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Continued Election Coverage - Following the Candidates

Aired January 12, 2008 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUCKABEE: And make sure that they don't stand in line for the benefits that veterans ought to receive. They ought to be taken with the first group of the Federal Treasury, not the leftovers. I also believe that it's time for this country to decide that our founding fathers were right when they said that all of us are created equal and that nobody is more equal than somebody else. One's net worth, one's IQ, one's disability or ability does not make one more equal than another. One's background, one's race, one's last name does not make one more equal than another.

And if we really believe that and we believe in the intrinsic value and worth of every individual and if we elevate and celebrate life to that level, then we will have to draw the logical conclusion that every life is important from the moment it is conceived until the time it has a natural death, and we will protect human life in this country.

I believe that this country rises or falls on how it treats each other. And the reason that that's an issue that is not a political one for me, one that transcends the politics. I didn't come to that conclusion because it was a good political position so I could run for president. It's the position I've held for my life. If holding that position costs me the election, I'd rather lose an election than I had to lose my own conscience. But I don't believe we lose elections when we stand up for each other, which is what it really means to say that life is precious and sacred and we value it in each other.

And not too far from here when the little boy was lost in the woods of North Carolina, the 12-year-old Boy Scout, we turned heaven and earth loose to try to find him. It wasn't because he was our kid or nephew or somebody that we knew. It's just that that's what we do in this country -- we value life. When six coal miners were trapped and lost in the coal mines of Huntington, Utah, we didn't say, you know, those guys knew the dangers. We just can't go to the expense of looking for them. This country held its collective breath while the search took place.

We do that because we instinctively know that that's what gives us our uniqueness as a nation, our sense of responsibility toward each other, the fact that we do believe that another person is as valuable as us and we also know that today that person is of value and someday somebody may not think we're that valuable either. And it's a path down which we all know we cannot go. That's why it's time for this nation to take that stand and to keep it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: That's Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee in his own words in South Carolina earlier this week. South Carolina is the site of a Republican primary next week. Mike Huckabee is trying to draw on his momentum from his upset in Iowa where he was victorious there. And the competition in South Carolina heating up as we saw Mike Huckabee and former Senator Fred Thompson in this past week's debate getting somewhat heated. That's a very competitive race. We'll be hearing from Mike Huckabee later in the 5:00 p.m. Eastern hour we'll be hearing from him live as he talks and makes his case in South Carolina.

We're going to take a quick break. Then we'll head back once again to Las Vegas with Jim Acosta. He'll have more excerpts from Senator Barack Obama when he campaigned in Nevada yesterday. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: I'm Jim Acosta in Las Vegas, Nevada, watching and waiting for Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, campaigning in Battle Creek, Michigan. The former governor is expected to have an event here in just a few moments. This is a state that his father ran as governor, and Mitt Romney is hoping to capitalize on some of that family legacy and capture that state. He desperately needs to win a primary, and that primary coming up on January 19th. We'll get to that event as soon as we can.

In the meantime, just to switch gears somewhat, we should note that Barack Obama has been spending some time here in Nevada, and will be spending quite a bit of time here in anticipation of this Saturday's Nevada caucus one week from today. But heading into Chicago this morning, he had a bit of an incident with his campaign airplane. That plane landing at Midway Airport without incident, but then as it was taxiing on the runway, it hit another plane. It was an unmanned plane that his plane hit, just slightly, but it was enough to jolt the passengers on board the Obama plane which also included the senator himself. Nobody was hurt, but, again, that was something that was certainly unexpected for the Obama campaign. From all assessments that can be made of the situation, the senator is doing just fine. We should make note of that.

In the meantime, we do want to take you to an event that he had last night here in Las Vegas. He was endorsed by the Culinary Workers Union here in Las Vegas, a big union, represents workers from the casino industry, which, of course, is a huge voting bloc to be tapped into. That union endorsed Barack Obama. During the event, the senator from Illinois actually used a little Spanish. We haven't heard that until now, which brings to mind, what is the Spanish word for caucus? We're still trying to figure that one out.

In the meantime, let's listen to Barack Obama from yesterday appealing to workers with the Culinary Union, the Culinary Workers Union, and using a little Spanish. We'll explain that after we hear from the senator here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESINDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They're tired of a politics that tears people down instead of building the country up. They're tired of all the slick talk and the pr and the spin. They want a president who's going to talk straight with the American people about how he or she is going to fix problems and that's what I intend to do when I'm president of the United States of America.

I'm running because I don't want to do business as usual. You know, you've got some folks saying, well, you know what, we've got -- Obama may have good ideas, may be inspiring, but he hasn't been in Washington long enough. You know, they want a seasoned stew and stew me and boil all out of me so I act like all the politicians in Washington. Let me tell you something -- you and I know that the real gamble is doing the same old folks do the same old thing over and over again and expecting a different result. That is a risk we cannot take. We need something new. We need something different.

We need a president who's listening to the American people. We need a president who is listening to the American people. You know, I am not new to this business of organizing. I'm not new to working on the streets with people who don't have a lot. That's why you guys got to know me, because you knew that when the folks were out at the Congress hotel, you know, in Illinois, I was there in the heat and I was there in the cold. I was walking the picket line because I knew what you were going through.

I don't come from money. I don't come from a lot of money, and I don't come from a lot of privilege. I was raised by a single mom and my grandparents. And all they could give me was love and education and some hope. So when I see a single mom somewhere trying to raise her children, working and not making enough money, I know what that's like. When I see a family that can't afford to send their kids to college or the kids have to take out thousands of dollars worth of debt, I know what that's like because I took out thousands of dollars worth of debt and so did my wife, Michelle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: We'll try to get back to that event in a moment. Meantime, we'll take you to Jacksonville, North Carolina. You're looking at Sheriff Ed Brown there speaking from Onslow County on the update now on that missing marine.

SHERIFF ED BROWN, ONSLOW COUNTY: What we have discovered today and last night will be available for any questions once we have done this and we will answer what questions we can. Understand also that because we have reached this point doesn't mean the investigation has stopped and we can just present everything to you that you ask. We still have got to be defensive of our investigation and where it's going. And Mr. Hudson will have to be defensive of the legal process.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): Sheriff, let me ask you something. I asked yesterday about a protective order. He said there was no military protective order. BROWN: You asked me that question, and I cleared it. He did not know about it. I made that -- that's why I put it in writing. I put that in writing. I didn't know about it until last night. I'm not one to lie to you. I haven't lied to you yet. I'm not going to lie to you. If you ask me a question, I'll just tell you I can't answer it. If I don't know, I'll tell you I don't know. If you asked me that question today, I'd have to say, yes, sir, I found out about it.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): I understand that, sir.

BROWN: I know last night -- you've got to understand you've got 40,000 people on the base and you're telling me -- no telling how many piece of paper. It's impossible for him to me to check over piece of paper filed out there.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): (INAUDIBLE)

BROWN: It was issued in July of this year 2007, it expired in September 2007. What I saw in the papers. Now, I can't -- it's a military process. It was not sent out to the civilian side of the law enforcement so I don't know. I can't answer military procedures. I don't know.

(INAUDIBLE)

BROWN: I don't know. I don't know. It says military protective order, and that question would have to be answered by someone who knows. I've learned not to walk out on an area where I don't know anything about.

(INAUDBILE)

BROWN: You've got the press release. Any questions concerning that?

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): (INAUDIBLE)

BROWN: Yes, sir. This morning early in the morning our medical examiner, Mr. Charles Garrett, Dr. Charles Garrett, the NCIS, FBI began unearthing the cavity that we suspected human remains were in, in the backyard of Cesar Armando Laurean. That process did produce what we expected it to produce. In the bottom of that cavity, which now we'll call a shallow grave, was an adult and also the remains of a small -- a fetus.

The fetus in that case was in the abdominal area of the adult. The fetus was developed enough that the little hand was about the size of that -- my thumb. The little fingers were rolled up like this. And this is consistent with what we were looking for, a pregnant lady who is the victim Maria Lauterbach and her unborn child.

That process removed the two from the grave and has been transported to the Onslow County Hospital medical examiner's office and probably will be sent to Chapel Hill for further examinations, DNA and other matters.

(INAUDIBLE)

BROWN: That was -- we have shared with you about everything that we know that wouldn't interfere with this investigation. There is a lot to be done after here. This doesn't stop the process, and I want the public watching and you're watching viewers to understand that there's still one thing that we want, and that is the suspect in this case, and that is Cesar Armando Laurean.

We have also a request out to the viewing media and the reading media -- if you have any information, matter of fact -- I can't expound on this -- there has been a piece of information that we believe, piece of evidence, may have been a part of this murder. I can't expound on it, but that has come about as a result of what you have helped us in doing here in making this case public.

(INAUDIBLE)

BROWN: The only way I can address that, manner of death, is that it was violent, according to what I have learned from the officers doing the processing of the house inside. The blood patterns were even up into the ceiling.

(UNIDENTIFED MALE): You said there was a violent crime that occurred inside the house.

BROWN: Yes, sir.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): Was there anyone else aside from the suspect who lived in the house who may have noticed that during the time period?

BROWN: You asked two questions, I can't answer both questions. Were there other persons living in the house? Mr. Laurean, it appears, he and his wife lived in that residence. The fact that it was noticed, I can't answer that question, but they both shared that house together.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): Was she at all aware of any of this?

BROWN: I can't answer that question.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): Is she ruled out as a suspect?

BROWN: Who?

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): The wife.

BROWN: I'm saying I've answered about all the questions I can that will not be detrimental to where we're going with the investigation. This investigation did not stop today when the body was removed. Like I told you, y'all's reports have developed an object that had been presented to us that we believe may be important in this case.

So while we would like to share with you when it has an impact on our investigation, we must not share that and hope not to offend you in not doing so.

(INAUDIBLE)

BROWN: As well as I could see, the body was much charred. It appeared that the body of the adult was laying over on the side with the face down in the bottom of the pit. As I said, the fetus was in the abdominal area of that adult. As I have said in the release, one of the things that will probably stick for me for a long time and forever is that little hand, the way those fingers were turned, that had been burn off the arm. That is bizarre. That is tragic. And it's disgusting.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): Sir, are you getting any hope from any --

WHITFIELD: The words of Sheriff Ed Brown there out of Onslow County there in Jefferson, North Carolina. Underscoring how disgusting the findings are today within the past 24 hours at this location which turned out to be a shallow grave in the backyard of what is believed to be the prime suspect's home. Prime suspect, Corporal Cesar Armando Laurean. The search for him is ongoing nationwide. He is believed to be responsible for the death of Marine Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach.

You heard Sheriff Brown describing there how the body of Lauterbach as well as her unborn fetus were found in this shallow grave in the backyard. Charred remains as well. They were able to remove those remains earlier today. The sheriff underscoring that the results today were "what we expected." We're going to continue to follow the developments there out of Jefferson, North Carolina. Very disturbing findings there coming from the sheriff's department. Much more ahead on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Welcome back to BALLOT BOWL on CNN where you get to hear the candidates in their own words. I'm Jim Acosta in Las Vegas, Nevada. Those aren't blackjack tables behind me. Those are people here in Nevada practicing for the upcoming Nevada caucus, one week from today. That is the next big contest for the Democrats as they race for the White House.

Meanwhile, Mary Snow is in Michigan where she is keeping tabs on former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who is on familiar territory, having been the son of the former governor of Michigan, his father there. Mary, how is the governor doing out there?

SNOW: Well, Jim, you're right. This is what he likes to say his home state because he grew up here and his father was governor for six years. He is right now in Battle Creek, Michigan; he is at an event that just got under way a few moments ago. Let's go to it live.

MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDIATE: Let me just say one more thing, and that is, you know, now and then I listen to politicians particularly on the other side of the aisle that say things that are divisive. They try to divide America and take us apart. Senator Edwards, he is a good man I'm sure, but he keeps talking about there are two Americas, well, there are differences between us. We're male and female and Republican and Democrat and tall and short and rich and poor. We have all sorts of differences.

But when things come to the matters that matters most, Americans stand together. And our security is one of those things. I was in my office when I was serving as governor to my state, and I got a call from my assistant, my chief of staff, and she said that there was a soldier coming home from Iraq in the Boston Airport and as I recall the parents lived a long way away from the airport and my staff wondered if I could go to the airport to welcome him home. I said, well, sure. They said, but he's not coming home in the passenger compartment. He's coming home in a casket. So with heavy heart I went to the airport. We drove out on the tarmac and some soldiers from the National Guard were there. This big USA jet came in and stopped in front of the terminal, big glass wall there next to the terminal at USA, passengers got off the aircraft, baggage was taken off and the casket began being lowered and the soldiers stood at attention and saluted. I put my hand to my heart out of respect and thought of the loss of his life, tragically and the loss in his family.

Soldiers took the casket and began putting it in the hers and I happened to glance up into the terminal. That big glass wall up there. It seems that the people who had gotten on the -- off the aircraft had seen the soldiers and seen the police cars and so farther and so they had stopped to look out the windows to see what was going on. Then I guess people walking through the terminal happened to see all of them lined up and they came over to the windows to see what was going on. So there was a big crowd there and every person I saw had their hand on their heart.

We are a nation united. We come together as Americans for the matters that are most critical. I'm convinced that our future is brighter than our past because I've seen the heart of the American people. The source of our greatness is not government. The source of our greatness is the American people. People who believe in hard work and who believe in opportunity and love their neighbor and people who are family oriented and people who believe in god and even those who don't believe in god in America believe in something bigger than themselves. People who are patriotic and respect the sacrifice made by men and women who defend this great country.

Our future is brighter than our past. As president, I will not only be aware of what's going on in Michigan. I will care about what's going on in Michigan. I will fight to bring back good jobs. I will fight to strengthen our homes. I will fight to strengthen our economy. And I'll make sure we're strong around the world. Thank you so much. I need your help! Thank you.

SNOW: That's Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney making his case here in Michigan, a state he is really focusing on after losing in Iowa and New Hampshire. That was the strategy, to win both states there, but now he is in a tight race with Senator John McCain. Mitt Romney has been trying to portray himself as the Washington outsider and has been taking jabs at Senator John McCain, particularly here in Michigan, which has been so hard hit by tens of thousands of layoffs in the past several years in the auto industry. Senator John McCain had said that these manufacturing jobs aren't coming back but he wants to retrain people. Mitt Romney is trying to say he wants to get those jobs back. That is part of the fight brewing here in Michigan, leading into Tuesday's primary.

We're going to have much more coming up. We're going to take a quick break, and then we are going to head back out to Las Vegas. We'll have more from Senator Barack Obama.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: And we're back in Las Vegas, Nevada, Jim Acosta with BALLOT BOWL '08. And right now what we want to do is switch gears to the Democrats and talk about this upcoming contest next Saturday, one week from today, the Nevada caucuses will be held, here and so far we're seeing Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama going toe-to-toe for the voters in this state.

Last night Barack Obama picked up a key endorsement from the Culinary Workers Union, that is a union that is comprised of a lot of casino workers in this town, so, it's a big voting bloc. Also, a lot of Hispanic voters. So, very important endorsement for Barack Obama. And one thing that we heard last night is Obama can speak habla espanol. He was echoing slogan of the old United Farm Worker's leader, Cesar Chavez, and catch phrase, "Si, se puede," which means, "yes, we can." And last night Barack Obama slipped that into his campaign stump speech. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Si, se puede. That's your story, the story of Local 226. That's how dishwashers and hotel workers, cooks and cleaning staff realize their dream in this desert town. That's how you stood up for a bottom line that didn't just include profits for the few, but prosperity for the many. A bottom line that includes a decent wage and affordable healthcare and decent benefits and the right to organize for a better future. That's what you've been fighting for. And that's how we're going to win this caucus on Saturday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Barack Obama habla espanol saying "Si, se puede" to workers gathered in Las Vegas last night, picking up the key endorsement of the Culinary Workers Union. And to get an inside look, a closer look at the Obama campaign, I'm joined now by CNN campaign -- Barack Obama imbed, no less, Chris Welch.

And Chris, you were at this event last night. It was kind of interesting to hear Barack Obama speaking Spanish. I'm trying to think back. I haven't heard him speak Spanish before, but this is a key move for Barack Obama. He really needs Hispanic voters if he's going to be successful out here.

CHRIS WELCH, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Absolutely. I mean, this was a huge crowd we saw last night. It's really nothing different than we've been seeing in the past weeks. I mean, he's been getting overflow crowds just about everywhere he's gone.

But yeah, yesterday he started using a little new language, he incorporated new phrases into his speech. He talked about, you know, the plight that he's gone through, the plight that the workers here in Las Vegas may have gone through as well. And he used Spanish, which I haven't heard before either. I mean, this is new language. He said, "Si, se puede," which is "yes, we can," and, yes, we can, is what he's been, I guess, using for the past few weeks now or maybe even longer. Yes, we can, that's part of the -- everything he's trying to relay across to the voters, yes, we can accomplish these things. There's no such thing as false hopes. Hoping is a good thing, so yes, we can.

ACOSTA: And Obama suffered a setback in New Hampshire, we all know about that. Do you get a sense at all -- and I think we were talking about this before we started the interview -- that Obama is changing his message at all? It seems like he's sort of sticking to his guns.

WELCH: Right. At least -- he's done only a few events publicly since New Hampshire. He did one event the day after in New Jersey. He did one event the day after that in South Carolina. And in both of those his message was pretty much the same. His speech was shorter in South Carolina because John Kerry, who endorsed him there, spoke as well. But the message had been the same. Now, yesterday he came here to Las Vegas, he spoke to the culinary workers union, this is a much more diverse crowd. He used new language, again, but it's very much still the message of yes, we can, you've got to believe. He's trying to go at it a little bit different way, I think.

ACOSTA: OK, Barack Obama trying to keep hope alive. Chris Welch, thanks very much for joining us. Appreciate it.

And now it's time to go to a break. But, when we come back to you on the other side, we'll be hearing from Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson as BALLOT BOWL continues, right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARY SNOW, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Welcome back, you're watching CNN's BALLOT BOWL, a change to hear from the presidential candidates on the campaign trail, in their own words. I'm Mary Snow in Clawson, Michigan.

Michigan is the sight of the next battleground for Republican candidates, where there's a primary on Tuesday. We heard just a short time ago from Republican presidential hopeful, Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts. He has a lot at stake here in Michigan as he tries to gain a victory, here. He lost in Iowa and New Hampshire. His strategy had been to win those early states and build momentum, but after suffering two defeats, the pressure is on to do well here.

We want to go right now to our producer, Alex Marquardt. Alex, is what we call an imbed, someone constantlily traveling with these campaigns, observing and reporting back to us on everything the candidates do. And Alex, you were just with Governor Romney in Battle Creek. You've been with him the past couple of days. He's really focusing so much of his effort, right now, on Michigan, isn't he?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: He really is basing a lot of it in Michigan. Michigan is pretty important for him. Everywhere he goes he's dogged by the question, is this a do or die state for you? Because as you mentioned, he suffered twof early losses, though he won Wyoming. He spins it as two silvers and a gold, very fitting of a man who saved the Olympics.

But, won't speculate beyond that. He won't say that this will be the end of the run if it doesn't go well for him. He says it's more than just three or four states, that he will keep going. But, the fact of the matter is, is that he has pulled ads from South Carolina and Florida to focus his resources here in Michigan. And he's spending -- he got here on Friday and he's not leaving until after the Tuesday primary, unlike some of his rivals. He said this is ground zero, but hasn't gone so far as to say that if it doesn't go well that will be the end of the road for him.

SNOW: Yeah, and certainly one thing that Mitt Romney has is his personal fortune to tap into. He's already spent about $20 million of his own money so far on his presidential campaign. You know, we keep talking about the fact that this is such a personal battle for him here in Michigan because of his close ties. You were with him when he went to the state capitol yesterday. His father had been governor here in the 1960s. Tell us about that trip yesterday to the state capitol because he got pretty emotional, right?

MARQUARDT: Yeah. Well, as you said, his father was governor here during the '60s for six years, three terms, much beloved governor. We went to the state capitol with Mr. And Mrs. Romney. We -- they got a tour from the minority leader Frank DeRoche (ph), and we stood in the rotunda where his father lay in rest, rather, lay in state, rather, when he passed away in 1995.

And then from there we went up to where George Romney has a portrait. And Ann Romney, Mrs. Romney, got very emotional because she considered George Romney a father figure. And as governor Romney likes to say, when his wife gets emotional, he does, too. So, they got pretty misty eyed. They really play up their Michigan roots, the fact that that Governor Romney was born here, raised here, his wife was born here, raised here, they have a son that was also born here. Every where he goes, like this event here in Battle Creek, he says this is personal for me, it's not just another state on the campaign trail.

SNOW: Yeah, certainly banking on a win, here. Alex Marquardt, thank you very much for checking in with us, here today. You're watching the BALLOT BOWL here on CNN. Coming up, we'll be hearing from former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, the Republican presidential hopeful, in his own words. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ACOSTA: I'm Jim Acosta with BALLOT BOWL '08, live here on CNN. It is the best way for you, the view and the voter, to hear from the candidates in their own words. We're in Las Vegas in anticipation of next week's -- next Saturday's, I should say, Nevada caucuses on January 19.

But we want to switch gears for just a moment and talk about what's happening in the Palmetto State. There's a very important contest coming up in South Carolina on Tuesday and one of those candidates out there who is, as some people are saying, in a sort of do or die situation, a make or break situation, is Fred Thompson, the former senator from Tennessee, and actor. He walks and talks like a Southerner and so he is looking forward to getting down to some warmer climes (ph), down South.

He had an even earlier today, and he has been talking tough on the issue of immigration, trying to differentiate himself from the -- one of the frontrunners down in South Carolina, Mike Huckabee. Fred Thompson has been going after Mike Huckabee on the issue of immigration and earlier Fred Thompson, again, talking tough about this very important issue in the South.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people look at it as a matter of "law & order." I had to say that. But also...

(LAUGHTER)

FRED THOMPSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Clever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was thinking about that one all night. But in inherent fairness, you had a great comment Thursday night in Myrtle Beach. You said, what America needs is high senses and wide gates. And I thought that was a wonderful way to put it. What do we do about the homeland security issue that is our borders and securing our borders and what do we do with the illegal aliens who are already here in America?

THOMPSON: I said, high fences, wide gates, and we get to decide when to open the gates and how long to keep them open and when to close them. It's up to us.

(APPLAUSE)

It's the first obligation and duty of a country to secure its borders, it used to go without saying. Mexico certainly doesn't have any trouble securing its southern borders. They deport more people every year than we do, with rare exception. So, that's just an obligation of a nation and one that we have let slip like so many problems in this country, we wake up one day and we got a tremendous problem, it crept up on us and then it becomes so big that it's unmanageable unmanageable. So, you can't do anything about it so you might as well learn to live with it. Well, we can't do that.

If we secured the borders, required the employers to use the system that's available now that allows them to determine whether or not someone is legal when they're hired, if we closed of off these sanctuary cities and stopped them from telling their own employees they couldn't cooperate with federal authorities, if he we stopped giving in-state tuition to illegals and things like that that induce people to come -- it's ironic at the same time we're talking about securing the borders, we're doing things that induce people to take the risk and come across the desert and take their children and women run the risk of being attacked and all that kind of stuff, coming through here, so we've got to do that across the board. If we did those things across the board, we would have enforcement by attrition. The numbers instead of going this way would begin to go back the other way, if people knew they couldn't come back and forth across the border and work and be hidden with impunity in these cities and so farther.

So, that's the plan that I have. That's what I've set out. We need to increase the border patrol and do everything that's necessary to secure the borders. It's not a matter of how, it's a matter of will. We simply haven't had the will. We know we, you know, the United States of America can secure our border. Hasn't been that long we went to the moon and back. I think we can secure a border.

So, it's just a matter of political will. We have to do it.

(APPLAUSE)

It's an issue that cuts across a lot of lines. It's a fairness issue with regard to people who have played by the rules and stood in line in embassies around the world, you know, to come here and to become productive and legal American citizens. There are burdens on these localities and school systems and hospitals and so forth across the country, and it's a national security issue.

We live in an era of the suitcase bomb and people can come across the border with very dangerous stuff in small amounts that could be devastating to an American city. So, we've got to be mindful of that. We arrest thousands of people in our country that have come from states -- countries that are state sponsors of terrorism. So...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about for those who are currently here in America illegally?

THOMPSON: Well, that's what I've been talking about. I said you'd have enforcement by attrition. You'd reverse that process. I don't think -- you know, you're not going to round up everybody in a bunch of buses one day and get it done. You're going to have to reverse the inducements, reverse the inducements and the situation will take care of itself over a period of time. We didn't get into this situation overnight and we won't get out of it overnight, but let's start going in the right direction and stop going in the wrong direction. Because, we're talk about 12 million, it's now 12 million. What about the next 12 and the next 12 after that? I mean, if we don't do anything about it, it's going to continue to go in the wrong direction. If we didn't do anything to put a stop to it, we'd be making progress. I really do think that the situation would reverse if people knew that they couldn't go back and forth across the border willy-nilly, and that they couldn't go in and give some, obvious, bogus I.D. and work here indefinitely.

They wouldn't go into a city and know that officials were not going to inquire ever as to their legality or anything like that, then maybe these other countries would do more for their own citizens and enhance their own economies, inject a little bit more free markets into the systems and create jobs there. I mean, we trade with them. We do our part, we have agreements with them and a lot of people are critical of those things. I think the trade basically is a good thing, and that enhances their own economic situation in Mexico and in other places. So, they need to have their own prosperous economy so they can stay at home and work there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And there is the former senator from the Volunteer State, Fred Thompson, calling for some law and order on the issue of immigration. And as you see in that video, that was unfiltered, unedited video we wanted to bring straight to you, the viewer, so you can hear the candidates in their own words.

And I should make a little note, here, a note to self, note to viewer -- the South Carolina primary is next Saturday, not on Tuesday. That's when the folks up in Michigan are having their Republican contest, up there.

But, I want to bring in John O'Connor, a political reporter for the "Big State" newspaper, very important state newspaper, in South Carolina.

And John, if you had been on with me at the time, you could have corrected me as to the date for the South Carolina primary. But John, as you listen to Fred Thompson and as you look at the Republican field, it's interesting to note that this race is wide open down in South Carolina, or so it seems. Is that the case?

JOHN O'CONNOR, BIG STATE REPORTER: Yeah. I mean, from after the New Hampshire primary until the debate on Thursday night, the campaigns, most of them, were basically admitting it was a two-person race down here. But, there seems to be two wild cards, and that would be Senator Thompson's performance in the debate and how it's going to translate with voters and then also Tuesday's primary in Michigan and how Governor Romney will perform there. I mean, his campaign thinks that if they win on Tuesday that South Carolina is back in play. And a lot of observers believe that Governor Romney has enough organization down here and enough support to win the South Carolina primary. But right now, Senator McCain and Governor Huckabee are out front, fairly significantly, with voters.

ACOSTA: And John McCain was really put through the meat grinder in the 2000 campaign by the George W. Bush campaign. And it seems as if he's recovered from that, and correct me if I'm mistaken here, McCain is running a campaign commercial featuring that child that he adopted who is from Bangladesh. Is that right? And why do you think he did that and how is that going to play with voters, do you think?

O'CONNOR: I haven't seen the ad yet, but I've heard that he does have the ad. As far as why he did it, part of his campaign, the entire time, what he said was he's learned lessons from 2000. And the lesson was not that he was beaten by dirty tricks or dirty politics down here, but that President Bush had a better organization in South Carolina and knew how to capitalize on getting out the voters and pushing his message and getting it out there.

Senator McCain has won over a lot of establishment Republicans, here. He's got the speaker of the house from South Carolina, he's got the attorney general, Senator Lindsey Graham, and what they've said is, you know, they can push their message, they can push back when somebody tries to question what they stand for. And I expect that we're going to see a lot of that in the next week.

ACOSTA: And on the Democratic side, everybody seems to be saying that this is make or break time for John Edwards. He is the native son, he was born in South Carolina, although he represented the folks in North Carolina. He won in 2004 and is not doing well as it appears to be the case, right now. But obviously there's still time. What do you make of his chances there, and why do you think he is not connecting with voters there as well as he did in 2004?

O'CONNOR: As for why he's not connecting with voters as well, a lot of it has to do with who he's running against. And I think there's some different candidates there in Senator Clinton and senator Obama who have really motivated people. I don't think it's a problem that South Carolina voters have with Senator Edwards necessarily, it's just they've found someone that they like better. And you know, they would like to go in a new direction.

He is campaigning very hard here. He's spending as much money on television as Senator Obama is, slightly more even than Senator Clinton. And yet he's still lagging in the polls, he does not seem to be gaing momentum. He hasn't picked up anything out of the two early states. And most of them believe this is a two-person race between Senator Clinton and Senator Obama.

ACOSTA: And one thing that's interesting to note, out here in Nevada when we watched Senator Obama and Senator Clinton out here reaching out to Hispanic voters, you have Obama speaking Spanish at an event last night saying "Si, se puede,", "yes, we can," you had a sign behind Hillary Clinton today that said, "Juntos con Hillary" "We're together with Hillary,"

How does that play down in South Carolina where, as you heard from Fred Thompson, the illegal immigration issue is so huge? Is that a turn-off to voters down there? Do people not like to hear the Democratic candidates speaking Spanish, or do you think they sort of understand that that is a base of support for Democrats and they have to appeal to them?

O'CONNOR: Yeah. On the Democratic side, the immigration issue is not nearly as large as it is on the Republican side. Among Republican voters, immigration is the top issue, here. Among Democratic voters, it's the war in Iraq, it's healthcare, it's the economy. And so, I don't think -- I haven't heard voters talking about, why is Senator Obama or why is Senator Clinton or why is Senator Edwards addressing Hispanic voters directly? I think the voters down here are more concerned about other things, especially Democrats.

ACOSTA: OK, John O'Connor, thanks for that assessment. With the "State" newspaper, very important newspaper in the Palmetto State. Thanks very much for your time.

And we will be right back in just a few moments here on BALLOT BOWL. We have lots coming up ahead. Keep it right here. Coming up in the next hour, you will be hearing from Senator John McCain. He is up in Michigan battling up against Mitt Romney for that key state, a contest coming up on Tuesday. You will also be hearing from Senator Hillary Clinton, she was in Nevada today and is still in Nevada today trying to reach out to Hispanic voters, here. And Rudy Giuliani down in Florida, part of his national strategy to forego some of these contests to focus on sort of a national campaign. He's in Florida. We'll hear from him coming up after this break. You're watching BALLOT BOWL on CNN.

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