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Illinois Shooting Arrest; Roger Clemens Testifies on Capitol Hill; 'Ballot Bowl '08'

Aired February 13, 2008 - 12:00   ET

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

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome to a new edition of CNN's "Ballot Bowl '08."
I'm Dana Bash in Washington.

Over the next hour you'll have the chance to hear the presidential candidates in their own words as they try to get your vote and their party's nomination.

Senators John McCain and Barack Obama had big wins in the Potomac primaries last night, and now all the candidates are looking ahead to the next contest, next Tuesday, and beyond.

And joining me this hour is my co-anchor, Candy Crowley. She's in Racine, Wisconsin. And Jessica Yellin is in New York.

Let's begin with Candy.

Hi, Candy.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Dana. You're right, we are already in Wisconsin. In fact, before the votes were counted in the Potomac primary, Barack Obama was on his way here.

It is the site of the next big contest. He hopes to pick up a lot of delegates here. But what a night he had last night, sweeping those Potomac primaries -- Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C. It was expected, but the breadth of the win is what the Barack Obama people are touting at this point.

Now, when he came here to Madison last night, more than ever before, Obama had his sights set on the general election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: John McCain, the likely Republican nominee, is an American hero. We honor his service to our nation.

(APPLAUSE)

We honor his service, but his priorities don't address the real problems of the American people, because they are bound to the failed policies of the past. George Bush won't be on the ballot this November.

(APPLAUSE)

George Bush won't be on this ballot. And my cousin Dick Cheney won't be on this ballot. But the Bush-Cheney war and the Bush-Cheney tax cuts for the wealthy, those will be on the ballot.

When I am the nominee, I will offer a clear choice. John McCain won't be able to say that I ever supported this war in Iraq, because I opposed it from the start.

(APPLAUSE)

Senator McCain said the other day that we might be mired for 100 years in Iraq.

(BOOING)

A hundred years, which is reason enough not to give him four years in the White House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: Now, as I say, the Obama people were particularly pleased with the breadth of Obama's win in those three Potomac primary contests. Take a look as he cut into some of the Latino vote of Hillary Clinton that has been part of her base. He has had some trouble there, but take a look at these numbers.

In Virginia, Obama won the Latino vote 54 percent to Clinton's 46 percent. He did not do as well in Maryland, where Clinton did take the Latino vote, 55 to Obama's 45. Still, a much smaller gap than we have seen before.

Obama also won the young vote. He won the older vote, which is generally a Clinton stronghold. Overall, he won more women voters than Hillary Clinton did in these states, although she continues to have the edge in older women voters.

Clinton also took off from those Potomac primaries before the votes were counted. She went straight to where they are placing the heart of their campaign now, in Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to sweep across Texas in the next three weeks, bringing our message about what we need in America, the kind of president that will be required on day one to be commander in chief to turn the economy around. I'm tested, I'm ready. Let's make it happen!

(APPLAUSE)

You know, there's a great saying in Texas. You've all heard it. All hat and no cattle. Well, after seven years of George Bush, we need a lot less hat and a lot more cattle.

(APPLAUSE) Texas needs a president who actually understands what it's going to take to turn the economy around, to get us universal health care, to save hard-working Americans' homes from foreclosure at the abusive practices of the mortgage companies. We have a lot of work to do, and I know that El Paso understands that picking a president is one of the most important jobs we're going to do in this country in the next couple of weeks.

(APPLAUSE)

When I think about Texas, I think about, as the congressman said, coming here 35 years ago. I was working for the Democratic National Committee, and I was going along the border registering voters. And we had the greatest time.

I met some of the best friends I've ever had in my life. We had a chance to go into people's homes. We ate a lot of great food. We listened to some wonderful music. And we registered a few voters, too.

Well, here I am back in Texas, and I'm asking the children of those voters to vote for me for their future!

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: Hillary Clinton trying to stake her claim in Texas.

She will also be in Ohio a lot over the next few weeks. Her campaign really needs a win there. She is absolutely under the gun.

Right now, Barack Obama has won more state primaries and caucuses than she has. He leads in the popular vote, and as of last night, he has more pledged delegates than Hillary Clinton.

So, really under the gun here as Clinton campaigns hard through Texas and Ohio. And, by the way, challenges Barack Obama to a debate here in Wisconsin, trying to eat into his vote here.

Up next, we're going to take a look at the Republican side, Huckabee and McCain.

Stick with "Ballot Bowl." We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Welcome back to "Ballot Bowl '08."

I'm Dana Bash in Washington, D.C.

And Washington was the site of one of three big primaries that John McCain swept last night here at the Potomac primaries. With those wins, he got himself even more on the way to clinching the Republican nomination. He racked up in the ballpark of about 100 more delegates, aiming towards what you see on the scene there, 1,191. Now, this morning, what John McCain did is he went to meet some of his old friends and colleagues from the House Republican Conference, as it's called. House Republicans -- you know, whoever is on the top of the ballot in the next election is very, very important to House Republicans, because they are trying hard to win back the House.

So this is an important meeting for John McCain, and he actually got a couple of endorsements from pretty much the entire Republican leadership in the House. He had a behind-closed-doors meeting which we are told was spirited, yet he did get a standing ovation from many of these Republicans, many of whom in public today said that they have had disagreements with John McCain, but at this point they say that they think he is the best person, from their perspective, to lead the Republican Party going into the next presidential election.

And at that press conference, John McCain talked about the man who is still in the race rivaling him for the nomination, and that is Mike Huckabee. Earlier today, his campaign put out a very lengthy memo making very clear that Mike Huckabee can't get the nomination statistically, saying that he would have to win 123 percent of the delegates coming in the next contest, which obviously can't happen. So I asked John McCain whether or not at this point he does think that it's time for Mike Huckabee to get out of the race.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't pretend that I wouldn't like Governor Huckabee not in the race. I mean, look -- but I respect his commitment to do so and his commitment to continue in the race.

Of course I'd like for him to withdraw today. I mean, it would be much easier. But I respect and have repeatedly said I respect his right to continue in this race for just as long as he wants to. I don't think there is a contradiction there.

QUESTION: Senator McCain...

MCCAIN: Yes, Ed?

QUESTION: What do you make of Huckabee's strong showing in Virginia? What message do you take from it?

MCCAIN: I take the message that we beat him by nearly 10 percent to start with. Let's -- in any election I've ever been involved in, a 9 percent cushion is very good.

And I also understand why many Evangelical Christians would vote for Governor Huckabee. He is a Baptist minister, and I respect that. And I respect his conservative views and his attraction to them.

I'm very grateful that we had a 20-some percent margin in Maryland, 9 percent margin in the state of Virginia, and it crossed over into conservative voters. I mean, it can be portrayed however anybody wants to portray it, but facts are facts. And the facts are we've got a very significant portion of the conservative vote, and I'm very proud of that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last question.

MCCAIN: Yes.

QUESTION: You and other Republican candidates have talked now lot ago about who is the best to take on Hillary Clinton in the fall. Do you now think that perhaps it might be a Barack Obama that you'd be taking on, and does that change your...

MCCAIN: I have no idea. And I've always referred to both.

QUESTION: Senator Obama got more votes than the Republicans combined last night.

MCCAIN: Yes.

QUESTION: And you're trying to rack up support. Do you think the intensity will be there for you in the fall? Do you think...

MCCAIN: Sure.

QUESTION: ... some folks will actually get on board? And why do you think that?

MCCAIN: Part of our discussion was clearly that we have to reenergize our base, we have to get everybody united. That's what we're trying to do.

Primaries are always tough. Now this is part of this process that we're going through. And when people are presented with differences on our positions and our philosophies and our vision for the future, I'm confident we will rally the Republican Party.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Confident he will rally the Republican Party. And by that show there this morning of John McCain with House Republicans -- again, many of whom have been quite skeptical of John McCain as their nominee -- that certainly is another step for John McCain towards that goal for him.

Now, of course he does have somebody else who is continuing to stay in the race, and that is Mike Huckabee. In fact, he's so determined to stay in the race, he is making his way to one of the next contest states today, and that's the state of Wisconsin, for two days of campaigning.

But last night, after he seemed to become a lot closer in the state of Virginia, as John McCain was just talking about, than anybody had expected, he talked to reporters in his home state of Arkansas and insisted that he is staying in the race and insisted that there is no reason why he shouldn't.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have always had, and I think will continue to have, nothing but an extraordinarily warm and cordial relationship. There is no reason we shouldn't.

We don't see ourselves -- at least I don't, and I don't think he does either -- as rivals or so much opponents, or certainly not enemies. But I think we're both seeking the same job.

Certainly, he would love for me to be defeated. I understand that. And he knows I feel the same way.

But you've not heard either of us speak ill of each other, make personal attacks, engage in attacks about distorting one's record. And we've not run attack ads on each other. And I have, frankly, no thought that that will happen on either side. I really don't.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

HUCKABEE: Of course not. No. I mean, he wouldn't do that. He's too much of a gentleman, and he has got more honor than to do something as ridiculous and as absurd.

He would never, ever, to me have the audacity to ask your opponent to step aside. That would be beneath his dignity. And I've got more respect for him as a human being to even imagine that he would consider such a thing. He would not.

QUESTION: Governor, the Democrats on the other side are being -- kind of rallying around one candidate. If that dynamic changes, and if it's just you and him still fighting it out here, doesn't that hurt McCain's chances? Or let's say, would that -- if there is only -- does that change the dynamic on this side?

HUCKABEE: Why don't you ask me that if it happens. It hasn't happened yet. There is still a big battle going on over there.

And I've got to think competition breeds excellence. I think the lack of competition is what creates mediocrity and complacency.

That's not what we need in the Republican Party. We need to be energized as a party. We don't need to be in any way diminished with our spirits. And we're not going to be enhanced by suddenly taking the game off the field.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Now, last night's win certainly fattened Senator John McCain's lead on the Republican side of the ledger. John McCain, according to CNN's count, now has 812 delegates. And Huckabee is still well, well behind. He stands where he stood right before yesterday's primaries, at 217.

And the candidates are now eying a couple of juicy prizes on the campaign calendar ahead. Let's take a look at it.

February 19th, there are primaries in Wisconsin and Washington State. The Washington State -- that vote for Democrats is largely non-binding, and it's kind of a beauty contest since Obama won the Democratic caucuses there last Saturday. And Hawaii, Obama's birthplace, holds its statewide Democratic caucuses as well.

Then on March 4th -- this is the next big, big day on the political calendar -- Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas and Vermont hold their primaries, with the big delegate counts at stake there.

Now, if you'd like to watch any of these candidates today, just go to CNN.com/live to watch their rallies and events all streamed live, just like we do here on "Ballot Bowl" when it happens.

And now we are going to take a quick break, but we're going to go back to the Democratic side and look at senators Clinton and Obama -- the intense, intense race between those two. Particularly after Barack Obama surpassed Hillary Clinton last night in the delegate count.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CROWLEY: Welcome back to CNN's "Ballot Bowl," our Wednesday edition.

After a pretty good Tuesday for Barack Obama, he made it eight in a row last night, sweeping the so-called beltway primaries. He took Virginia, he took Washington, D.C., and he took Maryland.

It is here in Wisconsin that Barack Obama hopes to make it nine in a row. He flew here last night, gave what is generally his rally speech. But there were more references to McCain-Bush, linking those two names together.

Here's a bit of Barack Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OBAMA: The change we see swept through Chesapeake and over the Potomac.

(APPLAUSE)

We won the state of Maryland.

(APPLAUSE)

We would be the commonwealth of Virginia.

(APPLAUSE)

And though we won in Washington, D.C., this movement won't stop until there's change in Washington, D.C. And tonight we're on our way.

(APPLAUSE) Tonight we're on our way. But we know how much further we have to go.

We know it takes more than one night, or even one election, to overcome decades of money and the influence, the bitter partisanship and petty bickering that shut you out, let you down, told you to settle. We know our road will not be easy. But we also know that at this moment the cynics can no longer say that our hope is false. We have now won East, and West, North, and South, and across the heartland of this country we love.

(APPLAUSE)

We have given young people a reason to believe, and we have brought -- and we have brought the young at heart back to the polls who want to believe again.

(APPLAUSE)

We are bringing together Democrats, and Independents, and, yes, some Republicans. I know this.

I meet them when I'm shaking hands afterwards. There's one right there, an Obamacan -- that's what we call them. They whisper to me. They say, "Barack, I'm a Republican, but I support you." And I say, "Thank you!"

We're bringing Democrats, Independents, Republicans, blacks and whites, Latinos and Asians, and Native Americans, small states and big states, red states and blue states, all into the United States of America. That's our project. That's our mission.

(APPLAUSE)

This is the new American majority. This is what change looks like when it happens from the bottom, up. And in this election, your voices will be heard, because at a time when so many people are struggling to keep up with soaring costs, and a sluggish economy, we know that the status quo in Washington just won't do.

Not this time. Not this year. We can't keep playing the same Washington games with the same Washington players and somehow expect a different result, because it's a game that ordinary Americans are losing. We are going to put this game to an end.

(APPLAUSE)

It's a game where lobbyists write check after check, and Exxon turns record profits, while you pay the price at the pump and our planet is put at risk. That's what happens when lobbyists set the agenda, and that's why they won't drown out your voices anymore when I am president of the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEOTAPE) CROWLEY: Barack Obama feeling pretty much on a roll after winning eight primaries in four days. He is now leading among pledged delegates, and you put it together with the superdelegates, he still has the lead.

In fact, this morning, talking to senior advisers within the Obama campaign on a conference call, those advisers said they believe it is next to impossible, given the mathematics of how delegates are selected, for Hillary Clinton to lead in the pledged delegate count as we go forward. Now, I can assure you that the Clinton campaign will have an entirely different view of the map as we go forward.

But I want to now bring in our Jessica Yellin to talk to her about what's going on in the Clinton campaign -- Jessica.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Candy.

Well, you said it -- next to impossible. Those are the key words for Senator Clinton.

She and her campaign are banking on the hope that she can grab victory from the jaws of defeat and win this nomination by sweeping in both Ohio and Texas. And as we pointed out, that's a full three weeks from now. So she's going to have to keep her campaign strong, fight off any sense that Obama's momentum is going to overwhelm her sense of purpose, and try to keep on pushing. I mean, their argument is the biggest mistake anyone could make now is argue that this thing is done, because it's still within her reach, and she is still a strong candidate and a strong presence in both Ohio and Texas, where the demographics are much more in her favor than they were in these Potomac primaries we saw yesterday.

Now, her campaign has insisted that she can stay on a focused message that wins people over in these states by really emphasizing what they need. In their view, it's an economic boost, it's a focus on the troubles people feel in their pocketbook with health care, and on Hillary Clinton's ability to be an implementor, to not just, as they say, talk about positive, broad themes of hope, but really hone in on what it will take to make your life better with real-world policies.

And as you've noted before, Senator Clinton has just gone up with her first negative ad on Barack Obama. A very soft touch to the negative ad, but she says in it, effectively, Barack Obama wouldn't agree to as many debates as she would like, and she's not the one talking about messages, she's talking about how to implement all these ideas that she believes Americans really need to have a better life. So she really sees herself as the person who can do, and he's the person who talks about doing.

And if we take a listen now to Senator Clinton's comments yesterday in El Paso, Texas, I'd suggest what we listen for are her specifics, how she's in such a stark contrast to Barack Obama, does not talk about the big ideas, the overarching theme of unity or a new politics, but really gets into the nitty-gritty of what she's going to do in office. This is what she's banked on, that that's a winning strategy. We'll have to see if it really works.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: I meet the people who work hard every single day but can't pay their energy bills. They can't fill up their gas tank. They are looking for answers. And then I meet all of the people who want to solve the problems, the young people who are focused on a better future and want to make it happen.

(APPLAUSE)

There isn't anything America can't do if we make up our minds to do it. Every one of us -- every single one of us knows that tomorrow can be better than today, but it doesn't happen just by wishing it, or hoping for it. It happens by working really, really hard to make it a reality to give everybody a better chance.

I see an America where everyone willing to work hard has a job with a rising income. And if you're willing to work full time, you have wages that lift you out of poverty. I want to make sure every American who works full time has a minimum wage of at least $9.50.

(APPLAUSE)

In fact, I would require that Congress cannot raise its own salaries unless it raises the minimum wage.

I see an America where health care is a moral right, not a privilege. Where every man, woman and child has access to quality, affordable health care. We can do this. We can have a uniquely American solution.

We already have a plan that we can make available to everyone. It's the plan that provides health care to members of Congress. And it works well for members of Congress and our staffs and federal employees. It has lots of choices. I want to make sure you have the same choices as your member of Congress does.

And we will help people pay for it because I want everybody -- everybody -- to have quality, affordable health insurance. And I also see an America where we end our dependence on foreign oil and we start growing and making our own energy right here in Texas and America!

Aren't you tired of paying those exorbitant costs at the gas pump? Aren't you tired of sending billions of our dollars to countries that turn around and use it against us? Well, why don't we get smart and start creating our own energy.

We have the sun. We have the wind. We can grow the products. We can turn what we have here in Texas into the energy of the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN ANCHOR: Senator Clinton in Texas yesterday. She's heading to Ohio for tomorrow where she's looking ahead again to those March 4th primaries. And still selling that basket of goodies we heard her pushing just in that sound bite right there.

Candy.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Jessica.

A couple of things. First of all, about that challenge by Hillary Clinton to debate in Wisconsin. Looks like a no-go for the Obama people. As we have stated a number of times, Obama always does better in states where he has some time to get around. That's what they plan to do here in Wisconsin. They said, look, we've already had 18 debates. We've agreed to two more. We need to meet the people of Wisconsin. So a debate in Wisconsin a no-go, although it may be a good political point for Hillary Clinton to make.

Moving on, we want to show you how big a hole now there is in the delegates. And you will see by our board, it is really not much, but Barack Obama has taken the lead. Now this is the total of both pledged delegates and super delegates. Barack Obama, 1,215 delegates. Hillary Clinton, not that far behind at 1,190 delegates. So still very close, still an incredibly exciting race that no nobody, not either of these candidates, anybody in the political world or, for that matter, reports, could possibly have imagined.

We're going to be back with more BALLOT BOWL. But as a matter of fact, last night the weather was so bad in Maryland that they had to extend poll time it was so icy. You could bet that bad weather is still around somewhere today. We are going to hear about that and other news right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there. I'm Brianna Keilar. We'll get you back to the BALLOT BOWL in just a few minutes. But first, a quick check of some of the day's other headlines.

Star baseball pitcher Roger Clemens in the hot seat today testifying before Congress about whether he ever took steroids. Let's listen in live for a moment.

HENRY WAXMAN, CHMN., HOUSE OVERSIGHT AND GOVT. REFORM COMMITTEE: When several other members asked you about it, it's all very helpful. When the committee took Mr. McNamee's deposition, he had a completely different recollection, as he has today. He had a clear recollection that Mr. Clemens was at Mr. Canseco's (ph) home. So our committee staff investigated this issue and we received conflicting evidence. I'm not surprised by conflicting recollections of a party of around 10 years ago that was really of no special importance. But Jose Canseco thinks Roger Clemens, and Mr. Canseco's ex-wife weren't at the party. Mr. Canseco's ex-wife, Jessica Fisher, believes that she was there and so was Debbie Clemens.

Mr. McNamee told us one key witness who would know whether you were at Canseco's house for that party was your former nanny. And the committee staff asked your attorneys for her name last Friday so we could contact her. We made additional requests for her name and contact information over the weekend.

Around 5:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, committee staff made another request and asked your attorneys to refrain from contacting the nanny before the committee staff could speak with her. It wasn't until Monday afternoon that your attorneys provided the nanny's name and phone number to the committee. And it wasn't until yesterday that the committee staff actually spoke with the nanny.

Are you aware of all this? Time frame, time line about the nanny?

ROGER CLEMENS, MAJOR LEAGUE PITCHER: I'm not sure of all the time frame. I know that . . .

WAXMAN: OK. Well, what the nanny said to us when we finally contacted her yesterday was important in several respects. First she said that she was at Mr. Canseco's home during the relevant time period. In fact, she said that she and Mrs. Clemens and the children stayed overnight at the Canseco's. Secondly, she told us she did not remember any team party as described in the Mitchell report. And third, she said that she did remember that you were at that home during the relevant time period, although she didn't know how long you stayed or whether you spent the night with your family.

The third point directly contradicted your deposition testimony where you said you were not at Mr. Canseco's home at any point June 8th or June 10th, 1998. But it's entirely understandable to me, it was 10 years ago.

Here's what puzzles me about your actions. We have a transcript of the interview with the nanny, whose name I'm not going to release to protect her privacy. But in this transcript she says that on Sunday, this last Sunday, you called her and asked her to come to your Houston home. She had not seen you in person since 2001. But after you called, she went to your home on Sunday afternoon. And I'd like to read a portion of the transcript of the committee interview.

Question, when you said you didn't remember a party, what did he say? Answer, he says, you know, the reason you don't remember that party is because I wasn't there. He said, because I know that he was playing with Jose. Question, so did he ask you, do you remember a party, and then you said you did not remember a party? Answer, that's right.

She also told the committee staff that you told her that she should tell the committee the truth. And after your meeting, an investigator working for you called her and asked her a series of additional question. Your meeting took place two days after the committee staff made a simple request for your former nanny's name, and then it took 24 hours after your meeting for your attorneys to provide her name to the Republican and Democratic staffs.

And that's why I'm puzzled about this. Was it your idea to meet with her before forwarding her name to us or did someone suggest that to you? CLEMENS: Mr. Chairman, I believe that just like through this whole hearings, I was doing you all a favor by finding a nanny that was supposedly came in question.

WAXMAN: Well, you might have been trying to do us a favor, but who told you you should invite her to your house, that you haven't seen her in all those years?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Chairman, this is unfair. What his lawyers tell him is unfair (INAUDIBLE).

WAXMAN: OK. Well, I accept that. I accept that. I accept that. Gentlemen, please, be seated.

Was it your idea? That's the appropriate was it your idea?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was my idea to investigate what witnesses, no. Like any other lawyer in the free world does.

WAXMAN: Did you think, Mr. Clemens, it was a good idea to invite her to your home on Sunday after not seeing her for seven years?

CLEMENS: I'm sorry.

WAXMAN: Did you think it was a good idea to invite her to your home after you hadn't seen her in seven years?

CLEMENS: I was told on Friday night to see if we could locate the nanny. Obviously that's very nice, I don't think that she needs any publicity. But I was told on Friday night that you guys may want to talk to her.

WAXMAN: And you felt you should talk to her first.

Well, I don't know if there's anything in proper in this.

CLEMENS: Mr. Chairman, I hadn't talked to her in years. And I did everything I could to locate her, if you guys had any questions for her. And I did tell her to answer truthfully. Again, I'm not sure . . .

WAXMAN: Well, I don't know if there's anything improper in this, but I do know it sure raises an appearance of impropriety. The impression it leaves it terrible. The right way to have handled this would have been to give the committee information immediately, to not have your people interview the nanny before we did and certainly for you not to personally talk to her about the interview as you did.

One option for you is to have given the committee the nanny's contact information and had no contact with her. Another option could have been to give her a heads-up at the committee would be calling her. But you chose, I think, the worst approach. That's my opinion. You invited her to your home, had a specific conversation about whether you were at Mr. Canseco's house and you did this before you gave the committee her contact information.

Is there anything else you want to add?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Chairman, with all due respect, this is nothing but innuendo. Your committee asked on Friday evening for this information. We have done everything to give you that you information in a fast and in a thorough manner. The innuendo is terrible and I spoke to your own staff member, who's speaking with you now. And your statement is -- and I have the highest respect for the chairman -- is calculated to do nothing but to have innuendo against this man. We have cooperated . . .

WAXMAN: Well, I understand . . .

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With you fully, as your own (INAUDIBLE).

WAXMAN: Gentlemen, as I indicated, the rules do not allow the lawyers to speak, but I did not cut you off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

WAXMAN: This action means there's always going to be a question, whether you tried to influence her testimony. And I gather -- your lawyer thinks that's . . .

CLEMENS: Mr. Chairman, I was doing you all a favor. And as far as I was concerned, I haven't seen this lady in a long time. She's a sweet lady. And I wanted her -- to get her to you as quick as possible, if you had any questions for her. Again, I'm hurt by those statements that I would get in the way of finding anything that you guys were looking for. I'm hurt by that statement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He asked her to come over to the house . . .

WAXMAN: Gentlemen, it's not going to be recognized. My time is up. Miss Norton (ph) is here and I want to recognize her for five minutes to ask questions she might have.

MISS NORTON: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I'm going to thank both Mr. McNamee and Mr. Clemens for having the guts to show up here without having been subpoenaed.

Mr. Clemens, much of what we're about here turns on concrete evidence, but much of it on credibility. My questions really go to your long-standing relationship with Mr. McNamee. Almost 10 years of a relationship from '98 with the Blue Jays until 2007. And a whole string of evidence about the closeness of that relationship, you training with him in Kentucky, got you Bruce Springsteen . . .

KEILAR: Heard some fireworks. You just heard some fireworks there between Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Of course, between him and Roger Clemens and Clemens' lawyers. Clemens, of course, denying before Congress that he's ever used performance-enhancing drugs, but Waxman questioning whether Clemens and his lawyers actually meddled with some congressional witnesses. Questioning the propriety of that.

And you can watch Roger Clemens answer more of these questions from lawmakers on Capitol Hill about baseball and steroids live on your desktop computer. Just click on cnn.com.

Well, it is shocking video. You're seeing right now a Florida deputy there dumping a quadriplegic man from a wheelchair. That man is going to be joining us live in the 3:00 Eastern hour of CNN "Newsroom" to share his side of the story. And I'll see you again at the top of the hour. We return to BALLOT BOWL after a quick break.

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DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to BALLOT BOWL '08."

Senator John McCain, after winning all of the Potomac Primaries last night, spent his morning behind closed doors with House Republicans trying to get his party united behind him. And CNN is told that as part of that effort, one of his supporters who helped elect House Republicans in 2000 ticked through statistics reminding the Republicans in a room just how much back then John McCain helped them get re-elected and reminding them that they might disagree at times but he is somebody who, in the words of one person I talk to, he is somebody who is a team player, a party player. When he came into public and he addressed the cameras, though, John McCain set his sights squarely on the Democrats.

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SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My friends, we've got a lot of debate to go through. And we've got a lot of discussions. But there will be significant and stark differences, whether it be whether the Democrats who want to raise your taxes, or me, I want to lower your taxes, whether it will be a health care system run by the federal government or whether families in America will make their choices about health care, and whether we will have lower interest rates or higher interest rates, whether the United States of America will have less government and less intervention in their lives, or whether, as the Democrats want, bigger government and higher taxes.

So we will have a spirited and respectful discussion of the issues. But believe me, I believe that I and my party, which is a center, right, conservative outlook, both philosophically and in legislative action, will prevail over the big-government, big-spending democrats. And we will draw those comparisons as this debate moves forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: And that was John McCain speaking in Little Rock, Arkansas. Republican hopeful Mike Huckabee last night said that that several weeks are going to be filled -- the next several weeks are going to be filled with some intense campaigning. He says nothing was decided on Super Tuesday, so he is going to continue to keep his message going and give people -- and give the Republican Party a cause to be for.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's still a real sense in the Republican Party of a desire to have a choice. A desire to make sure that the voters who want a solid conservative, absolutely pro-life candidate still exist. And I think that's what the results in Virginia clearly indicate.

Tomorrow we'll be going on to Wisconsin for that primary out there next Tuesday. And then from there we have, you know, a schedule that we're building for Texas and Ohio and some of the other states that will be coming up real soon after that. So, you know, the next several weeks are going to be the very intense weeks when a lot of delegates are at stake. And a lot will be decided as far as the long- term impact of where this process is going.

But one thing that we have continually said -- and I want to reiterate tonight -- that the nomination is not secured until somebody has 1,191 delegates.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Mike Huckabee insisting he is staying in this race, on his way to Wisconsin to campaign. You might be wondering, after all of this, what's next on political primary calendar? Well, if you stick around after the break, we'll tell you.

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BASH: Welcome back to BALLOT BOWL '08.

We're almost out of time here on BALLOT BOWL. But before we go, I want to bring in my co-anchor today, Candy Crowley, and just get a sense, Candy, from everything that happened last night, and everything that's happened over the past couple of weeks, what is your sense right now, talking to your sources behind the scenes, of what the dynamic is right now between these two campaigns and the two candidates?

CROWLEY: Well, I think we can see it beginning to develop. The Obama campaign wants a sense of, it's over, get on the bandwagon. She can't possibly get enough pledged delegates. So they're already kind of moving forward. They're looking for number nine in a row here in Wisconsin next Tuesday.

For the Clinton campaign, as I think we're seeing in these ads here in Wisconsin, challenging him to debate. I think we're seeing it on the ground. She's going to have to rough him up a little bit. She's going to have to continue to say, he's the talker, I'm the doer, but she needs to kind of step up her game because she has to plow through Texas and Ohio and try to rack up that delegate count as high as she can get it.

So I think we see her just moving non-stop, while the Obama campaign, while watching for buyers regret, I might add, since voters have a way of kind of putting the brakes on things when they want to take a second look, the Obama campaign definitely wants to keep this momentum going and get this sense of "hey, here's the winner, hop on board."

BASH: It's interesting, Candy, because, you know, it's such a different dynamic at this point between the folks you're covering on the Democratic side and the Republican side. For the first time today, John McCain, at this press conference this morning, made it clear that he thinks he would be better off -- he said it out loud -- we, of course, we know that he's been thinking for a long time -- he would be better off if Mike Huckabee would get out of the race. That after his campaign put out a memo this morning reminding reporters that it would be mathematically impossible at this point -- impossible -- for him to actually win.

So it's so different at this point, even after so many months of both races being so tight, different on the Republican and Democratic sides. And you've got the excitement on your side, I've got to tell you.

CROWLEY: Well, I tell you, you got a great story over there with McCain. I mean out of nowhere, out of the ashes this sort of Phoenix arises. It's an amazing story for him.

BASH: It really is. Phoenix. That's appropriate for a senator from Arizona.

Candy, thank you very much. We look forward to seeing you hopefully maybe in person some time in the near future.

And Candy was talking about how the campaign is going to be very intense for the Democrats and Republicans over the next couple of weeks. Let's show you where that's going to happen. A reminder where the primaries and caucuses are. On February 19th, Wisconsin and Washington state hold primaries, although the Washington state vote for the Democrats is largely a non-binding beauty contest since Obama won the Democratic caucuses last Saturday. And in Hawaii, Obama's birthplace, that holds its state why Democratic caucuses as well.

Then on March 4th, you want to look for Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas and Vermont. They all hold their primaries. Big delegate counts at stake on all of those primaries on March 4th.

That's it for this BALLOT BOWL. CNN "Newsroom" is next with a lot more coverage of politics and that hearing you don't want to miss. Stay with us.

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