the lead, defending the conservative position on national security, which most of all seems to entail acknowledging that there is a war on terrorism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: All right. So should the tea party nation merge with the grand old party?
GRIFFIN: Up next, we're going to follow a tea party leader, right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You're watching CNN SATURDAY. We're so glad to have you here. What we're going to do for the next 60 seconds is show you some of the weather we're experiencing around much of the nation and what we can expect in places in some spots could get especially bad.
Take a look at this great shot we have on radar. Happening in Chicago, you've had snow showers this morning. Same deal in St. Louis. Some snow but a little bit of rain drops. But then when you make your way to Kansas City, you step outside and look back towards (INAUDIBLE), a lot of cloud cover. From the clouds this rain is falling even mix of some sleet and some snow.
And more, more is on the way. Possibly ice, too. The big maker, weather maker we have today is going to be up in the Rockies. This area of low pressure that will produce some heavy snowfall for ski country. It's great for skiers, but not so great for making that drive along parts of i-80. Then as we make our way back to the Central Plains, that system is going to move into places like Kansas City and possibly bringing that rain and maybe some sleet and some snow. Certainly rough times there.
Very quickly, 36, the high in Chicago today. 60 in Atlanta. 57 in Las Vegas. 73 in Miami and 42 in New York. That is a look at your forecast. Now let's send it back to the news desk.
NGUYEN: All right. We do have some breaking news to tell you about. A former secretary of state Alexander Haig has died. This according to his family. The "Associated Press" is reporting this. Former secretary of state, 85 years old, he was a top official in the administrations of three presidents, in fact. That being Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan. He ran an unsuccessful bid for the 1988 Republican presidential nomination.
But again, coming to us today according to the "Associated Press," Alexander Haig has died, the former secretary of state, just 85 years old.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: They want a take back government. The rallying cry of thousands in Washington this week for the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC.
NGUYEN: Yes. But now after 37 years CPAC isn't just a GOP thing.
CNN's Randi Kaye reports the grassroots tea party movement is alive and well, and making inroads.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bob Porto made his first trip to Washington, D.C. at age 12. It was a lesson in how government works. This visit is different. This time, he's very frustrated with the establishment.
(on camera): When you look at the building, the Capitol Building here in Washington, that's what you loved, the American flag right there, the freedom it represents.
BOB PORTO, PULASKI COUNTY, ARKANSAS TEA PARTY: Yes.
KAYE: But it also is a symbol of what you and so many tea partiers are angry about and frustrated with.
PORTO: This represents the opportunity of freedom. We don't need mismanaged government trying to take away the freedom for the average man. KAYE (voice-over): This time Porto came to Washington to attend CPAC, the premier convention for conservatives.
(on camera): I've got to say I'm really surprised to see you here because this is about as establishment as it gets.
PORTO: You know, you're right. You're right.
KAYE (voice-over): Porto says he came to listen to the conservatives' message to see if it lines up with the values of tea party nation.
(on camera): Tea partiers like Bob Porto don't like the direction this country is going. They're frustrated with government spending, frustrated with the skyrocketing deficit. They say they want to take their country back from the very people who work in that building.
PORTO: We're just Americans. We're patriotic.
KAYE (voice-over): We first met Porto a few weeks ago in Arkansas where he started a tea party out of frustration. The bank had come calling on a $300,000 loan for his home. He didn't have the money. His home building business had dried up. And he began to wonder where his bailout was.
PORTO: So you have the constitution ...
KAYE: Like so many tea partiers, Porto had always been on the sidelines. But today he's a motivated activist who wants his voice heard.
PORTO: This is from the citizens to the politicians. So I really want to go see what they have to say.
KAYE: Did he hear enough to make him think the GOP should merge with the tea party? Some Republicans are banking on that grass roots energy.
(on camera): What if the Republican Party wanted to absorb the tea party movement? Good or bad? Would you be in favor of that?
PORTO: I don't think it would be a good thing at all.
KAYE: Do tea partiers trust Republicans?
PORTO: Trust? You have to earn trust. I don't know if there's many to have earned our trust. When you look at the situation where our country is in right now, with the debt that were in ...
KAYE (voice-over): Even though Sarah Palin suggests it's time tea partiers, "pick a party," Porto believes the movement can be more effective if it remains grassroots and holds both Republicans and Democrats' feet to the fire. What's going on in America today, Bob Porto, says reminds him of when he scolded his daughters for spilling milk and each pointed a finger of blame at the other. PORTO: I said, you know what? Clean it up. Quit pointing the fingers. Clean it up.
KAYE (on camera): And that's what America needs to do.
PORTO: That's what we need to do, both parties. Quit pointing fingers and clean it up.
KAYE (voice-over): Clean it up, he says, before the mess in Washington gets even worse.
Randi Kaye, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: CNN confirming our breaking news this morning that former secretary of state and presidential adviser Al Haig has died. He was 85 years old. A major player in Ronald Reagan's administration. Josh Levs looking into his life.
LEVS: Yes, major player in three administrations. And you know, before he was a major political figure he also served the country in the military. He served in Japan during the Korean war. He had originally gone to Notre Dame and ended up going into the military. We have more information about him. Let me just show you right here.
This is our story on cnn.com. This was at the point yesterday we reported that he was hospitalized. Obviously now this will be updated. I will just talk to you a little bit about him. He actually just turned 85 pretty recently, his birthday was in December. And he had been hospitalized -- he was admitted to the hospital January 28th in critical condition.
I'll show you some of the pictures as well I've been finding from the Nixon Library. Just go through some of these online. You know, when we look back at what he did and the way he served this country, it is very interesting. He was a major political figure. He was also a major military figure.
First in the Nixon administration. He served as Nixon's deputy assistant for national security affairs beginning in 1970. And then in '73 he became vice chief of staff of the Army. But then he came back to the White House just after a few months to become chief of staff at the request of the president. It was after Nixon's resignation in 1974 that Haig became the supreme allied commander over NATO forces in Europe until '79.
Then he jumped in the private sector for a little while and then came right back in 1981 to work for the Reagan administration. That didn't last that long. It was '82 that he ended up leaving there. There are lots of different stories and theories about why he made a choice to leave a year later. But then he was officially in the private sector, although he went for the Republican presidential nomination. He had a failed bid to get that nomination in 1988. Also a little bit about him. He was born December 2nd, 1924, in Bala-Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. A piece of trivia, guys. Same high school as Kobe Bryant.
NGUYEN: Really?
LEVS: Alexander Haig there.
NGUYEN: All right. Died at the age of 85. OK. We'll have much more on this at 10:00 a.m.. But "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" with CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis starts now.
