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Campaigning in Florida and Super Tuesday States; Speeches by Huckabee, Obama and Giuliani

Aired January 27, 2008 - 14:00   ET

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

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And welcome back to "Ballot Bowl '08," I'm Jim Acosta in Memphis, Tennessee where Hillary Clinton wrapped up an event here at a Baptist church in this town where you can find a lot of blues music. B.B. King's joint is not too far from here.
But as we said earlier, Hillary Clinton is not exactly singing "The Thrill is Gone." She is campaigning hard for this Democratic nomination. And coming up over the next hour you are going to hear the candidates in their own words. This is an opportunity for you the viewer to hear these candidates unscripted unfiltered.

And my colleague, Dana Bash, she is watching the Republicans, she is down in Orlando where there is a hotly contested race for the Florida primary which is just a little more than 48 hours away. Isn't that right, Dana?

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It is going to be on Tuesday. Jim, and you talk about the Memphis. Obviously the home of the blues, the home of music, Mike Huckabee, the Republican presidential candidate, former Arkansas governor, he is somebody who likes to talk about how unconventional he is as a Republican. Because he likes to play the blues, he likes to play jazz as well. And he is about to speak in Jacksonville, Florida, I believe there is a band there that is warming up the crowd. It would not be a surprise at all, Jim, if Mike Huckabee took the stage and played his guitar a little bit. That is one of the things Mike Huckabee likes to do as he travels around.

It's interesting. One of the ways Mike Huckabee maybe sort of tries to attract crowds on his shoestring budget, at least had been in the State of Iowa and New Hampshire, was to invite popular local bands to his events and he would play with them. Perhaps that is something what we are going to see in Jacksonville in just a short while, Jim.

ACOSTA: Dinner and a show with Mike Huckabee. Is that how it works on his campaign, I guess?

BASH: Maybe not dinner but a show.

ACOSTA: You got to get something out of it.

That's right. Well, Dana. Thanks very much. We'll be getting back to you and the Republicans shortly. But I would have to say, I think Dana you would agree with me the big story of the day is Barack Obama, the big victory that he had last night in South Carolina which has really shaken this race for the Democratic nomination. And my colleague, Suzanne Malveaux, I'll be talking to her in a few moments about this.

But first let's go to Barack Obama. He was in Macon, Georgia earlier this morning trying to capitalize on that victory in South Carolina by campaigning in one of the critical Super Tuesday states. The State of Georgia. Here is Barack Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But I believe our values should be expressed not just through our churches and our synagogues but through our government. Because the challenges that we face today are not simply technical problems, in search of a perfect 10-point plan. They are not just a matter of getting the right policy in place. So many of our problems are moral problems rooted in both societal indifference and individual callousness. In the imperfections of men and women.

And so long as we're not doing everything in our individual and collective power to solve them, the conscience of this nation cannot rest. The conscience of our nation cannot rest so long as we are turning a blind eye to the uninsured, or the unemployed.

We can't choose like the priest or the Levite to walk on by. So long as we are ignoring people like the woman I met on the campaign trail who only gets three hours of sleep every single night because she is going to college full time, trying to make something better of herself. She's got a sister with cerebral palsy, so she goes to school, she takes care of her sister, goes to bed about 10:00, 1:00 in the morning she has got to get up and work at Federal Express, the night shift. Every single day she is only getting three hours sleep.

Our conscience cannot rest so long as there are homeless veterans who are sleeping on our streets. Not getting the care they need. Or the respect that they deserve. Our conscience cannot rest so long as we are still divided by the issue of race.

Our conscience cannot rest so long as there are children going to bed hungry. Our conscience can't rest when some schools are doing a great job preparing our children for this new global economy but there are other schools in which children can't read and they can't do arithmetic and they are on a pathway to jail instead of a pathway to freedom. Our conscience cannot rest.

Our conscience cannot rest so long as we are tolerating torture of our enemies. Because that is not who we are. It is not consistent with justice. And it's not consistent with decency and it offends our conscience.

Our conscience can't rest when there are people without health care all across this country. I meet families who are just one illness away from bankruptcy. I meet parents who choose to do without health care for themselves just so their children can get a little care. There are young people who go to the emergency room for treatable illnesses like asthma because we have not devoted the resources and the sense of urgency and the sense of will to make sure that all of God's children are properly cared for. These are the challenges that test our conscience.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: So there is Barack Obama addressing supporters in Macon, Georgia, coming off of that big victory in South Carolina last night. In a way he almost won two primaries last night. Because he woke up this morning, all of a sudden, won the Kennedy primary having the support of the Kennedy family if not in total, almost, in earnest. Picking up the endorsement not just of Ted Kennedy we found out earlier today but the daughter of the late president John F. Kennedy Caroline Kennedy with an op-ed in "The New York Times." And I will just read a quote from that as I bring in Suzanne Malveaux, who is with Barack Obama in Birmingham. It is interesting, Caroline Kennedy, she writes "Sometimes it takes a while to recognize that some one has a special ability to get us to believe in ourselves," unquote. Kennedy, she says, "Obama shares that quality with her late father."

Which that is -- that is no small endorsement, the living daughter of the late president John F. Kennedy throwing her support behind Barack Obama right in the middle of this very hard-fought campaign. Suzanne Malveaux who is following Barack Obama down in Birmingham, Alabama, what are your thoughts about all of this? This is huge is it not?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a major coup for Barack Obama to have Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, really a giant in the Democratic Party to put his weight behind Barack Obama is really quite extraordinary especially when you consider the very close relationship between the Kennedy family and Clinton family.

But we have learned, through multiple sources, Massachusetts Democratic source close to the senator said that Kennedy has enormous respect and admiration of Senator Clinton but believes that Senator Obama has a unique message and a unique opportunity here. And this is -- this is really something that they, they have seized on. A senior aide from the Clinton campaign is already reacting to this, on the record, saying they have been friends for a long time. Senator Clinton has a lot of respect for Senator Kennedy.

But clearly this is -- this is quite a blow for Hillary Clinton, you know that they have a close personal relationship, in many ways they do share a lot of the same legislative battles. And they really have been in the trenches together on a number of issues.

Barack Obama was actually asked about the endorsement earlier today in anticipation of it. And he kind of stepped back a little and said well I will let Ted Kennedy speak for himself. But obviously any of the Democratic candidates would be thrilled with - would be appreciative to have this. And he certainly sought and fought for his endorsement very hard. ACOSTA: And all of a sudden the State of Massachusetts comes into play on Super Tuesday does it not because not only does Barack Obama have the support or appears to have the support of Ted Kennedy he has the support of John Kerry.

So you have both of those democratic lions if you will from the State of Massachusetts supporting Barack Obama and I wonder, Suzanne, if perhaps when the gloves came off in South Carolina there was some back channel talk -- it was reported that this did not sit well with Senator Kennedy and we heard John Kerry, you know go out of his way to say that what President Clinton was saying about Barack Obama simply wasn't really holding up in terms of, what the truth is. So I am just curious, Suzanne, what you think of all of this? If this is perhaps a reaction of what happened in South Carolina or do you think this is perhaps just really the result of a hard-fought quest for this very important endorsement?

MALVEAUX: Well, we actually know that Caroline Kennedy initially was a Clinton supporter and very recently decided she was going to be in Barack Obama's court here. So just to gauge, give you specific temperature in South Carolina -- just over the last week or so. The tit for tat that happened, there was a lot of support that was lost for Bill Clinton. There were a lot of people who were talking quietly and within the Clinton campaign quite a split among individuals who thought perhaps he was embarrassing the party, that he was not helping Hillary Clinton. And really wanted him to take a step back.

There were friends who had urged him to do so. There was a whole another camp that thought it was a good idea. That it was actually working.

I think what we saw yesterday was -- really what a lot of people saw on both side. The Obama camp and Clinton camp. And some what of a vindication if you will that this is -- this is not the kind of campaign strategy that they had hoped that they -- would use. And that would be effective here. This kind of all-out brawl that we saw, political brawl that we saw over the last week or so.

ACOSTA: Thank you very much, Suzanne Malveaux, covering the Obama campaign. Where the Obama bandwagon. The seats are filling up fast on the Obama bandwagon. But Suzanne Malveaux has a good seat there. And we'll be back in touch with you as we can as this campaign develops. Very interesting stuff out of the Obama campaign. Thank you, Suzanne. And coming up after the break on "Ballot Bowl" here on CNN, we'll be hearing from former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. He would like to see a big win in Florida this coming Tuesday. We'll see what he is saying out on the campaign trail on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Welcome back to CNN's "Ballot Bowl." I'm Dana Bash in Orlando, Florida. The primary here for Republicans is a very, very important is on Tuesday, just two days away. And one of the most interesting storylines if you will of this -- this primary is going to be what it means for former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. He is somebody who is still trying to prove that his big, big win in the State of Iowa, that of course was the first contest state, he is trying to prove that was no fluke.

He was actually here in Orlando earlier this morning. He is a former Baptist preacher, he was campaigning behind closed doors actually at a Baptist church. He gave a sermon there. That is a big way he has been trying to get Republican votes. He has been appealing to Christian conservatives in all of these contest states including this one and Florida. But now as you see, Mike Huckabee is speaking in public, he is speaking in Jacksonville, Florida, the northeast part of the state on the border with Georgia. Let's listen to what Mike Huckabee is saying.

MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My second thought was, thank you god that my daughter was not want to go to grad school at Cornell University. And then he said, you know, because I am working the second shift I am in a new tax bracket. And being in a new tax bracket means instead of paying what I was paying I'm paying a higher rate and most of what I am making working the second shift is going to pay the government not to get my daughter through school. And I didn't want to break the news to him but the truth is if you save the money we'd tax the savings. If he invested in the stock market we'd tax his dividends. If he bought and sold something, we would tax the capital gain.

And if the poor guy got so tired from working this hard, if he keeled over and died, we'd tax him at his death with inheritance tax. There is no way the poor guy could really survive this. I said to him there is one way you can get your daughter some federal assistance. Quit both shifts and stay at home and watch ESPN every day and if you don't work at all she qualifies for some federal help.

I have asked people across America, can anybody look me in the eye and tell me that that is any sensible way to run a government. And I have yet to have the first person to say boy that makes perfect sense to me. Because it is insanity.

And the fact is -- we can change that. And the other night -- the other night when we were at the debate one of the moderators tried to challenge and say but governor you know that can't happen. You know something -- I am tired of the boo-birds sitting in their nice perches in Washington, DC telling us the people of America don't still run the country. I will tell you how we get the fair tax passed.

Get a president who believes not just believes I'll accept it on my desk, but get a president who says I will lead by going out to the people of America and explaining why we need to get rid of the current system, get a president who actually is interested excited and can't wait to put the IRS out of business forever and ever, and then we the people will take it to the Congress and will give them a simple, simple ultimatum.

Either you pass the fair tax and repeal that part of the Constitution that authorizes the IRS and the income tax or we will fire you guys and hire some people in Congress who will get it done.

The reason the fair tax makes a whole lot more sense is because today, particularly people in small business operations. And by the way, 50 percent of every job in America comes from small business owners. And 80 percent of all of the new jobs in this country come from somebody in a small business.

Now not many people in small business. Now not many people in small business can afford a whole army full of accountants, lawyers just to fill out the paperwork. And isn't it a shame that today a person who sits down on his kitchen table and sketches out his idea on the back of a paper napkin to start his own business to hire somebody and do better for his family find that when he tries his toughest competition doesn't come from the guy across town or across the state or across the country or even across the world. His toughest competition comes from his own federal government who puts its boot on the back of his neck and makes it all but impossible for him to succeed because he finds that he is spending way too much time trying to satisfy the paperwork of the IRS and not enough trying to satisfy his customers which would make his business successful.

If we want to revive free enterprise and give it a real chance and give people the opportunity whether they're driving a truck, or whether they're serving tables, or whether they're opening a dry cleaners or a store, or creating a hobby shop, or they're launching a retail store, or opening a service business to clean houses, warehouses whatever it may be.

The best way is to give them the opportunity so that the tax system they operate under is so simple that a seven-year-old running a lemonade stand could understand it not 66,000 pages of federal nonsense.

So I'm calling on America to replace nonsense with common sense. And one thing that will happen -- and it is going to be a wonderful way to invite some of the rest of America to join us in funding our government. And that is that under the fair tax we end the underground economy.

Many of you today -- you're not just paying your taxes you're paying yours and your also paying all the taxes for the drug dealers, prostitutes, pimps, gamblers and all the illegals who live under the table and don't operate in the economy you do. Well, welcome to the real world, rest of America. Join us in the fair tax.

I'm excited about the growing momentum -- I like you too! I'm excited about the growing momentum that exists in the nation for the fair tax. I find the only people who don't like it are the people who are the tax lobbyists in Washington, some 35,000 of them, who make a pretty good living creating winners and losers out of the current tax code.

What makes the fair tax really frankly very, very palatable to most Americans is that no longer does the government get to pick the winners and losers. Hard-working people win. People who don't want to work, they want. That's how the economy is supposed to work. And it will work that way under a fair tax. And you won't be penalized for working. You've won't be penalized for savings. You won't be penalized for making investments. You won't be penalized because you are trying to do better for your family. And the greatest thing that I think makes the fair tax work is the prebate decision. And I would never be a supporter of the fair tax if it weren't for the fact that under the fair tax untax poor people, untax many of the elderly, empower the people who most need the opportunity to reach the next rung on the ladder but it also is a system that doesn't seek to make rich people poor it just gives people that are poor a chance to finally maybe have a shot of getting a little better off and one day being rich themselves. And there is nothing wrong with that.

There is an extraordinary amount of energy in the crowd today. And I hope it sure shows up in the polls between now and Tuesday in Florida.

And I want to tell you something, you already voted for me? You are a good man.

This man down here in the front said he already voted for me. So I can say whatever I want to to him, I can't lose his vote. The good news is, sir, you have voted for me once. But this is Florida, would you go back and vote for me ...

BASH: And that is Florida Governor Mike Huckabee campaigning live in Jacksonville, Florida talking about an issue that really does make him unique, make him different from every other Republican running for president. His support for what's called a fair tax. That is abolishing the IRS, completely getting rid of it in support of a consumption tax, about a 23 percent tax on everything you would buy in the store or anywhere else. It is something that Mike Huckabee has gotten traction on and it has helped him as he tried to have this patchwork. This coalition of support around the country and around these key contest states trying to bolster him up even though he has very, very little money in the bank to do that.

Now Mike Huckabee is going to continue speaking in Jacksonville, Florida. But we're going take a quick break. On the other side of the break we'll hear from another Republican candidate who has been in this state. He is now campaigning for his 56th day. That is former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. You'll hear from him just after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Welcome back to CNN's "Ballot Bowl," I'm Dana Bash in Orlando, Florida. And one of the most fascinating story lines in this Republican race here in Florida is what it means for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. He staked everything on doing well, on winning Florida to propel him into the next contest state, the Super Tuesday contest states where he thought all along that would be a place where perhaps more moderate Republicans live and voted perhaps and would be more accommodating and welcoming to somebody like Rudy Giuliani who is not that conservative if you will on social issues like abortion and like gay rights.

But that is not done exactly worked out to plan for him. Right now he in most polls is trailing the two leaders here. John McCain and Mitt Romney. He is a distant third here. But he is still campaigning very, very hard. We're going to take you to a speech that he gave earlier today in Boca Raton, Florida, he was speaking to a lot of New York transplants likely at Boca Raton Synagogue. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUDY GIULIANI, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My first commitment in the 12 commitments I've made to the American people. If I am elected president of the United States, America will remain on offense in the Islamic terrorist war against us.

We will increase the size of our Army, our Navy, our Air Force, our Marines, our Coast Guard. We'll make up -- we'll make up for the ill-conceived peace dividend of Bill Clinton in the 1990s.

(APPLAUSE)

GIULIANI: And we will expand our intelligence services and we'll do everything we can about homeland security so that we make it -- we make it a kind of security that can handle anything that the terrorists may be thinking about. Federal government has to be part of it. And then we have to rely on our local and our state police officers and fire fighters. We have to help them get up to a level of preparedness that means that we have no weak points here in the United States, because any weak point can be a place that a terrorist would take advantage of.

(APPLAUSE)

GIULIANI: I'm running for president of the United States because I believe I can lead that effort the best. I believe I understand it the best. And I believe I can lead it the best.

(APPLAUSE)

GIULIANI: I am also running for president of the United States because I believe very strongly in a growth economy. And I believe very strongly that a growth economy is based not on a large central government, but it is based on people. And people making decisions. And people having the range to make choices. And people having the range to make different kinds of choices.

That's why I proposed here in Florida, last week, the largest tax reduction in American history.

(APPLAUSE)

GIULIANI: It would lower the individual income tax, it would lower the corporate tax, it would lower the capital gains tax, and it would give the death penalty to the death tax. And we would get rid of it once and for all.

(APPLAUSE)

GIULIANI: And it would allow you to fill out your taxes on one page, if you would like.

(APPLAUSE) GIULIANI: As part of that philosophy, of people making choices, I follow that through in my 12 commitments to the American people. I want to lower taxes so you make more choices about your money.

I also want to give you more choice over your child's education. You should decide on the school that your child goes to, not the government.

(APPLAUSE)

GIULIANI: You should have more choice with regard to your Social Security account. You should have the ability to have a personal account if you want one. If you want the government to handle your money, fine. But if you want some of that money to handle yourself, you are an American, I trust you, I want you to have that extra degree of freedom.

(APPLAUSE)

GIULIANI: And I want you to be able to have the ability and the room to buy your own health insurance, so you don't have to get it from an employer. So we will provide a very large, $15,000 tax- exemption so you can buy your own health insurance. It can be yours. It can be a product that fits you. And you can make your decisions about your health between you and your doctor and not some government official.

(APPLAUSE)

GIULIANI: I have said in my 12 commitments that I will end illegal immigration.

(APPLAUSE)

GIULIANI: We will do it. We'll do it at the border. And we'll do it by a tamper-proof ID card, which will allow for more legal immigration which we happen to need. We need more people in this country to help us, they have to come here legally and they have to identify themselves.

(APPLAUSE)

GIULIANI: And I will work day and night to make America energy independent.

(APPLAUSE)

GIULIANI: It is enormously important that we have the ability to have options. I know, in traveling throughout Florida, that one of the concerns of people in Florida is the difficulty and inability -- sometimes the difficulty, sometimes the inability to get insurance for your home.

And it is creating a tremendous strain in many parts of Florida and in fact in other parts of the country. But right now it seems to be felt more here. And that's why I support a national catastrophe fund where the federal government would be a backstop and therefore it would make it easier for people to obtain insurance for their homes so they can remain in their homes.

It is absolutely -- it is absolutely vital if we are going to plan for these things in advance.

(APPLAUSE)

GIULIANI: Well, there are so many other things to running for president that I can sum it up this way. The purpose of running for president is to make this country safer, to make this country stronger, to make this country more prosperous, to move more people out of poverty, to win the terrorist war against us.

(APPLAUSE)

GIULIANI: And to turn this country over -- and to turn this country over to the next president and the next generation as a country in which young people can look up to the sky, have great dreams, and have the chance to realize their dreams. That is an America of unlimited possibilities. That's the America that we can create together. Thank you very much.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That is former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani campaigning earlier today. Tried to appeal to the Jewish community here in the state of Florida -- not just the Jewish community but particularly in the city of Boca Raton. That is a place where Rudy Giuliani -- one of the many places in South Florida where Rudy Giuliani has hoped heap that he could bank on the fact that there are a lot of New York transplants, people who are very familiar with his record and his time as mayor of New York City.

And that is certainly, if you talk to the Giuliani campaign, one of the things that they're hoping will help him do well here and certainly help him do better than perhaps than he is showing in the polls right now.

Now Rudy Giuliani, again, is just one of the candidates -- one of the Republicans campaigning here today in the state of Florida. Another is former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. We brought you just a short while ago his live speech about the fair tax. But just shortly after he began to do what he often does with campaigns, and at his events, you see him there, he is jamming out to the sound of Van Morrison. Take a look.

(MUSIC PLAYING, "BROWN-EYED GIRL")

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jim Acosta in Memphis, Tennessee. And now we want to switch gears from hearing from the candidates to hearing from one of our correspondent who has been traveling with the CNN Election Express bus across America, talking to voters about the issues that they care about. Our own Ali Velshi, who right now I understand is in western Arizona, heading for Simi Valley, California.

Ali, from what I understand, it has been six days, you have been in nine states, covered about 2,600 miles.

And we just lost Ali. It just happened just like that. OK. Well, we had Ali up for just a few moments. We hope to go back to him. And for the moment let's take a break. We'll regroup and come back to Ballot Bowl right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Welcome back to CNN's Ballot Bowl, I'm Dana Bash in Orlando, Florida. I want to bring in our Mary Snow, who has been covering Arizona Senator John McCain. Today he has been in Polk City, Florida. That is where Mary Snow is.

And, Mary, you have been following him today. In particular the sort of follow-up to what has been an intense exchange between John McCain and Mitt Romney. John McCain essentially picking a fight with Mitt Romney on the issue of the Iraq War. That happened yesterday. How is it -- what is going on with that today?

BASH: Well, Dana, the skirmish kind of spilled over into today. You know, an event a couple of hours ago in Polk City, Senator McCain did not bring up Governor Romney on his own in his town hall meeting. Yesterday it all started when Senator McCain had suggested that Mitt Romney supported the idea of setting a timetable to withdraw troops from Iraq. And that is when the skirmish started.

At a press availability after his event, Senator McCain was asked about his comment. Here is a little bit about what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator, do you that that issue on what you see is a difference in judgment is more important than some of the issues that Romney has been stressing in the last couple days on the economy, et cetera?

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am very proud of my record on the economy. And Governor Romney's record as governor of Massachusetts, where they had the third-lowest job creation, where they had $730 million in tax increases, where they had more manufacturing jobs flee the state of Massachusetts then almost double the national average, and now a health care mandate was $245 million in the red, I would be glad to compete and debate on those issues.

My record on the economy is very strong. From being part of the Reagan revolution to cut taxes and restrain spending to my latest efforts that I have been involved in as chairman of the Commerce Committee and many other economic issues. So I will be glad to debate that side of the equation with Governor Romney. And his record as governor of the state of Massachusetts is not one that I would want to imitate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: Well, there you heard, Senator John McCain, just a short time ago here in Polk City, targeting his rival here, Mitt Romney, about his economic record in Massachusetts.

Mitt Romney has said that Senator McCain, in his words, is desperate to take the focus off of the economy, because, he says that Senator McCain's strong point isn't on the economy.

And what started the skirmish is that Mitt Romney had said that Senator McCain had a false statement. That he was being dishonest in his words. And he asked for an apology. Senator McCain said he was not going to apologize. The only apology owed was to the men and women in the military.

And he stuck by his statement saying the only way to interpret Mitt Romney's comments were that he was supporting a timetable. Mitt Romney said that is not true. Senator McCain was asked whether or not he was taking those comments out of context. He said, no, he is not.

But you see the shift in tone today, as well, really kind of attacking Mitt Romney's record on the economy in this very heated race before we head into Tuesday's primary -- Dana.

BASH: That's right, Mary. On those twin themes, those twin issues of the economy and national security, specifically the Iraq War that the two men have been really going after each other on as we have been getting closer to primary day on Tuesday.

But one other development, and it's important to note, especially here in Florida, is the surprise endorsement that John McCain got last night from the sitting governor here in Florida, Charlie Crist. I know you had a chance to speak to the governor this morning. What did he tell you about why he decided to go ahead and stay off the fence, if you will, and throw his weight behind John McCain?

SNOW: Yes, and you know, Dana, it was so much of a surprise. He said he made the decision just yesterday. And as you know, he had been reluctant to really endorse anybody. He had been heavily courted by the candidates. He says that he really wasn't sure whether he was going to make an endorsement before the primary.

But he said -- when I asked him why now? He said he felt that it was the right thing to do, that it was a gut feeling. He touted Senator McCain's leadership. He said, the candidates are all good candidates. But he felt that in the end he should have this endorsement.

BASH: Well, it is very interesting, you know, endorsement, it's always a big question mark how much endorsements really matter in these races. But in this race, when it is so tight, as you know, Mary, between John McCain and Mitt Romney, somebody like Charlie Crist, who has a pretty good approval rating, I think about 70 percent here in Florida, especially among those conservatives that John McCain needs to prove he can do well with, perhaps the McCain campaign is hoping that this could help give him at least a little bit of a boost and perhaps that's all they might need here in Florida. Mary, thank you very much.

And I want to go back now to what is going on, on the Democratic side. Our Jim Acosta has been following the Democrats in Memphis, Tennessee.

Hi, Jim.

ACOSTA: Hi, Dana. And I want to quickly want to send it out to my colleague, Ali Velshi, who is riding aboard the CNN Election Express. He is in western Arizona from what I understand right now.

And, Ali, you have been traveling for six days, you have been in nine states, covered about 2,600 miles, you are like Johnny Cash. You have been everywhere. I don't want to ask how well stocked that bus is, but Ali, let me ask you the question, what are voters telling you out there as you have been traveling across the country?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, courtesy of you, Don (ph), I put on the hat because of the Johnny Cash reference. We are about 200 miles from the end of our 2,600-mile journey. And we have been hearing very different stories across America.

Most recently we were in -- well, right now, in western Arizona, where people haven't been following. The people we have been speaking to haven't been all that concerned about market activity in the last week or month. They're generally concerned about the economy, mainly gasoline prices, because around here, everyone has got to drive.

We've been hearing stories and job concerns, about interest rates, about housing concerns, a lot of comment about the stimulus package. We've obviously heard about that this week. Some people thinking it will be a great thing, most of the retailers and tourist places we have spoken to, people think that $600 will really help the economy.

Others think it will be gone in a matter of a few months. It will have a short-term effect and won't actually -- won't actually do anything because people will save that money. They'll put it against their debt rather than going out and spending it.

All in all we have seen a very, very informed and involved electorate across the country. They're very interested in what's going on in the primaries. We haven't run into a single person, who is a registered voter, who says they will not participate. And frankly, most of them have very strong views on what is going to happen.

We'll be out of Arizona within the hour. This is a state that has 50 Democratic candidates (ph) up for grabs and 56 Republican delegates up for grabs on Super Tuesday. Well, that's where we are. We're heading towards our destination, coast-to-coast in six days, 2,600 miles, as you say, about 10 states, and six traveling companions in the CNN Election Express -- Jim. ACOSTA: All right. Ali, thank you very much. Happy trails. Keep her on the road. And we'll be back in touch with you.

And you the viewer can keep tabs on Ali Velshi as he makes his way across America, keeping tabs with voters and finding out what they think about the issues on CNN, and also on "AMERICAN MORNING" tomorrow morning right here on CNN.

Let's take go to -- let's take a quick break. This is Ballot Bowl on CNN. When you come back, we'll have plenty more politics for you coming up ahead. Stay with us, this is Ballot Bowl on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Welcome back to Ballot Bowl, I'm Jim Acosta live in Memphis, Tennessee, where Hillary Clinton addressed supporters earlier today. My colleague, Dana Bash, is down in Orlando, Florida, slightly sunnier and warmer Orlando, Florida, where she is keeping tabs on the Republican race.

And my goodness, do they have an important contest or what coming up in a couple of days? Could be a game-changer just in the same way that South Carolina was for the Democrats, correct?

BASH: Absolutely, Jim. You are right. And that's why the Republican candidates have been crisscrossing the states. Very interesting, very difficult to do. It is a very large state, a very diverse state, which is one of the many reasons why it is so important politically for these Republicans to do well here.

Fifty-seven delegates at stake according to the Republican National Committee in Tuesday's primary. That is about half of what normally would be. But the Republican Party here was sanctioned here because they moved their primary up. The Democrats were sanctioned as well, they actually were told that none of their delegates could be seated at the convention.

But the reason why the Republicans -- it's so important for the Republicans here is because, just like on the Democratic side, there is no really clear frontrunner at this point on the Republican side. John McCain has won two very large and important contest states in South Carolina and New Hampshire. But Mitt Romney is actually ahead when it comes to the delegate count.

So that is one of the many reasons Florida is so important. And, Jim, you know, it is important to point out, we haven't talked much about this, but voting is actually under way here. Tuesday is the primary. But voting started on January 14th.

Florida is one of 37 states across the country that has now allowed early voting. So as these candidates are talking on the stump, as they are addressing voters, they're not just saying, go vote on Tuesday. They're saying, go vote right now.

And that is a big part of the organization effort among a lot of these -- in fact all of the Republican candidates, they're trying to get voters to vote as we speak, right now. And it is sort of a fascinating dynamic to see how that does or doesn't change the outcome of Tuesday's primary -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Dana, well, thank you very much. We will be watching. And coming up over the next hour, for our viewers here on CNN, you will be watching "YOUR MONEY" next. But we'll be keeping tabs on where things are headed here on the campaign trail for the next hour.

John McCain, the Arizona senator, will be campaigning in Lady Lake, Florida. And meanwhile on the Democratic side, Barack Obama, he will be stumping in Birmingham, Alabama. And we have sound from that coming up in our next hour of Ballot Bowl, which will start in an hour from now.

But now we'll be going to "YOUR MONEY" right here on CNN after we catch up with the headlines and Fredericka Whitfield.

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