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Aired March 08, 2008 - 17:00   ET

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

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's still a little ways away, April 22nd. But both of the campaigns have their ground operations here working very hard. Senator Clinton to convince the voters here that she is the best person to become president of the United States. Of course, Senator Barack Obama will be continuing with that message of change.
Now, coming up this hour, we will be -- those numbers rolling in from the caucuses out in Wyoming. We hope to project a winner at the top of the hour, in about an hour or so. We'll have those numbers for you as well. Hillary Clinton is taking a breather from the campaign trail. But her husband, former president Bill Clinton, is holding a rally for her in Ellisville, Mississippi. We'll be bringing you some of that later on. But first let me throw it back to you Jessica in Wyoming.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRRESPONDENT: Great Dan and we have some of the current numbers here from the Wyoming caucuses. These are the real time reported numbers, the results so far of the caucuses, with 78 percent of the state's districts reporting. Barack Obama has 59 percent of the support here. Senator Clinton 40 percent. So again, 59 percent Obama, 40 percent Clinton. As we've said there are 12 pledged delegates up for grabs today. Both of the candidates will divide them in some manner, apportioned on the basis of the vote they got. I started to say earlier that they have seen record high turnout throughout the state. To give you just a sense in the location I'm covering today, four years ago, the last time they had a presidential caucus, 160 people turned up. This time 1,532 turned up. And I'm told by the democratic chair of this state that it's replicating that story throughout this state with just monstrously large turnout, record high turn out. Many of the people I've talked to today said they've just never been to a caucus before. But they're coming this year because, as one person said, this is a quote, this is the first time politics has mattered since the 1960s. So a lot of enthusiasm here. As Dan said we will bring you the final numbers when we have them. We also want to take you to some of the candidates, let you hear from them. Barack Obama was in the state yesterday as was Senator Clinton. But in Casper, Wyoming, Obama made the central point of his campaign that he has in his view superior judgment. And he says his evidence is that unlike many of the nation's leaders including Senator Clinton and John McCain, he was opposed to the Iraq war from the start. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She was quoted either this morning or last night in Mississippi because one of my advisers had said that, that in an interview overseas that "well, Senator Obama would not -- he has given a time frame for withdrawal, but obviously, it would be subject to decisions and the situation at the time." So Senator Clinton used this to try to imply that I wasn't serious about bringing this war to an end. Now, 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 should have never been waged. I have been against it since 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008. I will bring this war to an end in 2009. So don't be confused. So 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 OF VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: Barack Obama making the argument that he has superior judgment. Senator Clinton's response to that is she has more experience. She bases that on her years in the senate, on her armed services committee and importantly her years in the White House. Let's listen.

(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 have been to Iraq and Afghanistan three times. I have met with the leaders of every faction of the government in Iraq. I have met many times with President Karzai 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 are 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 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 are nodding your heads.

Well it isn't any secret that a lot of the people who vote for me have never caucused before. They don't know what to do, they don't come because it -- 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 is not an opportunity for a lot of people to participate. That's why it is so important you are here today. Because if you would prefer solutions over sound bites, if you believe we need to have reality as opposed to rhetoric about what we get from our next president, then I need you to go to those caucuses tomorrow and stand up for me. I can't do it without you here in Wyoming. Now, look, I know -- I've got an uphill climb here because it is a caucus. I know that. A lot of people said why are you going to Wyoming? I said well it's really pretty. I have had a wonderful time in Wyoming. My goodness, first time I came to Wyoming was before many of you were born back in1969. I was -- I was working my way across the country and drove up the Alcan(ph) Highway before it was paved and then worked my way across Alaska. I tell you what the best job I ever had in preparation for running for office was a job I had sliming fish. It was in Valdez, Alaska, I was in a salmon fishery where they brought in the salmon. They had some experts from Japan who were there who split the salmon open and took out the caviar, then they threw them in a big pile. I was there in hip boots with a spoon. And my job was to clean out everything else. And I have often reflected back on what preparation that turned out to be for the current life that I have chosen. But I traveled across Wyoming and camped out and had the best time. I have been back a few times since and had a wonderful time every single visit I have had. So I said, well you know what? I am going to go to Wyoming anyway. Yeah, I know that. I know it's an uphill climb. I'm aware of that. But you see -- I am a fighter.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: Both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama making that trek to Wyoming. We're told the last time a democratic presidential candidate came to this state was when Michael Dukakis was running for president. So Senator Clinton and Barack Obama in this tense debate over judgment versus experience when it comes to national security. We will delve into that much more coming up. But I want to toss it over to my colleague, Dan Lothian in Philadelphia. Dan, have you ever slimed a fish?

LOTHIAN: The fish?

YELLIN: Senator Clinton is telling us all about how she had this first job sliming a fish and it was her best experience for running for office. I've got to say, I don't think I've ever seen a fish slimed before, if that's a verb.

LOTHIAN: I know. You always find these interesting things popping up on the campaign trail. Trying to relate to the folks, the voters, you'll say anything, won't you? Anyway, Jessica, I wanted to just touch on something here. You were talking about Wyoming and how that is so important. You know, in the past this is not something that we really paid any attention to in Wyoming. But 12 delegates doesn't sound like a whole lot. But in this race where it's so tight, every delegate does count. So it's interesting that so much attention focusing on Wyoming and this caucus. Let's now take a look at what's going on in other places as well. Wyoming, of course, important, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, of course, important. We have a contest taking place here April 22nd, still a ways away. But there's something else coming up in Mississippi. They have a primary that will be happening next Tuesday there. That is a place where Barack Obama has been doing quite well in the polls. That is where former president Bill Clinton is out campaigning for his wife today. He is in Ellisville, Mississippi and that is where our Sean Callebs is, Sean, certainly Barack Obama as I mentioned is doing well there in Mississippi. He is really reaching out and touching the core base there which is the African American vote. I can almost expect that President Clinton really is trying to reach out to that group as he tries to gather support behind his wife, Senator Clinton.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dan, that I think is really going to be the crux of what the former president touches on here at Jones County junior college. He's scheduled to be out here speaking to the crowd in about 30 minutes. About 70 percent of the democrats here in Mississippi are African-Americans. So certainly we had a chance to speak with someone working with media in Obama's camp here in Mississippi and certainly they think that is going to appeal to a lot of voters here. Polls do indicate that Obama has a very strong lead right now. However, even the Obama camp is trying to down play that saying it's very difficult to gauge polling in this race. They look back to what happened in Iowa, on in New Hampshire. They thought that Ohio would be a lot closer. So they're telling their faithful, look, get out there and vote. But let's focus on what the former president is saying right now. He started out today, this is the third stop today in stumping for his wife. He began in Pass Christian, and anyone who remembers Katrina, covered the aftermath of that knows that town. That's very close to where the eye of the storm passed over, an area simply devastated. From there the former president moved on to Biloxi. That is an area also along the coast that is still struggling to rebuild more than two and a half years after the hurricane. But really a wealth of casinos there have pumped a lot into the economy but housing a big issue there. Of course the president talking about Katrina and Katrina-related funds coming into that area. Saying that his wife worked very hard for people in that area. But here in Ellisville, the visit of a former president is huge news. Right now very few people inside this coliseum, this basketball arena if you will, but it's going to be packed. I saw a line out front that is just enormous. Senator Clinton herself, she did some campaigning here in Mississippi Thursday night and Friday. Let's listen to what she said Thursday night to a group of the faithful here in the town of Canton saying, look, this is a historic time and the democrats need to seize this moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Whether you're supporting me or not, you're supporting the kind of historic change that comes maybe once a generation. This is our time democrats. This is our opportunity. And what we have to decide is how do we seize this moment. How do we make it real? How do we translate the excitement of this campaign into the hard work that will transform lives? I'm convinced that we can do this. You know, America has given me opportunities that my parents certainly never had. My 88-year-old mother lives with us. She was born before women could vote. And every single day I think she gets up just marveling, as she would say, that she's still here, but also that she has a daughter who is standing here before you as a candidate for the presidency of the United States. But I know very well I would not be here had it not been for people like Patty Lou Hamer(ph) and Medgar Evers. The names we know and the names that are lost to history whose values, commitment and struggle, whose blood paved the way for Senator Obama and myself.

I'm so pleased that Mississippi's voice will be heard in this election. Because it needs to be heard, and it needs to be heard loudly and clearly. And I'm well aware that Senator Obama has an enormous amount of support here. You know some people -- and as he should, as he should have. Some people said, well, you know, Mississippi is very much a state that will most likely be in favor of Senator Obama. I said, well, that's fine. But I want people in Mississippi to know I'm in favor of you, and I'm going to work for you. And I will be there for you and be your partner as we make this future. What we have to decide is what will this future look like. Well, I come here tonight having been your neighbor for many years in Arkansas. Having labored with some of you here to make life better for those in both of our states. So what I did was to work to expand healthcare into rural areas, to bring to particularly the delta and the pine woods of the south, access to healthcare that had not been there before. Because I have always believed ever since I can remember as a young girl that healthcare is a moral right. It is not a privilege. And in this great country of ours, we should make it available and affordable for all.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: Of course, healthcare, education, among the linchpin issues here in Mississippi where 30 delegates are up for grabs. The overwhelming issue in this state, the economy. We heard Bill Clinton talk about that earlier today speaking down in Biloxi saying that eight million Americans moved away from poverty when he was president, and the income above -- the bottom end of that scale actually rose about 5 percent. So he says that his wife should be the next commander in chief that she Dan is the one who can turn the economy around. Before I let you go, Dan, I want to get back to something Jessica said about slimers. I actually know what that's about having spent time in Alaska, there are two classifications of jobs in the fishing industry, packers and slimers. Packers take off the tail and the head, slimers take the guts out. That's the industry in a nutshell.

LOTHIAN: If you remember that piece that I did a number of months ago where I actually worked in a fish factory, I should know a lot about fish spending a day there. It is quite a messy industry. But nonetheless, Sean, I want to touch on something that Senator Clinton brought up in her remarks just a few minutes ago where she actually pointed out to the voters that she realizes that Barack Obama does have an advantage in that state, but she was trying to implore them, don't let that keep you from sort of voting the way that you should, which is voting for her. Can you talk a little bit more about that? I mean was that surprising at all that she brings that up? She's sort of laying it out there, that she understands it's an uphill battle in Mississippi?

CALLEBS: I think that she's just being as honest and as open as possible because we've heard it so many times during this campaign season but every delegate does count. She is imploring her faithful to get out to the polls in the greatest numbers that they can. As I mentioned, 70 percent of the registered democrats in this state are African-American. You have to remember Bill Clinton when he was president had a tremendous relationship with African-Americans in the south. So he is here today really trying to play up that strength, if you will. His wife certainly counting on getting some of that support at the polls. We talked to a couple of political science professors, too. Interestingly enough, they say that you can expect a lot of white democrats to vote for Barack Obama in this campaign. They said maybe 25, 30 years ago you wouldn't have seen that in Mississippi but this state is much different today than it was three decades ago.

LOTHIAN: Ok Sean, thank you very much reporting from Mississippi. Now, coming up after a break, we're going to take a look at the GOP and Senator John McCain. He's not on the campaign trail today but certainly he is trying to shore up his base as he is now the nominee for the Republican Party. We'll touch more on that just ahead on BALLOT BOWL '08.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

YELLIN: Welcome back to BALLOT BOWL. I'm Jessica Yellin in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where the Laramie County caucus is still going on. Right now they've already done their balloting for the democratic primary and they're debating the platform for the Laramie County democratic caucus for the Democratic Party itself arguing or debating such things as should a verb be changed -- how to change some words and grammatical errors in their platform. It's very in the knitty gritty right now. This is the work of Democratic Party politics, of all party politics, I should say. So while these folks continue to do their work, we want to listen in to the kind of candidate we usually hear doing well in Wyoming. It's usually a republican who is on top in Wyoming. This has a long history of being a red state. John McCain would be the Republican candidate who has all eyes on him right now. He was in Atlanta earlier this week. While John McCain obviously is strong when it comes to talking about the Iraq war, he actually pivoted and said that he is going to be the best commander in chief to deal with the economy. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our economy is not in the condition we want it to be. Let's have some straight talk. We've had some real difficulties. There are thousands of people who are in danger of losing their homes or have already lost their homes. There are people in danger of losing their jobs. Today's unemployment figures are not good. They're not terrible but they're not good. The unemployment rate did not go up, but there's not been the jobs created that we want in America. And all of us, all of us know that it's our job as a nation to reach out and to help people who are in difficulty as they are in today. I came and campaigned a lot in the state of Ohio. As you know, we had the primary there last Tuesday night. And times are tough because they've lost a lot of manufacturing jobs. And so we're going to have to fix it. But I want to assure you that the one thing I do not believe is the way to fix it is to raise your taxes. I think that's the last thing that we should do. The last thing we should do is raise your taxes and increase regulation and try to impose big government solutions to it. My friends, we have to make the present tax cuts permanent. It's very important. Otherwise, in a year or so from now, you will be planning on tax increases on your businesses and on your families. And that's not -- that could be -- have the worst effect. We also need to eliminate a thing called the alternate minimum tax. Most Americans don't even know what the alternate minimum tax is. But it's in danger -- it was a tax that was designed for the wealthiest Americans. Now because of inflation it endangers 25 million American families.

I think Dan will tell you that a lot of Americans don't know that we have the second highest corporate tax rate in the world. In the world. Only Japan has higher tax rates than the United States of America. So what do corporations do many times? They decide to leave the United States and take their corporations with them to countries where there's lower taxes and they take jobs and business with them. So we have to lower that tax rate. I guess my fundamental point here is we need to -- there is a role for government. There is a role for government. It's not hands-off. But that role of government is to reduce taxes, reduce regulation, make sure there's a level playing field for every American, provide education and training for displaced workers. My friends, there are thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of workers who have lost their jobs as jobs have gone overseas. We know that. We know that. Many people find themselves at the end of their productive life. We should go to our community colleges, have them design and implement job training and education programs. The government programs don't work. There's a half dozen programs today, federal programs that are designed to care for displaced workers. They don't work. They don't work. They were designed for the 1950s when there would be an economic downturn, somebody would be out of a job, the economy comes back up, they get their old job again. The old jobs aren't coming back. It's the new jobs that need to be created.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: John McCain yesterday in Atlanta as the economy has overtaken Iraq as the nation's number one concern, or as voters' number one concern, John McCain spending some time making his case that he is prepared to take on the economy, turn it around, make it a little easier for your average American to make ends meet. Coming back on the other side of this break, we are going to take a look at Senator Barack Obama and his record as an Illinois state senator. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Welcome back to "BALLOT BOWL '08." I'm Dan Lothian in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania, the next big battleground state with a primary coming up on April 22.

I want to shift now to Barack Obama and his early years, his experience in the state Senate in Illinois. As you know, he has not spent a lot of time as a U.S. senator. He does have those eight years there. The big question is what was he able to accomplish? Did he have any landmark legislation? I went to Chicago and I found out that the answer to that question lies in who you talk to.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LOTHIAN: New and untested, Barack Obama started early trying to carve out a reputation as an eager, hard-working Illinois state Senator when he was elected in 1996. Telling powerful Democrat Emil Jones, the man he considers his political god fire to throw him into the fire.

EMIL JONES, ILLINOIS SENATE PRESIDENT: He said feel free to give me any tough assignments. Out know I like to work hard.

LOTHIAN: That resulted in one of the most liberal voting records in eight years from pushing for abortion rights to raising taxes.

What troubles former Republican colleague, Dan Cronin, who says he respects Barack Obama and his political skills is that considering the presidential hopeful's campaign of bold change, his past, he says, doesn't quite add up.

DAN CRONIN, (R), ILLINOIS STATE SENATE: There were no bold solutions. There were no creative approaches. There were no efforts to stand up to the establishment.

LOTHIAN (on camera): But Barack Obama supporters say that happened in part because for the majority of time he was a state Senator, Republicans were in control, making it difficult, they say, for him to pass any bold legislation.

(voice-over): And what about criticism that as a state Senator he voted present instead of yes or no nearly 130 times, essentially a vote without taking a side. It's an oddity of Illinois politics that his now Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, says illustrates a refusal to take responsibility by hitting the easy button on controversial issue.

But Obama's mentor who says the Senator cast thousands of votes disagrees.

JONES: She's totally wrong on that.

LOTHIAN: Chicago political analyst Paul Green says they routinely vote present, a way to force the majority party to negotiate or protest parts of a bill.

(on camera): So it's strategy?

PAUL GREEN, CHICAGO POLITICAL ANALYST: Of course, it's strategy.

LOTHIAN: Obama did sponsor more than 800 bills. One resulted in the highly touted ethics reform that bands fundraisers at the state capitol in Springfield.

Another of his bills now requires police in Illinois to videotape interrogations of criminal suspects. One thing everyone seems to agree on, that Senator Obama appeared comfortable, reaching across party lines to get what he wanted.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LOTHIAN: Of course, that is one of the themes that we've heard in Obama's campaign saying that he is the one who can best bring both Republicans and Democrats together in order to get things done on Capitol Hill and certainly in the White House if he's elected president.

The Obama campaign saying he had a lot of bold legislation there. They say some of that bold legislation that took place in the state Senate, that critic, Cronin, he voted for that. When you're running for president everything is under the microscope.

We are going to take a quick break and when we come back, on the other side of the break, we'll take a look at some of the other news of the day including a snowstorm in Ohio. Stay with us on "BALLOT BOWL."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN NEW ANCHOR: I'm Stephanie Elam, live at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. More "BALLOT BOWL" in just a moment. But first, here are the top stories this hour.

A person of interest, that's what police in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, are calling this man. They're now looking for him in connection with the Wednesday killing of UNC student Eve Carson. Investigators say an ATM security camera captured this image of him apparently trying to access the victim's bank account.

We also have exclusive video from CNN affiliate WRBL TV as we update the murder case of an Auburn University freshman. This is 23- year-old suspect Courtney Lockhart, picked up last night in Phoenix City, Alabama. He faces capital murder charges for the death of 18- year-old Lauren Burke.

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 and created 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 risky in some spots. The state could get several more inches of snow before it's all over.

A real mixed bag weather wise today. Rain and snow in the eastern U.S. As the nation springs forward later on. CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is in the severe weather center.

How is it looking now, Jacqui?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Just what people want, an extra hour of this.

ELAM: Exactly.

JERAS: Not so much. Hopefully you'll have a nice relaxing day. Good thing it's over the weekend where we can all stay inside, not have to go anywhere. It's down right nasty.

(WEATHER REPORT)

JERAS: The good news is a lot of this moves out by tomorrow. We'll see a lot better day with lots of sunshine.

ELAM: That will be good news there. I feel lucky now. My flight was only delayed by an hour and a half. And you're saying four hours in New York. That's crazy.

JERAS: Just enough time to read the paper.

ELAM: Exactly. Thanks, Jacqui.

Today's "CNN Hero" shows us how an ordinary man can have an extraordinary impact on the lives of others. Todd Barber took it upon himself to give Mother Nature a hand, designing balls of cement to save dying coral reefs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD BARBER, CNN HERO: Reefs are dying. Human activity around the world is impacting what's happening underwater. If we don't do something to save our coral reefs, we will lose them all and the impact will be devastating for humanity.

In 1988, I was on a trip with my father. We went to the Cayman Islands. We're looking at a coral reef that I had been taking pictures of since I was a baby and the reef was gone. My heart sank, and I had a strong passion to try to change that. And my father and I sat down one night and came up with the idea of how to fix it.

My name is Todd Barber. I make reef balls used to help restore reefs around the world. Reef balls serve as the base happen at that time for a natural reef to grow upon. They were designed so you could plant corals on them. My goal was to mimic nature, not dictate nature.

Reef balls are made with a special cement that last over 500 years. They're portable, inexpensive and environmentally friendly.

I call this hatching a reef ball.

Personally, satisfaction comes from diving on a reef ball and seeing that the environment has been rehab bill stated and the reef is actually there and our grandkids will be able to see the same thing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM: What a great story there. Do you know someone you think should be a "CNN Hero." You can nominate them at cnn.com/heroes. How would you like to drop 30 pounds and perhaps reconnect with your kids? That's the thinking behind one dad's fitness goals. It also involves tackling one of the highest cliffs in the world.

Here's CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, with today's "Fit Nation" report.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mount Kilimanjaro, one of the highest peeks in the world, an outstanding achievement for any climber. For Bill McGahan, it was an unusual way to lose weight and also a way to spend time with his daughter.

BILL MCGAHAN, FATHER: Fathers who are about my age, in the mid 40s, I think sometimes struggle to do things with their seventh grade daughters. They're typically into things that they're not interested in.

GUPTA: After trolling the Internet for some ideas, dad and daughter settled on an ambitious plan.

MCGAHAN: We decided to climb the mountain.

GUPTA: Working out three times a week, running seven miles a day, building intense body strength, they scaled one of the highest peaks in the planet. Dad lost 30 pounds in the process.

MCGAHAN: We were about a hundred yards from the top and we knew we were going to make it. I put my arm around Sarah. I said you did it Sarah. She said no, we did it together. One of the great moments of my life.

GUPTA: What did it mean for Sarah?

SARAH MCGAHAN: At first, I was really nervous and freaked out about it. I love my dad and he's really funny. And I was glad that I took the time with him.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM: That was a nice story there.

I'm Stephanie Elam. We'll have more news next hour and breaking news as it happens. Back to CNN's "BALLOT BOWL" after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Welcome back to "BALLOT BOWL." I'm Jessica Yellin at Cheyenne, Wyoming, at the site of the Laramie County Democratic caucus, where discussions of the exact wording of party positions for the Democratic platform is still ongoing. They are voting over grammar in some instances.

We want to take you to some larger matters, some more global matters. Our own Josh Levs has been searching what my friends like to call the worldwide Inter-web.

I hear you bring us news?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS ANALYST: Speaking of grammar problems, now I've got to call it the Inter-web?

Our democracy gets confusing enough. Now inside the complicated caucus process you've got to get complicated grammar. What's going on there?

Here is the deal. This is great. We take a look at some of the videos that the campaigns are putting together. We get a chance to show you, since this is unfiltered, directly what they're putting out there. We're doing something a little different today.

Today what I'm going to show you is clips videos that these candidates have put out directly from supporters. You go to the campaign web sites and they have these links to these other places like YouTube. They are highlighting some supporter videos.

Let's take a look right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I supported John McCain before. Did quite a bit of work for him the last time. I still feel he's the only one that can really straighten out all the problems going on even though -- it's going to be lots of difficult issues.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I feel like it would make all the difference if Senator Obama is elected president, for the young people of South Carolina, and of this nation, to see that there can be a black man who can achieve and walk into the White House one day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: America, our country, is down at the foot of the mountain. And we need someone that has the experience and is ready, willing and able to bring America back up to be polished like gold.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEVS: A little reminder there. Democracy in the end isn't about the candidates, it's about the voters. It's interesting to see the videos. Some are from campaign events, some created by supporters, all being distributed by the campaigns.

Also one interesting note there. You heard the Obama supporters mentioning his race as one reason she wanted to support him. The link from Clinton's website, one of the women there mentions her gender as a reason for supporting her. You do hear that from supporters as well.

We're going to keep an eye on that, on what's going on online, that side of it, while you all handle things right there in the field.

Jessica. I hope they manage to work out everything they've got to work out. Meanwhile, I've got the easy gig today. I'm going to play with video.

YELLIN: You keep playing with video. I have a feeling we could be debating grammar here into the wee hours of the morning.

We'll check back in with you later.

On the other side of this break, we're going to bring all of you more results from the Wyoming caucus. So stick with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

YELLIN: Welcome back to "BALLOT BOWL," I'm Jessica Yellin in Cheyenne, Wyoming, at the Laramie County caucus site, where the Democratic Party here in the county is debating their platform, currently offering a friendly amendment to an amendment. They're debating whether it should be an amendment. We'll stay on top of that for everybody.

Meanwhile, we want to tell you the latest numbers in the overall state caucus returns on the Democratic side with 91 percent of the state's caucuses reporting. Barack Obama has 58 percent of support in Wyoming. Clinton has 41 percent. Barack Obama 58 percent to Clinton's 41 percent, with 91 percent of the state's caucuses reporting.

We are planning to make a projection about this race coming up at the top of the hour when the final caucus gets underway. One is starting very late. You should stay tuned for that. It's coming up very shortly.

First I want to toss it over to my colleague, Dan Lothian, in the city of brotherly love -- Dan?

LOTHIAN: That's right. It's windy down here. We've had bad weather and it's kicking up again.

But I want to shift quickly to Illinois again where we're watching a congressional race taking place there for former House Speaker Hastert's seat. It's been held by Republicans for some 21 years. He, of course, stepped down before his term was over after the house shifted to Democrats.

The two vying for that seat are become Jim Oberweis and Democrat Bill Foster, two businessmen with (AUDIO PROBLEM) campaigns as well as the national campaigns, have pumped a lot of money into this congressional race. (AUDIO PROBLEM)

YELLIN: Sorry. We're having some technical difficulties with Dan Lothian's camera in Philadelphia. Again, he is reporting on that special election to replace Dennis Hastert, who stepped down as Speaker of the House. We'll continue to follow that for you as we also follow the Wyoming caucuses.

Again, 12 pledged delegates at stake in this state. We understand seven of them will be allocated today on the basis of the caucus-wide vote and another five selected at the Democrat's convention in late May. And in total there are 18 delegates including superdelegates and pledge delegates from the state. Is that confusing enough for you?

Let's look at those returns. Barack Obama right now is 58 percent of the caucus support, Senator Clinton 41 percent of the caucus vote. You can see their totals there. We have that number up in the corner saying there are 18 total delegates. That includes is superdelegates you hear so much about that are allocated based on individual preference by those delegates. Then 12 pledge delegates that are apportioned on a basis of today's vote totals.

So we're going to project those vote totals for you at the top of the hour when we have the last caucuses underway. We want to wait until then to project it.

But again, this is a -- the most recent race between Senator Clinton and Senator Obama. We will bring you the projected results of that after this break. Stay with us.

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