Transcripts For MSNBCW Weekends With Alex Witt 20120212

beverly hills hotel room. how she died remains a mystery the latest in minute. s. hundreds and thousands of fans paying tribute. we'll bring you some of their moving thoughts. and the young whitney houston, we're going to take you back to where it all began. the story of how she reached superstardom starting in a new jersey church. good morning everyone. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." it's a somer 10:00 a.m. here in the east, 7:00 a.m. out west. the death of legendary singer whitney houston. she possessed one of the most awe-inspiring voices. in her short 48 years, she saw troubled times also. her sudden and sad passing remains a mystery today. here is new individual yes from this morning. the l.a. county coroner leaving the beverly hilton with the body of whitney houston. she was discovered saturday in the late afternoon west coast time. nbc's kristen dahlgren is live with the latest. good morning, kristen. >> reporter: good morning, alex. houston's death came on the eve of music's biggest night the grammy. she was supposed to be here to attend clive davis' famous pre-grammy party last night. instead, this is where she died and where some of music's biggest names gathered last night to mourn. >> the stars arrived at the beverly hilton hours after pop legend whitney houston's death. >> we'll miss her. we'll miss the sound and her presence. >> we're very sad. >> as they comforted each other, police continue their investigation. >> approximately 3:43 p.m. this afternoon a 911 call was placed to the beverly hills police department by hotel security. it was a medical emergency call. >> firefighters in the hotel rushed to houston's room on the fourth floor and tried to resuscitate the 48-year-old. minute later, she was pronounced dead. around the world houston's death brought shock. but in recent years her singing was often overshadowed by drug use and bizarre behavior. thursday, she was spotted looking disheveled at a hollywood grammy party. but it wasn't always that way. whitney houston was born into music royalty. the daughter of cissy houston. di warwick was her cousin. >> with a platinum voice and cover model looks, houston was destined to be a star. fame record producer clive davis became her mentor and whitney shot to the top of the charts. ♪ yes i'm saving all my love for you ♪ ♪ >> she was the most awarded female artist of all-time. >> let's get this over with, okay? give me a kiss. >> she starred in films like the bodyguard. ♪ and i will always love you ♪ >> houston sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos. for a time, she was america's sweetheart. ♪ o say does that star-spangled banner yet wave ♪ ♪ >> but one year after that dazzling 1991 super bowl performance, houston married new edition singer, bobby brown. the pair had a daughter, bobbi kristina and then her life seemed to spiral downward. she admitted drug use and struggled with her once effortless voice. >> brown and houston divorced in 2007. and in 2010 she said she was drug-free. >> she was just excited about all the new things that were coming into her life about now. it's a shock. >> her death now leaves questions. >> we're still under investigation. we have no obvious signs of anything at this time. >> after a life of extreme highs and lows, a voice silenced too soon. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: so today that investigation continues. an autopsy will be part of that. meantime, there will be a tribute to houston tonight at the grammys, including something by singer jennifer hudson. meantime, houston's ex-husband bobby brown appeared at a concert in mississippi yesterday. he did take the stage, he told the fancy love you, whitney and then he appeared to be overcome with emotion and had to leave the stage, alex in. >> this is going to be hard for jennifer hudson. whitney houston gave her, her very first awarded grammy. that she said was more important than getting that grammy. it's going to be quite a night this evening. kristen, thank you. there is much more to this story unfolding at this hour as you might imagine. celebrities and fans expressing shock and gratitude for the music she left behind. there's a memorial of candles and flowers in beverly houls. aretha franklin called the death stunning and unbelievable. she was scheduled to attend the pre-grammy gathering last night. many shared their memories of the superstar. >> she's like one big sister in the business. she's given me great advice throughout the years in my career. she's paved the way for me. i wanted to be like her. she was the first black superstar that you didn't ceclor. she made us forget about color. this magnificent voice. she will be missed. >> for her to go so soon, i mean, my heart is broken. but i know she will live on in the music that i sing and many other artists that sing. she'll continue to live on. >> she was so talented. it magnifies the shock of the tragedy. >> yeah. >> things like this aren't supposed to happen. >> then there's the other just the human aspect of it. now, there's a daughter that doesn't have her mom. and a mother who doesn't have her daughter. all the way around. it's painful. >> mourners also also are attending a service at new hope baptist church in newark, new jersey. they asked for prayers and made a request of the media. >> respect this time of grief and their privacy at this time. respect our church so that we may be able to support them and give them the strength that they need. >> houston was born in newark in 1963 and began as si singer in the church's gospel choir. some of the last photos taken of houston. they show her leaving a hollywood nightclub with her daughter earlier had week. people described her as appearing distressed and disoriented. joining me is allison samuels from the daily beast and newsweek and alicia corals. good morning to you. allison, i'll begin with you. you were at the hotel what houston died. what do you know about her final moments? >> not a lot is known about her final moments except that she was about to do an interview with vh 1. i was in the room where they were filming behind the music. whitney was supposed to come directly to do behind the music on brandy. they were already set up for her. they were waiting on her. her assistant had come down probably an hour before to say okay, she's coming. are you ready for her? and 30 minutes later, we get a knock on the door saying she can't make it, she's not coming. she's dead. >> wow. >> the complete -- everybody was in shock. because literally, 30 minutes before we were waiting for her. i was going to say hello, i haven't seen her for a while and have a chat. 30 minutes later, her assistant who was in shock, you could hear it in her voice. she's not coming, she can't get here, she's dead. it was unbelievable. >> alicia shall the associated press first broke this story. when did it break? how did you learn about it? >> the story broke shortly after she was pronounced dead at 3:50 p.m. we learned about it, we got a call from her publicist. i personally interviewed whitney as several people have over the years. a very good relationship with her. this is shocking am earlier in the week, we had heard conflicting reports. we heard from one source she was at a party and looked terrific and people were really worried about her. then we talked to other people, like kenny lattimore and kelly price who did a song with her, they saw whitney and said she looked good and sounded good. we're hearing conflicting things at this point. >> allison, you mentioned having interviewed whitney houston. you were close enough to her that you called her a sister girlfriend. did you notice any warning signs from the last time? >> the last time i saw her which was a year and a half ago. she looked pretty good. i thought she was on track to sort of make a recovery. she sounded good. she was very upbeat, happy about the future. pro secretaries in -- there was a moment a couple of years prior i was worried that she wouldn't be able to get ahead and keep going. the last time i saw her, i was optimistic about her improving and her health getting much better. >> alicia, i understand later on this summer, her fans will be able to see one of houston's final performances. can you tell us about that? >> this is a movie that she produced, sparkle. it's a remake of the classic 1970s film. it's supposed to come out in august. oddly enough, it's about singers whose lives are wrecked by addiction. this hit close to home for whitney. she wanted ali a to star in the role and then -- but it stars jordin sparks as well. >> allison, what is the reaction locally? you talk about being in that room which i find stunningment hearing she's not going to make it and then she's dead. what was the reaction of your colleagues? >> oh, we were all in shock. because we were setting up and we were like so excited that whitney is coming. a lot of us hadn't seen her in a while. this is going to be amazing. the air went out of the room. we're like, you almost thought it was a joke in many ways. you can't be serious that she's dead when an hour ago, 30 minutes ago, they were saying oh, she's coming down. the entire hotel, some people were aware of it, some weren't. it's a surreal moment where some of the guests were not aware. whereas, the people working, a lot of the people with the grammys, were walking around in a daze. like is this really true? >> there was this big event that clive davis was hosting. i'm wondering was there any talk about canceling that or at a time like this, do you need to be together so that you can try to get through the shock? >> my understanding is there wasn't really enough time. people were already arriving, people were already there. there wasn't enough time for them to actually stop it. as puffy said last night, this is a party. whitney would have loved this. that's who she was. she enjoyed having a good time and laughing and being with people. so in many ways it was a fitting tribute for that to continue, for the party to go on. >> alicia, what do you think whitney houston's lasting legacy will be? >> i think err lasting legacy will be her voice. we covered that party, if you want to call it that last night. clive davis who introduced her at that event 20-something years ago said whitney would want the party, the show to go on. she had all these trials and trib layings, you saw her downfall. you cannot deny that beautiful voice she had before the drugs ravaged it. >> you cannot deny it. that thankfully, will live on certainly. alicia corals and allison samuels, thank you so much. a bit later on this morning, we'll talk more about houston's legacy what made her stand apart from those other singers out there and her struggle to overcomma dix. share your memories of whitney houston and her music. what will you remember most? >> my handle at alex witt. we'll be getting your tweets throughout the morning. much more on the life and legacy of whitney houston. we'll talk about why her songs touched so many and talk more about her struggles with addiction. more on weeb yends with alex witt. people really love snapshot from progressive, but don't just listen to me. listen to these happy progressive customers. i plugged in snapshot, and 30 days later, i was saving big on car insurance. i was worried it would be hard to install. but it's really easy. the better i drive, the more i save. i wish our company had something this cool. yeah. you're not... filming this, are you? 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>> first of all, alec, i have to share in the grief over whitney houston. i loved her music, love the power and beauty of her voice and it's an incredible tragedy. have to join in on that. >> i'm glad you made that point. thanks for saying so, john. >> i think mitt romney needed something. he needed a psychological boost. he got that in maine by defeating ron paul. the cpac simply added to that. his campaign team knows, alex, these are not huge events. they're small numbers of people and cpac is not a delegate selection event. i talked to someone last night who said we're focused on the two big contests at the end of february, michigan and arizona. we need to win both of them. i think that's where they're placing most of the emphasis right now. >> erin, times mike hall person writes in his blog that boston is exhaling after romney's cpac win. how big a sigh relief overall do you think both wins are? >> as john mentioned, it's very few people voting. there were fewer than 6,000 people voting in them. if you look at the numbers, it was a near miss for romney. he only beat ron paul by 3 percentage points, 39-36. yes, they're relieved, but if you look at the 2008 results, mitt romney scored more than 50% of the vote in the main caucuses. i guess all they really have is relief. but it's not that important of a victory. >> so, john, the cpac win, does this mean that romney is winning over conservatives or did he have a better organization there? what does it take to win cpac now? they've had rule changes. >> there's a lot of organization behind that straw poll victory. you heard from the podium. there were a lot of people supporting mitt romney, prominent conservatives who spoke at the cpac conference. i think they knew it was an important moment. they didn't want to take another embarrassment after tuesday when rick santorum ran the table in maine, colorado and missouri. -- i'm sorry, in minnesota, colorado and missouri. i think they've put a lot of emphasis to it. he gave a speech that touched most of the conservative hot buttons and remember, mitt romney did well at the cpac straw poll a few years ago. >> did you get a sense, erin, from cpac that conservatives still want another candidate to get in there and run? >> they're not naming anyone specifically anymore. but i am getting a sense from actually elder party leaders that they want to see a brokered convention. peggy noonan wrote earlier this week in the wall street journal that a republican governor, has suggested she should be calling it a contested convention not a brokered convention. and i got an e-mail from an iowa republican official who said you need to know about a couple things in iowa in case we do have a brokered con veng. that's what a lot of republicans are starting to get excited about. which is not where we were before. >> prospect of a brokered convention, john, what does that look like? >> believe it when i see it. i've been covering this a long time. every time the nomination process runs into a snag or the front-runner is having difficulty and the fight gets protract protracted, i think the -- this process tends to collapse support around somebody after some period of time, sometimes it happens very early, sometimes later. i'd expect that to happen this time. >> you think that will happen around super tuesday this time? >> i think super tuesday, if that doesn't settle it. if rick santorum can get on the board. one of the candidate on february 28th, newt gingrich or rick santorum can win one of those, that would extend the contest. newt gingrich has southern targets on super tuesday. then you've got big contests after that. i'm not sure it's going to end on super tuesday. but i would expect to end well before the con jennings. >> good to see you both. thank you. we'll look at the campaign calendar ahead for you. we were talking about arizona and michigan. they will hold primaries on the 28th of this month. the washington caucuses kick off the busy month of march. 11 state hold primaries and caucuses thus the naming super tuesday that is march 6th. we'll have more on the loss of whitney houston from the investigation into her death and her personal struggles to the musical legacy that she leaves behind. gomery and abigail higgins had... ...a tree that bore the most rare and magical fruit. which provided for their every financial need. and then, in one blinding blink of an eye, their tree had given its last. but with their raymond james financial advisor, they had prepared for even the unthinkable. and they danced. see what a raymond james advisor can do for you. that's how it is with alzheimer's disease. she needs help from me. and her medication. the exelon patch -- it releases medication continuously for twenty-four hours. she uses one exelon patch daily for the treatment of mild to moderate alzheimer's symptoms. 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>> cocaine. marijuana. that's it. >> three years ago, houston released a studio album. it failed to produce blockbuster hits or grammy nominations. she followed it up with an overseas tour that had many fans demanding refunds. plus, she appeared disheveled at a pre-grammy party on thursday. houston's last performance on friday night observers say was remarkably strong. the tragedy about this, this could have been a big comeback for whitney houston. she started a new film, spash will, set to be released in august. alex, this was going to be her first film since the bodyguard. how long ago was that and how critically acclaimed and she had a chance here again and it will be released. unfortunately, without her presence here. >> i think a lot of people will be going to see that and have a poignant viewing of that film, particularly given the topic that you're talking about in that movie. >> it will be well-attended. >> thank you for being here in the studio. here's what we've been asking you. to share your memories of whitney houston and her music. what will you remember most? here's some of your tweets to us. whitney did not need any riffs or voice tricks to make a hit song. a song was a hit the moment it left her mouth. an all-time great. invisible wound writes, whitney helped me realize the importance of life and love people equally. famous amos said whitney had one child but mothered millions. mr. skinny tie thinks whitney houston's voice will always hit my heart in the right spot. it was like therapy for me. whitney was n amazing artist, waiting to exhale or bodyguard or award winning songs. she touched many. keep talking to me. we want to hear what you have to say. my handle@alex witt. i'll read more tweets later. let's go to politics. two big wins for mitt romney this weekend. he won the maine caucus and placed first in the cpac straw poll in washington. in maine, he finished with 39%. ron paul in a close second. rick santorum was third. newt gingrich was fourth. in the cpac straw poll, romney claimed 38% of the vote, santorum, 31% followed by gingrich and paul. meanwhile, republican presidential candidate rick santorum spoke to david gregory on "meet the press" this morning. he reacted to the birth control coverage controversy. >> they're forcing religious organizations, either directly or indirectly, to pay for something that they find is a deeply morally wrong thing and this is not what the government should be doing. this is not just rick santorum talking. you've got a lot of democrats, a lot of liberals who are just a gassed that this president is going to take on a fight saying government will force to you do things against your conscience. >> you can see more of that interview at 2 p.m. eastern here on msnbc. let's go to a new article with a fascinating look inside the obama white house and who the president is as a person and as a leader. joining me now the author of that piece, national correspondent for the atlantic, james fellows. james, good morning. thanks for being here. >> thank you, alex. >> i know you spoke with insiders at the white house who know and work with the president. how did your impression change from when you started writing this piece to when you finished? >> i guess it changed in recognizing things i hadn't appreciated as some of his strengths and hearing about weaknesses that are not that obvious in the outside world. my process was to talk to veterans of national politics over the decades, back even to the eisenhower administration. people who had seen the pattern of presidential evolution or presidential trouble. i guess on the negative side, the two things which came through most frequently from those who dealt with the president were the way in which his personal reserve distance, emotional control could make some problem for him. the other was surprising to me complaints about the level of the white house staff and whether this personally excellent president with his physical fitness and his literary accomplishments an the rest was surrounding himself with comparably carefully chosen people. >> in terms of that dispassionate face, you put it square on the -- whether talking about the travails on capitol hill dealing with the republicans or announcing the death of osama bin laden. to that extent, though, when you speak with the daily folks with whom he interacts, what is their general impression of him? >> i should say that people in his inner circle, i was not able to talk with. it's a very, very, as you know and your colleagues know, it's a very contained operation. so it was the next circle -- a lot of people who worked previously in administration, a lot who deal with him in the executive department and the senate. and they do make the point, too, that his -- barack obama's complete consistency of demeanor is part of the reason that he became president. somebody from his unconventional background being a first-term senator, i think, was able to reassure voters in the sense that he was always the same every single time that you saw him. also in his role as the first nonwhite president. this was necessary for him to show how completely consistent he was in his appearance. so -- the sense of small time person to person politicking is not his forte, the way it would have been for bill clinton or george w. bush. >> you write about something that the critics will assail him with, he was too junior to take on the presidency when he did. you also write who is ready for the presidency. is anyone suited for that job prior to getting into it. you talk about president obama being a fast learner and adapter after taking the office. talk to me approximate that. >> yes. one of the things that was most impressive to me and long ago i worked for jimmy carter when he was president. i was his speech writer. is recognizing in the modern era, the presidency is so demanding an occupation that nobody comes in prepared for all of it. if you have the person to person skills, you might not be a good speaker. so all that really matters to us as a public is how well any inevitably limited president seems to learn about the weaknesses that he has. i argued in the last year or so, president obama seems to be learning about the limits of his appeals for bipartisanship and trying to find a compromise in the current political environment. >> you write about the question of reelectric. how that will reflect judgment in history. essentially that a one-term president is seen as a failure or a fluke. so for example, obama care could be thrown out if obama is not re-elected. if he does get a second term, he may be able to cement his policies more. obama care could be seen in a generation something like medicare. tell me about that. >> that point about obama care is a point that larry summers made forcefully. if this stays in police, summer said that a generation from now, they will say what was the controversy about? the main thing about reelection, we tend to think nobly that presidents shouldn't focus on being re-elected. trying to say that your quality of achievement depends very significantly on being re-elected. you have that much more opportunity to appoint justices and all the rest. everything you did in the first term is looked at retroactively in a different way depending on the verdict of the reelection run. >> you also write about president truman's approach to reelection which was to blame the gop for being obstructionist. you question whether this president fell into this approach or a planned approach. which one? >> for the first year or so, it may have been in retrospect a somewhat naive and overtrusting approach. if in the fall's election, the president is able to position himself as the reasonable person, the one who can appeal to the center while the republicans are fighting in a smaller and smaller contested area of their conservative wing, then it might pay off for them. i quoted a memo from james roe to harry truman before the 1948 election which laid out conditions surprisingly similar to what barack obama has faced with a republican controlled house now. james, you pose a question. chess mast error pawn? what was your conclusion to that question? >> my conclusion was learning to become more of a master. >> aha. all right. there is where we'll leave this interview. james fellows of the atlantic. great to speak with you. thank you so much. >> thank you. we continue to look back on the life and career of whitney houston. the young singers who looked up to houston and the impact she had on their careers. ♪ oh, i want to dance with somebody ♪ ♪ i want to feel the heat with somebody ♪ ♪ eners. this bowl of strawberries is loaded with vitamin c. and now, b vitamins to boot. coffee doesn't have fiber. unless you want it to. splenda® essentials™ are the first and only line of sweeteners with a small boost of fiber, or antioxidants, or b vitamins in every packet. mmm. same great taste with an added "way to go, me" feeling. splenda® essentials™. get more out of what you put in. your finances can't manage themselves. but that doesn't mean they won't try. bring all your finances together with the help of the one person who can. a certified financial planner professional. cfp. let's make a plan. and they make my life just perfect. we were having too much fun, we weren't thinking about a will at that time. we were in denial. that's right. 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[ female announcer ] it's an upgrade in a bottle. upgrade your freshness with downy unstopables -- scents that last for 12 weeks! ♪ this morning we continue to remember the life and career of whitney houston who died saturday at age 48. fans around the world admired houston. young singers say her voice inspired them and she was set to return to the big screen this year. nbc's michelle franzen looks back at houston's career. >> whitney houston reigned as one of pop music superstars. >> she's influenced an entire generation of young singers, mariah carey to adele. a huge, huge gratitude to whitney houston. >> all who are now mourning her loss. in a statement, mariah carey said "she's heartbroken and in tears over the shocking death of my friend. the incomparable miss whitney houston." christina aguilera took her condolences to twitter. we have lost another legend. love and prayers to whitney's family. she will be missed. jessica simpson, i found my voice singing whitney houston's music. today i lost my idol. ♪ and i will always love you ♪ >> even dolly parton, who wrote the song made famous by houston in the bodyguard. said "i can truly say from the bottom of my heart, whitney, i will always love you. you will be missed." houston was said to be making a comeback. something she tried before after battling troubles in her life. she had a new movie project and a new lease on life. >> i think that people were 100% rooting for whitney houston. everybody wanted to see a comeback. >> last night her mentor, clive davis held a moment of silence at a pre-grammy party saying "simply put, whitney would have wanted the music to go on and her family asked that we carry on." musical talent, experts say, will be remembered but not easily duplicated. >> that voice, there will never be another whitney houston. we invite all of you to watch date line tonight for more on the developments surrounding whitney houston's death as well as a look back at her en incredible career tonight at 7:00 eastern on nb. more on whitney houston's life at the top of the hour. and harry smith weighs in on the motivation behind formidable presidential candidates. we'll take a look here on "weekends with alex witt." made with wholesome grains, real chicken, even accents of tomato and avocado. yeah! come on! 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[ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8. ♪ new today, catholic bishops are rejecting president obama's compromise over birth control coverage as unacceptable. president obama proposed this compromise plan to have insurance companies pay for the coverage of employees of church-run institutions. how long will this debate continue? that is the question for strategy talk. joining me, republican strategist matt shah lap who worked for president george w. bush and from los angeles, karen bass of california. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> good to be here. i will reach out to ladies first. congressman we'll start with you. between now and november, do you think this is going to fade away or will it linger? >> i think it's going to linger for a while. i believe that it is. the republicans need an issue to attach on to. i think there will be more to come. it's a wedge issue, a standard wedge issue. next we'll hear about immigration, i'm sure. >> how about you matt, do you think it will take a play in the presidential race as a wedge issue? >> yes. president obama in 2008 got a majority of the catholic vote and i think he tries to reach out to the type of catholic voices that were in that coalition. he's made a big mistake as somebody who worked in the white mouse, it's easy to get insular. this is a case where they weren't talking to the type of catholic voices that could have told him don't disrespect the church in such a fundamental way. you'll have terrible political consequences in the year 2012 for doing it. >> representative bass, i'm curious if you think president obama won new support from women voters by pushing this issue and if so, do you think that's part of a political calculation? >> yopg it was part of a political calculation. this is consistent with how healthcare reform was going to work out. when you have the catholic health association coming out and saying they're supportive of this policy. i. odd to me. what this policy simply says is that an insurance company will cover family planning services and contraception, birth control pills, hormone therapy used for a variety of reason. it doesn't mandate it. it's access. you can say yes or you can say no. if 99% of women use some form of birth control, if oral contraception is used for other reasons like preventing cancer, i think that the president is going to have catholics on his side and i think he's going to have women on his side for sure. >> matt, i want to get back with you representative first, when you say this was a political calculation of sorts, there are those yesterday on my program who suggested it was a miscalculation because the white house could not have foreseen the explosion to which, you know, this became. i mean, it was something that many felt it was out of control and it even came from some democrat. what do you have to say to that? >> what i was saying, i don't think it was a political calculation on their part and that what the white house wanted to do was put the policy out and they said they wanted to work with parties to figure out what an appropriate compromise would be. i know they speeded up the timeline because of the uproar. but i think part of uproar was because it played into presidential politics. my republican colleagues aren't satisfied with the people that they have running right now and they needed an issue that they could latch on to. this one is. >> matt, you can respond and i'm going to ask you in addition. do you think republicans are at risk of overplaying their hand. >> sure. this is a fundamental moral question. what the congresswoman needs to realize. when liberal voices like mark shields come out and tell the president that he is fundamentally disrespected the catholic church, he needs to listen to those people. i think, i'm from kansas, my former governor, kathleen sebelius is the voice the president was listening to on this. i do think it was misplayed. the problem that people don't fundamentally understand, pope john paulii said it's an evil. the catholics have a right to not associate themselves with that evil. this is consistent with our first amendment, with the declaration of independence. if the democratic party wants to cross these barrier, these rules of the road in a democracy, i actually think they're the ones making it political. they'll have horrible political consequences in this election year. >> representative bass, your reaction to that. i'll give you last word. >> once again, if 99% of women use some form of contraception, if 57% of catholics and you know the polling was done after this happened -- >> by plant parenthood. >> the catholic health institute association supports this. i do think that we are on the right side. i think the white house was on the right side and we'll see how it plays out. >> all right. >> we will. >> thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. at the top of the hour, a report from beverly hills on the death of singer whitney houston. the very latest on the investigation. and a look back on her remarkable career. 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>> reporter: good morning, alex. by all accounts, it was whitney houston's favorite day of the year. her mentor, clive davis' famous pre-grammy party, the singer was supposed to attend here at the beverly hilton last night. instead, this is where her body was found yesterday afternoon and where last night many of music's biggest stars gathered to mourn. >> the stars arrived at the beverly hilton just hours after pop legend whitney houston's death. >> we'll miss her. we'll miss the sound and her presence. >> we're very sad. >> as they comforted each other, police continued their investigation. >> approximately 3:43 p.m. this afternoon, a 911 call was placed to the beverly hills police department by hotel security. it was a medical mnl call. >> firefighters in the hotel rushed to houston's room on the fourth floor and tried to resuscitate the 48-year-old. minutes later, she was pronounced dead. around the world, houston's death brought shock. but in recent years, her singing was often overshadowed by drug use and bizarre behavior. just thursday she was spotted looking disheveled at a hollywood grammy party. but it wasn't always that way. whitney houston as born into music royalty. the daughter of gospel singer, cissy houston, 60s star dionne warwick her cousin and aretha franklin, her godmother. with a platinum voice and cover model looks, houston was destined to be a star. famed record producer, clive davis became her mentor and whitney shot to the top of the charts. ♪ yes i'm saving all my love for you. ♪ ♪ >> she was the most awarded female artist of all-time. >> well let's get this over with, okay? give me a kiss. >> she starred in films like the bodyguard. ♪ and i will always love you ♪ >> houston sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos. for a time she was america's sweetheart. ♪ oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave ♪ ♪ >> but one year after that dazzling 1991 super bowl performance, houston married new edition singer, bobby brown. they had a daughter, bobbi kristina and then the singer's life spiraled downward. she admitted drug use and struggled with her once effortless voice. brown and houston divorced in 2007. in 2010, she said she was drug-free. >> she was just excited about all the new things that were coming into her life right about now. it's a shock. >> her death now leaves questions. >> any sign of drug use, drug overdose? >> we're still under investigation. we have no obvious signs of anything at this time. >> after a life of extreme highs and lows, a voice silenced too soon. ♪ home of the brave >> reporter: so that investigation continues today. detectives spent hours here at the beverly hilton yesterday as you mentioned. the coroner's office has custody of her body. an autopsy is expected to determine the cause of death. meantime, her ex-husband, bobby brown, did appear at a concert, a new edition concert yesterday in mississippi. he took to the stage, he asked the crowd to pray for him and their daughter, bobbi kristina and then was overcome with emotion and to leave the stage. also at the grammys, there's going to be a huge tribute, including a performance by jennifer hudson. >> we'll all watch with a bit of tears in our eyes. thank you very much. > mourners -- clive davis spoke. >> i have a very heavy heart. and impersonatedly devastated by the loss of someone who has meant so much to me for so many years. whitney would have wanted the music to go on and her family asked that we carry on. >> houston's god mother shlgs aretha franklin said i just can't talk about it now. it's so stunning and unbelievable. my heart goes out to chris i, bobbi kris and bobby. loved ones gathered at the new hope baptist church in newark, new jersey. church leaders are asking fans to pray for houston and her family emphasizing they had no word of any funeral plans. >> we don't have any word on any arrangements. but we do know that the family is going to need all the prayer and support they can get. >> houston was born in 1963 in newark. that is where she sang in the church's gospel choir. houston's untimely death leaves a huge hole in the fabric of not just popular culture but the music world as well. joining me now to talk about her origins and influence is christopher john farley from the wall street journal and professor marc anthony neal of duke university. good morning. >> thank for having me. appreciate in. >> good morning. chris, i want to know about her background, the style that she sang and how much she think she was influenced by her times in a gospel choir in newark, new jersey. she was deeply influenced because her mother was also a performer, roots in dpos pell, known as a pop gospel performer. she saw her mother perform in church and her family members perform in the choir. she brought that feeling into her music. she limited in a way. she had a pop soul sound but it was still there. you could hear echoes of the church even singing the song about a adultery or about love or about the other subjects she addressed. you could hear echoes of that church sound. she later brought it out with the movie and the soundtrack for the preacher's wife. that soundtrack allowed her to show her gospel range. >> masrk, one of the most surprising things among the praise for her talent, she endured criticism for not being too much of a pop singer and abandoning her roots. >> whitney houston was part of a generation of what i call black pop crossovers, michael jackson, eddie murphy, whitney houston. they were unprecedented, they had access to the main -- black performers didn't have in mainstream before. part of that was finding the right pitch for pop mainstream audience. it was the idea of whitney houston and clive davis to market her less as an r&b singer. they were careful to package r&b songs on her album but wanted to cross her over in ways they hadn't before. what you saw toward the end of the 1980s was really a lot of pressure for whitney houston to live up to some sort of idea of black authenticity as it was being articulated by an emerging hip hop generation in the laid 1980s and of course, what we were hearing on black radio. she took criticism for maybing those choices. the same kind of criticism that was also directed towards michael jackson in that era. that was part of the price that this generation of crossover artists had to pay for their access to the mainstream. >> what do you think, chris, made her so different from other stars and singers of her generation, of her time? >> i think one thing that's important. if we talk about the term crossover, you talk to younger fans today. that term doesn't exist. crossover, that's something that jeremy lin. does. that's a tribute to her power. that she obliterated. term. they don't think of crossover on terms of whether a black artist can be played on the radio. they know you can succeed doing that. the reason why, is because whitney houston and other artists bridged that gap so completely, the gap no longer exists. >> mark, you mentioned michael jackson. i wanted to ask you, when you look at the history, the culture of all, compare someone like whitney houston to a legend like billy holiday. striking similarities there in terms of the talent, enormous stardom, personal struggles. same thing with michael jackson. where do people like whitney houston fit in this history of great singers? >> her voice was unprecedented. she made conscious choices, she and clive davis about what kind of music she would record. technically, her voice was incredible. as christopher suggested, she never lost connection to the black gospel tradition. when you look at dionne warwick in the 1960s as a crossover pop artist and aretha franklin, whit whit was the perfect combination of those two women. she really perfected it in ways we hadn't seen before. she was an astounding performer. many of us look forward to her finally getting to the point where she could record music that matched the maturity and the depth of her voice. unfortunately, what we have left of whitney houston are attempts for her to do pop music. it was great pop music. it would have been great to hear an older whitney houston singing in a jazzy. drawing on a larger blues tradition. >> this is awful to realize. here's the truth of it. we've lost two iconic black singer figures, michael jackson, whitney houston. i mean, they had chronicled troubles of the same ill being. tremendous passion and tremendous talent and presentation. what does that -- what do you say to someone else? >> we also lost etta james as well. it's interesting to connect her to the tradition of bessie smith, another performer that had troubles with alcohol. someone like billie holiday. one difference between them, we've seen performers with drug problems before, it's a staple in the industry almost, digital media, you-tube. now whitney houston when she makes the mistakes, when she goes on a stage and she's a hot mess and having problems, people can see it will live on. not just in rumors and stories, it will live on, on desktop computers and on laptops and on your iphone forever. that caught up with her. people could see in 2010 she wasn't living up to expectations. it hurt her brand and it's something that haunted her. >> of course, the issues not particular to one race. that's for certain. this is a global problem of epic proportion if you want to look at it that way. christopher john farley thank you for joining us and professor neal of duke university. thanks. stay with us everyone for continuing coverage of the death of whitney houston including the latest on the investigation into the cause of her demise and we'll further reflect on the music icon's storied career. 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[ male announcer ] this is your moment. this is zales, the diamond store. take an extra 10 percent off storewide now through sunday. until the end of the quarter to think about your money... ♪ that right now, you want to know where you are, and where you'd like to be. we know you'd like to see the same information your advisor does so you can get a deeper understanding of what's going on with your portfolio. we know all this because we asked you, and what we heard helped us create pnc wealth insight, a smarter way to work with your pnc advisor, so you can make better decisions and live achievement. . hour pig hour big story. wh whitney houston was discovered in beverly hills. they're determining the cause of death. police do not suspect criminal intent. individual crow from jet magazine shows her singing with kelly price at the l.a. pre grammy party on thursday. houston sung briefly in a low rasp somewhat before waving to a cheering crowd and walking off the stage. in just a few minutes, we'll talk with whitney houston's former manager. let's go now to politic. mitt romney clinching victories in two key contests. romney ended his recent losing streak by winning the caucuses in maine. he claimed the top spot in the straw poll at the cpac gathering in washington, d.c. in the maine caucuses, romney finished with 39%. ron paul in a close second. rick santorum and newt gingrich a distant third and fourth. i thank the voters of maine for their support, i'm committed to turning around america and heartened to have the support of so many good people in this great state romney stated. romney placed first in cpac. santorum in second, followed by gingrich and paul. meantime rick santorum appeared on meet the press this morning asking about comment he made about women in the military. >> are they physically up to the job of serving on the frontlines? >> there are different physical requirements. you go to any of the academies. there are different physical requirements for men and women. kr? because there are physiological differences between them. that's one of the things we have to consider in deploying them in an infantry position on the frontline. i don't know of any real discussion candidly that's talking about doing that. >> the gop candidates now turn their attention to arizona and michigan with the primaries taking place on february 28th. the highlight of the convention in wash ton was last night's speech by sarah palin. she called for a change in the white house. >> it's change that we can believe in. change that we need. it's the change i want to talk about today because to borrow another phrase from our president, we can't wait. our country hangs in the balance. >> well, joining me now garrett hak with more on cpac. good morning, garrett. >> good morning, al. >> quite a performance from sarah palin at cpac last night. >> you can always count on sarah palin to bring the red meat. this was a conference the last couple of days. she had the honor o of wrapping it up. she talked about uniting the party around an eventual nominee. take a listen. >> together we must stand as conservatives with common sense with a servant's heart for the good of our party. but more importantly, for the sake of our country we must stand united. whoever our nominee is. >> alex, understanding that most of the voting in the straw poll had taken place by the time sarah palin spoke, it's interesting to note that what you saw were conservatives uniting around somebody who has never been a darling of the conservative moment. giving mitt romney the win in that straw poll. he really needed it after the three losses on tuesday. >> i'm curious, you're saying it came as a bit of a surprise. indeed, it did. do you think it is because conservatives are united around mitt romney or is it because his organizational efforts are really far superior to pretty much everybody else's. >> i think it's the latter, alex. mitt romney's campaign has a lot of problems that need to be addressed within the conservative movement. you saw that across the spectrum on thursday. what you have seen from the campaign time and time again, when they get pushed, they push back harder. the cpac straw poland to a lesser degree, the caucuses in maine are the kinds of contests that the romney campaign disdains. they didn't compete in the iowa straw poll which has been a big deal. they've avoided the nondirect delegate awarding contests. the fact that they engaged the romney death star to compete in cpac and in maine is telling. >> okay o. nbc's garrett haake. thanks for being here in studio instead on the road. up next, our political panel on what the mitt romney win in maine and cpac might mean. we'll take a look at that on "weekends with alex witt." ♪ i'm making my money do more. i'm consolidating my assets. i'm not paying hidden fees or high commissions. i'm making the most of my money. and seven-dollar trades are just the start. i'm with scottrade. i'm with scottrade. i'm with scottrade. and i'm loving every minute of it. 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[ male announcer ] and common tissue made it burn even more. ♪ puffs plus lotion is more soothing than common tissue, and it delivers our most soothing lotion for every nose issue. a nose in need deserves puffs plus lotion indeed. to give your cold a comforting scent, try puffs plus lotion with the scent of vicks. we're going to the presidential race. a big weekend for mitt romney. the former massachusetts governor won the caucuses in maine and placed first in the cpac straw poll. what kind of curve does this throw into the gop race for president? joining me is the political editor for the pbs news hour and the bureau chief for yahoo news. good to see you both. i'll begin with you, david. let's start with romney winning the straw poll at cpac. how did he win cpac? is he winning conservatives or both? >> i think it's more organization. they bust folks in. purchased tickets for attendees. this is not new territory. mitt romney won several cpac straw polls when he was seen as the conservative alternative to the 2008 field. so i don't think it's that he convinced conservatives at this point. i think that the campaign saw this as an opportunity to try to halt this narrative that had taken shape for them after tuesday's losses to rick santorum that somehow the romney campaign was spiraling in failure here and wanted to put a halt to that narrative. >> christina, how much closer is this for him to a nomination. at least from a psychological boost. the straw vote, the cpac conference is in an election year. how much of this is about people deciding this is the republican who could beat president obama, the most likely one? >> i spent most of friday morning at cpac and i talked to a lot of different people there who maybe didn't like mitt romney but said they could be certainly comfortable if he was the nominee. they'll be okay with that. >> can i ask why they don't like him? is it a personal thing, they don't like his views? >> the people that i spoke to didn't feel he was the most conservative candidate in the field. but they felt he could beat barack obama. several people that i spoke with that didn't choose romney still would be okay with him as the nominee. in that sense shall this is a psychological boost, certainly that he didn't lose the contest in maine to ron paul. i will point out that the paul campaign is saying not all the votes were counted and they think one of the counties outstanding is going to show them strong and romney is only up by a slim margin there but he was declared the winner. it is this psychological boost heading into two contests which could very well favor romney in about a week and a half. >> oh, my goodness, what if maine goes the way of iowa. can you imagine that? david, the next contests on february 28th, michigan and arizona. how do you think this will play out? one would assume in michigan, mitt romney with his history there would be the shoe-in. there was that issue of how he was going to handle the auto bailout. >> sure. the democrats in the obama campaign have been hammering that for months. michigan is not unlike pennsylvania in many ways where rick santorum served for many years. there's fertile ground for rick santorum's populous pitch that he's been trying to make in michigan. listen, alex, i don't know how they'll play out. we're 16 days away. anything can happen in that amount of time. we're entering what are probably two weeks that are more fraught for mitt romney than any other two-week period he has had. not only does he have to do well in the debate in arizona next week. not only has he set up this huge economic speech in michigan. he really needs to start assuaging this conservative issue. sarah palin this morning said i'm not yet convinced. he reel i has to start shutting that down a little bit and can't make mistakes with the way his campaign handled the income tax issue. >> i want you to answer quickly. how many candidates will make it to super tuesday. they've all vowed to. >> i think newt gingrich is still a question. what kind of resources he has. the santorum folks have raised a lot of money, they're liking polls in the field. the santorum super pac, the red, white and blue fund is liking the polls they're seeing in michigan. the point david just made, this is a state that could actually be favorable to rick santorum. >> okay. christina and david, good to see you both. in the moment the latest if beverly hills on the passing of whitney houston. also ahead in office politic, harry smith on the issue of optimism in the battle for the white house. what possesses someone to run for president. you're watching "weekends with alex witt." 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[ male announcer ] halls. a pep talk in every drop. give today is gonna be an important day for us.raaah! you ready? we wanna be our brother's keeper. what's number two we wanna do? bring it up to 90 decatherms. how bout ya, joe? let's go ahead and bring it online. attention on site, attention on site. now starting unit nine. some of the world's cleanest gas turbines are now powering some of america's biggest cities. siemens. answers. ♪ one moment in time when i'm more than i thought i could be ♪ the voice of a legend there. belonging only to whitney houston. the pop superstar, the new york times once described as one who builds pop ballads to majestic peaks of intensity. and this morning, we mourn and we remember. whitney houston found dead in her beverly hills hotel room at the age of 48. gina kim is live with the latest on the investigation. good morning to you. do we have any new insight as to what happened in that hotel room yesterday? >> you know, alex, this is the million dollar question. there is no indication that anyone was with whitney houston when she expired. it was her bodyguard that found her yesterday afternoon. when he did, she was allegedly alone. and it's not known right now when she stopped breathing. it could have been hours. it could have been the night before. no one knows. what police do know and what they are fairly confident about right now is that they didn't find anything in the room that would lead them to believe that there was any kind of criminal element involved in this tragedy. also, they said that there were no overt or obvious signs of drugs. but clearly, that is still a suspect and they're not ruling that out. we do not know when we're going to have a cause of death. it is now at this point, bau the body has gone to the morgue. up to the toxicology and autopsy reports that will be coming back to try to pinpoint the exact cause of death. >> all right. nbc's begin akim outside the beverly hilton where she died. for more perspective of houston's early years and her rise to fame. joining me christopher john farley from the wall street journal and joining me on the phone is her former manager, seymour flicks. welcome back to you chris. >> seymour, i'm going to reach out with you first. talk about signs of trouble that you may have ever seen. >> caller: no. she -- >> none? >> caller: she hardly smoked when we were managing her. she was very, very meticulous about taking care of her voice. she knew that those things are not good for her voice. and she was definitely not on anything when we were handling her. >> those were what years, seymour? >> caller: from the years we signed her and i was with her for about five years and then i retired. >> was this all before her somewhat well-chronicled problem with drug addiction? >> caller: oh, yes. there was no problem with drugs. >> what did you last speak with her? >> caller: oh, it's been some years. >> have you spoken to any members of her family yet, seymour? >> caller: not recently, no. >> i'll bring you in christopher now. where do you think whitney houston fits in the chronicle of outstanding singers? >> right here the top. i think she's a terrific singer. she's someone who influenced a generation of singers that came after her, including christina aguilera and others. i think she's someone that i think really held the line againsted the tide against electronic music and hip hop and other things that took the focus off the voice much she was a storyteller in the music. you loved her music because of the voice. not even the melody, the songwriting, the production. it was about her voice. by championing the voice, she kept a place for in popular music and today, we're seeing adele carry on that tradition. she'll be the queen of the grammy tonight but the path was laid by the work that whitney houston did in the '80s and '90s. >> i absolutely agree with you. seymour, where were you when you heard the tragic news? what first came to mind? >> caller: it was hard to believe that. it was such a tragedy. this was an alive gal with a magnificent voice. she was so into her singing that it was hard to believe. >> you listen to chris give an eloquent explanation of this voice. it's magical. you can't find superlatives to describe that voice in its prime. what did you think when you first heard her sing? >> caller: we couldn't believe it. somebody mentioned her to us and then finally we went to see her when she was singing backup for her mother and it was incredible. and then we worked with her until she was 18 and then we signed a contract and then we arranged for her to audition with several record companies. and clive grabbed her. and she signed with arista. been with clive ever since. >> seymour, that means you spotted her in newark, new that church choir. >> caller: we didn't actually go there. that's where we got somebody recommended from seeing her there and we watched her when she was in some of these nightclubs with her mother as a backup and she was superb. i mean, you couldn't believe the voice. >> you know, i personally love singing to -- rather listening to gospel choirs and you hear a number of extraordinary voices when you do listen to them. it seems like she stood out because she had the entire package. she looked like a model. she was beautiful and had that presence. >> caller: she had done modeling. and then when i -- i stopped it when we took her career into our hands. >> yeah. well, it's a sad day for all of us. seymour flicks, former manager. i appreciate your speaking with us and christopher john farley. thank you for sticking around. >> nbc's al sharpton plans to call for a national prayer during a service in los angeles today. a long time friend at the houston familiment sharpton called her a gifted songbird and said he was stunned and saddened by the loss. in office politic, we're talking with nbc's harry smith. i asked harry about the economy's impact on the presidential election as well as the motivation behind formidable candidate. what he says is the key to his successful marriage. >> how about the economy on which we've gotten some better news lately. how much do you think this affects americans psychologically speaking? >> huge. the numbers point out that if the economy is either at this level of unemployment or at least the unemployment rate is heading in x direction with so much momentum, it's virtually impossible to either get re-elected or not be re-elected. >> is it the single most important factor upon which the election hinges? we've had a lot of social issues come to the forefront. >> those things, those fires will continue to go up and down. but in the end of the day, can i get a job, can i put a roof over my head. as i've traveled around the world, people asked me, ha do people have in common? i say the same thing. people want to provide for their families, hope that they can do better for their children than they did themselves. they want to make sure they get an education. make sure -- you know shall mostly people want to be left alone. maybe have a beer at the end of the day. if i can hope that -- if i can see some better life for myself on the horizon, that's a very important part of what -- as america's psyche is tested in early november, it will be interesting to see which politician does the better job of trying to grasp the idea of optimism. reagan was a great optimist. this is going to be a very important question. are they going to spend all of their time and pac money destroying each other or who can say you know what, these are tough times, things are starting to look better and we can grasp this time. the only thing i know for sure about the guys who run for president is, it's mostly about determination. the guys who run, they want to be president. they have to be president. that level -- it's a level of ambition and a level of determination that has very, very few parallels. >> how about that basketball? when you're playing with the president, you guys were pretty bad at the three-pointers. i'm just going to say. >> i was horrible. the thing that happens when you're a little bit nervous is your arm get shorter. you're like -- you can't breathe as well. your arms get shorter. i'm trying to shoot this ball. the cameras are on. >> is this your family? >> famous local paper. it was called the hammond times. the hammond, indiana times had a sunday supplement and the cover of this sunday supplement had this picture on it. this is my father with five of his six sons. it was for father's day. the caption said, got a nickel? so we all had our hands out like this. >> which one are you? >> i'm the baby. >> you're the baby. >> i'm about two. >> good looking family there. >> handsome folks, right? my oldest brother was missing and the girls were not included. it was -- eight children altogether. it was five of us and my dad. this is a guy who worked two jobs his entire life to provide for those eight children. >> tell me about andrea. we love achg watching her. >> with gymnastics or figure skating or the like. do you get to intersect much? >> maybe that's the key. >> happy mess. >> maybe that's the key to success. no. she's been working at nbc sports for a long time now. she loves doing figure skating and loves doing gymnastics and is -- there's a big, what is it, four continents, there's a huge figure skating event going on this weekend. >> thank you for being with us in office politics. >> pleasure. pleasure. thank you for allowing me to clean up before you got here. >> not. >> not so much. kind of messy office, but we still love him. you can watch harry smith's reports on rock center with brian williams on wednesday nights at 9:00 eastern on nbc. straight ahead, the big three in the romney rebound. what do his victories in maine and cpac mean? eparation for eve. well somewhere along the way, emily went right on living. but you see, with the help of her raymond james financial advisor, she had planned for every eventuality. ...which meant she continued to have the means to live on... ...even at the ripe old age of 187. life well planned. see what a raymond james advisor can do for you. for febreze fabric refresher. they agreed. 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>> i think it's a sign that mitt romney is proving to be conservative enough for some of these people at the end of the day. that they really want to try and get behind one person. i think that's really what it came down to yesterday. >> the issue of-electability, do you think that factored? >> absolutely. they also see he's most likely going to be the nominee. they might as well get behind him now. >> karen, lom any winning the maine caucuses as well. the stunning loss to rick santorum three times last week. >> i think it helps his argument. not necessarily -- the numbers aren't what's important in term of he can now say again, i've won in the west, won in the northeast. i've shown i can win among different groups much that's part of what the cpac straw poll gives him. i've proven myself among conservatives. i was actually surprised that he did so well at cpac frankly given there still maintains this strong level of distrust which as susan said, conservatives are finally saying, okay, we have to get on board here. >> christina, we had rick santorum seeing his campaign reenergized winning last week. how much steam does romney's double win this week take from santorum? >> well, if santorum had won the cpac straw poll, that probably would have given him a nice boost. he got a lot of boost out of the tuesday victories, particularly in colorado which was unexpected. they raised at least $2 million over the last few days. the super pac backing him raised a lot of money over the last few days. he got that sort of national media attention that he was frankly robbed of after the iowa caucuses when he was not declared the winner for more than two weeks. that was sort of the boost he needed. the other contests are pretty interesting. michigan, allots its delegates proportionally. if he comes in second, arizona winner take all. romney is pretty strong there. you never know. a lot can happen over the next two weeks as republicans take another look at the candidates. >> as we look at the past. a lot can happen in 24 hour. the next topic. susan, i'll begin with you. the contraception policy and health nrn issue. is this a concern that republicans could be seen as anti-women? >> i don't think so at the end of the day. when the worst things to come out of this argument is that we're pigeonholing women that we care about only our reproductive right. it's going to come down to the economy. >> karen, you're nodding your head. as a woman, i agree with susan who wrote a fabulous piece for the new york post a couple weeks ago, which was one of my must reads that women care about a broader range of issues. at the same time, i say this also as a member of the board, women care very deeply about their healthcare and about their right to access their healthcare. i think that's a lot of what came out and i think that's where many on the right will be seen to be see far out of step with, again, how women live their lives and our healthcare in terms of the access to contraception. i think the president is very smartly, i think they realized they went out the door not as well as they should have. i think they were able to see their mistake, make an adjustment quickly. i think the president maintained a real leadership in saying, look, the goal is to preserve women's women's rights at the same time we can -- their constitutional rights, by the way, and respect the right to freedom of religion. i think what people saw this week was a leader. i don't think that they have yet seen that kind of leadership from romney or even santorum. >> i should make the point here two ladies opposite sides of the aisle agreeing there. let's just go there. christina, do you think republicans risk overplaying their happened? do they still have a hand to play sfl yes. men also agree with some of those issues. not everyone, this is not just an issue for women. an issue for a lot of people. particularly, you know, may not be the position of the mainstream but also is an area through the democrats off their game, talking about economic fairness and economy picking up. obama was able to really push his own message on the economy. then got distracted on this. for really more than a week. it is really strengthened, i would say, planned parent hood. money they were able to raise, not just out of this but what happened with susan g. komen. you know, certainly the republicans are going to have to be talking about the culture wars in a way that may not benefit anyone by the time the november election rolls around christine a karen, susan, sit tight. next up at the big three, does sarah palin's cpac speech have republicans yearning for a sarah palin presidential run? >> this is a look at your weekend weather. looks and sxeels like winter out there for a change. doesn't it? across the north temperatures chilly. minneapolis, 24. chicago not even freezing. and finally, the snow, rain moved out of the northeast but temperatures do remain below average. juan to talk cold, south florida, just 66 degrees and orlando, 58. that's your forecast. have a great day. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks. i know a quiet little place where we can get some work done. there's a three-prong plug. i have club passes. [ male announcer ] now there's a mileage card that offers special perks on united, like a free checked bag, united club passes, and priority boarding. thanks. ♪ okay. what's your secret? ♪ [ male announcer ] the new united mileageplus explorer card. get it and you're in. nyqui tylenol: me, too. and cougnasal congestion.ers? nyquil:what? tissue box (whispering): he said nasal congestion... nyquil: i heard him. anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't. come to d.c., denouncing the place as the cesspool of corruption. but after a year or two they decide it is not a cesspool. we are like a hot tub. well, america, it is time that we drain the jacuzzi and we throw the bums out with the bath water. that was sarah palin addressing cpac this weekend. welcome back to the big three and palin's pep talk is our next topic. joined by karen finney and susan. do you think amongst the cpac crowds some are wishing palin was addressing them as a front running gop contender? >> a few may but most do do not. she is so focused on creating her own persona she lost any real influence on the process how about you, karen? same question relative to the obama administration wishing it. >> i mean, okay. sure. but i think -- what -- you know, although -- you know, she was quoting nancy pelosi there who talked about draining a swamp. that will get her in trouble. >> okay. i want to ask all of you about your weekend must-reads. they are always great. karen, since you are up, give me yours first. >> great piece by maria politico that looks at the potential power of the internet and technology to circumvent the overall power that the super pacs will play. >> not a published article but twitter stream she is following kucinich and marcy who are locked in a democratic primary fight and a member versus member race due to redistricting. a lot of people say house races are interesting and that's not true. shira has been tweeting up a storm and you definitely should be following her. >> i bet she does make that interesting. how about you, susan? what's your must read? >> thomas freeman. we need a second party in "the new york times" today. it is something every republican who wants to appeal to an independent should take a look at and most importantly it talks about the republican party needing to be conservative and not radical. >> okay. karen finney, christine a susan, good to see you all. thanks so much. >> thank you. >> and that's a wrap, everyone. this sunday edition of "weekends with alex witd." stay with us. we have updates and breaking news throughout the afternoon. big announcement right now, we are going to see all of you next saturday at 7:00 a.m. and then we will be on from noon to 2:00 eastern on sundays on from noon to two as well. be sure to tune in our new time. we are so excited about it. thanks for watching, everyone. have yourselves a great sunday. are you still sleeping? just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule. the first technology of its kind... mom and dad, i have great news. is now providing answers families need. siemens. answers. ♪ [ male announcer ] offering four distinct driving modes

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