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New Hampshire Votes, Tornadoes in the Heartland, Miami Police Officer Shot and Killed, Two Snowboarders Found Alive; Discovery of Female Hiker's Body in Georgia
Aired January 08, 2008 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Five hours and counting until the polls close in New Hampshire.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: We're heading into the homestretch of the nation's leadoff presidential primary, where Republicans, Democrats and especially independents are out in force.
PHILLIPS: The best political team on television is with you until the votes are counted and beyond.
Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
PHILLIPS: All right, let's start with the Republican race. For John McCain and Mitt Romney, the primary could make or break their campaigns.
Let's get straight to Manchester, New Hampshire, and CNN's Mary Snow -- Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra.
We're at Ward 3, a polling station in Manchester. And the governor of New Hampshire is now predicting that there will be record turnout throughout the state of New Hampshire.
We will just show a little bit of the scene that has been taking place here all day, this polling station reporting a steady stream. And also the secretary of state in New Hampshire says that there are some extra ballots going out to certain locations because they have gotten some phone calls that some of these stations are running low. They say they are confident they have enough to carry through the day, but, just in case, they're sending out some extras.
On the Republican side, a lot of excitement among the voters we have been talking to, enthusiasm, a lot of people even outside these polling stations trying to rally up support from people walking in.
And the candidates themselves were out bright and early, trying to sway those undecided voters. In this state, Republican Mitt Romney has a lot at stake, after suffered a blow in Iowa. He today at one point in Bedford at a stop got out of his vehicle, because there was too much traffic, and actually walked about a third of a mile to a polling station, greeting supporters along the way. He had once been the front-runner here, had stiff competition from his chief rival, Senator John McCain.
Today, Romney voicing some optimism as he spoke to reporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm feeling more confident than ever before that we're going to win the New Hampshire primary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: Senator John McCain has a lot riding on New Hampshire. His campaign, as you know, about six months ago, was pretty much written off. He is trying to make that comeback and be victorious here tonight, just as he was eight years ago.
He is expressing enthusiasm and encouragement. At a stop earlier today in Nashua, he was really mobbed by reporters and supporters. He's showing some confidence and enthusiasm for this.
The other two candidates were out earlier today, Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, and Rudy Giuliani bumping into each other, actually, at one polling place in Manchester. Mike Huckabee joking around, buying coffee to try to sway some undecided voters there.
But these two candidates have really not put so much of their resources into New Hampshire, but Mike Huckabee saying that for those people who thought that his victory in Iowa, that upset victory, was a blip, he says he is the pundits wrong and is looking forward to the other states.
Rudy Giuliani really setting his strategy to kick into high gear in Florida later this month, and he is really focusing on a 50-state strategy. But, as you mentioned, Kyra, really a very crucial night for both Senator John McCain, who is really banking on a win here tonight, and Mitt Romney, whose strategy had been to win these early states. But he's vowing to go on and have a national campaign -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Mary Snow there in Manchester, New Hampshire -- thanks, Mary.
We are going to catch up with Joe Johns with the Democrats coming up in just a little bit, and much more New Hampshire primary coverage for you from the best political team on TV.
Coming up, an election can be shaped not just by campaign appearances and debates, but on the Internet. We are going to bring you the latest buzz on the blogs.
Plus, they outnumber Republicans and Democrats in New Hampshire, and they can vote in either primary. We are going to take a closer look at the independent voter -- the New Hampshire primary live from the CNN Election Center. Stay with us for a full night of updates and results as they happen from the best political team on television. Our special coverage begins at 8:00 Eastern.
LEMON: Well, a welcome warmup in the middle of winter turns into a nightmare, as tornadoes hopscotch across the heartland. At least one slammed into Boone County, Illinois. This is new video of just some of the damage near the town of Lawrence, several -- look at that. Just captivated by the video there. Several of the homes and businesses there just completely obliterated.
Emergency crews say four people were hurt, one of them critically. And just take a look at what happened in southeastern Wisconsin. Three confirmed tornadoes ripped across Kenosha County overnight. More than 60 homes and businesses were flattened.
The sheriff says he can't believe no one was seriously hurt here. Residents say the warning sirens saved them. Hardest hit was southwest Missouri, where up to 12 twisters were reported, 12 of them. At least two people were killed there, 35 injured. That area hasn't seen a January tornado since 1950.
We have already seen one tornado today.
What's going on right now, Chad Myers?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, we don't know of tornadoes on the ground right now, but we do still have one tornado warning kind of headed toward the town of Marie, Arkansas, that's just to the north, really, of Memphis, across the river and up here.
But the storms still have the potential to spin today. Yesterday, there were 38 reports of separate reports of tornado damage. Now, we may get that many today, but it appears, it appears at this point that the storms are not lined up like they were yesterday. They're not rotating. They're not hooking out like they were yesterday. They may just be lining up into a big squall line.
That will make wind and some hail. But when you get a squall line, you don't get the supercell out all by itself, and you don't get the rotation required to make big-time tornadoes. We will see if that happens. We love squall lines because it makes rain. It makes a little bit of wind, makes lightning, but we don't knock things down with squall lines.
Some small trailers can come out of a little bit of a wiggle in a squall line, but not the big -- we had F-3s yesterday. That storm that moved through Wheatland, which was that second video in Kenosha, near Racine in Wisconsin, that was an F-3, an 140-mile-per-hour wind event, with 100 to 200 yards wide and three to four miles long. Now, that's a pretty long tornado on the ground being an F-3, at least for January, not so much for April. That's pretty much a common occurrence in April.
Well, you go over here into Arkansas and parts of Missouri, it feels -- and Tennessee for sure -- it feels like April. Temperatures are in the 70s. That's the energy. That's the fuel making these tornadoes and the severe weather today -- Don.
LEMON: Just unbelievable.
Hey, Chad, have you -- I don't know if you have had a chance, because we just got them in, to see these I-Report pictures.
MYERS: No. No, I haven't, actually.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: I'm about to interview her, and just yell at me if you want to ask her something, because I think it's pictures of the actual tornadoes.
MYERS: Wow.
LEMON: All day, we have been hearing from people who saw the tornadoes, who ran from them and in some cases chased them. One tornado touched down nears the towns of Harvard and Lawrence, Illinois. It scattered debris for miles. It even derailed a freight train.
Kathy Luth, whose niece Laura (ph) works right here at CNN, she made it through the horrific storm. And she joins us on the phone now. She's with us from Harvard.
I understand that your first instinct -- first of all, glad you're OK.
KATHY LUTH, TORNADO EYEWITNESS: Thank you.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Your first instinct was to grab a camera?
LUTH: Yes, sadly, it was.
I know it's not the first thing to do. But it was just like, whoa. It was right out our back door. We have a cornfield behind our house. And I just happened to look out, and I just said to my husband, oh, my God, that's a tornado. And we both ran to the back door, and then I'm just like, I got to get my camera. And there you go.
LEMON: Well, Kathy, you know that you're supposed to -- I mean, obviously, we appreciate the pictures. But you know you're supposed to take shelter when you see something like that, right?
LUTH: Oh, yes, yes.
LEMON: Yes?
LUTH: Well, it wasn't coming -- it was going parallel with our house. If it was coming to our house, I'm sure I probably wouldn't have stood there.
LEMON: Yes.
LUTH: But it was going parallel, so we were just kind of...
LEMON: We're hearing it passed 150 to 250 yards from your home there.
LUTH: Yes.
LEMON: And how big -- do you know how big this was, Chad? Are you still listening?
How big does this thing look, Chad?
MYERS: ... miles per hour.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Say again. We missed the first part of it.
MYERS: Probably about 100 miles an hour, maybe an F-0 or an F-1. I couldn't see obviously if it ever got bigger than that or smaller than that.
But, still, Kathy, you know what? More people are injured by these things because these tornadoes will pick things up and throw them 100 yards.
LUTH: Right.
MYERS: That's completely not out of the question.
I have seen -- when I was working in Oklahoma City, we had a storm hit the El Reno area. It picked up a school bus. No kids in it. It was empty, but picked up a school bus and through it almost a half a mile. So, you can imagine the force that caused that to move even picking up a two-by-four and throwing it at you. I would really prefer you being in the basement.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: After she gets these pictures.
But you know what?
MYERS: Right.
LEMON: You know what I want to say to you, Kathy? You said your neighbor actually got up on the roof to get a better view.
MYERS: Oh, no.
LUTH: Yes. Our neighbor was up on the roof, well, before we seen it was a tornado, and he was up there just checking out the storm. And he saw it was a tornado. Of course, he got down right away. But, you know, he was -- not that we're a little odd in Harvard, but he was up on the roof.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: And you're there in Illinois and you know tornadoes come through -- I shouldn't say often.
LUTH: Yes.
LEMON: But they do come through occasionally. So, you're probably...
(CROSSTALK)
LUTH: This was the first one I have actually seen, though.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: That was my next question. Was this the first one?
And then describe real quickly, if you can, the damage around you. What have you seen your neighbors and relatives and friends going through?
LUTH: Well, the first thing we noticed was that -- we don't live too far from a highway and we can see the highway from our backyard. And the tornado went. And there was a semi going at the same time and it had the debris going in it. And it ended up flipping a semi on its side and right across the highway. And -- but luckily the driver didn't get hurt.
LEMON: Yes.
LUTH: But down...
LEMON: Anyone you know in shelters or lose their home or...
LUTH: Well, yes, there's a town just about three miles just west of us and they're all evacuated and in either shelters or with family.
LEMON: Yes.
LUTH: And they still haven't been able to return home as of now.
So, they're saying maybe it won't even be until Friday that they can go home because of the train derailment and the hazardous material that was being carried by the train.
LEMON: Right.
All right, Kathy Luth, we appreciate you being an I-Reporter for us. But, again, stay safe. And we're glad you're OK. And our best to you and your neighbors. OK?
LUTH: Thank you. LEMON: All right. Thank you.
New York Let's get back to New Hampshire, Joe Johns, who is at the polling place in Manchester. We talked with Mary Snow from the Republican side.
Now, Joe, Barack Obama's Democratic rivals have their sights on his. And if the latest poll numbers hold true, it looks like they are going to have to catch up to him.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's for sure.
And there will be a lot of soul searching tomorrow if that's the case. But this is where it all really counts. As you said, this is a polling place. It's Ward one in Manchester, New Hampshire, the Brookside Congregational church.
And just take a look at the room. This has been described as a lull. It's been busy all day, and it's busy right now, in fact, a steady stream of people coming through, a lot of people who are being described as new voters, voters registering for the very first time.
And that, of course, is part of the story, simply because a record turnout is expected here in New Hampshire. Up to 500,000 people, 500,000 people, the governor says, is possible. That would be really big numbers for New Hampshire.
So what's driving it? Among other things, there's great weather here, very warm, compared to the last several days. There's also been a lot of talk about Barack Obama being in the race. He did very well, of course, in Iowa with those undecided, independent, undeclared, what you have, voters.
So, people are expecting to see some very large numbers here. There's also, of course, the possibility, as many of the pundits have said, that some of those independent voters are also coming out for a guy like John McCain, who won here in 2000, so, a great deal of excitement, as you know.
And, as you said at the very top there, Kyra, possible rethinking certainly in the Hillary Clinton camp if Obama comes away with big numbers this evening -- there really has to be some soul searching there as to how they go forward and what is their path to try to get the nomination -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: We will be tracking it all night, of course, with you.
Joe Johns, thanks so much.
And for more on the New Hampshire primary, you can go to cnnpolitics.com. It's your one-stop shop for all things political.
LEMON: Elections can be shaped not just on the campaign trail and in debates, but also on the blogs. We will look at the latest internet buzz as New Hampshire vote.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Three fifteen Eastern time now. Here's three of the stories that we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.
New video out of Illinois, just a taste of the destruction caused by more than three dozen tornadoes that swept across the nation's midsection last night. And it's not over yet. A reported tornado killed one person today in central Arkansas.
Miami police now trying to find out who killed one of their own; 30-year-old off-duty detective James Walker was found shot to death in an unmarked patrol car. A Miami police spokesman says the car was so riddled with bullet holes, it was made into Swiss cheese.
Some tough talk last hour from President Bush. He calls the Sunday incident between U.S. Navy ships and Iranian boats in the Strait of Hormuz a provocative act. Iran says it was nothing serious.
LEMON: All right, it's time now to talk politics.
New Hampshire votes. The Internet, of course, is buzzing, less than five hours to go before the polls close in the nation's first presidential primary.
And joining us now from Manchester is conservative blogger Matt Lewis from Townhall.com. I should have introduced the woman first. I don't know why I didn't do that. And Laura Clawson -- we are going to talk about that, women here in politics -- a contributing editor to the liberal-leaning Daily Kos.com. She's also the founder of bluehampshire.com.
And I should you get the award for best name. Bluehampshire, I like that. Well, first of all, you know what? Give us a flavor, because you guys are there. And I understand we were waiting a little bit.
Matt, you were late. You said, and real quickly, they said that there's record turnout, very high turnout. In some places, they don't have enough ballots. There is a huge buzz going on there and you said traffic is just crazy, that the place is buzzing.
MATT LEWIS, TOWNHALL.COM: It's crazy out there. It's like 65 degrees. I don't even need a coat. But I tell you what. The high turnout is affecting the traffic apparently.
I guess every reporter in America is in town. But the other thing is it is going to help Barack Obama. It's probably going to help John McCain.
LEMON: OK.
Laura, what do you say? Do you think it's going to help John McCain or Barack Obama with the turnout? What do you think's going to happen here?
LAURA CLAWSON, CONTRIBUTOR EDITOR, DAILYKOS.COM: I think Barack Obama is going to draw enormous turnout. I voted in Hanover earlier today, and what I saw was a line around a gymnasium of young people waiting in line to register to vote for the first time.
Obama had had a rally at Dartmouth College earlier that morning, and, as students left the rally, they were directed straight to the polling place.
LEMON: Yes.
CLAWSON: So, I think he's really pulling out the young people.
LEMON: And we were talking about that because we have been dealing with this. And you know, of course, we had the Obama -- what is it, the Obama girl, I have a crush on Obama, and the Internet, of course, sort of deemed to be a place for young people.
Do you think that bloggers, in this election -- can you be the king-makers? Do you think you're really shaping this presidential election?
CLAWSON: I don't think left-leaning bloggers are looking to be king-makers exactly.
We want to develop a community of people who are excited about politics, who are knowledgeable. And I think we have really succeeded in doing that. The primary discussions have been brutal at times, as people supporting different candidates have supported their candidates really enthusiastically.
But the important thing is, then, they have gotten out and they have volunteered, and they have gone out into the streets knowing a great deal about their candidates and why they have chosen them.
LEMON: That's what I want to ask you, Matt, because is this just people sort of jumping on the bandwagon here? Do you think that people who look at your blogs, read your blogs, do they know a lot about politics? Or are they sort of jumping on the bandwagon, looking at little clips, looking for maybe a macaca moment or some moment where a candidate embarrasses themselves?
LEWIS: No, I think most of the people who come to Townhall.com, most of the people that read blogs are really the opinion leaders. That's actually one of the great things about blogs, is, if you're interested in politics, you have got a place to come, and, 24/7, you can find out about politics. But the downside is, in a way, we're sort of preaching to the choir.
So, I think, a lot of times, the folks that read Townhall.com or other blogs are the leaders. And then they talk to their family and friends and neighbors, and that's where we can have significant impact. At Townhall, we have -- John McCain is someone who has reached out to us and all conservative blogs. He actually hosts weekly blogger calls. But we have got other folks who are Romney backers. It really varies.
LEMON: But let's talk about this, because they are saying that, in this instance, that independent voters may make all the difference here. And, when it comes to the internet, when it comes to bloggers, it says that -- and especially first-time voters -- that the Internet will have a huge impact.
Do you necessarily agree with that? Because, again, you said you're preaching to the choir. You say it is people who may be the most informed here. But is there any way to get a sort of polling statistic or information from what people are blogging about or talking about?
LEWIS: I don't know that we can -- that we can sort of quantify it. I mean, clearly, it's one thing to say blog; it's another thing to say the internet. YouTube is part of the internet. And, clearly, the macaca moment was a YouTube phenomenon.
Then blogs picked it up. And, really, it played into a narrative about Senator George Allen that had been ongoing. That could happen again this election. I mean, already, you know, people have certain sort of preconceived notions about Hillary Clinton.
LEMON: But you do know, if you blog about something, if you write about something, I'm sure your sites have the tools to sort of figure out what people are clicking on, what people are most interested in and what people are commenting about.
And, just real quickly, what are they? Like, sometimes, stories about, you know, Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton or what have you will get huge numbers of clicks. We know that here at CNN. What -- what about with you guys?
CLAWSON: We pay attention to where our community is. And, at Daily Kos, there's a constant ongoing conversation between the people who read and comment and the people who write on the...
(CROSSTALK)
CLAWSON: ... contributing editors.
LEMON: But what are they commenting about most? What are they most interested in? What gets the most response?
LEWIS: At Townhall.com, I can tell you, it's anything that is controversial. You know, it's the same in all media.
But, at Townhall.com, it's -- Romney vs. McCain is huge.
LEMON: Yes.
LEWIS: And it's playing out right here in New Hampshire today.
And, frankly, whoever wins that battle here today will probably, at least a 50 percent chance that person becomes the nominee. So...
LEMON: I think, Matt, you...
CLAWSON: At "Daily Kos" -- I'm sorry.
LEMON: Go ahead. Go ahead, Laura.
CLAWSON: At "Daily Kos," the two comments -- the two candidates that have drawn the most interest have been John Edwards and Barack Obama. I think Hillary Clinton, as more of an establishment candidate, is drawing less interest from the netroots, though there are still a lot of strong supporters of Clinton online.
LEMON: Yes. No, I think you guys understand now what I'm talking about. I think you really hit on.
Just real quick, because I have run out of time here, anybody talking about the woman issue, about women maybe being treated with different standards? We just talked about that with our political correspondent here. Has that been an issue as far as your blogs?
CLAWSON: I think, definitely, we see that Hillary Clinton draws different kinds of criticism than other candidates and that that's been a problem she's faced. I think she's dealing very well with it.
LEMON: Yes.
LEWIS: I think most people on my side of the aisle would probably think that's baloney, that Hillary has to step up, and, if she doesn't win today, she's in deep, deep trouble.
LEMON: OK. All right.
Thanks to both of you, Matt Lewis and also Laura Clawson, conservative, and then a liberal. So, thank you very much for -- for joining us today.
LEWIS: Thank you.
CLAWSON: Thank you.
LEMON: The New Hampshire primary live from the CNN Election Center -- stay with us for a full night for updates and results as they happen from the best political team on television. Our special coverage begins tonight at 8:00.
And, right now, you can be part of the best political team on television. If you're in New Hampshire, we want to know, what's it like there on the streets, in the cafes -- you have just heard our bloggers talking about it -- and also in the voting booths? Send your video up and pictures to cnnpolitics.com. We will feature some your I-Reports in our special election coverage tonight.
PHILLIPS: Who needs a hotel when you can crash at Ikea? A New Yorker takes advantage of some Swedish hospitality.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Swedish retailer Ikea furnishes many people's home, but it's literally furnishing a home for this guy. New York Mark Malkoff has set up shop in an Ikea store for the week while his place is being fumigated. The comedian and filmmaker says he was psyched the company opened its doors to the idea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK MALKOFF, COMEDIAN/FILMMAKER: My apartment is 80 percent Ikea.
I thought, why not move into Ikea? Somehow, I miraculously convinced this corporation worth hundreds of millions of dollars to let me move in. Security is going to have to carry me out physically at the end of the week. I don't want to leave.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: OK.
LEMON: Yes. OK. He will be evicted this week when the store closes for its regular day off.
(BUSINESS REPORT)
LEMON: Independents and young voters, will they determine who wins today's balloting in New Hampshire? We will check in with our senior political analyst, Mr. Bill Schneider. I wonder if he's wearing a hat today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right we have this just in to the CNN NEWSROOM. It's some gruesome details learned in today's autopsy on a missing Georgia hiker found dead last night. Georgia's medical examiner says 24-year- old Meredith Emerson suffered blunt force trauma to her head and she was decapitated after her death. The family has been informed about the details of her death. Police say they suspect that suspect Gary Michael Hilton led them to Emerson's body. And so far, Hilton has been charged with kidnapping with intent to cause bodily injury. Authorities are also looking for possible links between Hilton and three other deaths and disappearances around the region.
PHILLIPS: SOS stomped into the fresh snow -- that's what saved a pair of New Mexico snowboarders who became lost Saturday in the Santa Fe ski area. These are the first pictures of that rescue today -- the first time search helicopters were able to go up after a break in the weather. And we're told that Adam Putnam and Rachel Fehl -- they're now -- I guess we don't have a last name for Rachel.
They fell now in a hospital -- or they're in a hospital now and they're being treated for minor frostbite to their feet. Two other snowboarders are still missing -- Michael George and Kyle Kerschen. They were last seen Saturday near Colorado's Wolf Creek Ski Area. Searchers were hampered by heavy snow and the threat of avalanches. It's cleared up enough to send searchers out on skis and snowmobilers and helicopters now.
LEMON: It looks like it could be a record-setting day for the New Hampshire primary. Voters are turning out in droves.
And our very own senior political analyst, Mr. Bill Schneider, joins us now from New York -- Bill, in New Hampshire, you can always expect a lot of Independent voters.
But this time, if New Hampshire is anything like Iowa was last week, could we see an influx of younger voters, as well? And how would that impact the outcome if we do?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Iowa was remarkable, Don, because in Iowa, young voters actually determined the outcome. They rarely show up, much less determine who wins. But they did show up and they voted in overwhelming numbers for Barack Obama.
If they do it again in New Hampshire -- and they're not usually reliable voters, but there seems to be an excitement factor going on this time. If they do that again in New Hampshire, Barack Obama could have a very big -- a very good day.
LEMON: We talk about -- you know, we talk a lot about the younger voters. But then many times -- and just from past elections I remember it just doesn't really pan out. They don't really show up to vote.
SCHNEIDER: Yes, I remember back in 1972 -- boy, am I old. In 1972, young voters got the vote for the first time. It was lowered from 21 to 18. And everyone expected George McGovern to coast to victory on a huge vote from young voters, many of whom faced a draft. But the fact is it did not pan out.
LEMON: Bill, you look like a teenager. I wouldn't worry about it.
OK, let's talk about Hillary Clinton. We've been talking about women voters. It's been sort of a theme today. She's been trying hard to win them over. And she's also pulling out the doubled-edged sword -- her husband, Bill Clinton. I want to take a look at his attack today in New Hampshire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You said in 2004, you didn't know how you would have voted on the resolution. You said in 2004, there was no difference between you and George Bush on the war. And you took that speech you're now running on off your Web site in 2004. And there's no difference in your voting record and Hillary's ever since.
Give me a break.
(APPLAUSE)
B. CLINTON: This whole thing is the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK. He's talking about Senator Barack Obama. And for him to call it a -- I don't know, is this going to help?
Could this backfire?
SCHNEIDER: It could backfire. First of all, people like fairy tales. Second of all, Bill Clinton -- to a lot of those younger voters, he's a different generation. He's the past. And particularly to bring out a former president to do an opposition job on his wife's opponent -- I'm not sure that that is exactly welcome.
Bill Clinton is admired. He's respected, even loved by many voters.
LEMON: Yes.
SCHNEIDER: But to a lot of voters, he's the past.
And what Obama has going for him is he looks like the candidate of the future.
LEMON: You seemed a little bit -- you know, what was that sigh for, just what you said? Or is that just (INAUDIBLE)...
SCHNEIDER: I was just...
LEMON: ...backfired?
SCHNEIDER: Well, it just was a surprise to me...
LEMON: Yes.
SCHNEIDER: ...to hear a former president come out and give that kind of a speech -- a negative criticism of a Democrat. That's very unusual.
LEMON: Yes. OK. All right. Let's move on now and talk about the GOP side. Senator John McCain was narrowly ahead in the polls earlier this week and he won New Hampshire in 2000. But he didn't win the nomination. Are we likely to see a repeat of that?
SCHNEIDER: Well, the John McCain of 2008 is a very different character from the John McCain of 2000. Then he was an anti- establishment candidate. He ran against George W. Bush -- the candidate of the Republican establishment. He was against the status quo.
Now, he's been sounding more like an establishment conservative. Although, I was up in New Hampshire last week and a lot of people were saying the old McCain is back, the straight talker is back. He's famous for telling people what they don't want to hear. And he did that a little bit this time. We're going to see tonight whether his New Hampshire vote this time looks really different from what it looked like in 2000.
LEMON: In 2000. OK. We have a saying you're familiar with in this business. It's called alternative programming -- you know, if your competitor has one thing, you put something else on, hoping it will pull viewers away from that. So Fred Thompson is nowhere near New Hampshire.
SCHNEIDER: Right.
LEMON: He's in South Carolina. Why is he staying away for this important primary? Is it alternative strategy going on here?
SCHNEIDER: Yes. He's a Southerner, as well as Mike Huckabee. There are two Southern Republicans in the race. And he's hoping to make a stand by winning South Carolina. He really is placing all his chips on South Carolina, the same way John McCain is doing in New Hampshire. And -- because he didn't really expect to do very well in New Hampshire.
It's risky. Rudy Giuliani placed something like that kind of a bet. But he did show up in New Hampshire a couple of times -- a few times. He ran some ads and so he's got something at stake in New Hampshire.
You know, if John McCain wins New Hampshire, we've already seen Mike Huckabee win Iowa. Fred Thompson could win South Carolina. Maybe Mitt Romney will win Nevada. Then Giuliani would be a happy man because the bet he's making is the field will come into Florida at the end of the month totally divided and fractured, and then he'll pick up all the pieces.
LEMON: Do you know who's part of the best political team on television? Mr. Bill Schneider. Thank you, sir.
SCHNEIDER: Thanks, Don.
PHILLIPS: Once upon a time, to win the White House, it seemed a candidate must first win the New Hampshire primary. But that hasn't been the case in some recent campaign battles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): The first in the nation primary has been full of both surprise and predictability. From 1952 until 1992, the person eventually elected president of the United States was the winner of the primary in the Granite State. That record was broken in 1992, when Bill Clinton lost to former Massachusetts senator, Paul Tsongas.
But by faring much better than expected, Clinton turned defeat into victory by declaring himself as the comeback kid. Four years later, Republican Pat Buchanan upset Senator Bob Dole, who went on to win the nomination. In 1976, a little known peanut farmer and governor of Georgia, Jimmy Carter, made such an impression in New Hampshire, that voters there delivered him first primary victory.
John McCain marched out of New Hampshire after the 2000 primary as a potential giant killer, having swamped George W. Bush. Bush, of course, went on to win that disputed presidential election. The Granite State used to be as reliable as snow in January when it came to voting Republican in November. But the Dems have carried the state in three of the past four elections. (END VIDEO TAPE)
PHILLIPS: And right now you can be the best -- or be a part of the best political team on television. If you're in New Hampshire, we want to know what it's like on the streets, in the cafes, in the voting booths. Send your video or pictures to cnnpolitics.com. We'll feature some of your I-Reports in our special coverage tonight.
LEMON: On high alert in Jerusalem -- security being ramped up to extreme levels ahead of President Bush's arrival.
PHILLIPS: Here's a place where one man's trash is not another man's treasure.
LEMON: Wow.
PHILLIPS: And the Mafia is involved, too.
What would Tony Soprano do?
We're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: President Bush leaves for the Middle East today and security there already is being ramped to an almost unprecedented level.
CNN's Atika Shubert has more now from Jerusalem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Only days before the president embarks, al Qaeda issued this grim appeal to militants in the region.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): To be prepared to receive the crusader butcher Bush on his visit to Muslim Palestine and the occupied peninsula at the beginning of January. They should receive him not with roses and applause, but with bombs and booby traps.
SHUBERT: More than 10,000 police will be deployed, in addition to American federal officers -- the biggest security operation here since the visit of the pope more than seven years ago. But it's not just the possibility of terror attacks the president has to contend with. A number of large demonstrations are planned -- none of them very welcoming.
When First Lady Laura Bush visited Jerusalem's holy sites in 2005, she faced angry crowds of Israelis and Palestinians, forcing Israeli police to form a human wall between the first lady and protesters. Security analysts say the greatest risk may be during such volatile situations, when an individual is suddenly inspired to take violent action.
RONNI SHAKED, "YEDIOT AHARONOT" NEWSPAPER: We are talking about the crazy men, a crazy Palestinian or somebody who is sent here not by Hamas or by -- I don't know what, perhaps that he went to the mosque and he heard something and he will do something. That's the only risk I think that we have here.
SHUBERT: The threat is not just from Islamic militants. A Jewish extremist assassinated a Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995. During his three day visit, President Bush will also go to the Palestinian territories, where the Palestinian Authority, not Israeli forces, will be responsible for his security.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SHUBERT: To minimize exposure, President Bush will be doing most of his traveling by helicopter. But some of the stops on his itinerary, particularly in the West Bank, can only be reached by car or on foot. That, security analysts say, will be the most dangerous time for the president.
Atika Shubert, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
LEMON: Well, how would you like to see this piling up on your curb -- bags of rotting, stinking trash. The Italian government is taking emergency measures to deal with the mounting garbage crisis in Naples and beyond. Italian troops and police are being called in. Wow! Man.
Many dumps in the Southwestern coastal area have been closed for health reasons, so there is no place for the garbage to go. Residents are violently opposing attempts to reopen them. And there's an added hitch -- most of the garbage collections are run by the Mafia.
PHILLIPS: Feast your eyes on this -- a bride's double vision for her big day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We want to update you on the tornado situation -- Chad, what do we have?
MYERS: Well, a brand new tornado and moving to a fairly large town of Dyersburg. This is now Tennessee. We have moved you ahead from Arkansas into Tennessee itself. And Dyersburg a fairly large town. And this is only Doppler indicated. And I just looked at it. It's only rotating just a little bit, but enough rotation, as it gets a little bit stronger, it could be a tornado on the ground. So that's why the Weather Service has already put this out.
This storm does have a history of producing a tornado back into parts of Arkansas. It died off a little bit. Now it's trying to regenerate. And so, for Dyer County in northeast -- and, also, Northeastern Lauderburg County, until 3:30 Central Standard Time, a tornado warning for you. And that's -- north of Memphis would be down there. And there you see the town of Dyersburg. The storm just to your southwest.
And these storms are moving to the northeast at almost 50 miles per hour, so take cover now if you're in that area -- Don.
LEMON: All right, Chad. Thank you.
MYERS: OK.
PHILLIPS: The closing bell ahead and a wrap of all the action on Wall Street, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, in the business of TV news, we don't often get the time to replay our favorite stories for you because there's always something, well, new to bring you.
LEMON: But late night TV, well, it's different. And with the writers' strike going on -- it's on month three -- host Jimmy Kimmel at they are -- what are they pre-purposing, or repurposing, I should say -- old material, even if it means poking fun at one of our favorite colleagues right there at CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE FROM "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE," COURTESY ABC)
JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST: My dad happens to look a lot like Wolf Blitzer. In fact, that is my dad. And that's Wolf Blitzer from CNN.
(LAUGHTER)
KIMMEL: And they had a debate in Arizona a couple of years ago. My dad lives in Arizona. So we put him in a suit and we gave him a microphone, sent him over there. And you will not believe how many prominent people thought they were talking to Wolf Blitzer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Great moments for which residual payments are made to our unemployed writers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wolf Blitzer here at the 2004 presidential debate.
Let's go to talk to some people.
Hey.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi.
WOMAN: Hi.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretty good.
You?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a big fan of yours.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. I appreciate it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I don't know anybody that thinks you anything less than a very professional person.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is very, very nice words.
Is this your wife?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Soon to be. This is my fiancee.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're Jay, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, I think so.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He values the opinion of the French and the German more than he does the American citizens.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He doesn't. Hey, do me a favor. It's really hot out here. Could you hold that a second for me? Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So what's it like talking to the real Wolf Blitzer?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is an honor. It's really nice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really appreciate that.
So, have you decided who you're going to vote for?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Oh. Wolf, I was watching that last night and I was rolling on the couch laughing. It was so funny. That was, what, '04?
BLITZER: That was a long time ago out in Arizona.
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: And, you know, this writers' strike calls for desperate times if they've got to do replays of that. Can you imagine?
PHILLIPS: They only got one wrong, though.
BLITZER: It was pretty funny, you've got to admit.
PHILLIPS: Wolf, doesn't drink anything out of a flask.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Let's get one thing straight here. BLITZER: No.
PHILLIPS: Yes. He usually...
BLITZER: I don't drink like that.
PHILLIPS: He uses a beer bong.
LEMON: All right, Wolf.
PHILLIPS: OK. Let's just get it right.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: What's coming up at the top of the hour, sir?
BLITZER: What's coming up?
It's getting rough in New Hampshire, guys, at the top of the hour. You're going to want to hear what Bill Clinton's new attack on Barack Obama is all about. Mike Huckabee still isn't going negative. I'll ask him where he expects to finish tonight and where his campaign heads next. Huckabee is standing by live to join us.
We're also getting our first look at what's on the minds of New Hampshire voters. We're going to share with you some of the most intriguing trends just emerging right now from our exit polling. All that and a lot more coming up right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
LEMON: All right, Wolf. Thank you very much. Kyra has been laughing all the way through this. I can't stop her.
PHILLIPS: Love you, Wolf.
BLITZER: Kyra, he's so much older than I am, don't you think?
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: I know. That's what was so amazing, the fact that they would think he was you.
LEMON: Yes, but it...
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: And Carol Moseley Braun.
BLITZER: A young guy like me.
How could that be?
PHILLIPS: A young, sexy guy like you.
BLITZER: Correct. Correct.
PHILLIPS: All right. LEMON: And everybody thought it was you -- Jesse Jackson, Carol Moseley Braun, a bunch of people there.
PHILLIPS: We'll see you at 4:00.
LEMON: They thought it was (INAUDIBLE). All right, Wolf. Thank you very much. We love to have a little fun with Wolf.
And the bride wore frosting. These are amazing pictures of a wedding cake sent to us via an I-Report. Newlywed Shareedee Obuda (ph) met her match at her wedding and -- we're talking about her husband. That's what we're not talking about. Their cake was a life size likeness of the bride. Shedee (ph) says she always wanted a doll version of herself and this fulfilled that childhood dream. The cake was a collaboration between a pastry chef and someone who specially molded the face. The whole thing took guests and family a week of snacking to polish it off.
PHILLIPS: The closing bell is about to ring on Wall Street.
LEMON: Susan Lisovicz is standing by with a final look at the trading day -- Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Don and, Kyra.
Well, you had the sweet, now I'm going to have the bitter, because in a few seconds, we are going to be concluding the first five trading days of the year.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
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