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Ballot Bowl 2008

Campaigns Events

Aired March 29, 2008 - 15:00   ET

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

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: Welcome back to BALLOT BOWL 08. I'm Jim Acosta in Philadelphia. In case you haven't heard, there's a big contest coming up on April 22nd. The Pennsylvania primary is fast approaching. And there's a lot of politics, a lot of ground to cover over this next hour. But the big news of the day is happening -- or at least one of the big events happening in this state today, I should say, is happening in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
That is where Barack Obama just wrapped up a speech in front of a big crowd of supporters. He was joined by his new super delegate surrogate in this state, Senator Bob Casey. My colleague Mary Snow is in Johnstown, she has been covering Barack Obama this morning. Hello, Mary. How are things over there in the Obama campaign today?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well you know we're on the other side of the state from you. We're right outside of Pittsburgh. And, you know, as you mentioned, so many people know about the Pennsylvania primary. It's really taken center stage. But you know Senator Barack Obama, his aides will say, really has to introduce himself to the state. And because of that, he's taking a bus tour across Pennsylvania. Started in Pittsburgh and as you mentioned yesterday, won the endorsement of Senator Bob Casey who joined him today at a town hall meeting.

He'll be making his way to Philadelphia later this week across the state. But Senator Obama is talking about a wide range of issues here. He had a town hall meeting. Took questions from people in the audience, of course one of the things that people have been talking about is the bitter exchanges going back between the Clinton and Obama campaigns. And Senator Obama addressed that a little bit when he was speaking to the crowds today. Here's a little bit of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Part of the reason we've done well in this campaign is that we've said the politics that happened in the '90s, the arguing all the time, the real nasty sort of anything goes, whatever it takes kind of politics, that that's not getting stuff done. And I think the American people; they don't care about people arguing back and forth on cable TV. They want to figure out, how are you going to get gas prices down and how are you going to get folks health insurance? And that -- so I think part of the reason we're doing well is because we're trying to show that you don't have to always engage in that kind of politics.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SNOW: Senator Barack Obama just a short time ago speaking to about 1,200 people gathered at a high school here are in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Want to bring in Chris Welch; he is our producer who is constantly traveling with the Obama campaign. Chris you just heard Senator Obama talk about the fact that people don't really care about the candidates talking and arguing on cable TV. And certainly there's a lot of back and forth this week. As you cover him and you have these opportunities to ask him questions, how much of those questions and the time that you're with him is he being asked about the back and forth between the Obama and Clinton campaign?

CHRIS WELCH, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: When we get a chance to talk to him in a formal press avail setting, it is probably fair to say that maybe about half the questions asked center around Clinton or her surrogate, her husband Bill Clinton. So a lot of it does revolve around the back and forth, the arguing between the two of them. He says he doesn't like to talk about it or see it happen on the news, be covered on the cable news programs but it is happening. That's a fact of the campaign.

SNOW: Pennsylvania. You are on a bus going across the state. He really needs to introduce himself to people here. And tell me a little bit about his schedule. He has this one town hall. He also has some very smaller events going on, right?

WELCH: We started yesterday and we did a town hall and he did a couple of OTR, off the record stops. And off the record stops are more or less him getting a chance to meet with voters in a smaller setting like a restaurant or a bar, a sports bar. Or even like steel workers -- meeting with steel workers at a steel plant. This morning he went to a factory where they produce the wire for the slinky toys and met with workers there.

Today it's unusual because he only had one town hall event. He took questions from an audience. This is one public event for the day. But it's unusual in that he only has one of those but he's also doing three of these unscheduled stops. I can't remember a time when we've had more of these unscheduled stops where only pool reporters, a small group of reporters can go. More of those than the events.

SNOW: We have to let you go to get -- to do your job. You were the envy of the network. Last weekend you were doing something very different. And you actually went to the Virgin Islands. Very tough assignment because Senator Obama was on vacation there. Tell me what was it like on the Virgin Islands? Were people who are vacation --

WELCH: Brutal, so brutal.

SNOW: Were people, though, on the island, did he attract crowds there?

WELCH: When we found out, you know, kind of where he was staying, we were there in the first place just in case anything were to happen, in case anything major were to break even around the world that we needed to get his reaction on. So I would be there with a camera in case of any emergency like that. People on the island were kind of talking, a few of the local residents. They were like, yeah, I heard he was coming. And the buzz was there. When people saw him on the beach, they couldn't stop staring because he was sitting on the bench in his little cabana just enjoying the weather and trying to get some time away from us. We did get a chance to ask him a few questions. We asked him how his vacation was going. He said he was just trying to enjoy some alone time which we mostly gave him.

SNOW: Very good. Chris, thank you very much. Keep up the good work. Keep up those hard-sought trips to the Virgin Islands. Thank you, Chris. Chris Welch. Jim Acosta, our producer, who is constantly traveling with the Obama campaign and keeping us up to date on any differences in any of his appearances and questions. Jim that was certainly one assignment we missed out on last weekend.

ACOSTA: Yes, Mary. I think I heard Chris say something about having a camera there in case of an emergency. Would this be a parasailing emergency? What are we talking about here? And where is Chris' tan. That's what I want to know.

SNOW: Tough job he had.

ACOSTA: Yeah, exactly. Tough gig. But we'll give Chris that. He's earned it. Thanks very much, Mary.

And we want to switch gears now from Barack Obama out there in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, to his chief rival in this race. You heard Chris talk about how Hillary Clinton's name comes up at these Barack Obama events. Well, the reverse is true with Hillary Clinton.

She just wrapped up an event in New Albany, Indiana, a few moments ago. Earlier today she was in Indianapolis. She had a rally there in front of an enthusiastic crowd of supporters. And she referenced what came up yesterday on the campaign trail, how Chris Dodd, the senator from Connecticut, I know Obama super delegate supporter and Patrick Leahy the senator from Vermont who is also supporting Barack Obama, both of those senators came out yesterday urging Senator Clinton to get out of the race saying it was mathematically difficult for her to secure the nomination and saying for the good of the party, won't you please hand this over to Senator Obama. And Senator Clinton addressed that in front of that crowd in Indianapolis. So let's go to that now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are some folks saying, well, we ought to stop these elections. I didn't think we believed that in America. I thought we, of all people, knew how important it was to give everyone a chance to have their voices heard and their votes counted and we're going to give Indiana that chance on May 6th.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So there is Hillary Clinton. She is still in it to win it as she would probably put it, if she were to say those words. She hasn't exactly said those words, but in earnest, she is vowing to fight on. We want to go to one of our embedded producers who is with the Clinton campaign.

That is Peter Hamby. He is on the phone with us. And, Peter, we just heard from Chris Welch who has been embedded with the Barack Obama campaign. And, Chris recounted his very difficult and grueling trip down to the Virgin Islands to keep tabs on Senator Obama. I'm just curious, Peter have you made it down to the Virgin Islands yet and if not, when is that on your itinerary.

PETER HAMBY, CNN PRODUCER (via telephone): No, Jim, sorry. I think after my day yesterday, I think I deserve a trip to St. Thomas because Hillary is spending a really sort of grueling campaign trip in Indiana. It feels like Iowa a little bit to the press corps here. We're on a bus going to small towns that have been hit hard by job losses and Hillary Clinton is holding roundtables and rallies. But, you know, she is in Indiana, a state that she can win. That's what she's doing here.

ACOSTA: And how did that grab you yesterday when you heard Senator Patrick Leahy and Senator Chris Dodd, obviously Obama supporters, call for Senator Clinton to drop out of this race. You were, I guess, with her in Indianapolis and you saw that reaction from the senator. How is she taking this? How are her staff members, her campaign staff members taking this? What's the reaction?

HAMBY: Well, you know, both her and her advisers are making those same sorts of arguments they have been for a few weeks now that neither Obama nor Clinton will have the total number of delegates needed to cinch up the nomination. There are several states left to vote. They believe that both Michigan and Florida should either have revotes or have their delegations seated.

And Hillary is keeping a happy face on it. And, honestly, Jim, there are really big crowds for her here in Indiana. It looks like Iowa, it looks like Pennsylvania. Not so much North Carolina, but she has got a really strong core of supporters here. So it's easy for her to keep on sort of a steady, happy face. And facing down her odds and winning the nomination.

ACOSTA: And it says something about her tenacity in that she is certainly looking past Pennsylvania. She is campaigning in Indiana and also down by Louisville in southern Indiana. Her daughter Chelsea is in North Carolina. She is showing no signs that perhaps these party elders are going to twist her arm into bowing out of this race.

HAMBY: Not at all. And again, she sees the economic situation in Indiana, for example, a state that had its fair share of manufacturing job losses. I believe they are ranked tenth in the nation in home foreclosures. Those are really her bread and butter pocketbook issues that she talked about in Ohio and she's trying to do here.

North Carolina was interesting; we were with her on Thursday. It's a state that has an electorate similar to those in Virginia and South Carolina, high percentage of African-American voters. High percentage of sort of educated, more affluent white voters. Those are the constituencies that favor Barack Obama. You can see by the amount of time she's spending in Indiana that this is a state she sees as a must win.

ACOSTA: Peter Hamby, thank you very much. He's our embedded producer with the Hillary Clinton campaign. Peter, stay safe out there and hope that perhaps you'll at least get to warmer climes. Indiana is a lovely state but even this time of year, it can be a little cool as it is here in Philadelphia. Thanks Peter. We'll be checking with you as the days move forward.

And Hillary Clinton, as Peter mentioned, and as we heard earlier on BALLOT BOWL, definitely focusing like a laser beam on issues number one, the economy. John Edwards, who was speaking to a crowd of young Democrats earlier today, that, was a big part of his campaign when he was a candidate in this race. He often talked about the two Americas in this country. Those who are the haves and those who are the have nots. And that there are lots of people struggling out there with this very difficult economic picture.

But John Edwards not only talked about the economy in this speech to young Democrats. He talked about and it's basically a subject that's been in this campaign over the last several days. He talked about the rancor. He talked about the bitterness that seems to be building between these two campaigns left in this race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. John Edwards in front of a crowd of young Democrats in North Carolina talked about the need for party unity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN EDWARDS, (D) FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A very high opinion of both of them. I think we are blessed first to have extraordinarily talented African-American who could be the next president of the United States running. Somebody who, without any -- there's absolutely no way to contest the fact that he has inspired this country. And he has lifted up and brought people into the process, the political process, who otherwise would have not been involved and would not be involved.

And Senator Clinton, who has served America for so long and so well and has shown so much strength and leadership. And has really forged an extraordinarily historic campaign as a woman for the nomination and for the presidency. And I can tell you this. All my friends from North Carolina. And this comes from the heart. We would be blessed as a nation to have either one of them as our president. And I'll say to all of you -- we'd be blessed to have either of one of them --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: The country would be blessed to have either one of those candidates, talking about Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama as president of the United States. But there's another candidate in this race. Oh, by the way, John McCain is still running. He's the Republican contender. He's been pushed out of the limelight due to a lot of this sparring going on between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

We'll be hearing from the Arizona senator coming up after the break. This is BALLOT BOWL on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Welcome back to BALLOT BOWL on CNN. I'm Jim Acosta in Philadelphia. We want to switch gears now and get to the Republican in this race, John McCain. He's enjoying a down weekend in Arizona. Catching up with some rest after a busy week on the campaign trail. He picked up an endorsement from the former first lady, Nancy Reagan, out in California.

And also out in California, he talked about the economy and offered his approach to what is a very difficult economic picture. Issue number one as we refer to it here at CNN. John McCain advocating a more hands-off approach than what we're seeing from his Democratic rivals, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. So without further adieu, let's listen in to John McCain. The Arizona Republican talking about perhaps taking a more passive role with this unfolding mortgage meltdown in America. Here's John McCain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: While I was traveling overseas, our financial markets experienced another unfortunately another round of upheaval. This market turmoil leaves many Americans feeling both concerned and angry. People see the values of their homes fall at the same time that the price of gasoline and food is rising. Already, tight household budgets are getting tighter. A lot of Americans read the headlines about credit crunches and liquidity crises and they ask, how did we get here?

In the end, the motivation, behaviors that caused the current crisis are not terribly complicated, even though the alphabet soup of financial instruments is complex. The past decade, witness the largest increase in homeownership in the past 50 years. Homeownership is part of the American dream as we all know. And we want as many Americans as possible to be able to afford their own home. But in the process of a huge, positive upturn in home construction and ownership, the housing bubble was created.

The bubble occurs when prices are driven up too quickly, speculators move into markets and these players begin to suspend levels of risk and assume the prices can only move up but never down. My friends, let's start with some straight talk. I will not play election year politics with the housing crises. I will evaluate everything in terms of whether it might be harmful or helpful to our effort to deal with the crisis we face now.

I have always been committed to the principle that it's not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers. Government assistance in the banking system should be based on solely preventing systemic risk that would endanger the entire financial system and the economy.

In our effort to help preserving homeowners, no assistance should be given to speculators. Any assistance for borrowers should be focused on homeowners, not people who bought houses for speculative purposes to rent or a second home. Any assistance must be temporary and must not reward people who are irresponsible at the expense of those who weren't. I will consider any and all proposals based on their cost and benefits and this crises, as in all I may face in the future, I will not allow dogma to override common sense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So there is John McCain talking about the economy and specifically the foreclosure crises in this country. And it's a good moment to remind you that coming up tonight on CNN at 8:00 Eastern, "Busted." CNN's SIU, the Special Investigations Unit here at CNN has teamed up with "Fortune" Magazine to look at America's mortgage meltdown. That's coming up tonight at 8:00 Eastern here on CNN.

In the meantime, I want to bring my colleague Mary Snow back in. She's with the Barack Obama campaign in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Mary, it sounds like Barack Obama may have what we in the biz refer to as a media avail coming up? He may be taking questions from reporters?

SNOW: Yeah, we expect --

ACOSTA: You had a chance to Obama's very high-profile supporter in the state.

SNOW: Jim it was a surprise endorsement really. Senator Casey had appeared with Barack Obama yesterday in Pittsburgh. And they are taking a tour of Pennsylvania. This is a state, of course, where Senator Obama has said that he is an underdog. Polls show that he is far behind Senator Clinton and they are really trying to have a strong showing here and really reach out to voters. There will be a couple of events today, in fact, where he won't have the media that normally travels with him. He'll just have a small number of them as he has more of these smaller, intimate settings as he really introduces himself to voters.

Jim, you were talking about Senator John McCain talking about the economy. That's also a topic that Senator Clinton and Senator Obama both addressed laying out their plans for what they would do for the housing crises. And the candidate -- the Democratic candidates have both said when you take a look at it, there are similar plans. There were differences but there was some back and forth about who had come up with ideas first.

But certainly the economy is such a big issue here in Johnstown. You know, this was a town that was thriving at one point with the steel industry and steel mills are closed down and you can see the remnants of them here. And talking to voters here in Johnstown, they are saying that the economy, health care, are the really things that they care about. And they say, you know, they are getting turned off by the bitter exchanges between the campaigns. The tone of it. But really they are just tuning it out and not paying so much attention because they are saying they are getting kind of sick of it and they really are in what one woman said, the economy here is in horrible shape with many people out of work looking to find an income.

So it's certainly something that Senator Obama addressed when he spoke here. About 1,200 people turned out for him here in Johnstown. Certainly the economy was an issue where he actually got a standing ovation at one point in terms of some of the things he said about keeping jobs in the United States. There were some union workers here who particularly wanted to hear his plans about keeping jobs in America and what he would do to create jobs.

Also Iraq was a big question here. And that is another topic that got a lot of attention and a lot of response. Senator Obama saying that he wants to bring troops home starting next year saying it won't be immediately but that it would happen over a 16-month period that he thinks. So we're just waiting for Senator Obama at this point to take some questions from the press and, of course, you know, it is likely he would also be asked about the administration's plan to put in new oversights on federal policy when it comes to the economy.

He mentioned that today in the speech saying, you know, Wall Street finally woke up to the fact that there is a problem in the economy. And Washington took notice. So certainly it's shaping up to be one of the key issues here, Jim, in the state of Pennsylvania and around the country, obviously.

ACOSTA: Absolutely, Mary. Especially when you look at the economic picture as you just laid out, Pennsylvania from what I understand has lost about one-fifth of its manufacturing jobs over the last seven years, which is a huge hit on the economy in Pennsylvania and as I'm looking at my monitor here out here in Philadelphia, I can see right below you is the words blue collar campaigning.

And it comes to mind that Bob Casey is very popular with blue collar workers in the state as was his father, the former governor and the late governor. And not only is Bob Casey, and the Casey family very influential when it comes to blue collar voters, but Catholic voters. I'm just curious how you think that may play out. We heard Bob Casey talking about that in that interview with you.

He was certainly talking about pro-life issues in that discussion with you. And it's interesting to see how Barack Obama is going to bring that into the fold, although he has talked as if he would like to make the tent a little bigger in the Democratic Party and bring back some of those Catholic voters who perhaps voted for George W. Bush in 2004.

SNOW: I asked Senator Casey about that because a woman in the audience today who opposes abortion had a heated question for Senator Obama because he supports a woman's right to choose. And Senator Casey had said that the fact that there would be a big enough party for people to have different decisions on the number of issues, there is room. The tent is big enough.

And also he pointed out -- I asked him about Catholic voters in particular for Barack Obama. And Senator Casey pointed out that there is no one defining issue that there are many issues affecting Catholic voters, including opposition to war. So it is not just abortion as many people think.

Jim, we are just waiting for -- ACOSTA: Mary thanks very much. OK. Mary thanks.

SNOW: We're just waiting for Senator Obama.

ACOSTA: OK. Yep. We'll be getting back. I'm hearing voices in my ear. That does happen from time to time in television and the voice in my ear is telling me we need to get to a break. Coming up after the break here on BALLOT BOWL on CNN, we'll go right back to Mary as soon as we can to get to that Barack Obama media availabilities promising to answer some questions from reporters in this state. So we will get to that coming up after the break. This is BALLOT BOWL on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Welcome back to BALLOT BOWL. As promised, Barack Obama addressing reporters in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Here is the senator, now.

QUESTION: Senator Casey, you're introducing Barack Obama to the Democrats. Is that a tough sell?

SEN BOB CASEY (D), PENNSYLVANIA: No. I think that term has never been defined. It's defined different ways. But, I don't think there's any question the more that he's on the ground, the more people hear him, the more people see him and see his command of the issues and, frankly, see his leadership style, that's who we're going to elect in November, a leader, not a list of -- someone who just talks about issues. And I think they understand that in these really difficult economic times they've got to elect someone that they can have confidence in, that they can be inspired by. And I think he's doing that already. The more time on the ground in Pennsylvania, the better that he will do, but look at the other side, they've been campaigning in this state for 15 years. Think about it. So, it's a tall order, but we're making progress.

QUESTION: Senator, Basra and Iraq, in general, has been plunged back into quite a bit of violence in the last few days. I'm interested in your take on that and if this has any effect, for instance, on plans to, you know, your proposals to withdraw troops. What you think the course you might take right now.

BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, obviously, we're still getting news from the front and so I don't want to suggest that I've absorbed all of the facts. Based on what I've seen so far, it appears consistent with my general analysis which is the presence of our troops and their excellence has resulted in some reduction in violence. It has not resolved the underlying tensions that exist in Iraq. If we are going to bring long-term stability to Iraq, it is going to have less to do with our military presence there and more of the ability of various factions, not just Sunni-Shia, but as we're seeing in Basra, Shia-Shia -- inner-sectarian conflict, to be resolved.

And I actually believe that we have a better chance of resolving it by setting a clear timeframe for withdrawal in consultation with our commanders on the ground at a deliberate, but careful pace. Time would be ample for them to then come together, but they'd understand that we're not going to be permanently occupying the country.

So, there's nothing that's happened in Basra that either surprises me or undermines my basic view that it is the political accommodations rather than our military presence that is going to bring about long- term stability, unless, you are willing to do what John McCain has suggested, which is essentially set up a permanent occupation in Iraq, in which we are functioning as some sort of military protectorate and setting aside the enormous costs, $10 billion to $12 billion a month, which is unsustainable, and would erode our economy here at home. The strategic implications of a long-term presence in Iraq and how that can be used to recruit terrorists, how it distracts us from having to finish the job in Afghanistan are all reasons why I think that is a fundamentally flawed policy.

QUESTION: Senator, what do you think of the Bush administration's package of financial regulation reform proposals? Are they adequate to the moment and do they offer anything useful, in your view, as a framework?

OBAMA: We haven't seen all the details. And there are two separate proposals that have been at least talked about over the last couple of days. You've got their mortgage housing proposal that seems to draw from some of the work that's been done by Senator Dodd and Representative Frank and that I am a co-sponsor of.

If we do have an FHA model that can come in and help buyers and lenders renegotiate with each side of the transaction taking a loss, but stabilizing the situation, then I think that's a healthy thing. But we haven't' seen all the details, there's some suggestion that that's the direction the administration might be willing to go. I think that provides a bottom to the housing crisis that can help restore some confidence in the credit markets.

Based on what I've seen, at least just in reports this morning, the regulatory proposals related to the fed, I think, are inadequate. There are some good things in there about consolidating multiple regulatory agencies, streamlining and modernizing some of these regulations, recognizing the difference between banks and thrifts and other institutions may not be what they used to. But, for example, there is no call for increased capital reserve requirements or (INAUDIBLE) on requirements on investment banks, despite the fact that we know the Federal Reserve is now empowered to provide a discount window directly to these institutions the same way it does commercial banks.

So, if I'm a commercial bank right now, I'm still not clear why it is that investment banks not only are able to do things I can't do, aren't subject to the same capital requirements and liquidity requirements that I am and yet they've got the same fallback with the fed as we do. And if I'm a taxpayer I'm also concerned about that because it promises the possibility of investment banks or other institutions, like hedge funds, continuing to take excessive risks knowing that the fed might come in and bail them out.

So, my sense is that part of the package that we're putting together is not adequate. There are some good elements into it and I think we should be open to negotiating with the administration, but, you know, there's just an ideological predisposition not to add additional regulation, I think that would be a mistake.

Let me take a couple more. We're have a more extensive one on Monday. so I don't want to be here forever. You've had about eight of them already. So, I'm going to see if anybody else who hasn't had an opportunity -- go ahead.

QUESTION: I've got a question about jobs going overseas. And you said you wanted to be honest. How much of what you are offering is tough love and are you at all worried that what they will hear, the voters will hear is eventually tough cookies.

OBAMA: No, I mean, I thought I gave a pretty extensive answer. Right? I talked about...

ACOSTA: So, there is Barack Obama standing with his new surrogate in this state, Senator Bob Casey, wrapping up or getting close to wrapping up a press conference there in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. And you heard Barack Obama making some news there referring to the Bush administration's proposal for deal with the mortgage meltdown in this country as inadequate. So, we'll hear more from Barack Obama over the coming days when it comes to the current crisis and the foreclosure problem in this country.

And coming up after the break, here on BALLOT BOWL on CNN, we will be checking in with our Josh Levs on how the campaigns are clicking online. That's coming up after a break. This is BALLOT BOWL on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Welcome back to BALLOT BOWL '08, I'm Jim Acosta in Philadelphia. It's a very busy Saturday afternoon, here in the bowl, and we are keeping tabs on a couple of events happening either right now or soon to happen. Barack Obama is wrapping up the media availability in Johnstown, Pennsylvania answering questions from reporters and Chelsea Clinton, we're expecting to hear from the former first lady's daughter, the former first daughter, that is, coming up very shortly in Durham, North Carolina, where she is addressing young Democrats, there.

But, without further adieu, we want to turn now to the campaign online and our very own Josh Levs who is standing by live in Atlanta.

And Josh, for those of us out there who are looking at the campaign out here on the trail, we see that the trail changes every day, there's always something different on the horizon. But much is the same online, isn't that right?

JOSH LEVS, CNN.COM DESK: Absolutely.

ACOSTA: These campaign websites are not static.

LEVS: No.

ACOSTA: Far from it. LEVS: No, and they are really interesting to follow. I mean, it's really -- a new story every day. It's very interesting to follow them. It's interesting to see what they are pushing for really hard every day and how they are positioning themselves. And each day what they lead their Web sites with is one of the most telling things about the state of the campaign.

I'm going to show you. I've got a camera facing this camera facing this computer behind me, here, time to go Clark Kent. Let's go to this camera. I'm going to show you what's happening in on the computer. Now, I'm staring off with Hillary Clinton and this is the reason. You can see these numbers moving right there. What her campaign has is this countdown of days, hours, minutes, seconds to March 31, they are trying to reach $3 million by March 31. They talked about Barack Obama outspending them. They're trying to raise all that money in that time.

Also, they offer a link to this: They're saying pundits versus reality. Explaining to the people who visit this site why Hillary Clinton still can win this race.

Let's go over to Barack Obama's Web page. Now, hHe's leading with this image where some who donate can have dinner with him. Just four people total will get the opportunity, if they are among those who win within those who donate in the first place. And he offers a link to this, a lot on his web page about Senator Casey's endorsement. That push for Pennsylvania, all over the place.

Finally, I'm going to get to John McCain, here. And I wanted to show you this last because here, front and center on his Web page is a link to the first video clip, we're going to show you right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Keep that faith. Keep your courage. Stick together. Stay strong. Do not yield. Stand up. We're Americans and we'll never surrender.

ANNOUNCER: What must a president believe about us, about America, that she is worth protecting? hat liberty is priceless, our people honorable, our future prosperous, remarkable and free.

MCCAIN: Let me tell you something. I have served with seven presidents. I am convinced that we're in probably one of the worst situations that I've seen in the 35 years I've been in Congress. We need a person with experience, a person that understands the policy. When the Clinton administration left, it was a $250 billion surplus, now there's almost a $3 trillion deficit.

(BOOS)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see that he's not focused on one group of people. He's focusing on America in general.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He lets us know that no matter who you are and where you come from, you can change and become someone. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barack Obama is trying to make people understand that, like, don't vote for me just because I'm black or don't vote for her just because she's a woman, vote for me because my views are the same as yours or you feel I'm the best candidate and he's trying to make people understand that it's not about race.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: This is what is what's so striking to me about these videos, what I just showed you are the top videos for each of these three campaign contenders and the reason they are so striking, often we see these videos trying to target the same message, trying to target the same people or fighting for the same idea. They're all focusing on the economy or national security. We found a lot of similarity.

What's going an this weekend, is that these top videos are completely different. You've got Barack Obama's top video about race and kids discussing his race message. You've got Hillary Clinton focusing on Pennsylvania where she does see what her campaign hopes will be a turning point. And you've John McCain still harping down, he keeps coming up with these fresh, highly produced videos that focus on national security, which, as many have said, a lot of our analysts right here, well some have said, we've seen already he will focus a lot on that in his campaign. So, that's central, almost always, right here front and center on his Web site and almost always the main video you can get has that message from him (INAUDIBLE).

We're going to keep following this, obviously, with all the freshest videos, with all the freshest messages on these Web sites inside we'll keep bringing them to you unfiltered on BALLOT BOWL -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Very good. Thanks, Josh. We want to turn quickly to Chelsea Clinton. She is talking to young Democrats down in Durham, North Carolina. Chelsea, I'm told, and, yes, I believe, she has the mike in hand. So, let's listen in to the former first daughter now, in North Carolina.

CHELSEA CLINTON, HILLARY'S DAUGHTER: Understand that it's easy to vote in North Carolina, and I certainly hope you all do. But, I am here to talk to you about my mom. I am a proud supporter of my mom, not just because I'm so blessed she's my mom, but because I do believe that she is the most progressive and prepared candidate in this race. I'm also really proud of the conversation that we're having as Democrats. And I am really happy to talk with you about anything that's on your minds.

Yes.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) What would you say to young people? Why is it important to belong to any party, any organized party?

C CLINTON: Well, I think you a couple different questions. The first is why I think it's important to be a Democrat. And your second question is why I think it's important to belong to an affiliated party. I am very biased, I think everyone should be a Democrat. So I'm going to -- I am going to talk about that. But, I certainly hope that you are urging your friends to participate and actually voters who are unaffiliated in North Carolina can participate in the Democratic primary. So, I hope you'll urge your friends to participate in this primary, even if they want to maintain that identity as being an unaffiliated voter.

But, I think you should ask your friends what they care about. And I really believe that if people think about this election in the context of their own lives and what's important to them, whether that be a significant expansion in healthcare or getting our economy back on track or ending the war in Iraq or standing up for things like stem cell research and recognizing we need a global solution to global problems like global warming, even acknowledging that global warming is a reality.

You know, I mean, I say that to be serious. I think if people think about what's really at stake for our future and think about the party that is talking about all the issues that really matter to, I think, all of us as young people and to so many Americans, people will support the Democratic Party. And urge our friends to look at clips of the debates. There not only have been 20 debates among Democrats and there just have been a few fewer than that among Republicans. And we just talk about so many things in our debates than the Republicans do. And we talk about global warming, we talk about comprehensive immigration reform, we talk about higher education affordability and accessibility, we talk about evolution and getting back to investing in science and innovation again in our country. So, I hope that for your friends who want to hear it directly from the candidates or the campaigns themselves, just have them go online and look at the different debates. And I hope that they'll reach the same conclusion that we have that the Democratic Party is the science and innovation again in our country. So I hope that for your friends who want to hear it directly from the candidates or the campaigns themselves, just have them go online and look at the different debates. And I hope that they'll reach the same conclusion that we have that the Democratic Party is the more relevant and the stronger vision for our country.

Thank you.

ACOSTA: So, there you see the former first daughter, Chelsea Clinton, addressing young voters, young Democrats down to Durham, North Carolina. More Chelsea Clinton coming up after the break. Other candidates coming up after the break, stick with us, this is BALLOT BOWL on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Welcome back to BALLOT BOWL '08 I'm Jim Acosta in Philadelphia, we want to go back to Chelsea Clinton who is down in North Carolina having a Q&A with young Democrats in Durham. Chelsea Clinton saying earlier this week that she thinks her mother would actually make a better president than her father. The only American who stands to have both of her parents become president of the United States. Let's go back to Chelsea now. C CLINTON: ...her law school loans. She wants to expand Americor, something I'm really proud of my dad for starting, to expand opportunity opportunities.

(APPLAUSE)

For national service so that people can earn money to help go to college or graduate school or to help pay off college or graduate school. She is committed to getting rid of the FASA reform, something I'm excited that the party overall has embraced overall and something they are trying get done in the Senate. But, I'm proud of my mom is the first person running to say that applying for college aid or graduate school aid should be easy. So, replacing the FASA form with a check box so that if you're applying on your own behalf or your family is applying on your behalf, you can just check a box on your tax form and the government will send you the level of aid that you qualify for.

(APPLAUSE)

That's also really good for us as taxpayers because it's actually really expensive to process and administer the FASA forms. So, that's good for all of us longer term. And then there's one thing that my mother has proposed that is distinctive to her and what I think is the most progressive part of her agenda, which is to say to people, if you're willing to do a public service job when you get out of school, if you're willing to be a nurse or doctor in a rural area, a teacher, a volunteer firefighter, a community police officer, community health worker, that service itself will come as payment in kind to help you pay off your debt. And then if after 20 years you still have debt, it will be forgiven.

And I think an important follow-up question is how would she pay for this? And that's a really important question to me as a voter because I want to know that what people are talking about they'll really be able to deliver on, so it matters to me that my mother is putting the interest who will have to pay more for what she is proposing on notice. It also matters to me confronting the reality that President Bush, although he inherited a $5.6 trillion projected surplus, is expected to leave with a $9.3 trillion projected debt and that the budget he proposed last month to Congress has a $400 million deficit in it that we get back to really being able to pay for our priorities.

And so how will she pay for all of this? Well, President Bush has proposed repealing the estate tax altogether. And she supports preserving the repeal for families with assets of $7 million or less. And that's important because that's most of our family farmers, but reinstituting it on families with assets of more than $7 million. That's .3 percent of Americans, but that will bring back more than $8 billion into our federal budget every year. That will enable her to do everything she wants to do on college and graduate school...

COSTA: So, there is Chelsea Clinton talking about the national debt, talking about President Bush's proposal to repeal the state tax. She can handle the issues; Chelsea Clinton can, down there in Durham, North Carolina. There's much more BALLOT BOWL coming up after the break. Hour three, if you are counting at home. BALLOT BOWL rolls on coming up very shortly, right here on CNN.

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