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Ballot Bowl 2008

Dem Hopefuls Make Final Appeals in PA; Barack Obama Speech on Trivial Spats Between Himself and Clinton; Hillary Clinton Speech on Reversing 8 Years of Bush Presidency

Aired April 19, 2008 - 17:00   ET

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

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Welcome back to CNN's BALLOT BOWL where the waiting is almost others. Just days now until the Pennsylvania Primary where Senator Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will face off for the first time in a major electoral face-off in several, almost five weeks.
We're covering all of the angles as the two candidates crisscross the state. I'm Jessica Yellin, covering it here from New York. And CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is right there in the thick of it in Pennsylvania.

Hi, Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Jessica. I'm in Paoli, Pennsylvania. This is one of those stops on the whistle stop tour of Barack Obama. He is going through southeast Pennsylvania trying to reach as many voters as possible leading up to the Tuesday primary.

Barack Obama really enjoying this kind of getting into the moment. He pulled the whistle, he has been traveling in the caboose, he has been yelling "all aboard" and talking to a lot of different voters, really making a point that he believes he is the stronger candidate.

He has made his way -- he started in Philadelphia. He then went to Wynnewood, and then Paoli where we are, then to Downingtown as well as he will be moving on to Lancaster and Harrisburg.

Now what he's trying to do essentially is tell -- give a clear message to Pennsylvania voters that he believes that this is not just going to be a competition between himself and Senator Hillary Clinton, but he ultimately is trying to position himself for voters to think of him in the general election, that he's going to be the nominee and he's going to go after Senator John McCain.

That is why we hear him talking about John McCain so much. And that is why he went after him today. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And so, if we're going to change America in a fundamental way, it is not just about who has got the best 10-point plan, who is making the best promises. The question is, who is willing to declare independence from the special interest-driven, say anything, do anything style of politics that has become the habit in Washington?

Who is going to bring real change to America? That's why I'm running for president of the United States.

Now, I know that people are worried about how long this Democratic primary has been going and you know, gosh, we're worried that we won't be able to bring the country together. Listen, let me promise you, we will -- this Democratic Party will be united. It will be united in August at the convention, it will be united in November when we go to the polls.

And it will be united because we understand that we can't have a third Bush term and that's essentially what John McCain is promising to the American people, a third Bush term.

I respect John McCain, he's a genuine hero, he has served this country nobly. But he essentially wants to continue the same no-exit strategy on the war in Iraq that we've been going through for the last five years, costing us hundreds of billions of dollars and thousands of lives with no end in sight.

That is not what we can afford. We need to bring this war to an end. I opposed it in 2002, I will bring it to an end in 2009. That's the change that the American people are looking for.

Just this week John McCain said that after reviewing the Bush economic record over the last seven-and-a-half years, he thought we had made great progress. Great progress, these were his words. I guess he did not talk to the 8,300 Pennsylvanians who have already lost their jobs since the beginning of this year, the 232,000 Americans who have lost their jobs so far since the beginning of this year.

I guess he didn't talk to the millions of people who are worried about losing their homes in foreclosure. I guess he didn't talk to the millions of people who don't have health insurance. I guess he didn't talk to the young people who don't think they can afford to go to college. I guess he didn't talk to those small business owners who are being crushed and can't get credit.

John McCain is a genuine American hero, but by his own admission he does not understand the economy very well. All he's offering are the same Bush tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans, folks who didn't need them, folks who weren't even asking for them. Took him three tries to finally figure out that he had to do something about the home foreclosure crisis.

We can't afford another four years of George W. Bush in the guise of John McCain. And that's why Democrats will be united in November of 2008.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Senator Barack Obama taking on the presumptive nominee -- Republican nominee John McCain. Well, John McCain's campaign hitting back and not wasting any time, BlackBerry e-mailing all of us for their response here, saying Barack Obama doesn't understand the economy and he is disguising it by distorting John McCain's comments, raising taxes on millions of Americans during an economic downturn, it makes absolutely no sense to families that are trying to make a mortgage payment and find their economic footing.

That from Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for the McCain camp. We're seeing senator Barack Obama throughout the day, it is called "On Track for Change" tour. And he is obviously taking on John McCain as well as Senator Hillary Clinton -- Jessica.

YELLIN: That's right. She is on and as they are going after each other, Senator Barack Obama and Senator Clinton are having a skirmish of their own over health care. Senator Obama's team has released a new ad. In the ad, they effectively accuse Senator Clinton of -- well, three different things, they say that her plan would force voters to buy insurance even if they can't afford it. That it would force them to pay a penalty if he they don't enroll for her insurance. And that her health care plan does not reduce costs as much as his does.

Senator Clinton and her team have released a response to this, insisting point by point that he is wrong on all of the specifics, and Senator Clinton has personally gone after Barack Obama rapid fire style on the stump for releasing this ad.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I just heard that my opponent has put up an ad attacking my health care plan, which is kind of curious because my plan covers everybody and his leaves out 15 million people, just leaves them out in the cold.

Now instead of attacking the problem, he chooses to attack my solution. I don't think that we can just make speeches about this. We have to have a plan that we can actually implement that will provide quality affordable health care. That's what I've been fighting for for 15 years and that's what I will fight for as your president.

And let's make sure too that education remains the passport to opportunity, for every single young boy or girl starting with preschool education, universal pre-Kindergarten, and I will end, as you heard Julia (ph) say, No Child Left Behind, because it isn't working.

We'll have a new partnership where the president will actually meet with and listen to teachers and principals and school board members and students and families. I think we do better when we act that way. And I want to make college affordable again for every single young person.

Let me ask you, how many of you have student loans? Is anybody -- is anybody paying more than 20 percent in this crowd, 22, 23, 23, 24? Feel like I'm an auctioneer. You know, when I went to college, my dad, who was a small businessman, had saved enough money to pay for room, board and tuition, but he said very clearly, that's all we've got, we can't give you another penny.

You know, if you want to buy a cup of coffee or a book, you have got to pay for it. So I worked. I worked all through school. And that was fine. Then I wanted to go to law school and I told my dad, and he said, that's not part of the deal. We can't afford any of that.

So instead I got a little scholarship and I kept working, but I borrowed money from the federal government at 2 percent interest. I believe my country was investing in me. I had to pay it back but it didn't bankrupt me. My family didn't have to take out a second mortgage on our home.

And what we were able to do was to pay it back over time and I could take a job that didn't pay me a lot of money. I went to work for the Children's Defense Fund, you know, representing abused and neglected kids, and kids in the foster care system, and kids who get left out of education and health.

But now so many young people can't afford to do work like that. So here's what we should do. Let's double the college tax credit, let's expand and extend Pell grants and other programs like this so that you get more money as the costs get higher. Let's convince the colleges and universities that they should enter into a contract with you when you start your freshman year and they cannot increase the cost until you graduate.

Let's provide national service. If you're willing to do a year or two, you'd earn up to $10,000. Let's end that financial aid form that families have to fill out, called FAFSA, which takes forever.

I mean, really. It's the cruelest hoax. You fill it out, and then they tell you you're not going to get anything. We can move to a very simple checking system on a tax and have a sliding scale of help.

But we have got to rein in these student loan companies, they are ripping off students and their families and I want to go back to direct lending by the federal government, no middle men, no extra costs, no built-in administrative and profits and numbers.

And for those of you with loans, here's what I offer. If you're willing to do public service like nursing or teaching or law enforcement, we'll forgive your debt over time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YELLIN: Senator Hillary Clinton in York, Pennsylvania. We heard her there offering financial relief or plans for financial relief to college students and their families if she should become president. And also at the event, hitting back against Barack Obama's health care ad, saying while she's trying to attack -- instead of attacking the problem, Barack Obama is attacking her solution.

So Senator Clinton fighting on several fronts here. She's really delving into some policy specifics. We have also though heard her take on a theme that both she and Barack Obama have hit this week, that sort of, who is the tougher candidate? Who is fierce and ready to go head-to-head with John McCain, which one has the thicker skin, to borrow a phrase from "Saturday Night Live" years ago, I think they used to say, quien es mas macho? So it's sort of -- let me bring in CNN Suzanne Malveaux, who is in Pennsylvania.

I want to ask you, Suzanne, it seems like it's the quien es mas macho primary fight right now. Have you heard a lot of that on the trail?

MALVEAUX: That's right, Jessica. Absolutely. It has been really fascinating here because Senator Clinton -- both of them obviously trying to portray themselves as the underdog here. Senator Clinton really making herself into this kind of Rocky comeback, scrappy fighter type of person with roots in Scranton and she talks a lot about that.

Barack Obama essentially saying, look, you know, I was the one who was unknown and I was up against a former first lady here. This whole issue of toughness really has evolved. You heard about the other issues, but we really heard some pointed statements coming from Senator Clinton earlier in the week.

She was saying, well, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen, I'm very comfortable in the kitchen. Former President Bill Clinton also weighed in as well, saying, if you can't take a hit or a punch or two, then you shouldn't be wearing the uniform.

Both of them really going after whether or not he has got kind of the toughness, the chutzpah that it takes to be a commander-in-chief. Barack Obama, essentially after that debate really, there were a number of opportunities to go after her, he did not.

This is all a part of his message, part of the campaign to appear above the fray. But he did go after her as well, saying that this is somebody who likes to kind of twist the knife, said she's very comfortable in a setting where they are not playing clean, necessarily. Where this is more of the same Washington politics. And that he is tough enough.

Even said something that he is more reserved when it comes to his Democratic opponent then he would be against a Republican. That a very important statement to voters, essentially saying, look, I'm tough enough in the general election, I have gone through my paces here with Senator Clinton. I have been vetted and this has been good practice for me. So he has really been trying to take advantage of this kind of volley, this back and forth.

YELLIN: You know, Suzanne, they should start playing that song, isn't there a song, "Are You Tough Enough (ph)," "Am I Tough Enough (ph)" by like Glenn Frey or something? I don't know.

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: Yes, yes, yes. You should produce this whole thing. YELLIN: The Fabulous Thunderbirds, our fabulous producer says it's a song by the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Thank you.

All right. Well, we're going to take a quick break right now. When we come back, we're going to hear from John McCain on the other side of this break. And we want to remind you, of course, we're covering the lead up to the Pennsylvania Primary. We'll give you all of the results Tuesday night beginning 7:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

YELLIN: Welcome back to this Saturday afternoon edition of the CNN BALLOT BOWL. We've been watching the Democratic candidates as they campaign across Pennsylvania this weekend ahead of Tuesday's primary there.

Senator John McCain on the other side of the aisle has been having a down weekend. He is spending his weekend in Washington, D.C., with no public event. But he was very aggressive out on the campaign trail this week. He particularly took some time to hit Barack Obama, we've heard the candidates talk about how tough they need to be. Well, when you hear John McCain go after Obama, you realize he really does need a thick skin. Let's listen to what he had to say earlier this week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Obama continues to refuse to condemn and repudiate former President Carter meeting with the leader of Hamas, clearly the leader of a terrorist organization, a murderer. And one, a leader of an organization that is announced its dedication to the extinction of the state of Israel.

In this business of international relations, you have got to be tough. He should repudiate President Carter, reprimand him and specifically tell him he should not have that meeting.

And I noticed also that Senator Obama continues to not apologize for his remarks concerning small town America. Small town America is the heartland of America. They have provided some of our bravest and most successful young men and women. They know that they have been through tough times and they know that the future of America is brighter and better ahead of us.

And they're not given to depression and they're not -- they -- don't shape their values about hunting or about their religion because they are unhappy about the economy. That shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the American people and is truly out of touch.

QUESTION: Senator...

MCCAIN: Yes.

QUESTION: ... do you feel that Obama's comments were simply clumsy words or do you think it reveals something about his character? MCCAIN: I don't know what it reveals about his character, but the fact he has not apologized and repudiated his remarks show that he is -- that those remarks are elitist and that he's out of touch.

QUESTION: How big of a problem do you think this is for him, sir?

MCCAIN: I think it may be defining in the respect -- I think his remarks may be defining because it shows our fundamental attitude about the heartland of America. He basically says that it's economic conditions that shape their values and the things that they believe in and ranging from the Second Amendment to their religious beliefs or their religious convictions. So I think it's pretty important.

And the fact that he continues to say that he does not apologize for those remarks, I think indicates a certain out of touch elitism.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YELLIN: Well, we have there a glimpse of what a general election matchup might look and sound like between John McCain and Barack Obama, with McCain taking Obama on, on this question, was he elitist in making these comments about small town America.

We are going to take a quick break. But on the other side of this break, we're going to see our CNN's Rick Sanchez, who is at a at the Election Express in Philadelphia. He is going to bring us a look on what he'll be reporting on later this evening. So stay with us, we'll be back on the other side of this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Welcome back to CNN's BALLOT BOWL. I'm Suzanne Malveaux in Paoli, Pennsylvania. Joining me now is Rick Sanchez, who is in Philadelphia at the CNN Election Express.

And, Rick, I know we're going to be talking politics, both the 8:00 and 10:00 hours. I understand you have got quite a special that is happening this evening. Tell us a little bit about it.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Trying to follow in your political footsteps, Suzanne, as you traverse this state yourself. We've been to Scranton where we've talked to mature women who are for Hillary Clinton and are proud to say so. We've been to Penn State where we've talked to some very strident young men who are for John McCain, by golly. We've also talked some younger women who say, no doubt about it, they are behind Barack Obama in this thing.

So look, you know, the energy in the state of Pennsylvania right now is something -- you need some kind of measurement to be able to get. And perhaps you get a reading that you haven't seen in this place in decades. When was the last time that the Pennsylvania Primary meant something?

Well, these people know it. They are feeling it. I mean, it's electric. Even just trying to get around in the streets of Philly this morning was all but impossible. A seven-minute trip from the airport to downtown was more like 45 minutes. There are protesters, there are signs. There are people out everywhere you go.

People are talking about whether it's going to be Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. More on that in just a minute. First, let me let you hear from some of these folks, these are some of the good people of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Didn't take long to get them to react to this race. We did, they responded. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's really exciting for a lot of people because you're talking about a serious time of change, like the country in a really pivotal moment. And I think we need to see some change. And I think a lot of people feel the same way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For me, I would vote regardless because it's my duty to vote all of the time. But for people, I've listened to my neighbors and friends, they feel as if this time it counts. They were depressed and sad before for these last eight years, they thought maybe they weren't being heard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are, in one case two Democratic candidates who are very good candidates and worthy of real consideration that is distinct from a lot of other candidates we've seen in many years who aren't. And secondly, the administration that we've had in the past eight years has brought us to such a point that we need real leadership and real ideas. And I think both of these candidates represent the possibility for that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've never voted -- this is actually my first time voting ever. I never really cared about voting before or what -- politics and all that sort of stuff. So for me, it's very important because we need change, something has got to change and it's just -- it's awful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Awful or not, there's a lot of people talking about it. We're also going to have something called a taste of the league of first-time voters, this is something we at CNN are extremely devoted to. We're going all over the country talking to people who are newly energized, are voting for the very first time. We have talked to Mennonites in Indiana. We've talked to Muslims in Detroit.

They are interesting people with interesting things to say. We're also going to be following up on the Bill Maher comment. He kind of retracted, sort of, what he had said about the pope. There's also going to be some political heat on that.

And then, of course, all of the heat that has been falling on Barack Obama, he may have been able to weather it, really, the bitter comment, and now the backlash to that, Suzanne. We're talking to people, I don't know if you'd heard about this, but there are people in the African-American community who are saying, you know what, we've heard this before, it's an African-American man who is criticizing something that involves white people and that in past, what we've called it is "uppity."

That's the term they are using. They don't like it. They think that's the technique that's being used against Barack Obama. And they are going to tell us what their feeling is and their definition of that term that we've all heard in the past.

All of that and a whole lot more. We're going to have it for you hear, two straight hours, from 10:00 p.m. all the way to midnight. Live from Philly. Suzanne, back to you.

MALVEAUX: Sounds amazing, sounds fascinating. Yes, I have heard that reference too, some people talking about whether or not they are accusing him of being uppity. So a controversy that obviously a lot of people are talking about.

And, Rick, I have to say, you know, that enthusiasm, that excitement that you see and you hear from voters, we've been seeing the same. The debate earlier in the week, really about a thousand people, and it was really like a political Mardi Gras, lots and lots of people with almost like with floats and chants and signs, the whole bit.

I think a lot of people are very excited about this and excited about participating, taking the opportunity perhaps to really change things in their lives, very much engaged. So, Rick, we're looking forward to seeing you in a couple of hours, 8:00 as well as that 10:00 special.

On the other end of this BALLOT BOWL break, we're going to give you all of the headlines, the latest news, including the pope's visit to New York City. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROB MARCIANO, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Hi, I'm Rob Marciano at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. More BALLOT BOWL in just a minute, but first an update on the stop stories.

Will we have live pictures of Pope Benedict at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York, following this mornings Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral. He's meeting with young men studying for the priesthood and blessed dozens of disabled youngsters in the seminary chapel.

A Texas judge says children seized from a polygamist sect will be held in protective custody for now, ordering DNA tests on all 416 children to determine who their parents are. The next hearing on custody and abuse allegations is June 5th.

Time to pause and remember. Thirteen years ago today a terror attack on U.S. Soil, the Murrah Federal Building was bombed. 168 people were killed in the attack.

Time for a check on weather. We have high winds in areas that have seen fires in the last week. Jacqui Jeras has a look at the CNN Weather Center. Hi, Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Rob. Really windy in the southwest, we're talking from California to the plain states here. The red you see, that's where we have red flag warnings where the winds are so strong and humidity is so low that the fire conditions are really critical. There's a big fire burning right now in New Mexico.

We have pictures to show you of the fire about 1,200 acres have been burning. And this fire is only about 30 percent contained and with winds gusting 50 miles per hour tonight and tomorrow, they are going to have a tough time getting a handle on this one.

New Mexico not alone in this fire threat. Check out our critical fire danger area all across the southwest into the four corners region and up here into the panhandle of Nebraska.

A little bit of wet weather across the Pacific Northwest. Snow in the higher elevations, really heavy snow across Idaho and western Montana. Winter is certainly hanging on tough across parts of the west. The east is feeling a little more spring like in dealing with the spring showers -- Rob?

MARCIANO: All right, Jacqui, thanks very much.

Back to the pope now. His U.S. Itinerary includes a visit with young men studying for the priesthood. Catholic leaders worry about keeping it real for the next generation. Could a church steeped in tradition connect in a modern world? We asked Father Dave Dwyer, the host of Busted Halo on Sirius Radio's Catholic channel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FATHER DAVE DWYER, CSP, "THE BUSTED HALO SHOW": There are plenty of people that aren't coming in the deer. We try to catch the people turning around haven't been considering themselves Catholics for years and maybe and hearing the conferences.

ANNOUNCER: "The Busted Halo Radio Show" with Father Dave Dwyer. If you have spiritual questions, you're in the right place.

DWYER: In my work young adults, the word relevant is key. It is showing, here's how the church really is relevant to your life. This generation in many ways has just got a lot of questions, they don't know.

CALLER: What is he going to talk about? Does he have a specific -- what can we expect him to say or discuss when he's here.

DWYER: I think we can expect him to talk about one of his -- his favorite phrases is the dictatorship of relativism.

There are things the Catholic Church would be very firm and unwavering on. And yet we know we can't -- it doesn't work to have robots and say do this because we said to do that. CALLER: I've always been a Catholic but not a practicing catholic.

DWYER: Maybe there are other people in the same place, I'm not sure if I want to get back involved in the church again, it sounds like you're on the right track and we'll keep you in our prayers for sure.

I would have never imagined when I was 29 and working in television and radio never would have imagined being a priest. Five or six years into that I thought I had turned in a different direction and never imagined I would be working in TV and radio again. God manages to put the puzzle pieces together better than I can.

CALLER: What would I address them as? Is there a proper way? If you're in church, do you call him father?

DWYER: There is, Tim. First of all, you have some back stage pass you don't know about. What's this?

CALLER: I don't want to screw it up.

DWYER: That's good, yeah. Even if you were driving by -- nice language on the Catholic channel. If you were driving by in the popemobile you can waive to him and the proper word address to him would be Holy Father or your holiness.

If there's anything Pope Benedict XVI can do while he's here it's make the church, the Catholic Church, appear to be an important choice, a relevant choice because it needs to be a choice in this day and age.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO: While you were watching that type piece we had a live shot of the pope at St. Joseph's seminary -- there he is again, His Holiness -- in the tour across the United States.

If you think it's hard trying to lose 5 or ten pounds, think about losing 250. In CNN's "Fit Nation," our CNN correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, looks at the woman who did just that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just two years ago Brandy Howell refused to look in the mirror, hated being in pictures and often wouldn't live the house. She was more than 400 pounds, unhappy and truly believed her days were numbers.

BRANDY HOWELL, DIETER: I was 28 or 29 at the time and I felt every day would be my last. I had high blood pressure borderline diabetic.

GUPTA: Concerned about her health, her doctors strongly recommended she have gastric buy pass surgery. HOWELL: I was more scared of dying from a heart attack at the young age and not waking up because I had sleep apnea than going in for surgery.

GUPTA: After two months of counseling and doctor visits, Brandy had surgery in Michigan.

HOWELL: And absolutely the best decision I've ever made without question.

GUPTA: Now two years later and 200 pounds lighter, she's a new person but still has difficult days.

HOWELL: I have some days where I feel miserable and I feel fat. Almost like fan tom fat pains I guess. I feel horrible and I have to stop and pull out clothes that I used to wear and look at them and crawl into them and realize that somebody else can crawl in too and put them back in this place mentally.

GUPTA: Her journey has long but it encouraged her to be positive.

HOWELL: I want to water ski and roller blade, horse back riding, something I always wanted to do and never could. I've lost approximately 247 pounds.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporter.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO: Way to go, Brandy.

More BALLOT BOWL coming up after this break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN's "BALLOT BOWL." I'm Suzanne Malveaux in Pauli, Pennsylvania, where we're watching the candidates closely as they barnstorm through Pennsylvania leading up to that crucial primary. Both of the campaigns are competing over various images as well, both of them accusing the other, Barack Obama and Senator Clinton, of being the person who perhaps is not truthful, the person who does not have as much integrity of the other candidate, accusing the other of the dirty tricks behind the scenes.

We earlier heard Barack Obama in downtown Pennsylvania where he addressed the issue. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I come from Chicago. I know politics is hard. It's not for the faint of heart. I understand that. But when we end up involved in these constant distractions, these petty, trivial, slash and burn politics, tit for tat politics so we no longer talk about the things that the American people care about. That may be good for the television ratings, but it's not good for you. It's not bringing the country together. And when I say this, Senator Clinton says, you know what, the Republicans are going to do it to you. You might as well get used to it.

Here's the thing. See, I don't want to copy what the Republicans have done over the last two decades. I want to change the way the Republicans think just like I want to change the way Democrats and Independents think. I want to bring everybody together and change our politics and want us to be able to disagree without being disagreeable. I want us to focus on our common hopes and dreams. That's why I'm running for president of the United States. That's a fundamental choice that you've got, a new kind of politics versus the old kind of politics.

That's why I don't take PAC money. That's why I don't take money from federal registered lobbyists. Because I think we can change how Washington works. That's why I try to talk honestly about how we're going to solve problems.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: We've also seen Senator Clinton out of York, Pennsylvania, talking about the issues Barack Obama says are important to voters. She's been talking about the economy and iraq war and health care, a broad cross section of issues that voters have been asking in the town hall settings in these rallies as you get close to the Tuesday primary and focusing on the concerns of working class folks, people who have lost their jobs and homes, who are concerned by gas prices and before this economy is going.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're also going to create jobs with a rebuild America program to invest in building our infrastructure and roads and bridges and tunnel and sewer systems and light rail. We're living off the investments of 30 or 40 or 50 years ago. President Eisenhower started the highway commission back in the 1950s. We're not keeping up. There's too much congestion, too much gridlock.

But we can if we gave Americans a chance to invest through a bonding program. That's what we did during World War II. Americans bought bonds and we used the money to build industries that fueled our success. I think Americans would buy bonds to rebuild America and put three million of their fellow Americans to work again.

And I will end George Bush's war on science. It has undermined our competitiveness. I will ask the Congress to send me the stem cell bill that he has vetoed twice so we can sign it to become ethical stem cell research. We will double the National Institutes of Health budget and National Cancer Institute. We're on the brink of breakthroughs in so many diseases, but because President Bush hasn't kept up with the pace of science, laboratories are closing, scientists and researchers being laid off. Those are not only jobs, and then the technicians and others that support them, but those are the kind of investments that will make us not only richer bull healthier. Even we'll lose our advantage to foreign countries that are moving quickly to try to take that away from the United States.

Just like we have fallen woefully behind on the information super highway. When George Bush became president, we were like in the top five in the world in broadband, high speed Internet access. Now we're like 24 or 25.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Senator Hillary Clinton as well as Barack Obama, they are crossing the state of Pennsylvania, really trying to win on Tuesday the 158 delegates up for grab. This is almost a do-or-die race for the two candidates, specifically for Hillary Clinton, looking for momentum and looking for a significant win in Pennsylvania leading onto the four contests. She says she is certainly not going to be dropping out any time soon but going through all ten of those contests. Both of these candidates very, very competitive. Pennsylvania is still very, very competitive.

Let's go to Jessica Yellin, somebody in New York that raised eyebrows about who might be sitting in the White House.

Jessica, tell us the story.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Taking a little bit of a shift here instead of covering the candidates themselves, one of the most sought after endorsement is that of New York mayor, Mike Bloomberg, speaking at an event this week on an unrelated comment, he made a little bit of news by referring to -- let's just listen. This is what he hopes to see in the White House next year.

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MIKE BLOOMBERG, MAJOR OF NEW YORK: We need concrete answers to what do you stand for, how you would get it through Congress, how you would fund it and what other things we'll have to cut back in order to do that. I'm not looking for a candidate that I happen to agree with on what they are trying to do. I'm looking for a candidate that is willing to face reality and say, we can't have everything and there are costs and we've got to make choices. And then I think the situations down the road, some of the things they'll be in favor with, I'll agree with. Some of the things I won't, but at least we'll have an adult in office who can lead and can accomplish something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: He was later asked if he meant to slam George Bush, if that comment was meant as a criticism of the current occupant of the Oval Office. And he says that's immaterial, what I'm talking about is focusing on the future, not looking back at the last eight years. So he's gotten a little bit of heat over that. But Bloomberg moving on and still has not endorsed anyone in the race. That was a little bit of a look what happened in New York this week. On the other side of this break, we'll check in with another candidate or a former candidate whose endorsement is also sought after, John Edwards, who appeared on the "Colbert Report."

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YELLIN: Welcome back to CNN's BALLOT BOWL. I'm Jessica Yellin in New York. We've been following the candidates on the trail this weekend and today, but we want to take a look at another former candidate who made a cameo appearance earlier this week. John Edwards popped up on the Colbert show, the "Colbert Report," and did a little sketch about what it would take to get his endorsement. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN EDWARDS, (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is no secret both campaigns have sought my support. So far I haven't decided which of these excellent candidates I'm going to endorse. On the one hand, I don't want to be seen as anti-hope. On the other hand, I don't want James Carville to bite me.

Who am I going to vote for in the next last primary, North Carolina? I'll support whoever presents a platform consistent with my values. I'll support the candidate who will raise the federal minimum wage and somebody to fight for the 37 million Americans that wake up in poverty every day and somebody who will protect the interest of working families.

Also, I'd like a jet ski. They are so much fun. And I don't really care which kind. Those are pretty sweet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: He went on to say he would also like a jet ski for Elizabeth and the kids too.

It has been a week of cameo appearances. Senator Clinton appeared on the Colbert show that day, so did Barack Obama. Barack Obama will show up on the Jon Stewart show on the eve of the primary. These folks are all over the place. It just seems these comedy shows are good place as the campaign as any.

I want to bring in Suzanne Malveaux.

Suzanne, did you happen to catch Senator Clinton on the "Colbert Report"? I thought she was actually very good?

MALVEAUX: I did catch it. I don't know if either Barack Obama or Senator Clinton have offered jet skis to Edwards, but they certainly have been courting him.

It was funny when you saw Senator Clinton -- Steven Colbert was doing where he couldn't figure out how to fix his TV screen behind him and he said, how do I fix this mess? And in walks Hillary Clinton saying, I can do that, poking fun at her own message of being the one who can do it, knows it all, and started to apply makeup for him as well. And just really kind of fun, making fun of herself. We noticed too when she finally got that screen to work, who popped up, it was Barack Obama on satellite. That was really kind of a fun moment.

YELLIN: That's right and Barack Obama put I think it was silly distractions on notice, so both of them had their moment in the spotlight. And we'll check in with Jon Stewart on Monday to see what kind of stick Barack Obama pulled on that.

Anyway, I think that wraps up BALLOT BOWL for this hour. We thank everybody for being with us, Suzanne Malveaux in Pennsylvania. And she is going to be back at 8:00 tonight with Rick Sanchez, an election special. Stay with CNN.

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