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Ballot Bowl 2008

Campaign Happenings Leading Up to Pennsylvania

Aired April 05, 2008 - 15:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN HOST: Welcome to this Saturday edition of CNN's BALLOT BOWL '08. I'm Suzanne Malveaux in Washington. This is really your opportunity to hear from the presidential candidates on the stump live unfiltered as they discuss the issues that really matter to you and the voters. During the next few hours you'll hear from presumed Republican nominee Senator John McCain and Democratic Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, as they prepare for the next round of primary contests.
Republicans are casting ballots in the Virgin Islands today, and on April 22nd, both Democratic candidates are vying for a bit of a campaign magic, when voters in Pennsylvania will go to the polls. My co-anchor Jim Acosta is keeping an eye on the battle in Pennsylvania from his perch in CNN's Election Express in Philadelphia. Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Suzanne. That would have been a heck of a segue, had I been standing by live in the Virgin Islands but no we're back in Philadelphia, Groundhog Day, the Pennsylvania primaries coming up on April 22nd. The candidates are not here in the keystone state. They are out west which is an indication, if anybody is wondering at home why they're not putting all their eggs in this basket, that's because both campaigns fully expect this battle to fight on after the contest here in Pennsylvania, on April 22nd, which is why Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are planning to both headline a special dinner tonight being held by the Democratic Party in Butte, Montana, the Mansfield Metcalf dinner. If you're wondering how much do tickets go for that event, 40 bucks will get you into the Mansfield Metcalf dinner there in Butte, Montana, tonight, but an interesting event in that both of these candidates will be in big sky country, which is a state that is not accustomed to seeing a primary battle with this kind of spotlight put on it.

So that's coming up tonight, but en route to Montana, both of these candidates stopped in North Dakota yesterday. You may be wondering why North Dakota? Those astute political observers out at home right now realize that North Dakota had its contest on Super Tuesday and those results were already in. Barack Obama won that state handily but as is the custom in some of the states they are holding a party convention and there is a potential, from what we understand, for one of these delegates to perhaps peel away towards one candidate or the other, so both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton went to North Dakota.

Barack Obama, as a matter of fact, made mention of the fact of the fighting Sioux of the University of North Dakota, how they're making that are way to the national college hockey championships as they call it, the frozen four, and Barack Obama holding up a hockey stick there at that event, saying that it's not to worry, he's not going to use the hockey stick, his hockey game is about as good as his bowling game but Hillary Clinton also mentioned the fighting Sioux and she talked about the economy at an event last night to voter there is in North Dakota. Here's Hillary Clinton on the economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't think we can even imagine the damage we will find once we get back into the oval office. Eight years of neglect, and of failure, eight years of abusive power, eight years that has undermined our standing in the world, our economy here at home, the future that should be the birthright of every one of our children, for the past seven years, President Bush has conducted a dangerous experiment, an extremism that has failed us, and has taken us off course on a detour away from America's destiny.

He's had two priorities, tax cuts for the wealthy and the war in Iraq, and he hasn't paid for either one of them. He inherited a balanced budget and a surplus, and he's leaving behind a mountain of debt. When I look at the change of fortune, from where we were, when President Bush took office, until today, it is heartbreaking. President Bush has mortgaged our children's future with his reckless spending, and he has ignored the problems that continued to pile up.

He has put our country at risk and in debt. We are living on borrowed money, and we are seeing the results of what happens when we borrow money from so many countries, not just China. We borrow money from Mexico, and then we turn around and we use it to buy oil from the Saudis. That kind of transaction is not in the best interests of America. It has undermined our position in the world. It's as though George Bush took out a sub prime mortgage on America. The interest rates keep going up in terms of what we're going to have to pay in order to keep funding this debt that he has so cavalierly imposed upon us.

And when he wasn't putting us into debt, he was handing out favors to the special interests. He has put corporate special interests first, and hard-working middle class families last. That is not an overstatement. That is a fact. Just look at the records. Tax breaks for oil companies, making record profits. Who here believes that Exxon Mobil, that made $40 billion in profits last year, needs more of your hard-earned dollars in order to conduct their business? Tax cuts for billionaires, passing the bill on to the next generation.

No-bid contracts for Halliburton, and time and again, cronies have made out like bandits, while the rest of us were left holding the bag. It's hard to even make up what has happened during the last eight years. I sometimes scratch my head, how on earth could we have a vice president who as the CEO of Halliburton, oversaw the pensions of workers being ignored and denied, taking away $25 million of what those workers deserved to have, and getting a $20 million golden parachute for himself.

I believe if we had made that known during the 2004 campaign, we might have had a different president in the White House when people stopped to think about it. Now don't get me wrong. I have absolutely nothing against rich people. As a matter of fact, my husband, much to my surprise, in his, has made a lot of money since he left the White House, doing what he loves doing most, talking to people. But we didn't ask for George Bush's tax cuts. We didn't want them, and we didn't need them. We'd rather that we had invested in a clean renewable energy policy and with better schools for our children and with health care for the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So there you have it, Hillary Clinton there in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and she made mention there, in case you noticed right there at the end or did not notice, the vast sums of money that she and her husband have made over the last eight years, more than $100 million, those tax returns coming out late yesterday afternoon, one of those big stories out here on the campaign trail, the Clinton tax returns, Barack Obama had been pressuring the Hillary Clinton campaign to release those tax returns for some time, and now they have it, and speaking of Barack Obama, he also was in North Dakota, also taking aim at the Democrat's favorite target on the campaign trail, the Bush administration.

Barack Obama as we mentioned earlier, there in the University of North Dakota's big fan base there, and made mention of the fact that the University of North Dakota is going to the frozen four, the hockey championships for college hockey. Here's Barack Obama speaking to voters in North Dakota.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have more than 150,000 Americans in the middle of two wars, brave men and women on their second or third or fourth tour of duty in Iraq, a place where we're spending $400 million a day to help a government that refuses to help itself. A war that should never have been authorized, a war that I believe should have never. A war that should never have been authorized, a war that I believe should have never been waged.

At home, at home we just got the report, 80,000 people lost their jobs last month. We've lost more than 200,000 jobs since the year began. Jobless claims highest that we've had in several years. We have millions of Americans who stay awake at night, wondering if next week's paycheck will cover next month's bills. Wonder why two jobs or even three jobs aren't enough to put your kids through college anymore, or pay for health care, or fill up your gas tank.

People who don't know if their pension will be there when they retire, or if their job will disappear along with all of those that have been lost this year, who don't understand why they're putting a for sale sign up in front of their house, while the CEOs of the companies that helped trick them into risky loans are walking away with million- dollar bonuses. But that's not the worst of it. We've been through big challenges before.

The problem is, we've lost faith that our leaders can or will do anything about it. For too long, too many in Washington have been either out of touch or out for their own survival. They cling to the policies of the past, the retired politics, and the values of scoring points against your opponent over solving problems for the people who send you to Washington, a politics that exploits our differences instead of focusing on the hopes and values we share as a nation. We're seeing change all across America this year. Everywhere I go, every contest that we've had, we've been seeing record turnouts.

People are paying attention like never before. They are saying that we are ready for change, we are ready for something new, and part of the reason I'd like to take all the credit, but I can't, part of the reason that we're seeing it is because everybody knows that, no matter what else happens, when they go in the polling place this November, to select the next president of the United States of America, the name George W. Bush won't be on the ballot, and they are happy about that.

He ran as a uniter, but divided like no other president. He promised a humble foreign policy, but led with an arrogance that destroyed generations of goodwill and good standing for the, with the rest of the world. He promised compassion and conservatism, but gave us eight years of policies that were neither, policies that have led us to record debt, and greater inequality than at any time since the great depression. So I don't know anyone who is going to be shedding all that many tears when George W. Bush and my cousin, Dick Cheney, finally take that road back to Crawford in January.

But in this election, we have to ask ourselves not just what we're against, but what we're for. What's next for America? What road will we take? What kind of future do we want for our children and our grandchildren? That's what's at stake here. That's why, not only Democrats, but independents and, yes, even some Republicans, we call them Obamacans, have turned out in records all across the country, and because we know this moment of great challenge are also a moment of great opportunity. We know that this election is our chance to start over, to finally come together and solve the problems we've been talking about for decades, to put America on a different path, a better path.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So there you have Barack Obama taking aim at the Bush administration, but also working in some time to appeal to people he refers to as Obamacans, those are Republicans, he claims, who are supporting his campaign. You have to wonder what those Obamacans think about what Ed Schultz said last night in North Dakota, there was a Democratic fund-raiser in North Dakota last night and the liberal radio talk show host, Ed Schultz, who appeared on CNN and other networks; he called John McCain a warmongerer, that controversy coming up here on BALLOT BOWL. This is CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Well there is new dust getting ticked up on the campaign trail, instead of the Democratic inner bickering in the party of late this is the politics as usual. Senator John McCain taking exception to a radio host calling him a warmonger from McCain's support of the Iraq conflict. The radio host in question was introducing Senator Obama when he made the remark, reportedly before Obama arrived in the room. McCain in turn, wants Senator Obama to repudiate the comments and had this today in Prescott, Arizona.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's a free country, and we have freedom of speech in America, and Mr. Schultz is entitled to his views. I would hope that, in keeping with his commitment that Senator Obama would rapidly commit -- condemn, Senator Obama would condemn such language, since it was a part of his campaign, but that kind of thing I don't think is necessary at all in this campaign. I've made it very clear how I feel about war, and my experiences with it. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Well the Obama campaign has repudiated those remarks. One of the spokespersons saying John McCain is not a warmonger and should not be described as such. He is a supporter of a war that Senator Obama believes should have never been authorized, and has never been waged. The Obama campaign also goes on to say here that this was not an Obama event, it was a party fund-raiser, that Schultz is not an Obama surrogate, that there were three speakers between Schultz and when Obama actually walked onto the stage, but Obama was not in the room at the time the comments were made, nor was he aware of these remarks.

John McCain is wrapping up his biography tour. On Thursday he spoke in Jacksonville, Florida, about the hangar he returned to after being released as a P.O.W. in Vietnam. The tour was billed as nonpolitical but McCain outlined a litany of problems facing the next president, at the top of the list, he said, was military preparedness and homeland security.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's an old military maxim that battle plans never survive the first encounter with the enemy. Soldiers are taught to expect the unexpected and accept it, and revise, improvise, and fight their way through any adversity. That doesn't mean the soldier doesn't grumble or complain about unexpected changes in their fortunes, but they're trained to get things done no matter the circumstances. That is an ethic, and it should be in all public service in this country and it should be the quality all Americans demand from their elected leaders.

We are the most accomplished nation in history, and our system of government is superior to any other, but we have much to do in this historically pivotal area of great change and challenge, to ensure, as every preceding American generation has, that the country we leave our children is better than the one that we inherited. To keep our nation prosperous, strong and growing, we have to re-think and reform and re-invent the way we educate our children, train our workers, deliver health care services, support retirees, fuel our transportation network, stimulate research and development, and harness new technologies, to defend ourselves, we must do everything better and smarter than we did before. We must re-think, renew and rebuild the structure and mission of our military, the capabilities of our intelligence, and law enforcement agencies, the purposes of our alliances, the reach and scope of our democracy, and diplomacy, and the capabilities of all branches of government, to defend us against the peril that we now face. We need to martial all elements of American power, our military, economy, and investment, trade and technology. We need to strengthen our alliances, and build support in other nations in which must, whether they believe it or not, confront the same threat to their way of life that we do.

We must also prepare across all levels of government, far better than we have done to respond quickly and effectively to another terrorist attack or natural calamity. I am not an advocate of big government, and the private sector has an important role to play in homeland security, but when Americans confront catastrophes either natural or manmade, their government, across juror jurisdictions should be organized and ready to deliver bottled drinking water to dehydrated babies and rescue the aged and infirm trapped in a hospital with no electricity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: More of the candidates as well as additional news headlines, including the latest round of severe weather to damaged parts of the south. Stay with us. BALLOT BOWL continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta, more BALLOT BOWL in a moment but first these stories.

Parts of the south are cleaning up after an out brake of storms in Alabama, high winds, and downed trees in the Birmingham area. In Mississippi, fast-moving storms unleashed possible tornadoes along with hail and rain. Crews are working today to get power back on for almost 100,000 customers.

Severe storms and flash flooding could be a problem today in Florida as well, South Georgia and the Carolinas. We check in with meteorologist Jacqui Jeras.

JERAS: Hey, Fredricka. A lot going on again today, more severe weather. The good news is, is that you know, the tornado numbers will be a little bit more limited today compared to yesterday, though an isolated tornado can't be ruled out, damaging winds has been our primary concern and you can see a severe thunderstorm watch, that's the yellow box there, meaning large hail and damaging winds are possible with these thunderstorms and also we've seen a lot of heavy downpours particularly into the Florida Panhandle.

A lot of lightning out there, things have been kind of lit up around the Jacksonville area, along the I-95 corridor, looking for a wet and stormy go of it, and then you head along I-10 towards Tallahassee. Look at the line here off to the west, we could see some small hail with this line, in addition to a lot of lightning, and maybe some strong wind gusts around 60 plus miles per hour so Tallahassee, be aware, that line off to your west and moving on in.

You get further to the west of there, Pensacola and Mobile we've seen as much as 6 to 10 inches of some localized flooding, has been very common there especially in the morning hours and we'll see additional rainfall in the green area here between now and Sunday, about an inch so that's really widespread on up through the Carolinas up into Virginia as well. Be aware of the flash flood threat and difficult travel from I-95, along I-10, also along I-85, the far north that you go.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much Jacque.

On to Minnesota now, one person is dead after a charter bus accident on Interstate 94. High school students and their chaperones were returning from a band trip to Chicago, dozens of people were hurt when the bus tipped over early this morning, northwest of Minneapolis. At least three of the passengers are in critical condition. It's unclear why the bus tipped over.

In Texas, child welfare workers are trying to find foster homes for dozens of young girls, they were removed from a compound linked to jailed polygamist leader Warren Jeffs. Ed Lavandera joins us from El Dorado, Texas, with more.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. We're about four miles away from this compound where authorities arrived late Thursday night, they have spent a great deal of time here over the last two days and we're told by authorities that they are still on that compound and according to documents, public records released late yesterday afternoon they're looking for a great deal of information and specifically information about a man named Dale Barlow who they believe lived here in this compound and had entered into a marriage with a 16-year-old girl, and had actually fathered a child with this girl.

That has led to, as you mentioned, the taking away by child protective services here in the state of Texas of up to 52 kids, we understand, 18 of them, which are currently in the process of being put into foster homes but it is still a situation where there are a great deal of authorities still working the situation here at the compound. It is impossible to get very close to it, at this point, and from everything we understand so far, there is still no arrest of this man named Dale Barlow at this point.

WHITFIELD: Ed Lavandera, thanks so much.

More headlines later on. Let's go back to BALLOT BOWL after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: I don't hear -- am I here? I should be. I'm not hearing, because I'm not plugged in. That could be --

MALVEAUX: All right, having some technical difficulties, but we want to bring you first Pennsylvania's primary, news of it just two weeks away, and Senator Hillary Clinton has been hard at work stumping across the state telling blue collar workers that she will fight for their jobs. Pennsylvania has been hit hard by manufacturing job losses to foreign completion, and Tuesday at a stop in Philadelphia, she compared her fight, her fighting spirit, if you will, to the local's movie legend, "Rocky." Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: I know taking on Senator McCain in November won't be easy. The Republicans are not going to give up without a fight. And no matter how beautiful your rhetoric, the Republicans are not going to turn off their attack machine, it does not have an off switch. But, one thing you know about me, is that when I say I'll fight for you, I'll fight for you. I know how to fight for you, and that's exactly what I will do throughout this campaign.

(APPLAUSE)

Look, I know there will be hurdles and setbacks between now and November, but I also know I'm ready. I know what it's like to stumble. I know what it means to get knocked down. But, I've never stayed down. I never will, and neither will you, and neither will America. We're on the comeback trail as a country.

This is one of the most important elections we've ever had. There is so much at stake. You heard, as President George talked about what a difference it made to go from a Republican governor and Republican senators and Republican members of Congress. Well, we've got to finish the job, and it's so important that the people of Pennsylvania had their voices heard and their votes counted.

Senator Obama says he's getting tired of the campaign. His supporters say they want it to end. Well, could you imagine if Rocky Balboa had gotten half way up those art museum stairs and said, "well, I guess that's about far enough." That's not the way it works.

Let me tell you something, when it comes to finishing the fight, Rocky and I have a lot in common. I never quit, I never get up, and I know that we're going to make it together, not just up those stairs, but we're going to climb that mountain to a better day for America.

We have so much work to do, and we won't get there if we quit, or we walk away. We'll get there by staying and fighting, and standing up for what we believe in. But, I don't need to tell any of you this. No one knows better than organized labor, how important it is to have a fighter on your side.

When you send someone to the bargaining table, you need the strongest, toughest, most determined person you've got, not someone who is just going to talk about problems, but someone who will roll up her sleeves and get the job done for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Well, word of Senator Clinton's Rocky comparison made it back to her rival, of course, and Senator Obama could not resist taking a swing at it. Here he is on the same stage in Philadelphia just a day later.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I know there's been some talk about Rocky Balboa over the last couple of days. And you know, we all love Rocky. We all love Rocky. And last time I checked, I was the underdog in this state. So, you know I like the Rocky story, but we got to remember, Rocky was a movie, and so is the idea that somebody can fight for working people and at the same time embrace the broken system in Washington where corporate lobbyists use their clout to shape laws to their liking.

We need to challenge the system on behalf of America's workers, and if we're not willing to take up that fight, then real change, change that will make a lasting difference in the lives of ordinary Americans, will keep getting blocked by the defenders of the status quo.

I believe I can bring about the kind of change that's need, because I'm the only candidate in this race who's actually worked to take power away from lobbyists, by passing historic ethics reform in Illinois and in the United States senate. I'm the only candidate who isn't taking a dime of Washington lobbyist money. They have not funded my campaign. They will not run my administration, and they will not drown out the voices of the American people when I'm president of the United States of America. Your voices will be heard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So both of the Democratic candidates really trying to portray themselves as the underdog, the Rocky figure, if you will, in Philadelphia, a very popular figure there, and that is where our own Jim Acosta is, in Philadelphia.

I understand, Jim, with the "Election Express," you're really right in front of those stairs, are you not, in front of the Rocky stairs?

ACOSTA: I am right now, Suzanne. Although, I'm not at the top of the stairs. A spot that I think you're familiar with.

MALVEAUX: Yeah, I want to see you run those stairs at some point, Jim. Everybody said you got to run the stairs when you're there. We did it, so you got to do it at least once.

ACOSTA: If I run those stairs, Suzanne, the next stop will be the emergency room for me, just personally, just to let you know.

MALVEAUX: OK.

ACOSTA: I was just curious, did anybody make note of the fact, and perhaps maybe Barack Obama mentioned it there, although I didn't see the red, white and blue shorts in that speech there, but no, I was curious, did anybody make mention of the fact that Rocky did not win in...

MALVEAUX: No, he didn't.

ACOSTA: And there is no Pennsylvania primary II. MALVEAUX: Yeah, there is no sequel to this, so we'll see how this turns out.

ACOSTA: Well, very good, Suzanne. And the other contender, not in that ring between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, is John McCain, more with the Arizona senator, that's coming up after a 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, who over the past week has been reintroducing himself as his campaign has put it, to the American people with his "Service to America" tour. It has taken him across the country from Annapolis, where he spent his days in the Naval Academy and earned the nickname, apparently, the nickname "McNasty" was given to John McCain, not to be confused with McLoven, which is a totally different thing.

John McCain made his way from Annapolis, also made his way into Pensacola to highlight his days as a Navy pilot. And during that stop he talked about one of his campaign promises, which is he would like to expand the military, one of the aspects of the Iraq war that has been talked about very much over the past several years is how that war, that conflict has put strains on the military and John McCain has been one almost from the onset of that war, who has advocated a larger military presence in that conflict, it is something he talked about time and again. He's not shy about criticizing Donald Rumsfeld out on the trail.

It's made him unpopular with some Republicans when he does that, but it's also earned him a lot of respect in military circles and John McCain certainly has that, and so here's John McCain now in Pensacola, talking about expanding the military.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCAIN: My friends, I have long argued that the United States must significantly increase the size of our Army and Marine Corps. I think the security challenges we face today absolutely require it. The former secretary of defense disagreed and we waited too long to begin that buildup. Had we begun to do it after 9/11 as we realized we were in a global struggle against a malicious enemy, or as we embarked on two wars, or even when it became clear to many of us that our flawed strategy and inadequate troop levels in Iraq were going to result in that conflict lasting far longer than anticipated, we would not be in this situation we are in today.

I don't have to tell a lot of people in this audience that the strain of our involvement in Iraq has placed on the readiness of our military would not be so acute, but that's the past, and while we can argue about it indefinitely, it won't solve the problem we now confront. We must increase the size of our military, and much more so than we have done to date. It is an urgent priority. Obviously, that's going to require greater numbers of Americans to serve than have recently showed a willingness to do. We can issue appeals to Americans to accept their responsibilities to the country, as previous generations have. We could institute a draft, but that's neither necessary nor desirable.

We could and should call on universities to allow ROTC, a presence on their campuses. That they are frequently denied that privilege is disgraceful.

(APPLAUSE)

The United States military defends the freedom of all of us, including students and professors at leading institutes of higher learning. For some of these same institutions, to refuse to allow future officers who will one day risk their lives to protect us, to train for their responsibilities on their campuses, is unfair, ungrateful, and very poor citizenship.

I want every American to know that despite its atannedance, risk and sacrifices, military service even for one or two enlistments, or for a career, is one of the most rewarding experiences you could ever have.

Make no mistake, those risks and sacrifices to you are great and daunting, even in peace times, but few other occupations so completely invest your life with personal and even historic importance, what we have achieved in this country is very much worth defending, worth even the most terrible sacrifices. The thought that any American wouldn't believe that saddens me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And so there is John McCain in Pensacola, Florida, highlighting his career as a Navy pilot. As John McCain likes to say out on the campaign trail, he was talented enough as a Navy pilot to intercept a missile as a pilot and so John McCain talking about his service in the military, down there in Pensacola.

Coming up after the break here on BALLOT BOWL on CNN, Josh Levs, our very own Josh Levs will have the race in cyberspace, campaigning online, that's coming up after a break. This is BALLOT BOWL on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: The candidates are making unprecedented use of the Internet this election cycle not only to raise money but to connect with voters. Visitors to John McCain's Web site can catch a slickly- produced video describing his life and his beliefs. And they can find similar videos on the Democrats' Web sites, as well. Our CNN's Josh Levs is live at the CNN Center in Atlanta with more on the candidates' character offenses.

Obviously, this is really interesting stuff, here. You get a fascinating view of all of these guys right here on the Internet -- Josh. JOSH LEVS, CNN.COM DESK: Yeah, you do. Hey there, Suzanne. And you're right about slick. I mean, these videos get slicker and slicker. Hey, you know, in successive campaigns, but also within this campaign, you can look at some of the videos that are coming out now versus what they were there months ago and they're really impressive. And just like you were saying, John McCain, right now, is in the midst of an effort to present his character to America, in a way to introduce himself. So, I'm going to show you now a clip of that followed by similar character introduction videos from the two Democrats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: The son and grandson of admirals, his grandfather an aviator, his father, a submariner. They were his first heroes, and earning their respect has been one of the lasting ambitions of his life. They gave their lives to their country, and taught young John McCain lessons about honor, courage, duty, perseverance, and leadership. Lessons he didn't fully grasp, until later in his life, when confronted with challenges he never imagined.

OBAMA: The biggest blessing of my life is my family. I've got a wonderful wife, Michelle. We've been blessed with two beautiful daughters and we're active in our church, Trinity United Church of Christ. My family life, I think, is most important to me, and it's the main thing I do when I'm not working in my political life.

I just want to stand in strong support of the bill working for a number of organizations throughout the state that we're trying to deal with this homelessness issue. I think is an example...

One of the things I'm very proud of is the fact that I've been able to get things done whether in the minority or in the majority party and we've been able to build bipartisan coalitions around a lot of these issues.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's battle tested. Anybody that thinks that they're going to be able to push around madam president, they've got another thing coming. I have always found Hillary to be very approachable. She's a very good listener. She and I have talked about a lot of things over the years, from, you know, the changing of her name, to whether or not her husband should run for president when he did, and she's always been able to, you know, bring a lot of different perspectives to bear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: And there's a lot more where those come from. What I'm going to do now is show you how you can see these and also the big messages is that all three major candidates are now leading their Web sites with, today, it always tells you a lot about the state of each campaign. Let's go to this camera here, I'm going to turn around, we're going to start off right here.

This is John McCain. Now, as I was just showing you that video, you can't miss it, this is him introducing himself to a whole new crop of voters, right now. You get to his Web site, you can see how big this is. That takes you to the video and other things.

Now, let's move on over here. Hillaryclinton.com. Very often what you find her leading with ways of raising money, sometimes you'll have an hourglass saying how much she needs in a certain time. What she's got right here, I know it's kind of small on your screen, but she's saying you can tell her how to spend her money in Pennsylvania. Do you want to spend it on TV air time, signs or online ads.

Barack Obama, meanwhile, his site stays pretty similar. I check on it pretty often, I check on each of these campaigns everyday and they stay similar. He's talking about organizing fellows, drawing some students together for the summer. He offers a link to his "More Perfect Union" speech. His site has stayed the same more than either of the other two which shows the level of confidence and the latest traffic reports I've seen shown that he does have a little bit more traffic, some more traffic than both of the two competitors, there. So we, Suzanne, are of course going to keep an eye on these, all of the latest videos, all the latest messages at the top of the Web, plus have that online campaign fund-raising that's going. We'll keep you updated -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Hey, thanks, Josh. One thing I noticed too, this week, there was a new ad from Hillary Clinton in North Carolina, and she actually invites the voters there to send questions and she'll answer their questions and she says, go to the site online. So, it's fascinating to see how all of this kind of fits together, the ads, the Internet, the interactions between the voters, as well as the candidates.

LEVS: It is, yeah, in fact that's a device she's been using particularly in the wake of Iowa. One thing you saw as she moved on to New Hampshire reaching out to young people, using lots of tools on the Web where people could send in questions that way and she would answer some by video, some in person, some in different ways. It is the tactics that she's been taking, in general, trying to use this.

And speaking of questions and answers, coming up later on today, later on in BALLOT BOWL, we're going to give you the answers CNN viewers have been tossing to us about whether the Democratic race should continue, later on BALLOT BOWL -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right, sounds good, Josh, thanks again.

We're going to have a lot more of BALLOT BOWL, obviously, at the top of the hour, including some new developments, new information about the former Republican congressman, Bob Barr, and his deliberations and considerations for perhaps looking at running for the nomination for the Libertarian Party, all of that coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Welcome back to BALLOT BOWL on CNN, I'm Jim Acosta and if you're checking your watches, we're not into hour three of BALLOT BOWL, 4:00 Eastern, here in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the city of Brotherly Love. And also, there's a primary coming up here on April 22 that both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are very concerned about and they are fired up for that contest coming up on April 22. And as you know, if you're a fan of BALLOT BOWL and have bee watching, this a place where you can hear the candidates in their own words. Sometimes the events that we show you are live, sometimes they are on tape, but they are always unfiltered.

And joining me is my colleague, Suzanne Malveaux, who is in Washington following the Democrats in this slug fest that has been developing here in Pennsylvania and essentially heading out West this weekend.

Isn't that right, Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: Yeah, absolutely, Jim. The slug fest continues. Senator Barack Obama is doing some proactive campaigning in the Big Sky country of Montana, today.

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