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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Republican Party Fractured?; Nevada, South Carolina Enter Presidential Spotlight; Friend of Wanted Marine Speaks Out
Aired January 16, 2008 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: The battle for president heads into the Deep South. And, tonight, the Republican race is more uncertain than ever, the playing field wide open.
With South Carolina's primary just days away and no clear front- runner, tonight, we look at the fractures in the Republican Party and what it means for the presidential race -- all the angles ahead from the best political team on television.
Also, in the murder of the pregnant Marine, a 360 exclusive: A woman who knew both Maria Lauterbach and her alleged killer reveals stunning details that contradict what the military has said so far. We're "Keeping Them Honest.
Plus, terror on tape -- a tiger had already killed his friend and attacks his brother. He would be next. Listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
DISPATCHER: OK, the ambulance is staging. I need you to understand that if the ambulance people...
KULBIR DHALIWAL, VICTIM OF TIGER ATTACK: What do you want me to understand? My brother is going to die out here.
DISPATCHER: OK, calm down.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
COOPER: We're going to investigate what the newly released 911 tapes tell us about that tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo.
We start, though, in South Carolina, the next big battleground for the Republicans, where the leading candidates are on the trail. Mitt Romney worked the crowds in Bluffton today, fresh from his much- needed win in Michigan, a victory that actually widened the field, instead of narrowing it.
Meantime, today, John McCain, who won big in New Hampshire, stopped by a rally in Greenville. Recent polls show him tied with Mike Huckabee in South Carolina.
As for Huckabee, he worked the crowds in Tigerville. He's hoping for a big bounce from evangelical voters in the state.
In Nevada, Democrats are preparing for Saturday's caucuses, Hillary Clinton campaigning in Las Vegas telling locals she opposes the Energy Department's plan to store nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain. She is in a statistical dead heat with Barack Obama.
And you see him there at a town hall meeting in Henderson, Nevada, where he criticized the way the Clinton campaign has described his Social Security plan.
So, while the Democratic race has tightened considerably over the last month, the Republican race is all over the map. Now, Michigan could have narrowed the field a bit yesterday, but that was only if Mitt Romney had lost. His victory may give him a boost heading into South Carolina on Saturday. That is a key race.
No Republican since 1980 has won the party nomination without winning South Carolina. And, at this point, the candidates are turning it on, but all bets are off.
Here's CNN's John King.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Michigan's winner claims momentum in a Republican race as confused and volatile as ever.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have more delegates than anybody else, more votes for president than any other Republican.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lord, we just lift up Governor Huckabee and Janet to you.
KING: South Carolina votes next, and the tone is instantly more conservative.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm proud of my pro-life record. Twenty-four years, I have never changed.
KING: The locals brag that, since 1980, the Republican winner here has gone on to win the nomination.
HENRY MCMASTER, SOUTH CAROLINA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Nobody who has ever won the Michigan primary has gotten elected president. We do that here.
KING: But this campaign isn't following the traditional script, three early tests and three different winners, three very different appeals to a party struggling to pick a new leader.
SCOTT REED, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Huckabee very popular with the social conservatives, McCain very popular with the reform conservatives, and now Romney, who has his first victory, very popular with the change conservatives, the economic conservatives.
KING: Romney spent months targeting social conservatives here. Now, though, the new economic theme he used in Michigan -- there, it was the auto sector, here, textiles. ROMNEY: I will finally fight for every job that we have in this country. It is not acceptable to me to simply write off an industry.
KING: But Romney is splitting the next two days between South Carolina and Nevada, which also votes Saturday. His calculation? The race will stretch on for weeks, so target Nevada, while others fight for South Carolina.
ROMNEY: I'm planning to get the nomination. I'm not looking for gold stars on my forehead, like I was in first grade. I want delegates.
KING: Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee needs a win to prove Iowa was no fluke and that he can shine across his native South.
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Somebody in your dorm is saying, I'm not voting for that guy, lock his door.
KING: His appeal to Baptist students included a testimonial about finding Christ at age 10.
HUCKABEE: And I remember praying that prayer that day and feeling overwhelmed with the presence and sense that God really did love me.
KING: Signing this no-amnesty pledge was a not-so-subtle dig at Senator McCain, who again found himself explaining his view that millions who entered this country illegally should be allowed to stay.
MCCAIN: Under no circumstances will anyone who -- will take precedence over some who came here legally or waited inside or outside this country legally.
KING: Appealing to veterans in South Carolina's deep military tradition is part of McCain's strategy.
MCCAIN: I will win here in South Carolina. And I'm -- and that's all there is to it.
KING: Money is tight. And McCain needs to prove he can win a state where conservatives dominate and where reminders that his campaign stalled here eight years ago...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who's John McCain?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who's John McCain?
KING: ... are easy to come by.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, John King joins me now. And so does David Brody, senior national correspondent for the Christian Broadcasting Network.
John, for Republicans this Saturday, what does the race come down to in South Carolina? What does it boil down to? KING: Well, it's perhaps the most conservative state, definitely the most conservative state they have campaigned in, Anderson.
The question is, is this the same South Carolina as it was in 2000? This is a Sunbelt state. It's had a lot of growth. There are more moderate conservatives out on the coast. But about 40 percent of the electorate on Saturday will be evangelical Christians.
So, if you're John McCain, you're not going to win among that electorate, but you better get your slice. If you're Mike Huckabee, you need a win here, not only to build on Iowa, but as you go into Super Tuesday, a number of states in the South.
So, conservative turnout is critical. This is an establishment Republican state. They don't like what happened in 2006 on spending. Many of them don't think the president of the United States has pushed enough on the social issues. So, you have a dispirited Republican Party. We're going to see who they want as a new leader.
COOPER: David, in a column today, you quoted a senior campaign adviser to Mike Huckabee saying -- and I quote -- "I think the free pass for McCain is over. The next few days in South Carolina will be rough and tumble. Although we will continue to take the high road, I think you will a message develop, us vs. them."
What does that mean exactly? I mean, what are the differences between both men that Huckabee is going to make the most of? We saw in John's piece Huckabee signing that no-amnesty pledge.
DAVID BRODY, SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING NETWORK: Yes.
You know, Anderson, it's interesting, because we have heard a lot about change vs. experience on the Democratic side, Obama and Clinton. But I think what we're starting to see here clearly is change-vs.- experience argument on the Republican side as well, obviously, John McCain going for experience, trotting out, so to speak, Trent Lott and John Warner and some of his Senate colleagues -- or Senate buddies, so to speak.
And then you have Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney, who are really going for the change here, this idea -- as a matter of fact, I was just at a Mitt Romney event last night here in Columbia, where it was in essence Mitt 2.0, retooled, ready to go, as John King said, where you're in South Carolina, you're not necessarily talking about family values at all, but, instead, he's talking about the economy, that Washington is broken.
There's these huge blue placards behind him talking about this. We're starting to see a theme here, change vs. experience, even on the Republican side.
COOPER: So, today, John, the McCain campaign said that Romney has -- and I quote -- "a truly amazing capacity to pander, to mislead, to engage in cynical, negative politics."
Thompson chimed in, saying that Romney won in Michigan by making lofty promises he can't keep and pander to voters.
How nasty do you think this is going to get?
KING: Well, there's no secret that all of the other Republicans don't think very fondly of Mitt Romney. And what they're saying is especially -- take this economic argument. You heard it in Michigan. You're hearing it here.
What they say is, it is just intellectually and economically dishonest to tell people in the auto industry or in there textile industry that their jobs might come back in the short term. They simply say that's dishonest. Now, what Mitt Romney says is, that's not exactly what he's saying. He just means he will fight to get those people jobs and he won't give up on the industry.
But this is -- the economy is now taking center stage as an issue. Iraq is fading. National security is what McCain hopes matters most here in South Carolina, a big military state. But, as you move forward in the Republican primaries, and then into a general election, the candidate in each party who can win on the economy message will be the strongest candidate, Anderson.
And McCain and Thompson don't think Mitt Romney has the right message right now, but Mitt Romney is coming off a win, and he thinks: It worked in Michigan. I'm going to try it somewhere else.
COOPER: So, David, what John is saying is that Romney is using the same message he used in Michigan. In Michigan, he was saying, he has cars in his DNA and was going to be an activist for the auto industry.
What, is he making similar promises down in South Carolina to their industries? And are voters going to buy that?
BRODY: Not yet at least. Of course, there are a few days here to go.
What's going to be interesting, getting back to a larger theme here, is, will John McCain get a free pass from Mike Huckabee especially here in South Carolina? For example, John McCain talks a lot about his pro-life 24-year voting record in the Senate. Will Mike Huckabee bring up the fact that, well, indeed, John McCain has voted pro-life many times in the Senate, but is for embryonic stem cell research, federal funding, at least, for stem cell research?
And will he talk about how John McCain was actually against a constitutional amendment regarding marriage? So, these are some things that we're going to watch for in the next couple days, whether or not Mike Huckabee brings it up, and possibly could get the reputation for now going negative in South Carolina. And that's something that he doesn't want to do or his handlers don't want to do especially.
COOPER: It's tough, John King, for Huckabee to do that, because he has -- he held that -- famously, that press conference where he said he was going to release this ad, and then decided not to. What do you think is going to -- what -- what is he going to do against McCain?
KING: Well, it's a complicated race because there are so many candidates right now.
Fred Thompson, who is a factor here in South Carolina, unlikely to win, but he is trying to peel the skin off Mike Huckabee for courting -- by courting those same evangelical voters. Had John McCain won Michigan, I think you would see a more aggressive Mike Huckabee right now.
But, because you still have the larger field, Mike Huckabee doesn't feel that he's in a one-on-one race with John McCain or anyone else. If he gets to that point, where it's a one-on-one race, especially as you head into the South, the Republican Party is, ideologically and geographically, anchored in the South.
If Mike Huckabee is alive when you get into more Southern primaries, look for more combat, but, right now, he's in a crowded race, so he's not going to take after John McCain.
COOPER: David Brody, John King, guys...
BRODY: And...
COOPER: Go ahead, David.
BRODY: I was going to say, some political strategists are even telling me tonight that they have got to watch out here regarding what Huckabee and Romney do, specifically as it relates to John McCain. It is going to be a very interesting race to watch.
COOPER: No doubt about that.
David Brody, appreciate you being on the program.
John King, as well.
A quick note: We got a lot of response to our debate segment with Glenn Beck last night. I talked to Glenn again today. You can see that new segment on our Web site at CNN.com/360.
Up next: the Democrats and accusations of dirty politics.
Also tonight, these stories:
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): A pregnant Marine murdered. Tonight, a woman who knew her and the suspect speaks only to 360.
"LISA," FRIEND OF CESAR ARMANDO LAUREAN: She spoke to me that she's afraid of him.
COOPER: That's not all.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you think that Corporal Cesar Laurean is capable of murder??
LISA: I guess so, yes.
COOPER: The 360 exclusive interview -- coming up.
Plus, a deadly tiger attack and the frantic 911 calls for help. And help is slow to arrive, the tense moments at the San Francisco Zoo revealed -- when 360 continues.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In a few minutes, I'm going too switch off the "fasten your seat belt" sign. However, I have learned lately that things can get awfully bumpy when you least expect it. So, you might want to keep those seat belts fastened. And, in the event of an unexpected drop in poll numbers, this plane will be diverted to New Hampshire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Now, there's someone whose writers are not apparently on strike -- Hillary Clinton in a lighter moment aboard a charter jet she's calling Hill Force One.
As America knows, it hasn't been always Hillary-light on the campaign trail, the duel with Barack Obama over race a recent example. And now, heading into Saturday's caucuses in Nevada, a huge flap over using casinos as caucus sites and whether the Clinton camp is engaging in dirty politics, a question that might be raised in a courtroom.
CNN's Candy Crowley has the "Raw Politics."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mix politics with the law, and you're entering a portal to the unknown, the Nevada caucuses.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Are we going to let a bunch of lawyers try to prevent us from bringing about change in America?
CROWD: No!
OBAMA: Are we going to get -- let folks change the rules when they don't work for them?
CROWD: No!
CROWLEY: At issue on the campaign trail and in the courtroom are nine casino caucus sites in Las Vegas set up by the Democratic Party so workers who can't be in their home precincts can still participate in the Saturday caucuses.
Many of those workers belong to the Culinary Union, which has endorsed Barack Obama. A couple of days after that endorsement, a lawsuit was filed challenging the constitutionality of the at-large precincts. The Culinary Union notes that nobody objected to the plan when the Clinton campaign thought it would be getting the endorsement.
D. TAYLOR, CULINARY WORKERS UNION LOCAL 226: Trying to change the rules a week before that were approved 10 months before, that's just not right. And I think people see through it as just crass politics. Clearly, we have people in the Clinton campaign, who are allied with Clinton, are putting politics over principles.
CLINTON: ... make history together. Thank you all very, very much.
CROWLEY: At least one of the people involved in the suit is a Clinton supporter. The state teachers union has also joined the suit. One top official is on a Clinton leadership panel. The union itself has not endorsed anyone.
TERRY HICKMAN, NEVADA STATE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: Well, there's always conspiracy theories. I will answer that. But our effort and our belief is that there's a fundamental right of fairness that's being ignored.
CROWLEY: The legal argument that is that the casino caucuses give those workers an unfair advantage over others who might also be working. The Clintons, both of them, say they're not involved. She's playing it cool.
CLINTON: I hope that it can be resolved by the courts and by the state party, because, obviously, we want as many people as possible to be able to participate.
CROWLEY: He's playing it not so cool.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you want to take that position, get on the television and take it. Don't be accusatory with me. I had nothing to do with this lawsuit.
CROWLEY: The politics of Nevada's caucuses go to the courtroom tomorrow morning.
TAYLOR: Oh, I think it will completely call into question the legitimacy of this caucus.
CROWLEY: Enter the portal to the unknown.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Candy, it's a little confusing, but isn't it kind of strange that some Democrats are suing to stop what essentially is a union vote, with unions being such a big part of the Democratic Party?
CROWLEY: Absolutely. I mean, that's one of the points that the Culinary Workers Union is making. And they also point out that the bulk of their membership is minority. It's about 45 percent Latino. There is also a heavy contingent of black voters.
And they say, listen, the Democratic Party, which is supposed to be open to minorities, which has reached out to them, is now trying to disenfranchise -- at least a portion of them are trying to disenfranchise minority workers. So, it's a -- it has the potential for being a pretty nasty little court case.
COOPER: And why was the suit filed so late? Why not file the suit 10 months ago, when everyone seemed to agree upon these rules?
CROWLEY: Well, here again, you get sort of differing stories.
The Culinary Workers Union says, well, precisely. It was filed two days after Barack Obama got the Culinary Workers endorsement. On the other side, they say, listen, we simply didn't know what these rules meant. We didn't know that setting up these nine casino caucuses would give them, the workers, an unfair advantage of people across the state who also might be working.
So, you know, again -- and we heard Bill Clinton argue this today -- he said, listen, nobody knew what these rules -- what these rules really would mean.
So, obviously, it's a late date here, with these Saturday caucuses coming up, but they think perhaps the court will decide tomorrow after the hearing.
COOPER: Man, politics in the courtroom. Candy, thanks.
CROWLEY: Absolutely.
COOPER: We are going to be in South Carolina next week.
Wolf Blitzer hosts a debate co-sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus Institute. That is Monday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Immediately following that, we will have a special edition of 360 and a special report on race and politics.
Soledad O'Brien is going to join me with a look at some of the racial issues that may affect how America votes. That's Monday at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.
Coming up, though, tonight, new details on the murdered pregnant Marine, a 360 exclusive interview with a woman who knew her and the Marine suspected of killing her.
But, first, Erica Hill joins us with a 360 bulletin -- Erica.
ERICA HILL, HEADLINE NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, a former Republican congressman from Michigan is facing money-laundering charges in a terrorism case. Mark Siljander is accused of taking part in an Islamic charity that funneled more than a quarter-million dollars to an Afghani warlord linked to al Qaeda and the Taliban. He denies those charges.
The Bush administration admits certain e-mails, including some from the CIA leak case, might have been lost. And investigators are now looking into whether that violates federal records laws.
And this, frankly, is no rat I ever want to meet, the remains of a rodent the size of a bull discovered in Uruguay. Good news for all of us, though, this guy has been dead for four million years. And, apparently, it was an herbivore, just fruits and veggies for that rat. So, maybe it wouldn't have gone after you and me, but, eww.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: I have got some rats on my block which are very big.
HILL: They may be cousins of this guy.
COOPER: I guess.
HILL: It's possible.
COOPER: Very late at night, I have seen some ones I think very well may be a cousin of that enormous rat.
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: Erica, stick around.
Up next: a wild house party. This is an amazing story. Some 500 people showed up to this kid's party, some of them naked running down the street. The police were called. They called in backups and dog patrols. You got to ask, "What Were They Thinking?" What was this kid thinking? His parents were gone. Anyway, we will have the interview with him.
Plus, a 360 exclusive: The pregnant Marine murdered, a woman who knew her and the murdered suspect speaks out tonight, why she calls the alleged killer MacGyver -- when 360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Erica, now our segment "What Were They Thinking?"
For this, we take you down under. Throw a shrimp on the barbie.
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: Let's go to Australia.
A house party got way out hand on Saturday. A lot of people, about 500, showed up at a house, after a teenager advertised the party on the Internet. The cops were called to the scene.
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: Their cars got damaged. People were throwing stuff at the police cars.
HILL: Wait. The cop cars got damaged?
COOPER: Yes, yes, the police windshield. Those are the parents of the kid...
HILL: Oh, my.
COOPER: ... who didn't know the party was going on. That's the kid who was throwing the party. As you can see, many of his friends were running around half-naked with dogs. I don't know what was going on.
The cops had to call for backup. The dog squad came in.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: The teen who threw the bash, this kid named Corey Delaney, has actually now been arrested. That's him in the glasses.
But, before he was arrested, he refused to answer his parents' phone calls. They were away. They had been calling him like a day.
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: But he did talk to the local media.
HILL: Sure.
COOPER: He wouldn't talk to his parents, but he talked to the local media.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What have your parents had to say, Corey?
COREY DELANEY, THREW HOUSE PARTY: I haven't really talked to them, because, every time, they call I don't answer, because, yes, they will probably try to kill me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, that's a short-term strategy. You're going to have to talk to them eventually. What are you going to say?
DELANEY: Um, sorry?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: Uh, sorry?
HILL: Uh, sorry?
COOPER: And she sort of tries to like get him to apologize and sort of be, you know...
HILL: Yes, teach him a lesson, maybe.
COOPER: Exactly, to be reflective. And she also tries to get him to take off his glasses.
Watch this.
(LAUGHTER)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Take off your glasses and apologize to us.
DELANEY: I will say, sorry, but I'm not taking off my glasses.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh. Why not?
DELANEY: Because they're famous.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What would you say to other kids who were thinking of partying when their parents are out of town?
DELANEY: Get me to do it for you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get you to do it for you? Not don't do it?
DELANEY: Yes. No. Get me to do it for you, best party ever so far. That's what everyone has been saying. So...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, we have got to go, but I suggest you go away and take a good, long, hard look at yourself.
DELANEY: I have. Everyone has. They love it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
HILL: They love it. They love me. They love my glasses. I'm the number-one party man in Australia.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: Yes. He didn't even zip up his shirt and, you know, to hide the nipple ring.
HILL: Is he for real?
COOPER: I don't know. He doesn't -- there's something about it that doesn't seem real to me. But then I...
HILL: I mean, the footage of the party is so clear. COOPER: But then I saw another news report the next day where they follow up with the kid on the beach. I don't know if it's real or not, but it's very funny.
(CROSSTALK)
HILL: I really enjoyed it. I'm not going to lie.
COOPER: I like that he refuses to take off the glasses.
HILL: The next day, did we see what he looked like without the glasses?
COOPER: No. He was wearing the glasses the next day, and he still hadn't called his parents or picked up the phone.
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: He's now been arrested, though, so we will keep following it.
HILL: Perfect.
COOPER: Yes.
Up next, a very serious story: He hasn't won a single state, but, believe it or not, it's all part of his plan -- Rudy Giuliani putting most of his money and effort into Florida. Will that work, however?
Also ahead, the desperate pleas for help from one of the victims of the tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo. You can actually hear the 911 tapes -- coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: It's a warm crowd greeting Rudy Giuliani in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, but is this his last stand?
He has not won a single state yet, or really come close to winning, for that matter, though he has not given up. The fact is, the Republican candidate is putting all his hopes and all his resources right there in Florida. There's no in between with Giuliani's strategy. It's either brilliant or mistaken. There's just no way to tell which one until the primary on January 29.
CNN's Tom Foreman has the "Raw Politics."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I love Iowa a whole lot.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Huckabee took Iowa, McCain New Hampshire, and Romney roared away with Michigan. So, why is Rudy Giuliani so happy?
(CHEERING)
RUDOLPH GIULIANI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you.
FOREMAN: Because he's going to Disney World, Miami, and the Everglades, banking his presidential bid on a radical strategy to win Florida first.
John Harris with "Politico":
JOHN HARRIS, EDITOR IN CHIEF, POLITICO.COM: Chaos is Rudy Giuliani's friend. The job of the early states, like Iowa and New Hampshire, historically, is to winnow out the field, to narrow the choices down to just one or two people. In the Republican field, it has not done that.
FOREMAN: All along, Giuliani has focused on this one state, counting on the other candidates to play to an early stalemate.
GIULIANI: Florida counts in this primary season.
(APPLAUSE)
GIULIANI: And we are going to make sure of that.
FOREMAN: The positive side of his plan? The former New York mayor is popular with many Northeasterners who have settled here and the large Cuban community.
And Florida has 57 delegate votes at stake, much more than any other state before it. Take Florida, and you are instantly contending for the lead.
GIULIANI: We need to accelerate our effort to be on offense against terrorists.
FOREMAN (on camera): But the negative? Giuliani polled so badly in those early states, some Floridians may now doubt whether he can win nationally. And his campaign appears perilously low on money.
HARRIS: If he doesn't run impressively in Florida, it's hard for him to -- to see how his candidacy continues.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Gambling has been part of Florida's landscape for years, but Giuliani acts like this is no gamble at all, talking up security and tax cuts, talking down the Democrats.
GIULIANI: I think I know who you should vote for.
(LAUGHTER)
GIULIANI: Me.
(APPLAUSE)
FOREMAN: But it's a poker face. He is betting his political life.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: All bets are off.
Giuliani is spending a lot of time in Florida, as you can bet, and money as well. Here's the "Raw Data."
His campaign has raised more than $47 million. Of that amount, he has spent roughly $30.5 million and has about $16.5 million left in cash on hand.
A lot of politics coming up tomorrow on "AMERICAN MORNING."
Let's check in with John Roberts with a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ROBERTS, CO-HOST, "AMERICAN MORNING": Thanks, Anderson.
Wake up to the most news in the morning live on the road from Las Vegas. We're continuing our nationwide tour of battleground states, talking with the candidates and the voters. One in five Nevada residents is Latino. Many casino workers are unionized. See how that could affect the outcome of Saturday's caucuses.
Join us for the most news in the morning and the most politics in the morning live from Nevada, beginning at 6:00 a.m. Eastern. -- Anderson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: And a quick program note: tomorrow on 360, a rare window into the secrets of Scientology. We're going to show you the Tom Cruise video the Church of Scientology doesn't want you to see. It was shot four years ago, shows the actor preaching Scientology to spread his faith. That's tomorrow on 360.
Up next, though, tonight, a 360 exclusive: A woman who knew slain Marine Maria Lauterbach and the fellow Marine who is the prime suspect in her murder is speaking out. And, tonight, she's only talking to 360. That interview is next.
And here's tonight's "Beat 360," a shot from the campaign trail, Hillary Clinton talking to a young child. Here's the caption from our staff from Julia. She says what's really being saying is, "Tell Mom and Dad to vote for me, and I'll go grab some Hannah Montana tickets from the car."
Think you can do any better? Well, go to CNN.com/360, send us your submission. We'll announce the winner at the end of the program.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: The search for the Marine accused of killing Maria Lauterbach, a fellow Marine, eight months pregnant, may be heading south of the border. Today we learned the FBI believes that Corporal Cesar Lauren -- Laurean could be hiding in Mexico. They're now working with Mexican authorities to try and catch him.
Yesterday Marine Corps officials said Lauterbach told them she did not feel threatened by Lauren -- Laurean.
Tonight you're going to hear a very different story. It's an exclusive interview with a woman who knew the victim, knows the suspect and worked with both of them at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. In the tales you will not hear anywhere else, she takes us inside the mind of the accused and reveals why Lauterbach feared him. And he may use his military skills to stay a fugitive, according to her.
CNN's Randi Kaye has the 360 exclusive.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She doesn't want people to know who she is for fear of reprisal, but she has plenty to say, because she knew Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach and the man charged with killing her, Corporal Cesar Laurean.
"LISA," FRIEND OF CESAR LAUREAN: It's an incredibly surreal experience for me to see someone that I was personally acquainted with and was friends with on a wanted poster. I just can't wrap my mind around the fact that he would have brutally murdered someone.
KAYE: Laurean's friend, who we'll call Lisa, says Lauterbach and Laurean became romantically involved in December of 2006. Lisa remembers Lauterbach telling her they'd had consensual sex at least once before she accused him of raping her. Lauterbach never told Lisa whether she thought Laurean was her baby's father.
LISA: She said that she just did not want to be around him; she was scared of him.
KAYE: Why, then, just yesterday would the Marines tell us Lauterbach told them she didn't feel threatened? "Keeping Them Honest," we tried to ask but were told they're not discussing the case anymore.
They weren't the only ones to suggest this. Even Sheriff Ed Brown and naval investigators said the two had a friendly relationship. That's why, they said, Laurean wasn't considered a flight risk or a suspect.
(on camera) Was she attempting to cut off a relationship with him?
LISA: She wanted nothing to do -- she wanted to be nowhere near him. KAYE (voice-over): In fact, Lisa says Lauterbach was so afraid, she requested another protective order against Laurean when the first one expired.
LISA: She came in September when her original military protective order had expired, asking if she could have, A, a copy of the original one and, B, a second one put into place. I did the paperwork and routed it to the appropriate authorities to have it signed and then passed back down.
KAYE (on camera): So she did have a second military protective order in place when she disappeared?
LISA: Yes, she did.
KAYE: You had written it yourself?
LISA: Yes, I personally did it.
KAYE (voice-over): The sheriff had told me the protective order found in Lauterbach's car was expired. Why didn't he tell us Lauterbach had obtained that second order, still in effect when she was murdered? Because the Marines wouldn't confirm that until yesterday.
So how could investigators say the two were on friendly terms? The Marines won't say.
(on camera) Is there any doubt in your mind that she was afraid of him?
LISA: No.
KAYE (voice-over): Lisa doesn't want to believe her friend is a killer. She says Laurean is a friendly guy and a good father. They talked often about their toddlers.
(on camera) Hard to believe that somebody who's telling you about sippy-cups and whether or not your daughter is crawling could be capable of this.
LISA: And that's how I look at it. I'm going, like, you know, we had conversations about, you know, what size diapers to buy, you know, not like how to kill someone.
KAYE: Do you think that Corporal Cesar Laurean is capable of murder?
LISA: I guess everybody is capable of anything, depending upon how far they're pushed.
KAYE: She says he has the skills to survive on the run. Like the TV star MacGyver she says he can rig anything. He can shoot an M- 16, and he's a fast runner. The military teaches skills to adapt and overcome. No doubt, she said, he's banking on doing just that.
Randi Kaye, CNN, Pittsburgh.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: We're going to keep following that story, as Laurean remains on the run.
But right now, some breaking news. O.J. Simpson soon to be released from jail again. His lawyer says Simpson posted bond tonight. The freedom comes after a stern talking-to from a Vegas judge earlier today. She doubled his bail to $250,000 upon learning that he failed to actually pay a bondsman the last time he was released.
CNN Senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin joins me now.
So what's going on here?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Simpson is acting the way he always does. Is he's basically -- as if the rules don't apply to him. And the way bail bonds work is you have to put up a percentage of the money, and the bail bondsman thus guarantees the full amount. He never did that.
Plus, he violated the condition of his bail...
COOPER: Which was don't attempt to talk to anybody involved in this.
TOOBIN: Correct. But I do have to add that the bail bonds does have, I think, the best business name in the United States. It's called You Ring We Spring bail bondsman. So I mean, how can you not love this?
COOPER: What -- what is the time line that he's facing now in terms of this trial?
TOOBIN: The trial is -- I mean, it will probably be delayed, but it will start sometime in the spring, it looks like. And, you know, he's going to -- I mean, the irony here is that he's probably got a pretty good chance of getting acquitted if he gets a jury that isn't looking to punish him for the last thing.
COOPER: And the bottom line, he could be acquitted because the intent is hard to prove and also the cast of characters is so motley?
TOOBIN: The cast of characters is terrible. The crime itself is difficult to identify here. I mean, who -- how these -- this memorabilia changed hands, whether it was his.
The real issue in the case, I think, will be the guns, whether he authorized the use of the guns, encouraged the use of the guns. If he can separate himself from the guns, I bet he'll get acquitted.
COOPER: All right, Jeff, stick around. We've got another story we want you to weigh in.
Just ahead on 360, terror at the zoo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER (voice-over): A deadly tiger attack and the frantic 911 calls for help.
KULBIR DHALIWAL, SURVIVED TIGER ATTACK: It's a matter of life and death.
COOPER: And help is slow to arrive.
DHALIWAL: It does not take this long to get an ambulance out here.
COOPER: The tense moments at the San Francisco Zoo revealed, coming up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of there.
COOPER: Also tonight.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're firing teargas at us.
COOPER: A CNN reporter caught in a crackdown.
VERJEE: Ow! Ow!
COOPER: Up close, the crisis in Kenya when 360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Another case getting a lot of headlines, the brothers who survived that deadly tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo last month have a secret. Police want to find out. They are looking at their car and cell phone records to see if they did anything to provoke the animal. That's been the question all along. Still don't have answers on that.
Also, in a new development, the 911 calls for the incident have been released, and they're terrifying. David Mattingly takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The voice is desperate.
DHALIWAL: My brother's about to die out here!
MATTINGLY: Kulbir Dhaliwal pleads for help minutes after he saw his friend killed and his brother mauled.
DHALIWAL: It's a matter of life and death.
MATTINGLY: They are the 911 phone calls of the deadly tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo.
DHALIWAL: How long does it take?
MATTINGLY: And the tapes give us a time line of terror that Christmas day when the Siberian tiger escaped its enclosure. Some of the first calls to the police were from zoo officials, who couldn't believe what they were being told.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know if they're on drugs, or what. But they're screaming about an animal that has attacked them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's saying that he was bitten by an animal, but there's no animal escaped. He could just be crazy.
MATTINGLY: But a few minutes later, the reality of the unthinkable finally set in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a code one. Said they have a tiger out. OK, the tiger it out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody should stay away from it. It's just sitting there.
MATTINGLY: By that time, the female tiger had mauled to death 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr.
(on camera) It had also attacked Dhaliwal's brother before cornering both of them at the zoo's cafe. It was at that very location that Dhaliwal pulled out his cell phone and began begging for help.
DHALIWAL: Give me some towels, man. Hey, man. What's wrong with these people?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Do you have a dry, clean cloth or towel?
DHALIWAL: Yes, he had some towels laying out, but the stupid manager does not know what the hell I'm talking about.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. I'm just going to stay on the line with you until the paramedics are with you, all right?
DHALIWAL: Can you check up on them and see where they're at?
MATTINGLY: The paramedics were already at the zoo, but the operator told the man they couldn't help his brother until the threat from the tiger was eliminated.
DHALIWAL: Can you fly a helicopter out here, cause I don't see a freaking ambulance here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Stay calm. You have to stay calm for your brother, all right?
DHALIWAL: It does not take this long to get an ambulance out here.
MATTINGLY: As the minutes went by, the man's frantic appeals grew louder.
DHALIWAL: I've been on the call with you for eight minutes, and I called 10 minutes before. So it's been 20 minutes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. OK. I'm trying to explain to you that we have to make sure that we can get inside safely. All right?
DHALIWAL: How long does it take?
MATTINGLY: Shortly after that call, the tiger turned on him, an attack that ended in a barrage of gunfire.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have visual eyes on the tiger. He was attacking somebody else. Stand by. Shots fired. Everyone stand. Stand back, stand back. Stop shooting. OK, the cat. We have the cat. We shot the cat.
MATTINGLY: Less than an hour before it all began, the horror was over with one man dead, two seriously injured and lucky to be alive.
David Mattingly, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: The tapes are just part of the story. There are also some serious issues for both the survivors and the zoo.
Joining us again, CNN senior analyst Jeffrey Toobin.
Do the 911 tapes help or hurt the brothers' lawsuit against the city?
TOOBIN: I don't think they really help very much, because the issue here is negligence. Did the city not use reasonable care? And based on what I heard on the tapes, I heard a 911 operator doing her best in a really extraordinary situation.
I mean, the fact that it took 20 minutes, the fact that they didn't send a helicopter, those strike me as reasonable reactions to an incredibly weird and scary situation.
COOPER: It seems like, in the beginning, they weren't even sure if it was real. I mean...
TOOBIN: Right. I mean, you know, if you had heard that a tiger attacked someone at the zoo, you might not think it was real at first. But they did recognize it was real, eventually. And I think the zoo's liability is a tougher question than the city. I mean, it seemed like the city behaved pretty well.
COOPER: The zoo locked the gates, wouldn't allow the police or the paramedics in? Or just because the enclosure wasn't the height that was recommended?
TOOBIN: The latter. It's the fact that the fence was four feet too -- too short. Now the zoo will say, well, we were accredited, the inspection...
COOPER: But there's no actual law that it had to be -- that was just a recommendation.
TOOBIN: A recommendation, but you know, it's a recommendation presumably for a reason. But obviously, the zoo and the city are going to look into the conduct of these three guys and to see if they did anything to provoke the attack. And that's where -- why they're going to search the car and looking for drugs while they're looking for witnesses to see what the behavior was before...
COOPER: Even if they did provoke an attack, can they still sue the city or sue the zoo?
TOOBIN: Sure. Just because you behave badly in a zoo doesn't mean you get the death penalty. So there is -- that's why the height of the fence is going to be a big issue, because you know, you build a zoo, you have to assume that not everyone is going to behave appropriately...
COOPER: Right.
TOOBIN: ... that people are going to behave badly towards the animals. So that's not a complete defense for the zoo. But it's obviously relevant in sorting out who's at fault and how much you want to pay them.
COOPER: Right. All right. Jeffrey Toobin, thanks very much. We'll keep watching the case.
Up next on 360, chaos like the people of Kenya have never seen, and our own Zain Verjee was literally caught in the middle of it all. She takes us up close next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: You're looking at video there of Kenya, a nation in turmoil. Renewed violence on this, the first of three days of mass protests called by the main opposition party that recently lost a very disputed presidential election there.
It's hard to imagine this in a country that, just weeks ago, was considered one of Africa's most stable and prosperous democracies. It also one of America's closest allies in the region, with a growing population of al Qaeda sympathizers.
Tonight up close, a look at the crisis from a CNN reporter who is a native of Kenya and got caught in the crackdown.
Here's Zain Verjee.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: The police here on their horses are trying to intimidate journalists, and they're trying to disperse us. (voice-over) The people of Kenya have never seen anything like this before. The country is bitterly divided over a presidential election gone wrong.
(on camera) Opposition leaders have been scattered all around Nairobi. What they're tying to do is rush Uhuru Park.
(voice-over) More than 600 people have been killed here in the past three weeks, 250,000 driven from their homes.
The concern is this U.S. ally could completely destabilize, bringing down all of East Africa with it.
(on camera) In Uhuru Park, if you take a look there, what you see is hundreds of police and paramilitary forces. They've just added another truck now, in for reinforcements. They've been firing teargas canisters at both supporters of the opposition, opposition leaders themselves and journalists, as well. They're beginning to make their move, and it's very likely that, from the other side, they will start firing back.
Ow, ow! Ow, they hit my back. Hit my back.
(voice-over) You never expect to be shot, but when it happens, it's a shock. You don't see it coming. Teargas canisters travel as fast as bullets.
The incident left me a little shaken, but luckily nothing more. Literally, a bruising reminder of how quickly my country's unraveling.
(on camera) They shot me here in by back. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Almost hit your head.
VERJEE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you OK?
VERJEE: Yes, it's OK. I'm standing.
(voice-over) Zain Verjee, CNN, Nairobi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Wow. Lucky indeed.
And now tonight's "Beat 360." You know how it works. We have a picture up on the 360 blog. We cue the cheesy music. We ask people to submit a caption that's better than one of our own.
Tonight, a shot from the campaign trail. You recognize Senator Hillary Clinton on a meet and greet and a future voter. Here's the caption from our own staff, from Julia on our staff, quote, "Tell Mom and Dad to vote for me, and I'll go grab some Hannah Montana tickets from the car."
Yes, all right, so. And our viewer winner, from John in Westminster, "The joker -- am I right? The joker? Good one, Mrs. C."
Check out the other suggestions, lots of...
(SOUND EFFECT: RIM SHOT)
COOPER: A little late on the rim shot there. Going to have to work on that. Lots of you playing along at the blog, CNN.com/360. See if you do any better.
"The Shot" is next. An I-Reporter says he has proof -- proof -- there was a UFO hovering over Texas earlier this week. See his video for yourself next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Erica, now, "The Shot" today, video that's got all of Texas talking, probably the whole country, from I-Reporter Saber Bowman (ph), who shot this on a cell phone near Stephenville, Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow. Close encounter for the third kind. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ERICA HILL, HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: All right.
COOPER: They don't exactly sound convinced there. They seem to be kind of mocking it.
HILL: They seem to be a little bit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A close encounter for the third kind.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: It actually sounds a little bit like...
HILL: Are they drunk?
COOPER: ... the Australian kid who threw the party earlier. Of course...
HILL: If only we could see whether or not he was wearing glasses we would know.
COOPER: Exactly. It's UFO, according to witnesses. The witnesses include local police and other public figures, the kind of people one would say are level-headed. It's described as a mile long. Some people said the object was a mile long and looked like a gigantic light show. Some folks say it appeared to be chased by fighter planes.
Yes, who knows?
If you see some amazing video, some UFOs, tell us about it: CNN.com -- CNN.com/360. You can go there to see all the most recent "Shots" and the other segments from the program. You can read the blog there and check out the "Beat 360" picture. The address again, CNN.com/360.
You got it, Erica?
HILL: Is it CNN.com/360?
COOPER: Exactly.
HILL: OK. Yes, I got it, then.
COOPER: Good, next.
Up next on the program, accusations of dirty politics and the Democratic presidential race.
Plus, the GOP jumble. Romney won Michigan, McCain took New Hampshire, Huckabee came out on top in Iowa. So is there a frontrunner? And is the fact that it's anyone's race actually bad for the party? We'll ask the best political team on television, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: The battle for president heads into the Deep South. And tonight, the Republican race more uncertain than ever, the playing field wide open. With South Carolina's primary just days away and no clear frontrunner, tonight we look at the fractures in the Republican Party and what it means for the presidential race. All the angles ahead from the best political team on television.
Also in the murder of a pregnant Marine, a 360 exclusive. A woman who knew both Maria Lauterbach and her alleged killer reveal stunning details that contradict what the military has said so far. We're "Keeping Them Honest."
Plus, terror on tape. A tiger had already killed his friend and attacks his brother. He would be next. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. The ambulance is staging. I need you to understand that if the ambulance people...
DHALIWAL: What do you want me to understand? My brother is going to die out here!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Calm down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: We're going to investigate what the newly-released 911 tapes tell us about that tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo. We start, though, in South Carolina, the next big battleground for the Republicans, where the leading candidates are on the trail.
Mitt Romney worked the crowds in Bluffton today, fresh from his much-needed win in Michigan, a victory that actually widened the field instead of narrowing it.
Meantime today, John McCain, who won big in New Hampshire, stopped by a rally in Greenville. Recent polls show him tied with Mike Huckabee in South Carolina.
As for Huckabee, he worked the crowds in Tigerville. He's hoping for a big bounce from evangelical voters in the state.
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