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American Morning
The Earliest Votes: What Can They Tell Us; Obama in the Lead; Dixville Notch Decides; One-on-One With Hillary Clinton: Where She Stands; One-on-One with Mitt Romney; Body of Lost Hiker Found
Aired January 08, 2008 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you, I'm John Roberts. And we have a famous dish that's not very familiar in New Hampshire, much more familiar north of the border in Quebec, Poutine as they call it here.
CHETRY: I hope we can get a shot of this so people can see what gastronomical, monstrosity this is.
ROBERTS: This is probably about the only place at least in Southern New Hampshire you can get this. It's french fries covered in gravy, covered in cheese curds and it's a local specialty here, and we'll watch Kiran devour this throughout the course of the morning.
CHETRY: Me. I wasn't only one picking. There were two forks here. We're going to bring you a little bit more of the local flavor this morning as the polls, actually most of them just opened right now. There was one poll, polling site in particular that opened about six hours ago, and the results are in with that one.
ROBERTS: Yes. It's famous for being the very first place in New Hampshire where people cast their votes in the primary every four years. Dixville Notch and Hart's location. They opened up the polls at midnight last night. There's a New Hampshire law that says that any town with fewer than 100 people could start polling at midnight. The 17 registered voters came out. They cast their ballots.
Our Tom Foreman is live this morning up there in Dixville Notch Hart's location, along with the CNN Election Express. Tom, what was the outcome up there?
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the outcome up here if you're an Obama supporter was an early harbinger of the ice if it's really going well for you guys. Obama got seven votes here. Only 17 people voted for the Madison (ph). He got seven votes. Edwards got two votes. Richardson got one. Hillary Clinton was absolutely shut out here.
And on the Republican side, Giuliani got one vote. Romney got two, and McCain got four. But the big news here, of course, is Obama being the big surge here and very close to the Canadian border, when you think about 20 miles away.
Folks were very excited, very excited. I mean, you're down there waiting for things to happen. Here it's already happened. The celebration came and went and everybody went home to get ready for the general election when it comes up -- John.
ROBERTS: Tom, is Dixville Notch any kind of an indication as to the way that the rest of the state will go historically?
FOREMAN: Well, no. Interesting if it were, but there are just a few people here and they vote the way they do. Generally, the Republican side is more indicative. As a practical matter, the person who wins the vote on the Republican side here has a better chance of becoming the nominee.
On the Democratic side, a less chance, but that's all just mathematics right now. Folks here are pretty excited about the election, thrilled with their first in the nation status, and they did it precisely at midnight. Yes, you saw those pictures. There's a watch. They hold a ballot over there, and they wait. And exactly midnight they drop it so they can say we're the first people in America.
So no matter where we wind up in this presidential race months and months from now, you can all say it started right here at the Balsams Resort up in the mountains not far from the Canadian border and folks here are proud to say so -- John.
ROBERTS: Hey, it's a fun place to be this morning. Tom Foreman for us in Dixville Notch Hart's location. Tom, thanks very much.
CHETRY: 100 percent voter turnout.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: Probably won't be the same across the state, but like we said it's symbolic.
ROBERTS: Pretty much every year the same thing too.
CHETRY: Exactly.
ROBERTS: In four years at least.
ROBERTS: Well, Barack Obama -- boy, today he is going to be going into this race as the Democratic favorite. The polls showing a growing lead for the senator over Hillary Clinton. Our Jessica Yellin is covering the Democrats for us this morning. She's been with the Barack Obama campaign. He's being described really across the state as a phenom, people turning out in droves to hear him speak, Jessica.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kiran, it's been remarkable. I've been to a bunch of his events and the hundreds and hundreds of people who even get turned away wait around to see if he's going to come out after and just wave to them and talk to him, and generally, he does. So there is quite of enthusiasm for Barack Obama. No doubt, some of it is celebrity factor in this state.
And I should say all this as polling gets under way out here in the polling place in Manchester, New Hampshire, the doors have just opened. Folks waited for quite sometime outside to get in. This is the state, you know, Senator Clinton wanted to be able to declare herself the comeback kid as her husband once did so many years ago.
This day independent voters will make such a big difference. As you know, they can vote either Democrat or Republican today. And also, a whole slew of undecideds, people who just didn't know how they were going to go this day, but with the expected record-high turnout in the state, we expect to see many of them, even the undecideds voting.
And we're told voting -- it goes from 6:00 a.m., it just started, it goes until to 7:00 p.m. today. So we'll have sometime to wait for the results. But, again, Barack Obama seems to be on a roll in this state where people have just responded to his message of coming together, looking beyond the red-blue divide, not even looking so much at the issues that he's talking about, but the kind of leadership he says he'll offer to Americans to unify the country -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Is anyone in the campaign, Jessica, talking about the seeming major shift and major search for Obama and how it's affected his leading contender, Hillary Clinton in this state?
YELLIN: Well, in the Obama campaign, there's something going on which is there's a very, very disciplined ground operation. As much as he's got the charisma on the stump, they're very old school on how they run their campaigning. So they're a-superstitious. They don't want to get too excited about their frontrunner status.
One senior advisor said to me yesterday, you know, it wasn't so long ago we were left for dead by the side of the road. And once that happens to you, you never get overconfident. And they know that Senator Clinton is a powerhouse of a candidate and a campaign that has a lot of money and so they don't want to say anything that makes them feel that this is a done deal in any way because they know it's a long race ahead -- Kiran.
One of the polling sites at New Hampshire. Check in with you throughout the morning, thanks. Candidate Mitt Romney will be joining us a little later. A lot on the line as well. Some of the polling showing him neck-and-neck. Some of the polling showing him losing ground to John McCain. Going to be joining us, talking about his last-minute push, where he stands on the issues to the voters, many of them still undecided this morning.
CHETRY: All right. We'll find out today when the polls close. Jessica Yelling for us at one of the polling sites here in New Hampshire. We'll check in with you throughout the morning.
Meanwhile, candidate Mitt Romney will be joining us a little bit later. He has a lot on the line today as well. Some of the polling showing him neck and neck and some of polling showing him losing ground to John McCain. So he's going to be joining us in about 20 minutes to talk about his last minute push, how he's explaining where he stands on the issues to the voters. Any of them still undecided this morning. While most of the candidates were talking to voters in New Hampshire, a couple of them were talking to late night talk show hosts instead. Ron Paul appeared in the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and spoke about some serious issues including his exclusion from a recent debate and terrorism. Mike Huckabee, meantime, appearing on the "Late Show with David Letterman," where he also talked about issues but threw in a joke or two.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If I win New Hampshire, it's because I did this show. If I lose New Hampshire, it's because I did this show.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Both candidates said they were headed back to New Hampshire right after those shows were taped yesterday afternoon.
ROBERTS: Oh, we talked with Hillary Clinton here in New Hampshire yesterday. She got a bit emotional at a campaign stop when a voter asked her a personal question. She asks how Clinton stays upbeat and looks so good all the time. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, I have so many opportunities from this country. I just don't want to see us fall backwards, you know, so -- you know, this is very personal for me. It's not just political. It's not just public. I see what's happening, and we have to reverse it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So, a rare show of emotion there for the senator from New York. I sat down with Senator Clinton a little bit later on and asked her about coming to the brink of tears on the campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, I actually have emotions. I know that there are some people who doubt that. But, you know, I really am so touched by what I hear from people. It's usually about their problems. It's usually a mother who throws her arms around me and says, thank you for the children's health insurance program or a man who drove all the way here from New York to tell people that I've saved jobs in New York. I mean, that's really moving to me because that's how I judge the job I'm doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So some of her opponents suggested that maybe she was going a little bit soft there and that they would be tougher and more able to deal with problems and stresses when they were in the White House. But, of course, we pointed out that other presidents, Clinton, Bush, H.W. Bush, Reagan, all shed a tear so -- CHETRY: Right. She can't win either way. Either she's too stoic and doesn't let anyone in or she is showing signs of a breakdown.
ROBERTS: Exactly. And as you say, we're talking about her breaking down emotionally sitting in front of a brick wall.
CHETRY: Well, you know, you can't always stay -- you can't always perfectly fix your shot, right?
ROBERTS: Mixing some political metaphors there.
At any rate, much more of my conversation with Hillary Clinton coming up later on this hour and throughout the morning as well. And, of course, we'll be covering the candidates all day long here from New Hampshire.
And remember, if you're away from your television, head to CNN.com/live to see all of the political rallies and events stream live on our Web site. Primetime coverage begins tonight at 8:00 Eastern with Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper and Lou Dobbs and the rest of the best political team on television. And join us for AMERICAN MORNING. Our special election edition begins an hour early at 5:00 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday.
A lot of other headlines new this is morning. Our Alina Cho is following those from New York for us this morning. Good morning, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, John, good morning to you. We begin with that extreme weather you were talking about at the top of the hour.
Rare tornadoes in the Midwest overnight brought on in part by the unusually warm temperatures. Now, those twisters did hit overnight. Two people were killed near Springfield, Missouri, and tornadoes also believed to have touched down in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Wisconsin. Mobile homes were flattened, trucks overturned, roofs were torn to shreds.
Kevin Kilgore sent us this I-Report from Loves Park, Illinois. Take a look there. A twister knocked railroad cars off of the tracks, downed power lines, trapping dozens of drivers. And check out this I- Report we're about to show you from Roland Cavazos in Kenosha, Wisconsin. You can see a funnel cloud actually being lit up by lightning strikes. Eleven homes were destroyed there.
You want to get more on the extreme weather now, our Jacqui Jeras, she's in for Rob Marciano today at our weather update desk. So, how unusual is it, Jacqui, for us to get tornadoes in January.
JACQUI JERAS, AMERICAN MORNING METEOROLOGIST: Well, they happen in January but it's a little bit more common far in the deep south, not so much up there in parts of Missouri and on up to Wisconsin. That's what's so unusual about this event that we had yesterday evening. But the severe storms have been ongoing all night long. And just at the top of the hour, our tornado watch and that was in effect for parts of Missouri has just expired. There you can see it on the loop, so that's some good news. We think the atmosphere is becoming a little bit more stable right now. But, there are still some isolated severe storms out there. There you can see severe thunderstorm warnings in effect for several counties just outside of the St. Louis area, and those are going to be expiring at about a quarter past the hour.
Large hail and damaging winds will be the biggest concern with those storms. And then back there in the eastern parts of Oklahoma and to northeastern Texas, there you can see some stronger thunderstorms. We may see some isolated severe storms out of that as well.
You head up to the north into Chicagoland, this is just your garden variety showers and thundershowers but, of course, it will be enough to make a big hassle for you for the morning commute. And then say by mid afternoon through the evening hours, more severe weather is expected from Indianapolis down through say Memphis and even to parts of Louisiana, and more tornadoes will be possible for tonight.
As you said, Alina, in part because of those extreme temperatures that we've had in parts of the east, we'll talk about many records that were broken yesterday coming up around the bottom of the hour.
CHO: Yes, including one in Atlantic City. And I have to tell you, Jacqui, in New York yesterday I walked around without a coat all day long into the evening hours. It was just great.
JERAS: Enjoy it while it lasts.
CHO: I know more warmer temperatures today are in store, so we'll check back with you later. Jacqui, thanks.
Other news now. President Bush is about to embark on what some are calling the most ambitious trip of his presidency. Mr. Bush is leaving for Israel tonight, his first trip there as president. He'll be meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. There has been no progress on a peace accord since leaders met in Annapolis back in November.
In Georgia, the body of missing hiker Meredith Emerson has been found. Police say 61-year-old Gary Hilton led them to her body just hours after he was denied bond. 24-year-old Emerson disappeared on New Year's Day while hiking with her dog.
Witnesses say she was last seen with Hilton who was already charged with her kidnapping. He could now be facing more charges. Investigators are looking at whether evidence links him to the disappearance of two elderly hikers in North Carolina and the death of a woman in Florida.
Well, the Golden Globes are out of luck. That ceremony which was due to air this Sunday has been canceled. Actors were promising to boycott the event to show their support for the striking writers. So what will happen instead? Well, a one-hour news conference on Sunday to announce the winners. Not as fun. It's not as clear how many stars will show up, if any.
And in sports news, the Tigers are the champs. LSU beat Ohio State in the title game, 38-24 to win college football's national championship. It's the first time a team with two losses ended up number one. Ohio State took an early 10-0 lead. But then LSU scored 31 straight points. That's a cool trophy there. The second straight year Ohio state, by the way, lost the title game.
Those are the headlines. We're going to head back up to Manchester, New Hampshire. And Kiran, I have to tell you, I saw you and John both licking your forks before the show started, so --
CHETRY: You would too if you were eating that humongous monstrosity of french fries, gravy, and cheese curds. You would never fit in your Golden Globes dress. But hey, this year you don't have to worry about it.
CHO: That's right.
CHETRY: Thanks, Alina. We'll check in with you in a few.
CHO: You bet.
CHETRY: Thanks.
Still ahead. You're watching the most news in the morning.
Roger Clemens taking another swing at trying to clear his name, confronting his accuser. It's all caught on tape. We're going to play some of their conversation coming up.
Also, once the frontrunner, he's now looking for a come-from- behind victory. We're going to be talking with presidential candidate Mitt Romney on the issues ahead on a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING. The polls are open here in New Hampshire, and we're following the latest developments in this first primary in the nation live today from the Shay Ashan (ph) Restaurant here in Manchester.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Voting underway at the first primary state here in New Hampshire. There's a look at Rudy Giuliani. He is out of the polling site. This is the Brookside Congregational Church right on Elm Street in Manchester, New Hampshire. He's standing outside with some of his campaign people. A last-minute push, you know, trying to convince those undecideds as they're walking into the voting booth that he's their man.
ROBERTS: Not a whole lot of convincing. Hi, good morning, how are you. Sort of a subtle suggestion and it would be great for you to vote for me. Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney will also be there this morning. You can see their supporters with their placards outside as well. You know, politics is always a participation sport here in New Hampshire. CHETRY: It sure is.
ROBERTS: And a lot of people participating this morning. Lots of other news to tell you about this morning.
Roger Clemens still pleading his case. Yesterday, the pitcher held a press conference to once again announce that he never used steroids. Our Ed Lavandera has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You could see the raging anger in Roger Clemens' eyes.
ROGER CLEMENS, ACCUSED IN MLB STEROID PROBE: I put my butt on the line and I work my tail off, and I defy anybody say I did it by cheating or taking any short cuts.
LAVANDERA: The all-star pitcher again denied accusations made by his former trainer, Brian McNamee, seen here with Clemens in video recorded by CBS "60 minutes" program. McNamee says he injected Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs at least 16 times in 1998, 2000, and 2001.
Now McNamee is in seclusion on the east coast. But last week, he and Clemens spoke and a recording of the 17-minute phone conversation was released by the player and his lawyer on a news conference.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN MCNAMEE, TRAINER OF CLEMENS: All I did was what I thought was right. And I never thought it was right, but I thought I had no other choice. I mean I'm cornered. I don't want this happen, but I also like not to go to jail too.
CLEMENS: I just don't know why you did it. I mean, I just can't -- you know, like I said
MCNAMEE: What do you want me to do? I'll go to jail. I'll do whatever you want.
CLEMENS: I need somebody to tell the truth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAVANDERA: Clemens' attorney notes that during the call, McNamee did not challenge the pitcher's denial that he ever used steroids, but Clemens never accused the trainer of lying either. McNamee's attorney tells CNN his client stands by his story. He said the tape is an attempt to manipulate the situation and adds nothing to the case. After the tape was played, Clemens took questions from reporters sounding defiant.
CLEMENS: I cannot wait to go on to the private sector and hopefully never have to answer it again. I've said enough. LAVANDERA: And this fight isn't over. Clemens and McNamee are both expected to testify before Congress next week. Ed Lavandera, CNN, Houston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Clemens, by the way, also filed a defamation suit against McNamee. McNamee told federal investigators about Clemens as part of a plea agreement. There's a hearing on Capitol Hill next week, so it's going to be interesting.
CHETRY: It sure is, especially with the tape now.
One-on-one with Hillary Clinton. What brought her to the brink of tears on the campaign trail? And what issues are closest to her heart? We're going to hear John's interview with Hillary coming up.
Also Mitt Romney, unexpectedly fighting for survival in New Hampshire. His questions about changing positions on abortion, gay rights, and immigration -- did they hurt him with New Hampshire voters? He's going to talk to us about it. Mitt Romney joins us on a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING live from Manchester, New Hampshire.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: We mentioned just a few minutes ago that I had a chance to sit down yesterday with Senator Hillary Clinton for about 10 minutes' time. We talked about the tears that she showed on the campaign trail. We're going to show you that and her reaction to that in just a moment.
But we also talked about the issues, the principles upon which she stands and her campaign strategy now in the crucial fight for New Hampshire.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Senator, it's good to see you again.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, John. Good to see you.
ROBERTS: It's always good to see you. In the last couple of days, you've gone back to that aggressive style of compare and contrast that we saw about a month ago which didn't seem to really play too well for you at that time. Why did you feel the need to go back to that?
CLINTON: Well, I think the debate here in New Hampshire on Saturday night really was a turning point. All of a sudden, moderators were asking tough questions about each of us. And I thought that it was a moment that really helped to define what the election truly should be about going forward. Each of us should be compared and contrasted with the others. This is an election that is going to, we hope, pick the next president of the United States. And so, we've got to start by making sure that our candidates have their records compared and contrasted, their positions, and everything else because you know, once we have a nominee, we know what the Republicans are going to do. They're not going to stand back and say, we shouldn't raise those questions. So let's raise the questions. And I thought that, you know, on Saturday night, both Senators Edwards and Obama have some, you know, answers that really bare some further thought.
ROBERTS: What have you done to bring a peaceful end to the Iraq war in such a way that U.S. troops will be able to come back home with a reasonable expectation that they won't have to go back?
CLINTON: I have certainly worked hard to try to convince other Democrats to stick together in order to withstand the pressure that the president puts on Republicans to stick with him. But, you know, the facts are, we don't have enough votes yet in the Senate. We need more Democrats.
So when I'm president, I am going to start withdrawing the troops. I will withdraw them within 60 days. I'll bring home one to two brigades a month. I'm going to tell the Iraqi government that the blank check that they've had is no longer valid. They're going to have to make their own decisions and take responsibility, and I will be deeply engaged in diplomacy in the region.
ROBERTS: What have you done in Social Security reform that would be an indication of what you'll do as president?
CLINTON: Well, in 2005, when President Bush tried to privatize Social Security, a truly bad idea for America, I was one of the leaders who stood against that.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CLINTON: You know, the president kept pushing and saying, well, let's compromise or let's talk about it. And I was strongly in the forefront of saying, absolutely not. You take privatization of Social Security off the table. We might be able to talk about dealing with the long-term challenges of Social Security, but we are not going to ever talk about privatizing.
ROBERTS: You have yet to come up with a plan, though.
CLINTON: Well, no one has come up with a plan. People have thrown out ideas. Well, maybe we should do this and maybe we should do that. But the fact is everybody knows, you cannot get to where we need to go with Social Security unless you focus on fiscal responsibility. And I am the strongest person on fiscal responsibility in this campaign.
And that you then you get Republicans to work with you. Because again, you know, the fact of our system and as inconvenient as it is and it is a lot, we have to get Republicans, otherwise we can't get the votes we need. That's why I'm going to follow the model that the Republican president and the Democratic speaker of the house did in 1993.
We're going to get together. We're all going to hold hands. But I'm going to say, no more tax increases on the middle class and keep the benefits very stable for those already on Social Security.
ROBERTS: Let me ask you a question that President Bush posited hypothetically at his last press conference. He said that he would ask the candidates what are the principles that you will stand on in good times and bad times? What will be the underpinning of your decisions?
CLINTON: The United States constitution first and foremost. That's the founding document of our government, the rule of law that undergirds our constitution. The understanding that we are a nation with separation of powers and checks and balances. I will also do everything that I can to protect and defend our country and then to fulfill the goals that I have set.
We want to get back to having a position of international leadership and moral authority. We want to rebuild a strong and prosperous middle class. We need to reform this government, and we need to do it quickly because it has become a government for the wealthy and the well connected, and we need to reclaim the future for our children.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton there yesterday in Manchester, New Hampshire. We'll have more from her coming up at our next hour of AMERICAN MORNING including her reaction to that emotional moment that she had in course (ph) yesterday when I asked her how she keeps up with the rigors of the road particularly at this moment where her fortunes in the granite state appear to be fading somewhat -- Kiran.
CHETRY: You got to understand that. I mean, how exhausting this is for the candidates and how -- I mean, anyone who covers the campaign knows it. But for these candidates, nonstop.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: It's exhausting to cover.
CHETRY: Exactly.
Well, as we said, it is primary day here in New Hampshire. And New Hampshire right in the backyard of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. We're talking to him today about how he's going to convince some of those undecided voters in the last-minute push as the polls open about an hour ago. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney joins me now us this morning. Thanks for being with us this morning, Governor.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thanks, Kiran. Good to be with you. CHETRY: I want to talk about some of the issues as people are going to be listening to what they say and possibly making up their minds before they head out to the polls this morning and this afternoon. One of them about the health care plan. As the governor of Massachusetts, you advocated and implemented a mandated health care plan. Meaning, people had to have a health insurance in your state. Let's hear what you had to say about that on Saturday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: I like mandates.
The mandates work?
If somebody can afford insurance and decides not to buy it and then they get sick, they have to pay their own way as opposed to expecting the government to pay their way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Now, you've said that you would not require mandates nationally. Why is it different than what you felt work in the state of Massachusetts?
ROMNEY: Well, I like what we did in the state of Massachusetts, but we don't mandate that all states follow exactly the same plan. We have a principle of federalism in this country to encourage states to create their own ideas, and hopefully from time to time to come up with something better than we did in our state.
But my view is that we will encourage each state through incentives to put in place a program that gets all their citizens insured. My plan calls for all citizens in America to be insured by the end of four years after having passed my plan. Not exactly the same way.
Some will use the program we had in Massachusetts. Some will use a different model. Governor Schwarzenegger has a different model in California, that's fine. But you're going to find that the only way to get everybody insured is to have a plan that says to people they have personal responsibility for their health care. And if they can afford insurance, they should buy it. If they can't afford insurance, they should get help buying it.
We're not going to put new money in. No federal bailout. No federal giving out government insurance, instead personal responsibility. But it is important to get everybody health care because otherwise, you have free riders who just show up at the hospital and expect government to pay for them, and that's not the American way.
CHETRY: Let's talk a little bit about illegal immigration. It was a huge topic at one of the weekend debates. And you really came out the strongest about feeling that the 12 million illegal immigrants that are in this country should not get amnesty -- that they should go to the back of the line. How would you realistically implement a workable immigration strategy if elected president?
ROMNEY: Well, you're absolutely right. I think it would be unfair to the millions of people who are waiting in line around the world to come here to be reunited with family members or bring skills that our industry is looking for and say, you guys have to wait because the 12 million people already here all get to stay.
The McCain-Kennedy concept is something that was rejected by the American people. My view is that you allow those that have come here illegally to gradually and humanely return home, get in line, and make their application to come to this country just like everybody else. But they should not be given a special pathway, a special privilege to all stay here for the rest of their life unless they've committed a crime and become automatic, permanent residents of the United States.
CHETRY: Let's talk really quickly about the economy. You had spoken on the stump -- I heard a couple of your speeches. And you said you know what to do. You know how to get the country on a better track. As fears of recession continue to grow, what would be your economic plan?
ROMNEY: Well, the first thing to do in a tough economy as George Bush did when he was in a recession is to lower the tax rate on middle-income Americans. And for me, what that means is all of the income on savings, the interest, the dividends, and capital gains; I would tax at a zero rate for all middle income American, as people earning under $200,000 a year.
Number two, I begin a very aggressive investment program in new technologies related to energy, fuel savings, and the like so we can become free of our dependence on foreign oil. Number four, I'd make sure that we continue to trade around the world. That's good for us. But we're going to have to get other partners to trade in a more fair basis.
China, in particular, doesn't follow safety requirements, doesn't protect our patents and our designs and manipulates their currencies such that their products are given a deep discount. That hurts the sales of U.S. products.
And finally, I want to invest in technology-related manufacturing in this country. I believe that manufacturing is an important part of America's economic base and we cannot allow it to continue to decline.
CHETRY: Governor Romney, it was great talking to you. I know you have a long day ahead of you as today is the day, here in New Hampshire, as the voters make their decision. Thanks so much for being with us and good luck today.
ROMNEY: Thank you so much.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And today is definitely the day. Very, very important day in the lives of a lot of people running for president. You're watching the most news in the morning. The president of France questioned about his new ally. We'll tell you what he said about rumors of his engagement coming up. And as well this morning, we're going to be talking with Hillary Clinton about that tearing-up moment. So, stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back. A little bit after 6:30 here in New Hampshire this morning. The polls have been open for about a half an hour now. In fact, some of the -- one in particular primary polling location is already done. A 100 percent turnout. 17 voters in Dixville Notch. And the big winner is Barack Obama and John McCain there.
The candidates meanwhile, they were taking a time-out from the last-minute jabs against their opponents. They're shaking hands with voters in their last-minute push to convince those voters that they're the candidate that they should use.
Dana Bash is at one of the polling stations. About two miles down the road with us right now, the Brookside Congregational Church. That is were three of the frontrunners will be this morning. And Dana, in fact, we saw Mayor Giuliani standing outside with some of his campaign advisors just a couple of minutes ago.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Mayor Giuliani is actually standing with us, right now, Kiran. He's here -- as you said shaking -- he has been shaking hands, trying to get last-minute votes. And Mr. Mayor, thank you very much for joining us.
RUDY GIULIANI, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, Dana.
BASH: First of all, how do you expect to do here in all candors?
GIULIANI: We expect to do as well as we can. We don't have a particular, you know, idea exactly of what we're going to turn out. We think we're going to do very well. We've campaigned here, probably more than any other state. Florida is probably pretty close to equal. But we spent a lot of time here. We put a lot of attention to New Hampshire. We revealed our 12 commitments here for the first time. We sort of built on that all during the campaign, been back here on each one of them throughout the campaign. So we think we will do very well.
BASH: Very well. But it is entirely possible, if you look at the latest polls, that you might come in behind Mike Huckabee.
GIULIANI: It's possible we could. It's possible we could do better. I don't know. We're moving on. We're moving on to Florida. We'll be in Florida tomorrow. We think we're in very, very good shape in a lot of the states that are coming up. I think we're heading like 16 or 18 of the states. And we've always seen this as a 29-state primary caucus in the first month and whoever wins 16 of 18 of them is going to be the person in the best position.
BASH: Now this is the state, as you well know, live free or die. That does not like taxes. They do not like government in their life. That's a big part of your pitch, Mr. Mayor. So given that, why are you doing better here? GIULIANI: Well, let see how we do. A very big part of our appeal is lower taxes, less government, staying on offense in the war on terror. Of course, that's at the core of our 12 commitments to the American people. So we think we'll do well here. And we think it's a message that will resound throughout the country. In Florida, in South Carolina, and all of the states that are coming up.
BASH: We talked to some New Hampshire voters and they say we never really got to know him. He was here but he didn't stay and linger. Didn't shake our hands, didn't take our questions, didn't sort of play the New Hampshire game, the tradition here. And that's a part of the reason why you haven't done as well with voters here. What do you say to that?
GIULIANI: Well, we spent a lot of time here. I think 50 plus days, 54 days or so. A lot of time, a lot of questions, a lot of town hall meetings. It could be there are some other candidates spent more time. So that in comparison, it doesn't look as much. In comparison to the other places we've been, we have actually spent a great deal of time here.
BASH: Now the other question is, you know, obviously a big push is electability. And for a long time, what you -- you're one of your basic points was that you could be somebody who could be strong against Hillary Clinton. Now, a lot of your rivals are saying, you know, it might not be Hillary Clinton. It might be Barack Obama. So is that a negative for you that it might not be, you know, a Rudy Giuliani versus Hillary Clinton?
GIULIANI: I think the electoral math works out pretty much the same, whether it's Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama or John Edwards. I mean, I think it's the same set of stage that we're in play. And I believe that I'm the candidate who has the best chance of putting 50 of the states in play.
In other words, more states than any other. States like Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Oregon, California, Minnesota -- those are the states in which -- and a group of others -- those are the states that I do very well in Florida, which is coming up. So, sure, personalities change a little and the emphasis changes a little. But I think as between the three leading Democratic candidates, the electoral math turns out about the same. And I think, I give the Republican Party the best chance of a 50-state campaign.
BASH: Now obviously, you are talking about that several times. About the fact that your strategy has always been to focus a lot more on the later states. But given the fact that things has not done as well, even in some of the states you have competed in, like New Hampshire, are you worried that that is not necessarily the strategy that is going to win for you?
GIULIANI: The only way you find out what strategy wins for you is when it's over. As you go through, you pick the best strategy that you think can work for you, for your pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses. This is a good strategy. It's one that has us ahead in more states than anywhere else. And we'll be competing in those states. The reality is I think we're going to do well in New Hampshire. That's why we're here. We're encouraging everyone to vote. I think a vote for me is a vote for low taxes. A vote for me is a vote for staying on offense in the war on terror. We believe that that's a situation that will help us in the long run.
BASH: One last question, do you have the money to compete at this point in other states?
GIULIANI: Sure. We can compete. We've scheduled it that way. We've distributed our assets that way. We've got organizations built in a number of those states already. And not just Florida but states like Illinois, and California, New York, and New Jersey, and Connecticut. So I think we've got a very good organization in all those places.
BASH: Mr. Mayor, thank you very much. Thank you for your time. Good luck today.
GIULIANI: Thank you very much.
BASH: Thank you, Sir. Kiran, we'll toss it back to you.
CHETRY: Dana Bash, thanks so much.
ROBERTS: So as we mentioned earlier, Hillary Clinton's emotional response to a question in a campaign stop in Portsmouth, New Hampshire is getting national attention. Clinton teared up just a little bit when asked how she managed to deal with the stresses of her presidential campaign. Here's that moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, I have so many opportunities in this country. I just don't want to see us fall backwards. You know? You know, this is very personal for me. It's not just political. It's not just public. I see what's happening. We have to reverse it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: I asked Senator Clinton about that rare display of emotion in the interview I conducted with her yesterday. And we're going to bring you that coming up in our next hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.
And be sure to stay with CNN for the very latest on the New Hampshire primary. As the polls close tonight, be sure to join Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Lou Dobbs, and the rest of The Best Political Team on Television. Coverage begins at 8:00 p.m. eastern.
And be sure to catch AMERICAN MORNING, bright and early tomorrow, beginning one hour earlier at 5:00 a.m. eastern. And if you want to watch any of the candidates today in their final push for votes in New Hampshire, just go to cnn.com/live to watch their rallies and events stream live. We're all over the place. CHETRY: That's right. And tomorrow, we're going on an hour earlier, 5:00 a.m. We're going to bring you the latest results. Meanwhile, we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we have more on wicked weather that's been going on, especially around the Midwestern part of the country. Deadly tornadoes sweeping through many states there including Missouri. Two deaths blamed on tornadoes in that state. It's not over yet either. Jacqui Jeras is tracking extreme weather for us. She's going to give us a look after the break.
Also we're going to get more on the New Hampshire primaries coming up. What does the future hold for Hillary Clinton if she does not win here? We're going to talk with John Dickerson coming up ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: President of France briefing the press not on the state of his country but on the state of his love life. And in news conference just a couple of hours ago, Nicolas Sarkozy told French media that his relationship with former supermodel Carla Bruni is serious, even suggested that marriage was possible. Over the weekend, newspaper reports that the couple would get married in early February. Sarkozy is freshly divorced from his previous wife that happened in October.
Well the time now is 6:45 here in New Hampshire. Jacqui Jeras covering extreme weather for us, including some nasty weather in the Midwest that resulted in the deaths of two people in Missouri. Jacqui, what's the latest?
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: With voters already in the polls in today's primary and many having cast their votes and having them counted in midnight up there in Dixville Notch, what are the issues that we should look for today and beyond?
CHETRY: Well for that, we turn to CNN political analyst John Dickerson who joins us this morning. Great to see you, by the way. One quick question though about Hillary Clinton, because she was certainly making news last night, who spoke with John Roberts and had that quasi-tearful moment. If she losses New Hampshire, what's her strategy?
JOHN DICKERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, her strategy is to try and build a fire wall on the February 5th states. Those whole big bunch of states. So basically that's essentially, although they won't say this, give up a little bit on South Carolina where they think Obama is going to win. Perhaps Nevada, she'll do well in the Nevada caucus.
But to try and build a firewall then, by the fifth, and basically argued Obama has all of these problems. The problem with that of course is that they've been making the case about Obama's problems here in New Hampshire. They tried it in Iowa as well. So every time he wins, he kind of beats back her ability to make those claims about his ineffectiveness or he's not having been vetted.
ROBERTS: So what are the issues that Obama is connecting on here in the Granite State or is he even connecting on issues at all?
DICKERSON: Well, the thing is this debate in the Democratic Party is not so much about issues. There are differences certainly on health care and on Iraq, but they're small. The debate is about how are you going to govern and do you have the capacity to govern in a way that will really change Washington? So the argument is about how you will run your White House rather than your specific proposal on Medicare or social security.
CHETRY: One of the issues where they do seem to have differences is when it comes to Iraq and the possible troop withdrawal. Hillary Clinton's called for something a little bit more measured. John Edwards said something about an immediate pullout. With the surge actually going well and with the fact that there has been a marked of decrease in violence, how does that immediate pullout still play? How do they make that argument and still show that they are with it when it comes to foreign policy issues?
DICKERSON: Well, you don't hear Democrats talking about the war as much as they did several months ago. But what it does mean is that it means economic issues are coming up to the top of people's minds and those are issues Democrats tend to do well on. So to the extent the conversation shifts to economic issues, that is probably good for the Democrats.
ROBERTS: You know, one of the other things we're hearing too John, is Mitt Romney is saying Obama is likely to defeat McCain. So you know, an indication that, hey don't vote for McCain today when you go to the polls. Let's bring you back. We'll talk more about what's going on the Republican side a little bit later on.
DICKERSON: Sounds good.
ROBERTS: All right. Thanks, John.
CHETRY: Still ahead. Could we be headed for an economic downturn? We're going to find out why a top researcher charged with rating our economy says a recession is now more likely than ever. It's also a big issue that we hear about here on the campaign trail. A lot of people concerned about keeping jobs in the U.S. and the weak dollar. Are there solutions on the horizon? We're going to talk more about that when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
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CHETRY: Welcome back. We're about eight minutes until the top of the hour. Ali Velshi back at home base in New York "Minding Your Business" for us this morning. Even President Bush is oftentimes very rosy has said that we are in for some economic challenges. What's going on, Ali?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Good morning, Kiran. In fact, the number of people who know a thing or two about the economy or should were speaking yesterday about the economy. Now, we've been telling you about, so and so at this bank and these people telling you about the possibility of recession. But now someone is speaking, we should actually some pay attention to him.
He's name is Martin Feldstein. He's a Harvard professor. He's an economist. But he's saying that the odds of a recession are now more than even, more than 50 percent. Now, why do we care about Martin Feldstein? Because he is the chairman and CEO of the NBER, the National Bureau of Economic Research.
And the reason that's important is because the NBER is the organization that's charged with actually deciding or determining that there has been a recession. They are the final arbiter of recession. So the guy who is in charge of this thing is saying there's a better than even chance of a recession.
He says it can be avoided with federate cuts and some tax cuts. He is, by the way, thought of as the father of the Bush tax cuts. So he is a big sort of conservative economist who thinks tax cuts work.
However, when a guy in that position says that there's a chance of a recession, it's probably worth listening to. As you mentioned, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and President Bush both spoke on the economy yesterday. I'll be back in about half-hour to give you some details about what they had to say. But still continuing worries about a recession. Something you should talk to those candidates about.
John?
ROBERTS: All right, thanks. We definitely will. Ali, thanks very much.
The voting has begun. The very earliest results are in. Already some big surprises. What do they tell us about what's ahead today in New Hampshire and going forward here in Campaign '08. We're taking a look at the top of the hour here on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: New Hampshire votes. The nation's first primary is under way this morning. Hopes and dreams on the line. One-on-one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: We don't normally see that display of the emotion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: We asked Hillary Clinton about the question that almost made her cry.
Tornadoes rip through the Midwest overnight. Tracking extreme weather on the move on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And welcome. We're so glad you're with us today. It is Tuesday, January 8. It's Primary Day here in New Hampshire. 7:00 on the nose. And some of the other polls are opened. A few of them opened at 6:00. More opening at 7:00. And John and I are here at the Chez Vachon Diner today.
ROBERTS: Good morning to you. Yes. I mean, this is a real hot bed of political talk and a lot of people here this morning joining us, not only for breakfast but to chat about the candidates. To chat about the process that they took to get to who they were going to vote for and of course, everybody coming in for the local specialty here which is a Fat Carbo Bomb.
CHETRY: This is something that John told me yesterday. You told me yesterday, this is a French Canadian favorite, right?
ROBERTS: It is poutine.
CHETRY: It is pronounced poutine. It basically is a enormous plate of fries along with gravy and cheese curds. But you don't have to settle just for this. You can get ones with meat added as well. Kielbasa, Italian sausage. Whatever you want to go.
ROBERTS: You know, the original French Canadian poutine is simply French fries with gravy and cheese curds. People have twig it and taken it up to a whole new level.
CHETRY: That's right.
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