Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Candidates Hitting Hard in Last Minute Campaigning; Bill Clinton Speaks for Hillary; Ricin in Las Vegas Mystery
Aired March 01, 2008 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. The news is unfolding live on this Saturday. It is the very first day of March. Hello, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, I'm T.J. Holmes. This is the first day of March madness. We're not talking NCAA basketball here on the hard court. We're talking about the hard knocks playing out in the political arena. For the Democrats, it's anybody's game, but for Republicans, it's another story.
NGUYEN: From the ad wars to the ongoing name game, and of course, who is saying what about Iraq? All of it this hour in the CNN NEWSROOM. Well, you know the campaigns are caffeinated, voters, they are buzzed, and we have you covered. Three days to go to pressure- padded primaries in Ohio and Texas. The states could finally decide the winner of the Clinton Obama drama.
HOLMES: CNN, home of the best political team on television. Count on our veterans to keep you in the know in the run-up to Tuesday's critical contest. Our correspondents and analysts are in place to bring you the numbers, issues, the polls, the voters. Hillary Clinton, of course, the candidate, some are saying has the most to lose on Tuesday. She's suggesting you have a lot to lose as well. A blistering TV ad questions Obama's crisis leadership. We'll show you those ads. Clinton is campaigning across Texas today. She's dispatched her husband and daughter to Ohio.
NGUYEN: Barack Obama is in Rhode Island today. He's responding to the Clinton ad with one of his own. He's also enjoying a new endorsement from a key senate colleague. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, John McCain is confident enough to spend a day at home in Arizona. He's taking new fire after he accepted the endorsement of an apocalyptical preacher.
HOLMES: The opponents, Mike Huckabee on the Republican side, he is not giving up, despite being way behind in the delegate count. He's staying on the campaign trail in Texas, even though he has virtually no chance of catching McCain in that delegate count. Well, four states vote on Tuesday, Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont, 370 Democratic delegates on the block, 256 Republicans, enough for McCain to nail down that GOP nomination. So of course, you can see with all those numbers just how important Tuesday really is. We have some new numbers here to share with you. Take a look. The poll of polls for Ohio, Hillary Clinton leads with 47 percent of the vote. Barack Obama has 40 percent. There's still 13 percent who say they are unsure. We have, of course, seen large numbers of voters deciding in the final three days before casting their ballots in previous primary elections.
NGUYEN: And here's the even tighter race right now, Texas. Obama leads the poll of polls with 48 percent, Clinton has 44 percent, and again, there are enough undedecideds to tip this race either way, and that has led both candidates to launch new ad campaigns. Here's a look at Hillary Clinton's ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's 3:00 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep. But there's a phone in the White House and its ringing. Something is happening in the world. Your vote will decide who answers that call. Whether it's someone who already knows the world's leaders, knows the military, someone tested and ready to lead in a dangerous world. It's 3:00 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep, who do you want answering the phone?
HILLARY CLINTON: I'm Hillary Clinton and I approve this message.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: All right. So that ad playing on the experience angle. That's been a big part of Hillary Clinton's message to voters.
HOLMES: Well, now take a look at Barack Obama's ad, a direct response to that Clinton commercial.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's 3:00 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep, but there's a phone ringing in the White House. [ ringing ] Something's happened in the world. When that calls gets answered, shouldn't the president be the one, the only one, who had judgment and courage to oppose the Iraq war from the start, who understood the real threat to America was al Qaeda in Afghanistan, not Iraq, who led the effort to secure loose nuclear weapons around the globe. In a dangerous world, it's judgment that matters.
BARACK OBAMA: I'm Barack Obama and I approve this message.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Ok, so now that you've seen both ads, let's talk about primary colors, because racial lines are expected to play a major part in Tuesday's primary in Texas. And for the Democrats, long-standing racial tensions could add to the drama. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Texas, where black and Hispanic voters are critical to a big win, a dust-off. A prominent Hispanic supporter of Senator Hillary Clinton hurls a loaded charge, that Obama's problem with Hispanics, his race.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Obama simply has a problem that he happens to be black.
MALVEAUX: The 84-year-old Latina activist Mrs. Adelfa Callejo says the divisions between blacks and Latinos run deep in Dallas.
ADELFA CALLEJO, LATINO ACTIVIST: When the blacks had the numbers, they never did anything to support us. They always talk -- they used our numbers to fulfill their goals and their objectives, but they never really supported us, and there's a lot of hurt feelings about that, and I don't think we're going to get over it any time soon.
MALVEAUX: Before being fully briefed about Callejo's comments, Senator Clinton was asked if she rejected or denounced the leader's support.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People have every reason to express their opinions. I just don't agree with that.
MALVEAUX: But later, after Clinton's campaign verified the details, they issued a statement, saying, "After confirming that they were accurately portrayed, Senator Clinton, of course, denounces and rejects them."
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would reject and denounce --
MALVEAUX: Those words, denounces and rejects, were used by Senator Barack Obama in Tuesday night's debate. When he tried to distance himself from past anti-Semitic comments made by the leader of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, who has since endorsed Obama. But this controversy underscores the sensitive nature of Texas politics.
PROF. CHRISTINE LEVEAUX-HALEY, UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON: In Texas, Latinos and African-Americans are the two warring once minority groups.
MALVEAUX: With warring political candidates, analysts say Hispanics lining up for Clinton, African-Americans for Obama.
PROF. BOB STEIN, RICE UNIVERSITY: Pretty much saying that African-American and Hispanic voters will be about even.
MALVEAUX: But while there may be some tension between the groups, Professor Christine Leveaux-Haley says it's being exaggerated to get Hispanic voters to the polls.
LEVEAUX-HALEY: There might be some need to kind of mobilize the Latino vote or galvanize Latinos around some type of issue, and that just might be this divide between Latinos and African-American voters.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right, let's go ahead and bring in our Paul Steinhauser standing by. Paul, our deputy political director out of D.C. this morning. After seeing that piece there, are there any signs that in Texas this is really gaining a lot of traction or making some kind of a difference from before? We always knew there was kind of a split where blacks were going for Obama and Latinos for Hillary Clinton, but after the comments by Ms. Callejo there, are we seeing that that's really a factor?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yeah, could be a factor. Blacks and Latinos are such a big deal when it comes to Texas and the Democratic primary. Latinos, as we've seen in the primary process, have really been backing Hillary Clinton, and CNN and the Opinion Research Corporation we took a poll last week and we found that about two-thirds of the Latinos in Texas are backing Clinton. We also polled African-Americans in Texas. About eight in 10 are backing Obama. So you can really see the stark differences there. And it's important, because you know, Latinos make up about a third of the population in Texas. African-Americans a little less, about 15 percent or 10 percent. But in big areas like Houston and Dallas, where there are a lot of Democratic delegates at stake, they are a major force. So this is going to be very crucial to the outcome on Tuesday night.
HOLMES: All right, let's go back to these ads now that are playing out. Hillary Clinton hit pretty hard, I suppose, on this ad she had out, who do you want answering that phone when there is a crisis at 3:00 in the morning. Is this a sign? Not necessarily desperation, but she's going at him a little hard. It's the same theme, really, we've seen during the campaign -- does he have the experience? But this is a little more biting than we've seen in the past.
STEINHAUSER: Well, exactly, exactly. Same lines, or the same theme of experience she has that he doesn't. She's been using that for about a year now against him. But you're right, this is much more hardball politics. This is a tougher ad. The Clinton campaign says no, this is not a tough ad, it's not a nasty negative ad, but the Obama campaign, in fact Barack Obama himself yesterday came out and said this ad is intended to scare people to vote for her.
HOLMES: Is there any scenario that we could imagine on super Tuesday 2, it's being called now by some, on Tuesday, that she would get out of the race? Is there anything that can happen on Tuesday that would cause either one of them to step out of the race?
STEINHAUSER: Sure. You know, if she gets swept, you would assume that there's going to be intense pressure on her to get out. Even if she doesn't take both Texas and Ohio, which are the two more important, the bigger two states, there will be probably some pressure on her to get out. Her campaign, though, is saying something new in the last day. You know for a while now, we heard President Clinton, her husband, say that if she doesn't win Texas and Ohio, maybe that would be it for her, but now her campaign is saying if Barack Obama doesn't take all four states, including Vermont and Rhode Island, that the voters may have a little remorse and she would stay in. So T.J., anything could happen. Just stay tuned Tuesday night.
HOLMES: I certainly will. One last thing here, I guess you have to touch on the Republican side, not as much of a race going, since the major candidate has taken the weekend off. But Mike Huckabee made this statement and he said that, hey, I'm trying to take this to the convention. If I can just hold on and nobody gets enough delegates, I could go to the convention and then I could be the candidate because I'm the most conservative. Explain just quickly how, if it does go to the convention, how he could walk out of there being the candidate.
STEINHAUSER: Well, first of all, he -- I mean, first of all, McCain could go over the top Tuesday night. That's a possibility. He's only about 150 delegates shy of the 1,191 needed, at about 250 delegates on the Republican side are up in those four states. So it could be over come Tuesday. But if it isn't -- if Huckabee has a strong night, does well in Texas and some of the other states, yes. If McCain never gets over the top, never to 1191, theoretically this thing could go to the convention and then they would have a series of votes. And if McCain didn't win in the first round, all of those delegates that were pledged to him would probably be freed up. This thing could go all the way. But you know, Huckabee's hoping. He said he's not a mathematician, he's a dreamer.
HOLMES: And he says he is a miracle man.
STEINHAUSER: A miracle man.
HOLMES: If he pulls that off he is Mike "the miracle" Huckabee, for sure, from now on. Paul Steinhauser, we appreciate you as always, good to see you buddy.
STEINHAUSER: Take care T.J.
HOLMES: Folks, we want to let you know, we're keeping an eye on an event happening in Lakewood, Ohio right now. Of course, we've got our eyes all over the campaign trail, but an event here, those people standing by waiting to hear from Bill Clinton to talk about his wife and the crucial contest coming up in Ohio. When that happens we will dip in and hear what the former president has to say.
NGUYEN: Right now, the Iraq war is a key issue driving this political season, and CNN's John King talks with a voter who has a personal stake in the outcome.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING (voice-over): Two and a half years now since the knock on John Dyer's door. The pain is constant. But some things have changed.
JOHN DYER, SON KILLED IN IRAQ: I do think in hindsight going into Iraq as we did was a huge mistake. I thought it sounded like it was necessary at the time.
KING: Lance Corporal Christopher Dyer was 19. A father's grief shaped by his son's last call from the war zone.
DYER: They were worn out and there weren't enough of them.
KING: Yet in Tuesday's Ohio primary and again in November, Dyer plans to vote for the candidate who insists things are improving in Iraq, and who insists the troops must stay.
DYER: It seems like we've shown a lot of progress and I don't think it's the time to quit and run. I think if we hadn't shown some progress it would be time to have called it a day.
KING: Americans do see some progress. 46 percent say things are going well in Iraq, up from just 34 percent in November. But in that same CNN poll only 34 percent of Americans support the war, 63 percent oppose it.
DYER: I think I'm in a minority view. My friends and people who know me are obviously very guarded about talking to me about this for obvious reasons. But what I sense is people are just dog tired of this situation.
KING: For McCain Ohio is a critical proving ground. No Republican has ever won the White House without carrying this state. Pollster Eric Rademacher says the unpopular war is a big factor in recent Democratic gains.
ERIC RADEMACHER, UNIV. OF CINCINNATI SURVEY CENTER: In 2006 independents moved over to the Democratic Party in Ohio and if there is a concern for the Republican candidate that's it.
KING: Visiting an Ohio company that makes armored vehicles for the troops was part of McCain's sales pitch.
MCCAIN: But we will never ever surrender and they will.
KING: Dyer was already convinced but says checking the Obama and Clinton campaign websites recently made him more adamant.
DYER: I don't understand their position at all. I think we're already talking about bringing combat troops home. We're really talking about a difference in the pace at which we do that.
KING: Do you ever worry that because you did pay a price and a very painful personal price that your judgment is clouded?
DYER: Yeah. Yeah. I could almost guarantee you my judgment is impacted by that. I try as hard as I can to separate my personal loss, and I know it's not really possible.
KING: John King, CNN, Evansdale, Ohio.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: So let's talk now about the candidates on Iraq. Where do they stand? CNN's Josh Levs is digging into their positions and he spells it out in their plans for the war at the half hour.
HOLMES: And you need to stay with CNN for the best political coverage on television. Later today we give you the chance to hear from the candidates beyond those sound bites, unfiltered, and in their own words. CNN's "Ballot Bowl" this afternoon at 2:00 eastern. Then "Ballot Bowl" prime time beginning at 8:00, again right here on CNN. And on Tuesday night, don't miss CNN's special on the voting in Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, and Vermont. Our coverage begins at 7:00 eastern 4:00 pacific.
NGUYEN: We also have some breaking news out of Central Florida. Two low-flying planes collided in an air park killing two people. It happened this morning in Titusville, these right here are the first pictures that we're getting of that scene and rescue effort. Again, we know that two people did die in this. Two other people are said to be in the hospital with severe burns. Ben Baird of Central Florida News 13 has more of what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF BEN BAIRD, CENTRAL FLORIDA NEWS 13: They were in the plane that was doing those low maneuvers. We're not sure at this point whether this accident was caused by pilot error or by a mechanical problem with the plane. However, we do know that when these two planes collided, one of the people in that plane that's doing those low maneuvers was partially ejected. The other person was still inside while the plane was on fire. A couple of bystanders actually came up and helped to get those people out of the plane before it was completely engulfed, and that's the only reason those folks are still alive at this point, but again, they are in what was called grave condition at ORMC.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Ok, we'll have more on this breaking news story as we get it, but just want to clarify something. We were told by our reporter there on the ground with the affiliate Florida News 13 that one of the planes was actually sitting on the tarmac when another one was coming in, presumably for landing. All of this is still being clarified. Then that's when the planes collided. So both of them weren't low-flying planes. But nonetheless, two people are reported dead and two people have some serious burns. We'll continue to follow this story.
In the meantime, Hillary Clinton's number one surrogate on the trail. Yes, Bill Clinton is acting less like a president and more like a helpful husband. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, getting a little help from her husband, Hillary Clinton is today, after hitting a small Ohio town. The former president Bill Clinton will be campaigning in Cleveland, but for now, he is campaigning in that small town. You're seeing the podium, the live event here, where the young lady is giving some comments. I don't know if she's actually introducing the former president herself, but he's going to be speaking there shortly, again, this is in Lakewood, Ohio. Expecting to hear from him a short time from now. When he steps up to that podium, we will take his comments live. While his wife, Hillary, is 0 and 11 in the past 11 primary and caucus states. Now just three days before what could be a make-or-break contest in Ohio and Texas she's calling on her husband to possibly turn the tides. Here now, CNN's Candy Crowley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bill Clinton was born to the spotlight, a natural headliner. But there are no headlines here in the small rural towns of Ohio.
BILL CLINTON: My first argument for her to you is that she will get this country on its feet again, moving forward again.
CROWLEY: The South Carolina Bill Clinton, the one who made news, not all of it good, has been replaced by Ohio Bill Clinton, all Hillary all the time.
CLINTON: Hillary has been working on school reform for more than 30 years. She really cares about this. And here's what she wants me to tell you about this.
CROWLEY: The Ohio Bill Clinton flies mostly below the radar, talking Hillary on genome research, Hillary on health care, Hillary on alternative energy, Hillary commander in chief.
CLINTON: She was the only senator asked by the pentagon to serve on a small commission to modernize the military. She has more support from retired senior military people than anybody else running. They trust her to do this, and this is important. You ought to vote for her on this ground. You will be a safer, more secure, more prosperous country if you do it.
CROWLEY: The town halls and the high school gymnasiums are not always packed, the crowds not always wild. It's not like the old days. He is grayer and slower than he was 16 years ago when he burst on the national scene. But Clinton can still deliver a great speech with flashes of a man seen as the best politician of his generation, applying his trade for his wife.
CLINTON: I was in Texas the other day, and a woman in the back of my crowd had a homemade cardboard box sign that said "persuade me, Bill." So after the speech, she came over with her box and said ok, you made the sale, now sign the box.
CROWLEY: By the time the day is done, he will have given hour- long speeches in five towns and aides who were in grade school when Clinton was president tell stories with a familiar ring, like the night they arrived at a hotel at midnight and Clinton wanted to find a bowling alley to look for voters.
(On camera): And even that is according to the plan. Asked what the strategy is for using Bill Clinton, one aide replied "we want him in touch with as many voters as possible." Candy Crowley, CNN, Mansfield, Ohio.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Meanwhile, we'll turn back to Lakewood for just a moment. We're keeping an eye on that podium, Bill Clinton there at an event in Lakewood, Ohio, expected to speak in a short time. We see a few other speakers there and the crowd gathered at what appears to be a gym. When the former president steps up to that podium and starts making comments and pitching his wife, we will go to those comments live.
NGUYEN: Meantime though, the secret is out. A tour of duty cut short. Yeah, Prince Harry's homecoming, that's ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, it is a royal return. Britain's Prince Harry is back in England after a military stint in Afghanistan was cut short. He arrived at an air force base near Oxford this morning, and his father Prince Charles, his brother Prince William, both came to take him home. CNN's Paula Hancocks was there for the royal family reunion.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Harry is back in Britain. No longer just one of the lads as he was in Afghanistan. He's now had to go back to his other job of being a prince.
Now, he arrived here at an (INAUDIBLE) an airbase in southern England along with 117 other servicemen and women. Just late morning, this plane behind me touched down. We saw Prince Harry getting down from the plane, descending the stairs, chatting to a friend, looking fairly relaxed, but not looking in the direction of the world media, which was capturing this moment on camera. He then went inside the terminal where he met his father, Prince Charles, and also his brother, Prince William, who had both come for a family reunion.
Now, we heard from the station commander that this was just another day at the office for the airbase. They had 117 soldiers coming off this particular flight, 750 going in and out of this airbase over the course of the day. But when you consider you had number one, two, and number three in line to the British throne inside the same building, it's not really business as usual.
Now certainly, there's going to be mixed emotions for Prince Harry. He said that he enjoyed his time in Afghanistan. While being interviewed out there, he was talking about how it was the most normal he had ever felt, and he was being treated as a normal soldier. Certainly, that will not be the case now he gets back here. And of course, the question now is what is the security situation going to be for him? Is he going to need increased security to keep him safe back in Britain?
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Southern England.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: We have heard how really disappointed Prince Harry is that he's back, but honestly, considering the fact that he was over there for 10 weeks --
HOLMES: That long, yeah.
NGUYEN: It's kind of amazing that it hadn't leaked to the mass media a lot earlier. I think there were a few reports early on.
HOLMES: There were some smaller outlets, but so many of the larger outlets, including CNN, were aware of it, and this is a bigger deal for the British tabloids, who are notorious for this, for getting that kind of information out. But everybody came to an agreement this would be a blackout, so people knew it and kept --
NGUYEN: At the onset, they only thought that he'd be able to be there, what, a couple days? Then the information would be out. Then it's off to the races after that.
HOLMES: But he is back home now.
But another fight taking place over Iraq. A political fight here. And it's McCain taking on Obama, Obama firing back. But who got it right? We've got a reality check. We've got it right, in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: It is 30 past the hour, and happening right now in the race for president, Senator Hillary Clinton preparing for a rally in Texas. It's a must-win state for her in Tuesday's primary. Rival Barack Obama, well, he is turning his attention to Rhode Island. That state will also be voting Tuesday, along with Ohio and Vermont. And GOP front-runner John McCain doesn't have any live events set today. His Republican opponent, though, Mike Huckabee, will be in College Station, Texas, for a rally there.
HOLMES: Well, a third of Americans are minorities, 45 million of them Hispanic. And CNN's John Zarrella now with their importance come November.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John McCain won Florida with solid Cuban-American support. Hillary Clinton won the California primary, thanks in large part to Hispanic voters. And this may be just the beginning. For the first time, Latinos say they can make a difference in the presidency.
MARYTZA SANZ, LATINO LEADERSHIP: I think that right now the Latinos, we are in the best time. We are making history. And we will make the history, we come out in big numbers to vote.
ZARRELLA: Marytza Sanz is founder of Latino Leadership in Orlando, which registers Hispanics to vote.
SANZ: We are awake and we are paying attention to politics.
ZARRELLA: Not only are they the largest minority and growing, Hispanic clout is enhanced, political analysts say because they are registering in large numbers and are concentrated in key states. SUSAN MINUSHKIN, PEW HISPANIC CENTER: California, they were 30 percent of the turnout in the Democratic primary. Going into Texas, 25 percent of eligible voters in Texas are Hispanic.
REV. SAMUEL RODRIGUEZ, NATL. HISPANIC CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP: The wild cards for the 2008 election, the Hispanic voter. As a matter of fact, I personally believe Hispanics will determine the outcome of who the next president of the United States will be.
ZARRELLA: A conservative, Samuel Rodriguez heads the National Hispanic Christian Leadership conference.
RODRIGUEZ: God's about to give you what you have been asking for.
ZARRELLA: He is influential in 18,000 evangelical churches. Hispanics will be the swing vote, Rodriguez says, because they are moderates, but the Republican Party's hard line on immigration reform has soured many.
RODRIGUEZ: Latino Christians are caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. This is their question -- do we vote for a party that doesn't want us but believes what we believe, or do we vote for a party that wants us but does not resonate with what we believe?
ZARRELLA: Forty percent is the magic number of Hispanic votes Republicans want in November. President Bush got it in 2004, instrumental in helping him win re-election. Cuban-American congress woman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen believes John McCain can bring them back.
REP. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, (R) FLORIDA: John McCain has had a long history of reaching out to Hispanic groups. After all, he's a senator from Arizona, a border state, he understands the problems that Hispanics face.
ZARRELLA: How they vote may come down to who they trust more, not on immigration, but the economy, which is everyone's number one issue. John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, John McCain is focusing on the fall campaign. He has turned his attention to the Democrats, and that position on what was the top issue before the economy tanked. And of course, that was Iraq. Well, Josh Levs joins us now with a reality check. So we're getting back to Iraq now, off of health care, off of the economy.
JOSH LEVS: It's been a while, hasn't it? I know, it's like hello, Iraq, and all of a sudden, it jumped back into center stage. We haven't seen that in a long time. Because as she was saying, McCain went after Obama challenging really his knowledge of what's going on in Iraq. And then Obama struck back. Well, who's got the facts right? Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) LEVS (voice-over): Now these two are going after each other over Iraq. Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama promise to pull U.S. troops out. At the latest debate, NBC's Tim Russert asked, if Al Qaeda resurges in the country --
TIM RUSSERT: And Iraq goes to hell, do you hold the right, in your mind as American president, to reinvade, to go back into Iraq to stabilize it?
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, Tim, you ask a lot of hypotheticals, and I believe that --
RUSSERT: This is reality.
CLINTON: Well, it isn't reality. You're making lots of different hypothetical assessments.
LEVS: Obama has also called the question a big hypothetical.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If al Qaeda is forming a base in Iraq, then we will have to act in a way that secures the American homeland and our interests abroad.
LEVS: McCain pounced.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have news for Senator Obama, Al Qaeda is in Iraq, and that's why we're fighting in Iraq.
LEVS: The group al Qaeda in Iraq has been blamed for some of the most violent attacks. Clinton and Obama say they want Iraqi leaders to take over security, including fighting al Qaeda in Iraq.
OBAMA: There was no such thing as al Qaeda in Iraq until George Bush and John McCain decided to invade Iraq.
LEVS: The group did come about after the U.S. invasion, though McCain has been a critic of the U.S. failure to secure the country quickly and prevent insurgent groups from gaining a stronghold. And McCain says --
MCCAIN: That's history. That's the past.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: Now, McCain has criticized Clinton's Iraq policy as well, but really lately he's been focusing a lot more on Barack Obama, obviously, since Obama became the front-runner in the Democratic race.
NGUYEN: But you know, Obama used this argument to really point to his position on Pakistan.
LEVS: Pakistan.
NGUYEN: How's that going to play into all of this? LEVS: It's really interesting, actually. He has a position on Pakistan that some people asked about us when they wrote us. We invited questions, a lot of people asked that and he brought it up here. Here's why -- he has said, Barack Obama has said that if he has actionable intelligence about al Qaeda sites in Pakistan, he would be willing to strike them if he felt the Pakistani government was not doing it. Clinton's position is that's not the kind of thing that you announce to the world because that can further destabilize a government. That led to what I think is really an interesting moment in the debate that a lot of people missed. Let's take a look here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I just have to add -- no, wait a minute, I have to -- the question was about --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have to get us to a break -- television doesn't stop --
CLINTON: Invading Iraq --
RUSSERT: Can you hold that thought until we come back from a break?
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: When they got back from the break, they didn't go to that thought, but it was actually really significant. What she was pointing out was that the original question that set off this whole discussion is would you invade through ground troops? We don't know if Barack Obama would do that in Pakistan or if either of them would do it in Iraq if al Qaeda were to, as Tim Russert is saying, bring it to hell, make Iraq go to hell. So that would be a very big deal. Would they be willing to invade through ground troops again, go back into Iraq in that sense? That's what they're saying at this point, is too big of a hypothetical to go there.
NGUYEN: Got you. All right, Josh Levs, thank you.
HOLMES: We do want to turn back to a story we've been following this morning the past couple of hours about a plane crash that happened in Central Florida, Titusville. This is some of the latest video. You can see the debris from one of those planes there. What happened here we do know that two people are dead, two others severely hurt after two planes collided. One was sitting on the tarmac there at the Arthur Dunn Air Park. Another one was apparently flying low or possibly trying to land when it collided with that other plane that was sitting on the ground. Two people who were in that plane that was already on the ground were killed. The other two described as having severe burns and are in pretty bad shape at the hospital right now. Both of these planes, we understand, were home-built planes, that was an experimental aircraft association event that was happening not too far away. So we understand these were experimental planes, but this is some of the latest video coming to us from Titusville, where two are dead and two more severely hurt after two planes collided there. NGUYEN: Well, the mystery it deepens, and an investigation continues over the rare and fatal poison that ended up in a hotel room.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: A motel guest is in the hospital this morning, unconscious, apparently poisoned by ricin. Who is he? Why did he have the powder? Just a couple of questions we're trying to get figured out. Our Kara Finnstrom is trying to track down the answers to those questions. Kara, this is a confusing one. I know you're trying to get the answers out there, but not a lot coming.
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, T.J. You know, just behind me you can see the hotel where this ricin was removed less than 48 hours ago. Business as usual. Packed parking lot over there. But what remains unresolved this morning are those questions about exactly why the ricin was there. What we have been able to learn is that in the hotel room where this ricin was found police also found guns and anarchist literature, literature that refers specifically to ricin. And we've learned that they found these items two days before someone allegedly found and handed over the ricin to police. Those discoveries making them suspicious enough that they conducted their own test for ricin at that time and found nothing. Here's more on what triggered those suspicions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE LOMBARDO, LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN POLICE: The management of the Extended Stay responded to the room in question to do an eviction. Upon entering the room, they discovered some firearms within the room. Metro police was called to the room. They did a search of the room to recover the firearms and subsequently, they found the anarchist-type textbook, and it was tabbed to the subject of ricin.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
FINNSTROM: Now, again, two days after that, a man who said he was a relative of the person now sick says he simply found this white powder in the room and handed it over to police. We asked authorities how he could have found what they missed. They said they don't know and that their investigation is still under way. One other late development yesterday -- police also searched a room at the Excalibur Hotel. They say that the man who handed over the ricin spent a night in that hotel on Wednesday, and this was just a precaution. They tested that room for ricin. Nothing was found. All of this is prompting some new questions about whether this ricin may be linked to any kind of terrorist threats or plots. Police still say they don't believe that's the case. They say having anarchist literature and having guns does not necessarily amount to having any type of a terrorist plan. Back to you.
HOLMES: All right, Kara Finnstrom for us on the scene and on the story in Las Vegas. Thank you so much.
NGUYEN: Listen to this, a field trip to a swimming pool leaves a kindergartner in critical condition this morning. The Wisconsin wanted a real life experience with pool safety and they got way more than they bargained for. A pump shut down, sending chlorine levels through the roof. Forty children and three teachers were treated. Most had coughs and irritated skin. Prolonged exposure to intense chlorine levels can be fatal. Now the outlook for the boy who is in critical condition, well that is not clear at this moment.
HOLMES: Completing the ticket and who the candidates might pick as their running mates and why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: CNN does equal politics, and we are taking you on the campaign trail to Lakewood, Ohio, where you're seeing there, just look right behind the guy speaking. That is former president Bill Clinton. He has arrived and he will be speaking shortly at a rally there, of course, in support of his wife, Hillary Clinton, who is campaigning in Texas today. As for Barack Obama, he's going to be heading to Rhode Island. And for the Republicans, John McCain, he is at home today focusing on the general election. Stay with us. We have much more.
HOLMES: Ok, well, we know it's still kind of early, but never too early for speculation of who's on the short list of running mates. CNN's Joe Johns has some suggestions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Once the primaries are over, it's the single most important decision for the nominees, who to put on the ticket.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It would be someone who is prepared to take my place, who follows my philosophies, believes the principles and priorities.
JOHNS: Washington insiders suggest a governor from outside the beltway to balance McCain's senate experience. South Carolina's Mark Sanford, Minnesota's Tim Pawlenty, Florida's Charlie Crist. The common advice to McCain is to pick a conservative to mend fences with the base, but former Reagan chief of staff Ken Duberstein says that's a double-edged sword.
KEN DUBERSTEIN, FMR. W.H. CHIEF OF STAFF: So you're walking a very narrow line with somebody who's acceptable to a broad range of the American people and somebody you can also genuflect to with the so-called Republican base.
JOHNS: The other advice to McCain -- pick someone young, because as he himself says --
MCCAIN: As you may have noticed, I'm not the youngest candidate in the race.
JOHNS: Duberstein's caution --
DUBERSTEIN: John McCain has to stay healthy and vigorous, and everything we've seen on the campaign trail, he'll make all of us who are much younger look very tired compared to the stamina John McCain has.
JOHNS: On the Democratic side, here's some advice Barack Obama might not like -- take a page from the George Bush playbook.
BILL CARRICK, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: When he picked Dick Cheney, he was looking for somebody with experience, somebody with gray hair, somebody with Washington inside knowledge. I think if Senator Obama can do that, it would probably enhance his candidacy a great deal.
JOHNS: Someone like former senator and foreign policy expert Sam Nunn of Georgia, or a military type, like retired marine general and Iraq war critic Anthony Ziny. Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas gets mentioned for her red state appeal, as does first-term Senator Jim Webb of Virginia. And if Hillary Clinton wins, some advice she may not much like, either, go for Obama's votes, young, upscale, African-Americans.
CARRICK: She needs somebody to be an ambassador to those kind of voters, and of course the obvious person that comes to mind is Senator Obama himself.
JOHNS: But there are others. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, Indiana's Evan Bayh. The short lists aren't worth much right now, but this advice is -- make sure your pick is qualified to be president and is not someone who will drag you down. Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: And of course on Tuesday night, don't miss CNN's special on the voting in Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas and Vermont. That begins at 7:00 eastern, 4:00 pacific time.
NGUYEN: Beginning at noon today, Fredricka Whitfield has some really good stuff coming up for you.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Really good.
NGUYEN: She joins us now with the latest.
WHITFIELD: It's a really good show. Hey, good to see you guys. No, I just love that because it takes you back to that whole really good show. Anyway, we do have good stuff straight ahead, beginning with -- you know what? What's in a name? A lot was made this week of Barack Obama's middle name, it made headlines. So we're going to explore whether that's relevant in this presidential election. And then speaking of relevant, we'll talk to a young lady who has made herself very relevant in the movie industry, television industry. Don't you remember her? Little Olivia? She was 3 at the time. Hard to believe.
NGUYEN: Just 3 years old? WHITFIELD: Yeah. We saw her grow up, 3 years old there, just a toddler, and then later on as a teen in "That's So Raven," and here she is as a woman, 22 years old. I sit down and talk with her, as you see right there. Very revealing interview. She talks about what it is to be a child star, talks about her new movie, that she executive produced, by the way.
NGUYEN: Really? 22, that's great.
WHITFIELD: Yeah, she's remarkable. And then she has yet other big dreams, one in which to make other dreams come true for other kids, young people, I should say.
NGUYEN: So this is just the beginning.
WHITFIELD: Raven Symone, that's her name. You know you want to still call her Olivia. She says she still gets that, you know and she just kind of, yeah, that's cute, I'm Raven.
NGUYEN: Right. I'm in my 20s and I'm doing things, big things.
WHITFIELD: Yeah. We'll talk to her.
HOLMES: Fredricka, thank you so much. Thank you so much.
NGUYEN: Well, forget the news weeklies, ok? Because we've got a lot more coming up, we've got some real stories for you dealing with politics and the new campaign front and how you're seeing them not only in the papers, but also in the tabloids.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We're going to take you now to Bill Clinton, standing by at an event in Lakewood, Ohio, campaigning for his wife. He's just taking the podium. Let's listen in.
BILL CLINTON: -- 29.2 million jobs, in this decade 5 million. In that decade, almost 8 million people moved from poverty into the middle class. That's the American dream. In this decade -- in this decade, 5 million people moved from the middle class down into poverty. That is the American nightmare.
And if you look at it, a lot of those people were working. In that decade, average family income rose $7,500 after inflation. In this decade, after inflation it fell $1,000. In that decade, we gained manufacturing jobs in six of the eight years. In this decade we have lost manufacturing jobs in every year, and the new jobs that have come into this economy on average pay 20 percent less than the jobs we have lost.
Meanwhile, the cost of health care has doubled, the cost of college education up 75 percent, the cost of gasoline, the cost of utilities, the cost of all the basics of life exploding. Now even food is going up at more than twice the rate of inflation because of the price of energy, and I saw in the paper yesterday that in one community in northern California, gasoline is over $4 a gallon. Now, that is the situation in which we find ourselves. What are we going to do about it? This is not rocket science. We've got to create jobs, we've got to invest in the future, and we have to do it in a way that allows us all to grow together. What does Hillary propose to do? First, take about $50 billion in taxpayer subsidies and unwarranted tax breaks for the special interests and put it into funds to generate jobs for America's future, health care for America's future, education for all of America's people.
Give you one example -- she wants to repeal the unconscionable breaks given to the nuclear and the oil companies in the 2005 energy bill and invest it in creating an economy that promotes energy independence through clean energy and energy efficiency that will create jobs in every place in America. Did you know that Ohio produces more solar panels than any state in America? But you only have one plant doing it. They're about to open another plant. Where? In Germany. Why? Because Germany, which is smaller than America and where the sun doesn't shine as much as it does in America, generates more of its electricity from solar power than we do. Why? Because the government there is investing in tomorrow's energy economy while we invest in yesterday's.
If you elect Hillary, you will have a lot more solar plants in Ohio. And windmills in Texas and geothermal and biomass. We can close every urban landfill in America and use the organic material in every landfill to create biofuels or generate electricity and that's what we ought to do. If you elect her, she will fund a major plan to make every school, every college, every government building, every hospital, every public facility, and eventually all of the homes in America as energy efficient as possible. Almost all of that can be paid for out of reduced utility bills.
And after you pay for the work on your home, you get a utility bill cut, which as high as they are today, is as good as a tax cut for most hardworking American people. And it will generate millions and millions and millions of jobs.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxantshop.com
