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CNN Saturday Morning News

Andy Rooney Dies; Political Analysts Debate Cain Sexual Harassment Controversy; Oklahoma Hit by Earthquake; Video of Judge Abusing Daughter Goes Viral; Tiger Woods' Former Caddy Makes Racially Insensitive Comment about Woods

Aired November 05, 2011 - 10:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good Saturday morning, everybody. Herman Cain's accuser now has a voice. The Republican presidential candidate, well, listen to how he reacted, confirming the allegations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERMAN CAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, I've been in Washington all week and I've attracted a little bit of attention.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Yes. The accuser has now come out and confirmed some of the details. You'll hear what he has to say about this whole Cain drama. Also, a family court judge caught whipping his daughter. She says it's abuse. He says it's punishment. But did he cross the line? And when do you know that corporal punishment has crossed the line?

Hello to you all. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is your CNN Saturday morning, November 5th. Thank you all for being here. I'm T.J. Holmes.

We do have to start right now with the sad news we got just a short time ago about the death of Andy Rooney. The legendary CBS commentator "60 Minutes" commentator died, CBS confirming that just a short time ago. Of course he was best known for his commentaries, those essays at the end of "60 Minutes." It was just a month ago that he announced his retirement and signed off with that last essay. Earlier, I spoke with former NBC and CBS correspondent Bob Arnot about his friend, Andy Rooney.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB ARNOT, FORMER CBS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: He pretended to be this curmudgeon, but he really wasn't. As I said, I was kitty cornered to him on the seventh floor at CBS. He had this bluster, but he was the nicest, sweetest guy you could ever begin to possibly imagine.

And, of course, I was a neophyte in television at the time. And, of course, we're all nervous and frazzled, trying to pull stuff together and, you know, for this little morning show. Here he was on "60 Minutes," he was never flustered about anything. It was like it was no big deal. We go, how does this guy do it?

And, of course, it was so incredibly ingenious. Everything he did was so interesting, so fun and, you know, how did he ever figure that out? And it was so low tech. He had this old type writer, he typed it all up, took a camera, and it was just no big deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Rooney died last night in New York. He had been in the hospital after suffering complications following minor surgery last month. But Andy Rooney, the legendary CBS newsman, dead at the age of 92.

It's three minutes past the hour. Let's turn to Oklahoma, shall we? And I don't know how you woke up this morning, but my alarm clock went off. Some folks in Oklahoma, an earthquake woke them up. It was a 4.7 magnitude quake. They had a few smaller aftershocks. We don't have reports right now of injuries or damage.

Let me bring in CNN affiliate KOCO Meteorologist Rusty McCranie. He's on the line with us. Rusty, is it fair to say this was enough shaking to wake people up?

RUSTY MCCRANIE, METEOROLOGIST, KOCO TV, (via telephone): All over Oklahoma, T.J., and even surrounding states. We had reports of people walking up from Kansas, Missouri, Texas, and Arkansas. It's one of the bigger ones we felt in quite some time in Oklahoma.

HOLMES: That's my next question. How often do you all get rattled around?

MCCRANIE: Oklahoma has some active fault lines, and we actually have a fair amount of earthquake activity. It's just most of them are so small that we hardly ever feel them, especially here in Oklahoma City. This one was centered about 45 miles east of Oklahoma City. So to get a 4.7, to have it be one that, you know, really woke up a lot of people this morning and that's just kind of been the buzz through the area today, just how many folks were awoken. And as you said, though, luckily, the damage reports that are coming in are just minor right now.

HOLMES: OK, minor. You all are getting some, but still, minor reports is how we --

MCCRANIE: Yes. Drywall is being cracked, objects off of shelves, even larger appliances like refrigerators, washers and dryers getting rattled around. The big concern was that there are a lot of natural gas pipelines running through that part of the state east through Oklahoma City. But no reports of any gas leaks or gas problems or water main breaks or anything like that.

HOLMES: Rusty McCranie, thank you so much for jumping on the line.

It's four minutes past the hour. Let me turn it over to Reynolds Wolf here. We don't think oftentimes about Oklahoma and earthquakes, but they get them. REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You are right about that, T.J.

HOLMES: Oh, you know what, give him a second. Show the shot of him turning on his microphone on folks. You know what he's been touring. We have a tour groups that in there.

(CROSSTALK)

WOLF: You have your tour group back here. When I'm on the phone chatting with the folks in the tour group, the last thing you want to do is have this microphone on because sometimes you might say some things that are a little crazy and a little weird, probably not best for overall public consumption, but for a few friends that we have here, it's all good.

Scott, our photojournalist, I'm going to climb over this stuff. I know you have to weave your way back through here. It's amazing, T.J., you're right. When it comes to this earthquake we had in Oklahoma, it's not like living along the San Andreas fault in California. It's not that big of a deal.

In Oklahoma it's a very, very big deal. It was a 5.5 back in 1952, on April 9th, to be exact, that caused a lot of the damage in the city. It was 45 feet long. So he, yes, they do happen in Oklahoma.

(WEATHER BREAK)

HOLMES: Thank you so much. Stop playing with the tour groups, OK?

WOLF: Yes, All right.

HOLMES: Seven minutes past the hour. We'll check in with Reynolds plenty throughout the morning.

Let's turn to politics now. The controversy is still swirling around Republican Herman Cain. He spent the past week first dismissing and then remembering accusations of sexual harassment from the 1990s. We learned just a little bit more about the claims for an attorney for one of the accusers spoke out yesterday. Shortly after giving a brief statement, the attorney, Joel Bennett, spoke with our Wolf Blitzer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": "Several instances," I believe that was the phrase you used, of sexual harassment. What can you tell us about the nature of this sexual harassment?

JOEL BENNETT, LAWYER FOR CAIN ACCUSER: I'm sorry, I would like to be able to reveal all the details, but my client prefers not to do that. All I can say is there was more than one incident. They qualified as sexual harassment under the law in my opinion as a lawyer and my client chooses not to get into the details again. The details were filed internally with the National Restaurant Association in 1999 and I assume they were brought to Mr. Cain's attention.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Now, what is the Cain campaign saying? They say they're done talking about this. They've been talking about it for a week and they're ready to put it behind them. But the candidate, Herman Cain, had something else to say about it, just kind of a reference to it at a marriage Tea Party event. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAIN: You know, I've been in Washington all week. And I have attracted a little bit of attention.

(APPLAUSE)

CAIN: And there was an article in the "New York Times" today that has attempted to attract some more attention. That is kind of what happens when you start to show up near or at the top of the polls. It just happens that way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, the article he's talking about there, the "New York Times" article, it was about his relationship with the Koch brothers. You may have heard that reference to Koch brothers before. They're conservative businessmen who actually hosted that Tea Party event he was attending. Cain has another big event scheduled today, a one-on- one debate with Newt Gingrich.

We're at nine minutes past the hour now. And Pakistan is reportedly trying to hide its nukes from American eyes. So they're moving warheads around the country in the back of delivery vans? No armor, no military convoy? This information coming to us from an article in "The Atlantic" magazine. One of the authors of that report spoke with our Anderson Cooper about the fears now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY GOLDBERG, "THE ATLANTIC" MAGAZINE: We have seen repeatedly that the Pakistani military, Pakistani intelligence services, are penetrated by people who are sympathetic or outright members of organizations like the Taliban. And so when you're, for instance, moving nuclear weapons from one place to another, which is how the Pakistanis hide them from, among others, the Americans, if you have someone inside who is going to tell you at so-and-so hour on so-and-so road there is a truck with fissile material, with material that can be used for a dirty bomb, then you've got a real problem. And that's what people worry about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The problem people worry about is that too many people right now seem to know where those vans are.

Also coming up, it was really a story that captured the country this week. And a lot of people were talking about it. A family court judge caught on video whipping his daughter. Some would call it beating his daughter. The father called it discipline, the daughter calling it abuse. When does it cross the line?

Also, today there's a big day for your money, maybe. Are you moving it? Today is bank transfer day. Some others are calling it move your money day. People upset with the so-called big banks are encouraging others to move their money. Are you one of them?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, 12 minutes past the hour now. And the debates on corporal punishment reignited this week after a video circulated on YouTube showing a father striking his 16-year-old daughter with a belt repeatedly. More outrage came when people found out the man in the video is a family court judge. We're going to show you a bit of the video here, not a whole lot of it. A lot of people found this disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE WILLIAM ADAMS, ARANSAS COUNTY, TEXAS: Stand over that bed.

HILLARY ADAMS, DAUGHTER: Dad!

WILLIAM ADAMS: Stand over that bed. Stand over the bed. Stand over the bed.

HILLARY ADAMS: Ow! Stop!

WILLIAM ADAMS: Stand over the bed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right, the man you see in that video is Texas court judge William Adams. Now, since the video was released, thousands of people have campaigned through social media sights to have him removed from the bench. They say the father crossed the line from discipline to child abuse. But the judge says he was punishing his daughter who had stolen music and games through an illegal downloading site.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM ADAMS: In my mind, I haven't done anything wrong other than discipline my child after she was caught stealing. And I did lose my temper, but I've since apologized.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, his daughter, Hillary, she was the one who taped and distributed that video online. We only showed you a few seconds of it. The whole thing goes about seven minutes long. You see more of the same in the video. She has been doing a round of interviews, now talking about her story. And she talked to our Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY ADAMS: I think he's in serious denial, because I told him it hurt to walk the next day. And his response was one word. He said, "Good."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, of course, there has been some outrage about the judge, but he is going to face prosecution. Why? Because the video was from 2004. Texas has a five-year statute of limitations on child abuse charges, of injuring a child, I should say. The county D.A. says no indictment can come of the video. Anderson also asked Hillary why she waited seven years to release the tape in the first place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY ADAMS: There wasn't any carefully planned orchestration or anything like that. And I didn't really mean for anything huge to come of it. I just wanted to put it out there for my dad to see it and maybe a few other people to maybe help us reconcile and see that this was wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, Judge Adams, he also released a statement through his lawyer. He says his daughter released the tape for revenge. He was going to stop giving her money because she was about to drop out of college, according to the father.

The statement reads, quote, "Hillary warned her father if he reduced her financial support and took away her Mercedes automobile, which her father had provided, he would then regret it. The post was then uploaded."

The whole story has a lot of people talking about this issue, this particular case, but also the other issue, the larger issue of corporal punishment. Let me bring in two experts now. Joining me, Polly Frank, who has started an organization to help abused children, and also Amy Baker, a psychologist.

Ladies, thank you for being here. I need to say, first of all, we're not here to debate that video. Neither one of you are saying that was just corporal punishment or that was a father disciplining their child. I think a lot of people are in agreement, including you two, that that went too far. Let me start with you, Polly, if I can. When does it cross the line from discipline to abuse?

POLLY FRANK, ESTABLISHED FRANKS FOUNDATION: Obviously, what we saw was not spanking. He was out of control and he was in a full blown rage. This was undoubtedly abuse.

HOLMES: But for a parented home --

FRANK: There's no excuse for it. I was spanked as a child. And when I saw that tape, I was saying, thank god I did not have a father like this judge.

HOLMES: And, you know, Amy, on that question of -- for a parent at home, I'm among them, I've got some pretty good whoopings when I was a kid. For a parent out there, when does it cross the line from you disciplining your child to where it might be construed as abuse?

AMY BAKER, PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, the law is very clear that corporal punishment is a physical action designed to control or correct a child's behavior that does not cause injury. Texas state law is very clear that when the action causes injury that results in harm to the child's body or serious risk of harm to the child's body, it's abuse. I don't think anybody would argue that this is corporal punishment.

HOLMES: Well, Polly, is there still a place in these days? It's not like some of the debates we've been having this week, there's a generational gap. Some older folks got whoopings, and in this day and age, maybe they don't expect kids to be hit with a belt or whatever it may be. So does corporal punishment still a useful tool pore parents to discipline their children?

FRANK: To me, that's an individual thing with a parent. Again, there's a big difference between a swat on the bottom, which is what many of us got, and welts that turn into bruises. I mean, there's no excuse. And to hear this man say, well, you know, it wasn't as bad as it looked, he wasn't the one on the receiving end of that belt, was he?

HOLMES: Amy, let me bring you in on that same question. Does it still have a place and can it be effective or should we try our best, at least, to do away with disciplining our children in this way?

BAKER: You know, the research is very clear that corporal punishment is no more effective than alternative discipline techniques, and it carries with it risk of negative consequences to the child's body and spirit and self-esteem. So there's no need for corporal punishment.

HOLMES: Now, what would you say, and I know a lot of people are sitting there and I'm going to get e-mails and tweets and everything else about that statement you just made from a lot of people who say, you know what, I got pretty good whippings and spankings when I was a kid and I turned out just fine. What do you say to those folks.

BAKER: They really don't know what it would have been like to not have the whippings and spankings. They probably would have turned out just as fine as well and they wouldn't be carrying with them the experience of having been hurt by their child (ph). One of the problems with corporal punishment is that it teaches children to resolve problems through violence. Is that really the message we want to give our children? Even if it's effective in the short run in stopping the undesirable behavior, it's also shown to be ineffective and can lead to acting out and noncompliance and resentment on the part of the child. That's another reason to try alternatives.

HOLMES: Polly, do you agree with that, that alternatives could work? And I don't know how it would have turned out, or many don't know how it would have turned out if you didn't get those spankings. And a pop on the bottom is one thing, but an actual spanking, is there still a place for that, holly?

FRANK: Again, it depends on the situation with the child. I've raised three children, and they're grown now. And all three of them would tell you to this day that at times the groundings were far more painful than any spanking would be. You take away the computer, the TV, the phone, that was a lot more painful.

Again, to me, back to this judge, he just reminds me so much of so many abusers that I have heard turning it around, trying to blame the victim, trying to minimize what he did. And I just -- I applaud this girl, Hillary, for having the courage and the shrewdness to do what she did.

HOLMES: Polly Frank, Amy Baker, thank you both for being here and sharing perspective on this. It's a conversation a lot of people are having. It's a tough topic and it's a very personal topic in a lot of homes across the country. So I do appreciate you both for being here. Thanks so much.

FRANK: Sure.

BAKER: Thank you.

HOLMES: It's 20 minutes past the hour now here on this CNN Saturday morning. A lot of you have been weighing in on this topic. We are reading your comments. We're going to share more of that throughout the morning on some of what you're saying about corporal punishment and in this particular case about Texas.

Also, the sad news we got just a little bit ago about Andy Rooney. We'll be talking more about that. We'll be talking to his old boss who used to work over at "60 Minutes." But Andy Rooney dead at the age of 92 just a month after signing off at the age of 92 from the show, now he has signed off in another way. Quick break. We're right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It's 23 minutes past the hour now.

Another big story we're following today is about the Occupy movement is taking roots in a lot of places around the country, including Atlanta, where protesters are getting advice from civil rights leaders, including Reverend Jesse Jackson. He took part in a protest in Atlanta yesterday. He was here with me in studio a short time ago. I asked him what advice he is giving the Occupy protestors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV JESSE JACKSON, RAINBOW COALITION: Remain disciplined, nonviolent, and focus on economy justice, and focus themselves on the 99, focus on banks and bank policy as well as the impact of these expensive and unnecessary wars.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Other civil rights pioneers offering advice and support. Among them, Andrew Young and Reverend Joseph Laurie.

Well, 24 minutes past the hour now. Where is your money today? Is it on the move? One group wants you to move your money today, at least out of the so-called big banks, and move it into credit unions. They're calling this move your money day.

And so far, it seems a lot of people are paying attention to the message. According to CNNMoney.com, 650,000 people at least have fled the big banks in just the past month. Listen to how one of the organizers describes how the grassroots effort and how it grew so big so fast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTEN CHRISTIAN, CREATED FACEBOOK PAGE FOR MOVEMENT: I started the idea itself. It began as a Facebook event I sent to 500 of my closest friends, educating them to the powerful impact credit unions can have on our local community. And from there, they invited 500 and they invited 500. So now we are to 42,000 supporters in less than two weeks. Big banks for far too long have mismanaged funds and utilized unethical business practices. So it's time that we vote with our dollar and help restore our local communities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: It was just a month ago, you may remember, that Bank of America announced its $5 debit card fee. It sparked a lot of anger around the country. And now Bank of America as well as a number of other banks say they're not going to do those fees now, but it may be too late. Now, if you're one of the thousands of people looking for possible alternatives, here is a website for you. It's NCUA.gov. This is from the National Credit Union Association. They allow you to simply plug in your zip code. It will allow you to find credit unions near you.

We're getting close to the bottom of the hour when we'll be talking to Andy Rooney's old boss after the break. Andy Rooney, of course, we got news a short time ago, is now dead at the age of 92. Also this morning, we'll have more on the former sexual harassment allegations against Cain. Can he survive the storm? Our political panel weighing in.

And in Tuscaloosa, a showdown in college football, one versus two, taking you live to the city colored in crimson and white as well as purple and gold.

And don't you wish you were there? We're looking at what the day means to college football.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We're at the bottom of the hour now on CNN Saturday morning, and sad news to bring you. Andy Rooney, the long-time CBS newsman, has died at the age of 92. And this comes right at a month after he signed off with his legendary essay at the end of one of the "60 Minutes" programs. And here we are just a month later he had been in the hospital. He had minor surgery, but then developed some complications from that surgery and had to go back into the hospital with CBS confirming this morning that he, in fact, died.

Former CBS and CNN executive John Klein joins me now on the line. You certainly worked with him for a number of years. And John, something a number of people told me this morning, this was just -- can you pick a better way to go, to sign off from the show and literally sign off?

JOHN KLEIN, FORMER CBS EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT (via telephone): It's really something, you know? Everything about this guy was original and you could almost say perfectly timed. To me, he's one of those people who was in the group that figured out what TV news was or would be. They all were making it up as they went along.

And he started in the 50s and just exploring unusual topics in different ways, even back then. A lot of people don't realize he was documentary maker, a documentary writer, primarily. And he did a lot of work in that way before he ever went on camera, you know, as a -- as an essayist. So, you know, he did a lot of amazing things in his life.

HOLMES: What's the right way to remember him today? Because one of his former colleagues say, you know, you think of this old curmudgeon sometimes. But what's the right way today to remember Andy Rooney?

KLEIN: I think Andy would have wanted to be remembered as a writer, primarily. And I think that Andy proved that television is a writer's medium, not a visual medium, that it's the power of ideas over pictures. You know, Andy's segment didn't well contain a lot of visuals, if any. Usually it was just him sitting there, illustrating his points in other ways.

And I always used to say to you guys at CNN, listen, think of what you have to say first and then worry about how you're going illustrate it later. And Andy proved that. And, you know, that's to his everlasting credit.

I think the other thing that he illustrates is that you never know which way your life is going to go. I mean, he didn't really become Andy Rooney we know and love today until -- I think he was in the 60s is when he started appearing on "60 Minutes." Up until then, he was going a completely different direction. And, you know, for all those 50 and 60-year-olds out there, who knows what's around the corner, you guys?

HOLMES: That's a good point to make. John Cline, former CBS executive and CNN executive. We appreciate you taking the time. Thanks so much.

KLEIN: You bet.

HOLMES: We're at 32 minutes past the hour. We'll turn back to politics. And what a week it was in presidential politics. And it was all about Herman Cain it seems for the wrong reasons. He's been trying hard to make the story a sexual harassment settlements just go away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAIN: Don't even bother asking me all these other questions that you all are curious about, OK? Don't even bother. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These women do want -- are you concerned about --

CAIN: What did I say? Excuse me. Excuse me!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, things haven't exactly done the way Cain would have liked this week. Let me bring in our friend, CNN political contributor and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona as well as our good friend Republican Lenny McAllister. Good to see you both. We'll start as we always do, your political highlight of the week. Maria, what have you got?

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, you said it. It's Herman Cain all the time, but it's not about nine-nine-nine. Can he survive? Can he thrive? It depends on if he continues to lie.

HOLMES: Lenny?

LENNY MCALLISTER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I have two, one for each side of the political aisle this week. For one side, it's the other nine-nine-nine plan, President Obama's unemployment record for 2011. For the other side of the aisle, it's Herman Cain, Yogi Berra and political crisis management. Listen to what I say, not to what I said, except of course when what I said is exactly what I said is what you wanted in the first place.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: Let's get to Herman Cain here, shall we? It's hard to know where to start. They say they're not going to talk about it anymore and they're done. So is it up to him, Maria?

CARDONA: No, absolutely not. And it's interesting because we were all waiting with bated breath to his if one of his accusers was going to come out publicly yesterday. She decided not to relive the accusations and what she went through with him in the 90s. But the problem is that she was not the only one. Apparently there is another woman and a third woman who actually has now said that they have suffered sexual harassment at the hands of Herman Cain. So it's not up to him. It depends on whether any of these three women decide to come out publicly and continue this. And who knows what other women are out there who may come forward.

HOLMES: Lenny, why hasn't this seemed to have affected him in the polls just yet? Is it too early?

MCALLISTER: You have to remember, four years ago, we had a vice presidential candidate talking about the "lame-stream media." So conservatives are fired up. Whenever they see the media having a controversy around a conservative candidate, they're going to rally the troops until there's irrefutable evidence. Right now, that irrefutable evidence is not out there. Therefore you have a guy who is the anti-politician that's ahead in the polls that has already created relationships at the grassroots level from the Christian conservative south that has good relationships with no damming proof out there. Why wouldn't he continue to release and maintain that at the polls, especially when the number two right now is Mitt Romney and conservatives have said we're looking for anybody other than Romney, at least at this point in time.

HOLMES: What does this say, as well, Maria, and Lenny hit on it here, he's setting records in his campaign fundraising after it comes out that he was accused of sexual harassment? What in the world do we make of that?

CARDONA: That's a really interesting question, T.J. I don't know. It would be interesting to see how many of those supporters who have given him money and rallied around him are men and how many are women. Let's really look at this. Sexual harassment is a serious, serious issue. And, again, it wasn't just one woman to come out. If it was just one woman, I would say maybe it's a he said, she said. More than one woman, more than one instance. He's lied about it, which again says to me there is more there than what he is coming out with.

HOLMES: He said he is starting to remember things a little better.

CARDONA: Yes, but T.J., he says he doesn't remember in one breath and in another breath he talks about how he talked about this with another guy who he is accusing of leaking this case, Kurt Anderson. He talked about it with him in 200. So either he does remember or he doesn't remember.

And you can't tell me if you're seriously thinking about running for president you're not going to think about every instance where you think opposition research can come back to haunt you. I just don't buy it.

HOLMES: But at the same time, you have 1992, I smoked it but I didn't inhale in the philanderer that we had in the White House for eight years, and we have two presidents that have experimented with everything from liquid substances to other types of substances. This is 2011. Everybody has flaws, and we've seen it from the last three presidents. That's why Herman Cain hasn't fallen off the mountain quite yet. So to sit here and act this is the first imperfect candidate we've had in 25 years is obnoxious.

(CROSSTALK)

CARDONA: But there's a difference.

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: I think Maria is about to say that, you know what? Somebody who smoked a little something, drank a little something, even if somebody cheated on their spouse, which nobody's condoning, this is a harassment allegation.

CARDONA: It's a major difference.

MCALLISTER: These are allegations, T.J.

CARDONA: That's right, but there's one more than one. MCALLISTER: But we still don't know what the facts are.

CARDONA: You're right. You're right.

MCALLISTER: Maria, was he putting his hand on her shoulder or was it something worse? We don't know.

HOLMES: We don't know.

CARDONA: You're absolutely right. But if you're Herman Cain, you know exactly what these allegations were. Don't lie about it. That's what makes it worse in the long run.

MCALLISTER: That's the problem. You're right, Maria. That's the problem.

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: All right, guys, I'm going to have to let you all go. Everybody take a breather. Wow. I was off one weekend and I come back to this? Good to see you both.

CARDONA: You see what you did, T.J.?

HOLMES: A one-word answer, all right? Lenny, LSU or Alabama?

MCALLISTER: I'm going to have to say Alabama.

HOLMES: Maria?

MCALLISTER: I mean Pittsburgh Steelers.

HOLMES: You all can't even -- oh, goodness.

CARDONA: I don't even know. I'm going to go with Lenny, Alabama.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: All right, Lenny, Maria, good to see you guys. I can't wait to see you again.

MCALLISTER: Have a good weekend.

CARDONA: Bye, T.J.

HOLMES: We're 39 minutes past the hour now. And it is the game like no other, people actually calling this the game of the century today. LSU-Alabama, one versus two. We have a preview, and we'll explain why this is such a big deal.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It's 42 minutes past the hour on this CNN Saturday morning. Good morning to you all. Thank you for spending some time here with us. Let me give you a look at some of the stories making headlines this morning. We will start in Greece. Well, the prime minister there gets to keep his job. And that actually means something to us all. Now, George Papandreou survived a vote that could have forced him to dissolve the government. That's important because of the political mess going on right now they're trying to get it sorted out. It all has to do with a deal to save Greece's economy. That deal right now is just sitting and gathering dust, but the proposed bailout would wipe out half of Greece's debt. It would also force severe cuts in public programs. That has led to widespread rioting you may have seen pictures over the past days and week there in Greece.

Why is this so important? Because Greece's economy is linked to the world markets. So many banks bet big on Greece's recovery and right now are losing money, and that could affect us all.

Meanwhile, world leaders pledged support for the Greek debt deal, another drastic measure while meeting in France for the G-20 summit. They wrapped up the meeting by unveil ago two-page document, a two- page action plan. The plan is short on specifics right now and the leaders admit it will be hard for some countries to follow through.

We're at 43 minutes past the hour now. I don't know where you've been if you didn't know that LSU and Alabama are playing tonight, one versus two. It has national championship implications, but these are two powerhouse schools, powerhouse football teams, powerhouse coaches and they have just rabid fan bases. Patrick Claybon from our affiliate WIAT is there for us in Tuscaloosa. And, you know, Patrick help folks out. If may they haven't been following it all, they've been under a rock, whatever you say, explain to folks just how big of a deal this game is.

PATRICK CLAYBON, CORRESPONDENT, WIAT: T.J., the reason we've been talking about this game for a couple of weeks now, Alabama and LSU have bye weeks, number one and number two teams in the country. Apparently on the same weekend that you decided to take off. T.J., you took the wrong weekend off, the one and two team, LSU visiting Alabama in Tuscaloosa today. The winner of this team has the inside track to the championship. They control their own destiny to who plays the national championship game earlier next year.

HOLMES: And give us an idea of where this thing is at, tickets are going from $600 to $6,000. Are people out there trying to possibly get tickets? I know people have been camping out for literally days.

CLAYBON: These fans made the trip up here as early as Tuesday, LSU fans coming in. When you walk around with a camera, T.J., everybody thinks you can provide them with tickets. So just in the past few minutes, we've had a few people coming up to us, hey, can we get tickets? We came from Cincinnati, we came from Sheboygan. At least it's the biggest game of the day here in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

HOLMES: Patrick, you get to be there. Enjoy yourself, my man. Thank you very much.

CLAYBON: Thanks, T.J. HOLMES: We're about a quarter of the top of the hour. It's that time of year again. Everybody right now, you need to be thinking about your holiday travel. You need to be careful that you don't get bumped off your flight. How to avoid the bump, that's next.

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HOLMES: We're about 12 minutes to the top of the hour. And the holiday travel season is approaching. So Reynolds Wolf is doing a little reporting for us. He has some tips on how you actually make that flight to grandma's house. That's in this edition of "On the Go."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF: More passengers are finding that having a ticket may not be enough to catch a point.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Last year approximately 760,000 passengers were bumped from flights. That's a 10 percent increase over the year before.

WOLF: And as airlines continued to reduce capacity, expect even fewer seats for travelers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To avoid being bumped, get a seat assignment as soon as possible and arrive early or utilize the online check-in.

WOLF: Airlines are supposed to first ask for volunteers to give up their seats, so be ready to do some negotiating.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You should make sure that the incentive sounds good to you. And also be aware that money is often a better deal than a voucher.

WOLF: If you are involuntarily bumped from a flight, new regulations require airlines to give you 200 percent of your one-way fare if you arrive to your destination one to two hours late. More than two hours late, the compensation doubles to 400 percent. Make sure the delay is worth it the next time you are on the go.

HOLMES: All right, we're about ten minutes to the top of the hour. And you want to stick around, because you know who is coming up next? Ray D'Alessio, our friend from HLN Sports. OK. Don't turn it away, folks, don't turn away. We're going to be talking sports with him. You're not going to believe what Tiger Woods' ex caddy said about him, had to issue an apology. Ray's coming up next.

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HOLMES: All right, about seven minutes to the top of the hour. We've got a duet you've got to hear, not between me and Ray D'Alessio.

RAY D'ALESSIO, HLN SPORTS: I thought about walking off the set after that last comment. But I didn't think you could handle this by yourself. HOLMES: You know what, thanks for staying. Thanks for staying.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: Ray D'Alessio, HLN Sports. We have boxer Manny Pacquiao and Jimmy Kimmel. You're going to need to see this.

RAY D'ALESSIO, HLN SPORTS: This is pretty good stuff.

HOLMES: This is good stuff. We'll wait for that one. But first, you have to hear the former caddie of Tiger Woods. These two just fell out.

D'ALESSIO: And you know, T.J., it's a shame, too. These guys were such good friends and the falling out just keeps getting worse and worse. Evidently during an awards banquet for caddies on Friday night Williams, he was receiving an award. He was talking about his big win with Adam Scott back in August. That came a month after he was fired by Tiger Woods.

Williams says he was making the comment in jest, but nevertheless, he got up there telling the crowd about that victory "It was my aim to shove it up that black expletive," referring about Tiger Woods. Williams has since apologized on his website, saying that the comments were made in jest, that he meant no disrespect towards Tiger Woods.

But Adam Scott is also standing by Steve Williams, saying he did the right thing by apologizing. Word got back to Tiger Woods, what was said at this banquet. His agent also releasing a statement saying if the reports are accurate, it is regrettable and that they had no further comment. I doubt we have heard the last of this.

HOLMES: That's unfortunate. But let's move on. This is good video. You all tell me this isn't good.

D'ALESSIO: Let me set this up first. Manny Pacquiao, pound for pound they call him the baddest man on the planet, one of the best boxers ever to step in the ring. The guy has a passion for singing. In fact a couple of months ago, he recorded a version "sometimes When we Touch," the 1970s hit. It sounded pretty good.

The other night, he got up on stage with Jimmy Kimmel. Let's say it's not an award winning performance. He probably would have gotten kicked off "American Idol" for this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

D'ALESSIO: As Simon Cowell would say, I thought it was awful.

HOLMES: You have to give him credit for getting up there.

D'ALESSIO: I would never get up there and sing like that, even though I can sing.

HOLMES: Five minutes to the top of the hour. Sing me to break.

D'ALESSIO: When we come back T.J. will have some awesome news for you. You like that? Huh?

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HOLMES: We've been talking a lot this morning about corporal punishment, had a debate this morning, as well, all sparked by that video. I'm sure you've seen it by now, the video many viewers found disturbing, of a Texas judge repeatedly hitting his 16-year-old daughter with a belt. He says it's discipline. She calls it and many others call it child abuse. Many people outraged to find out this is a family court judge who hears child abuse cases.

Many of you have chimed in on this, this morning, talking about corporal punishment, talking about this video in particular as well. Here is one from John saying "As a parent, I used corporal punishment sparingly. It becomes abuse when it is the only means for discipline." Another one coming to us, saying "No one would ever pose that question regarding men hitting women. Children should never, ever be hit."

One other we can share with you saying, "It crosses the line when the punishment causes bruises. I was given this technique, but never had scars."

So many of you chimed in to be part of the conversation on CNN SATURDAY MORNING and we thank you for that.

But we're going (INAUDIBLE) -- we go to our next hour of CNN SATURDAY MORNING -- but something you need to remember is to turn your clocks back an hour tonight. Daylight Savings Time starts at 2:00 a.m. So you need to reset that clock before you go to bed tonight.