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John McCain Tries to Rally Conservative Support; Barack Obama Looks Forward to Debating McCain; Mike Huckabee Defends Ongoing Campaign

Aired February 08, 2008 - 12:00   ET

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

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I am Jessica Yellin in Seattle. Welcome to Ballot Bowl today.
Today I'm here following both Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama ahead of the caucuses tomorrow. This is your chance here to hear from the presidential candidates in their own words and unfiltered. We will bring you parts of their speeches, some of them taped and some of them live to give you a better sense of the candidates as they present themselves for their party's nomination. Joining me this afternoon live in Norfolk, Virginia, is CNN's Mary Snow who has been following the blow-by-blow of the Mitt Romney announcement and John McCain's campaign.

She's with a rally that just wrapped up there -- Mary?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Jessica.

Yes, the Republican field now whittling down. Senator John McCain after addressing conservatives in Washington, D.C. yesterday when Mitt Romney dropped out of the race, came here to Norfolk to campaign. He's going to be heading out to Washington State later and Kansas where there will also be caucuses this weekend. Here Senator John McCain was focusing on national security in the state which has such a large military population.

But after a national security roundtable he was asked about his status right now with Mitt Romney backing out of the race. This pretty much clears the path for Senator John McCain to become the Republican presidential nominee. He clearly has the edge over Mike Huckabee, but Mike Huckabee is staying in this race. As Senator John McCain addressed where he goes from here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Governor Huckabee is still in this race and he is a viable candidate and I'm sure will continue to show strength and that's why we're moving forward with our campaign. And so I think that obviously we are pleased with the events that have happened as part of the campaign but we still have a ways to go and we'll continue campaigning, and next Tuesday, Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia primaries will be held and we hope to do well there. One of the things that we do here and always, we recognize people in order. If you just raise your hand, I'll recognize you. You don't have to shout or anything like that. It's not necessary. Yes. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator, do you see any possible disadvantages to your party resolving the nomination contest earlier than the Democrats? It appears it will take them perhaps a few more months to have one candidate.

MCCAIN: I don't know the answer to that, because it depends on how it plays out. Obviously I'll be behind one of the candidates. Hopefully it will be me. Although again, Governor Huckabee remains a viable candidate. If we have time to move forward, uniting the party, et cetera. If there is a contested race and it continues to be contested on the Democratic side, then there is more attention the candidates, more (INAUDIBLE) on their parts. So I don't know how this thing plays out.

From my personal standpoint, the earlier the better. All I can say about Senator Obama and Senator Clinton's record is that they want to set a date for withdrawal from Iraq. I believe that would have catastrophic consequences. I believe that al Qaeda would trumpet to the world that they defeated the United States of America. And I believe that, therefore, they would, as they've stated, try to follow us home, that there would be catastrophic consequences in the region and we would be back.

And so it seems to me there is a fundamental misunderstanding on the part of both of them as to what's at stake and a failure to recognize that our strategy under General Petraeus, called the surge, has been succeeding. They even refuse to acknowledge that. I think it is going to be, I think, a major issue in this campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: There you hear Senator John McCain taking questions from reporters clearly on his path to becoming the Republican nominee and setting apart the differences between him and Democrats, telling supporters here today and reminding them that he has supported the surge in Iraq and was a lone voice in doing so and that's going to be the main difference between him and the Democratic candidates.

He also mentioned, Jessica, in terms of the race going forward, that he spoke with Mitt Romney after he withdrew and he said he is looking forward to sitting down and meeting with him as he goes forward. But as you heard him say, he's not going to discount Mike Huckabee who's insisting that he is going to remain in this race and he is trying to rally conservative support -- Jessica?

YELLIN: Mary, picking up on that, Mike Huckabee obviously has the endorsement and support of a number of the party's conservatives. McCain was jeered by some conservatives at a conference yesterday. I'm wondering how is he reacting to the rejection by some in his own party to this front-runner status.

SNOW: You know, his theme is now we need to unify the party. He says the Republican Party is in need of reenergizing the base and he acknowledges his differences with conservatives, particularly if you heard the booing yesterday over illegal immigration, so many conservatives are unhappy with him about his support of illegal immigration reform saying it paves the way to amnesty. But he's saying that he has acknowledged his differences and he's going to now concentrate on unifying everybody.

And you know, it's interesting, he was here in Norfolk but on his way to Kansas later today he'll be with Senator Brownback who had been running for president from Kansas of course and Senator McCain was mentioning his conservative credentials in the state of Kansas as he heads there to campaign for caucuses tomorrow.

YELLIN: Thank you Mary.

John McCain not the only one reacting to Mitt Romney's announcement that he's dropping out of the race, suspending his campaign. Senators Obama and Clinton are also reacting to this news. Of course it means that they are in a very different state. The Republican Party seemingly coalescing around one front-runner, or at least leading in that direction, while the Democratic Party remains very much divided over the nomination fight going on right now between Senators Clinton and Obama. Each one seeking to define themselves as the candidate that would have the best chance of defeating the likely nominee from the Republican Party, John McCain, come November. Here's what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well my reaction to Mitt Romney's comment, that's the kind of poorly thought-through statement that led him to have to drop out. It is a classic attempt to appeal to people's fears that will not work in this campaign. I think that's part of the reason why he was such an ineffective candidate. I think John McCain's done some good work. And we have worked together on occasion in terms of moving that agenda forward.

Certainly I think that I will be in a stronger position to have a discussion about how we're going to reform Washington against John McCain given that I don't take PAC money, I don't take federal lobbyist money, I have been a champion on these issues. I think Senator Clinton would have a harder time making some of those arguments.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It appears as though Senator McCain will be the Republican nominee and I have the greatest respect for my friend and my colleague Senator McCain. But I believe that he offers more of the same, more of the same economic policies, more of the same military policies in Iraq. He said recently he could see having American troops in Iraq for 100 years. Well, I want them coming home within 60 days of my becoming president of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: Well Senators Clinton and Obama defining themselves in contrast to John McCain in very different ways. Obama saying that he is a true break from Washington politics, he doesn't take lobbyist money. After the years McCain has served in office, Obama would be a clean break from that. Senator Clinton much more focused on the policy differences, the different kind of agenda she would push in contrast to John McCain.

Also a clear reflection of the different kinds of campaigns Senator Clinton and Obama are running as well. So that's their reaction to the sharpening Republican race, coalescing around John McCain. But we will hear much more from Senators Clinton and Obama ahead and coming up after this break, Governor Mike Huckabee speaking in Wichita, Kansas. Stay with "Ballot Bowl."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SNOW: Welcome back to "Ballot Bowl." This is a chance for you to see the candidates on the campaign trail, unedited, in their own words. I'm Mary Snow in Norfolk, Virginia where Senator John McCain spoke earlier this morning. We are waiting word to hear from Mike Huckabee who is campaigning in Wichita, Kansas. Kansas will be holding caucuses tomorrow and Senator John McCain is going to be heading out there later today as well.

But Mike Huckabee is remaining defiant, staying in the race, now that it's whittled down to two on the Republican side, now that Mitt Romney has stepped aside. And the math is daunting for Mike Huckabee if you take a look at the delegates, the last count for delegates, 181 to Senator McCain's 714 -- 714 delegates in the Republican contest. But Mike Huckabee says that he believes in the impossible and he is not stepping aside.

While we wait to hear from him in Wichita, Kansas, we'll take a listen at some of the comments he grave to reporters when he went to New York yesterday to tape the Tyra Banks Show. He was asked about whether or not he would be staying in and he is saying that he is hoping conservatives will rally around him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think conservatives will now rally around you now that Romney's out of the race and conservatives are back lashing?

MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that it would be a natural choice for them. I certainly hope so. I know that a lot of the establishment Washington-type folks are going to be going with Senator McCain. I understand that. But the people of this country need a choice, and right now I'm going to be their choice, I'm going to be the choice for all those people who don't think Washington has the answers.

For all those people who think that somebody who is not a part of that establishment needs to represent our party and the American people. I think I can bring not just our party together and to enlarge it and to widen it to a lot of folks who have felt disaffected from politics but I think we can also bring the country together.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor, with little chance of winning are you dividing the party by staying in?

HUCKABEE: First of all, I'm not sure that I would agree with your assessment, "little chance of winning." You know, if you look back a few months ago would you or anyone else have said that the two people remaining in the race would have been John McCain and Mike Huckabee? No. John McCain's campaign virtually imploded last summer and nobody was giving me a chance to even make it this far. Here we are. So, you know, I still believe that this thing is a long way from being settled. Now that the field is down to two, our chances have substantially improved.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you spoke to Governor Romney earlier did you ask him for his endorsement?

HUCKABEE: We have missed calls, I have called him and he called me back and I was in a meeting. We hoped to speak within the hour.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you ask him for his endorsement?

HUCKABEE: Oh, I'll ask him, certainly. I'm not sure if I can expect to get it, but I'd love to have his endorsement. I'd love to have anybody's endorsements. But endorsements of others is not what has fueled my campaign thus far and won't fuel it in the future. When I came out of the building just a few minutes ago, a guy that works for the post office and another guy who was delivering packages both stopped me, shook my hand, told me they were with me. That's who's fueled my campaign. And yes, I still will continue to be (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor, what do you say to those who believe you're running for vice president sir?

HUCKABEE: The last time I checked mikehuckabee.com and all the posters say Mike Huckabee for president. I haven't seen any sign changes. So until that happens, that's what we're still shooting for.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was your reaction when you heard that Mitt Romney had dropped out of the race, your initial reaction and what would you like to say to him when you get that opportunity?

HUCKABEE: Well I'm going to congratulate him on running a very good and strong, vigorous race. I believe that I think he's brought a lot to the process. I want to commend not just Mitt but his wife, Ann, and his sons. They worked incredibly hard. I know how hard it is to get in and sometimes it's even harder to get out.

It is a tough decision because you've got your heart, your soul, your mind in something for a long, long time, and to walk away from it, it hurts. It's very painful. So I know that his day is probably not one that he's enjoying very much. I want to let him know I do understand that. Yes, I'm in it for the long run. And I'm so sorry. Do I have to buy you another one?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were you surprised he jumped out too soon?

HUCKABEE: In a way I was. Because just yesterday his staff was saying that he was in it for the long haul. So I was somewhat surprised that he did what he did today. But obviously, it narrows the field and I think gives people a much clearer and more concise choice than they've had. (END VIDEOTAPE)

YELLIN: That was Mike Huckabee speaking with reporters in New York City yesterday afternoon. And he's hoping that conservatives unhappy with Senator John McCain as their choice for the Republican nominee, that it is now looking very likely, will rally around him. And he did win the endorsement of James done son, the leader of "Focus on the Family," a very conservative group, this as Mike Huckabee gears up to address crowds in Kansas.

He's picked up his guitar, he's going to play for the crowd before addressing them. We'll go to him live in Wichita, Kansas and we're also going to go back to Seattle, Washington where both Democratic candidates are campaigning today. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

YELLIN: I'm Jessica Yellin in Seattle, Washington. Welcome back to Ballot Bowl. We're looking at Mike Huckabee playing a little guitar there over in Wichita, Kansas. We'll check back in with him when he takes the microphone. But I am here on the other side of the country, the home of Grunge Rock where both Senators Clinton and Obama are in town today campaigning ahead of the caucuses that will take place in Washington State tomorrow.

Senator Clinton was speaking to an overflow crowd of thousands last night, telling them her slightly modified new theme since Super Tuesday that she has many of the same credentials Barack Obama has. She is appealing to the youth vote. She won the youth vote in California and Massachusetts, and that she is the candidate who can unify the party, she says unify it not just for the purpose of unity but for change. That was her message here last night. We'll hear from her shortly in this show, but first let's listen to Barack Obama and the message he's been delivering. This is him in Nebraska talking about how he would make a stronger candidate against John McCain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: One of the arguments is you know Obama may give good speeches, he may have good policy ideas, but he hasn't been in Washington long enough. Hasn't been in Washington long enough. We need to season and stew him a little bit longer and boil all the hope out of him, and then maybe he'll finally be ready. But I noticed that people are rejecting this argument because they understand that the biggest gamble would be to have the same old cast of characters doing the same old things, playing the same old Washington game over and over again, and somehow expecting a different result. We need something new. We need to turn the page. The stakes are too high. That's why I'm running for president of the United States of America.

And then you've got some folks who make a different argument. They say, well ,Obama may have good ideas but he sometimes says nice things about Republicans. He's too nice. This is a battle, and you got to take them on. And I don't need to be told about how to fight battles, because I've been doing it all my life. But what I also have discovered as I get older is that you can disagree without being disagreeable. And if you know who you are and you know who you stand with and what you're fighting for, then you can reach out across the aisle and try to find common ground.

See, that's why I'm looking forward to debating John McCain, because -- because I know how to reach out to independents, and I've got Republican support, and that's what we're going to need to win. And when I'm debating John McCain, he won't be able to say, well, you supported the war, too, because I didn't. He won't be able to say, well, you have given George Bush the benefit of the doubt on Iran, because I haven't. He won't be able to say that, you take PAC money and federal lobbyist money, because I don't.

I've got reformist credentials that stack up against anybody. So I can get independents. I've shown I can build bridges. We've got to put a working majority for change. I think there are a whole lot of people out there who are disillusioned with our government, who want their faith restored, want trust in government restored, and we are going to build that coalition to bring about change in 2008. That's why I'm running for president of the United States of America.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: And there's Barack Obama saying that his personal history and his record make him the best candidate to go up against John MCcain, posing the starkest contrast to McCain's history of pro- war positions in Iraq and his long history in Washington, D.C. Barack Obama today picking up the endorsement of Governor Christine Gregoire, the governor of the state I'm in right now, Washington State, well caucuses will be held tomorrow.

Well it's no surprise that Senator Clinton also maintains that, in fact, she would be the best candidate against John McCain. She makes the case that her position on health care, such an important policy position, for Americans at this time makes her the strongest candidate and that her track record is better than Barack Obama's when it comes to getting business done. This is Senator Clinton speaking in Arlington, Virginia yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: Now this is one of the big differences between Senator Obama and me, because I think everybody should have health insurance. I don't want to leave anybody out, not a single man, woman or child. Everybody should have health insurance, and we can make it affordable to do that. And I believe that we're going to get it done because, it is time doctors and nurses, businesses and labor, individuals of every background in our country know we have to change.

We spend so much money and we leave so many people out and we have so many people denied care. And I know that if I had the time, I would hear stories like this from all of you. You know, I met a man the other day, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and the next month his insurance company canceled his policy. He has two daughters, he has saved $50,000 so he could help send his children to school. Now he has no insurance so in order to have his surgery he'd have to use his entire life savings. I think that's wrong. Or the woman that I met who has breast cancer and she got her insurance through her job, but the treatment made her so sick she had to stop working. She finally got well enough but the job said we're not going to take you back. So she lost her job and her insurance.

So I don't want to leave anybody out. And I think if we all agree, if we are determined to do what we need to do to get everyone affordable health insurance, I think we can beat the insurance companies and make it happen. I know we can do this. I know we can keep our eye on the next generation. I know we can solve our problems again. But I can't do it without your help. Virginia's going to be Voting on Tuesday to help pick a president.

And you now have an opportunity to make sure that this great commonwealth has the voices of Virginians heard. I sassed you to consider as you think about voting or talking to people that you know who will be voting, how to answer two questions. Who would be the best president on day one, who would be able to walk into the oval office with two wars going on, with an economy falling apart, with so much happening, and start solving our problems right away?

And for Democrats, who would be our best candidate to stand on the stage with Senator McCain to talk about national security, the economy, and all the other important issues? I'm offering a lifetime of experience, but more than that, I'm offering my heart. I love this country. I believe with all my heart that we can be anything we put our minds to. So if you will help me, together we will make history. Thank you all so much! And God bless you and God bless America!

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: Senator Clinton speaking in Virginia yesterday. Coming up after the break we will bring you Mike Huckabee who's taken the mic in Wichita, Kansas. So, stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SNOW: Welcome back to Ballot Bowl. A chance for you to hear the candidates in their own words and unedited.

The Republican race is now narrowed down to two, although Senator John McCain is seen as the likely Republican nominee now that Mitt Romney has stepped out of the race. But Mike Huckabee is defiant that he is going to fight till the end. He is now addressing a crowd in Wichita, Kansas. Kansas holding caucuses tomorrow. Let's head out to Wichita to hear Mike Huckabee.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

HUCKABEE: ... have just about had all the heartburn they can handle about a guy that is not one of the Washington establishment having the audacity to run for president without their permission. Well, guess what, last time I checked, this country still belonged to the people of America, not a handful of pundits in Washington.

I personally got nothing against the folks on Wall Street but I've made it clear, I'm really not a Wall Street Republican, I'm a Wal-Mart Republican. I understand what it's like to live in the real world out here. I didn't grow up with a trust fund. About the closest thing we had was just trust the Lord and keep working hard.

Summer was never a verb in our household. That I summered somewhere. We summered in the hot fields of Arkansas, and that's about the best we could do. I grew up in a family that was a lot like some of yours, most likely. My mother was the oldest of seven kids. Grew up in a house with no electricity, dirt floors and outdoor toilets. And she was one of those kids that had to go to work early to help her brothers and sisters.

My dad was a guy, that like so many of his generation, had to work and never finished high school. The generation before him, and before him and before him, no one in my entire family lineage as a male had ever graduated high school until I did it. The thought of going on to college was unthinkable until I was able to do it.

And, you know, when I understand where I've come from, I'm reminded of what the Prophet Isaiah said when he said, look to the rock from which you were hewn and the quarry from which you were dug. I understand my roots. But they're good roots because it was the roots of hard work and honest and decent living that my parents instilled in me.

My father was one of those old-fashioned kind of Americans. He was a true patriot. For those of you that don't understand, my father believed in patriotism like this -- you lay on the stripes your kid sees the stars. That's what happens. That's patriotism in the old fashioned way.

But the reason that my parents were pretty stern with me wasn't because they didn't love me, it's because they did. And they knew that though I didn't have a choice where I started in life, they knew that because I lived in this country, there was no limit to where I could go and what I could do.

You know, that's the greatness of America. It's not that a handful of people sitting in great, powerful places have it all locked up. It's that in this country, as long as freedom still exists for the people out here in the middle of America, as long as we have the opportunity to dream our dreams and try to get there, then the greatness that our founding fathers envisioned is still alive.

But we're about to lose that because we have folks who have forgotten what made us great. It's not our government. It's never been our government that's made us a great nation. It's the people who are the ruling class. The government is the serving class. And we need to remind Washington they work for us, it's not the other way around. I don't believe that people who have been in Washington for a lifetime are best able to fix it because it's broken now. If they could have fixed it, they should have fixed it. And if they haven't fixed it, they're probably not able to. Does that make sense to you? It certainly does to me.

I know when I became governor of Arkansas, it wasn't the easiest task. I was only the fourth Republican elected in that state originally as lieutenant governor, fourth Republican in 150 years. I was so welcomed when I got to the state capital upon my election as lieutenant governor that my door was nailed shut from the inside.

That's a true story. I'm not making this up, as Dave Barry (ph) would say. Literally nailed shut from the inside. And for the first 59 days that I was the lieutenant governor of the state, I could not get in my office because the Democrats at the capitol had nailed it shut. And finally there was such an outcry from the public and they said, look, the guy won the office. Let him have his space. And they finally let me in.

It was not exactly the most pleasant environment. When I say I've always started at the bottom and had to work my way through, believe me, in my early political days, I'd get to the state capital and people would get off an elevator if I got on it. I'd walk down the hall and people would turn the other way. They honestly -- that's how hostile the atmosphere was.

I remember being invited to a civic club over in east Arkansas. When I got there, the guy that invited me, he failed to show up, which is not a good sign when you're invited by somebody and he doesn't come. And this was a part of the state that just had never really dealt with Republicans at all, so I show up over there to speak and they were trying to find somebody who will introduce me.

And finally got an old boy who agreed to do it and he got up and his introduction went like this. He said, ladies and gentlemen, our speaker is a man that I am told needs no introduction. And I'm sure glad because I've never heard of this guy. But through all of that, I found that after getting re-elected lieutenant governor, people began to realize I was a pretty normal guy.

1996, I was minding my own business down there being lieutenant governor when the governor was convicted of White Water-related felonies and had to step aside and I was thrust into the role of governor. It got to be, after we launched an investigation into corruption in our state, that a number of state legislators and others were charged and some went to prison -- quite a few in fact, including a secretary of state and several others charged with felonies, got to be that the five most feared words of an Arkansas politician were, "will the defendant please rise?" But we set out to tackle some problems because I really believe that the purpose of government is not to see what it can do for us, but to see what it can quit doing so that we can do for ourselves. But one of the things we realize was that we had to clean it up first. You can't hardly prepare a good meal on top of a dirty table.

And so the first thing was clear the corruption. Clean out the cobwebs and the political machinery that has operated in that state for so long unchallenged was a challenge, to say the least. And, by the way, one of the reasons that I think I should be your nominee is because nobody has ever faced the Clinton political machine and the Democrat political machine like I did in Arkansas and beat it not once, twice, three, but four times.

To get this country back on course, we need to be thinking about what would make us strong. Right now we've got a lot of people concerned about losing their jobs, and that means no paycheck. And for many Americans, a paycheck that doesn't come means there's not enough money to pay the rent.

As I said, I grew up like that, literally paycheck to paycheck. My dad worked two jobs, not one. He was a fireman and on his days off he was a mechanic. And it took two jobs and that barely paid the rent on little house on Second Street we lived in, in Hope.

I know what struggle means. And I know that there are a lot more Americans than some folks think who every single day worry that if their job closes out, how are they going to afford health care for their families? How will they put groceries on the table? How will they be able to possibly just cover their cost of their housing?

It's not a matter of saying, oh, we'll have to vacation here in the United States rather than Europe this summer. No, it's a little more serious than that. And you folks know what I'm talking about. Two million Americans face the threat of foreclosure of their homes. A few months ago, when all of us were on stage as Republican candidates for president in Michigan, one by one we were asked how the economy was doing. And as we were asked, every other candidate talked about how great the economy was.

And they came to me and I said, well, I guess if you're standing on this stage and one of these guys, probably doing pretty well. But I said, if you talk to the people who are handling the bags, serving the food, driving the cabs, driving the trucks across America, talk to them an you'll get a different picture of how the economy is doing. I said because most Americans I talk to are working a whole lot harder this year than they were last year but their fuel prices are $1 a gallon higher, their health care costs are up double digits. The costs of educating their children is rising substantially and they're not getting more of a paycheck to cover those things and so their economy is not doing as swimmingly well as some of yours.

Well, I got laughed at and scorned and just verbally abused by people who said that I shouldn't have been saying those things. Well, I should be saying them because it was the truth. Now everybody agrees and acknowledges that we're in trouble. And we're in trouble large part because our government has a bunch of policies that work against us rather than for us, starting with a completely outdated tax system that we need to overthrow and replace with a fair tax.

SNOW: That's Mike Huckabee making his case to voters in Kansas, where there will be caucuses tomorrow. He says he wants to keep in the race and take part in contests such as the one here in Virginia on Tuesday. But, you know, doing the math, it is nearly impossible for him to catch up with Senator John McCain. But Mike Huckabee saying today that he looks forward to doing the impossible.

There's even been open talk about whether or not he is trying to become the running mate for Senator John McCain. Campaigning here earlier today, McCain said he did not want to discount the campaign of Mike Huckabee, saying he is a viable candidate and he will keep pressing forward.

And while there's such a widespread in terms of delegates on the Republican side, that is not true for the Democrats. We're going to take a quick break. But when we come back, we're going to take a look at the Democrat delegate front. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

YELLIN: Welcome back to Ballot Bowl. I'm Jessica Yellin in Seattle, Washington, where Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are both campaigning ahead of caucuses that will be held here tomorrow.

Now you have heard it said many times that this is not just a fight to win state elections or state primaries, but a fight to win delegates. Well, what does that mean exactly? To win the Democratic nomination, one of those candidates has to get just over 2,000 delegates. Right now Senator Hillary Clinton has about half that number, with just over 1,000 delegates. But Barack Obama is nipping at her heels with 937 delegates of his own. And there are many primaries and caucuses yet to come where they will be looking to add up to that 2,000 golden number.

We're joined now by CNN's numbers guru, Bill Schneider, who can talk to us a little bit about this delegate count.

And something else, Bill, now that Romney has dropped out of the Republican race, he suspended his campaign, that makes things a little tougher actually for the Democrats, doesn't it?

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it does, because there's a presumptive nominee for the Republican Party, that's John McCain, who can begin raising money, preparing for the general election, trying to define the Democratic Party, while the Democrats have to raise money fighting each other, maybe all the way to the convention, and calling each other rude names, while the Republicans are concentrating their fire on the other party. So it puts the parties in a very difficult position, particularly the Democrats, because, you know, the record shows that the party that's most divided usually loses in November.

YELLIN: Talk to us a little bit about these delegate counts. Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton so close right now. What happens if they head into the convention with just about an even number of delegates?

SCHNEIDER: Well, then we could have something that political analysts dream of -- a brokered convention. My goodness, we haven't seen one of those since 1952 where you have wheeling and dealing and backroom politics and maybe -- I'm not sure it's legal anymore -- a smoke-filled room.

Well, what it means is that the super delegates -- there are 800 super delegates at the Democratic convention -- may have the final say. Those are party officials and elected office holders who get to go to the convention as delegates, get votes because of the offices that they hold, and they may be the ones who decide which candidate, Clinton or Obama, gets the nomination.

That may be fun for us political analysts, but it's a nightmare for the Democratic Party. And the party chairman, Howard Dean, says, if the nomination isn't clear by March or April, the Democratic National Committee may step in and try to make some arrangement with the candidates. We don't know what that is yet.

YELLIN: What could the Democratic National Party possibly do? What does that mean, "an arrangement?"

SCHNEIDER: Well, I imagine they would suggest that whoever has the lead in delegates agree to take the other competitor on the ticket as a running mate, thereby everybody, for the time being, being happy. What they don't want to see is a full-blown convention fight.

There could really be two fights at the convention. One over the super delegates. They'll be outraged by one candidate, the candidate who's likely to lose, that the decision of who to nominate was made not by the primary voters but by these people who were elected to the convention by nobody. These party insiders. These politicians are going to make the decision and there will be outrage over that.

Second, there's going to be a fight, there could be a fight, over the seating of two important delegations, Michigan and Florida. Those delegations have been barred from the convention by the Democratic Party because those two states had their primaries too early. Now, there could be an effort -- Hillary Clinton won both of those primaries, which are technically beauty contests. She wants those delegations seated because most of them support her. The Democratic Party says, well they'd like those states to hold legal caucuses to choose delegates and ignore the primary results.

But just yesterday, Democratic senator from Florida, Bill Nelson, said, "you can't undo an election with a caucus." Hillary Clinton knows something else -- caucuses these days are being won by Barack Obama much more often than by Hillary Clinton. So she does not want Florida and Michigan to replace their primaries that she won with a caucus that he might win. You could have a full-fledged credentials fight on the floor of the convention over whether to seat these two Clinton delegations.

YELLIN: It is remarkable and ironic, Bill, isn't it, that this whole new system the Democratic party set up, front-loading the primaries early, was designed to pick a nominee early, to unify the Democratic party. And in the end, it may have had the opposite result. We could be headed to a brokered convention for the Democrats. Really remarkable.

SCHNEIDER: Exactly right.

YELLIN: Bill Schneider, thank you so much.

And stay with Ballot Bowl because we will have much more coming up for you after the break.

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YELLIN: Welcome back to Ballot Bowl, where we bring you the candidates and sometimes their spouses unfiltered and in their own words.

Let's take a look at Bill Clinton for a moment. He has gotten a lot of attention and some criticism for the comments he's been making on the road. He has been a fierce advocate for his wife, insisting that she is his choice for president, not just because she's his wife, but because she is the best candidate for the job.

He took enormous amount of criticism for some of the comments he made in South Carolina where there was a sense that he had stepped over the line. He corrected a lot of that with recent comments he made in south central Los Angeles when he said at one point, I've waited my whole life to vote for an African-American for president, waited my whole life to vote for a woman for president. Essentially why does it have to be coming in this same year.

But Bill Clinton gave an interview to a reporter in Portland, Maine, addressing some of the criticism and acknowledging that he's reconsidered the sort of approach he should be taking when he's campaigning for his wife.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, everything I have said has been factually accurate. But I think the mistake that I made is to think that I was a spouse like any other spouse who could defend his candidate. I think I can promote Hillary but not defend her because I was president. I have to let her defend herself or have someone else defend her. Whenever I defend her, I, A, risk being misquoted and, B, risk being the story. I don't want to be the story. And I don't mind being the story in Maine tonight, but you know what I mean. This is her campaign and her presidency and her decisions. And so even if I win an argument with another candidate, it's not the right thing to do. I need to promote her, but not defend her.

And I learned a very valuable lesson from all that dust-up. I will not be in the cabinet. I will not be on the staff full time. I will not, in any way, interfere with the work of a strong vice president, strong secretary of state, strong secretary of the Treasury. I will do what we've always done for each other. I will let her bounce ideas off of me. I'll tell her what I think and, you know, we'll talk through things. And I'll be available for whatever specific assignments seem right. You know, I'd do that for President Bush.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: Bill Clinton quite consciously saying I do not want to eclipse my wife on the campaign trail and making it clear that he would take a subordinate role when she -- if she were to become president. He would not be on her cabinet. And he also does not want to overplay his role here on the campaign trail. Again, that was Bill Clinton speaking from Portland, Maine.

And I'm Jessica Yellin in Seattle.

I'm going to toss it back now to Mary Snow, who is in Norfolk, Virginia -- Mary.

SNOW: And, Jessica, never a dull moment on the campaign trail. This weekend we have lots to cover. There's a primary in Louisiana. We have caucuses in Kansas on the Republican side, Nebraska on the Democratic side. And Washington state.

We're going to be bringing you live coverage tomorrow on BALLOT BOWL at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. And then, of course, CNN "Election Center" tomorrow night with all the results. That starts at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

Thanks for joining us this hour. "CNN NEWSROOM" is coming up next after this quick break.

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