Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Delegates Up for Grabs in 24 States; Two New National Polls Out

Aired February 04, 2008 - 09:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Heidi Collins. Want to get you started with all kinds of events that are happening today. Monday morning, February 4th. Here's what's on the rundown now.
If tomorrow is super Tuesday, today must be manic Monday. The presidential candidates scrambling for votes. Hear them live on the trail.

Also, Israel's first suicide attack in one year. Did the bomber get into Gaza's broken border wall? We go live to the scene.

Did you get your flu shot? February is peak season and there are widespread outbreaks. The bug bites in the NEWSROOM.

Super Tuesday on the doorstep. Crucial contests taking place from coast to coast. Here's a look at the map now. Delegates up for grabs in 24 states. A flurry of activity for the candidates today.

For John McCain, a chance to keep that momentum going and solidify his lead over Mitt Romney. Romney is making a final push in key states like California.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama running neck and neck in most states. They're both campaigning in the northeast today.

We have brand new polls to show you this morning, too, for both Democrats and Republicans. Let's start with the Democrats.

The new national CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll shows Barack Obama with a three-point lead over Hillary Clinton, but that is well within the sampling error, as you can see. Contrast that with our poll of polls. The average of five national polls shows Clinton with a two-point lead.

On the Republican side, the new CNN Research Corporation poll shows John McCain way comfortable lead, 44 percent to Mitt Romney's 29 percent. Mike Huckabee is in third with 18 percent. The Republican poll of polls has similar numbers, too. John McCain with 45 percent, Mitt Romney 24, and Mike Huckabee 17.

CNN's John King is on the trail. He knows all the numbers and he's joining us on the phone from Boston at a rally for Senator John McCain.

Good morning to you, John.

JOHN KING, CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Heidi.

John McCain will be appearing shortly at Boston's historic Faneuil Hall and many might be saying, wait a minute. What does John McCain, the senator from Arizona, doing in Mitt Romney's home state the day before super Tuesday?

Well, McCain is confident that he's going to command of the Republican race tomorrow. And so you might call it as a little bit in your face even though the McCain campaign concedes it still thinks Romney will pull out the victory here in Massachusetts. But they think they have a slim shot. They'll also some raising money here and that's important as you go beyond super Tuesday. And then Senator McCain is heading to New York.

Heidi, he's way ahead in New York. And again, many are saying, why isn't he in Missouri? Why isn't he racing back out to California? But the McCain camp has confidence they're going to rack up a big lead after tomorrow night and be in command, not enough to clinch, but be in command of the Republican race.

I will tell you, though, on what you called manic Monday. I liked that. Romney campaign acknowledges the long odds but says it's starting to feel a little bit better about its chances, thinks it will get some delegates out of Georgia, things as we move west into the mountain west states, it will pick up the more delegates, and both McCain and Romney are racing back to California at the end of the day. For Senator McCain it will be tomorrow morning because California is incredibly competitive and that's one of the Republican states where the delegates are divvied up in a proportionally basis.

So it may be very late tomorrow night before we get a true sense of whether McCain runs the board and builds a big delegate lead or whether Romney holds another surprise in the Republican race.

COLLINS: Yes, it's very interesting. I just came from California, John, late last night. And certainly everybody out there talking about this election, as you can imagine. And you know, we've heard a lot about Mitt Romney and John McCain. McCain really having that momentum, as you were mentioning. But Romney still with money to use.

How is that going to factor into the end, if will you?

KING: Well, that will be a big question on Wednesday morning. He spent about $3.5 million on TV ads for super Tuesday. They're calculation is that if they can win about 400 delegates on super Tuesday, by that -- if they get 400 and John McCain will have somewhere around 700 at the end of the night, they'll have to make a decision as we look ahead in the calendar.

You have Kansas and Ohio and Texas, Pennsylvania, a big state. They'll have to make a calculation, are they close enough that they think they can keep spending money and make it competitive to the end? Or do they just stay in to be a force? So Wednesday morning will be a very big decision for Mitt Romney. It all depends on close he is on the delegate map after Tuesday night.

And don't forget, Heidi, Mike Huckabee is way back in the delegate chase, unlikely to reassert himself as a potential nominee. But he could have a big impact on super Tuesday because of the southern contest, because of his strength in the state of Missouri. So as we watch the McCain/Romney dynamic, one of the people who could influence what things look like on Wednesday morning is still Mike Huckabee.

COLLINS: Yes, the Democrats are down to two contestants, if you will, but the Republicans are not. Don't forget about Huckabee certainly. Going to be very interesting.

John King, thanks so much coming to us from Boston, Massachusetts.

Also want to remind you that today we will be bringing you special coverage of the presidential candidates as they crisscross the country ahead of super Tuesday. And don't miss a full hour of the CNN "BALLOT BOWL" from noon to 1:00 Eastern. You can join us for live coverage of the candidates as they make their pitches to the voters.

Of course, as we've just been telling you, John McCain is traveling in Boston, that is where he will be -- John McCain will be hosting a rally there at the Faneuil Hall (INAUDIBLE). We're going to bring that to you just as soon as it happens, coming up around 9:15 or so.

Also a special programming note. Senator Barack Obama will join Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM," 4:00 p.m. Eastern, only right here on CNN.

We are learning more now about that deadly shooting at a clothing store. It happened over the weekend in suburban Chicago. Police say five women were killed during a botched robbery at this Lane Bryant store.

Now the "Chicago Tribune" says sources tell the paper a sixth victim survived. Police aren't confirming that, but the paper says that victim is working with police and could help them put together a sketch of the suspect. The paper is also reporting a family member of one of the victims says police told him the suspect made off with just $200 and some valuables. Right now the manhunt continues.

Happening this morning in the Mideast, an Israeli military air strike targets a top Palestinian militant in Gaza. The attack comes hours after a deadly suicide bombing in Israel.

CNN's Atila Shubert is on the scene in southern Israel for us this morning.

Atika, tell us about the bombing?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, we're just meters away from where the explosion actually occurred and it's still pretty grisly. There are body parts still strewn across the area. In fact, behind me, there are teams now on their hands and knees going through, scouring, trying to gather the evidence and those body parts.

What we know is that there were in fact two suicide bombers. Only one had the opportunity to detonate. He killed one woman, injured 10 others, one them critically, and now police say they're not sure who exactly carried out this attack or how they got here, but a number of Palestinian militant groups have claimed responsibility including the al Aqsa Martyr's Brigade.

Residents here are very in Dimona are very concerned. They fear that these may be Palestinian militants that crossed over from Gaza into Egypt when the border was blown open last week and then moved from Egypt into Israel carrying out the attack here. This is something that police have not confirmed. This is a theory by the residents here, but they are very concerned that if it happened once it could happen again, Heidi.

COLLINS: And no question about that. Tell us a little bit more about the word that we are hearing anyway, that a police officer may have prevented a second bombing? What do you know about that?

SHUBERT: That's right. In fact, there were two suicide bombers. The first suicide bomber detonated and the force of the blast actually knocked out the second suicide bomber. A witness on the scene saw this suicide bomber there, called for help from the police and the policeman came, saw the second bomber was about to detonate and he shot and killed him. And that's how he prevented the second bomber.

COLLINS: Wow. Well, all right. We will keep your eye on this story alongside you.

Of course, CNN Atika Shubert for us this morning.

Atika, thanks.

All right. CNN's Ron Wolf is in the weather center for us this morning with a lot to talk to talk about. I got a little note early here today that basically was telling me whether it's bad everywhere.

Is that right?

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: A giant win. New York ends the New England Patriots' perfect season with a Super Bowl upset. It was a thrilling game all the way through, to way to deny that. But it came down to this last- minute pass from MVP Eli Manning. You saw it there connecting there, a touchdown to win the game 17-14.

Now to say New York fans are excited is a total understatement. Take a look this. They took to the streets to celebrate their first Super Bowl title since 1991. The city will honor its conquering heroes with a ticker tape parade on Broadway tomorrow. Sounds fun.

Flu season, though, is at its peak. So are you in the danger zone?

Elizabeth Cohen drops by in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Welcome back, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Super Tuesday's scramble. Almost half the states votes. The candidates live from the trail all day long right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Nine Iraqi civilians killed by coalition forces chasing suspected terrorists in Iraq. Today an investigation.

CNN's Michael Holmes is live in Baghdad for us.

Michael, what's the update on this investigation?

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN NEWSROOM: Heidi, good morning to you. Yes, coalition forces admittedly killed nine Iraqi civilians, wounded three others. This happened on Saturday near the town of Iskandariya, which is about 30 miles south of Baghdad on the edge of what used to be called the Sunni Triangle.

Now according to Iraqi police, two women, two children among the dead. They all came from two Sunni families. The U.S. military says the deaths came during an operation against suspected al Qaeda militants in the area. Iraqi police say the incident was an air attack and it came after an American convoy had been fired upon in the area and then called in for air support -- Heidi?

COLLINS: All right. Michael, thank you. CNN's Michael Holmes coming to us live from Baghdad this morning.

Now to this. February peak flu season. Some states are being hit harder than others.

National correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is in New York this morning checking out the danger zones.

Elizabeth, good morning. How bad is the flu this year? I'm hearing a lot about it.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know what, Heidi? It's not the worst year ever. It's not the best year ever. It's just somewhere in the middle. But definitely as you said some states are being hit harder than others.

So let's take a look at a map that shows you the six states that have widespread activity. Those would be the states that are in red. Now, interestingly enough, there are two super Tuesday states that have widespread activity, New York, where I am right now, and New Jersey. So it will be interesting to see. That probably won't affect voter turnout, but it -- who knows. Could play a role.

One of the things that people ask a lot when they are thinking about the flu is they think, gee, do I have the flu? How do I know if I have the flu? So let's go over a list of the symptoms that mean you could have the flu: a high foover, headache, all the cold stuff like cough and sore throat and stuffy nose, but also vomiting and diarrhea.

So if you have all of those simple symptoms especially at this time of year, it's a good idea to see your doctor, because there is medicine that you can take, but you need to take it quickly -- Heidi?

COLLINS: Yes. And kind of the scary thing is, and people who look healthy aren't necessarily healthy, right?

COHEN: Right. Exactly. You might think oh, I can give that person a hug because they look fine. People actually look fine for about a day before they start to show symptoms but they really are infectious. So that might be something to keep in mind and also I mentioned giving someone a hug. Actually you can get the flu from someone who's six feet away from you. So you don't even have to be all that close.

COLLINS: Yes. No more hugging.

COHEN: That's the message here.

COLLINS: Never.

COHEN: Ever.

COLLINS: Well, we know the Tamiflu is used a lot to treat the flu. How effective is it, really?

COHEN: Right. That was the drug I was referring to, the drug that you need take between 24 and 48 hours. And it's affective, but you have to take it in that time period, plus they are finding a small degree of Tamiflu resistance. So it doesn't always work. But if you can catch your symptoms quickly and get to the doctor, it's worth a try asking your doctor about it.

COLLINS: All right. CNN's medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

Elizabeth, thank you. Stop sneezing.

Google on the attack over Microsoft's bid to take over Yahoo. Find out how the fight to dominate Internet search. It's the next big battle between the Titans of tech.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We are following all of the candidates this -- one day before super Tuesday. Here we are looking at a John McCain event in Boston. His wife Cindy at the microphone there.

We will continue to follow on all of the candidates as they hold their rallies and get their constituents all excited for tomorrow to get out and vote.

Again, this hour, something else people are talking about. President Bush sending Congress the first-ever $3 trillion budget proposal. Look for a boost in military spending, about 7 percent, and that's not counting war spending. Also included increases for homeland security, border security and immigration enforcement and the FDA. The plan will freeze most domestic programs, cut Medicare and Medicaid and cut funding for health and human services.

The budget projects a $400 billion deficit for this year and next. Democrats say it's built on fuzzy math partly because it doesn't include most of the money needed for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Quick we want to get you back to that event in Boston. We just saw Cindy McCain at the microphone. Now we see presidential candidate John McCain. He's speaking out. Let's go ahead and listen in for just a moment.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If anyone has any doubt about my age, please spend some time with my mother. I am -- I want to tell you that last Christmas she decided she wanted to drive around France. So she landed in Paris, went to rent a car. They said she was too old. So she bought a car and drove around France, so - and she'll be 96 in just a few days. So thank you.

I'd like to thank Ed Bertorelli and Brent Andersen, our great supporters who are here. Ed and Brent, thank you very much for your support. I want to thank Sheriff Joe McDonald. Sheriff, where you are? I know that he's -- well, he must be out arresting someone. I'm sorry I -- Representative Paul Loscoco, our co-chairman. Thank you, Paul, thank you for all of your help.

And so many of our other friends who are here with us including members of the state representatives and state senators who are here, and I'm grateful for all of them. Jean Inman, Jean, who does such a -- done such a wonderful job as our state chairman and thank you, Jean, for all you do.

I'm deeply honored, deeply honored, by two former governors of this state. Great Republicans. Great governors. Paul Salucci and James Swift, thank you to both. Thank you both of you. Thank you both very much.

So I am compelled to tell a story of the two inmates in the state prison in the chow line and one of them turned to the other one and said, the food was a lot better in here when you were governor. That's not a joke you can tell in some states in America.

I also would like to say a word about a great American, a true friend, a person who has put his country before politics, his allegiance to what he believes is best for America above all else, a man who I have had the privilege of knowing and working with for many, many years, who I think epitomizes what the American people want, and that is for us to reach across the aisle, work together for the good of the country. That's epitomized by my dear and beloved friend, Senator Joe Lieberman.

I'm glad he's not running.

And I just want to say again, there are moments in campaigns -- all of you know, there are moments in life. There was a moment when had Joe announced his support of my candidacy and in New Hampshire, we' at a town hall meeting we had together. It was electric in the room, because people -- this is what people want us to do. I've had the privilege of working on many issues with Joe Lieberman. But we saw that 9/11 was such a great tragedy and we figured that something had to be done to have a full and complete investigation and come up with -- make a long story short, we co-sponsored the legislation that created the 9/11 Commission.

We sponsored a legislation which implemented those recommendations. We worked together, which is what the American people want us to do. And I want to tell you, and look you in the eye, my friends, as president of the United States, I will preserve my proud conservative Republican credential, but I will reach across the aisle to the Democrats and work together for the good of this country. That's what you want us to do, is work for the good of this country.

You're tired of the gridlock. You are tired of the frustration. And we will do that, and I will do that. Did I just mention my great friend from the state of Texas, 12 years a professor of economics at Texas A&M University, started out as Democrat? Quickly, quickly, saw the light and became a Republican. And was a leader on literally the Reagan revolution, where we cut taxes, we reduced spending, we took -- when Ronald Reagan came to office, inflation was 20 percent. Unemployment was 10 percent. And he was the great foot soldier in the Reagan revolution, my dear friend Senator Phil Gramm from Texas.

And from the great state of South Carolina, Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Lindsey Graham. After this meeting if he would, if anybody would like to talk with Senator -- either Senator Gramm, we will provide translators for any of you that need to - have find them hard to understand. I find them hard -- anyway -- just a word, a very brief word, Senator Lindsey Graham is not only a United States senator, he serves as colonel in the United States Air Force Reserve lawyer. When Congress votes themselves a pay raise and goes on vacation for a month, Lindsey Graham puts on his uniform as the United States Air Force lawyer, goes to Iraq in the summertime in 120-degree heat and tries to help, does everything he can to help the Iraqi people have the rule of law.

The important part of democracy -- I'm proud of -- Lindsey Graham's work. However, however, do you know the difference between a lawyer and a catfish? One is a scum-sucking bottom dweller, the other is a fish. And so -- there goes the lawyer vote again, but -- thank you all for -- I thank all of you for being here.

My friends, I'd like to discuss a few issues with you. But first of all, thank you again for coming out. Thank you for taking part in this exercise in democracy in this most historic place and I'm grateful that you would take the time this morning. I know everybody had something else to do besides dry their tears over last night's game, but the fact is I think you can be proud of that football team. I think you can be proud of the record they amassed, and I think you can be proud of the courage they displayed on the field.

And I'm not pandering when I tell that I'm proud that Bill Belichick spent his early life at United States Naval Academy where his father was a coach and I still think he may be the greatest football coach in America. Enough of that. So I'd like to just say to you, my friends, we've got some real challenges. You saw the jobs report last week. You saw that our economy continues to have blows after blows, you know about a lot of the problems with housing in America, and you know about the uncertainty on Wall Street.

And, my friends, I have -- I have specific proposals to address our economic challenges. We will be coming out with more specific proposals, and they will be based not on big government intervention and not on raising your taxes, not on increasing government regulation but unleashing the forces of the free market and the capitalism and we will restore this economy, because the fundamentals are strong of our economy.

And we can get through this. We can get through it. The first thing we have to do is pass this stimulus package, through the Senate. Don't load it up with a bunch of pork barrel projects. Have the president sign it and let's start moving forward. The second thing we need to do, my friends, is to make the Bush tax cuts permanent. We need to make them permanent, because if you don't, then every family and business in America will experience a tax increase.

That's not what the signal we want to send to American families and businesses today. There's another problem, my friends, that we have to get rid of, and a lot of Americans don't even know about it. It's called the ultimate minimum tax. It was designed a number of years ago for very, very rich people.

And now, thanks to inflation, it threatens 25 American families. Basically, it's a two tax code system in America. We've got to repeal that. We can't have that threat hanging over middle income families in America. My friend, another thing that we've got to do, I don't know how, again, sometimes when our economy is good and things are good, I don't expect you to examine some of the aspects of our tax code and our economy, etcetera.

But right now, Corporate America, corporations in America have the second highest tax rate of any country in the world. In the world except Japan and obviously we don't want Japan to be the role model for our economy. And so we have to cut the corporate tax rate. What happens when they have high corporate taxes? They move overseas. They take businesses and jobs overseas. So we've got to do that.

We've got to stimulate people's desire to invest in new equipment, and new capabilities, and let's let them write it off in a year. There's a number of things that we need to do to get our economy going. But I also want to tell you one of the most important parts is that we get government spending under control and stop the pork barrel, earmark spending which has caused us to be in a lot of the bad situation we are in today. (APPLAUSE)

MCCAIN: My friends, it's good for America when consumers spend money. It's good for America when there's money in the consumers' pocket and they go out and they buy automobiles. They buy appliances. They do all the things that are necessary to make our economy grow better and stronger. It's not good when government spends your money on pork barrel unnecessary, wasteful projects.

My friends, in the last two years -- let me put it in ways that I think helps us understand how evil this pork barrel, earmark spending is. In the last two year, the president of the United States signed into law two massive spending bills that had $35 billion in earmarked projects.

Now, my friend, we could have, for that same money in those earmarked projects, had a $1,000 tax credit for every child in America. Now, what do we want? A bridge to nowhere in Alaska to 50 people on it for $200 million or do we want to give every child in America a $1,000 tax credit? I think you know the answer to that question.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: There you have it. Senator John McCain, speaking to supporters of his in Boston, Samuel Hall. You see behind him his mother who he refers to oftentimes at rallies like these, going to be 96 in a few days, amazing, and his wife behind him as well as Joe Lieberman, Lindsey Graham and Phil Gramm as well.

Talking about taxes and the economy and we also saw the opening of the bell just a few minutes ago, while he was speaking about those issues. We'll tell you more about that in just a moment. We'll have a full business report coming up.

Also, don't miss a full hour of the CNN's "BALLOT BOWL" from noon until 1:00 Eastern. You can join us for live coverage of the candidates as they make their pitches to the voters.

Remember, CNN equals politics. We'll be hearing from all of the candidates today. Frequent flier, in fact, Mitt Romney, adds another key state to his last-minute travel plans. We're going to talk to one of Romney's campaign advisers coming up in just a few moments

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Welcome back, everybody. Counting down now to Super Tuesday, just one day to go before many of you head to the polls to make your presidential picks. Delegates are up for grabs in 24 states. Just put this in perspective. You can look at the map there. Super Tuesday in 2004 included just ten states.

For the Democrats, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are staying in the northeast today. Stumping for votes in critical states including New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. As for the republican, John McCain, who we just saw a few minutes ago, has the momentum. Mitt Romney has the money. Right now, there are just a few delegates separating them. McCain is campaigning in the northeast, Boston to be exact. Romney is swinging from coast to coast today.

Important numbers to tell you about. Two new national polls just out this morning. CNN's senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, is in New York.

Good morning to you, Bill. What are the polls telling us?

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they tell us this race is really tight on the Democratic side. There seems to be some momentum from Barack Obama. We're showing a close race with Obama at 49 percent across the country, Clinton, 46 percent. That is easily within the margin of error.

We also looked at other polls taken across the country in the last week or so. And they show also a close race. If we average the national polls, Clinton has 45 percent, Obama, 43 percent. That's a two-point lead for Clinton. So you see Obama slightly ahead in our most recent poll. Average them all, you get Clinton slightly ahead.

It's really up for grabs. Nobody knows what's going to happen. Of course, there is no national race. All these polls indicate is momentum, but momentum appears to be with Obama because Clinton had been leading all along by a significant margin.

COLLINS: Yes and they're really interesting to look at. But as you well know, polls have been wrong before. So what do they really mean, if anything? I mean, we're just talking about that momentum, right?

SCHNEIDER: We're talking about momentum, yes, because there is no single national primary. The whole country doesn't vote. About half the country votes tomorrow, but it does indicate that across the country, there's been some movement in Obama's favor. In his direction, and, you know, it's could be a very close race with Clinton winning some states, Obama winning some states and the delegates becoming even closer. Very, very close.

On the Republican side, there is momentum also. That momentum is with John McCain. Our polls shows McCain with a 15-point lead, 44 percent to 29 percent over Mitt Romney, with Mike Huckabee coming in third, and Ron Paul in single digits in fourth place. That is consistent with the poll of polls that is with all the recent national polls.

They show McCain leading Romney by 21 points. So the movement on the Republican side has been toward John McCain. Why McCain? Why Obama? Well, possibly because both of them are positioning themselves as candidates of change. That's the theme for the Obama campaign. And McCain is getting a lot of votes from Republicans who are unhappy with the Bush administration and want to see changes, too. Yes, believe it or not, there are a lot of Republicans for change.

COLLINS: All right. CNN's political analyst, Bill Schneider. Appreciate that Bill, thank you.

SCHNEIDER: OK.

COLLINS: Mitt Romney trying to catch fire on Super Tuesday but he has just one day left to light that spark. Barbara Comstock is the senior adviser for Romney's campaign. She is joining us from Washington this morning.

So let me begin by asking you about what Bill Schneider was just saying. Some of this momentum. How do you feel about your candidate's momentum?

BARBARA COMSTOCK, SENIOR ADVISER, ROMNEY CAMPAIGN: Well, actually I would -- Bill, focus on the national numbers, but if you look at numbers like California, where obviously the biggest state that we're going to be dealing with tomorrow, the momentum actually is with Governor Romney. Two polls today have him leading and leading into the weekend and coming on strong there.

He's heading there tonight for a big rally, because we do have a lot of support there. He's in Tennessee today, I believe. Also, he's going into Atlanta. A lot of these close races, what you're seeing is a falloff of Huckabee support and increase of Romney support. So I would encourage people very much to look at your -- focus on your vote counts and if you want a conservative, somebody -- you've just seen John McCain talk about the economy.

Governor Romney does not need any on-the-job training. Today in the "New York Times," one of McCain's own advisers said we've got to get him up to speed, tutor him some more on the economy. And actually, McCain does have problems on the economy because time after time, in the recent past, he has voted wrong on the economy. He's voted against tax relief for hard working Americans and he's voted for increased regulation including his own McCain-Lieberman bill. I mean, you saw Senator Lieberman there. The McCain-Lieberman bill would add 50 cents for gas prices.

COLLINS: But Barbara, the fact of the matter is, Senator McCain has a double-digit lead over your candidate, Mitt Romney. What's going to happen in the next 24 hours? Some specifics?

COMSTOCK: These are state races. And as I pointed out, we're leading in California going in there with a good wind at our back. We have strong numbers in others. We have Colorado, we are doing well. He won the main caucuses over the weekend. You have Utah, Massachusetts, obviously. But Georgia is strong. In Tennessee, we're very close there and because Mitt Romney can bring together the conservative coalition.

I mean, John McCain considered being John Kerry's running mate. He's there in Boston. I can assure you, Governor Romney would not pick somebody who like Senator...

COLLINS: Let's not talk about that for a moment. Yesterday, in Georgia, I'm sure you're aware of what Mike Huckabee said. He said this to reporters. Let me put it on the screen for you and then get your reaction.

He said this, "I want to say something to Mitt Romney. The people who support me are supporting me because they know where I stand on human life and they don't know where you stand." What's your response to that? Any worries about where Mitt Romney stands here?

COMSTOCK: No. I think he's absolutely wrong. I have been an activist in the pro-life and pro-family community for 25 years. And I can tell you the way I got to know Mitt Romney is because I worked with him on issues like the marriage amendment, and he opposed, unlike John Mccain.

COLLINS: You know, but do voters know?

COMSTOCK: Oh, certainly. We have the support of people like Paul Weyrich who founded the, "Moral Majority." We have people like David Keen. We have Judge Robert Bork, who is one of the conservative jurist leaders of the Federalist Society and we have a lot of activists involved. With this in it, Congressman Jack Kingston in Georgia. He's a strong supporter. And he has a lot of pro-family support because he led on the marriage amendment.

Governor Romney did, which Senator McCain voted against twice, and then on the issue of embryonic killing stem cell research, Senator McCain has always supported it and, of course, would sign a bill that Governor Romney would veto. So you have very pro-family, pro-life support in Governor Romney and that's why we have a lot of the supporters we do, because they know we would veto legislation that Senator McCain has already indicated he would sign.

COLLINS: Barbara, what happens, and I know usually people don't like to answer questions like this, but what happens if the Romney campaign doesn't do so well tomorrow?

COMSTOCK: Well, obviously, that's not at all what we are planning on which is why Governor Romney, heading back out to California. We are in this race.

COLLINS: That was sort of a last-minute change to his schedule. Wasn't it?

COMSTOCK: Yes, because we saw -- we are already doing very well in California, we're about tie or so. Then he saw us break out and lead in these more recent polls over the weekend. So obviously, there's a lot of delegates to be gotten there. And I think in California, they understand that you need have -- you know, the home of Ronald Reagan. You want to keep together the house that Ronald Reagan built. Strong national security conservative, economic conservative and family conservative.

You need to have somebody which the "National Review" called Governor Romney, the "full spectrum conservative." And our standard bearer needs to be somebody who can bring the party together like that not somebody who is considering running with John Kerry just a few years ago and opposing our tax relief. COLLINS: We got to offer equal time to all of the candidates today. We're going to be talking with everybody. We certainly do appreciate your time very. Barbara Comstock with the Romney campaign.

COMSTOCK: Thank you.

COLLINS: Thank you.

Well, the Giants beat the Patriots on the field. If you didn't get to stay up late (INAUDIBLE), but which Super Bowl ad won with the viewers? They're always interesting, aren't they? Our Veronica de la Cruz has the answer.

But first, the rarest political memorabilia can be worth thousands. So even if your favorite candidate is long gone, the souvenirs you picked up along the way could actually be worth some big bucks. Here's this week's "Right On Your Money."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: So let's hear from Senator McCain. Thank you very much.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It won't be just party nominations at stake on Super Tuesday. The value for political collectibles hangs in the balance as well. Mark Warda has been selling political memorabilia of all kinds for 40 years.

MARK WARDA, AUTHOR: You could buy buttons today for $2 or $3 each and just have a small collection, if that's where your budget. Or you could buy buttons for $5,000 or $10,000 each.

ROMANS: With so many choices out there, Warda said look for items that are limited editions and colorful.

WARDA: If you look for things that are unusual. Not just the name button. Not just the name button, just little button that says Nixon on it or McCain or Obama. If it's just the simple button that they made a million of, by the national headquarters, there is going to be still millions of them around 30 years from now. But if it's a small group that made something, maybe a little union made something, or a club made something in your town, then that might be worth something some day.

ROMANS: The saying goes, to the victors go the spoils but Ward says the rarest and hardest to find collectibles are from the losers.

WARDA: You might want to take a chance and buy up all the Dole buttons you can and maybe in 100 years, your grandchildren will pay for their college education with.

ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: Millions of people tuned in to watch the Super Bowl last night, not just for the game, but also for the competition among advertisers. Just kind of a sport in and of itself. Veronica De La Cruz has been watching the web now all morning long.

So what do you find out here, Veronica?

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, a lot of people are being kind of critical of those ads.

COLLINS: Really?

DE LA CRUZ: Yes, but -- I mean, did you like them?

COLLINS: Well, I didn't see all of them. I wan en route on an airplane but I saw the one about, actually I didn't know what it was about, which was really, really bad. James Carville and Bill Frist.

DE LA CRUZ: All right. We're going to take a look at a couple others. You know, all in all, ad experts had been saying that this was one of the most wired, the most interactive Super Bowls to date. Advertisers sending viewers to the website after the commercials aired. Also, websites, Heidi, hosting places for viewers to vote on their favorite commercial.

For example, AOL has been hosting its 6th Annual Super Sunday Add Poll. You can log on, cast your vote right now. And so far, Heidi, the results of the poll look like this. The number one spot, the Budweiser Rocky commercial where a Dalmatian trains as beer-pulling Clydesdale with the free music from Rockies.

COLLINS: That works every time.

DE LA CRUZ: Well, you have to get the Clydesdale horses in there.

COLLINS: There's the only way to do it.

DE LA CRUZ: Exactly. So this is number one right now. Number two, the Bridgestone Car Commercial, which features a screaming squirrel. The message here being our tire are so good, you will be able to swerve out of the way.

COLLINS: OK. I didn't see that one. But I think that's pretty funny.

DE LA CRUZ: No, it's great. It's great. It's definitely number one on my list.

Though number three on the poll, Heidi, the Coke commercial.

COLLINS: Yes, yes, it was coke. That's right.

DE LA CRUZ: Did you see this one?

COLLINS: Yes. DE LA CRUZ: OK, yes. It features the battle of these hot air balloon, underdog, fighting with each other only to have Charlie Brown in the end swoop in and take the coke.

COLLINS: Oh, isn't that cute?

DE LA CRUZ: So this was the one that you saw?

COLLINS: No, no. I saw the other. I remember now that it was Coke. At least, I hope with James Carville and Bill Frist.

DE LA CRUZ: Yes, that was coke.

COLLINS: Yes, very funny. So what about the poll results on AOL? What else did you find out there?

DE LA CRUZ: OK. So we just gave you the top three. I was also checking out YouTube, because you know that's a place where you can go, just in case any of the commercials, oddly enough. This one, Heidi, was one of the most watched commercials so far. Careerbuilder.com. As Secretary Hart (ph) literally falls of her chest onto her desk. The heart walks in her boss' office with a picket sign that says, I quit, and then the heart marches right out of the door. And the message here supposedly -- follow your heart? I don't know. I didn't really get it. It was really disgusting.

COLLINS: Yes. Oh, I see. OK.

DE LA CRUZ: I mean, you get it, follow your heart. But I mean, it was -- I literally looked around the room and people were just disgusted.

COLLINS: Yes. Eating their chips and stuff, being grossed out. Exactly. What do you think people's favorite, favorite commercial was? What really seems to be resonating with people online?

DE LA CRUZ: Well, we checked out this other website. It's called advot.com. It's another one of those sites where you can vote and they let you print out your ballots before the big game so they could play along with your friends. It seems that the voters there have also crowned that Budweiser Clydesdale, spot the winner.

So no big surprise. But I have to show you this one, Heidi. Because somewhere towards the bottom of that list is one of my other favorites. Probably number two. Let's go to number two in my book. This is the Budweiser Cheese commercial. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(BUDWEISER CHEESE COMMERCIAL)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DE LA CRUZ: All right. So I think that one is at number ten right now, but it was definitely one of my favorites. And Heidi, we've all been there, right? The wine and cheese parties. And the guys pretending to play along?

COLLINS: Yes. I know, they hate it. They hate it, every time. There's no doubt. All right, Veronica, sure do appreciate that.

DE LA CRUZ: Of course.

COLLINS: It was a fun game and good commercials, too.

DE LA CRUZ: And you can keep voting at advote -- no actually at aol.com. You can watch the commercial, just in case you missed them, on YouTube.

COLLINS: OK. Perfect. All right, Veronica, thanks so much. And just a reminder, you can catch Veronica, every morning on AMERICAN MORNING 6:00 until 9:00 Eastern.

Trapped after a wooden staircase burns. A devastating apartment fire claims lives and many of them children.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: A celebration turns tragic. At least nine people, five of them children, died in an apartment house fire in Southwest Germany. A fire official in Ludwigshafen says 60 others were hurt. 24 victims still in the hospital. The apartment building was crowded with people celebrating Carnival Sunday. The cause the fire, not yet Known.

New numbers this morning. Close race for democrats, not so for Republicans. We're going to take you inside the poll.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Good morning, everybody, I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Stay informed, right here. Here's what's on the rundown.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxantshop.com