Jesse Jackson Jr. Battling Mood Disorder
COOPER: We mentioned the top of the hour, we're following breaking news. Late word tonight we just got about Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.'s medical condition. The Illinois Democrat, son of the Reverend Jesse Jackson, has been on medical leave from Congress for more than a month now. Just before airtime, his office released the following statement from his doctor -- quote -- "The congressman is receiving intensive medical treatment at a residential treatment facility for a mood disorder. He's responding positively to treatment and is expected to make a full recovery." Today's statements followed weeks of speculation today, calls on the Jackson family from fellow Democrats to go public. Kate Bolduan is following all the fast-breaking developments and joins with now. Kate, do we know what that means? A mood disorder?</s>KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It seems to be vague. It's a vague detail. We don't really know. That could fit into many categories, Anderson. There's more detail to come on that, we hope, but there has not been a lot of information surrounding the congressman and his condition to this point. That's why the rumors and speculation have been flying for weeks now since he's taken his leave of absence really from Capitol Hill all the way back to Illinois in his district, so much so that even following the doctor's statement that you just read, his chief of staff, Rick Bryant, made a point to add, he says, in addition, the rumors about him being treated for alcohol or substance abuse are not true. He's really trying to tamp down the rumors that have really been flying about what has been going on with the congressman. As you mentioned, the pressure has been mounting, even among fellow Democrats for the congressman and his family to come forward and disclose more detail about what the congressman has been facing because it's been pretty much an information blackout. Listen here to two Democrats who themselves said it was time to come forward. Listen here.</s>REP. STENY HOYER (D-MD), HOUSE MINORITY WHIP: People get sick. And when people get sick, they miss work. Everybody in America understands that, but I think the family would be well advised to give his constituents as much information as is appropriate.</s>SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D-IL), MAJORITY WHIP: His health is the number one priority. As a public official, though, there reaches a point where you have a responsibility to tell people what you're facing and how things are going.</s>BOLDUAN: And as you see right there from the senior senator from Illinois, Dick Durbin, you're not going to find anyone who isn't sympathetic and feeling for the congressman and his family. But obviously everyone is just wishing him the best and for a full recovery, but this information is really big news coming out that they're finally disclosing what he's dealing with.</s>COOPER: Yes, members of the Congress take medical leaves all the time. I guess this is different just because there was really no information on what it was and he's been gone since June 10.</s>BOLDUAN: Absolutely. It's just really the mystery surrounding it all. Not only has he been taking the leave of absence since June 10. I have been talking to people on the Hill and he hasn't really even been seen in committee meetings since late May. So it was really this information blackout that we were hearing from Democrats. I mean, you know, Capitol Hill is leaky like a sieve, so the fact that absolutely no one was hearing any details was very concerning a and a real mystery. I mean, even senior House Democratic aides were kind of critical of this information blackout and the fact that no matter what you're dealing with, you do need to tell your constituents how you're dealing with it, right?</s>COOPER: Yes. Kate, appreciate the reporting. Thanks for the update. "Raw Politics" now. Mitt Romney's bid for the African-American vote, he went looking for support at the NAACP's convention today in Houston. Members welcoming with applause, but turning sharply skeptical at some of his claims that if elected he would do more for African-Americans than President Obama has. Listen.</s>MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you want a president who will make things better in the African-American community, you're looking at him. You take a look.</s>COOPER: Well, the crowd taking I guess you could say mild exception to that claim, you can interpret it for yourself, but getting worked up a lot over this comment.</s>ROMNEY: I'm going to eliminate every nonessential expensive program I can find. That includes Obamacare. And I'm going to work to reform and save...</s>COOPER: I wouldn't characterize the reaction. You can describe it for yourself. On FOX News, Governor Romney Claimed he has got hidden strength among African-American voters.</s>ROMNEY: I spoke with a number of African-American leaders after the event and they said, you know, a lot of folks do not want to say they will not vote for President Obama but they are disappointed in his lack of policies to improve our schools, disappointed in urban policy , disappointed in the economy, 14.4 percent rate of unemployment among African Americans today.</s>COOPER: He says he found hidden support. If you look at the poll numbers, it is hard to find any evidence of hidden support among African-Americans. For perspective, John McCain got 4 percent of the African- American vote in 2008. Latest polling shows just not much difference today, just slightly more frankly for Mitt Romney. Let's dig deeper now on how this may play out in November. Here's John King at the magic wall.</s>JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, imagine you're running a race at the track and you get to run a lap or two before your opponent gets to start the race. Or the game is football and you're spotted 15-, 16-point lead before the game even starts. That is essentially what is happening because of President Obama's lopsided advantage among African-American and other minority voters. Let's take a look at African-Americans, the key battleground today as Governor Romney went to the NAACP. Look at this from 2008, 13 percent of the electorate, African- Americans. It's the most solid part of the president's base, and 95 percent of the African-American vote voted for then Senator, now President Obama. Only 4 percent for John McCain. Governor Romney is doing a bit better, but even his team would concede not good enough among African-Americans. Why does that matter? Let's go down to North Carolina and take a look. Because the African-American vote is critical in many of the most important battleground states. Nearly a quarter of the electorate in North Carolina, 20 percent in Virginia, double digits in Pennsylvania, Florida, Michigan and Ohio. If the president is getting 95 percent of this chunk of the vote in those states, guess what? It puts Governor Romney at a big disadvantage in very important states. Now add in other minorities, this is where you see how this is such an advantage for the president, 13 percent of the electorate African-American. The president is getting 95 percent of their votes, 10 percent Latinos, that will even be higher. That's the 2008 number. The president gets two-thirds. Others, Asians, Native Americans, the president is getting two-thirds. If you add all of this up, 28 percent of the electorate, that's where essentially you get a 15 or 16-point lead for President Obama. The only way to offset that is for Governor Romney to try to dent those numbers a bit, but then to win huge among the white vote, limiting the president to say 38 percent at most among whites to have a chance to win -- Anderson.</s>COOPER: All right, John, thanks. Interesting to look at that. Let's turn now to Cornell Belcher. He's a Democratic strategist and a pollster for the Obama 2012 campaign. Also Romney campaign adviser Tara Wall. Appreciate both of you being with us. Tara, I want to go back to the governor's speech at the NAACP. He said afterwards he had expected a rocky reception from the crowd. Obviously Republicans haven't always gotten a warm welcome from the NAACP. But John McCain used a very different tone in talking about candidate Obama four years ago. He got a pretty good reception from the crowd then. Do you think if the governor had taken a similar approach, his policy message may have gotten a different or frankly better reaction?</s>TARA WALL, ROMNEY CAMPAIGN SPOKESWOMAN: Well, his policy message actually got overall a good reaction. There were snippets, as you played, that did elicit negative reaction in one or two occasions. But overall there were a number of occasions where his policies actually did elicit applause, an ovation and general consensus of agreement. So I think he absolutely has a message that appeals. I think the bigger question or the bigger headline that should be addressed and that is the stark kind of elephant in the room, if you will, is the fact that President Obama wasn't there to address the crowd. And I think there was disappointment that he wasn't there to address some of the issues that Governor Romney did, such as an unemployment rate in the black community of 14.4 percent, that just jumped last week, in this last week alone and in fact, since 2008, has increased by 40 percent. So when you have Governor Romney, who as the NAACP welcomed and accepted and admitted that he was walking in -- he was very courageous for coming and presenting, I think that he was absolutely strong and solid and assertive and at the same time, listened and made sure that all Americans, should he become president, all Americans including the black community understand how he is and his message and his policies are distinct and will help to kick-start this economy, grow jobs again, and get us back on track.</s>COOPER: Cornell, I have read some, you know, African-Americans worrying the president may be taking their support for granted. As Tara just mentioned, you look at unemployment rate, much higher than the country as a whole. The national rate held steady last month. The African-American rate rose. Could that dampen support, and do you think Mitt Romney made any inroads?</s>CORNELL BELCHER, OBAMA CAMPAIGN POLLSTER: Well, let's go back to Governor Romney at the NAACP. Look, NAACP is one of the most storied and oldest civil rights organizations in this country. Every American today, America is better today because of the NAACP. You know, you had a lot of not just Democrats but conservatives after Mitt Romney's speech saying that Mitt Romney seemed to be purposefully antagonistic towards the</s>NAACP. WALL: That's absolutely not true.</s>BELCHER: And when you look at sort of what he said...</s>BELCHER: Well, it's not me. It's David Frum. I didn't interrupt you. Please don't interrupt me. So, he was purposefully antagonistic towards the NAACP. The question becomes, you know, why was Governor Romney using the NAACP as a prop to have a conversation or to prove a point with conservatives who still don't trust him? Because clearly he wasn't there to give a conversation to try to reach out and gain more support among that civil rights conversation.</s>WALL: That's absolutely false.</s>BELCHER: He was there as a prop and he was antagonistic toward that organization in a way that was...</s>WALL: Absolutely false.</s>COOPER: Let him finish, and then you can talk.</s>WALL: Sure. But it is false.</s>BELCHER: Going to the point that John made, it's also from a strategic point untenable. I mean, if you look at these sort of states, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, and you go out west to Nevada, New Mexico, it's untenable, what is going on with the Republican Party right now, where they're ceding -- in CNN's polling, 63 percent of minorities are breaking for Obama. Long term, it is suicide what Republicans are doing. So what Republicans are going to have to do sort of, you know, for their Tea Party base is absolutely suicide long-term when you look at the growth of the minority populations, particularly in these battleground states. It makes no strategic sense.</s>COOPER: Tara, there are those to Cornell's point who say that getting booed at the NAACP might help Romney among some conservatives. Do you think, to Cornell quoting David Frum's point, that he was being intentionally antagonistic?</s>WALL: First of all, I think it's insulting that President Obama himself did not come and address the crowd and address these very stark numbers that are impacting the black community, whether you're a Republican or Democrat. There are Republican NAACP members who are lifetime members, who are also there, who also have positions, who also want to hear from Governor Romney, who also want to hear from President Obama. That is what is insulting. I'm not sure what issue you take insulting with. If you're talking about the phrase Obamacare, Obama himself, President Obama himself has used that phrase and, in fact, says he has no problem with it. The point was to say that when Governor Romney was spelling out his policies, we fully acknowledge and acknowledged ahead of time that we're not going to agree 100 percent. That's not the point to go there...</s>COOPER: Right, but you were very eager to jump on Cornell...</s>WALL: The point is to address the community, and he did that.</s>COOPER: Tara, you were very eager to jump on Cornell to say what he was saying is not true. I'm giving you the opportunity to just reiterate that. You're saying he was not being intentionally antagonistic?</s>WALL: No, absolutely not.</s>COOPER: OK.</s>COOPER: Tara, I appreciate it. Cornell Belcher...</s>WALL: I would like to know, I mean, how was he being intentionally antagonistic? Absolutely not...</s>COOPER: Cornell, how was he being intentionally antagonistic?</s>WALL: In fact, he drew a lot of applause when he talked a lot about how he helped bridge the gap as governor between -- the education gap as governor of Massachusetts, how he brought down crime, how he worked across the board, how he worked in a bipartisan manner, how he talked about and agreed with how historic and important having the first black president elected to the United States. He talked about a number of things where he did draw...</s>BELCHER: I think you're mistaking this with what John McCain talked about a couple of years ago.</s>WALL: The headline is misplaced in that if you want to focus on how many -- I would like to ask, how many applause were there? How many times were there applause? You know, I think that's an irrelevant point to make. That's not the point that you go to address the crowd. The point is, he showed up, President Obama did not. I hope the media also will ask Vice President Biden tomorrow to explain that and to talk about why President Obama...</s>COOPER: Yes, you made that point.</s>COOPER: Cornell, why is Obama not going? And to Tara's question, how was he antagonistic? How was Romney antagonistic?</s>BELCHER: Wow. Well, again, it's not just me who saw him being antagonistic. Let's start with this. You go there and you attack Obamacare, something that is wildly popular among African-Americans, something that is going to have seven million African-Americans access to health care. I mean, don't play us stupid like we don't know that you're being antagonistic and you're talking about sort of tearing away social net programs that have been historically important to this community.</s>WALL: Absolutely not.</s>WALL: Replace it is what he said.</s>COOPER: OK.</s>BELCHER: Can I finish? And act like you're not being antagonistic. Look, he wasn't there this afternoon to have a conversation with the NAACP. He was there this afternoon to have a conversation with his Republican base. And here's the problem. He's the one who has to change the dynamic. You know, when you're losing minority voters by 60-some points in this country, he's the one who has to change the dynamic.</s>COOPER: Why shouldn't President Obama be there?</s>BELCHER: Not President Obama. President Obama is not the one who has the change the dynamic there. He's winning minority voters by 63 points in your own CNN polling. But the vice president is going to be there.</s>WALL: I think there was a question there for me.</s>WALL: Actually, I think there has actually been support lost. Look, President Obama does not own the black vote. He doesn't -- Democrats don't own the black vote. I think it behooves any presidential candidate to not take any vote for granted. And, in fact, I don't believe that President Obama can count on the same support he once had. Certainly, he will still get a majority, absolutely. And we acknowledge that, but at the end of the day, you know, I think that the point is to show up and he has lost some support. I hear from these folks all the time. We see Democrats and Republicans who supported him at one time...</s>WALL: ... that aren't going to support him this time.</s>COOPER: Let -- Cornell, one more point, and then we got to go.</s>BELCHER: You can filibuster the conversation all you want, and that's what you have tried to do. You can filibuster the conversation all you want.</s>WALL: No, you're just not used to being challenged, unfortunately.</s>BELCHER: The truth of the matter is -- I'm challenged every day. The truth of the matter is, the economic policies of Mitt Romney not only would be disastrous for middle-class Americans, but it would particularly be disastrous for African-Americans.</s>WALL: He'll help all Americans. He will help all Americans.</s>BELCHER: And unless he can change that dynamic, he's going to continue to lose -- he's going to continue to lose his vote.</s>COOPER: OK, let's not talk about -- we've got to...</s>BELCHER: Sixty-three percent of minorities give Obama a positive job approval in CNN's own polling. Those people aren't foolish. They know exactly what the president's doing for them.</s>COOPER: OK. I appreciate both of your perspectives. Tara Wall, thank you. Cornell Belcher, thanks, as well. Starting new details tonight -- startling new details tonight about an apparent courtroom suicide of this man right here. You just see him right there in that video putting something in his mouth. Well, we now believe we know what he swallowed. We'll tell you how we know that ahead on the program.