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Ballot Bowl 2008

Following the Candidates as They Make Indiana Apeearances

Aired April 27, 2008 - 16:00   ET

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

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN's "Ballot Bowl." I'm Jessica Yellin in Washington, D.C.. It's your opportunity to hear the candidates on the campaign trail as they speak to the voters. Two major primaries looming on May 6th, both Indiana and North Carolina will be voting. Democrats are watching this one closely to see if Barack Obama or Senator Hillary Clinton who comes out ahead in both those states, it is a close one in North Carolina, Barack Obama favored to win that primary. Polls showing him ahead by as much as 13 points. Though 17 percent undecided. In Indiana, a much closer race. That is the one so many people will be focused on. I'm joined now by CNN's Jim Acosta who is right there in that battleground state of Indiana. Hey, Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Jessica. That's right. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are essentially locked in a dead heat at this point if you look at the CNN poll of polls. Essentially right now, it is all tied up. One-on-one here in the Hoosier state. Hillary Clinton with 45 percent of the vote so far and Barack Obama showing as having 45 percent of the support of Indiana democrats in this state and 10 percent undecided. That's a critical number as many of those last minute undecided voters have gravitated towards Hillary Clinton in the past. This is a delegate-rich double whammy coming up on May the 6th. Indiana while only offers 72 pledge delegates and North Carolina with 115, combined, Jessica, that is more than what Pennsylvania had to offer back on April 22nd. And in South Bend, Indiana, yesterday, Hillary Clinton, she threw down the gauntlet challenging Barack Obama to a one-on-one style debate ala Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. Those Lincoln-Douglas debates that we learned about in high school. Well Hillary Clinton would like to bring those debates back and would like to have one of those with Barack Obama, a one-on-one-style debate with no referees.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But what I think the people of Indiana deserve is a real one-on-one debate where Senator Obama and I right here in Indiana discuss these issues. Now, I have accepted the debates that have been offered and, actually, Indiana has a debate commission which kind of organizes this. Makes sure it's fair and that nobody gets any special advantage. I've said I'll be anywhere any time in order to debate because I think the people of Indiana after having wandered in the wilderness of American politics for 40 years deserve a debate. Who knows? We might even carry Indiana in the fall if we start with a good debate right here.

Now, unfortunately, Senator Obama has not agreed yet and he's turned down every debate that's been offered and so here I have a - I have a proposition and my campaign sent his campaign a letter today. You know, after the last debate in Philadelphia Senator Obama's supporters, you know, complained a little bit about the tough questions. And, you know, tough questions in a debate are nothing compared to the tough questions you get asked when you're president and you have to answer them and make tough decisions. And they complained about the moderators asking tough questions.

So here's my proposal. I'm offering Senator Obama a chance to debate me one-on-one, no moderators. Just the two of us going for 90 minutes asking and answering questions. We'll set whatever rules seem fair. I think that it would give the people of Indiana and I assume a few Americans might tune in because nearly 11 million watched the Philadelphia debate and I think they would love seeing that kind of debate and discussion. Remember, that's what happened during the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Now, we have had four debates between Senator Obama and myself. That's all we've had since this whole campaign has gone on. We had debates when other candidates were in but just four between the two of us. Lincoln and Douglas I think had something like seven or maybe even ability debates in the space of 60 days. Traveling around Illinois, just standing there debating. I bet John Bradum knows all the facts and probably can quote what each of them said. I think that would be good for the democratic party. It would be good for our democracy and it would be great for Indiana. So I am hoping that we'll be able to get that schedule and hold it before the May 6th primary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: There you have it, Hillary Clinton pitching a one-on-one Lincoln-Douglas-style debate with Barack Obama. We want to take a quick time-out here in the middle of "Ballot Bowl." I want to throw it back to my colleague in Atlanta, Fredericka Whitfield who has the latest on that shark attack out in California. I'll hand it back to you now, Fredricka.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Right, Jim. Right now, a press conference is taking place involving family members and those who knew Dr. David Martin who was killed Friday from that fatal shark attack. A great white there off the Solana Beach waters. Let's listen in right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We think maybe that just that the unusual circumstances of perhaps a shark migrating by, a seal happening to be nearby. It attracted the shark in and just the triathlon group just happened to be doing their swimming and the shark happened to pick him one out of the nine. It is just staggering odds.

All right. I'll tell you what. I'll turn it back over to Dave Ott and thank you for coming out here and respecting our privacy. Thank you.

DAVE OTT: Just say a few public safety items. The beaches in Solana Beach are still closed and pending no further --

WHITFIELD: All right. Right there, beaches continue to be closed around a 17-mile stretch there, stretching along San Diego county. You heard from family members who talked about being very distraught for the loss of Dr. David Martin and that one gentleman talking about how he remembers as early as three years old spending time at the beach and everyone essentially feeling like this was so arbitrary that perhaps a great white just happened to be going by, perhaps feeding on seals that may have been nearby. The swimmers, Dr. David Martin, among a group of tri-athletes that were swimming and training there in the waters. We're going to continue to monitor the developments and of course, when we get any more information about what exactly is taking place in terms of the search on the waters there for any other potential dangers for swimmers we'll bring it to you. In the meantime, let's go back to the "Ballot Bowl" and Jim Acosta. Jim.

ACOSTA: Thanks, Fredricka, very much. And before we went to that press conference out in California, we were talking about those proposal coming from the Clinton campaign sort of a radical proposal coming in the midst of this very quick battle for the hearts and minds of voters here in Indiana and North Carolina. Hillary Clinton issuing a challenge for a one-on-one style debate with Barack Obama. A Lincoln-Douglas style debate with the senator from Illinois. Both Douglas and Lincoln being from Illinois, perhaps she thought that that might go over well with Barack Obama but Barack Obama essentially saying, no, we can't.

Earlier this morning, he attended church here in Indianapolis. And during a quick media availability after some breakfast, he chatted with reporters about the idea and essentially said, thanks but no thanks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It was nice. It was a wonderful congregation. Everybody was very welcome and there's this little seven-year old girl who decided to sit next to me and keep my company. It was very sweet. (Inaudible).

You know, we've got nine days we're trying to campaign and meet as many voters as possible. So rather than being in the studio I want to make sure we're reaching out the folks where they live and, you know, answering their questions and having as many interactions as possible. You know, I'm -- you know, I'm more than happy to consider something after Indiana and North Carolina. But at this point we just don't have a lot of time.

You know, I think that Indiana's a very important state. So is North Carolina. We don't take that for granted. I'll be going go there on Monday and Tuesday. But there's no doubt that, you know, Indiana is the state where it's close. It's tied statistically in the polls. We feel very strongly that our message of bringing about change in Washington is something that will resonate with the people here in Indiana.

I think that mid western values that Indiana and Illinois and Wisconsin, Missouri, other states represent, I don't think they feel that those values reflected in the debates in Washington right now and that's part of the reason why so many people feel frustrated and communities are hard hit. They're losing health care. They're losing jobs, and what we get is a lot of bickering in Washington. (Inaudible) I'll let you guys prognosticate. You know, the -- because we've got a campaign here in Indiana. Anything else? That's pretty low-key, guys. Good one.

ACOSTA: So there you have it, Barack Obama brushing off this challenge from Hillary Clinton for a Lincoln-Douglas-style debate here in Indiana in the remaining days of this contest here in the Hoosier state. Barack Obama is telling reporters and telling the voters here in this state that he would prefer to stick to his photo-ops and his stump speeches to get across his message to voters in anticipation of that big primary coming up here on May 6th. And Jessica, we were talking to David Axlerod yesterday and he sounded a little bit like Dr. Seuss. We will not debate her with a moderator. We will not debate her without a moderator. We don't debate here or there. We don't debate her anywhere. But we should mention that you'll forgive me, that Obama did say during that quick press availability that he may be interested in doing something after Indiana and North Carolina but for me, no debates for Obama between now and the big contest coming up on May 6th. Jessica.

YELLIN: OK. We'll ask if he'll possibly eat some green eggs and ham on the campaign trail. Jim, thanks.

ACOSTA: That's right.

YELLIN: I couldn't resist. Well, you know, Jim, while those two candidates are focusing on Indiana and North Carolina, frees John McCain up to continue campaigning and sending out his message, the message that he wants to frame for his general election race even before he has a named democratic opponent. Today he was in Coral Gables, Florida. And he fielded the question that he probably was not hoping to have to face today. He is under some scrutiny right now because John McCain has taken a position on not accepting -- on limiting corporate influence in politics. He has been a crusader for campaign finance reform for sometime but now it's reported that he's used his wife's corporate plane to fly to a number of campaign events and it is while legal clearly the -- he's getting a discount on the flight and the cost of the flight because he's using a corporate, private plane so there is a question is there hypocrisy here? Because while it's technically legal, it doesn't necessarily look right or smell right. And he doesn't want to be accused of being anything but Mr. Straight Talk. So he was asked about this issue today and here was his very, very brief and curt answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What we did was perfectly legal and appropriate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: And there you have it. So yes, it was legal. The question is, will it create political headache for him down the line? And that is yet to be seen. Stay with us. Because we are going to bring you a lot more from John McCain. Not just that little snippet but what he had to say on the campaign trail today and also more from Clinton and Obama. So stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello. I'm Fredericka Whitfield at the CNN Headquarters in Atlanta. More "Ballot Bowl" in a moment. But first, these top stories. Burning out of control in California. Mandatory evacuations are ordered for a thousand or so people living near a large wildfire in Sierra Madre. It is threatening some 400 homes. Firefighters say they have a sliver of the 400 burning acres under control. Today's hot and dry conditions have them concerned about the fire possibility and it possibly spreading. It is still unknown what sparked it, but authorities think it was man-made.

An extremely disturbing story is coming to light in Austria. Authorities say they have discovered a 42-year-old woman who says her father used her as a sex slave for two decades. The victim says her now 73-year-old father has kept her chained in the basement since she was the age of 18. Police say she had at least six children with her father. And that the elderly man's wife had no idea what was going on down stairs. Our Frederick Pleitgen is in the Austrian town of Amstetten and joins us now with the very, very latest. It is the most sordid, bizarre story, especially given that the husband's wife didn't know about this kind of alleged abuse taking place.

FREDERICK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. It's an absolutely outrageous story, Fredricka. And certainly the people here in town that we have talked to are absolutely outraged by what's going on. Let me show what you can see here behind me. This is the place where all of these terrible things allegedly happened. This is the house where that family lived. And of course, one of the things you were mentioning is that this woman was inside that cellar room for 24 years and by now the authorities here are telling us that the 73-year- old man has led them to those cellar rooms. They were hidden down inside the basement of that house. They could only be opened by an electronic lock. He gave them the combination to that lock and authorities say those rooms are very small, very narrow. Sort of a little place where you can cook and a little place where you can sort of wash yourself but that's basically it. And when you think about it, it just makes this whole thing seem even more outrageous. That those people, that woman was in there for 24 years. Three of her children -- all of her children were born in there. Three of never seen the light of day before. They only got food when he wanted them to have food. They only got clothes when he wanted them to have clothes. They say he was a very, very rigorous person and they were just locked up in that cellar really for decades, really. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so, Frederick, why is it we understand that three of the kids were able to see the light of day? Would play outside. And why is it if that is indeed the case they wouldn't talk to anybody, tell anybody about what's going on?

PLEITGEN: Well, simply because they didn't know. I mean, what happened was that apparently the father took those children away shortly after they were born and legally adopted these children. And when you think about it, that makes the story even more crazy because those three children were playing on that lawn right behind me. They were playing soccer there. Apparently, they had a makeshift pool in the summers. They were playing on that lawn as their mother and their three siblings were being held captive right under where they were being held. And when you think about it, I mean one of the things that you mentioned at the beginning is that even the man's wife apparently did not know about what was going on. It seems those rooms down there were pretty much soundproof and that the elderly man, the 73-year-old did keep a very rigorous sort of regime and really installed a lot of fear into his daughter and into those three other siblings and certainly one thing that authorities are telling us is that that woman is very afraid. They said she would only talk on the condition that she would never have to see her father again. And that they would keep the father away from her three children. Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Frederick Pleitgen, thanks so much. This is so incomprehensible. Just extraordinary. All right. Thanks so much.

Well, Afghan President Hamid Karzai survived an apparent assassination attempt this morning. Gunmen opened fire at a ceremony in Kabul. Three people were killed including a 10-year-old child. The shootings were shown live on Afghan television. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. And Afghan official say the gunmen were captured but did not say how many.

A food crisis threatening millions around the world. Who is at risk? And how you can help when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Because of soaring prices, millions of the world's poor are teetering on the brink of a food crisis. U.N. officials are pleading for the international community to step up and help. In an "Impact your World" report, CNN's David McKenzie looks at some of the people most at risk.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kennedy Ombuki was a proud farmer. Now he's just a bitter man. After December's disputed election in Kenya, the rivals attacked his farm during the night. They burnt his crops and destroyed the family home. He normally harvests enough to feed 25 families. He's now forced to live in a camp dependent on handouts.

KENNEDY OMBUKI, DISPLACE FARMER: I have my land. I have all the basic necessities and I had come to stay here. I am a beggar, you know, now.

MCKENZIE: Kenya's reserves of grain are running low. Putting together a national crisis with global increases in food prices and the aid agencies are getting squeezed. This is ground zero for food aid in Africa. 7 million people depend on food coming from here in Mombasa Port. With food prices rising and people getting pushed off their land, aid agencies are struggling to keep up. '

The world food program is asking urgently for 500 million in the next few weeks. Otherwise, it will be forced to reduce rations to the poor who already have little to eat.

PETER SMERDON, WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: Now with rising food prices, it looks like the prices will just go up and up unless something is done about it to help these people before the fall over the edge.

MCKENZIE: Kennedy and his family will only climb back if he can rebuild his farm and plant again. Until then, they are caught in a vicious circle. Unable to feed themselves but relying on handouts that may run out. David McKenzie, CNN, Mombasa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And to find out how the food crisis is affecting people around the globe and even right here in the U.S., log on to the "Impact your world" page. cnn.com/impact. Go in-depth on the story and learn how you can get involved.

And we'll get right back to the campaign trail with "Ballot Bowl '08" right after this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This Fortune 500 leader is an immigrant who put his PhD studies on hold to become the youngest CEO on the list. Who's this force in the dot-com world? Find out after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who is the young internet mogul who put his education on hold? 39-year-old Jerry Yang was studying electrical engineering at Stanford when he helped start Yahoo!. Yang was born in Taiwan and moved to the U.S. when he was 10 years old and although his mother was an English teacher he only knew one English word -- shoe.

ACOSTA: Welcome back to "Ballot Bowl '08." I'm Jim Acosta in Indianapolis where Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama had been squaring off in a game of campaign 101 over the last 24 to 48 hours. We'll have more on the democratic race here in Indiana, but first, I want to toss it back to my colleague Jessica Yellin who is standing by in Washington with a look at John McCain. How are things going with John McCain, Jessica?

YELLIN: John McCain is on the campaign trail today, Jim. He is in Florida. He was in Coral Gables, Florida, talking to reporters and he did take some questions, but first, he raised one of his own. A criticism that he wants to address from Barack Obama who opposed John McCain's plan for a gas tax holiday. Hillary Clinton has endorsed the plan and says it's something that she would consider doing. But Barack Obama says the gas tax holiday is not the answer to our high gas prices. And John McCain had some choice words for that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Glad to see you today. We had a very good week last week traveling around places that are important to the future of America and people who have been left behind and we not only had the chance to have a dialogue with them, but learned a great deal and were able to outline many of our proposals to make life better, including significant reductions in their tax burden, including the reforming social security and Medicare, and making sure that this is a country of opportunity for all Americans.

One of the proposals that I made recently was to give those low income Americans a brief holiday from the increasing gas taxes that they're paying every day at the gas pump. I noticed again today that Senator Obama repeated his opposition to giving low income Americans a tax break. A little bit of relief so they can travel a little further and a little longer and maybe have a little bit of money leftover to enjoy some other things in their lives.

It is an obvious fact that low income Americans probably bear a disproportionate burden of the gas tax because they usually have to go further to work and many times they drive older automobiles. The special interests have reacted to this proposal as if it was the end of western civilization as we know it. And, the fact is that we could do with a few less bridges to know where and a few pork barrel projects that have characterized the the spending which has been completely out of control in Washington, D.C. So I reiterate my commitment to doing everything I can to see that Americans have a little bit of a holiday between Memorial Day and Labor Day. From having to pay 18 cents a gallon additional or they would be able to pay 18 cents a gallon less for gasoline and 24 cents a gallon less for diesel.

Obviously, Senator Obama does not understand that this would be a nice thing for Americans and the special interests should not be dictating this policy. I also have argued for suspension of further purchasing of oil for the strategic petroleum reserve which I think gives some small relief. By no means do I intimate the national priority to become independent on foreign oil remains one of the greatest priorities and I know how a lot of that can be achieved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: John McCain there clearly restates his firm commitment to a gas tax holiday for low income Americans. Barack Obama called that a John McCain scheme. Obama says that it is not the solution, the long- term solution to solving the high price of gas. He also says the tax holiday would only deplete the funds the government has available for crucial infrastructure. So with the price of gas only going up and the economy remaining the top concern of most Americans, this gas prices had to bring them down is likely to remain an issue for the duration of this campaign and we will no doubt hear a lot more on this topic.

And we will go and visit both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail. That's coming up. But first, we are going to take a break. Stay with us and we will see you on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Welcome back to BALLOT BOWL. I'm Jim Acosta in Indianapolis. Over the last 24 to 48 hours we have seen Barack Obama try to recalibrate his campaign message after coming off that top loss in Pennsylvania and those bruising confrontations with Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama is trying to change the dynamic of this campaign, opting instead of verbal confrontations with Hillary Clinton, he is spending more time attacking John McCain and at the same time offering up some photo opportunities, we will look at those later in BALLOT BOWL.

Barack Obama taking to the hardwood playing some basketball trying to get that message across to voters here in Indiana that he is not the elitist that Hillary Clinton called him and John McCain quite frankly called him back in Pennsylvania and speaking of John McCain, Barack Obama went right after the presumptive Republican nominee in Indiana on Friday night when he talked about his potential Republican opponent and the upcoming general election. Barack Obama saying that John McCain would essentially be a third Bush term or would bring about a third Bush term if he is elected. Here's Barack Obama in Kokomo, Indiana.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The American people are ready for something new. They're ready for something different. They're ready to turn the page. They're ready to write a new chapter in the history of America. That's why I'm running for president of the United States of America.

Now, this is a town hall meeting so I don't want to make a long speech. But the people of Indiana have a choice to make on May 6th and then you'll have a choice to make next November. Now, I know that a lot of people are worried about how this Democratic primary's gone on for a long time. I want to tell you the Democrats will be unified come November. They will be unified. Because whatever differences I've got with Senator Clinton and she's got with me, they pale in comparison to the differences we've got with John McCain. John McCain is a genuine hero, worthy of our respect. He deserves our respect. For having served this nation.

But John McCain is running for George Bush's third term. He wants to continue George Bush's foreign policy of a failed war in Iraq and he wants to come George Bush's failed economic policy that is led to 232,000 Americans losing their jobs since the beginning of this year. We can't afford four more years of George Bush economics so the Democrats will be unified come November. But in just 12 days you will have a choice here in Indiana about who will be the standard bearer for the Democratic Party.

And look. Look. There may -- there may be some undecided here so I want to be clear of why I think I'm the best choice. You know, Senator Clinton and I share a lot of policy ideas. And, you know, I think that when it comes to health care, for example, we all believe that every American should be able to get health care. And we don't -- I don't -- I don't want to take away healthcare you've already got. If you have health care that you're happy with, you can keep it. If you don't have health care, like Joe Nelson, lost your health care, I want you to have health care that's at least as good as the health care I have as a member of Congress.

So we're going to put in place a health care system that you can buy into and if you can't afford it, we'll subsidize you. And everybody will qualify. There won't be any exclusion for preexisting conditions. And we'll crack down on insurance companies who are not providing their -- the claims that have been placed by their customers. And we're not going to wait 20 years from now to do it and 10 years from now to do it. We'll do it by the end of my first term as president of the United States of America.

Now, here's where the difference between Senator Clinton and myself come in. Because, you know, she's making a similar claim. You have to ask yourself why is it we haven't got health care reform? I mean, all these folks who talk about how much experience they've got, why is it we haven't been able to get it done? Well, part of it has to do with the fact that over the last ten years, the drug companies and the insurance companies have spent over $1 billion preventing reform from happening so if we think we'll get a different kind of health care with the same kind of politics, we are sorely mistaken. That's the reason why at the beginning of the campaign I said I would take Pac money or lobbyist money.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So there you have it, Barack Obama talking about what he thinks John McCain would be up to if he were elected president calling John McCain essentially a candidate seeking a third Bush term and unlike Barack Obama who was recalibrating his message here in Indiana, Hillary Clinton is going back to what worked for her in Pennsylvania emphasizing her blue collar street cred here in Fort Wayne, Indiana, yesterday.

It is a message that worked for her in northeastern Pennsylvania. I heard her talk up there time and again her grandfather worked the mills in Scranton. Part of the economic message that she is trying to bring to voters not only in Pennsylvania but out here in Indiana, as well. Here's Hillary Clinton talking about the economy and how she feels she best relates to voters here when it comes to those economic issues that are hitting Indiana voters hard here in the Hoosier state. Here's Hillary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I never thought I would run for office. I never thought I'd be standing here talking to you, asking you to support me in a presidential primary. But I always believed that I had an obligation to do what I could to help other people. And so, when I got out of law school, I went to work for the Children's Defense Fund. Working to help abused and neglected kids and kids who didn't have health care or education or who in some way were really left out or left on the sidelines.

And I believe with all my heart that our country has to be constantly asking ourselves, are we doing all we can to make sure that the American dream is alive and well for every single person? And I see a series of challenges that we have to meet with our next president in order to ensure that I can come back here to Fort Wayne in four years, 12 or 20 years to see that the American dream is alive and well in Fort Wayne, Indiana. And at the core of that dream is the ability to get a good job, a job that will help support a family. A job that will give you a better future. So I've gone across Indiana saying that my campaign is about jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs. Because that's what we have to care about right now. We have to get back to producing good jobs in America again. Jobs that is will give you the chance to be able to save a little money. That's been really hard, hasn't it, in recent years? Jobs that will give you enough income to be able to not only buy that house, but keep that house. And prevent yourself from losing it because of the economy.

Jobs that will either offer health insurance or give you the means to be able to get the health care that you and your families need. Jobs that give you the chance to save to send a child to college if that's what you want to be able to do. These are the kinds of jobs that were plentiful in America when I was growing up. Whether you worked for someone or like my dad and you had a small business. If you worked hard, you could see the results of your hard work.

I want to ask you personally for your help in this primary. I believe strongly that we have to change this country but that's not just a slogan. It's going to require an enormous amount of hard work. And it's as Evan said. If it was so easy you showed up in Washington and say, let's change, I think Evan and I would have figured that a while ago. It's going to take building coalitions. It's going to take creating the policies that people will support. It's going to take standing up to the special interests.

Something that I haven't just talked about but I have done for 15 years, time and time again. And I think it's going to take a fighter. I think it's going to take somebody that you believe will get up every day and worry about you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And so there you have it. Hillary Clinton talking about the issue of jobs using that word time and again in that snippet there from Fort Wayne, Indiana and talking about how she is the fighter for blue collar workers here in the Hoosier state.

Well coming up after a break here on BALLOT BOWL on CNN, we'll go back to my colleague Jessica Yellin in Washington and she will be taking a look at the John McCain campaign. We'll get to that in a short break. This is BALLOT BOWL on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello, I'm Fredericka Whitfield in Atlanta. Want to update you on some pretty severe situations in southern California, particularly wildfires now that have forced the evacuations of about 1,000 people in the Sierra Madre area. You see right there the efforts to try to put out this blaze which scorched about 400 acres there in Sierra Madre.

The evacuations are one thing, but imagine you've decided to plan your wedding there in the foothills just north of Sierra Madre and about 38 of the guests hiked through the woods there to get to the wedding site. Well, you don't have to imagine it if you happen to be a one couple who apparently had to be air lifted out of this campground site along with their many guests because of the encroaching fire, and one of the guests of that wedding party and in fact the sister of the bride is on the phone with us now out of Los Angeles. Mary Jo Sokolowski, boy, what an incredible weekend you all have had. You had a wonderful ceremony and then the next thing you know, there's smoke, there's fire and you all are stuck. What happened from there?

MARY JO SOKOLOWSKI, SISTER OF THE BRIDE, (via telephone): Yeah. Definitely been quite an adventure. We heard that it was coming into the canyon last night but we didn't -- we weren't instructed to do anything at that point so we all kept on partying into the night. And woke up this morning at about 7:00 a.m. and heard from search and rescue that we need to evacuate the canyon and so we actually all decided to eat breakfast and then figure out a plan from there and search and rescue actually showed up and they were assisting us out. But basically gave us some options to hike out or be air lifted and because of the poor air quality, it's really smoky and we all decided to take the helicopter.

WHITFIELD: So everyone uniformly decided, OK, clearly not safe enough for us to hike down? We're all going to take advantage of the helicopter ride? I guess you had to break up in small groups to take advantage of the helicopter ride, right?

SOKOLOWSKI: Yeah, exactly. They broke us up into groups based on different, you know, health conditions and whatnot. They let the older people, you know, that weren't capable of getting out quickly go first. And then, ones with children go out next and we just kind of went out that way. We had a dog that is got on the helicopter.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh. What an ordeal. Now how are the bride and groom? By the way, what are their names?

SOKOLOWSKI: Julie Sokolowski and then Ken Grady.

WHITFIELD: OK. Get used to that new last name. Your sister will probably take it on or at least hyphenated. How are they doing?

SOKOLOWSKI: Yeah. They're actually sitting in the -- a little bar in Sierra Madre having some beers right now. And, no. They're doing good. And it definitely made it quite; you know, a great memory, actually.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. Very memorable wedding. Well, we're glad that everyone is safe and no one was injured. Just I guess you guys got a little bit of fear, you know, this weekend, to go along with the beautiful wedding but congrats to Julie and Ken Grady, your new brother-in-law.

SOKOLOWSKI: Yeah.

WHITFIELD: And new in-law family. Good you all are doing fine and sounds like you all really kind of took it with some humor and a grain of salt. SOKOLOWSKI: Yes. Yeah definitely. Thank you. Now we're just going to be staying in touch with the main station where the trailhead begins to make sure that my mom and my step dad are still in there and hope they can make it out, as well and everyone will be out safe then.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, just shaken, not stirred, huh?

SOKOLOWSKI: Yeah. Exactly.

WHITFIELD: All right. All right. Mary Jo Sokolowski, thank you so much. Glad everyone is OK. Some harrowing moments there as this rescue had to take place for this wedding parties while this threatening fire was surrounding them just -- north of the Sierra Madre area where now thousands people have been ordered to evacuate their homes.

Meantime, south of there, there's another wildfire brewing. This one in San Diego. I think the latest numbers are 50 acres have burned there and it is unclear right now just how many homes are being threatened and the evacuations, how many people are now having to leave their residences there. Jacqui Jeras is in the Weather Center. Boy Jacqui, this is a mess here.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. It really is. Yesterday was critical fire conditions and this whole area was highlighted for being at risk for fires to grow so there's a little bit of good and bad news going on with the weather there today. The good news is that the winds are relatively calm so, you know, they're able to get the choppers up, able to get the big planes up to put the fire retardant down and help the situation but the temperatures, they're extremely hot and the air, the humidity is extremely low. So very dry tinder conditions and, of course, we have the ongoing draught for so long in the southwest and the brush is just very tinder dry.

What you're looking at? This is a Google earth animation and we put a satellite detection system on top of it so the fires signatures that you see there that's heat being detected by the satellite from noaa (ph) so we'll zoom in and show you the area that we're talking about. There you can see Los Angeles and there you can see the San Gabriel Mountains and foothills area. This is the town we're talking about and look at how close those fires signatures are too many of these populated areas. That's very, very near here and notices the nice, beautiful homes. You can see the blue scares, yes those are swimming pools. So you know that it's an upscale area here and look how close the fire signatures are, as well.

When the fires move down the mountains, they heat up and accelerate so temperatures are extremely hot and dry, and it continues to do that and adds to that impact and so those fires are racing down towards the westerly direction. High pressure, that is are big controlling feature here across the west and some moderate to weak Santa Ana event. Because the winds aren't that strong overall but the good news is we'll start to see this begin to pull out a little bit by tomorrow and we'll get more what we call the onshore flow when the winds come in off the ocean and so of course that brings in some more moisture and higher humidity. Look at those temperatures here 92 degrees in Los Angeles. Very likely to see some record highs in the area today. In fact, in this fire area, temperatures are likely going to be in the mid to upper 90s, Fredericka. So the heats a problem for the fires, but also, think about those firefighters who are out there in the rugged terrain.

WHITFIELD: With all that gear.

JERAS: All that gear on top it and temperatures in the middle to upper 90s, incredibly difficult for them.

WHITFIELD: It is. Indeed. All right. Thanks so much for underscoring that Jacqui.

Meantime, I do want to update you on the fire there in that San Diego area. We understand no homes are being immediately threatened. There are no mandatory evacuations under way right now. It is strictly voluntary. But again 50 acres so far scorched there in San Diego.

All right. We're going to get back to BALLOT BOWL in a moment and then continue to update you on all of these developments throughout the day here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

YELLIN: Welcome back to CNN's BALLOT BOWL. I'm Jessica Yellin in Washington, D.C. This is your chance to hear from the candidates, sometimes live, sometimes on tape but always unfiltered and in their own words. John McCain is out on the campaign trail today and both Democrats campaigns' in overdrive working hard ahead of the next primaries in Indiana and North Carolina. My colleague Jim Acosta is out there in Indiana where the May 6 primary will be held and Jim over to you.