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Obama Under Fire: Battling Clinton and McCain; McCain's Mission: Take on Democrats, Rally GOP; Preliminary Tests: Substance Found in Vegas Hotel Room Could Be Ricin
Aired February 29, 2008 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: You're with CNN. I'm Heidi Collins.
Developments keep coming into the CNN NEWSROOM on Leap Day, February 29th. Extra politics for this extra day of the year.
On the rundown today, the Democrats on the trail in Texas, fleshing out votes ahead of Tuesday's key primary.
We'll hear from Barack Obama live this hour.
The Latino vote a possible key to a Hillary Clinton victory in Texas. But what about African-Americans? Our guests on the color divide.
And last-minute moves. How will the campaigns rope the undecided? The strategists -- in the NEWSROOM.
Down the stretch they come, rallying voters and raising millions. The presidential candidates heading into the final weekend of campaigning before key primaries on Tuesday.
For Hillary Clinton, it's crucial Tuesday. She's counting on Texas and Ohio for a comeback.
Clinton has already seen a record fundraising rebound. Her campaign says she raised $35 million in February. But she is still playing catch-up to Barack Obama.
According to "The New York Times" and other published reports, some Obama supporters say his February fundraising could hit $50 million. Both Obama and Clinton are campaigning in Texas today. We are awaiting, in fact, an Obama rally expected to get under way any minute now.
Republican nominee to be John McCain also in Texas this morning holding a town hall meeting.
We will have extensive live coverage of the rallies and the race throughout the morning.
The best political team on television -- look at them there -- is in position to bring you all the latest developments ahead of Tuesday's primaries. Voters will be casting ballots in Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas and Vermont. There are 370 delegates at stake for the Democrats, 256 for the Republicans. Barack Obama battling his Democratic rival and the likely Republican nominee.
Jessica Yellin is covering the Obama campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While he's courting votes near the president's Texas ranch...
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you. Thank you.
YELLIN: ... a chorus of detractors are fighting to keep him out of the White House. The presumptive Republican nominee on Iraq.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Obama said well, we shouldn't have gone in the first place and if we hadn't gone in the first place, we wouldn't be facing this problem. Well, that's -- that's history. That's the past. That's talking about what happened before.
YELLIN: The other Democratic contender on his record in the Senate.
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My opponent said he never held a substantive meeting because he was off running for president. So I don't think he should be touting that as experience.
YELLIN: And the current White House occupant on his offer to meet with tyrants.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It can send chilling signals and message to our allies. It can send confusion about our foreign policy. It discourages reformers inside their own country.
YELLIN: So far, Barack Obama is playing it cool.
OBAMA: I'll give Bush credit. I have enormous respect for Senator Clinton. I revere John McCain's service to this country. He's a genuine American hero.
YELLIN: He's distancing himself from the fight.
OBAMA: It's just that John McCain seems to be talking about me a lot.
YELLIN: And he hits back only on the issues that he wants to highlight.
OBAMA: For the president to say that he doesn't think we're in a recession is consistent with his general altitude toward ordinary workers all across America over the last seven-and-a-half years. YELLIN: No doubt there will be more incoming fire, with Republican opposition already calling him a hypocrite on special interests, challenging his position on public financing, reminding reporters of an IRS investigation into his church.
(on camera): To reporters, Senator Obama insists he's focused squarely on beating Senator Clinton in Texas and Ohio on Tuesday. But on the stump, he's making fewer and fewer pointed attacks on Senator Clinton and more and more against John McCain. It certainly sounds as though Barack Obama is positioning himself as though he's already won the Democratic nomination.
Jessica Yellin, CNN, Beaumont, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: John McCain joined the line against Democrats in trying to rally Republican conservatives. He's hoping a Texas-size endorsement will help.
Details now from Dana Bash.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): An endorsement from a veteran of Ronald Reagan's White House, John McCain's latest attempt to convince skeptical conservatives he's one of them.
JAMES BAKER, FMR. SECRETARY OF STATE: Like The Gipper, John McCain knows that sometimes it's better to take 80 percent of what you want, rather than go over the cliff with your flag flying.
BASH: James Baker labeled McCain a "principled pragmatist." But the candidate's political pragmatism was on display. McCain knows the debate with Democrats over Iraq will be his biggest challenge, and keeps looking for a head start.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A decision to unilaterally withdrawal from Iraq and set a date for withdrawal will lead to chaos.
BASH: Both at this Texas stop and earlier at the Baker Institute of Foreign Policy, McCain kept his long distance verbal volley with Barack Obama going.
MCCAIN: Yesterday Senator Obama said, well, we shouldn't have gone in the first place. And if we hadn't gone in the first place, we wouldn't be facing this problem. Well, that's history. That's the past. That's talking about what happened before. What we should be talking about is what we're going to do now.
BASH: For McCain, that means stay the course.
MCCAIN: Continue the strategy, which is succeeding in Iraq. And we are carrying out the goals of the surge. The Iraqi military are taking over more and more responsibilities.
BASH: The likely GOP nominee also jumped into the Democrats' slugfest over NAFTA. They're fighting over who is really against the agreement. McCain called himself a free trader, very much for it. Another convenient dividing line.
MCCAIN: I believe in free trade. And I think that that may be one of the many differences between myself and whoever the nominee of the Democratic Party is.
BASH (on camera): This Texas campaign day is yet another vivid illustration of John McCain in transition. A little bit nervous about Republican Mike Huckabee doing well in next Tuesday's primary here in the conservative Lone Star State, but mostly focused on test driving his attack lines against a Democratic rival for the White House.
Dana Bash, CNN, Houston, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: An open primary, open to interpretation. Why are Republicans voting for Democrats in Texas?
CNN's Ted Rowlands investigates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Bill Waters (ph) is a Houston businessman who claims he's always voted Republican, until now.
(on camera): You're a true blue Obama guy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just call myself a Republican for Obama.
ROWLANDS (voice over): Waters (ph) is part of the Texas Chapter of Republicans for Obama, a Web-based group claiming about 700 members nationally who are Obama converts. Waters says there's one big reason he's crossing the aisle -- the economy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Republican Party has abandoned my principles. They spend like drunken sailors. I don't see Obama saying he's going to cut spending, but I don't trust the Republicans when they say they're going to cut spending.
OBAMA: I'm shaking hands, and somebody will whispered to me, "Hey, Barack, I'm a Republican. But I support you." And I say, "Thank you. Why are we whispering?"
ROWLANDS: It's a good line on the campaign trail, but is it really happening in significant numbers? If it is, Texas, where the race is close and it's an open primary, is a state where Republicans voting for Democrats could matter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't see a voting pattern to it. ROWLANDS: Art Render (ph) is the Tarrant County Democratic Party chair, which includes historically Republican-leaning Fort Worth. He says about 7 percent of the early votes cast so far in this county's Democratic primary are from people with a Republican voting history.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If there was any rally significant Republican crossover vote, it would be much higher than 7 percent.
ROWLANDS: Some Republicans voting Democratic are doing it for strategic reasons.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I voted for Hillary Clinton.
ROWLANDS: Republican Alan Sachs (ph), a political science professor at U.T. Arlington, says he voted for Hillary Clinton because he thinks she's stronger on national security than Obama. But more importantly, he says he voted for Clinton...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I believe that Senator Clinton will be easier for the Republicans to defeat.
ROWLANDS: Outside an early voting location in Arlington we found a handful of self-identified Republicans who claim they had voted for Obama or Clinton for various reasons. Doris Noland (ph) voted for Obama because she doesn't like Clinton.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he would make a wonderful president. I like him.
ROWLANDS: But she says she's planning on vote for John McCain in November.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Arlington, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: I want to bring you more information now about that story we've been telling you about out of Las Vegas, where a small amount of the deadly poison ricin was found in a hotel room there.
CNN's homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is in Washington now with some new information on this story.
Hi there, Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi.
CNN producer Kevin Bond (ph) has obtained a copy of an advisory sent out to Washington, D.C., area law enforcement from a regional intelligence center. This is based on federal information. And let me read one line to you from this advisory.
It says, "The FBI deems this incident to be criminal in nature with no nexus to terrorism." We've been telling you for several hours here that they did not believe there was any terrorism link here, but this goes one step further, saying that this appears to be criminal in nature.
The advisory also says that the CDC is conducting the confirmatory testing as to whether this is ricin, expects to have those results later this afternoon. Of course, the Las Vegas Police Department handling this investigation, where something that appeared to be ricin was found in a hotel room, in a hotel very near the Vegas Strip. It was at Extended Stay America.
Seven people are under observation -- three police officers, three hotel employees, and the individual who reported in the ricin, or the expected ricin. None of them to this point have shown any signs of botulism poisoning.
It is, of course, an extremely toxic substance. That's why this level of concern about this incident.
COLLINS: All right. CNN's Jeanne Meserve, our homeland security correspondent.
Jeanne, thanks so much for the update.
MESERVE: You bet.
COLLINS: Primary colors and presidential passions -- how do racial lines divide the vote in Texas? For two candidates, victory could hang in the balance.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Quickly want to take you live now to the Senator Barack Obama event we've been telling you about now under way. A moment of silence here now, I believe, for the police officer that was killed in the motorcade of Hillary Clinton back on February 22nd. I believe that is what we just witnessed there.
Once again, this is in Houston. Let's go ahead and listen in to the senator for just a moment.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
OBAMA: ... so welcomed. And that's why I look forward to working with him to give our veterans the care, the support and respect they deserve when I'm president of the United States.
America enters into a sacred trust with every single person who puts on the uniform. That trust is simple: America will be there for you just as you have been there for America.
Keeping that trust must always be a core American value and a cornerstone of American patriotism, because our commitment to our servicemen and women begins at enlistment, and it must never end. Without that commitment I wouldn't be standing here today.
My grandfather enlisted after Pearl Harbor and marched in Patton's Army. My mother was born at Fort Leavenworth and my grandmother worked on a bomber assembly line. After my grandfather's service, America stood by him. He went to college on the G.I. Bill and bought his first home with the help of the Federal Housing Authority.
Then he moved his family to west -- to Hawaii, where I was born. And today he is buried in Punchbowl Cemetery, where 776 victims of Pearl Harbor are laid to rest.
I knew my grandfather when he was older, but I think about him now and then as he enlisted -- a man of 23, fresh-faced, with an easy smile -- whenever I meet the men and women who are serving our nation today. They are our best and our bravest. Through their service they are living out the ideals that stir so many of us as Americans: pride, duty and sacrifice.
It is my privilege to serve our men and women in uniform and all our veterans on the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. Some of the most inspiring people I have ever met are the wounded warriors in places like Walter Reed Medical Center, troops who may have lost a limb or lost the ability to take care of themselves, but whose spirit has not been shaken.
It is my strong belief that over the last few years we have not always kept our sacred trust. We are not serving our troops and our veterans as well as they have served us.
We've seen second-rate conditions at Walter Reed. We have heard rhetoric that hasn't been matched by resources.
We learned just the other day that the president's budget leaves out $400 million needed for facilities for wounded warriors and family assistance centers. That is not acceptable. You cannot lead this country into war and then fail to recognize that caring for those who serve is a fundamental cost of war.
I'm running to be commander of chief on a record of standing up for our wounded warriors.
(APPLAUSE)
I led a bipartisan effort to improve outpatient facilities, slash red tape, and reform the disability process, because recovering troops should always go to the front of the line and shouldn't have to fight to get there.
And anyone who has visited a military hospital has seen wonderful spouses who don't see visiting hours as part time, and that's why I passed legislation to give family members health care while they care for injured troops and introduced a bill to give family members a year of job protection so they never have to choose between caring for a loved one and keeping a job.
(APPLAUSE)
I've also worked to confront the signature injuries of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and traumatic brain injury. I passed measures to increase screening for those unseen wounds and help lead a bipartisan effort to stop the unfair practice of discharging service members who suffer from them. And when I'm president, we'll enhance mental health screening and treatment at all levels, from enlistment to deployment, to reentry into civilian life.
(APPLAUSE)
We know that the sacred trust does not end when the uniform comes off. When we fail to keep faith with our veterans, the bond between our nation and our nation's heroes become frayed and we are all dishonored. And that is why I will ensure a seamless transition from active duty to civilian life.
I've introduced legislation to make sure that each service member receives electronic copies of their medical and service records upon discharge, and to step up outreach to members of the National Guard and Reserves. And when I am president I will extend the period of time for new veterans to enroll in the V.A. from two years to five years, and make it clear to the Pentagon and the V.A. that my administration will not tolerate bureaucratic turf wars. We need to get the job done.
(APPLAUSE)
It is time to build a 21st century V.A., and that's what I will work to do with Chet Edwards (ph) and Al Green (ph) and others when I am president. No more shortfalls. We will fully fund V.A. health care.
(APPLAUSE)
No more delays. We'll pass on-time budgets. No more means testing. It's time to allow every veteran into the V.A. system.
(APPLAUSE)
It's also time to build more vet centers, V.A. facilities and out-patient clinics. If you live in south Texas, you should not have to drive for hours to the V.A. hospital in San Antonio. This is a problem that I've seen all across the country, whether in Idaho or Iowa, southern Illinois or northern Minnesota. We need to make sure folks get the care they need without long waiting lists and long drives.
(APPLAUSE)
And we need to revamp an over-burdened benefits system. I am tired of hearing vets tell stories about navigating a broken V.A. bureaucracy. We need to hire additional workers and create an electronic system that is fully linked up to military records and the V.A.'s health network. And we need to do what George Bush failed to do in his budget, and make G.I. college benefits transferable within families.
(APPLAUSE) All of our military families deserve the same opportunities that my grandfather had under the G.I. Bill, because I believe that all Americans can come together to stand by those veterans and their families who have sacrificed so much for us.
You know, as we look ahead to the election in November, some say that this country is divided. But that is not how I see it. I see a country that's -- that all of us love, a country that my grandfather served, a country that my father crossed an ocean to reach, a country that gave me every opportunity that I have had in my life, a country that is defended by brave and brilliant American servicemen and women.
I see a flag we fly with pride. I see values that all of us share -- liberty, equality, and service to a common good. I see an America that is the strongest nation in the history of the world, not just because of our arms, but because of the strength of these values and the men and women who serve them every day in difficult and dangerous situations.
Across this great state of Texas, in simple homes and big cities and small towns, are those who have served this country around the world, from the beach heads of Normandy to the jungles of Vietnam, from the hills of Korea to the deserts of Iraq. Some of those men and women are nearby at Brooke Army Medical Center and at William Beaumont Medical Center, recovering from some of the worst wounds of today's wars.
When I am commander in chief, I will ask myself every single day whether I am serving them as well as they have served America. I will have no greater calling than standing by those who have answered our country's call.
(APPLAUSE)
Now, since I am also in the midst of an election, before we open this up for conversation, I do want to take a moment to respond, because the press is I'm sure curious to an ad that Senator Clinton is apparently running today. It asks a legitimate question.
It says, "Who do you want answering the phone in the White House when it's 3:00 a.m. and something has happened in the world?" It's a legitimate question. And we've seen these ads before. They're usually the kind that play upon people's fears and try to scare up votes.
I don't think these ads will work this time, because the question is not about picking up the phone. The question is, what kind of judgment will you exercise when you pick up that phone.
(APPLAUSE)
In fact, we have had a red phone moment. It was the decision to invade Iraq.
Senator Clinton gave the wrong answer. George Bush gave the wrong answer. John McCain gave the wrong answer. I stood up and I said that a war in Iraq would be unwise, it would cost us thousands of lives and billions of dollars. I said that it would distract us from the real threat that we face, and that we should take the fight to al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
That's the judgment I made on the most important foreign policy decision of our generation. And that's the kind of judgment I intend to show when I answer the phone in the White House as president of the United States of America, the judgment to keep us safe...
(APPLAUSE)
... the judgment to keep us safe, to go after our real enemies, and to provide men and women who wear the uniform of the United States with the equipment they need when we do send them into battle, and the respect and care that they have earned when they come home. And I will never see the threat of terrorism as a way to scare up votes, because it's a threat that should rally the country around our common enemies.
That is the judgment we need at 3:00 a.m. And that's the judgment that I am running for as president of the United States of America.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
COLLINS: There you go, Senator Barack Obama and some of what he is saying at his rally there in Houston.
As we -- if you would like to watch more, if there are some questions here that it looks like he's going to take, you can always go to CNN.com/live.
Initially when we first tossed out to that segment, he had a moment of silence. And just quickly want to let you know what that was about.
It was not what I thought. He was actually paying tribute to a Army specialist from the Houston area who was killed in Iraq on Sunday, Army Specialist Orlando Perez (ph). You were not able to hear that as we just tossed to him.
What I had said and what I thought perhaps he was referring to was this, that we want to show you as well, the funeral procession for the corporal, senior corporal, Victor Lasada Torado (ph). You may remember, back on February 22nd, on the way to a rally for Hillary Rodham Clinton in Dallas there was a terrible accident. This corporal was in the motorcade when he crashed into a concrete barrier and was killed.
That funeral is today, and that is the procession that took place earlier this morning. We are expecting that Senator Clinton will attend that funeral.
So just wanted to let you know those two things there.
Meanwhile, we are also watching the rest of the candidates. That would mean Republican nominee to be, John McCain. He is in Round Rock, Texas. His event under way.
Let's go ahead and listen in to him for just a moment.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... hard problems, eliminate wasteful and pork barrel spending, and many others.
The major reason why I'm running for president of United States is because we face a transcendental challenge of the 21st century which is radical Islamic extremism. This challenge is tough. It's the greatest evil perhaps maybe we have ever faced, and it's going to be a long, hard struggle.
We will never surrender. They will. But the point is, the point is, that this is an evil which is hard for us to comprehend as well.
I'm sure you saw a little over a week ago that in Baghdad, al Qaeda took two mentally disabled young women, put explosive vests on them, sent them into a marketplace, and by remote control detonated those vests, killing those young women and innocent bystanders. Now, how evil is that? How evil and terrible are these people?
So have no doubt of how tough the challenge is. But have no doubt either that America will -- with our leadership, we will not only survive this challenge, but we will surmount it.
And by the way, there's a guy that lives in Afghanistan or Pakistan today. His name is Osama bin Laden. He is able to get out a message of hate, and he is able to recruit, motivate and instruct other jihadists.
And I want to promise you and look you in the eye and tell you, if I have to follow him to the gates of hell, I will get Osama bin Laden and I will bring him to justice. I mean that. And I know how to do that.
(APPLAUSE)
We're facing -- we're facing a very big -- a big struggle in Iraq and also in Afghanistan, as you know. Our allies there are not as strong or as committed in Afghanistan as we want them to be. And one of our greatest assets we have in Afghanistan today, frankly, are our Canadian friends.
It's very controversial in Canada, their commitment and the suffering and the losses they have faced. And we need -- we need our Canadian friends, and we need their continued support in Afghanistan.
So what do we do? The two Democrat candidates for president say that they are going to unilaterally -- they are going to unilaterally abrogate the North American Free Trade Agreement. Our biggest trading partner, they're going to -- who we've made a solemn agreement with, they're going to unilaterally abrogate that.
Now, how do you think the Canadian people are going to react to that, who we are having now their enormous and invaluable assistance in Afghanistan? And we're going to abrogate a free trade agreement.
I want to tell you right now, I believe in free trade. I will stick with free trade. And it is the future of America's economy. And every time in history that we have practiced protectionism, we have paid a very heavy price for it.
So I want to tell our Canadian friends and I want to tell our friends in Mexico and other trading partners around the world, that I will negotiate and conclude free trade agreements and I will not -- I will not, after entering into solemn agreements, go and say that I will abrogate those agreements. And I want to thank again the Canadian people...
(APPLAUSE)
And I want to again thank the Canadian people and government for the enormous contribution they are making in helping us fight back Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
So I think this is an important issue, and I think it has a lot to do with what you know about national security and how all these issues are interconnected with one another. I believe I have the judgment. That is caused by experience and knowledge and background.
I've been involved in every major national security issue that has confronted this country for the last 20 years. And I will tell you again, I fought against and railed against the failed strategy under Secretary Rumsfeld and fought for the surge that is working.
The surge is working. It is succeeding.
Is it long and hard and tough? Yes. Al Qaeda is on the run. They are not defeated. And we have a long way to go. And America is blessed that we have a great general and leader in General David Petraeus, a man of incredible leadership.
And may I just say, as you know, the Texas Guard and Reserve have served in extraordinary fashion, probably more and longer than any time in the history of this country. The Texas Guard, who I encounter every time I'm over there, does a magnificent job. I know you're proud of the men and women who are serving in the military, as well as the Texas Guard.
(APPLAUSE)
There's a lot of things I would like to tell you about Iraq, and Afghanistan and Pakistan and the challenges we face in the world, except to say that we face a very challenging situation in the world today. The difference between now and 2000, in 2000 we were still enjoying the fruits of the victory against the then-Soviet Union. Now we face enormous challenges in the world, and I am prepared to make those challenges.
Now, many of you may remember that some months ago McCain's campaign was viewed as dead, to say the least. In fact, I was reminded of the words of Chairman Mao, who says, "It's always darkest before it's totally black." But -- And we did survive, and they said because I was supporting the surge that my campaign would not succeed, and I said at that time, I would rather lose a political campaign than lose a war. And I mean that, and I mean it today.
(APPLAUSE)
And could I just say very briefly, every once in a while you have an experience that puts everything into the right priority for you and adjust those priorities in a way that is important. That happened to me at a townhall meeting in Wolfboro, New Hampshire. A woman stood up at the townhall meeting, and she said, Senator McCain, would you do me the honor of wearing a bracelet with my son Matthew Stanley's name on it. Matthew Stanley was 22 years old. He was killed in combat outside of Baghdad just before Christmas last year.
I said I would be honored to wear this bracelet with Matthew Stanley's name on it. Then she said, Senator McCain, I just want you to just promise me one thing, and that is that you will do everything in your power to make sure that my son's death was not in vain. My friends, I will do that. I take that obligation seriously, not only to Matthew Stanley's mother, but to all the families serving in America today in the Armed Forces.
And I believe as president of the United States, I can inspire a generation of Americans to serve a cause greater than their self interests. There is nothing nobler, there is nothing more better that we can do with our lives. And I know that I am capable of doing that as president of the United States. And I ask for your support. I ask for your vote. And I wish you would remember the words of the late Mayor Daley of Chicago, who once said vote early and vote often.
Thank you for being here today. Now I would like to respond to any questions or comments that you have for me. I think if you just raise your hand, then -- yes, then someone -- there's a person right there. And if you don't mind, if there are -- by the way, if someone is looking for an earmark or pork barrel project or has a problem with local transportation, Governor Perry is prepared to respond to any of those requests that you might have.
Yes, sir?
QUESTION: Good morning, senator. My name is Todd Scarborough (ph). I'm a Marine corps combat veteran. I served in Operation Iraqi Freedom II.
(APPLAUSE)
QUESTION: Thank you.
I've been home now for almost three years. And I found whenever I first came home that I was experiencing some serious post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and have since worked through that with a non-military therapist.
My question for you, senator, is what can be done to ensure that our fellow brothers in arms can both be properly diagnosed and receive treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder?
MCCAIN: I thank you for serving. I thank you for your comment. And I'm glad you asked. I'd like to say that I carry around with me quite often a piece of paper that has a statement by George Washington in 1789. It basically says, the willingness of next generations to serve their country is directly related by the treatment and appreciation we provide those who have served in previous conflicts. And I thank you for your service, and I try to keep those words in mind.
Very briefly, as I can, PTSD is going to be a problem, and it already is. These combat-related wounds, especially IEDs, as you well know, are going to require expansion of military medical capabilities and V.A. capabilities. And we have passed legislation, but we've got to do a lot more.
And we have to expand the capability to care for those kinds of injuries because the V.A. and the military medical are best at that. But here's the problem, as you know, and I'll will glad to hear your response. It's cluttered up, the V.A. System is badly cluttered up now by veterans with routine health care needs. So they go down to the V.A. and stand in line to stand in line to get an appointment to get an appointment.
I want to, for a routine health care need, give every veteran a plastic card. And I say, when you've got a routine health care need, you take this plastic card, take it to the doctor or health care provider of your choice and get it taken care of, and never again will you have to stand in line to stand in line to get an appointment to get an appointment.
QUESTION: Thanks, senator.
MCCAIN: Do you agree with that?
QUESTION: Absolutely. I think that there's definitely -- there's lots of routine things that can be handled away from a V.A. hospital where Marines, and soldiers and airmen don't have to sit in line and not get the care that they truly deserve.
MCCAIN: I thank you, and I thank you for serving.
QUESTION: My pleasure, sir. Thank you.
MCCAIN: Yes?
QUESTION: What's your position on the expansion of the national passenger rail system in light of rising gas prices and poor on-time performance with airlines?
MCCAIN: Well, I'm glad that Don Carty (ph) is here. I'll give him... COLLINS: There you have a bit of the question-and-answer session at a Senator John McCain rally taking place in Round Rock, Texas. If you would like to see more of it, you can. Just go to CNN.com/live.
We're going to take a quick break and be back, talk a little bit more about what's coming up on Tuesday, that primary in Texas and Ohio, two of the main states that are making all the difference.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Some information we're just getting in and some pictures, too, from our affiliates in Miami. This video coming in from WSVN. I'll tell you what I know, and that is apparently according to the local affiliates there, there's obviously been sort of disturbance at this high school in Miami, Miami Edison Senior High School.
Now, we see some boxes being carried out. Boy, just don't have a lot of detail here, but what we do know, obviously a large police presence there. Previous to this video we're getting in now, we have seen people who appear to be students being taken from the school by police. I think that there have also been some reports of handcuffs. You see there, it looks like that person is handcuffed.
Again, not quite sure what exactly this disturbance is, but clearly a lot of activity at Miami Edison Senior High School. We will keep our eye on it for you as we continue to watch all of this activity coming from our affiliate there now, WPLG and several others who are taking their aerial shots by helicopter. So, we'll watch it for you and bring you any new information just as soon as we find out what's going on there exactly.
For now though, want take a moment to go to our correspondents here at CNN. Jessica Yellin is in Houston for us morning covering the Barack Obama campaign.
And Jessica, we've been hearing a little bit about some numbers that may or may not be exactly accurate by way of fundraising dollars for Barack Obama. What's the latest now?
YELLIN: Well, the latest is that the Obama campaign maintains that they have raised considerably more than Senator Clinton's $35 million announced haul (ph). They won't go so far as to confirm exactly what numbers they have because they say they're still counting.
But they made the point that they have an impressive number of amount, they said 200,000 new donors in the month of January and even more than that in the month of February. Both impressive for just the sheer magnitude of the number of people energized to give.
And also, as they pointed out time and again, these are people who are generally making small donations and the campaign continues to go back to them for more money.
Now, why does this all matter? Why should we care? Well, for two reasons. One is it's a measure of how energized and excited the Democratic electorate is. We see so much fundraising on the Democratic side, not nearly as many people giving on the Republican side. Also, because this is a measure of how much Obama can advertise in these states.
As you know, Barack Obama was way down in the polls in both Texas and Ohio, even as short a time ago as two weeks ago and these races have become enormously tight. And one would have to believe that it's in large part because Barack Obama is literally saturating the airwaves.
Heidi, you can't turn on the television without seeing an Obama ad on every channel. You flip and there's different ones on every channel. Senator Clinton is also advertising aggressively, but not nearly as much.
And I should make one other point, which is that the Obama campaign manager -- also, it seems to be trying to lower expectations for Tuesday. We've heard it said that if Senator Clinton doesn't win both Texas and Ohio, well, then that's it and they're done. He's saying we should not measure the success by who actually wins the states, but by the delegate count.
So, a little bit of fear maybe on their part that if Senator Clinton does win but just squeaked by, we're going to all say this race is a squeaker and going to keep going. And they want to say, no, that's the end of it because Barack Obama is so far ahead in the delegate count.
COLLINS: Yes, and we have seen this happen before, too. A lot of confidence and then it seems like you get closer and closer to the main event or the actual event, then they seem to back off a little bit by way of confidence. So, we will be watching very closely obviously next Tuesday.
Jessica Yellin coming to us from Houston this morning. Thank you, Jessica.
And coming up next, we're going to talk a little bit more about what could happen on Tuesday by way of African-American voters and Latino voters. How will they figure into the mix?
We'll be back in just a moment.
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COLLINS: Primary colors, will racial lines divide the votes in Tuesday's Texas primary? Well, let's take a closer look now. Christine Leveaux-Haley is a professor of American government and black politics at the University of Houston and Gebe Martinez is a columnist and contributor for Politico.
Thanks to the both of you for being with us today, just a couple days away from the big event on Tuesday. I wanted to, again, if I could, ladies, with the Texas demographics. And let's go ahead and put them on the screen. African-Americans, 19 percent of Texas registered voters. Latinos, 25 percent of Texas registered voters.
We know the "Houston Chronicle" there is also quoting some experts, saying that African-Americans could actually make up about 30 percent of voter turnout on Tuesday. Latinos could make up 25 percent. Do you think we'll actually see that happen, Professor Leveaux-Haley?
PROF. CHRISTINE LEVEAUX-HALEY, UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON: Yes, definitely. I definitely think we'll see a large turnout for African- Americans in the primary. You have to keep in mind that all indications before Super Tuesday was that Texas would not really play an important role in Selecting the Democratic candidate.
But now, with the unexpected results of Super Tuesday, we kind of had to scramble here in Texas and mobilize those voters. And I think that has been done and that African-Americans will come out in number on March 4th.
COLLINS: Gebe, what about the Latinos? That number, 25 percent that we're hearing, you think that's accurate?
GEBE MARTINEZ, COLUMNIST & CONTRIBUTOR, POLITICO: That's about right. Although I do think that as with the African-American voter, with other voters, there is a very high level of energy among the Hispanic vote that I saw in Texas when I was there recently. People are really excited.
And I have to say that among Hispanics who support Hillary Clinton, they are fiercely loyal to her. These are older Hispanics who are really fiercely loyal to her and want to make sure that they get out to vote for her. Obama is still being learned about, and frankly, he has to make his argument with the Hispanic that they should vote for him as well.
COLLINS: Let's go ahead and look at another graphic, if we could, quickly here. This is one from CNN and the Opinion Research Corporation Poll. February 22-24th in Texas, we see Obama at 50 percent and Clinton at 46 percent. Again, you look at the sampling error, so that kind of evens things out because it's about 3.5 percentage points.
But when you look at that, some people might ask you, what's gone wrong with the Clinton campaign. We've seen her drop a bit in these polls and then keep dropping in these polls. Professor Leveaux-Haley, do you think that is accurate that there is a problem?
LEVEAUX-HALEY: Well -- no, I think that's the wrong question to ask. It's not what's gone wrong with Clinton's campaign, but what's gone right with Obama's campaign. And really, what we ...
COLLINS: Well, what's gone wrong with her campaign is what's gone right for him, correct?
LEVEAUX-HALEY: Right, sure, definitely. Well, basically, as I said, the focus shouldn't be there but on Obama. Basically what we have here is we have this momentum. And for African-Americans, this is -- for a lot of African- Americans an emotional vote and although some are offended by that, to deny that this is an emotional vote would deny the history of this country and that this would be a major accomplishment for an African- American to be elected to president of this country less than 50 years after the passing of the Voting Rights Act.
But that has not been to say that Latinos are not supportive of Barack Obama. I think that is -- that's inaccurate. And I think that what we're seeing and what we'll continue to see leading up to March 4th is more and more Latino voters supporting Obama.
Let's face it, it's always nice to be associated with the winner. And I think what we saw in the beginning among Latinos and among African-Americans as well is that we thought that Hillary Clinton would probably win. And now, the more that we see Barack Obama's possibilities of actually winning this Democratic nomination, we begin to see more people supporting him.
COLLINS: Well, Gebe, I think you just said that the Latino votes are fiercely loyal for Hillary Clinton.
MARTINEZ: The older Hispanics ...
COLLINS: Right.
MARTINEZ: ...are fiercely loyal to her. It is a generational split. The younger Hispanics are going with Barack Obama. And there is -- you know, Hillary Clinton, you asked what she did wrong. She relied probably too much on the old establishment, Democratic base and political base there in Texas, including the Hispanic establishment. And Obama came in with a whole new level of support among the younger voters.
You know, another thing I want to point out is that Hillary Clinton is going to have to win south Texas Hispanic vote by about 70 percent to offset the gains that Obama is making.
But at the same time, Obama has to show that he can win the Hispanic vote. Outside of Illinois, his home state in Iowa, which is a small state, he has not won the Hispanic vote. And he has to show that he can get more support. In California, he only got 29 percent. And that was 40 points below Hillary Clinton. So, he has to show that he can win a broad cultural (ph) support if he's going to win the nomination.
COLLINS: Yes, you know, we just heard from the campaign, our correspondent Jessica Yellin who is traveling with the Obama campaign. And you know, it started to back off with the confidence level, thinking that they're going to just wrap the whole thing up up and walk away with it. So, as we get closer and closer, everyone's just kind of have to wait and see until those votes come in certainly.
We appreciate the time from both of you today. Professor Christine Leveaux-Haley, we appreciate that, University of Houston. And Gebe Martinez, columnist and contributor with Politico. Thank you, ladies.
Quickly want to get back to this story now. We're getting more information from our affiliates there in Miami, Florida. More live pictures coming to you as we see people being led away from a high school there in handcuffs.
Here is what we are understanding. Apparently, there's been some sort of major fight at the high school. In fact, police are -- or have responded with riot gear. Again, these live pictures still coming in. You can see the riot gear that they're wearing there. A number of students involved.
I'm just going to go through and read this as I see it here. But apparently, they are calling it a riot. It broke out shortly after 11:00 this morning. And again, this is all coming in to us from our affiliates there, a couple of different affiliates reporting for us in the Miami area.
Apparently, one female student who witnessed all of this said that the students were protesting an event that took place at the school on Thursday. Still trying to figure out a little bit more about what exactly that event was. But forgive me as I read on here.
Again, it started as a protest because the principal allegedly had put his hands on a student. One person -- this happened the day before yesterday, on Thursday. Some people are saying that he put him in a choke hold, whoever this individual was. A lot of people very upset about that.
And now what we're hearing, 30 to 40 students staged this protest. And then, school officials tried to intervene and it apparently turned into a "full-scale alteration," tazing people, using pepper spray, a lot of people very, very upset, I imagine there.
Again, these live pictures still coming in to us. And we appreciate those pictures certainly as we continue to watch them, coming in from Miami, Florida.
Once again if you know the area, we're talking about Miami Edison High School where apparently, according to our affiliates, there is some sort of riot that broke out. Police having to respond with riot gear and so forth to try to get the situation under control.
Boy, we will continue to watch that one for you and make sure we get all the latest information out just as soon as we get it.
Leap day, once every four years, of course, just like the presidential election, this extra day means extra politics. The best political team on television all day in the NEWSROOM and on CNN.
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COLLINS: "FINANCIAL SECURITY WATCH" with Gerri Willis is coming up next.
I'm Heidi Collins. Have a great weekend, everybody. We'll see you on Monday.
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