the killing of osama bin laden, new details. we have correspondents covering all angles. they'll join us at the top of the hour. but first politics. ron paul wants president obama's job. he announced his intentions earlier today and plans a news conference at the top of the hour. the republican congressman joins newt gingrich in the gop race for the white house. a long time political observer, broadcaster and businessman has a new book, fail up, lessons from building successes from failure. tavis, welcome. >> good to be on. >> i want to talk about your book in a little bit, but first politics. ron paul just announced p about should president obama be concerned? >> i'm sure the white house is concerned about any potential candidate. ron paul of course has run before. has a loyal following and what's been fascinate for me is how much he has a loyal following amongst young people and the money that he can raise. so he's a threat obviously on a certain level. but at the same time, you can't beat somebody with nobody. and at the moment, i don't see that somebody yet that the president should be all that concerned about at least to the point of losing sleep. >> not newt gingrich? what if sarah palin runs? what republican contender is worrisome for the president? >> i think it's not sarah palin, not newt gingrich, not ron paul. again, you can't beat somebody with nobody. i don't speak for them obviously. i don't know who they would prefer. but i don't think it's any of those names you've just mentioned. at the end of the day, i don't know that mr. paul respectfully, mr. gingrich respectfully, ms. palin respect fwli, has what it takeses to win the nomination of their party in the long run. >> president obama met with the congressional black caucus and their message to him was jobs and more jobs. has the president done enough for the african-american community? >> in a word, no. the african-american community is the most loyal part of the president's base and obviously the black community wants to see this president reelected and i expect they'll turn out in big numbers as they did before .not the same because you can't play in a history card but one time. so the white house speaking of should they be concerned, they should be concerned about the fact that the black numbers may drop because you can't play the history card and, two, to your point about black unemployment, when you have double the national average and depending on the demo in some cases quadruple the national average, this answer, i don't mind it. all the boats didn't go down at the same time, they're not going to come up at the same time. and if the tide comes up, if you're in a yacht and i'm in an inner tube, we still have a problem. the president has not done enough i think because respectfully he's afraid of being accused of being tribal if he does in fact help the african-american community in specific and unique ways. he ought not be afraid of that when our jewish brothers and sisters want help vis-a-vis public policy, he stands up for them. gays and less bwanted "don't as tell." he responded to them. black unemployment is a significant issue. it ought not to be overlooked just because the white house is afraid of being accused of being tribal. >> but still afraid of that? why? >> i don't know. again, you're asking me questions i can't answer. i don't speak for the white house. i'd have the same question, carol, why. if you were in a car accident and they rushed you to the hospital with head trauma, i would pray that they would not start operating on your feet. the point is you don't help these folk because they're black, you help them because that's where the pain is most acute. that is where the pain is most severe. the stimulus package was not big enough the first time when democrats did control both houses of congress. when they sent that money out to the country, they sent it to the states as opposed to the cities. i think the white house has done righteous work this some respects, but they have not done enough where the pain is most acute. gr so if african-american voters still vote for him next time even if in smaller numbers, what can they do to convince president obama to do more for their community? he has their vote already. >>nd i think that's the significant question. now we're talking about that he has their vote already and sometimes you can be taken for granted. the black community must not look up after one term or even two terms and discover that this was more about symbolism than substance. the bottom line is to answer your question great presidents aren't born. great presidents are made. they have to be pushed into their greatness. there is no abraham lincoln without frederick douglas pushing him. there is no lbj without mlk pushing him. great presidents become great because they're ushered, pushed into their greatness. i don't want barack obama to be just another garden voter politician. this can't be just about symbol him and not substance. and at the end of the day he can't start this clinton triangulation now that he has a divided congress. black america wants him to be a great president. that happens when you lovingly and respectfully help push them into their greatness. here's the bottom line. we have to respect the president, we have to protect the president against birther vulgar attacks, you have to respect him, appreciate hprotec also correct him out of love. that's our job with this president and for that matter any other president. >> let's talk about your book because i'm in-treepged by the sense that failure can sometimes be a good thing. >> the great nobel poet put it this way, ever tried, failed, no matter. try again, fail again, fail better. failure is not fatal. fatal is not final. there is no success without failure. and over my 20 years in this business, i've learned that what i've done and what most of us do is failed our way up. anyone who successful in any field if they're being honest would admit they've learned more from their failures than they've ever learned from their successes. so failure is a friend. all i'm trying to do is remind the american people now more than ever we individually with regard to our families and collectively as a nation can in fact even in difficult times fail our way up. >> we hear you. it's been great. thanks so much for squoijoining this morning. >> my pleasure. thank you, carol. music to ease disaster. hln's robin meade was co-host at the country music concert to benefit the victims of the southern tornados. we'll talk to her next. ooh, a brainteaser. how can expedia now save me even more on my hotel? well, hotels know they can't fill every room every day. like this one. and this one. and oops, my bad. so, they give expedia ginormous discounts with these: unpublished rates. which means i get an even more rockin' hotel, for less. my brain didn't even break a sweat. where you book matters. expedia. ... or the brake™. stay back, buddy. back ! help ! you may be flying by the seat of your pants or following a plan, but take it from me. with hertz, you'll always find your way. hertz. we're at the airport and in your neighborhood. the gas™ or the brake, which one are you ? go to hertz.com. country music stars are singing for southern storm victims. ♪ because every little thing is going to be all right, this world keeps spinning fast ♪ >> we hope everything's going to be all right. big names like hank williams, keith urban and lady antebellum took part. robin meade was a co-host at the star-studded affair. should i ask what designer you were wearing? >> what's that in the designer i was wearing? what was i wearing last night? >> just kidding. >> macy's, i think. that's not a designer. >> good enough for me, though. >> lucky i didn't say t.j. maxx. >> what was it like? >> it was incredible because i don't know if you know this, but the special came together in a matter of seven days. that's a huge undertaking. hank williams apparently, huge country star, has very strong ties in it alabama, went there, couldn't believe what he saw after the big tornadoes that blew through six states, those killer tornadoes. he made a call and within seven days, this came together. now, we don't know how much money was raised last night. but we do know that the need continues to grow because now this is all for the american red cross and now you have people whose homes are continually being flooded because of the mississippi. so the need you saw lady antebellum just performing right there. that's not their song. obviously that's a bob marley song, but they were trying to give the uplifting message that everything is going to be all right, as the song goes. let's lisp. listen. >> there's nothing more beautiful, i think, than seeing people rally together and support each other and help each other. and i truly think that something positive can come out of something like this. and that's a unified community, a unified country, you know, as all of us all over the country and all over the world could give if you feel led to. i think it can be a very unifying thing. >> reporter: and by the way, if you missed the telethon last night, carol, cnn's sister network, "hln," will replay is on sunday night at 9:00 p.m. eastern because the need, as i said, continues to grow. and if you feel so moved right now, you can still go to cnn.com/robin, and we'll hook you up on how to donate right now to the red cross. and they do everything from making sure people have shelter, to making sure they have a blanket for the night. the very basics that people are now missing. >> okay. robin, thank you so much. i know it was a long night. and thank you for joining us this morning and for your great work there. robin meade, thank you. >> you bet. you bet! 64 years after jackie robinson broke the color barrier, african-american players reflect on his legacy and why there are so few african-american ballplayers these days. hey, dad, think i could drive? i'll tell you what -- when we stop to fill it up. ♪ ♪ [ son ] you realize, it's gotta run out sometime. ♪ down the hill? man: all right. we were actually thinking, maybe... we're going to hike up here, so we'll catch up with you guys. [ indistinct talking and laughter ] whew! i think it's worth it. working with a partner you can trust is always a good decision. massmutual. let our financial professionals help you reach your goals. if you catch the braves/phillies game on sunday, their uniforms will look historic. both teams will wear throwback uniforms from 1974, the year hank aaron broke babe ruth's home run record in celebration of major league baseball's civil rights game. who better to talk up that game than braves star jason hayward. >> reporter: atlanta braves' outfielder jason heward is quite frankly awesome. just 22, he's a star and rare. only 8% of all major league baseball players are african-american, compared to 18% two decades ago. heward on why. >> you get drafted in baseball, you have to go through the minor leagues. you have to. there's no immediate going to the professional ranks, period. football, you get drafted, you're in the nfl. basketball, you get drafted, you're in the nba. >> reporter: and then there's the cool factor. >> you see the football, you see the basketball. and you're, like, that's what's cool and in. >> reporter: yet there are signs that's changing. tim lincecum's got charisma. brian wilson is a total beast on the mound. and derek jeter, come on. he's cool. hayward's idol as a kid -- >> jeter. >> reporter: heyward talk about their families who nurtured a career in baseball. >> i started playing as of 5. my dad said it's something i need to do do in the summer, make friends, stay out of trouble, be active and do something extracurricular other than going outside every day, getting into trouble around the neighborhood or whatever. wanted to keep me away from all that. >> reporter: just like jeter's parents. in his book, he said my parents inspire you, criticize you, and give you structure. my parents did all of these things. they told me if i was ever at a party or around a group of people drinking or drugging as my father used to say, i could call them and they would come pick me up, and they would ask no questions. as for old-school cool, it was jackie robinson. who opened the door for all african-american players. >> this is just a game. this is just entertainment. outside of this, that's life. and the number of death threats on him and his family and anyone close to him, i know it had to be tough. like i said, that's why i'm appreciative. >> reporter: today the challenge is not opening doors but persuading young african-americans that this game is cool. once again, the two players speak as one. do you know how cool it is to have thousands of people chanting "derek jeter, derek jeter"? >> if somebody has a chance to come see us play in a stadium, to see how the fans react to you, to see how it's kind of cool to have an ovation, see how it's kind of cool to have people chanting your name. >> i talked to jason heyward. he was the most humble guy. in fact, i went out to right field. and i said, do you feel like the king of right field? he told me no, i don't feel like the king of right field. there are always great players coming up. i have to work hard to keep my position, and i understand that. so it was really refreshing to hear from him. a great guy of the atlanta behaves. coming up in the next hour of "newsroom," is it just me, or are politicians oversharing lately? i'll ask our experts. 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>> yeah. and remember, communicated with no e-mail access because you know, having a computer and being online, you know, would leave a trail that a lot of officials would be able to follow. so what he did was, he would type directives or e-mails, and then he would download those to a thumb drive offline. then he'd hand the thumb drive to a courier who would then take it out and often hand it to what they call a cut-out. by cut-out, they mean someone who is cut out of the loop. in other words, this third party had no idea that he was getting information from osama bin laden himself. that person would then download the information and send it out as an e-mail from himself. and then when they needed to get information back to bin laden, they would just reverse the process. so he was able to -- it was a meticulous time, painstaking process to go through, but it allowed him to get information in and out without ever getting online, carol. >> another mystery solved. chris lawrence, many thanks. and actually, chris isn't going anywhere because he'll return at the bottom of the hour to discuss one of the more intriguing questions, did the navy s.e.a.l.s record the entire raid on helmet cams? chris will be back to discuss that. defense secretary robert gates also says security is a big reason why the president will not release the bin laden death photos. gates referenced the photo-shop age we live in and said someone could alter those pictures and use them to stir up anger and provoke on american troops in iraq and afghanistan as well as on american civilians who live overseas. senator john mccain says the way america treats its prisoners of war is key to keeping our men and women in uniform safe. he writes in "the washington post" today, while some enemies and al qaeda surely will never be bound by the principle of reciprocity, we should have concern for those americans captured by more conventional enemies, if not in this war, then in the next. of course, mccain spent years as a p a p.o.w. in vietnam. he also talked to our john king about how to handle pakistan