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American Morning
Deadly Tornadoes in Three States; McCain Takes GOP Lead; Democrats' Race Not Settled; What's Next for Campaigns?
Aired February 06, 2008 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: A twister also trapped 50 people in a retirement home in the city. We're going to keep following this story all morning for you. First light should be coming along in about an hour and a half or so and we'll get a clearer idea the extent of the damage, but as we can see from these pictures looks extensive at this point and again that death toll climbing by the hour as well.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Be all over that this morning as well.
It's the day after Super Tuesday and boy it's far from over, a fight to the absolute finish. So far no knockout blows between senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Clinton won eight Super Tuesday states including some of the biggest prizes, New York, New Jersey, California, Massachusetts, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
Barack Obama took 13 states more than Clinton, but adding up probably to fewer delegates, but those states include Missouri, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, and his home state of Illinois. One race still too close to call this morning and that is New Mexico. Here's what both candidates had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: While Washington is consumed with the same drama and divisions and distractions, another family puts up a for sale sign in their front yard. Another factory shuts its doors. Another soldier waves good by as he leaves on another tour of duty in a war that should have never been authorized...
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: And should never been (INAUDIBLE). It goes on and on and on.
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Together we're going to take back America because I see an America where our economy works for everyone, not just those at the top, where prosperity is shared and we create good jobs that stay right here in America. I see an America where we stand up to the oil companies and the oil producing countries, where we launch a clean energy revolution and finally confront the climate crisis.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROBERTS: And on the Republican side of the fence, Senator John McCain's lead grew big-time, but another candidate proved that he is not going anywhere, not just yet at least. McCain won nine states including big prizes on each coast, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and California. He also won his home state of Arizona after a little bit of a scare there. And just days after critics said he was taking up space in the race, Mike Huckabee piled up wins across the south. Bible belt voters helped give him five states including his home state of Arkansas.
Mitt Romney was hoping for a better night than he got. And he lost a lot of ground to John McCain, but was able to take seven states including his home state of Massachusetts and fellow Mormons also gave him Utah. Here's what McCain and Huckabee had to say about the results last evening.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've never minded the role of the underdog and have relished as much as anyone come from behind wins, tonight I think we must get used to the idea that we are the Republican Party front runner for the nomination...
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think there are some people who thought it was all going to be done tonight, but it's not all done tonight. We're going to keep on battling. We're going to go all the way to the convention. We're going to win this thing and we're going to go to the White House.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People are saying the conservatives do have a choice because the conservatives have a voice. And tonight they're getting a chance to express that and from here...
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
HUCKABEE: ... they'll get to continue expressing that choice and that voice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: A night of surprises to be sure. Senator John McCain and Mike Huckabee again with some big wins and some big losses for Mitt Romney. McCain says he is ready to start thinking like a winner.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCCAIN: We've won primaries in the west.
ROBERTS (voice-over): The big news of the night was a new role for John McCain.
MCCAIN: And although I've never minded the role of the underdog and have relished as much as anyone come from behind wins, tonight I think we must get used to the idea that we are the Republican Party front runner for the nomination...
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
ROBERTS: The senator from Arizona racked up wins in Missouri, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, states where it's winner take all when it comes to landing delegates. And McCain scored a solid victory in delegate rich California. For Mitt Romney expectations were not met, but the former Massachusetts governor did win his home state as well as Utah and several caucus states. He vowed to stay in the race for now.
ROMNEY: I think there are some people who thought it was all going to be done tonight, but it's not all done tonight. We're going to keep on battling. We're going to go all the way to the convention. We're going to win this thing and we're going to go to the White House.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
ROBERTS: And the surprise of the night came from Mike Huckabee and his supporters. The former Arkansas governor swept the south winning his home state as well as Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
HUCKABEE: Over the past few days a lot of people have been trying to say that this is a two man race.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
HUCKABEE: Well you know what, it is and we're in it.
(APPLAUSE)
ROBERTS: In the Democratic battle major victories for both candidates. Senator Hillary Clinton captured some big states like California, her home state of New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Tennessee and Arizona. Senator Barack Obama answered with w's in Georgia, Alabama, Missouri, Connecticut and his home state of Illinois. Both candidates acknowledged their race is far from over.
H. CLINTON: And I look forward to continuing our campaign and our debate about how to lead this country better off for the next generation.
OBAMA: I congratulate her on her victories tonight. She's been running an outstanding race.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: He finished drawing he pulled off upsets across the south and probably shocked some of the loudest and most influential voices in the Republican Party. We're going to be speaking with the fellow who did it, Mike Huckabee, live coming up in the 7:00 hour of AMERICAN MORNING, so make sure that you stay with us -- Kiran. CHETRY: We're also following breaking news this morning. In a rare winter outbreak of tornadoes rip across the south as voters head to the polls. Deadly twisters slamming parts of Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee. At least 27 people killed and more than 100 others injured. That storm sparked an explosion at a gas plant near Nashville. Here's a look.
Its flames shooting hundreds of feet into the sky. Jackson, Tennessee hit hardest where dozens of elderly people were trapped in damaged buildings. There is a look at some of the aftermath. Two dorms also destroyed at Union University. The school president saying it looked like a war zone.
Ed Lavandera is live on the Union campus in Jackson with more on what it's looking like the day after -- Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran. What has been a devastating night here throughout parts of Arkansas, Tennessee and into Kentucky as well. Here on the campus of Union University where some 3,000 students go to school, about 1,800 of those students living on campus in the dorm rooms and this is what some of the dorms look like here this morning in the parking lots.
The storm here wore through here least night. There were -- we're told that the students received a good amount of warning and many of them were able to clear out, but there were still a good number of them that were trapped inside these dorm rooms. We're told by university officials this morning that about nine of these students were being treated at a local hospital and one of these injuries are life threatening. Amazingly no one killed here on this campus yesterday morning, but a scary night indeed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It happened all so fast, so I mean the announcement came through for everybody to seek shelter as fast as possible. The storm was outside and doing damage, so by this time everybody was like I said scattering out trying to get somewhere safe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was kind of an extraordinary sight to walk out of a building and see a funnel cloud coming down and just ripping through town, you know without any problems. It was an amazing sight, but at the same time kind of scary because you don't know who could have been over there at that time, people being warned unprepared for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAVANDERA: And Kiran, all night long across the region through Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky search and rescue teams have been working through the night in the darkness trying to find anybody that might be trapped in the hundreds of homes that have been damaged or destroyed making sure that everyone is accounted for. Here on this campus there have been search and rescue teams using search dogs to go through the portions of these dorm rooms that were destroyed and a little while ago you could actually see people with flashlights and the lights kind of flashing out through the building.
It's hard to really get a gauge of just how widespread the damage is here, but in some of the light that is up here this morning we can see several academic buildings that have had major portions of rooftops flipped over an here in the parking lot dozens of cars, windshields shattered out and dozens of cars flipped over here this morning -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Ed Lavandera for us in Jackson, Tennessee this morning, thank you.
Those deadly storms now moving east. Heavy rain, damaging winds and hail could develop from the Carolinas as far north as New Jersey. Our Rob Marciano is at our Weather Update Desk tracking extreme weather. Rob, I know yesterday they were warning, they were sending out warnings about this line of storms. In fact, some of the universities down south were actually sending text messages to their students, warning them about this weather.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It seems to be an ongoing trend. It is certainly not a bad idea, Kiran. This outbreak certainly unusual for February. It's typically a quiet month and the tornadoes that break out are typically a little bit south of this area, which we like to refer to as Dixie Alley. These are the stormy ports, 57 reports of tornadoes, most of which are within about 100 mile radius of Memphis, Tennessee, so the mid south just really getting clobbered in a very confined area.
Let's move along to show you what's happening right now. We still have tornado watches that are posted. As a matter of fact, a tornado warning in effect for Cullman County and Madison County, both in Alabama, one of which I tell you what, it really looks like it's spinning up. It has a decent amount of rotation. That's the one that's the one that's in Cullman County right now about to cross the I-65 or crossing the I-65 quarter right now, heading to the northeast between 50 and 60 miles an hour. This is not the kind of storm that you'd chase.
This is the kind of storm that you run from or hide from if you can when they are moving that fast in the dark. Boy it is a scary situation, so we still have action this morning, unfortunately. There is that storm, a lot of rotation as it heads off towards the north and east. There is quite possibly a tornado on the ground there, although right now we only have reports of a Doppler indicated tornado for Cullman and Madison County.
All right, this watch is still in effect and now as these watches continue to expire, a fresh watch just to the east, in eastern parts of Birmingham and western parts of Georgia has just been issued in effect until 10:00 this morning. So still a long morning to go through as this potent storm system heads off towards the north and east. The back side of it still has a tremendous amount of snow, but we're obviously most concerned about the front side of it.
Today, this afternoon, now Kiran going forward, it should not be as turbulent or deadly a day, but certainly the next few hours there is a lot of bang in these storms as they push off towards the north and east, 27 fatalities across three states in February -- back up to you.
CHETRY: It certainly is shocking and tragic. We'll be checking with you throughout the morning for updates on the extreme weather. Rob, thanks.
ROBERTS: It is coming up now on 12 minutes after the hour. Back to our other top story, the morning after the Super Tuesday showdown and we have got the best political team on television breaking down the results for us this morning. Dan Lothian is in Little Rock, Arkansas following the Republican race. Jessica Yellin in Los Angeles covering the Democrats and joining us here in New York City, Bill Schneider taking a look at the exit polls, who voted and why.
Let's begin with Jessica though out on the West Coast and Jessica, both Clinton and Obama camps have reason to celebrate, but as we said, no knockout punch at this point, so where do the candidates go from here?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well John, as you said, it really is a split decision with Barack Obama winning key victories in Missouri, for example, which is considered a national bellwether, Colorado as well a key state for a Democrat to take in a national election come November. Clinton of course can brag about Massachusetts, a symbolic victory given the huge embrace Barack Obama got from the Kennedy family so strong there. And of course California, but in many of these states they will both split the delegates, at least some of the delegates going to the person who didn't win and so it remains incredibly close.
Both candidates talking about the next few days and the next weeks. We will see primaries in Ohio, Texas, Pennsylvania that will be key. Coming up even more in the next week we'll see Louisiana vote. We'll see a few smaller primaries. We're also expecting both candidates to take on some new debates. Yesterday Senator Hillary Clinton said she'd like one debate a week until these primaries are done.
Barack Obama has not agreed to that. Both candidates saying at this point they see reason why their campaign is ahead. Let's listen to what some of what they said last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
H. CLINTON: After seven years of a president who listens only to the special interest you're ready for a president who brings your voice, your values and your dreams to your White House.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: The stakes are too high and the challenge is too great to play the same Washington game, with the same Washington players and somehow expect a different result. This time must be different. This time we have to turn the page. This time we have to write a new chapter in American history. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: This time we have to seize the moment.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: So we have yet to hear exactly how delegates have been apportioned for each state. Again, so many of these contests, delegates are given out as a percentage of the vote each candidate wins in a congressional district. But again, this is not over by a long shot -- John.
ROBERTS: Of course because of all of that, Jessica, the big question this morning, how long is it going to go. Jessica Yellin for us this morning in Los Angeles. Jessica, thanks -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well for the Republicans a little bit more of a decisive night, especially for senator John McCain. He piled up about 40 percent of the delegates needed to win the nomination. But Mitt Romney says he's not giving up his fight and the surprise of the night was Mike Huckabee with a strong showing in the south winning not just his home state of Arkansas, but also Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and West Virginia. CNN's Dan Lothian joins us now from Little Rock with a look at what's next for the GOP race. Technically Mike Huckabee did rack up more delegates last night than Mitt Romney.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He really did and it was a surprising strong showing for Mr. Huckabee, although if you talk to him, what he would say is that they really expected to do well in these southern states. An aide telling me that they had spent a lot of time focusing on these critical southern states that some of the other opponents were in Florida and they were reaching out to the GOP base. They were really selling him as the only conservative, the true conservative on the Republican side.
They feel very good about their showing and they say that in moving forward this just proves that he will not be leaving this race. That he's in it to stay.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUCKABEE: Over the past few days a lot of people have been trying to say that this is a two man race.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
HUCKABEE: Well you know what, it is and we're in it.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOTHIAN: Of course that is a reference to Mitt Romney who had been suggesting in the days leading up to Super Tuesday that after Super Tuesday it would be a two person race between himself and Mr. McCain. Of course, that does not appear to be the case as this race is moving forward. Now senator John McCain who really if you remember not long ago was pretty much written off. His race was all but over and he talked about how he relished the fact that he could come from behind but now pointing out that he is the true front runner. For Romney as if you've been talking about this, this morning, a disappointing showing.
He did win in some key states, but these were states where was expected to do well. But he told his supporters that he is not dropping out of this race. Here's a little bit more of what both of them had to say last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: I promise you if I am so fortunate to win your nomination, I will work hard to ensure that the conservative philosophy and principles of our great party, principles that have done so well by the country we love will again win the votes of the majority of the American people and defeat any candidate our friends on the other side nominate.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
ROMNEY: I'm convinced that if Washington continues on its same course, America will emerge not as the great nation of the 21st century by the end, but as a second tier power. It will be passed by someone else. I can't tell you who it will be, but it will be passed by someone else. That will not happen. We'll keep America strong because we'll hold on to the values that have always made us successful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOTHIAN: All of the candidates will be having a down day today. They will not be out on the campaign trail, although you never know. These things could change for Mr. McCain. Obviously what he's hoping to do is build on his momentum, and hoping that it can carry him to the Republican nomination -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Dan Lothian for us this morning in Little Rock, Arkansas. Thank you.
And the results, by the way, are still coming in. You can log on to CNN.com/politics to get an up to the minute, all of the results and of course you can see them throughout the morning here on a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING.
ROBERTS: And it's coming up to 18 minutes after the hour. More of our 40 hours of nonstop coverage of Super Tuesday. We told you how Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton did state by state, but how did they do with voters who thought the economy was the top issue or voters whose most concerned, whose greatest concern was about Iraq. We're examining the issues with our Bill Schneider. That's coming right up.
And millions of votes (INAUDIBLE) been decided just yet, at least. What can the candidates take away from Super Tuesday? We'll break it all down with John Dickerson ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Taking a look right now at the radar picture right now a rough line of storms making its way east right now. It was the same storm systems that ripped through three southern states killing at least 27 people and injuring 100 others. Our Rob Marciano is on it today. He is going to be showing us areas that are under watches and warnings throughout the morning here on AMERICAN MORNING -- John.
ROBERTS: Kiran, thanks. Health care a big issue in Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign. Barack Obama's as well, but what about some of the other key issues, the economy, the war. How did Democratic voters break down those issues? CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider is looking at the exit polling from last night for us. Good morning, Bill.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, John.
Well, we saw some important divisions in the Democratic Party. Hillary Clinton did well, but she didn't shut the race down. Divisions by race, blacks voted overwhelmingly for Obama, though he did make some inroads into the white vote. He got about 40 percent of that. Age, young voters for Obama, older voters for Clinton. Gender, of course, men and women differed on the candidates at 57 percent of the voters in the Democratic primaries across the country were female. And education, that was a surprise, better educated, more prosperous voters for Obama and then more scale down voters were heavily for Hillary Clinton.
ROBERTS: Right.
SCHNEIDER: That's a division that's very serious.
ROBERTS: Now we mentioned the economy as the number one issue. How did voters break down on that?
SCHNEIDER: The economy was the number one issue and that was Clinton's issue. As you see, she beat Obama by about 10 points on that and that was a very big issue to Democrats. The Iraq war was the secondary issue and that was Obama's issue. He stressed that in the debate and look at that. He won on the Iraq war, but it wasn't as big as the economy.
ROBERTS: Is that because voters are tuning into his attack on Hillary Clinton and her vote to authorize the use of military force in 2002?
SCHNEIDER: Exactly. In the debate he made that a key point and that was the most dramatic moment in the debate and it seems to have paid off for him on that issue. The number two issue he did well, but on one issue voters even though they voted for Clinton, did prefer Obama. Who is more likely to unite the country? Fifty percent said Obama, 39 percent said Clinton. That's a very important appeal that Obama has, even to Democrats who are voting for Hillary Clinton. They acknowledged it.
ROBERTS: And what do we find on the Republican side?
SCHNEIDER: Republican side John McCain won, but he didn't shut it down because he has a problem. The problem is with conservatives. Look at this. Among conservatives voting all across the primaries, Mitt Romney came in first. John McCain did not win conservatives. They are the base of the Republican Party. He didn't carry them. Interestingly though, the conservative vote was split.
Southern conservatives McCain ran third. Mike Huckabee was first among southern conservatives and Mitt Romney second. Among non southern conservatives, Mitt Romney was first and McCain was second. So you have competition for the conservative vote between Huckabee and Romney, good luck for McCain because he has the divided opposition.
ROBERTS: And the big question of course this morning is with McCain now declaring himself the front runner if he does become the nominee, what happens with those conservatives, the ones who either went to Romney or went to Huckabee. Do they throw their support behind McCain?
SCHNEIDER: Well there will be a lot of pressure on them to do it, but the question is will either Romney or Huckabee get out of the race. There is no indication of that. And as long as there are two opponents trying, vying for the conservative vote, McCain may be a very lucky man.
ROBERTS: All right, Bill Schneider for us this morning. Bill, thanks. We'll get you back because there is lots of great exit polling to go through -- Kiran.
CHETRY: And a new sign of economic trouble, markets overseas falling sharply. We're going to have more on that. And we're also following breaking news out of the south this morning. The number of dead continues to climb after several tornadoes. We're going to talk about where the most damage hit ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Your financial security watch right now, and overseas markets are down sharply right now on concerns about the U.S. economy. Major Asian markets closed off about five percent; Europe also opening lower this morning after the Dow dropped 370 points yesterday. The biggest single day drop on the Dow in nearly a year. Selling on Wall Street began with a report that business activity was at its lowest level since right after 9/11.
Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are being called back to Washington today. They're going to vote on the economic stimulus package. That vote will be close. Democrats say they need at least nine Republicans to vote with them in order for that measure to pass. Republican senator John McCain also heading back to Washington. He has not said how he will vote. Democrats want to add on to the House rebate plan, pushing to add $40 billion to help seniors, disable veterans and to extend unemployment benefits as well. Top Senate Democrats are demanding a criminal investigation into the use of water boarding on terror suspects. It comes after the administration admitted using it on three al Qaeda detainees after September 11. Yesterday CIA Director Michael Hayden told a Senate committee that technique was used because the information the agency got from the high profile prisoners. Critics have called water boarding torture because it involves strapping a person down, pouring water over their face just to simulate drowning.
ROBERTS: It is 28 minutes after the hour now. We are also following another major breaking story this morning. A freak winter outbreak of twisters killing more than two dozen people in three southern states. We'll have the latest pictures and we're tracking where this deadly storm is heading next. We'll give you all the information on that.
Still too close to call, what can the candidates take away from Super Tuesday? We'll break it all down with John Dickerson. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's about 31 minutes after the hour. Welcome back to a special early edition of AMERICAN MORNING.
We're tracking a big day of politics. Also breaking news down South. Deadly tornadoes in three states.
CHETRY: Yes. And the number of dead has been rising overnight from a series of powerful tornadoes. Authorities in Arkansas reporting 13 people killed. Eleven people in Tennessee, three in Kentucky. More than a hundred injured.
Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, was one of the area's hardest hit. The scene, in the words of the school's president, was "a war zone." Two dorms knocked to the ground, along with other buildings on campus.
Thirteen students were trapped in the rubble. All of them were pulled to safety. But you can see the cars flipped on their sides and destroyed. Classes have been canceled now for the next two weeks.
Also, a major blast northeast of Nashville. Another twister sparking flames up to 500 feet high. This happened at a gas plant. The sky was filled with this eerie orange glow after that caught fire. No injuries though reported there -- John.
ROBERTS: And we'll keep an eye, of course, on that weather this morning, tell you where those storms are headed next.
Our other top story now, though, Super Tuesday.
On the Democratic side, it is shaping up to be a historical battle. Senator Hillary Clinton won eight Super Tuesday states, including Arizona, California, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Massachusetts, her home state of New York, as well as Tennessee. Barack Obama took a stunning 13 contests, including a very close one in Missouri. One race still too close to call this morning in New Mexico. It's just about even up there.
Here's what both candidates had to say last evening.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: For seven years we have seen President Bush's answer. They don't know what's at stake in this election, but we do. We know what we need, is someone ready on day one to solve our problems and seize those opportunities.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's a choice between going into this election with Republicans and Independents already united against us, or going against their nominee with a campaign that has united Americans of all parties, from all backgrounds, from all races, from all religions, around a common purpose.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And on the Republican side, John McCain may be on the fast track to the nomination. John McCain won nine states, including the big prizes of New York and California. Also got his home state of Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Delaware, and Missouri. So a very big night for John McCain.
Mike Huckabee mounted a huge comeback with wins across the South. He won five states there -- Alabama, Georgia, West Virginia, Tennessee, and his home state of Arkansas.
Mitt Romney hoping for a better night than the one he got. He lost a lot of ground to McCain. He was still able to take seven states. He got Alaska, Massachusetts, his home state, Montana. Also Utah, where he lived for a while, Colorado, Minnesota, and North Dakota.
He joked last night that in the three places he's lived, Massachusetts, Utah and Michigan -- Michigan, of course, a couple of weeks ago -- he's won all of those contests. So he's won every one of his home states.
Here's what McCain and Romney had to say last night about the results.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Although I've never minded the role of the underdog, and have relished as much as anyone come-from-behind wins, tonight I think we must get used to the idea that we are the Republican Party front-runner for the nomination...
(APPLAUSE)
MCCAIN: ... of president of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think there's some people who thought it was all going to be done tonight. But it's not all done tonight.
We're going to keep on battling. We're going to go all the way to the convention, we're going to win this thing, and we're going to get into the White House.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And that was the same thing that Mike Huckabee said as well last evening, that he's staying in, at least for a while -- Kiran.
CHETRY: John, thanks.
You know, Super Tuesday did little to clear the political landscape. Instead, it may have created the political equivalent of Groundhog Day. At least six more weeks of campaigning.
So, what can we expect and what do the results from last night foreshadow?
Joining me this morning to discuss this is CNN political analyst John Dickerson.
Thanks for being with us this morning.
JOHN DICKERSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Sure.
CHETRY: It really is. I love that description, Groundhog Day, because nothing's over and it seems that the campaigning continues, at least for six more weeks, we get through some of these other states.
But what stuck out in your mind last night? We'll start with the Democrats.
DICKERSON: Well, what stuck out in my mind for the Democrats is that we just don't know. And it's just going to keep going on and on. And they both have wins. You know, both Obama and Clinton can claim some momentum from this. You know, she got the big state of California. That's huge. Obama got Connecticut, in her back yard, which is a big win for him.
He also won among whites. There was a big question about Obama, whether he could get enough of the white male vote. And he did that.
So they both have something that they can claim, and this is going to go on not only from state to state, but we're going to have more debates. And the questions are still there, as they have been for the last many weeks, among these two.
CHETRY: Let's just put up quickly the delegate count at this point. And this is changing by the minute. Throughout the morning this will change as we get more results. I believe we're still waiting on New Mexico.
Clinton, 823. Barack Obama, 732. But one thing that was interesting last night -- and many people who are following this say it's not necessarily just a numbers game because of superdelegates at the national convention.
Can you explain in lay people's terms how that works on the Democratic side?
DICKERSON: We've got two things, pledged delegates who come from these contests.
CHETRY: Right.
DICKERSON: And then you have the superdelegates, who are outside of the actual voting contests. And they are kind of on the fence sometimes, they can change their vote around. And they are, for the moment...
CHETRY: They're elected officials in different states?
DICKERSON: They are. They are elected officials, Democratic Party officials. And they are pledged to the candidates. But those aren't set in stone. And so they can move around.
And each news organization tries to figure out where those superdelegates have gone. Some have not signed up with a candidate yet. And so what will happen is we'll have these results in the states, and Hillary Clinton, who has more superdelegates, may not do well in terms of the delegate counts in the states, but may, as we've seen here, be ahead because she has those superdelegates in her back pocket.
CHETRY: So how is that fair? So, technically, they can override what the -- what the -- who the people voted for?
DICKERSON: Well, the Democrats have a very complicated process that they designed over the years, and they argue that this makes it fair because these Democratic Party officials should have a say in the vote, and that it, for a variety of reasons that go long back into the history of the Democratic Party of the last 20 years, that they've designed it this way to keep the representation in the appropriate fashion for the party.
CHETRY: All right. We'll switch it. John's chuckling back there.
Let's take a look at the GOP right now.
We had, I mean, clearly the front-runner. And clearly the winner of the night was John McCain. But also some surprises from Mike Huckabee, because he was running out of cash and he did surprisingly well in some of the southern states.
DICKERSON: Yes. Well, the Republican Party, God love them, is much more simply than the Democratic Party. We had winner-take-all contests.
John McCain won a lot of big states, came out with more of the delegates. But Mike Huckabee was the big surprise because conservatives had banded together in the last week. A lot of conservative talk show hosts had said, forget about Mike Huckabee, you must rally behind Mitt Romney to stop the dreaded John McCain.
CHETRY: Right.
DICKERSON: They didn't do that. They -- conservatives went for Mike Huckabee in these -- in key southern states, and that means the conservative movement is in a bit of turmoil now because Huckabee did so well.
CHETRY: So what does it mean for Mitt Romney at this point?
DICKERSON: Well, it's awfully dark for Mitt Romney at this point because it means a couple of things. It means that he cannot win in the geographical and ideological base of his own party.
He has thrown a lot of money into advertisements. He's put a lot of money into organization. And now in the last week he's had the voices of the conservative movement behind him.
None of that has been able to help him seal the deal and make the sale. That's very bad news for him.
CHETRY: Does John McCain need these conservatives, or are they going to be marginalized in this election?
DICKERSON: Well, he does need them. I mean, you can't run away from the base of your party. He may not need them to get the nomination.
We saw here that he lost among conservatives to Mitt Romney, if you look at the national exit poll. But he, nevertheless, is on his way to winning all of the delegates. But when we get into a general election, he will, indeed, need the base of his party.
Thursday, he'll give an important speech in front of some conservatives. And we saw in his victory speech that he's already reaching out to them as best he can.
CHETRY: The bellwether state, as they call it, of Missouri, each year in the general election the two candidates who won are technically the ones that go on to the general election. What did we see last night?
DICKERSON: Well, Obama won Missouri. This was a big win for him, close fought with Clinton. So he's very happy about that. And McCain won Missouri as well.
Now, if those two are the nominees, this will be a fight in the middle. They both won with Independents and moderates, and they will be fighting in the middle in this bellwether state. We should all just move to Missouri, because that's where the real contest will be.
CHETRY: I'm sure their campaigns will.
John Dickerson, great to see you. We'll see you throughout the morning. Thanks so much.
DICKERSON: Great. Thanks.
ROBERTS: I greeted (ph) John about half-past midnight, and he was all grizzled and unshaven and he's looking at the Democratic race saying, "I don't know what to write about this, I don't know where it's going." I said the old adage -- or the old cliche -- "Nothing is certain. Only time will tell."
CHETRY: Exactly. And that's certainly the case, still, as we head into the morning, the day after. Good thing we're going to be on the air for 40 hours.
ROBERTS: Yes. What does it all mean?
CHETRY: Thanks, John.
ROBERTS: Still got to work that out.
Thanks, John.
You voted, and now the Internet is buzzing. We'll take a look at what the blogs have to say about the Super Tuesday results. That's coming up next.
And more than two dozen dead, scores injured, as tornadoes tear through the mid-South. An update on the extreme weather, now moving east.
We'll tell you where the warnings and watches are up, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's coming up on 16 minutes now to the top of the hour. More pictures coming into us this morning from the zone of the destruction there. This is from Jackson, Tennessee. A couple of dorm buildings at the local university just a shred. That university has been closed down for a couple of weeks as deadly storms swept across the mid-South last night and continued to today.
Watches and warnings now being posted for Alabama. The storms left 27 dead across Tennessee, Arkansas and Kentucky.
Let's go live now to Elizabethtown, Kentucky. David McArthur of our affiliate WAVE is there.
David, how bad is the damage where you are?
DAVID MCARTHUR, REPORTER, WAVE: John, it's rough to say right now in the darkness here, and that's what the real problem here is in Elizabethtown. The entire city is in the darkness.
They've been trying to assess the damage. Luckily, no fatalities, no deaths here in Hardin County. That's the good news.
But behind us we have Hardin County High School, the central high school here in the area. You can see the damage we're looking at right now.
This is part of a floor and a roof that has collapsed, and a walkway. Of course, classrooms right above that. Because of the situation there and the roof off the gym right now, as well as a lot of the sports facilities and glass everywhere, they have had to cancel classes here at this school, as well as all the schools throughout Hardin County, because of the power situation right now. And that's the big issue.
They're trying to work to restore power. About 66,000 people in this area without power. Another 13,000 right across river from Louisville, in Indiana, without power. So you're looking at almost 75,000 people here that are trying to -- trying to get things back to normal and waking up this morning in the dark.
We'll of course keep you updated. John, back to you.
ROBERTS: David, of course the damage at that building behind you there, the high school, I would take it that there was nobody inside. How busy are the emergency crews this morning going through other structures, trying to find out if people were trapped?
MCARTHUR: Well, they have been very busy all night long. Luckily, the 911 center here has been taking a lot of calls. But they've been running on emergency power because they, too, are without power right now.
There have been no reports of any serious problems or emergency rescues, but they are still going through a lot of these neighborhoods right now to make sure everyone is OK.
ROBERTS: All right. Dave McArthur of our affiliate WAVE in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, for us this morning.
Dave, thanks very much.
MCARTHUR: Thank you.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: Meanwhile, we're also checking in with the bloggers. They weighed in on yesterday's political contests across the country.
Our Veronica De La Cruz has been watching, and she joins us now with the buzz this morning.
I couldn't wait to log on...
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN ANCHOR: No.
CHETRY: ... and see what they were saying, because it was really -- it was a night of a lot of surprises, and this morning we still don't know that much.
DE LA CRUZ: Yes, but definitely an exciting time, you know, to be tracking the blogs. And like you were just saying, the blogosphere busy overnight with lots of political commentary and opinion.
We're going to start with this. This is the front page of TheHuffingtonPost.com, where the headline reads this, Kiran -- "So Close... So Far to Go." The emphasis there obviously being on the razor-thin race between Senators Clinton and Obama, like you were just saying.
You know, still really don't know yet.
And on that note, Andy Barr from "The Hill" had this to point out -- kind of interesting. "Obama saw major endorsements from Senators Ted Kennedy, John Kerry in Massachusetts, as well as Senator Claire McCaskill in Missouri and Governor Janet Napolitano in Arizona. But he failed to win any of the states."
And a blogger who goes by the name "Armed Liberal" on Winds of Change writes, "The structure of Hillary's victories tonight -- winning big in the bluest of blue states, and losing in the states that might be a tossup -- emphasized her weakness as a general election candidate."
OK. So that's the Democrats. Let's go and turn now to the Republican race.
This is from Mark Steyn from "The Corner" on "The National Review." He posted this: "The heartland spoke last night. They're not voting for a Mormon, no way, no how." He then goes on to say, "I assume whatever ant-Mitt coordination there is between the two campaigns, McCain is planning to toss Huckabee overboard as soon as he has served his purpose."
And then we found this from Andrew Sullivan from "The Atlantic," who disagrees. He says, "The GOP's natural ticket is obviously McCain/Huckabee. It makes a lot of sense for the logic of today's religiously-based, war-motivated Republicanism."
So, again, blogs extremely busy. But we do want to remind you, go ahead and check the Ticker -- CNNPolitics.com. That is also a very busy place today.
I think -- I think the top posts right now, there are at least 300 comments. So that's a good place for you to join in in on the conversation -- CNNPolitics.com.
CHETRY: Sounds good, Veronica. Thanks so much.
DE LA CRUZ: Of course.
CHETRY: And I guess a lot of people were bleary-eyed, because "The Hill" did get it wrong. Obama did win Missouri, actually.
ROBERTS: He won Missouri, yes. It looked like Hillary was going to win it, and then at the very end it came right around and Obama won it.
CHETRY: But as we said, a lot changing this morning.
ROBERTS: There you are, yes.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: Well, it was a long night.
How did the vote break down in the key state of Missouri? We're analyzing the exit polling there for a look behind the numbers.
That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: And it's coming up on 54 minutes after the hour.
Barack Obama and John McCain won the Missouri primaries, but not by much. It was really close, particularly on the Democratic side.
What was on the minds of voters who went to the polls in that state?
Our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, back with us this morning to break down the exit polling.
So why did McCain win?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: His victory in Missouri was full of ironies. It was unexpected. Here's what happened.
Look, these were Republican voters who said abortion should be legal. These are pro-choice Republican voters. They voted for McCain. And you know what? McCain has been anti-abortion for his entire career, but he got the pro-choice vote.
Now, take a look at Missouri voters, Republicans, who are antiwar, they disapprove of the war in Iraq. They voted for McCain, even though John McCain has embraced the troop buildup in Iraq and made that his signal cause.
ROBERTS: I mean, for years he was saying we need more troops there in Iraq.
SCHNEIDER: Victory in Iraq, but yet antiwar voters voted for McCain. Why? Because McCain won with the moderate vote among Republicans.
Take a look at conservative voters in Missouri. McCain came in third. Barely a quarter of the conservative vote. Huckabee and Romney outdrew him among the base of the Republican Party.
ROBERTS: And of course that's the big story, is if McCain becomes the nominee, what happens with those conservatives in the general election?
What about Obama? This thing was so close right up until the very end. It was barely a percentage point that separated Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Why did he pull it out in the end?
SCHNEIDER: Look at this -- barely a percentage point separated Obama and Clinton among women. He matched.
ROBERTS: That's the exactly the percentage, that's the exactly the numbers that he won.
SCHNEIDER: That's exactly right. And he matched Hillary Clinton among women voters. That didn't happen in any places, but in Missouri it did happen.
Obama a point ahead of Clinton. His big support came from well- educated voters, college graduates. He beat Clinton by better than 2- 1 among well-educated voters in Missouri.
That was his big category. Those are the Volvo voters in the Democratic Party, prosperous voters who went for Obama.
What were the issues that drove the vote? Well, the top issue was the economy. Clinton won that issue, but only by the narrowest of margins.
His big issue that propelled him to victory was the war in Iraq. Those voters who said their concern was Iraq gave a big margin, nearly 20 points, for Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton. That was the issue that won him that election.
ROBERTS: And I think we saw similar numbers in the state of California as well, didn't we? SCHNEIDER: Yes, we did. In state after state, we saw the economy was Hillary Clinton's issue, the war in Iraq was Obama's issue.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, we'll see how that plays out going forward.
Bill Schneider, as always, thanks.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
ROBERTS: Kiran.
CHETRY: Some extreme and deadly weather to tell you about. Twenty-seven people lost their lives, more than a hundred others injured, and damage across four states, all from a rare line of winter tornadoes hitting the South.
Where are they headed at this hour? There is a live look at the radar picture. Our Rob Marciano is standing by in the extreme weather center, letting us know where these storms are headed next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice over): Fight to the finish.
OBAMA: Our movement is real, and change is coming to America.
ROBERTS: Obama wins more states. Clinton wins the big states.
CLINTON: You're ready for a president who brings your voice, your values, and your dreams to your White House.
ROBERTS: What next in their epic battle?
Plus, McCain in command.
MCCAIN: We still have a ways to go, but I am confident we will get there.
ROBERTS: But Huckabee shows strength.
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Today has been a day when the people have spoken.
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