[Whitfield:] The reality show "Duck Dynasty" on A&E; is setting records. People can't seem to get enough of the Louisiana family, their back country lifestyle and their long beards. But not everyone knows who they are. One of the brothers was in New York promoting the show's fourth season. And he says he was kicked out of his hotel when someone mistook him for a homeless man. He joked that he was a victim of facial profiling. CNN's Jake Tapper takes a closer look at the family and their calling, and why millions of viewers are flocking to them.
[Jake Tapper, Anchor, "the Lead With Jake Tapper":] Come listen to my story about the Robertson clan.
[Unidentified Male:] My idea of happiness is killing things.
[Tapper:] Multi-millionaire's Commander Duck Call businessman. They star in a reality show on the channel A&E; by kind of mocking proletariats on behalf of bourgeoisie.
[Unidentified Male:] Don't marry some of the other girl. I'm a low- tech man in a high-tech world. I don't think I even need a razor.
[Tapper:] "Duck Dynasty," that is. Ratings gold.
[Unidentified Male:] Everybody happy, happy, happy.
[Tapper:] Fifty years ago, "The Beverly Hillbillies" endeared America to the idea of a backcountry clans sticking to their roots after striking it rich. But the Clampetts could never have imagined a dynasty like this one.
[Unidentified Male:] What are you shooting at? Water snakes.
[Tapper:] "Duck Dynasty" broke records last season with nearly 10 million viewers tuning in for the finale. By the way, that's more than 700 times the population of the family's hometown of West Monroe, Louisiana.
[Brian Lowry, Tv Critic, Variety:] Really what the show is is it's a very effective sitcom. They've managed to create a patina of authenticity around a show that is very carefully shaped into a very familiar sitcom format.
[Tapper:] And unlike the Clampetts, not only are the Robertsons real people, but they still live in their hometown. One official tour invites visitors to duck into the city of Monroe and follow the beards. Now to the beards. The famously unkempt facial hair has become a star of its own. I even felt a bit bare when I met Willie Robertson at the White House Correspondents Dinner this year. Luckily the show is so popular there's an app for that. The "Duck Dynasty Beard Booth." Problem solved. There is a dark side to this bayou business. Many of Hollywood's more traditional scripted TV comedies and drama see "Duck Dynasty" and its astounding ratings as a threat and an example of how TV entertainment is being dumbed down to the lowest common denominator.
[Lowry:] What we're seeing is there are all kinds of viewers watching some of these shows for different reasons. Some watch them because they relate to the characters, and some people watch it to feel superior to the characters. The truth is, for A&E;'s purposes, it doesn't matter why people watch as long as they keep doing it.
[Tapper:] Fans, however, argue it's not the beards or the camouflage that make the show attractive to its core audience, it's the Clampetts' style clean humor and values.
[Unidentified Male:] We're going to learn about a hard day's work. It's a new concept for you all.
[Will Robertson, Duck Dynasty:] You know, you just don't feel bad about watching it. It's good, it's family values and it pulls people together, and that's what people tell me that's the parts they like about it, and it's funny.
[Tapper:] So a wholesome family man of faith from the south with rock star popularity, you say? Queue political parties smelling a winner. And yes, the Twitter-verse is outgoing with calls for the Duck Commander's CEO to fill the congressional seat being left vacant this year by Louisiana representative Rodney Alexander.
[Robertson:] I'm kind of busy right now.
[Tapper:] But in his appearance on FOX News Tuesday, Willie Robertson did not seem all that interested.
[Robertson:] Are you scared of my policies and what I would bring in?
[Unidentified Male:] Yes.
[Robertson:] Exactly what we need to take the Duck Commander empire to the next level.
[Tapper:] And now Deadline Hollywood reports that the Robertson clan has successfully negotiated and 400 to 500 percent raise for this season. Earning more than $200,000 an episode, though of course that will be divided up among the nine adults and 11 children who make up the family. Jake Tapper, CNN, Washington.
[Whitfield:] All right. My ducks might like it wet but most especially the southeast are asking, who will stop the rain? Yet another front. Something more heavy moisture on an area that is already waterlogged. We'll take a look at one of the wettest summers ever.