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CNN Saturday Morning News

Decision Day for Herman Cain; Sandusky Says He's Innocent; Volunteer or Get No Benefits; Getting Your Dream Job; Good, Bad Memories from Iraq; Hurricane Force Winds in California; Toy Rentals; Snake Charmer Farmer

Aired December 03, 2011 - 11:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, from the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia this is your CNN SATURDAY MORNING for this December 3rd. I'm T.J. Holmes. And we have got a lot ahead for you this hour.

We are standing by for Herman Cain, waiting for him to talk about the future of his campaign. That announcement could come at any time. He's battling, as you know, the latest allegations that he had a 13- year affair.

Also today, former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky is giving his side of the story. He says he never had sexual contact with young boys. But you'll hear from him in his own words.

Also we're telling you this hour, yes, this is a tough economy, but you can still get your dream job. It's true. Stick around for that.

A lot to get to, though, and a lot on politics; it seems to be a lot about Herman Cain today. Some would think this could be decision day for him. After weeks of sexual misconduct allegations, he's expected to announce whether or not or how exactly he's going to move ahead in this Republican presidential race.

Again, we could get that at any moment. An event is taking place right now. It's just getting under way. And we have a lot of political players.

Look at who is joining us on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. We've got Shannon Travis he's at Cain's Georgia campaign headquarters which are supposed to be opening right now.

Also our Candy Crowley, always good to have her with us; and Joe Johns standing by in Washington, as well. I do want to start with you, though, Shannon Travis out there. What is this event which is starting right now? Remind our viewers what this is supposed to be about today.

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is supposed to be about the opening of his Georgia campaign headquarters. But obviously, a lot of us here in the media and a lot of his supporters are here to hear what he has to say about the -- to his reassessment, the end of that, what his decision will be.

Now, let me tell you, being out here, we're hearing drips and drabs of information, not all of it entirely clear. A few things that we know for sure is that Herman Cain has left his house in a suburban neighborhood not too far from here about 30 or 40 minutes away. Is he coming straight here? Is he stopping someplace else? We're not sure.

There's also a question about what time he will speak. Earlier, I spoke with one of his staffers and they said around 1:30, although that wasn't hard and fast. Now our producer, Janet, just spoke with another staffer and said it might be 12:30. So that's yet another thing that's not entirely clear yet.

And obviously, the big question, T.J., is what will he is actually say whenever he does speak? Will he come out and say, hey, I'm dropping out of the race, given all of the scandal and the allegations that he's repeatedly denied? Or will he come out and say, I'm forging ahead, I'm staying in this race. I denied it then, I'm denying it again now. And I'm staying in this race and I want to thank you all for being here and we're going ahead and opening this headquarters and forging ahead with the campaign.

So a lot of questions, we're sticking around to see what actually happens. Whenever we find out a few more answers to some of these questions, we'll definitely let you know.

HOLMES: Ok, let me bring in -- and Shannon, you stay with me -- Candy Crowley and Joe Johns are both in D.C., for us. Candy, let me start with you. And Joe, you can chime in on this, as well. And we're all trying to make sense of this, you cannot open a campaign headquarters and drop out of a race in the same day, can you, correct Candy?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Unless you're Herman Cain. Listen, one of the things that Herman Cain has prided himself on is that he is not running a template campaign. He is not running a campaign the likes of which we have ever seen. And I would say that he has succeeded in that. I thought yesterday when he said, now tomorrow I'm going to open my headquarters and then I'm going to talk about my decision on whether or not to even have a campaign was almost a classic Herman Cain line.

I think we don't know what to expect when it comes to him. I think there is -- and there are two tracks here. There's a very personal decision, you know, does he say, listen, the price of my wife, the price to my family is to high, I'm out. Or is this a political decision? Listen, my numbers are in the tank and with it my donations and, therefore, I can't afford to go on?

So there are two different decisions here. Either one of which could make him decide to get out. On the other hand, there have been plenty of times, particularly when the sexual harassment charges came out that a lot of people said, done, over, and guess what, he got a lot of more contributions. It's not happening this time, but it's -- it's defied gravity in some ways. And he certainly has defied convictions so I for one would you know look at these two leaders and say I am not equip to judge his tea leaves at this point.

HOLMES: Well, let me get somebody in here who doesn't mind, who doesn't mind judging these tea leaves. Again, Joe, Joe Johns, there is no way you're going to open a campaign headquarters and drop out of a race at the same time.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, first of all, you talk to almost any political analyst who has been around for a while, they'll tell you this guy is in political quick sand. And I mean his polls show it, he's in a tremendous amount of trouble.

On the other hand, he intends to do whatever it is he wants to do. And when he made his announcement last week that he was reassessing, he didn't really say he was reassessing whether he get out of the race, although that was obviously a possibility.

HOLMES: Yes.

JOHNS: What's he seem to be suggesting was he's going to reassess how he runs the campaign.

HOLMES: Yes.

JOHNS: In other words, he's been flying around the country, going to states that are other than early primary states, Ohio, for example, when everybody else is in Iowa or New Hampshire. And gave some suggestion that that was what he was going to reassess. Stop flying around and go focus on the states that really matter.

Nonetheless, I mean, how is that going to help him if he's in the situation where it's not necessarily a viable campaign? A lot of people will say over years and years and years of political experience that the campaign and the candidate are often the last to go ahead and realize that the handwriting is on the wall and they don't have a shot.

So that may be the situation, at least some people think he's in right now.

HOLMES: Well, let me bring Shannon Travis back in. Shannon who is standing by at that new Georgia headquarters that's going to the process of being open right now; ceremonies are supposed to be getting on to play, underway as we speak.

Some of the people that are starting to gather, I don't know how many you've been able to talk to. But what -- what is the chatter around there? Are people there are kind of perplexed about what's supposed to happen today, are they exited about this announcement, are they anxious about it?

TRAVIS: Yes, I would probably separate them into two camps the one camp of supporters, ardent supporters. Really I've been following them all week long, people chanting, "Go, Cain, go, don't get out of the race." And probably another camp of some of those people I spoke with who are here probably just for the spectacle of it all.

They've been watching us on TV and then knowing that he's going to make some kind of an important announcement here today. So they just want to be here and see what he says and be a part of it. But I can tell you that there are some loyal supporters in this crowd. Just a few days ago, not here but just a few days ago one man told me that he absolutely flat out does not believe that Herman Cain sexually harassed anyone and had an affair with -- a 13-year affair with this woman because he said in his word that there is no way that a man could speak with as such conviction like Herman Cain does and do those kinds of things so a lot of that sentiment is emblematic out here as well -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right, last thing and Candy on that note, he just made, somebody doesn't believe that the man can speak with that much conviction. We've seen politicians speak with that much conviction before and be lying to our faces, haven't we?

CROWLEY: I -- I you know, let's not even go very far back in history.

HOLMES: Yes.

CROWLEY: There are a lot of people who were stunned to find out that John Edwards, the family man, was having an affair and had a child with someone else. So, you know, I would never underestimate that people aren't all one thing.

HOLMES: Yes.

CROWLEY: We tend to make these politicians what we believe they are. They tend to want to be what we believe are. But reality has a way of coming in even on the political campaign trail.

JOHNS: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Bill Clinton, remember?

HOLMES: We remember them all. Don't we? Joe Johns, Candy Crowley and Shannon Travis. This event is just now getting underway, Herman Cain, we are told, has left his home, presumably on his way to this event, but we don't know that for sure. We don't know if he's making any other stop. You see people starting to gather there.

But what you're seeing, folks, is the new Georgia campaign headquarters of Herman Cain and many saying this is decision day about whether or not he's going to stay in the race. I am one that's saying you can't have a grand opening and a grand closing on the same day.

So Candy, Joe and Shannon, we will be talking to all three of you throughout the morning. Thank you so much.

Meanwhile, oh, yes, there's other candidates. Mitt Romney: He is rallying his supporters today in New Hampshire. He's at a campaign stop in Manchester. Reporters asked him questions, not a lot about his own policies, but the first question out of a reporter's mouth was about Herman Cain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, I don't know where Herman Cain's support will go. If he decides not to stay in the race, I wish him well. If he doesn't stay in the race, those folks are going take a good, hard look at all of us. I don't think people have really settled down in a final way in deciding they're going to support in the -- in the nomination process.

I hope they give us a good, careful look; that they see the work we're doing and the commitment of our people and recognizing what America needs right now is a leader. And I hope as they evaluate the various candidates, we can prove that I'm the leader that America needs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well Romney also commented on how many front-runners there have been in the Republican race. He said his campaign has been steady throughout the storm.

And a reminder stay with us as we wait for that Herman Cain announcement as soon he start, as soon as he starts speaking we will certainly bring that to you live.

Some other things to get to today, including former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky; he's speaking out about the sexual abuse charges he's facing. You'll hear for yourself what he says when asked about his feelings for young boys.

We're 11 minutes past the hour. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. We're 13 minutes past the hour now. We turn to the Penn State child molestation scandal. And Jerry Sandusky is speaking out again and giving his side of the story. He said he's innocent and never had sexual contact with young boys.

The former Penn State assistant football coach sat down for an in- depth interview -- an extensive interview with "The New York Times". It went some four hours. Here is just a piece of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JERRY SANDUSKY, FORMER PENN STATE ASSISTANT COACH: If I say no, I'm not attracted to boys, that's not the truth because I'm attracted to young people, boys, girls --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, but not sexually. You're attracted because you --

SANDUSKY: Right. I enjoy -- that's what I was trying to say. I enjoy spending time with young people. I enjoy spending time with people. I mean my two favorite groups are the elderly and the young.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, the voice you heard there off camera was his attorney jumping in trying to help him answer that question. Now he's asked in that interview with "The New York Times" why he did things like showering with kids; slept with them alone in hotels. Well, he said, he only saw them as his own children.

Also Sandusky insisted he never sexually abused any child. But he confirmed details of some of the events prosecutors cited in charging him with 40 counts of molesting young boys.

Another scandal in the Syracuse campus and we're now hearing from the head basketball coach Jim Boeheim. He's apologizing for being angry when he was defending his former assistant coach against sexual molestation allegations.

Now Coach Boeheim there you see he said his comments were wrong and made out of loyalty to Bernie Fine. Fine was fired last month, he is the one accused of molesting three boys.

Also, it's not clear whether country music singer Mindy McCready will face charges after she took her son from her mother and stepfather. Those are the two that actually have legal custody of the child. Police say they found McCready hiding in a closet with her 5-year-old son in a house in Arkansas earlier this morning. The boy is now in state custody.

Authorities say McCready took her son from her mother's Florida home late last month and she asked the court to restore custody to her out of concern over the boy's safety. The singer, who has fought a public battle against drug addiction does have visitation rights.

Also, former Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern is in guarded condition in a hospital in South Dakota. McGovern who's a former senator from South Dakota fell and hit his head yesterday. He is 89 years old. He was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1972, lost the race to incumbent President Richard Nixon.

Well, if you get unemployment benefits, should you have to give something in return? Well, one lawmaker says, yes. We'll tell what you that one thing is. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: 18 minutes past the hour now.

Some mixed news in the latest jobs numbers we got. The employment rate in November dropped from 9 percent to 8.6 percent. That's a two- and-a-half year low. That's great news for people. And while the country added that of 120,000 new jobs, there's a hidden fact in here. Almost three times as many people dropped out of the labor force. They just stopped looking for work altogether because they haven't been able to find a job. So you have to look a little deeper into those numbers.

Also, if you're looking for a job, should you be required to volunteer in exchange for getting unemployment benefits? One Georgia Republican state senator, his name is John Albers, says absolutely you should. He sponsored a bill requiring jobless people to volunteer at least 24 hours a week; that's about three work days almost.

Critics say it's not fair, it doesn't give unemployed people the time to even search for that job. He was here talking to me about it a little earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN ALBERS (R), GEORGIA STATE SENATE: When folks lose their job, it can be very depressing and defeating. I helped do this at my church in our job network ministry. Getting motivated, getting out in the morning, learning new things, meeting new people, serving folks, getting new stuff on your resume; there's only positives. And when you're helping our citizens serve other people and our charities, only good can come of it.

HOLMES: What -- but still it's a state-sanctioned motivation. Shouldn't people have their own right to make that decision for themselves what they want to get out and do?

ALBERS: Well, that may be true, but unfortunately, we're in an unprecedented time. So we need to get people back into the workforce. As you know, there's a record number of people who have actually given up on looking for work right now and we need to get folks back in there. We as a government want to do the best we can to provide that environment.

HOLMES: Now, what makes you think this would pass the legal test that you could require this? People pay in -- well, employers here in this state at least pay into the unemployment insurance that goes out for folks. But what makes you think you could legally attach this condition?

ALBERS: I think if you look back in history of the WPA and other things that were done back during the time of the Great Depression, we can put those same practices during the Great Recession. So I believe there is some legal precedence to do that. And I think we have to challenge the status quo. We have to do things differently, we have to do them better.

HOLMES: Ok. A lot of people say, well, wait a minute. And you're required. How did you come up with the 24 hours? I haven't said that yet. It's 24 hours a week, they would be required to volunteer. That is a huge chunk of time for someone trying to find a job. How did you settle on that amount of hours?

ALBERS: Well, I believe three days a week is a really good amount of time. But you think about this, most people find work when they're already working. So they already know that you can work a full-time job and find new work. To give back what would be three days a week worth of business time -- not total time but business time -- I think is more than reasonable.

HOLMES: That business time, a lot of people will argue I could be using that time to find another job. And we all know, certainly in these times and Georgia has had a higher unemployment rate than the nation for quite some time now. It's a full-time job to find a job.

ALBERS: Well, T.J. what a better way to find a job than to be working, have something on your resume, new skills and meeting new people.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: On that subject of jobs, a lot of people looking for work. When you're doing that, even in these times, don't sell yourself short. Don't just try to find a job. You should find your dream job, at least according to our financial analyst, Clyde Anderson, tells you yes, even in these times go be picky. Get the dream job.

Listen now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCIAL ANALYST: First things first is you really have to focus your job search.

HOLMES: Ok.

ANDERSON: Don't just pray and pray and think that I'm going to put myself out there to everybody and it's going to happen. My resume is going to be all over the Internet and somebody is going to call me about a job. Be focused about it. Find the company that you want to work for. What do you want to do?

HOLMES: Aren't you limiting yourself in some ways? Shouldn't you -- everybody look at my resume.

ANDERSON: No one wants to see that anymore because it's going to get hit and at the bottom of the pack. You've got to know these companies inside and out. You have to figure out, how can I get inside that company and what do I need to do to stand out and make myself stand out and let them know that I have a skill set that works for their economy.

HOLMES: Ok. Skill set. What if you don't have it yet? How do you get it? Is that part of --

ANDERSON: Go to trade school, take additional classes. Some people think, I have to go and spend a lot of money to get another degree. That's not always the case. Show that you specialize --

HOLMES: Specific skills.

ANDERSON: Specific skills to say that, ok, now I know the company I want to work for. Let me find that job that's going to work for that company.

HOLMES: All right. So you talk about the classes there. What is this tap into your networks?

ANDERSON: It's all about networking, it's about who you know and what they know about you and what you know about them.

HOLMES: Ok. You hear about that all the time. Networking -- people have these events here.

ANDERSON: Exactly.

HOLMES: There you, shake hands, we'll be the (INAUDIBLE) But is that the type of networking?

ANDERSON: Well, the thing people get messed up is that is not about passing out business cards, it's about relationships. So even if I go to a networking event, if I meet two people out of a hundred people, that's fine. But I'm specific about who I'm going there to meet. And then I have to be that.

And then you have realize, just know you, like you, trust you. First people get to know you, then they get to like you and then they can trust you and they'll get you a job.

HOLMES: Ok. what is this, it's all about online now?

ANDERSON: Yes.

HOLMES: You need to have a presence there.

ANDERSON: You've got to have your own presence. You've got to have your own blog. Wordpress is a great way to do it. There's a website called about.me. That's a great Web site to have an online presence. Use your social media. Use your Twitter. Use your LinkedIn, use your Facebook and talk about who you are and what you're looking for.

HOLMES: Do you direct people back to that stuff?

ANDERSON: Yes. You direct them back to it. You put it out there. You let them know. It's kind of a pull measure; it's not about the pushy salesperson any more. You're pulling people to you. They're intrigued about what you're talking about. Now they want to see who you are.

HOLMES: All right. How do you market yourself? I guess that's part of it but how do you -- I mean you can't buy a billboard, put it out and --

ANDERSON: You've got to build a campaign now. And that's what it's about. It's called building a campaign.

HOLMES: How.

ANDERSON: It's just like watching and realizing that if I'm strategic and say, ok in the next six months, this is what I want to do. So it's interesting, you've got videos out there, 17,000 videos on YouTube of people doing online resumes.

And you do your online. A guy did a creative one from Google and he wanted to get a job and he talked about his skill set and why they needed to hire him. We have to be that intent in this economy about getting that job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: 24 minutes past the hour now.

Up next, the story of one CNN journalist; watched the Iraq war; watched it on TV like a lot of folks. He was there. He was in the line of fire at times. Our good colleague and good friend, Michael Holmes shares his year in the "Combat Zone".

Stay with us. It's 24 minutes past the hour on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: As we get close to the bottom of the hour now, a major milestone in the nearly nine-year U.S. war in Iraq. All American troops packed up yesterday and left an enormous military base near Baghdad's airport and signed control over to the Iraq authorities.

It's Camp Victory that was the American headquarters since very early in the war since the days when correspondent Michael Holmes made his first trip there for CNN. We asked him to share his thoughts, his memories, both good and bad of his experiences reporting on the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: It still, you know, resonates with me as a very big part of what I've been in the last eight or nine years.

I look back on those photos right now and remember what that was like. I was going on average of twice a year for a month or six weeks at a time. Initially, this was day one of the setup. You could all the wires everywhere, people everywhere, plastic chairs.

This was our live shot position. This was after post combat bureau, if you like. We're a pretty tight-knit group. It's a bit of a club. And anyone who was there at the time, you never forget them.

In the early part of the war, we were able to travel what the military called unilateral. We'd go out and we'd do stories all over the country. Battle changed in January of 2004 which is when we were attacked. We were down and ambushed. It was a horrible, horrible day because Yasser and Duraid were both killed that day.

That's when embedding with the military became almost the only real safer way of getting out of the city. In '06 and '07, too, there was this absolute explosion of sectarian violence where Sunni militia or Shia Militia were killing each other by the dozen.

Here is the photograph. I turned the corner, there's a body in the streets. It's a bizarre reality when you think about it that way. There's a body. Let the police know and you keep on moving.

For a while, you were conditioned to be looking for suspicious packages. Then for a whole period of the war, you would find you'd be always looking out and looking around. These guys, that's what they're doing, they're looking out at rooftops to look out for sniper activities.

In '08, we did a patrol out in the western desert. This was a place that the U.S. Military hadn't even been to before. We did find a couple of car bombs. These are bits of shrapnel coming off it. In more recent years going back, things have eased. I remember last year, for the first time for me, since '04, we headed out of town. We went up to Diallah Province on our own, without the military, wandered around the marketplace with Iraqi soldiers, not Americans, and there are photographs of that walking around the marketplace and that, again, just felt, overall, things have settled down a lot.

Of course, the reality in Iraq now, are things better? Yeah, they're a lot better than they were in '06, '07, '08, '09. Are they good? No, not really. You still got an average of 14 attacks a day. You've got an infrastructure that's crumbled and still is not working well, until we have sewers, roads, electricity.

The influence of Iran, the militias, the political power play. What will happen when the Americans are all gone? What's going to happen then? There is so much that remains to be seen in this story.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And Michael Holmes is headed back to Iraq, he's part of CNN's special in depth coverage, next week, counting down to the end of a mission in Iraq. Stay tuned, guys, for that, all next week for our expanded coverage.

We're just passed the bottom of the hour. A lot of people asking the question about will he or won't he get out of the race? Well, this is the event. Campaign headquarters, the Georgia headquarters opening up. That's a live picture you're seeing. This is taking place right now, here in northwest Georgia.

We know that Herman Cain has left his home. We don't exactly know where he's headed. Presumably here, but don't know if he's making any stops beforehand. He has an announcement that is coming. We don't know what he is going to do. Stick around with that. We have the very latest for you. And our political players joining us, as well, to talk about what Herman Cain will do.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, 34 minutes past the hour. You know something's up when a presidential candidate makes news just because he left his own home. Well, that is the case this morning with Herman Cain. He has left his home, presumably going to an event that's supposed to taking place or is taking place, right now, at the opening of his Georgia campaign headquarters. So, that's peculiar because this is also the day that Herman Cain is going to be making a major announcement about how his campaign is going to move forward.

Some are speculating that he could possibly get out of the race today after meeting with his wife last night, for the first time face-to- face since the allegations of a 13-year affair.

As we keep an eye on this picture, I'm also going to bring into the conversation, Lenny and Maria. We just call them that because they're good friends of our show here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING, but Lenny McAllister, Republican analyst and also Maria Cardona, CNN contributor and also a Democratic strategist.

What he will say and what should he say is the question, here.

LENNY MCALLISTER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST : What I think he will say is that they're going to continue to move forward, they're keeping a strong front and they're doing it for America, he's in the race for his grandchildren, all the rhetoric that you heard when he first jumped into the race.

What I should say is probably, at some point in time, it's taken too much of an emotional toll, too much of a personal on my wife and it's probably time for me so sunset this effort and I'm going to get behind our nominee so that we can win in 2012.

People forget, when he came out with this, he mentioned that this was taking a big toll on his wife and that may be the hook that allows him to slide out of this, sooner than later.

HOLMES: You agree with that, what he will and what he should say?

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I agree that that's exactly what he should say because, you know, in all of this -- and we can talk politics as much as we want, but this has become a human tragedy. I really feel for his wife, in all of this. And so, I do think that if he can focused on what's best for her and his family, then he'll get out.

Unfortunately, we have seen that this is somebody who has run a campaign that is really all about Herman Cain. And it's been all about selling books and it's been all about putting his name out there and I just don't think that he is thinking in terms of what is best, he says he is, but I don't think he's thinking in those terms. I do think, however, that this is a question not if he will get out, but it's a question of when and how.

HOLMES: OK, do you agree with that? I assume you don't, but a lot of people have been dispolicive. And I don't want to put words in your mouth, but dismissive of his campaign. He's just here to sell some books and he's surprised that he got up to the top of the heap. And like, oh my goodness, what do we do, now? But, do you think he has played an important role? Does he still have an important role to play in the campaign?

MCALLISTER: He has played an important role and I don't think he got into it just for the books, because if you look at this, he was doing Tea Party tours and shoring up the Tea Party support in 2009. So, he knew that we've never had a presidential cycle with the Tea Party pushing a presidential candidate.

He knew he could catch lightning in a bottle. He was more familiar with them than Mitt Romney definitely was and Jon Huntsman definitely was, and Newt Gingrich, at the time, was seen as a retread, so why not catch that lightning in a bottle? And what happened? He went from the single digits to the top of the polls. People thought that he was doing well in some of these debates. 999 caught fire and caught the nation's imagination. So in some regards, he's not totally surprised. Was he totally prepared for once he got up there? No. That's a different story.

CARDONA: But I think that's where you have to go to. I think he was serious about getting in the campaign and I do think that those Tea Party tours were part of that. in fact, that's what he wrote his book on. It was his race to the White House. So, was he serious about participating in the campaign? Yes. Was he serious about ever being a real contender? No. If he was, he would have set up infrastructure, he would have started raising money earlier, he wouldn't have been in Tennessee and Ohio doing book signing ceremonies when he should have been in New Hampshire and in Iowa.

MCALLISTER: But Maria, this is the thing, he's an armature. He already said he's a nonpolitician.

CARDONA: Exactly.

MCALLISTER: Which means that, as a non-politician, do you know how to set up that infrastructure? Do you know how to set up that organization? No, so some of that's going to be trial by err. And when you're making the gaffs...

CARDONA: But it's not rocket science and if you're serious about being a contender, you can do that research and you can hire staff who has actually run presidential campaigns in the past.

MCALLISTER: But he didn't have the money.

CARDONA: He didn't do any of that.

MCALLISTER: He didn't have the money. And, as he was building up his name cache, as he was building up himself in the polls, he didn't have the money and was still doing well. Why not save that money towards the end, have it in time for 2012 and then start spending then? If he doesn't get tripped up in October, that strategy may still have him at the toll of the polls and then he might have been a force in Iowa, South Carolina and beyond.

HOLMES: Is this another strategy on his part, today? He has a lot of attention, clearly commanded a lot of attention today. We're watching this campaign headquarter being opened. Is this another -- I don't want to call it brilliant, but still it's clearly working to get the attention, all eyes on me and maybe he says, you know what? I'm full steam ahead and just kind of recharges that campaign.

CARDONA: I do think there is a distinct possibility for him to be full steam ahead and to go to Iowa. I think he's enough money to at least, you know, Iowa is not very far away, to go to Iowa and then, you know, say he's quitting the campaign because of d he didn't do so well in Iowa.

But I will say this about him. I don't think that he is doing this today just to command attention, because I have to say, from the very beginning, this is not the kind of attention that you want to command as a presidential candidate.

HOLMES: But can he turn it down? CARDONA: It's not the kind of media attention that you want.

HOLMES: Wrap this for me, can he turn it, today? He can get back on message in some way?

MCALLISTER: What's the message, now?

CARDONA: No.

MCALLISTER: There is no message, 999 is a domestic policy issue. He hasn't been able to speak to foreign affairs and everybody's been talking about these allegations for the past month, now. There is no message other than what Herman Cain...

CARDONA: And 999 fell flat on its face, as well.

HOLMES: OK, well, clearly you -- when this is over, well, we don't know if it'll be over, today. Lenny McAllister, Maria Cardona, good friends of our show. So good to have you all in-house with us, today.

MCALLISTER: Thank you, T.J.

CARDONA: Thank you. It's been a lot of fun. Thanks.

HOLMES: It's been fun, you'll see their faces plenty more. They'll be with us CNN SUNDAY MORNING, tomorrow, as well, after this announcement. Thanks, guys.

CARDONA: Thank you.

HOLMES: We're about 40 minutes past the hour, now. And those powerful winds that have been battering southern California for days, not done just yet. They've damaged homes and businesses, knocked the trees and power lines all over the place. When are things going to get back to normal? When will the winds actually die down? Reynolds Wolf, joining us in just a moment. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, once again, the event is underway. We are standing by to hear from Herman Cain, making a big announcement today about the future of his campaign. You are seeing the building that is his new Georgia headquarters which is supposed to be opening, today. I can't really imagine opening and closing a campaign headquarters on the same day but still, a big announcement. We can tell you, he did leave his home a short time ago, here in northwest Georgia. Hasn't made it to this event, yet. He made a stop on the way and we're told he is meeting with donors before making this announcement. But we will have it for you live. You will not miss it, so stay with us.

Meantime, important weather story. We need to bring in Reynolds Wolf for. Southern California. No hurricanes over there, but hurricane force winds been hitting them for the past several days.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, most definitely the Santa Anas have just been coming just right through the region. It's been tough, today. It's going to be one of those difficult days.

These guys have been busy. My gosh, the guys up there trying to restore the power, restore the phone lines, everything. All the big hopers been the Santa Anna winds. What happens you have these winds that are from four corners, they rip their way through the (INAUDIBLE) mountains and when they passed into the high elevations and pushed in through the valleys, they cause that air to begin to heat up, it creates lubrafriction, and that dry, dry air, of course, very strong as T.J. mentioned, as it happened. You see the damage.

Let's pop over here for a moment, T.J., and I'll -- got a little bit of another issue with the wind. With the wind, you have a lot of dryness, with it sun, a damp kind of thing. It's something where it's going to push a lot of that humidity out to sea. Now, if you've ever spent any time in southern California, even the central coast of California, here is something that we refer to as the Marine Layer. Now you see clouds that will build right along the coast. That's not going to happen, today.

You got all that wind coming from the inland areas out to, so places like, even Santa -- Catalina Island. If you're heading out there, it's going to be clear for you, but the dry conditions with the wind really do pose a fire threat. So, just keep that in mind for the day.

The winds, how strong will they be? Again, as we wrap it up, looking for it to be anywhere from 40 to 60 miles per hour. You could see more downed trees, more downed power lines, more problems, but then the wind should begin to subside as we get to the afternoon. All right, that's out of there. We're going to go over here to T.J., back to you.

HOLMES: Thank you, buddy, thanks much. We're a quarter to the top of the hour, now. Money, a little tight for a lot of folks stressed out about maybe buying toys for the kids. We got a company that has an idea for you, maybe you could just rent the toys. That's coming up.

Also, coming up, looky, looky who we have, here. Go ahead and do that little two-step you were doing right, just a second ago. Fredericka Whitfield is in the house. She's coming at the top of the hour, but before she gets started, she's going to sit down with me. Stick around for that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: About 11 minutes to the top of the hour. A lot of people are still figuring out what they're going to put under the tree for the kids. Well, there's a solution, if you still have some questions out there. You can rent the toys. The new Web site, yes, Fredricka, ToyGuru offering toys, now get this, now for less than what they would cost to buy. You can rent the toys for a month, then send them back, but if the kid gets attached, right?

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Yes.

HOLMES: ...to the toy, they'll let you buy it at a time at a discount. But you know, Kids might not get so attached to it, so you're renting it and you can send it back. Good idea? You like it?

WHITFIELD: I need a little more than a little more than a month, though, for a trial.

HOLMES: To get more trial. OK, well, Fredricka is not digging it.

WHITFIELD: I'm not running the business.

HOLMES: Fredricka's not digging it, but some parents are.

WHITFIELD: It's a good idea. I like it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL REINSMITH, RENTS TOYS: It's an ideal situation for the holiday time where you can stuff toys under the tree for under 50 bucks and, if you're out there buying them, there's just no way you can do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right. Their Web page here, the toys are aimed at children at younger ages. You can choose a plan to get a toy every month, or every other month. As Fredricka was saying...

WHITFIELD: I got a little too involved in that one.

HOLMES: No, it's OK, I like your involvement. That's why you're here. But the point there is that a kid needs maybe the two or three months before they are done with something.

WHITFIELD: Exactly. I mean, a month, yeah, it's still kind of new, having a good time, but if you buy it, but then next month, month two and month three, they're done with and you've made that investment.

HOLMES: I think they have that option. I think they give you a couple...

WHITFIELD: Oh, OK, that sounds good.

HOLMES: All right.

WHITFIELD: They should have consulted with me first. Just kidding. It's a great idea. I like it.

HOLMES: It is. Good morning to you.

WHITFIELD: Hello, good morning to you.

HOLMES: How are you?

WHITFIELD: I'm doing pretty good.

HOLMES: Doing well?

WHITFIELD: I got a busy day, straight ahead.

HOLMES: It is, this Herman Cain thing is happening as we speak.

WHITFIELD: That's right. Of course, we're going to have our eyes and cameras and our reporters all fixated on this announcement. And look, the crowd already there outside the new Herman Cain headquarters, here in Atlanta. And when he emerges from the glass doors there, the partitions, we'll all be hanging on every word about his campaign or whether this will be the ceasing of his campaign. The suspension of the campaign, we'll see, or the continuance of the campaign.

HOLMES: This is a -- we'll see what happens, here...

WHITFIELD: Anything can happen.

HOLMES: But I'm just saying, there's no way you have a grand opening and grand closing on the same day. Not going to open his headquarters and say, oh yea, by the way I'm not going to be continuing.

WHITFIELD: Exactly.

HOLMES: So, that can't happen.

WHITFIELD: So, we're going to have our team coverage underway, just as you have all morning long. Shannon Travis will be with us, Joe Johns, Candy Crowley...

HOLMES: The crew.

WHITFIELD: The whole big "Best Political Team on Television."

And the best legal team will be joining us as well, Noon eastern time, Avery and Richard. We're also going to be talking about, you've probably heard the cases in Cleveland, 200 pound, 8-year-old child who was removed from his home because protective services, child protective services says they felt like they needed to intervene for the sake of his health and well-being. Our legal guys will talk about whether this is a common practice in most jurisdictions or how unusual it might be, what kind of legal recourse there might be for the family if they so choose to indulge in that.

And then, a financial fix. You know, when you go shopping, you're at the cash register, and the person at the register may ask you would you like to make a donation to XYZ organization.

HOLMES: All the time, yeah.

WHITFIELD: Well, Karen Lee is going to be along to let you know whether you should indulge every time, whether you need to ask a few questions, is it a wise move in which to make, even if it's a dollar or $5 or more.

HOLMES: Ok, I need to see that because it's almost like you feel bad if you don't. Would you like to make a donation? No, I don't. You feel horrible, but then you start asking questions, and the people in line, just give a dollar, already.

WHITFIELD: Exactly. So, Karen is going to help us out with that. and then, you know, Oscars, a little bit more than a month away, but already quite the buzz on certain movies. Grae Drake's going to be along to give us an idea of some of her favorite picks. And one is a silent movie, a modern day silent movie, starring John Goodman. Is it one in which you should see or do you think it should be a contender? All that straight ahead, Noon Eastern Time.

HOLMES: Don't see that anymore. Got my attention now, it's intriguing.

WHITFIELD: I know. All right, fantastic. And the actors, I saw quite a few of the interviews with the actors who said they really enjoyed doing this. It meant improvisation, in a big way, but of course, staying to script in terms of the motivation of the actor.

HOLMES: Fredricka Whitfield.

WHITFIELD: OK, now I'll be quite. Bye-bye.

HOLMES: It's coming along in six minutes from now. We'll see you in just a moment, but I'm going to be back with you right after the break and show you an option if you have a problem with the tax man.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, we're just a few minutes away from Fredricka Whitfield, how's going to take over here, in a moment. And any of you out there who have used Ticketmaster any time in the past 12 months, you could see a refund. Yes, this is part of a settlement, a class action lawsuit filed in 2003.

Fredricka, have you used Ticketmaster in the past 12 years?

WHITFIELD: Yes, of course.

HOLMES: Well, you got money coming back.

WHITFIELD: Cha-ching!

HOLMES: The company wrongly collected fees. Ticketmaster still charges the fees, but now it's clearly disclosed, you know. The check you can expect in the mail -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Really? I don't have to file any papers, fill out any forms?

HOLMES: Yeah, probably.

WHITFIELD: Oh. OK. I'd love to do some work.

HOLMES: But, you are going to get a whopping $1.50 back.

WHITFIELD: OK, for each event, for each ticket?

HOLMES: No, just $1.50.

WHITFIELD: Oh. OK. HOLMES: You can get up to $5.

WHITFIELD: All right. OK, it'll pay for a beverage...

HOLMES: OK, I didn't...

WHITFIELD: You know, a candy bar.

HOLMES: ...thought you'd be more excited.

WHITFIELD: I am excited.

HOLMES: About money back.

WHITFIELD: I am, I am. I'm excited. It's the holiday season, every penny counts.

HOLMES: It's the holiday season, you could use a little extra money.

WHITFIELD: The list is long.

HOLMES: On the issue of tickets, listen to this one, "Snakes on the Plane," you ever see that movie?

WHITFIELD: No.

HOLMES: You didn't?

WHITFIELD: No, I didn't see the movie. I know about the movie.

HOLMES: How it didn't win an Oscar is beyond me. OK? But anyway, we real live snakes in the tax office. This happened in India. A farmer, who's also snake charmer, he left them in protest. Now, Nadia Bilchik, does our morning "Passport," she stopped by and explained what's going on, here.

WHITFIELD: Let me see.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NADIA BILCHIK, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: So, farmers is Basti, In northern India, and the one farmer is, in fact, a snake charmer and he has asked this particular office to please give him certain deeds for some land that he wants to keep his snakes. And they keep saying "yes, we are going to give it to you," but then they say, "if you give a certain amount of money." So, they blackmail him. He says, "I don't have the money." And so in absolute rage and so frustrated and tired of corrupt officials, he unleashes over two dozen snakes, including poisonous cobras, on this tax office in Basti, in northern India. And what you're seeing is people who are trying to capture the snakes. Because, can you imagine how petrifying that is?

HOLMES: He just tossed them in there?

BILCHIK: He literally walked in. But you have to -- it was the tipping point for him, T.J., he was so furious at this point. He had begged, he had asked this, this had gone on for two years and eventually he said no mas, no more, I am going to unleash my poisonous snakes. He didn't know what else to do. And he speaks about his absolute desperation.

And in India, amongst officials like this, there is so much bribery, so much corruption, so this was just an outcry, and a way of saying, I will not take this anymore. And if you look on YouTube, many times, if a public official tries to bribe someone, they will shame them publicly.

HOLMES: Was anybody hurt in this?

BILCHIK: Nobody was hurt and the farmers have, as of yet, not been found. The snakes have been captured, some put to death, I'm afraid.

HOLMES: So they don't know where the farmers went?

BILCHIK: But the farmers and, particularly the one is a snake charmer, so maybe there's some superstition about getting him, "I will unleash my snake on you."

HOLMES: Well, clearly he gave up on trying to get whatever deed he wanted. He just...

BILCHIK: He could, legally. And he said, "I don't have the money." He also considers himself a conservationist. "I am trying to have an area for my snakes."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right, Fredricka Whitfield. If you all had any idea what Ms. Whitfield was doing right before we came back on the air. You would love her even more, actually.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: They might be a little frightened.

HOLMES: No, that's all right. We have a good time, here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

WHITFIELD: Yes. We're going to have an interesting day.

HOLMES: You have a live event coming up, a lot of people standing by.

WHITFIELD: It is still unclear what might be said and at what time in which it would be said. However, we saw live pictures earlier. We saw a whole lot of people outside Herman Cain's, what is believed to be headquarters in Atlanta. You can see a lot of folks lining up there. The expectation is Herman Cain will be emerging at some point as T.J. is trying to leave the room, but we're having a conversation here, aren't we?

HOLMES: I'm sorry. We're still talking.

(LAUGHTER) WHITFIELD: And he may make an announcement. We know an announcement will be made. We're just not clear what announcement is. We'll continue in for this race to the White House, whether I'm dropping out, suspending.

HOLMES: No way. Fredricka, there is no way have you a grand opening and grand closing on the same day.

WHITFIELD: I think that's a great point you're making.

HOLMES: You can't gather donors, supporters, people together and say thanks for being here, I'm done. It can't happen. So I'm curious to see what he will say. He will not say that.

WHITFIELD: He's a tenacious individual. He might say I'm in it to win it.

HOLMES: I'll be watching.

WHITFIELD: We've got team coverage like you've had all morning long Shannon Travis, Candy Crowley, Joe Johns, all of them in position, there they are right there, to help us understand and sort out all that we're about to hear, what we will hear ultimately and then from that point on where do we go. Have a great day, T.J.

HOLMES: Sorry I tried to sneak off earlier.

WHITFIELD: You tried to sneak off and I called you out on it. We have that and much more straight ahead.