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Candidates Unfiltered; Preliminary Wyoming Results

Aired March 08, 2008 - 16:00   ET

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

JIM ACOSTA, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: And Jessica as you were explaining earlier on "Ballot Bowl," not the Texas two-step, something perhaps more complicated if that's possible.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: I don't know what you called this dance but this is very convoluted. What we've got going on right now in this room is the end part, the finale of a caucus. All the votes in essence have been cast. We know who has gotten what percent of the support. Now each side is just divvying up and electing delegates to the state convention. It's almost a formality. Those delegates will, in turn, vote for the delegates that will go to the national convention supporting either Clinton or Obama. Now, we have some of the latest state-wide numbers. Let me give them to you now.

With 78 of the states' counties reporting their caucus results, 59 percent of the caucus support at this stage has gone to Barack Obama, 41 percent has gone to Senator Hillary Clinton. Again, that's just a partial number. I think our graphic there is showing 74 percent of the caucuses reporting, so somewhere in the 70s. We still have a ways to go before we get those final, final results. Now right now, I am with Dr. John Millin, who is the head of the state Democratic party. And my gosh, the turnout here is - it's unprecedented.

DR. JOHN MILLIN, CHMN, WYOMING DEMOCRATIC PARTY: It's amazing. In the last presidential year, we had approximately 160 people in this county convention. Today we had over 1,500. So, that's incredible. We've heard the same thing state-wide. All the counties everywhere have done ten times or more than what we've done in recent history. So, it's incredible.

YELLIN: Do you attribute all this enthusiasm to the closeness of the race? Or why is there so much excitement?

MILLIN: I think it's obviously part of the closeness of the race and it's still going on which hasn't happened before. In years passed, in recent years, the candidates selection was over by the time it came to Wyoming. I think the nature of the race is important, too, where people now understand that every voter matters, every delegate matter and every state matters, including us here in Wyoming. So, it's a great opportunity for us to have presidential candidates come to the state and get a lot of media attention. It's kind of fun for people to actually be involved in the process.

YELLIN: Now, earlier you were telling me that the last time you had a Democratic presidential candidate come to the state was Michael Dukakis. Back in the 1980s. MILLIN: And there's a fairly large Greek community here in Cheyenne so actually came and made an appearance here. But as far as I know, that was the last Democratic candidate to visit the state.

YELLIN: And now, you have both -- you've had three Clintons in the state and Barack Obama yesterday. One of the things I heard some of the folks back here talking about is this has been a red state for many years. The last time it voted for a Democrat for president was in 1964, Lyndon Johnson. What are the chances the state goes blue this time?

MILLIN: I think it's probably a little unrealistic to say it will go blue this time. But we're certainly headed in that direction. If you look at Colorado, for instance, 10 or 12 years ago it was a pretty red state. Not quite as red as Wyoming as now but it was pretty red, now they're a blue state. What we learned from them is it takes two or three or four election cycles to accomplish that. We're certainly moving in that direction. Hopefully we're going to make big gains this time around. So, we'll see.

YELLIN: All right. Dr. Millin, thank you so much for joining us. And something else he was telling me is that all these bickering, these back and forth that we've been covering between Obama and Clinton over what their advisors say or their ads, that's not what's resonating here for voters. Saying what really matters are talk about economic conditions, national security, the issues, not surprisingly but they really are not following all the tit for tat that is so prevalent in the media coverage that we tend to focus on. But a lot of enthusiasm here and it continues to go on. Jim.

ACOSTA: Jessica, very interesting, and you're right, as I've been out there talking to voters as well. One thing you get to hear from voters all the time is that they're not so caught up in the inside baseball. And that they just want to hear about what the candidates are saying about the economy or healthcare or Iraq. And Barack Obama was in the state where you're standing right there, Casper, Wyoming, yesterday addressing some of his supporters. And it was an interesting moment for Barack Obama. Because he had a chance to talk to his supporters out there about something that flared up on his campaign over the last couple of days. One of his advisors was over in the U.K. talking to the press over there about Barack Obama's position in Iraq. And she indicated to a journalist that Obama's position on Iraq has more to do with politics than it does with policy. And that perhaps as president he would govern more from a pragmatic standpoint as opposed to withdrawing forces very quickly. And that adviser has since left the campaign. But here's Barack Obama talking to supporters yesterday in Casper, Wyoming, where he brings up this controversy and the subject of Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She was quoted either this morning or last night in Mississippi because one of my advisors had said that in an interview overseas that, well, Senator Obama would not -- he's given a time frame for withdrawal, but obviously it would be subject to decisions and the situations at the time. And so Senator Clinton used this to try to imply that I wasn't serious about bringing this war to an end. I just have to mention this because I don't want anybody here to be confused. I was opposed to this war in 2002.

If it had been up to me, we would have never been in this war. It was because of George Bush with an assist from Hillary Clinton and John McCain that we entered into this war, a war that should have never been authorized, a war that never should have been waged. I've been against it 2002, 2003, 2004, '5, '6, '7, '8, and I will bring this war to an end in 2009. So don't be confused.

Don't be confused when Senator Clinton is not even willing to acknowledge that she voted for war. She says she voted for diplomacy despite the title that said "authorization to use U.S. Armed Forces in Iraq." So I don't want to play politics on this issue. Because she doesn't have standing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So there is Barack Obama on the critical subject of Iraq, and taking his opponent in this contest, Hillary Clinton, to task for her position on the war. It's something that he has gone back to time and again. And speaking of Senator Clinton, she was in Cheyenne, Wyoming, over the last couple of days. And 12 delegates never mattered so much in a presidential election, or at least not in recent memory but Hillary Clinton also campaigning hard for votes and also talked about foreign policy, also talked about the issue of experience. So, here is Hillary Clinton talking about why she would make the better commander in chief should she be elected president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We do have to restore American leadership and our moral authority around the world. And that begins with ending the war in Iraq and winning the war in Afghanistan. Those should be our two objectives. You know, I've been to Iraq and Afghanistan three times. I've met with the leaders of every faction of the government in Iraq. I've met many times with President Karzi in Afghanistan. And with respect to Iraq, I think it is important for every one of us to recognize that our young men and women in uniform have done everything they were asked to do. They were asked to get rid of Saddam Hussein and they did. They were asked to give the Iraqi people free and fair elections and they did that. And then they were asked to give the Iraqi government the space and time to make the decisions and take the responsibility that only the Iraqis can do for themselves. There is no military solution, and it is time to bring our sons and daughters home.

Many of the decisions we're going to face are not easy ones. And they require the kind of thoughtfulness and experience that I believe I bring to this job. Now, tomorrow Wyoming is going to get a chance to have your voices heard. I don't know how many of -- how many of you have ever caucused before? Not many. Well, that's what I find all across the country is that people aren't still quite sure what all this is. You know, I see you're nodding your head. Well, it isn't any secret that a lot of people that vote for me have never caucused before. They don't know what to do, and they don't come because, you know, it just doesn't -- it's not an election. In fact, time and time again, people have said to me, well, you know, I can't come, I work. I'm going to be out of town. There's not an opportunity for a lot of people to participate. That's why it's so important you're here today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So there is Hillary Clinton talking about foreign policy experience, and I want to bring my colleague, Jessica Yellin back in who is out in Wyoming. And Jessica, I just have to ask you because you were at this Cheyenne event with Hillary Clinton. Her campaign really is seeming to enjoy this little dust-up that happened with the Obama campaign in which one of those Obama advisors was over in the U.K., talking to the press over there and indicated that Obama might be more pragmatic than he's sounding out on the campaign trail. And it sounds an awful lot like the controversy over NAFTA in which another Obama adviser was allegedly quoted as saying to Canadian officials that Obama's rhetoric on NAFTA was not exactly what he would do as president. You've been listening to the stump speeches from Hillary Clinton. Do you think that this changes the debate in any way on the issue of Iraq when it comes to Barack Obama?

YELLIN: Well, that's an open question, Jim. Right now, you can see this in a big picture sense as an extension of the attack Senator Clinton has made on Obama's words. That he's a man of words, but she's a person of action. This is the frame that they've given this competition between the two of them. And before she was talking about his lofty speeches. She tried to attack those by charging with plagiarism.

Now what she's doing is finding these instances in which she finds a way to frame it that he is saying one thing on the stump but doing another or saying another behind closed doors. The idea being that you just can't trust his words. We have yet to see whether that really connects with voters. Because as we just said with the fellow who is here for the Democratic state party in Wyoming, this sort of tit for tat is not what voters are primarily focused on. They're really concerned much more with these pocket book issues and with national security issues.

But we do know negative attacks penetrate, they do work overtime. We'll have to see how it evolves. I can tell you one thing, though. I was at this event where Senator Clinton was speaking yesterday, you just played a clip of it. And there is a different kind of ease you feel from her on the stage. She feels less -- like she's trying less hard and she's more in her comfort zone. There's a certain ease and a quality of her own personality coming out more than I've seen at any point so far.

These folks behind me are voting for their delegates to the state convention. You just heard that cheer from Obama. A little while ago we heard the Hillary people saying "Yes, she will. Yes, she will", which is one of the campaign chants we hear on the campaign trail from Hillary Clinton. So, a lot of caucus action going on right now.

ACOSTA: Hard to believe it's noisier in Cheyenne than in Philadelphia.

YELLIN: Just today. Just today. Anyway, to answer your question, Senator Clinton really acting like she has found -- she's in her wheel house as those folks who follow horoscopes might say. She seems to have found her footing right now on the campaign trail. I'm sure we'll have an opportunity to discuss this a bunch much more this afternoon. But right now, we're going to take a quick break. On the other side, we'll hear from John McCain talking about the war in Iraq. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Welcome back to "Ballot Bowl'08". I'm Jim Acosta in Philadelphia. And we want to switch gears now from the Democrats who are duking it out over issues like Iraq and the economy to the Republican nominee, John McCain, who is, you might say, working the speed bag, honing his skills for the upcoming bout with either Senator Clinton or Senator Obama. And John McCain was down in Atlanta earlier this week talking about the subject that he goes back to time and again. And that is the war in Iraq. McCain supporters like to say that John McCain was for the surge before George Bush was for the surge. Democrats counter that, as goes the surge, so goes John McCain's campaign. But John McCain making the case to his supporters down in Atlanta earlier this week that his strategy in Iraq is working, and it should have some time to work to a point of success. Here is John McCain on Iraq.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The struggle we are facing in Iraq is really a classic counterinsurgency now. And counterinsurgencies have been fought successfully using the same formula. So, it's not -- the surge was really a tactic, not a new strategy. The surge was to increase the number of troops enough so that you can employ the classic counterinsurgency strategy which is to go out and control neighborhoods.

Before, we used to go out, kill bad guys, return to base and then they would infiltrate back in. By the way, that was also the early Vietnam war kind of tactics. And so they go out and they would live with the people, they work side by side with the Iraqi military and police. And they maintain a presence so that people can have secure neighborhoods. They can have secure neighborhoods in which they can come out and they can, have not only the -- a secure environment but the social economic process to move forward.

Last new year's eve, thousands of people in Baghdad turned out in the streets for the first time in years to welcome the new year because they have a safe environment. There are problems in America with safe neighborhoods as we well know. I'm not making that comparison, because it's very -- it's much more deadly, obviously, in Iraq. But it's kind of the same theory. And so what happens is now we -- meanwhile we are training the Iraqi military and police. They are taking over more and more of the responsibilities.

An example of that is Mosul right now. One of the last outputs, not the only one but one last major outpost of Al Qaeda in Iraq today is the city of Mosul. And guess who is taking the lead in fighting Al Qaeda in Mosul? It's the Iraqi military with our support. And we had to fight the battle of Fallujah. It was the United States marines and not the Iraqi military, although they were there. There's been a dramatic shift and change.

I want to emphasize to you, look, are things all fine in Iraq? No. If you forget everything I say to you this morning, please remember this, Al Qaeda is on the run. They are not defeated. They are not defeated. They're still the most explosive, the most lethal explosive devices coming across the Iranian border into Iraq killing young Americans. There are still suicide bombers that landing in the Damascus Airport and being transported into Iraq because they're having to bring in these foreigners who are suicide bombers.

And never underestimate the difficulty of countering a suicide bomber. Ask our World War II veterans about the kamikaze pilots in World War II. Ask the Israelis, how hard it is. They've recently just had another encounter with suicide bombers. So, it's very, very difficult, but the progress that's being made is remarkably good, and they've got a long way to go.

And finally, I'm sorry for the long answer, but I would say not publicized as much as perhaps as it should be, the greatest long-term challenge to Iraq and making it a functioning Democracy is the rule of law, the rule of law. The hardest thing in any country -- look at the problems the former Soviet Union countries had in trying to have a judicial system that's fair to one and all.

The number one target of Al Qaeda in Iraq today are judges. That's their number one target. And you can certainly understand why. When we've got brave Iraqis who are willing to sit as judges and juries, particularly judges today in Iraq, risking their lives and their families as we speak.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So there is John McCain on the critical subject of Iraq. And now we want to switch gears back to the Democrats. Because we have new sound that has just come in. Former President Clinton is on the stump down in Mississippi in the hard-hit town of Pass Christian which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. But that town, as are others along the Gulf Coast, are making a comeback. And Bill Clinton down there campaigning on behalf of his wife was asked the question during a town hall format meeting that was being held in the Mississippi town about the potential for a Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama ticket. Here is what the former president had to say about that possibility.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: When you look at most of these places, he would win the urban areas and the up scale voters and she wins the traditional rural areas that we lost when President Reagan was president. If you put those two things together, you'd have an almost unstoppable force.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA: And so you have it, the former president there, always the uber-strategist working behind the scenes on the Hillary Clinton campaign. But also talking about the potential for what he believes would be a very successful ticket for the Democrats. You hear the Democratic supporters out at these rallies talking about this all the time. They pull us reporters to the side, sort of nudge us and say, hey, what do you think about the possibility of these two running together? And so, obviously this possibility is making its rounds throughout the Democratic party to the point where Hillary Clinton's husband, the former president, is actually talking about it out on the stump in Pass Christian, Mississippi.

Now, coming up after the break here on "Ballot Bowl" on CNN, the prospect of do-overs, how is that going to work? We'll be looking at the potential for second trimaries, if you want to all it that, in Florida and Michigan. That's coming up after the break. This is "Ballot Bowl" on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Welcome back to "Ballot Bowl '08." I'm Jim Acosta in Philadelphia. I want to bring Jessica Yellin back in who is watching he results come in at the Wyoming caucuses out there in Cheyenne. And Jessica was making the observation earlier that here I am in a large metropolis, and yet it seems noisier where you are than where I'm standing now.

YELLIN: It's a rowdy crowd here, Jim, I tell you because a lot of these folks have never caucused before. There were 15, more than 1,500 of them here earlier this morning, some of them lined up as early as 6:30 a.m., it's you know less than 30 degrees out here in Wyoming. And they were just determined to get in here for their first caucus because there's just so much excitement in the -- in Wyoming right now. They haven't had this much attention from a presidential candidate for some people's lifetime. The last time the state went for a Democrat was 1964. And folks tell me, the head of the Democratic party that the last time they got a Democratic presidential candidate visiting was Michael Dukakis. And you know, we've had Senator Clinton and Senator Obama here just yesterday.

Now, I'll tell you what's going on in this room. We've already told you in this caucus site Barack Obama got the majority of the caucus ballots. Senator Clinton had a very strong showing as well. Now they've broken into teams. The Clinton folks named their delegates. They voted for delegates to the state convention. The Obama folks did the same. Now the organizers are tallying that count to figure out exactly who will be going to the state convention for each of the two candidates.

At that state convention they will then, in turn, vote for the delegates that will go to the national convention. And as we've said many times, this state has a total of 12 pledged delegates that will be allocated as a result of the statewide caucus today. I'm told that the state convention is in Jackson Hole over Memorial Day weekend. That sounds like an assignment to get. I'm going to fight for that one, Jim. ACOSTA: I've got dibs on Puerto Rico. So, you can have Wyoming, that's fine.

YELLIN: OK. Sounds good.

ACOSTA: And Jessica, it has been noisy throughout the afternoon. It's been fun watching you and hearing you out there in Cheyenne. But what else should we expect from a cowboy caucus? It just has been a lot of fun watching you sort out the intricacies and oddities of that process out there Wyoming. And speaking of oddities, we have an oddity shaping up in the states of Florida and Michigan. That is because those states which held their primaries earlier this year and saw their delegates not counted on the Democratic side, there is a ground swell building to have those states have do-overs.

And we want to go now to some sound that we just got yesterday here at CNN. James Carville, the legendary Democratic strategist, the architect of Bill Clinton's campaign for the presidency in 1992, now a CNN contributor and Hillary Clinton supporter, he is throwing out the idea. And it's not clear yet whether or not it's being received well over the Obama campaign, that these two campaigns might actually split the cost of holding do-overs in Florida and Michigan. So, without further adieu, here is James Carville on "The Situation Room."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIS: We'll put up $15 million, I'll raise, I guarantee $15 million and have the Obama put up $15 million. Let's go to post on June 7th. I got fundraisers lined up and ready to go. I think the Democratic party is going to look absolutely absurd if they don't have primaries and let these people in Florida and Michigan vote. And I'll tell you what - they can take (inaudible) in the general election if they don't do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So there is James Carville all fired up about the potential for do-overs in Florida and Michigan, offering, throwing out the idea of splitting the cost with the Obama campaign of holding do- overs in both Florida and Michigan. And Our CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider has been taking a look at this. This is getting so complicated, we had to go to the professor to ask him just how exactly all of this might play out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN, SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Supposed the credentials committee decide to seek the Florida and Michigan delegations at the Democratic convention -- those delegates could put Hillary Clinton over the top. Sounds OK to her.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it would be a grave disservice to the voters of Florida and Michigan to adopt any process that would disenfranchise anyone and, therefore, I am still committed to seating their delegations.

SCHNEIDER: Chairman Dean sees trouble.

HOWARD DEAN, DNC, CHAIRMAN: We've got to play by the rules. If you don't do that, then half the people in the Democratic party whose candidate doesn't win this nomination are going to go away they've been cheated.

SCHNEIDER: He wants to avoid an angry split at the convention, possible walk-outs by Barack Obama delegates. Republicans wouldn't mind that. The governor of Florida is a Republican.

GOV. CHARLIE CRIST (R), FLORIDA: Ideally we want the votes that were already cast to be counted. That's just the logical thing to do. On January 29th, we had a record turnout.

SCHNEIDER: Well, yes, but there was something odd about the Florida and Michigan results. More Republicans than Democrats voted. In 24 of the 29 primaries that have already been held this year, the opposite was true. More Democrats voted. Apparently a lot of Florida and Michigan Democrats stayed home because they were told the primary wouldn't count. Now Michigan and Florida are talking about holding new primaries. That costs money. Who is going to pay?

DEAN: We hope they can comply with the rules, but they're going to figure out how to pay for it.

SCHNEIDER: It might be worth it. If Florida and Michigan re-do their primaries late in the season, they could actually determine who wins. Isn't that what they were trying to do in the first place? Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And thanks very much to Bill Schneider, earning his keep, sorting out the very complicated race for the White House this year in 2008. And we want to come back to you after this break here on "Ballot Bowl" on CNN. We'll be checking in on other news that is happening around the country, including a big weather storm that is hitting the Buckeye State in Ohio. That is coming up after the break. This is "Ballot Bowl" on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Stephanie Elam live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. More "Ballot Bowl" in just a minute. But first here are the top stories at this hour.

Police in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, are looking for this man. He's considered a personal of interest in the Wednesday killing of USC student Eve Carson (ph). Investigators say an ATM security camera caught the man behind the wheel apparently trying to access the victim's bank account.

Exclusive video from CNN affiliate WRBL TV. This is 23-year-old Courtney Lockhart (ph). He is facing capital murder charges for the death of an 18-year-old Auburn University student. Lockhart (ph) was picked up last night in Phoenix City, Alabama. And parts of Tennessee and Kentucky are trying to dig out from about a foot of snow. The winter blast is part of a violent storm system that blew through the south yesterday, spawning deadly tornadoes in Florida. The storm created blizzard conditions in Ohio today. Heavy snowfall and winds of up to 35 miles-an-hour are making driving a real risk in some spots. The state could get several more inches of snow before it is all over. One person who knows all about it, CNN's Susan Roesgen. She's out in the thick of it in snowbound Cincinnati. How's it going out there, Susan?

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the last 24 hours, Ohio has become a winter wonderland for children and a nightmare for travelers. We found one neighborhood where the kids are so excited to be filling up buckets of snow to make an igloo. Meanwhile, thousands of travelers have been cooling their heels waiting to get in or out of the major airports. All of the airports have been struggling to get flights off the ground, but driving is even worse. Several people have been injured in car wrecks and at least one person has been killed. On those icy roads the state of Ohio has dumped 850,000 tons of salt. But that's about 200,000 tons less than in a normal winter. However, they say relief should come tonight. The sun is out now. The snow is supposed to taper off later this evening. It should be warmer here on Sunday. Susan Roesgen, CNN, Cincinnati.

ELAM: All right with all of the snow, no surprise we have winter weather watches from Tennessee all the way up to Maine. CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is in the severe weather center. I'm starting to wonder, am I going to make it back to New York when I leave here?

(WEATHER REPORT)

ELAM: That's some good advice. Break out the books, play some games, just lay low. Thanks, Jacqui.

And a friendly reminder everyone out there, don't forget to set your clock ahead an hour before you go to bed tonight. If you're staying up and going to hang out tonight, it is Saturday, 2:00 a.m., that's the time you have to officially change your clock over. Either way, spring forward one hour ahead.

We want to take a moment to say thank you to all of our viewers out there who rushed donations to help save a little Iraqi boy. This is Youssif. This is how he looks today. Last summer in Iraq, a group of men set this 5-year-old child on fire. Iraqi doctors couldn't help him, so his mother reached out to you through CNN. This is Youssif running. You, our viewers and the Children's Burn Institute brought the little boy to America where he's had several reconstructive surgeries.

One of the doctors helping him is Dr. Peter Grossman, who has donated his medical expertise and time. He spoke to CNN earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DR. PETER GROSSMAN, PLASTIC SURGEON: It's been a very rewarding experience to see this, this little boy who was so trapped physically and emotionally in his scar tissue, seeing him come out and be a little kid again and have fun and to respond to the people who have been trying to help him, his family members, the people with the Children's Burn Foundation and CNN who have been along with him this entire road for him. It's really remarkable to see how he's come out, and just being able to be a little kid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: You can follow Youssif's progress online. Just type in CNN.com/Impact. I'm Stephanie Elam and we'll have more news next hour. Right now though, let's get you back to CNN's "Ballot Bowl" right after a break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

YELLIN: Welcome book to "Ballot Bowl." I'm Jessica Yellin in Cheyenne, Wyoming, the site of today's caucus for Laramie County, Wyoming. More than 1,500 people filled this room behind me earlier as they issued their ballots for either Senator Clinton or Barack Obama.

What's happening here right now is folks are reading over a proposed platform for the county's Democratic Party. It includes principles like the following: will work for the economic advancement for all Wyoming citizens, for a quality education, for civil and constitutional rights, environmental protection and necessary social services.

Those are just some of their principles that they say will inform the decisions today. Now they're going to have amendments and all that sort of constitutional back and forth that happens in party meetings. So we're not going to make you pay too much attention to that.

We're going to take you to the big picture which is so far what we know about the Wyoming caucuses. Right now with 78 percent of Wyoming's districts reporting, Barack Obama has 59 percent of the support in Wyoming and Senator Clinton has 40 percent. So again, Obama 59, Senator Clinton 40 percent, with 78 percent reporting.

We'll continue to update you on those numbers, but we also want to dip into some of what we've heard between Barack Obama and Senator Clinton this week as this contest has tightened. Senator Clinton attacking Barack Obama on the national security front, what really is his experience. Barack Obama hitting back and saying how do we know what her experience is when she hasn't released all of her records from her White House years. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm also grateful that I have my own experience to draw on. I've been fortunate enough to be on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, to have the great privilege of representing our country and more than 80 other countries including, of course, Iraq and Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Middle East.

Just earlier today, I had a conversation with King Abdullah of Jordan about the situation that he and other leaders in the Middle East face today.

I'm very appreciative of the confidence that these leaders around this table and others have placed in me. And some may believe that experience doesn't matter or that even in today's world, it is a liability.

But as generals and admirals, ambassadors and other senior leaders charged with protecting our security know, experience doesn't just count for something. Often when lives are on the line and a decision must be made, experience counts for everything.

In this election, we need a nominee who can pass the commander in chief test. Someone ready on day one to defend our country and keep our families safe. And we need a president who passes that test. Because the first and most solemn duty of the president of the United States is to protect and defend our nation. When there's a crisis, when that phone rings, whether it's 3 p.m. or 3:00 a.m., in the White House there is no time for speeches and on-the-job training.

Senator McCain will bring a lifetime of experience to the campaign. I will bring a lifetime of experience and Senator Obama will bring a speech that he gave in 2002. I think that is a significant difference. I think that since we now know Senator McCain will be the nominee for the Republican Party, national security will be front and center in this election. We all know that. And I think it's imperative that each of us be able to demonstrate we can cross the commander in chief threshold. And I believe that I've done that, certainly Senator McCain has done that. You'll have to ask Senator Obama with respect to his candidacy.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She's been making that same argument for the last 13 months. And since -- the American people have rejected it because I think they recognize I've got 20 years of experience in bringing about change. And it wasn't just one speech. It's been a consistent opposition to the war in Iraq. It's been my judgment on issues like Pakistan and Iran that I think have been superior to hers. And that's why we think we'll continue to do well.

One of the things that I hope people start asking is what exactly is this foreign experience that she's claiming. I know she talks about visiting 80 countries. It's not clear was she negotiating treaties or agreements or was she handling crises during this period of time?

My sense is the answer is no. So I have not seen any evidence that she's better equipped to handle a crisis. And if the only criteria is longevity in Washington, then she's certainly not going to beat John McCain on that.

There's no doubt that Senator Clinton went very negative over the last week. The kitchen sink strategy I'm sure had some impact, particularly in a context where many of you in the press corps have been persuaded that you had been too hard on her and too soft on me. And so complaining about the riffs apparently worked a little bit this week. And so in addition to my call to Loren Michaels, hopefully people now people feel like everything is evened out and we can start actually covering the campaign properly.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YELLIN: All right. Barack Obama speaking earlier this week. His campaign ever since they've decided that Senator Clinton has gone extremely negative, as he said there, his campaign has really focused on hitting her back on the question of secrecy, claiming that because she has not released her latest tax returns or those papers regarding her years in the Clinton White House, which she claims is the basis of her experience, that she is being too secretive and does not promote the kind of transparency a Democratic administration should support.

So that is where Barack Obama's campaign has focused their push back in response to some of Senator Clinton's criticisms this week. We're going to continue to follow that and also on the other side of this break, you know that 3:00 a.m. phone call ad that Senator Clinton got so much mileage out of before the Ohio voting? Barack Obama's campaign has a surprise about that. We'll tell you what it is on the other side of this break.

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ACOSTA: And welcome back to "Ballot Bowl '08." I'm Jim Acosta in Philadelphia. We want to take you back to that Hillary Clinton ad that ran just over a week ago. You might remember it. It was about that emergency 3:00 a.m. phone call to the White House and the ad asks just who should be on the other end of that phone.

The ad features some stock footage of little children tucked in their beds painting the image that your children are sleeping at night while the president is handling crises domestically and overseas. As it turns out one of the little girls featured in that ad sleeping in her bed is an Obama supporter. She's 17-years-old and she's profiled now by a reporter from our affiliate KING in Seattle.

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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 it's ringing.

ELISA HAHN, KING CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the political ad that helped turn the tide for Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign.

UNIDNETIIFED MALE: Who do you want answering the phone?

HAHN: Thursday night the Knowles family of Bonney Lake, Washington was watching "The Jon Stewart Show" and saw the ad for the first time.

BRADY KNOWLES, BROTHER: I looked and I saw a girl that looked a lot like my sister. Sure enough it was my sister. CASEY KNOWLES, APPEARS IN CLINTON VIDEO: It's actually really funny.

HAHN: The first girl in the ad is young Casey Knowles. Stock footage from eight years ago when she worked as a TV extra, footage now owned by Getty Images and used by the Clinton campaign who couldn't have picked a more unwilling star.

C. KNOWLES: It was really sort of ironic that my image would be used to advocate for Hillary when I, myself, do not.

HAHN: She may only be 17, but Casey has some very strong political opinions. She turns 18, legal voting age in April, plenty of time before the general election.

C. KNOWLES: It's just perfect timing because I have a candidate that I really identify with. I've been campaigning for Barack Obama for a few months now. I was actually a precinct captain at the caucuses a few months ago. And I attended his rally in February, and I'm a very, very avid supporter.

HAHN: The Knowles family admits they have no control over how the footage is used. And while Casey sees the humor of it all, she is mildly annoyed.

C. KNOWLES: I think it would be wonderful if me and Barack Obama could get together and make a nice counter ad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And so that was Elisa Hahn from our affiliate KING in Washington reporting there on that ad.

And we want to let you know that coming up at the top of the hour, we'll have the latest on the results in the Wyoming caucuses. My colleague, Jessica Yellin, will be bringing those 20 you. I am in the city of brotherly love so I should note that one of my CNN brethren, Dan Lothian will be picking things up here in Philadelphia at the top of the hour. I'm Jim Acosta for "Ballot Bowl." Thanks for watching.

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