Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
What Campaigns Are Doing on Election Day to Try to Win a Few More Votes; How Did America Get So Divided?
Aired November 02, 2004 - 11:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It's Election Day, welcome back, 11:30 here in New York, 8:30 out in California. All the states except for Hawaii said to be voting now. Hawaii starts in about 30 minutes. In a few moments here, we'll check back with the campaigns, the Bush side, the Kerry side, see what they're doing on this Election Day to try and win a few more votes, and also we'll talk with two more secretaries of state, this time from Minnesota, and also from the state of Oregon, coming up this half hour.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also this morning, a pertinent question for day, how did America get so divided? Bill Schneider is going to join us in just a few moments, taking a look at some of the factors behind this election that's made is so hard to predict.
HEMMER: So hard.
O'BRIEN: Yeah.
But before that, let's go look at the other stories making news this morning that don't involve the elections. Heidi Collins at the newsdesk.
Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you guys.
And it's a story we've been telling about all morning, in fact. Police in Baghdad are investigating a car bombing near Iraq's ministry of education. At least six people were killed. One official says a burning car rammed through concrete walls and protected barriers around the offices, located in a busy commercial area. Eight people were injured in that attack.
One day after a suicide bombing in Israel, Israeli troops have destroyed homes belonging to people they say were responsible for the attack in Tel Aviv. Yesterday's blast at an open-air market left at least three people dead, more than 30 others wounded.
Aide workers are being stopped from doing their work in the Darfur region of Sudan. The Sudanese army and police surrounded refugee camps in Darfur today, denying humanitarian groups access. Aide workers have been evacuated out of several camps in the region now. More than one million people have been displaced by fighting between the government and rebels.
And here in the United States, closing arguments set to resume in the Scott Peterson case next hour. The defense will deliver its closing arguments in the double-murder trial. Jurors heard from the prosecution yesterday. Deliberations could begin as early as tomorrow. I can only imagine how tough it's going to be to come to a verdict if you are a jury member.
HEMMER: Thanks, Heidi.
President Bush just arrived in Columbus, Ohio for some 11th-hour campaigning. No Republican has ever won the White House without winning in the Buckeye State. The president will watch today's election returns back at the White House. That's where Elaine Quijano is this morning.
Also national correspondent Kelly Wallace in La Crosse, Wisconsin, covering the Kerry campaign.
Let's start with Elaine in Washington.
Good morning.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.
That's right, Ohio, a crucial battleground state, one that carries 20 electoral votes, along with it. Now, Mr. Bush won Ohio back in 2000 by about three percentage points, and the campaign is feeling confident about its chances in Ohio this time around.
Now the president at this hour is in Columbus, Ohio, one last stop to try and thank his supporters and those campaign staff members. The president arrived just a short time ago. Earlier, he cast his ballot at a firehouse near his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Mr. Bush spent the night in Crawford after a marathon day of campaigning yesterday, a tour that took him through six states in about 16 hours. Today at the firehouse Mr. Bush talked to reporters about how he was feeling now that his re-election bid is coming to a close.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is such a wonderful feeling to vote. This election is in the hands of the people, and I feel very comfortable about that. People know where I stand. I've enjoyed this campaign. It's been a fantastic experience traveling our country, talking about what I believe and where I'm going to lead this country for four more years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Now, after his stop in Ohio, Mr. Bush will head back here to Washington. White House spokesman says that the president will watch the election results from the residence here at the White House. Joining him expected to be family members, as well as some senior staff members -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Elaine, thanks for that. In Wisconsin, Senator Kerry is going back to Boston at this time and to cast his ballot. He'll watch the returns later tonight. He started his day, though, in Lacrosse. That's where Kelly is.
Good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATL. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, again, Bill.
Yes, on his way to Boston, not only to vote, but also to do something he's done on every Election Day of his political career, and that is to go to the same place for lunch and get a bowl of clam chowder.
Asked how he was feeling, aides say he's confident, but he is still fighting, and that was evident during his final stop here in the battleground state of Wisconsin. He was talking to supporters and volunteers. This is a state where you can register today and still cast your ballot in this election. If was a pretty feisty Senator Kerry. And he was talking about how he believes this election comes down to choices about the economy, health care, the war in Iraq. He said the decision now in the voters' hands.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's that magic moment when the greatest democracy on the face of the planet gets to show the world how we work and look at you all out here. You're out there in the morning, you're back here today, you're ready to go, you're going to get your neighbors out there to vote, and together we're going to change the direction of this country. We're going to put common sense and truth back into the decisions of this nation.
(APPLAUSE)
WALLACE: And before leaving here in La Crosse, Senator Kerry taking a picture with the traveling press corps. Many of these reporters traveling with him for most of the two years of this campaign.
One of the reporters asking the senator how he feels about the campaign coming to an end, and he said not -- quote -- "not over yet," still working until 8:00 p.m. tonight. We are told, in fact, the senator will be doing a series of interviews with television stations in key battleground states this afternoon.
Bill, aides say that they still feel very good, but they also believe they need to have record turnout. That's why the senator campaigning, really, until the very end -- Bill.
HEMMER: Kelly, thanks. Kelly Wallace there in La Crosse -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: If you look at the 2004 electoral map as a big old jigsaw puzzle, the candidate with the best pieces win the White House. Could Oregon or Minnesota be among this critical pieces tonight? Whether it's Bush or Kerry will probably turn on battleground states like those two.
Secretary of state Republican Mary Kiffmeyer is in St. Paul, Minnesota this morning.
Nice to see you. Thanks for being with us.
Let's start with this news out of Philadelphia this morning. Republican attorneys, as you may have heard, filing suit, hoping to impound some voting machines, apparently between four and seven machines in four polling places -- one, the machines apparently had some 400 votes or so registered on them already. The debate is whether those were improperly cast votes or whether that was old votes from something else, and actually according to some Democrats, those are numbers, there's two sets of numbers on those machines.
But my question for you is, is this an indication to you that this is going to be a night of lawyers, essentially, at the end of the day, we will not have an answer?
MARY KIFFMEYER (R), MINNESOTA SECY. OF STATE: Well, Soledad, the big thing here is, how close is it going to be? That will really make the critical, critical difference, but back to those kinds of equipment. When you check in your equipment, it can accidentally be that the machine was improperly zeroed out or wasn't effectively zeroed out in the part of the procedure. So maybe nothing real seriously wrong except at all except a human error situation, and I'm sure that the people in that state take that very seriously and are taking action as we speak. I'm confident of that.
O'BRIEN: I know that you've been to some polling places already this morning. How's it been going?
KIFFMEYER: Going great. Wow. Just lots and lots of people voting, young people, elderly people, moms with babies and dads, people on the way to work, college students, full of voters -- college polling place locations are full of voters, and just lots of activity. And inside the polling place, things are going quite well. Some of the polling place observers are complaining that they're a little bored. I said, well, we've a lot left to go yet today.
So a lot of good things going on, and there are always small issues and questions, especially as you open up polling places and get things going, but things are going much better than I would have expected in many ways.
O'BRIEN: Around the nation, we've seen long lines, lines that are snaking out the door and, frankly, down the street. Anecdotally, we've heard that some people are, in spite of those long lines, are kind of zipping in and out. What have you seen.
KIFFMEYER: Well, it's been a methodical process, as they register, as they vote, as they get their ballots, and as they're moving along, it's going very well.
I would say about the only report that is really of consequence right now, or question, in our state is MoveOn PAC has -- we've gotten reports about their presence being too close, maybe illegally electioneering within the distance of the polling place, that by law you should be outside that distance. So there is action going on right now to check into that. So other than those reports, things are really going very smoothly.
O'BRIEN: Bill Bradbury is a Democrat. He's the Oregon secretary of state. I want to turn to him for a moment.
Welcome. Thanks for being with us.
Eight-four percent of registered voters, you have said, will cast a ballot. Where are you getting those numbers from?
BILL BRADBURY (D), OREGON SECY. OF STATE: I think actually I was low, based on the turnouts we're getting right now in all of our vote- by-mail elections offices. I think it's probably going to be more like 86 or 87 percent. It's going to set a new record for the State of Oregon, because it's very clear that people are real concerned about expressing their will at this election.
O'BRIEN: Something like 85 percent of the voters in Oregon mail in their votes. How does that complicate the process -- slow down the process, frankly?
BRADBURY: Actually, it speeds up the process, because as you can see, we're right now counting ballots in Oregon so that we will announce -- at about 8:05 or 8:10 tonight, we will announce over 50 percent of the vote that's been cast in Oregon. And it's from all over the state. Because we start counting on election morning.
O'BRIEN: I want to play a little bit of what Howard Dean said to us a little bit earlier this morning when I asked him to predict when he thinks this will all be over. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD DEAN (D), FMR. VERMONT GOVERNOR: It's going to be close. There are 10 states that are very, very close. And I think there are going to be recounts asked for in some of those states. And I think the election is so close that we can't expect to know for sure who the next president's going to be probably until those recounts are done. And that may be for a couple of weeks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: I want to get both Bill and Mary to weigh in on this prediction from the former hopeful.
Bill, why don't you start? He says it could be weeks.
BRADBURY: I think we'll know -- here in Oregon, I think we'll know really clearly how this state has gone by about 9:00 tonight. I think it's going to be real clear, because so many votes from so many parts of the state are counted. It's the best poll you can do, which is to get a count from 50 percent of the voters.
O'BRIEN: And how about in Minnesota? What do you think, Mary?
KIFFMEYER: Well, I think it's going to take until the polls close and probably until midnight, 1:00, 2:00 in the morning before we have a substantial number of precincts reporting to get a real sign of a trend. But Minnesota, being a battleground state where it seems to be a virtual tie and very, very close, we'll really have to wait and see just how close it will be or how close it will be not.
And I'm certainly hoping that by midnight, 1:00, we at least get a good sense of the trend. By the way, hi, Bill, wish you well there in Oregon.
BRADBURY: Hi, Mary. We're doing great...
O'BRIEN: Lot of love there this morning. You guys, thanks so much for chatting with us. Mary Kiffmeyer and Bill Bradbury joining us this morning -- Bill?
HEMMER: There is some breaking news in the weather department. Want to get right away to Jacqui Jeras on that. Jacqui, what do you have in the south?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, a possible tornado for New Orleans. Right now, a tornado warning in effect includes Orleans Parish, Plaquemines, and also St. Bernard Parishes. This is a Doppler Radar-indicated tornado. There you can see it right there on radar, pushing on up to the north about 20 miles per hour. It's right across Highway 23 at this time. So, if you live on the east side of New Orleans, you do need to be taking cover right now.
Isolated severe storms are likely across eastern parts of Louisiana, extending on up into Mississippi later on today. And this is all part of a very vigorous storm system that's bringing in some wet weather across the lower-middle Mississippi River Valley all the way to the Ohio Valley and the Great Lakes -- Bill?
HEMMER: All right, Jacqui. Thanks for that update. Keep us posted, too, if you get more again out of Louisiana.
We know the celebrities have come out in force this year to back the candidate of their choice. Springsteen for Kerry, Schwarzenegger for Bush, and the list continues from there. Do these endorsements make a difference, and do Americans care?
Sibila Vargas tries to get an answer on that today from Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, MUSICIAN (singing): I believe in the promised land.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: The Boss.
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: I'm here to pump you up.
VARGAS: The Terminator.
CAROLE KING, MUSICIAN (singing): I feel the sky tumbling down... VARGAS: On the left, Carole King.
THE GATLIN BROTHERS, MUSICIANS (singing): ... by the dawn's early light...
VARGAS: On the right, The Gatlin Brothers. Celebrity turnout this presidential campaign has been unprecedented. There's no mystery why the candidates have embraced celebrity support.
MARTIN KAPLAN, UNIV. OF SOUTHERN CALIF.: Bruce Springsteen can get tens of thousands or more fans around John Kerry. And when you see that kind of adulation, when you see people jumping up and down, screaming and wildly cheering on television, it does translate.
JON BON JOVI, MUSICIAN (singing): ... living on a prayer.
VARGAS: An array of high-profile talent has lined up behind Senator Kerry. President Bush reportedly has support from stars like Britney Spears, Bruce Willis, and Kelsey Grammer, although it's mainly lower-profile names who have campaign for him publicly.
So, does any of this activity make a difference?
KAPLAN: My guess is that there are very few undecided voters who will make up their mind based on what a celebrity says. And if they do, you have to wonder about that voter.
VARGAS: And celebrity support can backfire. Whoopi Goldberg's off-color remarks at a Kerry event in July drew sharp Republican criticism.
ROB LOWE, ACTOR: Vote. It counts.
VARGAS: Where the stars may have the biggest impact is in promoting nonpartisan voter registration drives like Rock the Vote.
KAPLAN: It's entirely possible that these kinds of nonprofit, celebrity-driven efforts really will make a difference in increasing turnout and perhaps determining the outcome of this election.
VARGAS: As they say in show business, stay tuned.
Sibila Vargas, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Sibila, thanks for that.
Here in New York City, Upper East Side, P. Diddy just casting his ballot a short time ago. Sean Combs was our guest two hours ago, right? He's had this huge push to try and get young voters to the polls this time. He tells us today that the system has done very well in terms of activating young Americans across the country. We'll see at the end of the day how successful that has been or not. Sean Combs here in New York a short time ago. O'BRIEN: Amazing to see the media attention he commands when he just goes and votes. I think he has more cameras around him than the president had when he voted in Crawford, Texas, this morning.
HEMMER: And he debuted a new shirt today, too. Normally it's white with "Vote or Die," and today it was black with "Vote or Die." So, that's the cool one to get.
O'BRIEN: Big day, you know? That's how that works.
Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING -- whether you support President Bush or Senator Kerry, you have half a day of hope left. After that, the losers are going to have to console themselves. We'll take a look at that with Jack just ahead.
HEMMER: Also, only one poll really counts now. Bill Schneider on what kind of president the voters are really going to get. We'll talk to Bill in a moment.
O'BRIEN: And CNN's live primetime election coverage from the Nasdaq MarketSite beginning at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time. AMERICAN MORNING's back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY (R), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am the president of the Senate, the presiding officer. I'm at the Senate most Tuesdays when they're in session. The fist time I ever met you is when you walked on the stage tonight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: A picture from the road to the election. That was on October 5th, the vice presidential debate. You were hearing from the vice president, Dick Cheney.
Let's go back to Atlanta now and more Election Day coverage this AMERICAN MORNING. Daryn Kagan, Rick Sanchez in Atlanta for us this morning. Hey, guys.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Soledad.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, there.
You know, this neck-and-neck presidential race isn't the only contest that is going down to the wire in this election. The fight for the control of the Senate has also come down to a handful of crucial races.
SANCHEZ: Yeah. Here's CNN Congressional correspondent Ed Henry with details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-ND), MINORITY LEADER: Thank you all for coming.
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Down to the wire, nine states too close to call. Sounds like the presidential race, but this is the battle for the Senate -- also a nail biter.
SEN. JON CORZINE (D-NJ), DEM. SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN CMTE.: We think we're going to have a very, very tense Election Night as we see the returns come in.
SEN. GEORGE ALLEN, NATL. REPUB. SENATORIAL CMTE.: I go to sleep every night, OK, how is this one going.
HENRY: Republicans currently control the chamber with 51 seats. So Democrats need to pick up two seats to take the majority.
Democrats have been buoyed by strong poll numbers in red states like Colorado, where Ken Salazar is tied with Republican Pete Coors; and Kentucky, where miscues have landed Republican Jim Bunting in a tight race with upstart Daniel Mongiardo.
But Democratic gains could be wiped out in places like South Dakota, where Democratic leader Tom Daschle is in a dead heat. The Senate battlegrounds are mostly in states President Bush will carry by double digits. So Bush coattails, especially in the South, could be the Republican firewall.
CHUCK TODD, EDITOR, "THE HOTLINE": The Senate is at least within the grasp of the Democrats, but they would need to win pretty much every close race, and that doesn't seem likely at this point.
HENRY: Democrats will have a harder time taking back the House. Republicans crafted a redistricting map in Texas that may help them net five or more seats to offset Democratic gains elsewhere.
Thus, the focus on the Senate, where the stakes are high. If John Kerry wins, a Republican Senate would be a hindrance, a Democratic Senate a boon.
CORZINE: When he sends up legislation to Congress, we can get it shaped up.
HENRY: If President Bush wins, a Democratic Senate could put on the brakes, but a Republican Senate would pass more tax cuts and approve conservative judges.
ALLEN: This is what excites me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: The presidential candidates have been selling themselves and ideas to voters for years now. Are Americans really getting what they bargained for, or do you feel like you're ripped off?
Senior political analyst Bill Schneider is in New York to look at what the voters really wanted this year and what they got instead. Obviously a divided nation, Bill. What did these candidates not give Americans?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POL. ANALYST: I think Americans really wanted someone who could deliver from President Bush promised in 2000, in that campaign. After the Clinton years, when Americans were already deeply divided, Bush said, I intend to be a uniter, not a divider.
People saw that promise, they heard it, and they said, maybe Bush can deliver this; they thought he was a fairly moderate Republican, not tied to the Newt Gingrich crowd in Washington. So they voted for him, and look at this, we've ended up more divided that ever. What Americans want is someone who can unite the country. They don't think this Bush it, and they're not sure about John Kerry.
SANCHEZ: You mentioned Bill Clinton. Dick Morris said he did it through something called triangulation. I don't know if you got a chance to read his book. Some people said he just co-opted the Republicans ideas. Was George Bush not able to include some of those Democratic ideas?
SCHNEIDER: Yes, I don't think Bush really ever tried to triangulate, in that respect. He governed from the right, which was a big surprise to a lot of voters, who when they voted for Bush, he talked about himself as a compassionate conservative, he didn't seem terribly ideological; they associated him with his father, who was a fairly moderate Republican, who actually angered conservatives by raising taxes, but they thought the name Bush meant moderate, a man of good character, someone who wouldn't be particularly divisive, and look what happened.
SANCHEZ: All of us in this business of reporting have our experiences in city councils somewhere. Mine was in Miami Beach, where you just see some awful things said by people, really divisive campaigns. When I think back to this last campaign, I'm kind of reminded by that experience back on Miami Beach. Why has it been so does he divisive?
SCHNEIDER: Well, there's a short answer, and it's one word -- Iraq. For one year after September 11, from September 2001, when we were attacked to September 2002, the country was united. Even a majority of Democrats supported George Bush for one year, and the country held together, and we thought after 30 years of bitter divisions, going all the way to the '60s, maybe we would come together, then the Iraq war started and it all fell apart.
SANCHEZ: Bill, we're out of time. Thanks so much for being with us.
We'll be right back with more of AMERICAN MORNING.
HEMMER: One last chat question of the day.
Back to Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, 1500 of you wrote in to answer this question, how will you react if your guy loses today?
April in Missouri writs, "I think you'll find me in sackcloth and ashes, whipping myself with of a cat of nine tails and crying like a baby. The tears I shed will be for the country."
April, you me be taking this thing a little too seriously, you know what I'm saying.
Phil in Wadsworth, Ohio, "Mark my words, if Bush wins, within 10 days, the banks will be closed and the troops will be marching in the streets of New York. P.s., it's Veteran's Day."
And Georgette in Santa Morgan: "Jack, You should be thrilled about working an extra two hours this morning, not because that means you have a job, but because my family doesn't get up in 7:00 here on the West Coast, and can finally see your charming self. So cheer up and say hi to all the people on the West Coast, who may be wondering who is this guy and where is Daryn Kagan?"
O'BRIEN: Good e-mails today. Thanks, Jack.
We're out of here. We're out of time.
HEMMER: We've got to go.
O'BRIEN: Let's throw it back to Miles O'Brien, Kyra Phillips, will pick up in the next hours ahead, and we'll see you back here tomorrow for extended coverage.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 2, 2004 - 11:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It's Election Day, welcome back, 11:30 here in New York, 8:30 out in California. All the states except for Hawaii said to be voting now. Hawaii starts in about 30 minutes. In a few moments here, we'll check back with the campaigns, the Bush side, the Kerry side, see what they're doing on this Election Day to try and win a few more votes, and also we'll talk with two more secretaries of state, this time from Minnesota, and also from the state of Oregon, coming up this half hour.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also this morning, a pertinent question for day, how did America get so divided? Bill Schneider is going to join us in just a few moments, taking a look at some of the factors behind this election that's made is so hard to predict.
HEMMER: So hard.
O'BRIEN: Yeah.
But before that, let's go look at the other stories making news this morning that don't involve the elections. Heidi Collins at the newsdesk.
Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you guys.
And it's a story we've been telling about all morning, in fact. Police in Baghdad are investigating a car bombing near Iraq's ministry of education. At least six people were killed. One official says a burning car rammed through concrete walls and protected barriers around the offices, located in a busy commercial area. Eight people were injured in that attack.
One day after a suicide bombing in Israel, Israeli troops have destroyed homes belonging to people they say were responsible for the attack in Tel Aviv. Yesterday's blast at an open-air market left at least three people dead, more than 30 others wounded.
Aide workers are being stopped from doing their work in the Darfur region of Sudan. The Sudanese army and police surrounded refugee camps in Darfur today, denying humanitarian groups access. Aide workers have been evacuated out of several camps in the region now. More than one million people have been displaced by fighting between the government and rebels.
And here in the United States, closing arguments set to resume in the Scott Peterson case next hour. The defense will deliver its closing arguments in the double-murder trial. Jurors heard from the prosecution yesterday. Deliberations could begin as early as tomorrow. I can only imagine how tough it's going to be to come to a verdict if you are a jury member.
HEMMER: Thanks, Heidi.
President Bush just arrived in Columbus, Ohio for some 11th-hour campaigning. No Republican has ever won the White House without winning in the Buckeye State. The president will watch today's election returns back at the White House. That's where Elaine Quijano is this morning.
Also national correspondent Kelly Wallace in La Crosse, Wisconsin, covering the Kerry campaign.
Let's start with Elaine in Washington.
Good morning.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.
That's right, Ohio, a crucial battleground state, one that carries 20 electoral votes, along with it. Now, Mr. Bush won Ohio back in 2000 by about three percentage points, and the campaign is feeling confident about its chances in Ohio this time around.
Now the president at this hour is in Columbus, Ohio, one last stop to try and thank his supporters and those campaign staff members. The president arrived just a short time ago. Earlier, he cast his ballot at a firehouse near his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Mr. Bush spent the night in Crawford after a marathon day of campaigning yesterday, a tour that took him through six states in about 16 hours. Today at the firehouse Mr. Bush talked to reporters about how he was feeling now that his re-election bid is coming to a close.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is such a wonderful feeling to vote. This election is in the hands of the people, and I feel very comfortable about that. People know where I stand. I've enjoyed this campaign. It's been a fantastic experience traveling our country, talking about what I believe and where I'm going to lead this country for four more years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Now, after his stop in Ohio, Mr. Bush will head back here to Washington. White House spokesman says that the president will watch the election results from the residence here at the White House. Joining him expected to be family members, as well as some senior staff members -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Elaine, thanks for that. In Wisconsin, Senator Kerry is going back to Boston at this time and to cast his ballot. He'll watch the returns later tonight. He started his day, though, in Lacrosse. That's where Kelly is.
Good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATL. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, again, Bill.
Yes, on his way to Boston, not only to vote, but also to do something he's done on every Election Day of his political career, and that is to go to the same place for lunch and get a bowl of clam chowder.
Asked how he was feeling, aides say he's confident, but he is still fighting, and that was evident during his final stop here in the battleground state of Wisconsin. He was talking to supporters and volunteers. This is a state where you can register today and still cast your ballot in this election. If was a pretty feisty Senator Kerry. And he was talking about how he believes this election comes down to choices about the economy, health care, the war in Iraq. He said the decision now in the voters' hands.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's that magic moment when the greatest democracy on the face of the planet gets to show the world how we work and look at you all out here. You're out there in the morning, you're back here today, you're ready to go, you're going to get your neighbors out there to vote, and together we're going to change the direction of this country. We're going to put common sense and truth back into the decisions of this nation.
(APPLAUSE)
WALLACE: And before leaving here in La Crosse, Senator Kerry taking a picture with the traveling press corps. Many of these reporters traveling with him for most of the two years of this campaign.
One of the reporters asking the senator how he feels about the campaign coming to an end, and he said not -- quote -- "not over yet," still working until 8:00 p.m. tonight. We are told, in fact, the senator will be doing a series of interviews with television stations in key battleground states this afternoon.
Bill, aides say that they still feel very good, but they also believe they need to have record turnout. That's why the senator campaigning, really, until the very end -- Bill.
HEMMER: Kelly, thanks. Kelly Wallace there in La Crosse -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: If you look at the 2004 electoral map as a big old jigsaw puzzle, the candidate with the best pieces win the White House. Could Oregon or Minnesota be among this critical pieces tonight? Whether it's Bush or Kerry will probably turn on battleground states like those two.
Secretary of state Republican Mary Kiffmeyer is in St. Paul, Minnesota this morning.
Nice to see you. Thanks for being with us.
Let's start with this news out of Philadelphia this morning. Republican attorneys, as you may have heard, filing suit, hoping to impound some voting machines, apparently between four and seven machines in four polling places -- one, the machines apparently had some 400 votes or so registered on them already. The debate is whether those were improperly cast votes or whether that was old votes from something else, and actually according to some Democrats, those are numbers, there's two sets of numbers on those machines.
But my question for you is, is this an indication to you that this is going to be a night of lawyers, essentially, at the end of the day, we will not have an answer?
MARY KIFFMEYER (R), MINNESOTA SECY. OF STATE: Well, Soledad, the big thing here is, how close is it going to be? That will really make the critical, critical difference, but back to those kinds of equipment. When you check in your equipment, it can accidentally be that the machine was improperly zeroed out or wasn't effectively zeroed out in the part of the procedure. So maybe nothing real seriously wrong except at all except a human error situation, and I'm sure that the people in that state take that very seriously and are taking action as we speak. I'm confident of that.
O'BRIEN: I know that you've been to some polling places already this morning. How's it been going?
KIFFMEYER: Going great. Wow. Just lots and lots of people voting, young people, elderly people, moms with babies and dads, people on the way to work, college students, full of voters -- college polling place locations are full of voters, and just lots of activity. And inside the polling place, things are going quite well. Some of the polling place observers are complaining that they're a little bored. I said, well, we've a lot left to go yet today.
So a lot of good things going on, and there are always small issues and questions, especially as you open up polling places and get things going, but things are going much better than I would have expected in many ways.
O'BRIEN: Around the nation, we've seen long lines, lines that are snaking out the door and, frankly, down the street. Anecdotally, we've heard that some people are, in spite of those long lines, are kind of zipping in and out. What have you seen.
KIFFMEYER: Well, it's been a methodical process, as they register, as they vote, as they get their ballots, and as they're moving along, it's going very well.
I would say about the only report that is really of consequence right now, or question, in our state is MoveOn PAC has -- we've gotten reports about their presence being too close, maybe illegally electioneering within the distance of the polling place, that by law you should be outside that distance. So there is action going on right now to check into that. So other than those reports, things are really going very smoothly.
O'BRIEN: Bill Bradbury is a Democrat. He's the Oregon secretary of state. I want to turn to him for a moment.
Welcome. Thanks for being with us.
Eight-four percent of registered voters, you have said, will cast a ballot. Where are you getting those numbers from?
BILL BRADBURY (D), OREGON SECY. OF STATE: I think actually I was low, based on the turnouts we're getting right now in all of our vote- by-mail elections offices. I think it's probably going to be more like 86 or 87 percent. It's going to set a new record for the State of Oregon, because it's very clear that people are real concerned about expressing their will at this election.
O'BRIEN: Something like 85 percent of the voters in Oregon mail in their votes. How does that complicate the process -- slow down the process, frankly?
BRADBURY: Actually, it speeds up the process, because as you can see, we're right now counting ballots in Oregon so that we will announce -- at about 8:05 or 8:10 tonight, we will announce over 50 percent of the vote that's been cast in Oregon. And it's from all over the state. Because we start counting on election morning.
O'BRIEN: I want to play a little bit of what Howard Dean said to us a little bit earlier this morning when I asked him to predict when he thinks this will all be over. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD DEAN (D), FMR. VERMONT GOVERNOR: It's going to be close. There are 10 states that are very, very close. And I think there are going to be recounts asked for in some of those states. And I think the election is so close that we can't expect to know for sure who the next president's going to be probably until those recounts are done. And that may be for a couple of weeks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: I want to get both Bill and Mary to weigh in on this prediction from the former hopeful.
Bill, why don't you start? He says it could be weeks.
BRADBURY: I think we'll know -- here in Oregon, I think we'll know really clearly how this state has gone by about 9:00 tonight. I think it's going to be real clear, because so many votes from so many parts of the state are counted. It's the best poll you can do, which is to get a count from 50 percent of the voters.
O'BRIEN: And how about in Minnesota? What do you think, Mary?
KIFFMEYER: Well, I think it's going to take until the polls close and probably until midnight, 1:00, 2:00 in the morning before we have a substantial number of precincts reporting to get a real sign of a trend. But Minnesota, being a battleground state where it seems to be a virtual tie and very, very close, we'll really have to wait and see just how close it will be or how close it will be not.
And I'm certainly hoping that by midnight, 1:00, we at least get a good sense of the trend. By the way, hi, Bill, wish you well there in Oregon.
BRADBURY: Hi, Mary. We're doing great...
O'BRIEN: Lot of love there this morning. You guys, thanks so much for chatting with us. Mary Kiffmeyer and Bill Bradbury joining us this morning -- Bill?
HEMMER: There is some breaking news in the weather department. Want to get right away to Jacqui Jeras on that. Jacqui, what do you have in the south?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, a possible tornado for New Orleans. Right now, a tornado warning in effect includes Orleans Parish, Plaquemines, and also St. Bernard Parishes. This is a Doppler Radar-indicated tornado. There you can see it right there on radar, pushing on up to the north about 20 miles per hour. It's right across Highway 23 at this time. So, if you live on the east side of New Orleans, you do need to be taking cover right now.
Isolated severe storms are likely across eastern parts of Louisiana, extending on up into Mississippi later on today. And this is all part of a very vigorous storm system that's bringing in some wet weather across the lower-middle Mississippi River Valley all the way to the Ohio Valley and the Great Lakes -- Bill?
HEMMER: All right, Jacqui. Thanks for that update. Keep us posted, too, if you get more again out of Louisiana.
We know the celebrities have come out in force this year to back the candidate of their choice. Springsteen for Kerry, Schwarzenegger for Bush, and the list continues from there. Do these endorsements make a difference, and do Americans care?
Sibila Vargas tries to get an answer on that today from Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, MUSICIAN (singing): I believe in the promised land.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: The Boss.
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: I'm here to pump you up.
VARGAS: The Terminator.
CAROLE KING, MUSICIAN (singing): I feel the sky tumbling down... VARGAS: On the left, Carole King.
THE GATLIN BROTHERS, MUSICIANS (singing): ... by the dawn's early light...
VARGAS: On the right, The Gatlin Brothers. Celebrity turnout this presidential campaign has been unprecedented. There's no mystery why the candidates have embraced celebrity support.
MARTIN KAPLAN, UNIV. OF SOUTHERN CALIF.: Bruce Springsteen can get tens of thousands or more fans around John Kerry. And when you see that kind of adulation, when you see people jumping up and down, screaming and wildly cheering on television, it does translate.
JON BON JOVI, MUSICIAN (singing): ... living on a prayer.
VARGAS: An array of high-profile talent has lined up behind Senator Kerry. President Bush reportedly has support from stars like Britney Spears, Bruce Willis, and Kelsey Grammer, although it's mainly lower-profile names who have campaign for him publicly.
So, does any of this activity make a difference?
KAPLAN: My guess is that there are very few undecided voters who will make up their mind based on what a celebrity says. And if they do, you have to wonder about that voter.
VARGAS: And celebrity support can backfire. Whoopi Goldberg's off-color remarks at a Kerry event in July drew sharp Republican criticism.
ROB LOWE, ACTOR: Vote. It counts.
VARGAS: Where the stars may have the biggest impact is in promoting nonpartisan voter registration drives like Rock the Vote.
KAPLAN: It's entirely possible that these kinds of nonprofit, celebrity-driven efforts really will make a difference in increasing turnout and perhaps determining the outcome of this election.
VARGAS: As they say in show business, stay tuned.
Sibila Vargas, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Sibila, thanks for that.
Here in New York City, Upper East Side, P. Diddy just casting his ballot a short time ago. Sean Combs was our guest two hours ago, right? He's had this huge push to try and get young voters to the polls this time. He tells us today that the system has done very well in terms of activating young Americans across the country. We'll see at the end of the day how successful that has been or not. Sean Combs here in New York a short time ago. O'BRIEN: Amazing to see the media attention he commands when he just goes and votes. I think he has more cameras around him than the president had when he voted in Crawford, Texas, this morning.
HEMMER: And he debuted a new shirt today, too. Normally it's white with "Vote or Die," and today it was black with "Vote or Die." So, that's the cool one to get.
O'BRIEN: Big day, you know? That's how that works.
Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING -- whether you support President Bush or Senator Kerry, you have half a day of hope left. After that, the losers are going to have to console themselves. We'll take a look at that with Jack just ahead.
HEMMER: Also, only one poll really counts now. Bill Schneider on what kind of president the voters are really going to get. We'll talk to Bill in a moment.
O'BRIEN: And CNN's live primetime election coverage from the Nasdaq MarketSite beginning at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time. AMERICAN MORNING's back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY (R), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am the president of the Senate, the presiding officer. I'm at the Senate most Tuesdays when they're in session. The fist time I ever met you is when you walked on the stage tonight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: A picture from the road to the election. That was on October 5th, the vice presidential debate. You were hearing from the vice president, Dick Cheney.
Let's go back to Atlanta now and more Election Day coverage this AMERICAN MORNING. Daryn Kagan, Rick Sanchez in Atlanta for us this morning. Hey, guys.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Soledad.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, there.
You know, this neck-and-neck presidential race isn't the only contest that is going down to the wire in this election. The fight for the control of the Senate has also come down to a handful of crucial races.
SANCHEZ: Yeah. Here's CNN Congressional correspondent Ed Henry with details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-ND), MINORITY LEADER: Thank you all for coming.
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Down to the wire, nine states too close to call. Sounds like the presidential race, but this is the battle for the Senate -- also a nail biter.
SEN. JON CORZINE (D-NJ), DEM. SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN CMTE.: We think we're going to have a very, very tense Election Night as we see the returns come in.
SEN. GEORGE ALLEN, NATL. REPUB. SENATORIAL CMTE.: I go to sleep every night, OK, how is this one going.
HENRY: Republicans currently control the chamber with 51 seats. So Democrats need to pick up two seats to take the majority.
Democrats have been buoyed by strong poll numbers in red states like Colorado, where Ken Salazar is tied with Republican Pete Coors; and Kentucky, where miscues have landed Republican Jim Bunting in a tight race with upstart Daniel Mongiardo.
But Democratic gains could be wiped out in places like South Dakota, where Democratic leader Tom Daschle is in a dead heat. The Senate battlegrounds are mostly in states President Bush will carry by double digits. So Bush coattails, especially in the South, could be the Republican firewall.
CHUCK TODD, EDITOR, "THE HOTLINE": The Senate is at least within the grasp of the Democrats, but they would need to win pretty much every close race, and that doesn't seem likely at this point.
HENRY: Democrats will have a harder time taking back the House. Republicans crafted a redistricting map in Texas that may help them net five or more seats to offset Democratic gains elsewhere.
Thus, the focus on the Senate, where the stakes are high. If John Kerry wins, a Republican Senate would be a hindrance, a Democratic Senate a boon.
CORZINE: When he sends up legislation to Congress, we can get it shaped up.
HENRY: If President Bush wins, a Democratic Senate could put on the brakes, but a Republican Senate would pass more tax cuts and approve conservative judges.
ALLEN: This is what excites me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: The presidential candidates have been selling themselves and ideas to voters for years now. Are Americans really getting what they bargained for, or do you feel like you're ripped off?
Senior political analyst Bill Schneider is in New York to look at what the voters really wanted this year and what they got instead. Obviously a divided nation, Bill. What did these candidates not give Americans?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POL. ANALYST: I think Americans really wanted someone who could deliver from President Bush promised in 2000, in that campaign. After the Clinton years, when Americans were already deeply divided, Bush said, I intend to be a uniter, not a divider.
People saw that promise, they heard it, and they said, maybe Bush can deliver this; they thought he was a fairly moderate Republican, not tied to the Newt Gingrich crowd in Washington. So they voted for him, and look at this, we've ended up more divided that ever. What Americans want is someone who can unite the country. They don't think this Bush it, and they're not sure about John Kerry.
SANCHEZ: You mentioned Bill Clinton. Dick Morris said he did it through something called triangulation. I don't know if you got a chance to read his book. Some people said he just co-opted the Republicans ideas. Was George Bush not able to include some of those Democratic ideas?
SCHNEIDER: Yes, I don't think Bush really ever tried to triangulate, in that respect. He governed from the right, which was a big surprise to a lot of voters, who when they voted for Bush, he talked about himself as a compassionate conservative, he didn't seem terribly ideological; they associated him with his father, who was a fairly moderate Republican, who actually angered conservatives by raising taxes, but they thought the name Bush meant moderate, a man of good character, someone who wouldn't be particularly divisive, and look what happened.
SANCHEZ: All of us in this business of reporting have our experiences in city councils somewhere. Mine was in Miami Beach, where you just see some awful things said by people, really divisive campaigns. When I think back to this last campaign, I'm kind of reminded by that experience back on Miami Beach. Why has it been so does he divisive?
SCHNEIDER: Well, there's a short answer, and it's one word -- Iraq. For one year after September 11, from September 2001, when we were attacked to September 2002, the country was united. Even a majority of Democrats supported George Bush for one year, and the country held together, and we thought after 30 years of bitter divisions, going all the way to the '60s, maybe we would come together, then the Iraq war started and it all fell apart.
SANCHEZ: Bill, we're out of time. Thanks so much for being with us.
We'll be right back with more of AMERICAN MORNING.
HEMMER: One last chat question of the day.
Back to Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, 1500 of you wrote in to answer this question, how will you react if your guy loses today?
April in Missouri writs, "I think you'll find me in sackcloth and ashes, whipping myself with of a cat of nine tails and crying like a baby. The tears I shed will be for the country."
April, you me be taking this thing a little too seriously, you know what I'm saying.
Phil in Wadsworth, Ohio, "Mark my words, if Bush wins, within 10 days, the banks will be closed and the troops will be marching in the streets of New York. P.s., it's Veteran's Day."
And Georgette in Santa Morgan: "Jack, You should be thrilled about working an extra two hours this morning, not because that means you have a job, but because my family doesn't get up in 7:00 here on the West Coast, and can finally see your charming self. So cheer up and say hi to all the people on the West Coast, who may be wondering who is this guy and where is Daryn Kagan?"
O'BRIEN: Good e-mails today. Thanks, Jack.
We're out of here. We're out of time.
HEMMER: We've got to go.
O'BRIEN: Let's throw it back to Miles O'Brien, Kyra Phillips, will pick up in the next hours ahead, and we'll see you back here tomorrow for extended coverage.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
