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Ballot Bowl '08 - New Hampshire Run-up
Aired January 06, 2008 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: That's it for us. I'm Wolf Blitzer at the CNN election center in New York. For our international viewers, world news is next.
For our North American viewers, CNN's special election coverage of the "Ballot Bowl" begins right now.
JOHN KING, CNN HOST: Good afternoon from Portsmouth, New Hampshire along the New England seacoast. I'm John King. Welcome to the CNN "Ballot Bowl." In a word, wow. Fiercely contested race for president on both the Democratic and the Republican side.
The polls close with just two days to go of campaigning before the first in the nation New Hampshire presidential primary. We have new poll numbers for you. We have highlights from two contentious debates last night. Lots of political news to cover today but let's get right first to what the "Ballot Bowl" is all about. A chance for you to see and hear the candidates for president, Democrat and Republican in their own words. Live events across the state of New Hampshire today, as candidates campaign feverishly in advance of Tuesday's primary.
As we speak, Republican John McCain campaigning, the former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney also a Republican, he is campaigning live at this moment. John Edwards, the former Democratic senator from North Carolina, campaigning live at this moment as he tries to seek the Democratic presidential nomination. We'll begin this hour with the man who at the moment is leading the Republican race in New Hampshire. He won here in 2000 only to be derailed later in South Carolina by George W. Bush. Written off for a lost candidate for most of the summer, John McCain believes he can get back in the driver's seat in the race for the Republican nomination. He's holding a town hall meeting in the New Hampshire town of Salem and one of the members of the best political team on television, Dana Bash, is there with him. Dana?
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, John McCain is having a very interesting, very heated exchange with a voter, an independent voter right behind me, challenging him on his position on tax cuts. Let's take a listen.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Go ahead.
UNIDENTFIED MALE: I'm sorry. But I followed you very closely, and you opposed tax cuts. And right now ...
MCCAIN: I think I explained why I opposed them. Go ahead, please.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. I guess there's nothing more to say. Thank you, senator.
MCCAIN: Well, I thank you. But keep the microphone if you like. We've got -- one more time. I understand your point, and the problem with the Reagan years is we did pass spending cuts and then Congress did not stay with them. And, unfortunately, a bad deal was made with some of the Democrat leaders of Congress where we abandoned those spending cuts. I still think those spending cuts would have been effective and they would have then not accumulated the deficits that we did. But go ahead and respond one more time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not sure if I really have anything to respond to, only that -- I think a lot of independents, the national press is putting -- you know, outlining the situation where we're -- you know, independents are choosing between Obama and Hillary or something like that and I think a lot of independents are trying to decide between Hillary and you or Obama and you. I think independents are much less patisan than what's being framed. And one of the things from all of the independents I know, they consider the deficit very important, especially pork, the interest expense pork program what do you plan to do to curb that? And how can we have assurances that won't continue as it did under Ronald Reagan and under George Bush. And that's all.
Thank you, Senator.
MCCAIN: Thank you. Look, I commit to you, and I've committed to the American people, I will keep tax rates low. I think they are important that the American people, with a difficult economic time, not experience a tax increase in any way. But at the same time, I'm committed to spending cuts and I will veto those bills. That's what I said earlier, I will veto them and get the tax code fixed so that it encourages - you're an accountant, so that it encourages savings and investment, which it does not do today. I guarantee you I will fund any expansion of government or any increased spending, any increase in the size of government with spending cuts. I commit that to you. And I thank you for being here and I appreciate it.
Yes, sir.
KING: We're going to leave Senator McCain campaigning in Salem, New Hampshire, and we'll be back to Senator McCain and Dana Bash later in the day as we continue our coverage here of the CNN "Ballot Bowl." We want to go quickly over to Nashua, New Hampshire, though, where another Republican candidate, the former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, is campaigning, let's listen in.
MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... appropriations bills that exceed inflation less one percent. We're going to rein in excessive spending.
Everywhere I've gone in New Hampshire and across the country, people keep telling me there is one story after another about a veteran that's not getting the care he or she deserves. There are all of these catch 22s. It's a military term that applies in spades to -- in an unusual way to our -- to our military program, and as a result we're going to have to go through and evaluate all of our veterans programs, make sure what's fair, what's not fair, fill in the gaps and make sure we take care of our veterans properly. This is health insurance for everyone. I don't mean to stop the applause. I do that now and then.
This is health insurance for everyone. There are two approaches to health insurance. Only two. One is a Democrat way. Which is to say we're going to have government take over health care and run it and give you insurance if that happens, I don't want to show up at the hospital emergency room and have the guys that ran Katrina taking my blood pressure. I do not want that.
The other way to make health care work is to get everybody in the system with private, free market insurance to get health care working like a market. I listen to the other fellows even on the Republican side last night. They have got ideas, but don't get everybody insured. A lot of people have ideas, a lot of people have plans. But you saw it across the border. I got the job done, and that's what we need in Washington as well.
(inaudible) You were worried that I was, and there's another page of them. I won't go through every one of these because I want to make sure I get to your questions. We can end our dependence on foreign oil, we can shrink and make simpler our federal government, we can grow our economy and keep good jobs, we can fix Social Security. I love listening to people who say let me give you some direct language, let me tell you the truth and that is Social Security is broken. We all know that. The question is what are they going to do to fix it. And most politicians won't answer that. I will. And I know how we're going to fix Social Security. Put the people ahead of the selfish interests. There are so many lobbyists in Washington at the elbows of the politicians. I don't have to get elected with the support of lobbyists in my campaign. I have received more contributions for my campaign from more people than any other candidate running for president.
And my biggest contribution came from my wife who said, OK, take some of our money and put it in as well. I don't have to answer to anybody but the American people and finally, the last one down there says strengthen our families. You saw a -- a small segment of my family.
The reason I'm in this race is I want to make sure that as America goes through this turbulent time of change that America remains the world's most powerful nation. I don't envision a world where some other nation is the super power and where we're a second tier power, because the world in that case is a world that would be very frightening indeed. America will stand for freedom itself and freedom loving people around the world. We are a good nation. I don't ever apologize for America.
Do we make mistakes? Of course. Any group of human beings make mistakes. But we always act out of interests to protect that which is good and peaceful. We are a great and promising nation, and I will strengthen our families, because I recognize that to keep America strong, the single most important thing we can do is have good families, with moms and dads and uncles and aunts and cousins and grandparents who invested themselves their visions and values in their kids.
I will strengthen America's families with good schools and good health care and by the way with a wife and that goes out and teaches kids that before they have babies they should get married. That's going to be key.
This is going to be a time of choice of our party. We have to have somebody as a nominee that will stand up to Barack Obama, who I think could very well be their nominee. He'll stand up and talk about change, he hadn't ever done it. But he'll talk about change and he'll be able to stand up as he is right now against long-serving U.S. senators who talk about their experience. He just blows them away.
Are we going to do the same thing and put up another long serving U.S. senator up against him for him to talk about, or are we going to put somebody up -- I hope it's me - somebody up who has spent his lifetime not just in politics, not in Washington, but changing things, changing businesses for the better, changing the Olympics for the better, changing the state for the better. Not just by myself. I don't do that by myself. I do it with a great team of people that come together to help make change. I will change Washington and I look forward going toe to toe with Barack Obama, or if not Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton. I can't wait to meet Hillary Clinton face to face.
KING: We're going to leave this Mitt Romney event in Nashua, New Hampshire right now. You've heard from John McCain on the Republican side and Mitt Romney on the Republican side. In just a moment we'll check in in on some of the Democrats.
As we speak, John Edwards, the former senator from North Carolina campaigning in Manchester. Hillary Clinton, senator from New York, the former first lady, campaigning across town in Nashua. The same town Mitt Romney is this hour.
A quick reminder of why we're here this hour. This is the CNN "Ballot Bowl." A chance for us to let us see and hear the candidates in their own words. Unfiltered snippets, live events across New Hampshire today. Our political team tracking them. Two days of campaigning before the incredibly competitive first in the nation presidential primary in the state of New Hampshire. We want you to hear the candidates talk about the economy, about Iraq, about health care and every other issue. Let's dip in right now, John Edwards, the former senator of North Carolina, campaigning in Manchester.
JOHN EDWARDS, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: First test, status quo versus change. Second test, are you willing to fight for the change? I'll let you talk. Let me finish.
I got to tell you -- I got to tell you a funny story. Before I -- I'll give you the third criteria in a second. The funny story, I had some of the reporters ask me after one of the events, Elizabeth had just said something and one of the reporters said, so, does she talk to you about what she's going to say before she says it? And I said have you met Elizabeth?
So, status quo versus change, second, are you willing to fight for it third criteria is, is it personal for you? And I can't overemphasize how big of a deal that is. Because I've seen politicians up close. If it is a personal call. If you believe it in here, the reason that matters is because when the tough fight comes you won't walk away, you won't back down. You will fight your way through it.
If it's politically motivated or it's academic or philosophical. When the tough fight comes, you will make a deal, you'll cover yourself, you'll do the political thing. So if I were looking for a president, I would be looking for somebody who is for change, not status quo. I would be looking for somebody who is willing to fight for that change and third, I'd be looking for somebody that takes the fight for change personally.
And by the way, the great American presidents, all met all three of those tests. Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt. Harry Truman, you name it if they were a great transformational figure in American history as president, they met every one of those tests.
ELIZABETH EDWARDS, JOHN EDWARDS' WIFE: I wanted to say something about criteria number two. Because a lot is made of that by some of the other candidates. Zarkizian (ph) family did what a lot of the other candidates are suggesting you do. They said well, we need signatures from doctors, so they would get them and we need this, so they would get them. They went to the Web page. Cigna Web page said they covered transplants, and they said you did and they kept talking and talking.
It's only when the people -- when they motivated the people and indicated we are truly going to fight this decision by you, when they had people calling and people marching when Grigor (ph) was himself spending the day himself in front of headquarters, that's when they finally got the result -- too late, but the result that they deserved in the first place, and the insurance company just kept springing them out, as we know they do all the time. Stringing them out.
This -- the desire to fight won't just -- or the failure to fight doesn't just mean we don't get universal health care. The failure to fight means that people die. That Natalie's life was a consequence of a -- of -- was hanging in the balance because they did what the corporate -- they did what the corporations asked them to do. Just talk to us about this, and meet this next criteria, fill out this form. We can't do that anymore, not if really we want to save Natalie's life and the life of the other children.
This room is filled with children, as we often hear in the quiet moments, and I want you to look at each one of them and say which one's life are you going to turn into the hands of Cigna or another insurance company? The decision has to be none of them and there's only one way to make that happen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible) When you get to the White House what is your (inaudible)? E. EDWARDS: I'm going to do it really briefly. I'm an involuntary soldier. Should have been before. But now an involuntary soldier in the war against breast cancer and the war against all cancers.
Education, awareness, also meeting the needs of cancer patients that are unmet even by insurance, things like who will take care of children while you are having chemotherapy, issues like that, if you don't have the means to do it. Those are impediments to getting the kinds of services, helping with those kinds of things and also trying to do what Lance Armstrong has been great in doing, and raising the awareness for research.
We used to have eight and 10 research grant approved. Now we have five and 10 approved and even those are not - existing grants aren't being funded. So try to advocate on behalf of research. Those of you who don't know, we also lost a child in 1996, and in his name we opened -- because we too wanted to make certainty his death meant something and his life meant something, we opened a computer lab for young people. I worked over there for a couple years and I saw the difference it made for leveling the playing field.
We talk about equality of education in America all the time and then we don't practice it with our children even in education so this means that kids who didn't have access to computers in the afternoon or a tutor could get services at this center. I would advocate for them around the country. Truth be known ...
KING: You are listening there to a John Edwards event in Manchester, New Hampshire. Whether you're a Democrat or Republican or independent, one of the more inspiring stories in the fascinating campaign year, Elizabeth Edwards out campaigning for her husband, John, while continuing her own personal battle against cancer.
A quick reminder, you're watching the CNN "Ballot Bowl", our chance to give you, the viewer, an opportunity to listen and hear the candidates for president in their own words. Live events, large snippets from their speeches, also analysis from the best political team on television. We have so much more ground to cover today. The candidates are out all across New Hampshire today, just two days of campaigning left before New Hampshire's leadoff presidential primary on Tuesday.
Hotly contested races on both the Democratic and Republican side. You just heard from John Edwards there. Earlier, Mitt Romney and John McCain. And when we come back, Senator Hillary Clinton who stumbled to a third place finish in Iowa, trying to revive her campaign in the state of New Hampshire.
We'll check in with Suzanne Malveaux. We have correspondents across New Hampshire. Please stay with us. We thank you for sharing some of your Sunday with us today. Also tonight, a dramatic event for you, special event for you on CNN. A replay of a contentious and informative debates here in the state of New Hampshire last night. ABC News sitting down for Democratic and Republican debates. Some crackling moments. Insightful moments. We will replay the debates for you tonight and also provide our own insight and analysis. That beginning at 7:00 tonight. Here on CNN. A remarkable full day of presidential politics. Stay with us. You're watching the CNN "Ballot Bowl."
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KING: Live pictures. Live pictures at this moment of four of the candidates for president campaigning here in the leadoff primary state in New Hampshire, on the Democratic side. Senator Hillary Clinton and former Senator John Edwards. And on the Republican side, Senator John McCain and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. All campaigning for president feverishly. Two days left to campaign before the first in the nation presidential primary here in New Hampshire.
Perhaps the stakes highest for the candidate once the runaway Democratic front runner and placed third in the Iowa caucuses. Senator Hillary Clinton. The former first lady of the United States who had made experience her calling card. Now making the case that she, not Barack Obama the best candidate to provide change. Watching Hillary Clinton, one of the members of the best political team on television. Let's check in now with Suzanne Malveaux.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, this is really a campaign that's dramatically changed if you will. Just over the last 24 hours here it is much more aggressive. They have gone on the offense here, just some new lines from what we just heard moments ago inside of this high school. She said elect a doer, not a talker. She is talking about Senator Barack Obama. She went on to say separate the rhetoric from the reality and then she goes on a litany of examples that her campaign is trying to paint him as being inconsistent when it comes to the PATRIOT Act, energy legislation, even Iraq War funding. She goes through all of this, and she says that's not change, that's not change. The audience joined in with her, saying that's not change. Let's take a quick listen. She's taking questions from the audience now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to thank you for commitments in your campaign plan to global aid (ph). To making (inaudible) access (ph) affordable. Thank you for that. Wow! Right on!
And I know it's something your husband is working very passionately as well. And it's so key because when we're talking about the failures of the Bush presidency this is one area where they are consistently blocked those important efforts with their pro-corporate trade policies and what I want to ask you now is to take action now. There is a resolution in the Senate right now, which would reaffirmed the United States commitment to the Doha Declaration which is an agreement that increases access to medications around the world.
And I wanted you to show you're serious on these commitments to show us the leadership on this important global health issue and cosponsor this resolution right now. Will you cosponsor the resolution in the Senate right now that will increase access to medications to all those who need it around the world? SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes. I supported the Doha Declaration and I will support a re-affirmation of the Doha Declaration. Yes. I will. For those of you who might not know what the young man was talking about, he was a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya working on HIV/AIDS and I have a very comprehensive global AIDS proposal that I will work to implement as president.
But one of the stumbling blocks has been the difficulty of us getting the price of the drugs low enough so that poor countries could afford them and then distribute them to their people. And the principal reason for the obstacle has been our pharmaceutical industry. It has been a battle to try to get costs down. We've gotten them down slowly. But they are not low enough and therefore, hundreds of thousands if not millions of people are denied these life-saving interventions from the drugs that can keep them going.
And so I will. I'm going to do everything I can. Now, there are ways of getting around it, which I also support. We've worked -- I worked to help get us a point where we could have emergency declarations and waivers, but we need to change the policy, and I will do that.
Yes. Up there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Clinton, hi. On behalf of the Irish American community. Any Irish Americans here? Can I say a thank you for the work the Clinton administration did in bringing peace to my country.
Your administration was advised not to get involved in Ireland. It could be solved. No one could solve it. You and your husband came and in the words of John Hume, our great peace leader, there are hundreds of Irish people alive today in Ireland because of your intervention. Thank you very much.
CLINTON: Let me just say a quick word about this. Because I want you to have some idea of how I think about the role that the president and our country can play in supporting those that take risks for peace. I want us to get back in the business of being a peacemaker. And ...
And I was very privileged to work on behalf of the peace process in Northern Ireland. I actually went to Northern Ireland more than my husband did. Because I was working to help change attitudes among people. Because, you know, leaders alone rarely can make peace. They have to bring people along who will believe that peace is in their interest. And I remember a meeting that I pulled together in Belfast in the town hall there, bringing together for the first time Catholics and Protestants from both traditions, having them sit in a room where they have never been before with each other. Because they don't go to school together, they don't live together and it was only in large measure because I really asked them to come that they were there, and I wasn't sure it was going to be very successful.
And finally a Catholic woman on one side of the table said, you know, every time my husband leaves for work in the morning, I worry that he won't come home at night. And then a Protestant woman on the other side said every time my son leaves to go out at night, I worry that he won't come home again, and suddenly instead of seeing each other as caricatures and stereotypes, they saw each other as human beings, and the slow, hard work of peacemaking could move forward.
We can never, ever, as United States of America, the beacon of peace and freedom and opportunity and liberty, we can never, ever give up on helping to bring peace, and I will be a president who understands that and works to make that happen.
MALVEAUX: Senator Hillary Clinton before about 2,000 people inside the auditorium. 800 people in the flow over section, John. Clearly there is a lot of enthusiasm among this crowd as she delivers what some of her answers are to some of their questions. This is a very new format for her, really just 48 hours old. We saw this yesterday, but essentially throwing away the script here and deciding that she is going to tackle all of the issues, all of the things that people want to know about her.
The whole idea behind this is trying to make the case she has experience, she has specific ideas in mind. How to handle situations, be it the Iraq War, be it her health care plan, and talking to aides today who asked about the debate, there was certainly a moment last night where it was Senator John Edwards, Barack Obama, both of them saying they were agents of change and that she was the status quo. Somewhat ganging up on her if you will. She became visibly angry, she raised her voice, I asked an aide about that, did it help, did it hurt her?
And he essentially said, look, she is fighting now, and she is going to come out strong. So much for the likeability factor, it is more important for her to be aggressive. To take this on. They say if she doesn't -- if people don't like her, they don't like her. And they have to see her as a strong candidate. Especially when it's kind of a two to one situation. That is how they are framing this fight now.
And they are saying that this is -- every time he talks about words and rhetoric, they will throughout the reality check and they are going to ask Barack Obama specifically about plans, what he want to do and how he's going to do it and they are essentially going to say, where is the beef? John?
KING: Suzanne, one of the interesting things last night after the debate. Complaints from Hillary campaign, also complaints from Hillary campaign supporters, Hillary supporters, we saw in New Hampshire that she is somehow held to a different standard, because she was the first lady, because she is of course the wife of Bill Clinton who had his own political career.
They complain she is being held to a different standard than say Senator Obama or Senator Edwards. What exactly do they mean by that?
MALVEAUX: Well, they are certainly trying to make that case. We've had a conference call that happened with aides early this morning where they were essentially telling reporters, well, take a look at this, take a look at this. And they believe there are some real inconsistencies on his positions, whether it's the PATRIOT Act, whether it's energy legislation, whether it's funding the Iraq War, there are certain statements that were made, running for the Senate. That ultimately they ended up voting for things that didn't seem quite match up.
So that is what they're talking about here. They're saying let's peel back the layers, let's take a good look at his record here, they believe he's not as consistent as he's portraying himself to be. Clearly, this is a battle, John, this is a fight, John, that has really ratcheted up. They know that they are fighting for every vote. We've seen it in the way that they are bringing the young people, addressing them now. Much more aggressively catering to them. And also how they are taking all of the questions here, it's all very strategic here.
And they want to make it know, they believe if they can prove that they have experience to bring about change, that they she is going to be the candidate that will emerge, John.
KING: The urgency, urgency is quite an understatement when it comes to the pressure on Hillary Clinton right now.
Suzanne, thank you very much. More with Suzanne and more glimpses of Hillary Clinton as the CNN "Ballot Bowl" continues today.
Your opportunity to see the candidates. And extended versions of the candidates, snippets of their live events, also speech segments from their campaigning here in New Hampshire. When we come back from a break, though, as the CNN "Ballot Bowl" continues more on a fascinating night last night.
Both the Republicans and the Democrats sitting down to debate. And between the debates a remarkable moment. A unique moment in this campaign, both the Democrats and the Republican candidates sharing a stage briefly together here in New Hampshire.
And we should remind you that tonight, CNN will bring you a replay of those debates. ABC News and our affiliate WMUR having both the Democrats and Republicans sit down. They were insightful, contentious, crackling debates. CNN will bring them to you again in a replay tonight. And also provide analysis from the best political team on television.
That at 7:00 Eastern, beginning here on CNN. More of our "Ballot Bowl" on the other side with Dan Lothian, our Boston bureau chief and another member of the best political team on television. Stay with us. Thanks for sharing your Sunday afternoon with us. You're watching the CNN "Ballot Bowl."
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KING: Welcome back to the CNN "Ballot Bowl." Live presidential events all day long. I'm John King reporting live from Portsmouth, New Hampshire along the New England seacoast. Live presidential events all day long as we bring you the candidates in their own words two days in advance of the leadoff presidential primary here in the state of New Hampshire. Campaigning as we speak at the moment. Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton of New York. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Arizona Senator John McCain. Romney and McCain, two Republicans in the contested ballot right here.
So there were remarkable debates last night on both sides, both the Democrats and the Republicans sitting down, keeping track of all of that, and one of the most fascinating changes on quite interesting night is our Boston bureau chief, Dan Lothian who joins us now live from Manchester. Dan?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, we've been hearing from Senator Hillary Clinton, and the debate was especially critical for her, this was the first time that she had a chance to sit down with the new front-runner on the Democratic side of the ticket, Senator Barack Obama since she lost in Iowa, and they dealt with issues of immigration to health care to terrorism.
But there was also a lot of talk about change and experience, and at times, things get a bit testy. Here is just a slice from last night's debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J. EDWARDS: I'm glad that people like me, Hillary.
CHARLIE GIBSON, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: ... his prior executive experience and his relative youth a detriment?
EDWARDS: No, what matters, we had a lot of conversation about the first day in the white house. I think we ought to picture what that first day in the White House would be for each of us. I'll just speak for myself. I'm the candidate that has never taken a dime from a Washington lobbyist in my entire time in public life or a dime from special interest PACs. The first day that I am president of the United States, there will be no corporate lobbyists working in my White House. There will be no lobbyists who lobbied for foreign governments and this is a very personal cause for me. Because I come from a family -- my father is in the audience tonight where my father worked 37 years in the mills. He didn't get a chance like I did to have a college education.
And this is a fight for the middle class and families just like the one who grew up, and my grandmother, who helped raise me, had a fifth or sixth grade education, came from a family of share croppers, she worked in the mill every day so that I could have the chances that I have had. And I spent 20 years fighting irresponsible corporations in courtrooms. I know what it takes to fight these people and win.
But here is what I would want people to know. What I want people to know is this battle is deep inside me and it's personal. And it matters whether it's personal or not. Because if it's either academic or political. When the tough fight comes, you'll walk away from it, do what's political. This fight is deeply personal to me. I've been engaged in it my whole life. The fight for the middle class. The fight against powerful special interests. And it is a fight I had wage on behalf of the American people on behalf of the president of the United States and win as I have for 54 years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator, I'd like to follow that up, then. You served six years in the U.S. Senate and on the campaign trail, it seems like you don't talk a lot about the six years. People in new Hampshire probably remember you talking about your war vote and explaining later on why you weren't happy about that. Give New Hampshire voters a guide of something significant that you accomplished in your six years as a U.S. senator that would give us some guide as to what kind of president you are going to be?
EDWARDS: Absolutely. I can tell you exactly -- I'll give you one very specific example. A big example. When the Democrats finally took over the United States Senate, the first issue that was brought to the table was the so-called patients bill of rights. So that patients and families can make their own health care decisions.
What's happening now is insurance companies are running all over people. The case of Natalie Sarkesian (ph), which a lot of audience will be familiar with. Seventeen year old girl who lost her life a couple of weeks ago because her insurance company would not pay for a liver transplant operation. She had health insurance. The insurance company finally caved in a few hours before she died.
We need a president who will take these people on. And what we did, and I didn't do it alone, don't claim to do it alone. But I, Senator McCain who was here earlier, Senator Kennedy, the three of us wrote the patients bill of rights, the three of us took on the powerful insurance industry and their lobby. Every single day of the fight for the patients bill of rights and got the bill through the United States Senate and got it passed and I'm proud of having done that but that's just an example of why this battle is personal for me.
You know, we need a president who believes deeply in here, believes deeply in this battle, and it's personal for me. When I see these lobbyists roaming around Washington, DC, taking all the politicians to cocktail parties, the picture I get in my head is my father and grandmother going in that mill every day so I have the chances that I've had. Where is their voice in this democracy? When are they going to get heard? They need a president who will stand up for them and so does every American who is listening to this debate.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) IL: And I just want to add, I agree with John, which is why I prohibited lobbyists from buying meals from members of Congress.
Because, and some of them complained. They said ...
GIBSON: With all due respect, they can now buy food for members of Congress. If the members of Congress are standing up. That's my understanding. The rules are changed. You can't sit down and eat, but you can stand up and eat. Why is that change?
OBAMA: Here is what we did. They can't buy meals, they can't provide gifts, they can no longer lend ...
GIBSON: They can have huge parties for as long as you are standing up.
EDWARDS: You can't eat much if you're standing up. OBAMA: That's true. We're now disclosing if they are bundling money for members of Congress. They have to disclose who they are bundling money from and who they are giving it too.
But here is the critical point that I want to make. Not only does this have to be personal, John, and I completely agree. When I think about health care, I think about my mother, when she was dying of cancer, had to read an insurance form because she had just gotten a new job and they were trying to figure out whether or not this was going to be treated as a pre-existing condition and whether or not they would pay her medical bills, so I've seen the costs of a health care system that is broken. In very personal terms.
But what I also believe if we're going to bring about real change, then we have to bring in the American people. You know, we have to bet on them. And that's what's been lost. People, I think, feel that they are not heard at all. They are not involved. And the only way we're going to muster enough power over the long term to get something done is if we have a working majority. Which is why it's so important ...
GIBSON: I want to go to Senator Clinton ...
CLINTON: Can we just have a sort of a reality break for a minute? Because I think that it is important to make some kind of an assessment of these statements. You know, Senator Edwards did work and get the patient bill of rights through the Senate. It never got through the house. One of the reasons that Natalie may well have died is because there isn't a patients bill of rights. We don't have a patients bill of rights.
EDWARDS: George Bush killed it.
CLINTON: Well, that's right. He killed it. So we have got to have a plan and a real push to get it through. When it comes to lobbyists, Senator Obama's chair in New Hampshire is a lobbyist. He lobbies for the drug companies.
OBAMA: That's ...
CLINTON: I think it's important that all of us be held to the same standard, that we're all held accountable. The energy bill that passed in 2005 was larded with all kinds of special interest breaks, giveaways to the oil companies, Senator Obama voted for it, I did not. Because I knew it was going to be an absolute nightmare now. Now we are all out on the campaign trail, talking about taking the tax subsidies away from the oil companies. Some of which were in that 2005 energy bill. So words are not action. And as beautifully presented and passionately felt as they are, they are not actions.
You know, what we've got to do is translate talk into action. And feelings into reality. I have a long record of doing that. Of taking on the very interest that you have just rightly excoriated because of the overdue influence that they have in our government. And, you know, probably nobody up here has been the subject of more incoming fire from the Republicans and the special interests. So I think I know exactly what I'm walking into.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LOTHIAN: That Senator Clinton there sharpening her attacks during the debate last night. Specifically going after the new front-runner, Senator Obama, at times complaining or accusing him of changing his positions, and at one point, Senator Edwards kind of jumped in to his defense, saying that Senator Clinton only started going on the attack like this after she lost in Iowa. So certainly here, John, a good indication of the campaign climate with just days to go before people here start voting.
KING: A fascinating indication, Dan. Dan Lothian, thank you very much. Back to Dan and back to more of that debate later in the day, including tonight CNN as part of our continued coverage and unprecedented coverage of presidential politics in the state of New Hampshire, we have decided to team up with ABC News, the sponsors of last night's debate along with our affiliate WMUR-TV here in New Hampshire and replay the debate. The Democratic debate, some contentious, crackling moments. Also some insightful and contentious moments as the candidates leaned back and reflected on their positions on the issues and the challenges of the campaign. Starting at 7:00. A CNN replay of the New Hampshire debates. The Democrats and the Republicans, with analysis of the best political team on television.
Stay with us outside, after the break, more CNN "Ballot Bowl". The candidates in their own words. I'm John King in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Please stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: Welcome back to the CNN "Ballot Bowl." I'm John King live in Portsmouth, New Hampshire along the New Hampshire seacoast. Two days until the first in the nation presidential primary here in the state of New Hampshire. Two hotly contested races on both the Democratic and Republican sides.
You hear the urgency in the voices of the candidates, you see the excitement in the size of the overflow crowds at many events, Democrats and Republicans. The man of the moment on the Republican side here in the state of New Hampshire is Arizona Senator John McCain. His campaign seemingly off the tracks all summer, but suddenly he's ahead in the polls here again in the state of New Hampshire with Senator McCain in Salem, New Hampshire at a town hall meeting is our Dana Bash. Dana?
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, the town hall just wrapped up here in Salem. It lasted for more than an hour and took more than a dozen, maybe even 15 or 20 questions from voters, a lot of tough questions from voters, many of whom said they were independents, the questions ran the gamut from his stance on tax cuts which is absolutely a huge issue here. You remember John McCain voted against President Bush's tax cuts. That is something his opponents, particularly his chief opponent here, Mitt Romney, has been using against him. He was asked about the cost of war. A very interesting moment. A woman stood up and said that I am pregnant and I am very worried about the fact that we are spending so much money in Iraq when we need things -- money for things here at home. So it really ran the gamut on questions. And this is the kind of setting, although not this big, this was about -- they estimate maybe about 1,000 people here this is the kind of setting that has helped John McCain rebound here in a way that nobody really thought was possible just a few months ago. He spent a lot of time here as you know, going around, taking tough questions on the issues that really have hurt him like immigration, and that has really been what has helped him here, in a state that really does like him. This is a state -- if you look at our new poll, where he has an unbelievable approval rating, just a little more than 80 percent, that's almost as much as Oprah Winfrey if you look at the kind of popularity he has in the state. That is what he's really banking on in the state of New Hampshire. This kind of event this kind of dialog with the voters, obviously for John McCain, it's do or die in the state of New Hampshire, ahead in the most recent polls, if he doesn't win, the rest of states, the rest of the contests really don't matter much. He absolutely needs momentum in the state of New Hampshire, to survive in the presidential contest on the Republican side, of course.
John?
KING: Dana Bash with Senator John McCain in Salem, New Hampshire. I think it's safe to say, Dana I'm guessing Senator McCain has never been compared to Oprah Winfrey before but he'll take it on this day as the poll numbers improve.
More from Dana, more from Senator McCain and the other candidates as the CNN "Ballot Bowl" continues.
Throughout the day, the candidates in their own words. A chance for you to see and hear them talk about all the issues in this campaign. Also analysis from the best political team on television. And tonight a special event on CNN as we continue our unprecedented political coverage. A replay of ABC News/WMUR debates.
Last night here both the Democrats and the Republicans sitting down, interesting and insightful debate on both sides. Some crackling moments on both of those debates and also a very rare moment, an unprecedented sharing the stage, the Democrats and Republicans together. CNN will bring you a replay of those tonight.
We'll also be back with more of the candidates and our "Ballot Bowl." Some new poll numbers as well. And on the other side of the break, some of today's other top stories. Please stay with us. You're watching the CNN "Ballot Bowl."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And hello, everyone. I'm Tony Harris at the CNN center in Atlanta. Let's get you caught up on other stories in the news.
Crews are rushing to repair a broken levee near Reno, Nevada. It flooded hundreds of homes with as much as eight feet of war.
So far, no reports of injuries in the town, the levee break came on the heels of a winter storm that pounded the region with heavy snow, rain, and wind.
Hope fades for a missing hiker in north Georgia. Police now believe 24-year-old Meredith Emerson is dead. Blood stained clothes believed to be hers have been found. Gary Michael Hilton charged with kidnapping. He was Last seen with Emerson the day she disappeared. Court documents say she tried to use her credit card.
President Bush heads to the Middle East this week. He will deal with Israeli and Palestinian leaders hoping move the peace process forward. And will also visit Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Let's get you back to John King and the "Ballot Bowl" in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
John, back to you.
KING: Tony, thanks very much. I'm John King and we're in Portsmouth, New Hampshire today along the seacoast as we try to bring you more of our unprecedented CNN "Ballot Bowl," the candidates in their own words, a chance for you not only to hear the reporters and our analysts, we do think we have the best political team on TV, but also to will hear directly from the candidates themselves as they talk about health care, immigration, Iraq, the economy.
Coming up in our next hour, Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic winner in Iowa, hoping to build on his momentum here.
Also the former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani campaigning in New Hampshire and struggling at the moment. He is hoping do fairly well in New Hampshire and win down the line in Florida and elsewhere. Obama and Giuliani in the next hour of the ballot bowl.
And also tonight, a reminder, special coverage tonight, the ABC/WMUR/Facebook debate held last night here in New Hampshire. Fascinating discussions between the Democrats and the Republicans. We'll replay both of those debates for you tonight here on CNN beginning at 7:00. Part of our unprecedented political coverage in advance of the New Hampshire presidential primary on Tuesday. The Ballot Bowl continues. Stay with us.
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KING: Welcome back to the CNN "Ballot Bowl." We're in Portsmouth, New Hampshire along the New England seacoast, two days in advance of the presidential primary, the leadoff primary here in the state of New Hampshire. I'm john king. Thanks for sharing some of your Sunday afternoon with us today as we try to help you make your choice in the election just ahead. Two days, as I mentioned to the New Hampshire presidential primary.
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