> i'm don lemon. we're going to begin tonight with vice president joe biden. he has managed to complicate the "> > i'm don lemon. we're going to begin tonight with vice president joe biden. he has managed to complicate the " property="og:description"> > i'm don lemon. we're going to begin tonight with vice president joe biden. he has managed to complicate the ">
point and "sunday night mystery." >> i'm don lemon. we're going to begin tonight with vice president joe biden. he has managed to complicate the official white house line on same-sex marriage, and he did it with an outspoken defense of gay couples who want to get married, even though president barack obama says his view on the issue is, quote, evolving. it sounds like biden's evolution is complete. >> is that what you believe now? >> that's what i believe. >> and you're comfortable with same-sex marriage now? >> look, i am vice president of the united states of america. the president sets the policy. i am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women and heterosexual -- men and women marrying all are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties and, quite frankly, i don't see much of a distinction beyond that. >> those words sparked a quick response, not from republicans, but from the president's own campaign. what the vp said that all married couples should have the same legal rights is precisely potus' position. that's exactly what david axelrod tweeted, so the vice president gets out in front of his boss on an issue that on the ballot tuesday in north carolina, a presidential battleground state. a biden gaffe or is it a trial balloon? the answer depends on who you ask, and we'll get much more into this debate coming up in moments right here on cnn. meantime, there's a major shift in the halls of power for a key u.s. ally. france's new president is a socialist. francois hollande beat conservative incumbent nicolas sarkozy in sunday's runoff. it all came down to the economy and where have we heard that before? here in the united states, of course, our hala gorani is in paris for us tonight. hala, quite a turn of events. >> reporter: don, this is the new era for france. for the first time in 17 years this country has elected a socialist president. it is over for nicolas sarkozy after only one turn. francois hollande made a victory speech just a few hours ago. he said he would promise to unify the country. because it was a close race, essentially half of france did not vote for him. some of the big challenges ahead for francois hollande, the eurozone debt crisis. nicolas sarkozy had come to an agreement with germany that would lead to big budget cuts for eurozone countries. the socialist challenger said, not so fast. you also need a growth plan. why is this important for america? because this eurozone debt crisis has a direct impact on u.s. stock prices. whenever there are fears here in the eurozone, it directly impacts the dow jones and other major indices in the u.s. the other big issue that francois hollande discussed that will also be of interest to the united states is that he's promised to withdraw all french soldiers from afghanistan by the end of this year. nicolas sarkozy was a little bit more flexible saying that next year would be an adequate deadline. but for now street parties all over paris and all over france for those who voted for francois hollande, a new socialist french president for the eurozone's second largest economy. don, back to you. >> hala, thank you very much. president barack obama called french president-elect hollande to offer congratulations. the white house released a statement saying in part "president obama indicated that he looks forward to working closely with mr. hollande and his government on a range of shared economic and security challenges." deep austerity cuts are also changing the political landscape of greece. voters booted out many centrists who pushed those measures. greece's economy is so bad, it could drag the rest of europe down with it. the country accepted bailout money in exchange for extreme spending cuts, but they are so unpopular, voters flock to the far right and the far left on sunday. >> economic ripples from the elections in europe could hit close to home for americans and our ali velshi says we putt better pay close attention in the u.s. ali. >> don, let me tell you, when you look at these elections in greece and france, there are a few takeaways. greece's economy is small and holding europe hostage. france's economy is a big economy. france's president is the last in a long line of leaders who have been put out of office in the last two years because voters are unhappy with the austerity policies or this talk of government cutbacks. they think government should be spending more. in greece, you'll remember last year there was a massive parliamentary crisis, a coalition government was put into place to try and impose some of the cuts necessary for greece to continue to get loans from germany and other countries. another rejection of that coalition. people don't like austerity. it is painful. it's government cutbacks. it's joblessness, but here's a lesson for america. watching this election, these two elections very, very closely. on the one hand you have liberals and the left, the keynesians who say, hey, too much cutting hurts an economy so this is the lesson to you, republicans, out here, if you go down this road, we'll have double the unemployment and, by the way, everyone who supported it will get booted out of office, but there's a message here that republicans can take away or those in the tea party who are preaching austerity. they look at greece in particular and say, this is what happens when you don't get your fiscal house in order. you end up like greece, and maybe, don, there's something to be said for both sides of that argument. >> ali, thank you very much. warren buffett has a better grasp than most on the financial pitfalls facing the world. from wall street to washington, the billionaire investor is respected for his insights on the economy, and he's clearly worried about europe's future. >> europe isn't going to go away. europe will be producing more goods per capita 10 or 20 years from now, but they have huge problems to be resolved. they took on a common currency, and they do not have common fiscal policies. they do not have common cultures, and when you have common currency and they have the bonds of some countries, major countries yielding close to 6% and others below 2%, you know that -- you know you've got a big, big problem. >> it pays to pay attention to buffet. "forbes" estimates buffett's net worth at $44 billion. it's what political junkies are talking about. it's what we're talking about, the vice president and his new remarks on gay marriage, but did he go too far and speak for the president when maybe he shouldn't have? the conversation evokes passion from both sides. thank you, both. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> goldie and i disagree, but we're still friends. >> thanks, don. >> those two, not so sure about. . grass fed. curry. gingersnaps. soup can tower. 5% cash back. right now, get 5% cash back at grocery stores. it pays to discover. [ female announcer ] new roc® retinol correxion max. the power of roc® retinol is intensified with a serum. it's proven to be 4x better at smoothing lines and deep wrinkles than professional treatments. roc® max for maximum results. 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[ male announcer ] we are insurance. ♪ we are farmers ♪ bum, ba-da-bum, bum, bum, bum ♪ tuesday is decision day for a controversial amendment proposal in north carolina. it would ban same-sex marriages, civil unions and domestic partnerships. protesters for and against the amendment, amendment one have turned out in the streets ahead of the vote and cnn's randi kaye breaks down the debate for us. >> reporter: on tuesday, north carolina voters will be making a big decision at the polls. the decision to change the state's constitution. amendment 1 would make marriage between one man and one woman the only recognized domestic legal union in the state. >> the reason we have to put it in our state constitution is that half a dozen other states have by judicial fiat had a handful of judges change the laws of those statements. >> reporter: it's something several other states have done, but amendment 1 goes a step further. not only would it ban same-sex marriage, which is already illegal in north carolina, it would also invalidate all civil unions and domestic partnerships. >> this is bad law because it will hurt even heterosexual families because it does not recognize any other domestic union. >> what makes the north carolina law different from others, it even bans domestic partnerships between heterosexual couples, and as we approach that vote, vice president joe biden today declared his comfort, his comfortable -- he's comfortable with the idea of same-sex marriage, a comfort level president obama has not shared publicly. >> i just think that the good news is that as more and more americans come to understand what this is all about as a simple proposition, who do you love? who do you love? and will you be loyal to the person you love? >> earlier i discussed biden's remarks with goldie taylor, the managing editor of goldie taylor project and crystal wright, the editor of conservativeblackchick.com and i asked if goldie was breaking with his boss on this issue. >> i think this president knew what joe biden's position was when he took him on as the vice presidential running mate. i think that it's much ado really about nothing. >> okay. if the vice president is invited on to a show like "meet the press" and david gregory is asking him about policy, about the president, he is in turn speaking for the administration and speaking for the accomplishments of the president and so why on this issue -- why is this one -- >> he's the vice president of these united states. he neither formulates nor proposes legislation in congress. he neither formulates nor proposes anything to the judiciary branch. >> can the people watching make that distinction? can the voter -- does a voter make that distinction? >> i don't know if the voter makes that distinction or not, but that is the legal distinction, and does he have the right to speak for joe biden? he absolutely does. >> okay. crystal wright, you were watching this morning. did you think the vice president minced words, and i ask you that because here's what -- here's what david axelrod tweeted out afterwards. he said "what vp said -- he tweeted this a little bit earlier right after he said what. "what vp said that all married couples should have exactly the same legal rights is precisely potus' position." i don't really quite understand that, but can you make sense of that? >> you know what -- don, i think it's a hot mess all the way around, and, you know, i think obama is loving the fact that goldie is trying to now legitimize the vice president of the united states' remarks as personal remarks. she's trying to, you know, parse this on a legal analysis that he has a right to his own opinion and then in the next breath goldie admits, along with you, that most american people can't distinguish between vice president biden appearing on a television program as the vice president of the united states and his personal opinion. he does not have a right when he represents the office of vice president, and he's supposed to be the teammate of the president of the united states, to get ahead of the president, who says that his position on same-sex marriage is evolving, and he does not support it, that he supports civil unions. so this is just a mess, and then axelrod, the senior adviser to the obama white house tweets moments later, oh, yeah. obama, that's his position. biden just, you know, expressed the position of the president of the united states. i'm sure many gay americans are surprised by all of this and perplexed. >> okay, i think not -- i think many americans are surprised, because i think it was pretty clear what the vice president had to say and then to hear, goldie, i'm sure you want to respond to what crystal said. >> i actually don't spend a lot of time responding to crystal either on tv or on twitter. but at the end of the day -- >> well, i don't spend a lot of time following your column either. >> at the end of the day the president says, has always said that he believes that this is the wrong question, whether people have the right to marry one or the other, you know, is something that he's evolving on, but should everyone have the same legal rights, i think that the president has never stood back on what -- you know, the human rights question is. >> why not take a stand? what does the president have to lose by taking a stand, either way on -- >> there are fair-minded people on both sides of this issue who both agree and disagree with gay marriage. i think the president has a conviction on one side of this. he's like a lot of us who are continuing to evolve. i'm willing to give him that time as long as -- >> okay. >> as long as he comes down on the side of human rights. >> i get that, but continuing to evolve seems like a position that's not -- >> it's a cop-out. >> it's a position that you're either for or against and you're either for or against and people hit mitt romney. hang on. let me finish that. mitt romney has not have a backbone and doesn't take a stand on issues. >> i've run into it in my own life. i was also a member of the united states marine corps and in the marine corps at that time i had a favorite drill instructor not allowed to serve, kicked out in the middle of my boot camp because it was found out she was gay and as a young person i agreed with that. over time i evolved and when this president worked to strike down don't ask, don't tell, i was in full agreement with that. >> i appreciate your passion. >> i think we evolve with things over time. >> and i respect what you're saying, but you're not the president of the united states, and people are ask iing president of the united states to take a stand on that issue. >> i think the president is the human and the president has time to evolve over time just as i did and everybody else. >> crystal, sorry. what's wrong with the president taking a stand either way, and i'm sure you want to respond to some of this. >> yeah. you know, i think what goldie just said is she's blasting the president. she's saying that the president needs to have a conversation with his priest or shaman whoever, you know, actually believes -- >> no, actually -- >> let me finish, please. >> actually that's not what i said. >> go ahead. >> that is a lie. don't lie. >> excuse me. you just said people who don't support same-sex marriage need to have a conversation with their religious leaders, whoever they go to for religious counsel. that would include the president of the united states, because the president of the united states, goldie, has said he has not taken a position. he does not support same-sex marriage. >> in addition to the david axelrod tweet, a spokesman for vice president joe biden issued a statement today insisting that biden's words mirror president obama's position on gay marriage. it continues. stay tuned to cnn. the hearing for 9/11 terror suspects is being called a circus from stripping to short skirts to screaming that someone is going to die, all happening in the courtroom. you can see everything ok? 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[ flo speaking japanese ] [ shouting in japanese ] we work wherever you work. now, that's progressive. call or click today. the arraignment of the 9/11 terror suspects in guantanamo bay, cuba, was expected to run about six hours on saturday. instead, it went much longer with the judge presiding over the case, sometimes serving more as ringmaster. our chris lawrence has the story tonight. >> reporter: the 9/11 terror suspects turned their arraignment into a chaotic court circus which left the victims' family members stunned. >> they are complaining, and our families can't complain no more because they took their lives. they took my sister's life. i wouldn't care if they were on a bed of nails, you know what i mean, but it's our justice system, and they have rights as of right now, and whatever the due course is and how the process works, eventually they are going to either be in jail for the rest of their lives, or they are going to be dead. >> reporter: walid bin attash came into court shackled to a chair. later, when his attorney was alleging mistreatment, he took off his tunic and exposed his bare chest. the judge scolded him and told him, "put it back on." ramzi binalshibh shocked the courtroom by comparing u.s. guards to dead libyan leader moammar gadhafi. he shouted, maybe they will kill us and make it look like suicide, and khalid sheikh mohammed, who once boasted he was the mastermind behind the attacks refused to speak or even listen to the hearing through earphones. >> now the government wants to kill mr. mohammed. they want to extinguish the last eyewitness to his torture so that he can never speak again about it. >> reporter: one of the american defense attorneys came dressed in conservative islamic hijab and chastised the women on the prosecution team for wearing skirts saying the detainees had to avert their eyes to avoid committing a sin just by looking at them, and so it went for hours, silence, and side issues dominating the hearing. >> she said there was an particular paralegal that was wearing a short skirt yesterday and was a distraction to their client and could not focus on a proceeding which could lead to his death. could you respond to that? >> i didn't think it merited or deserved a response yesterday so i don't think it deserves a response today. the women on the prosecution team are dressed in an appropriate and professional manner. >> reporter: the next court hearing will be in june, but this had to be an embarrassment on all sides, for those who pushed to have these men tried in a military commission here, this cannot be what they had in mind, and for the obama administration, who promised to close guantanamo bay and move these trials to federal court, saturday was a reminder of that failure. chris lawrence, cnn, guantanamo bay, cuba. a gunman wearing an afghan army uniform killed a nato soldier sunday in southern afghanistan. the shooter was immediately killed. that wasn't the coalition's only casualty, though. an american died when a vehicle struck a roadside bomb in and afghanistan. two other americans were wounded in atack. osama