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Ballot Bowl 2008

'Ballot Bowl '08'

Aired April 06, 2008 - 14:00   ET

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

JIM ACOSTA, CO-HOST: Welcome to "Ballot Bowl '08."
I'm Jim Acosta in Philadelphia.

We are standing by in Pennsylvania in anticipation of the April 22nd primary here. That is 16 days and counting.

And here on "Ballot Bowl," it's a chance for you, the viewers, to hear the candidates in their own words. Sometimes the sound is live and sometimes it's taped, but it's always in their own words and unfiltered.

My colleague Candy Crowley is joining us from Washington, and Candy is going to look at the Democrats now, who are not in Pennsylvania, we should mention, but out West.

Hi, Candy.

CANDY CROWLEY, CO-HOST: Hi. How are you, Jim?

Far out West, as a matter of fact. Democratic Senator Barack Obama roused the crowd in Butte, Montana, last night. The Democratic primary out in big sky country is June 3rd. Obama spoke about job losses, the ailing economy, and the importance of less populated states like Montana in this year's election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, the results are in on this philosophy. We've tested this philosophy for the last seven and a half years, and here's what we have to show for it -- mounting job loss, record gas and health care bills, a widening income gap. And here's the most important and telling point, the pain is actually trickling up. The excesses of a few manipulators on Wall Street, aided by the indifference of Washington, has taken our economy into a tailspin.

This is the Washington we've come to know, but this is not what Washington has to be. This is not the America we believe in. And that's why you're here tonight, because we're fighting for a different America, a better America. We want the old-fashioned values of America lifted back up.

That's our fight. That's our struggle.

(APPLAUSE) We believe in those values that I know help build up Montana, that we rise or fall as one people, as one nation. We believe that we can't have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street is struggling. We know that when there's a child in Butte who can't read, a young woman in Bismarck who can't afford college, that we're all poor as a nation.

We understand that we have a responsibility to the communities with empty streets and the workers who have watched their jobs disappear, because their future is our future. Their prosperity is America's prosperity.

We're here because we believe in a fundamental idea that's always been at the heart of this nation's progress -- that I am my brother's keeper, that I am my sister's keeper, that out of many we are one.

(APPLAUSE)

And I don't want anyone to be mistaken. I know that Montana is fiercely independent. That's how the western states are.

We know that government cannot solve all of our problems. We don't expect it to. Americans are a self-reliant people.

We want to work hard. We want to make it on our own. We don't need a handout.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: I can tell you right now, it is a rare time that a Democratic candidate shows up in Montana, much less two of them.

Senator Hillary Clinton is there right now, speaking at a rally in Missoula. She's in the final day of a weekend swing through western states. Montana, of course, one of the states holding that primary on June 3rd. It is one of the final contests in this long primary season.

Let's listen to Hillary Clinton.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... responding to the launch of Sputnik by the Russians. And those of you who are too young to know what that is, find somebody who was around then.

When we started out, we didn't know that the direct result of the research we did would lead to the Internet, did we? There's no way to know what will happen when we unleash the genius of America. And there isn't any more important challenge to give our young people than to say, just as with previous generations, getting into space was an enormous challenge.

Well, let's make ourselves energy-independent. That is the challenge of this time. But we need a president who sets our sights high and then organizes the government to provide the support and resources to make it happen.

(APPLAUSE)

And that will then give us the chance to go after global warming, which is a real problem. And the American government has to lead, and we have to make sure China and India and all these other countries are part of the solution, because we can do everything we can imagine here at home, but if China keeps putting on an old-fashioned, coal-powered firing plant every seven to 10 days, it's not going to make a difference. So, the whole world has to be involved.

That's why we've got to get back to diplomacy, a word that is apparently not in the lexicon of the Bush White House.

(APPLAUSE)

There is so much work to be done on global warming, on global public health, on global education. I believe that the United States can restore our standing in the world if we lead in these areas, as well. And supporting that will be one of my highest priorities.

We will also have a plan to rebuild America, because in addition to the at least five million jobs I think we can create from clean energy investments, we can create at least three million jobs in rebuilding our infrastructure, our roads, our tunnels, our bridges, our water systems. Let the people who built America rebuild America. Let's put Americans to work, making it safer and smarter and stronger for our economy.

(APPLAUSE)

You know, back during World War II, people bought war bond. There may be somebody here today who remembers buying a war bond.

Let's have Americans buy "Rebuild America" bonds. I bet a lot of Americans would buy a bond that would go into a fund that we can then put our construction workers, our building trades, our architects, our engineers to work doing what needs to happen. At every previous point in American history we were flat on our backs during the recessions of the past, especially during the Great Depression. We never stopped building.

Well, we are not doing it now. Bridges are collapsing, levees are collapsing. We are woefully behind. Other countries are making big investments, because you can't power a 21st century economy on the infrastructure of the 19th and 20th century.

And then, thirdly, we're going to create jobs again from science and research because we're going to end George Bush's war on science. It is done. It is over.

(APPLAUSE)

No, this university, like every other, knows the effects of this war on science. We've had information taken off of government Web sites. We've had government scientists pushed into early retirement. We've had an administration that substituted ideology for evidence, and the result has been incredibly harmful.

It's not just that we have an administration that denied global warming for years, we have a president who has now vetoed twice a bill that would ethically permit federal funding of stem-cell research that is necessary for us to do. As president, I will ask the Congress to send me that bill so I can sign it, and our scientists, our researchers can get back to work.

(APPLAUSE)

And we will increase the budgets of the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation and all the other scientific endeavors that we should be funding, because this is about our economy, our quality of life, and our future. So, I think we can get back to creating jobs. It wasn't so long ago that we did that.

You know, during the 1990s more than 22.7 million new jobs in that eight-year period. More people lifted out of poverty than any time in recent history. The typical American family saw $7,000-plus increase in income.

Now look. A typical family losing $1,000 in income and jobs stalled.

You know, sometimes during this campaign I hear people criticizing the 1990s. And that's fair. You know, a campaign is a campaign. You can criticize whatever you want to criticize. But whenever I hear that, I always wonder, which part of the '90s didn't they like, the peace or the prosperity? Because I don't get it.

(APPLAUSE)

And we're going to inherit a worse economic situation than my husband inherited. And it's going to take even more tenacity and grit to climb our way out of it. But you've heard me say it before, it took a Clinton to clean up after the first Bush, it's going to take a Clinton to clean up after the second Bush.

(APPLAUSE)

And we're going to work for universal health care, everybody included. Nobody left out. All of us.

(APPLAUSE)

We're also going to make education the passport to opportunity again -- preschool, pre-kindergarten, the kind of head start programs and the other ways to help young people be prepared to be successful in school.

I'm going to end the unfunded mandate known as No Child Left Behind, and we're going to get back to a different approach.

(APPLAUSE)

CROWLEY: Hillary Clinton in Missoula, Montana. We will of course be tracking her and get back to her over the course of this next hour.

Right now we're going to take a break, but when we get back we'll take a look at John McCain and some weekend conversation when someone accused him of being a warmonger.

We'll be back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Welcome back to "Ballot Bowl '08."

I'm Jim Acosta in Philadelphia.

And you're looking now at a live picture of Hillary Clinton speaking to a big crowd in Missoula, Montana. We'll be checking in on the senator from New York over the course of this hour.

But now we want to switch gears and talk about John McCain.

The presumptive Republican nominee was embarking on his Service to America tour which took him across the country and touched on his biography, different parts of his life, different moments of his life during his service to military and to the country. But just late last week, John McCain had to respond to something that was being said by a liberal radio talk show host, Ed Schultz, who has appeared on this network and other networks.

He was speaking at a Democratic Party fundraiser in North Dakota, and during those remarks -- which were not on camera -- Ed Schultz called John McCain a warmonger. Well, yesterday, in Arizona, during an event that McCain held in Prescott, Arizona, where he wrapped up that Service to America tour, McCain responded to Schultz's comments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), 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 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)

ACOSTA: And we should note, the Obama campaign has responded to all of this because Barack Obama was at that Democratic fundraiser, and Obama claims that he did not hear Ed Schultz call John McCain a warmonger, but the Obama campaign released a statement saying the senator does not believe that John McCain is a warmonger and does not believe that that kind of dialogue belongs in a presidential campaign. But getting back to John McCain, he was in Jacksonville, Florida, last week as part of this Service to America tour that took John McCain across the country. And during that stop in Jacksonville, he talked about the need to make government smarter and more responsive to the needs of its constituents.

Here's John McCain in Jacksonville.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCCAIN: There'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 that should imbue 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.

(APPLAUSE)

To keep our nation prosperous, strong and growing, we have to rethink and reform and reinvent 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 rethink, 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 marshal all elements of American power -- our military, economy, investment, trade and technology. We need to strengthen our alliances and build support in other nations in which we 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 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA: So, there's John McCain in Jacksonville, Florida. And McCain should know that he may have conservative company coming up in the general election. Bob Barr, the former Republican congressman from Georgia, has announced that he has formed a presidential exploratory committee. We'll explore that after the break.

This is "Ballot Bowl" on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Welcome back to "Ballot Bowl."

It's probably been a while since you heard the name Bob Barr, the former Republican congressman from Georgia who helped lead the charge to impeach President Clinton in the House of Representatives back in 1998. Well, now Bob Barr, who switched to the Libertarian Party back in 2006, he has decided to put together a presidential exploratory committee.

He announced as much yesterday in Kansas City, and he is saying that he is really serious about this. He may decide to run as a libertarian.

And for more on that, let's go right to the potential candidate, Bob Barr, yesterday in Kansas City.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB BARR, FMR. GOP CONGRESSMAN: And nobody can look at that political landscape out there and walk away from it thinking, hey, man, times are great. These are times of great comfort and convenience where it's easy to be a sunshine patriot.

These are times of challenge, controversy, and, indeed, grave moral crisis. And meeting those, not being content -- libertarians by their nature are not content to just sit back and remain neutral. It's not a part of our hard wiring, it's certainly not part of our platform, whatever platform we adhere to. Sitting back and being complacent, maintaining our neutrality has never been, and I hope never will be, a part of the Libertarian Party or the libertarian agenda.

And therefore, as a good libertarian, I am refusing, along with you, to sit back and remain neutral. Particularly this year, as we face the great moral crises that is enveloping our country and, indeed, all of western civilization. And therefore, I am announcing here today, in America's heartland, which is the appropriate place to do it, the formation of an exploratory committee to seek the presidency of the United States of America in the year 2008.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you.

Now, some -- nobody here, I hope -- but some of our friend out there, and I know some of my friends, former friend in the Congress, they say, whoa, you know, wait a minute, Barr. You know, let's talk.

You know, to them, doing the right thing for the right reason at the right time is always secondary, not to principle, but to political expediency. Oh, you know, hold on. Whoa, hold on a minute there, let's talk about this.

Maybe the time isn't right. After all, we have candidates out there. We have at least three of them that are on the news all the time. We have great candidates. They're going to raise these issues, aren't they?

You know, the structure of the two parties, these are issues that are important to their platform -- the preservation of liberty, respect for the Bill of Rights, smaller government, tax reform. Aren't they?

Well, as a matter of fact, they aren't. And if I were to just sit back and let that two-party monopoly status quo system that has failed the American people cycle after cycle after cycle convince me and the rest of us that they will take care of the problem, I'm not willing to do that.

They are the problem. They're not the solution of the problem. The two-party system is the problem in this country.

(APPLAUSE)

It has stifled risk -- it has stifled risk, is it has stifled our economy, it has stifled our families, it has stifled our education system, it has stifled our national defense, and if we continue to rely on that sorry system, then shame on us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So there is Bob Barr in Kansas City talking about forming a presidential exploratory committee to run potentially as a libertarian for the White House.

And CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider will be joining us later here on "Ballot Bowl" to talk about all of that.

But for now, I will toss it back to my colleague Candy in Washington -- Candy.

CROWLEY: Thanks, Jim.

We are going to go from Kansas City and the Libertarian Party, further west and back to Hillary Clinton, who is still talking in Missoula, Montana, taking questions and answers. These are known as town hall meetings.

Take a listen.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

CLINTON: ... my work for the Children's Defense Fund was compiling evidence to change the law that would permit children with disabilities to go to public schools. It may be hard for younger people to even imagine, but when I was growing up, and as late as the early 1970s, you had a disability almost no matter how minor. If you were deaf or blind or in a wheelchair, you had some other disability, you were not welcomed. And the public schools were not required to give you an education.

So, I went door to door and got evidence by knocking on doors and asking if people had school-aged children that weren't in school. And I was invited into these modest homes and apartments, and I met kids in wheelchairs, and blind kids, and kids with behavioral problems, and mental health problems, and the whole range of disabilities.

So, our country made a big step in 1976 by passing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. We were the first nation that ever did that, and I'm very proud.

Then we went to the Americans with Disabilities Act to try to open up more employment opportunities and fair treatment and end discrimination. And again, we've made a lot of progress, but there is more work to be done.

It's especially important that we pay attention to the needs of people with disabilities, because as we live longer, and as modern medicine keeps people alive and functioning, we're going to have a higher and higher percentage of Americans with disabilities. It is in our interest, as well as being fair to people with disabilities, that we do everything we can to make people as productive and independent and self-sufficient as possible. And I'm committed to doing that.

(APPLAUSE)

OK? OK?

Oh here -- OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you hear me?

CLINTON: Yes, I can.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hillary, I think you're fabulous. And I think most Democrats across the country know that you are the person with the most experience.

A lot of Democrats obviously from turnouts also are inspired by Barack. I'd like to know -- I'm voting for you, clearly. I'd like to know when your campaign is going to make more of the...

CLINTON: Just keep talking.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... experience of making more of this now before the Pennsylvania primary, the primaries to come up, make more of this that Barack's time is yet to come. He's a good man, but you have the experience...

(APPLAUSE) CLINTON: Well, you know, I'm going to make the affirmative case for myself because I believe that voters can decide between the two of us.

Obviously, I would not be running as hard as I'm running with as much conviction as I have about what we need it do in our country if I did not believe I would be the best president of the three of us and I did not believe I would be the better candidate to defeat John McCain. And that is what I am going to be telling voters, and hopefully encouraging voters to think that through for themselves.

And I appreciate very much your support.

Let's see, we've got this gentleman right there.

Yes, sir? Right there. Here comes the microphone. Hopefully it will work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our country's being overrun by illegal immigrants who are destroying our health care system, educational system, and even the prison systems. What are you going to do about that?

CLINTON: You know, I want to -- I want to tell you what I think we need to do and, you know, ask you to think hard about this.

There is no doubt that we have a very significant number of people who came here illegally. Somewhere between 12 million and 14 million. And we've got to figure out how we're going to handle that. So here's what I believe is the best way to approach it, because I know that it can't be just one thing, we've got to have a comprehensive approach.

I have voted for and spoken out for toughening border security -- more personnel, more technology, where appropriate a physical barrier. But I want you to realize that 40 percent of the people who are here illegally came here legally to start with. So, our problem is not just over our borders, our problem is the people we let in and then lose track of.

Think about it, those hijackers, most of them came here legally to go to school, to make a trip. Remember some of them enrolled in programs to learn how to fly planes. And we lost track of them. So, it's not enough to say we're going to toughen border security.

We need a much more effective internal system to keep track of people who come here legally, or -- you know, and then don't leave when they're supposed to leave. And it's not just our borders, it's also our ports, our airports and so much else. And as somebody who has a state like you do along the Canadian border, it's not just one border either that has to be toughened up.

Number two, we have to crack down on employers who employ people here who are undocumented, and do it in a way that -- that deters future employers from doing that. If people -- I bet if -- you know, if we were honest with ourselves and you were motivated, and you were ambitious, and you cared about your future and your family, many of us put in the same circumstances as the folks who come here to work would do it, as well.

(APPLAUSE)

Because it is about seeking a better life and, obviously, there's opportunities here that aren't in their own communities. So, we've got to get employers understanding they cannot violate the law, and cracking down.

Number three...

CROWLEY: Hillary Clinton campaigning in Missoula.

Montana, of course, hold its primary June 3rd. A ways to go, but never too early to start campaigning.

We are headed towards a break right now. But when we come back, we will do a delegate count and also hear a little bit more from Barack Obama.

So stick with "Ballot Bowl."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CROWLEY: . Hi. And welcome back to "Ballot Bowl."

It's the Sunday edition, and this is your chance to hear these candidates, sometimes live, sometimes on tape, but always unfiltered and, of course, in their own words.

We want to take you back now to Montana and last night. Barack Obama was there in Butte for a Democratic Party fundraiser, a state fundraiser, talking to the crowd there. Again, that is a state that has its primary June 3rd.

Barack Obama in Butte, Montana.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I know that there are some people who have been saying that these caucuses -- these caucus states out West with these small populations, they don't really count all that much in the process.

(BOOING)

There have been people who have been saying, well, Obama is winning all these small caucus states, these small little western states. I don't know about you, but I think they're pretty important.

(APPLAUSE)

And I think it's important to note that we have seen record numbers of Americans who have turned out for us in Idaho, and in Wyoming, and in Utah, and in Colorado, because I think every state is important. And we are going to generate enthusiasm and excitement right here in Montana, because I want to win Montana, not just in the primary, I want to win it in November.

(APPLAUSE)

I'm tired of saying just some states count. I think every state counts.

And we are now entering into the second spring of this campaign. You know, I have already gone through one baseball season. I'm into my second.

We've been at this campaign so long, there are babies who have been born and are now walking and talking since I announced for president of the United States. But, the reason this is no ordinary election is because this is no ordinary time for America.

We have more than 150,000 Americans in the middle of two wars. One war that we need to win and another war that should have never been authorized and should have been waged.

(APPLAUSE)

We've got brave men and women on their second, third, even fourth tour of duty in Iraq, a place where we're spending $400 million a day to help a government that seems unwilling to help itself. A war that I believe was an unwise war, that fanned the flames of anti-American sentiment, and distracted us from the battle against al Qaeda in Afghanistan. That's why I opposed it in 2002, that's why I intend to bring it to a close in 2009.

(APPLAUSE)

At home -- thank you. Thank you.

At home we have millions of Americans, some right here in Montana, who stay awake at night wondering if next week's paycheck will cover next month's bills, who wonder why two jobs or even three jobs aren't enough to put your kids through college or pay your health care premiums or fill up your gas tank. Who don't know if their pension will be there when they retire or if their job will disappear along with the 232,000 jobs that have already been lost so far this year. People who don't understand why they're putting a "For Sale" sign up in front of their house while the CEO of some of the companies that tricked them into risky loans, predatory loans, are walking away with $20 million bonuses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: Barack Obama reaching for the stars there. You heard him say he not only wants to win the Montana primary, but he wants to win Montana in the general election. That is a tall order for a Democrat.

But, checking where they are right now in the Democratic delegate count, Senator Barack Obama has 1,629 total delegates. Senator Hillary Clinton, 1,486. You need 2,024 delegates to win the Democratic nomination. Right now, we are, again, headed for a break. But afterwards, we want to talk to you about another potential gaffe along the campaign trail. It has to do with Hillary Clinton and a hospital. We're going to talk about that with our own Bill Schneider.

Stick with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CROWLEY: Hi, and welcome back to CNN's "Ballot Bowl." It's our Sunday edition. We are trying to give you these candidates pretty much as we see them along the campaign trail.

You know, in journalism, often the facts in your story are only as reliable as the source of our information. So, you have to check, and you re-check.

Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton is finding that can also be true in politics. She had shared a story on the trail of an uninsured Ohio woman who was denied medical care and then died after giving birth to a stillborn child. But an Ohio hospital is challenging the story as Clinton tells it.

She first heard it from a deputy sheriff she met on the campaign trail in Pomeroy, Ohio. Here's the story as the senator heard it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRYAN HOLMAN, POMEROY, OHIO, RESIDENT: I'd like to tell you the story of a young woman that I know who didn't have health insurance. She worked in a little pizza place around here, and she was pregnant and worked for minimum wage.

She went to the hospital, and the hospital told her that she needed $100 up front, which she didn't have. Of course she didn't make a lot of money/

So, they had billed her a couple times for it. And after getting pregnant she went back -- like I say, went back again. And they told her she needed $100 that she didn't have. So they refused to see her because she had a bill and stuff from being there before.

So, she went to another local hospital, and they had seen her and stopped her labor and told her to come back in two days. Well, before she got back in those two days her baby died.

So they life-flighted her to a hospital in Columbus, and within 15 days she died. And they come to find out that they misdiagnosed what the problem was, and it was a smaller hospital and didn't have the need to take care of what she needed at that time.

But her family and them think that if she had had good insurance and stuff, and was taken care of at the first hospital -- of course, they had the medical needs to take care of her -- that her and her baby, of course, would still be here. And it's just -- you know, I think that the health insurance thing really needs to be addressed for people that work for minimum wage and different things.

CLINTON: Well, you know, I hear so many stories like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: And indeed, Clinton has repeated versions of that story on the campaign trail as she calls for universal health care insurance for all Americans. She referenced it as recently as Friday in North Dakota. Take a listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: I was listening to this story being told, I was just aching inside. It is so wrong in such a good, great and rich country that a young woman and her baby would die because she didn't have health insurance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: Officials at O'Bleness Memorial Hospital in Athens, Ohio, are disputing the story now. "The New York Times" quotes hospital officials as saying Trina Bactel (ph) was insured, and that she received care through an obstetrics practice affiliated with the hospital.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Clinton campaign acknowledges they were unable to fully vet the deputy's story before Clinton started repeating it, saying, "If the hospital claims it did not happen that way, we certainly respect that, and she won't repeat the story." That from the campaign.

"She tells the story," says the campaign, "because it illustrates the point that we have a very serious health care problem in America. That's a point very few people will dispute."

Let's bring in our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, who's joining us now.

Bill, you know, we've seen a gaffe before, the one about Bosnia, which really did seem to hurt her in the polls. Could this be another misstep by the Clinton campaign?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: It certainly seems that way, because she told the story in such detail. It is, of course, a very tragic story. The woman did die, she lost her baby. But the details, the crucial details, seem to be wrong.

She was reporting the story told to her by the deputy sheriff, who heard it from the woman's relatives. They did not check it out.

After the Bosnia episode, when she talked about leaving an airplane under sniper fire, where witnesses disputed her account, here, again, the hospital is saying the account -- the crucial details of the account are wrong. There are people out there, many of her critics, who will say, well, it just reinforces the images that she's not trustworthy, or at least you would have to say she didn't do the correct homework. She didn't check out the story to see if it was really true before she started retelling it.

CROWLEY: You know, Bill, very often we see these stories and we're never really sure whether they're going to have an effect. I guess we'll have to wait for the next polls.

Thanks so much, Bill Schneider.

We want to take another break now, but we'll be right back for some final words after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CROWLEY: Hi. I'm Candy Crowley in Washington, and you've been watching "Ballot Bowl."

ACOSTA: Hi, Candy.

That's right. And, you know, it's not always so serious out on the campaign trail. There are moments for a few laughs for these presidential candidates. And we've seen that over the last couple of days.

John McCain, who has been the subject of almost an unending slew of one-liners from David Letterman on "The Late Chow" on CBS regarding the Arizona senator's age, well, John McCain had a chance for some payback the other night, and he directed his barbs right at David Letterman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCAIN: You look like a guy whose laptop would be seized by the authorities.

DAVID LETTERMAN, TALK SHOW HOST: What?

(APPLAUSE)

MCCAIN: You look like a guy caught smuggling reptiles in his pants.

(APPLAUSE)

MCCAIN: You look like the guy who the neighbors later say, he mostly kept to himself.

(APPLAUSE)

LETTERMAN: Uh-huh.

MCCAIN: You look like the night manager of a creepy motel.

LETTERMAN: Well, just what I need.

MCCAIN: And you look like the guy who enjoys getting into a hot tub and watching his swim trunks inflate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: I'm not going to comment on that last one, although the manager at a creepy hotel, that was a pretty good one from John McCain there pointed at David Letterman.

Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, she was out on the West Coast visiting Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show," and she referred to a certain scandal that happened. Well, we don't want to call it a scandal, but a controversy that met with the New York senator regarding a trip back in the 1990s to Bosnia. She explained to Jay Leno, using that reference why, she was running a little late to "The Tonight Show."

Here's Hillary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: Oh, it is so great it be here. You know, I was worried I wasn't going to make it. Yes, I was pinned down by sniper fire.

JAY LENO, TALK SHOW HOST: Really? Right out here? You know in L.A., that might be true, actually.

CLINTON: I know. I mean, this has just been such a mismatch of words and actions, and I was thinking about it because, you know, obviously, I've been so privileged to represent our country.

LENO: Right.

CLINTON: And gosh, more than 80 other countries, lots of war zones and all the rest of it. And, you know, I wrote about this in my book and I obviously just had a lapse. And here I am safe and sound, and proud of all of our...

(APPLAUSE)

LENO: Obviously campaigning is grueling, and you use the term "sleep-deprived." How much sleep do you get a night?

CLINTON: Not enough.

LENO: I mean, answering the phone at 3:00, that's got to be...

CLINTON: You know what? It happens every single night. Somebody calls up and they have something to say.

Like, you have got to stop calling me.

LENO: I will do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So there's Hillary Clinton explaining why she was almost running a tad late to "The Tonight Show."

And we should not leave out Barack Obama, who was the subject of a few zingers over the past week regarding his bowling game. It almost seemed as if he was not going to live that one down.

But, Candy, obviously, we have to leave a little time for "Ballot Bowl" and all of this talk on the campaign trail to include some of these late-night laughs, as it does sort of break the monotony and ease the tension, as it has been tense at times on the campaign trail.

CROWLEY: Absolutely. And think, you know, Jim, what happens here is not only it sort of breaks up the normal chatter on the campaign trail, but it really helps these candidates to be seen making fun of themselves.

When we saw with the Bosnia remark that Clinton made on Jay Leno, this had really been problem for her. She had talked about how she was -- went to Bosnia and she was under sniper fire when she got off the plane. And of course then we saw those pictures and there was no such things. There was a little girl reading a poem on the tarmac. Chelsea was with her.

So, it's been a problem that's hurt her in the polls. But when you go on Jay Leno and poke fun at yourself, it kind of draws the sting a little bit, makes her look human, and kind of tries to put that story aside. We've seen it in a lot of ways.

ACOSTA: Yes.

And we saw that again with John McCain, because there are lots of people raising questions as whether or not he was perhaps a bit too senior for the presidency. And yet, he went right on David Letterman and let Letterman have it with all of those jokes. And I have to say, the delivery was pretty good. Not too bad for the Arizona senator.

CROWLEY: That's it for us here on "Ballot Bowl."

Up next, "YOUR $$$$$." But we will return at the 4:00 p.m. hour Eastern.

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