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Ballot Bowl 2008

Obama Speech in Indianapolis on Education; Clinton Speech in Indiana on Results of the Bush Presidency.

Aired May 04, 2008 - 20:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's crunch time for Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as they make their case to the voters just 48 hours away from two critical contests. I'm Suzanne Malveaux in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Welcome to Sunday edition, primetime edition of BALLOT BOWL. Now this is really your chance to take a look at these candidates live, raw, unfiltered to get a real sense of what they're saying to their voters, taking those questions.
We are on the eve looking ahead some 48 hours to Indiana and North Carolina, two critical primaries. There are 187 delegates that are up for grabs and all indications, polls showing that these are races that are going to be extremely tight.

Joining me tonight is my co-anchor Jessica Yellin, she's in Indianapolis. Jessica, obviously a lot of excitement tonight looking forward to those Tuesday primaries.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot of enthusiasm here in Indianapolis. You're right, Suzanne. And tonight, the delegates will have something to think about because both of the candidates are going to be going at each other in tonight's Jefferson Jackson dinner. It's an event for the Democratic Party in all the states and tonight it's Indiana's Jefferson Jackson dinner right here in downtown Indianapolis.

We have a live picture of the scene there. Neither Clinton nor Obama has taken the stage yet, but they will each give speeches and we'll bring them to you live when they happen.

I was just outside the site of that event and I can tell you there are crowds gathered there, folks chanting and carrying signs for Clinton and for Obama.

Also, earlier today, Suzanne, we were at the local city-county building here where a ton of people were filing in to vote early. A lot of people excited to get their voting out of the way, they say, so that on Election Day here in Indiana, they can spend the day helping to get out the vote and drive other folks to the polls.

So huge enthusiasm here and the candidates campaigning furiously across the state. While we wait for Clinton and Obama to take the stage there, at the Jefferson Jackson dinner, we'll bring you a little bit of what they had to say at their events today. This was Senator Clinton's speaking in South Bend earlier, making her sort of closing argument to the voters of Indiana.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is a historic campaign and it is a great privilege to be running and to be part of this historic opportunity. No matter what happens, we are going to be able to say to our children, to every African-American child and to every girl and boy, yes, you can grow up to be the president of the United States of America.

So we are getting into these last hours and there's a lot of excitement, I think rightly so, because it's been 40 years since Indiana has played such a major role in helping to pick the next president. And so across the state people are doing what you're doing. They're here helping, they're making up their minds, they're getting excited about casting that vote. And I hope that you will do everything you can in the next two days to reach as many voters as possible, because as Evan said, the stakes are high. The consequences are great.

We must turn this country around. It has been headed in the wrong direction under President Bush. There is going to be a great sigh of relief heard around the world when that moving van pulls out from the back of the White House heading back to Texas.

But, you know, that's when the hard work begins because we're going to inherit a lot of damage that we're going to have to get busy repairing and cleaning up. And I know I can do it. That's why I'm running, because I believe that it is going to take somebody who has the unique experiences that I have, having been in the White House, having been in the Congress, knowing that you just can't hope that these changes will happen.

You can't just talk about them. You have to have a plan and you have to be very specific in order to bring people together. The devil's in the details. Everybody is for change in general. But you've got to bring people to the table in particular.

So when I talk specifically about what I will do about the economy I tell you, I'm going to change the tax code because I'm going to end any tax benefit going to any company that moves the job out of Indiana to any foreign country. That is over. And I'm the only candidate with the plan to fix NAFTA. It's going to have to have labor and environmental standards that will be enforced in order for it to work for our workers and our consumers.

And I will get tough on China because it is manipulating its currency. It is violating the trade rules it agreed to. It is not following what should be the standards for health and safety for consumers and workers.

Our jobs go over there. What do we get back? Lead-laced toys, contaminated pet food and polluted pharmaceuticals. That is going to end. And we need a president who takes the long view about how to create new jobs. I have no doubt that we can create millions of new jobs. I've been talking overtime. Could I get a lozenge or something? We have been talking nonstop for days now, or a glass of water. That's why we need universal health care. CROWD: Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!

CLINTON: Thank you very, very much. You know, because I think we can create at least five million new jobs from clean, renewable energy and I have a very specific plan. You heard Evan talk about how we need higher gas mileage cars, cars made right here in America by American auto workers. Cars that will give us the advantage we need to begin to wean ourselves off this addiction to foreign oil, that we can once again stand proud because we are not beholden to anybody anywhere in the world the way we are right now.

Do you know, we use more foreign oil today than we did on 9/11 because President Bush has no policy to do anything to help us end that addiction. I have a very specific policy for higher gas mileage cars and I have in my plan a $10,000 credit to help you buy a hybrid because we want you to buy new cars that get higher gas mileage fuel and on my Web site, which I invite you to go to, HillaryClinton.com, it's all laid out there about how we move to renewable energy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YELLIN: Senator Clinton speaking earlier today in South Bend, Indiana, making her closing arguments to the voters there. She has gotten quite a helping hand from Senator Evan Bayh, not just a drink of water as you saw earlier, but he has been by her side campaigning throughout this state quite aggressively. Clinton right now trails Barack Obama by just 137 delegates. That's pledged delegates plus super delegates. They are both campaigning furiously and both have been in Ft. Wayne, Indiana today, and that's where our Suzanne Malveaux is right now. Suzanne, you are in a popular place.

MALVEAUX: Jessica, I guess we all need those throat lozenges and a drink of water. This has really been quite exciting and enthusiastic. We saw a lot of crowds earlier with the Barack Obama event here in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. It was really kind of a picnic atmosphere. They called it a family picnic. It was unusual. It was not just Barack Obama but also his wife, Michelle, their two young daughters Sasha and Malia joining them. Really kind of trying to reach out to families, to voters, and Barack Obama talked about a lot of things that people can relate to that really resonate with the voters.

He talked about their concerns about their jobs, about high gas prices. He also said, you know, a lot of people, these soldiers are out there for two and three tours of duty in Iraq, you know, what are the things that people are really thinking about focusing on and how is he going to help their lives? Let's take a listen from earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People are struggling just to get by. We just went through the first economic expansion during George Bush in which family incomes actually went down by a thousand dollars. So people are seeing less income, fewer wages, jobs being shipped overseas. And when people lose their jobs, when the plant closes, you don't just lose your job. You lose your health care and you lose your pension. And more than that, you lose your sense of who you are and your place in your community. Your sense of dignity, your ability to support a family.

And at the same time, the cost of everything has been going up. The cost of gas, the cost of food, the cost of health care. In fact, 47 million people don't have health care at all. And if you've got health care, you've seen your premiums and your co-payments and your deductibles are going up and up and up. People are worried about whether they can retire and save for the future, whether they can finance their child's college education.

And at the same time there are families all across Indiana who are struggling with the fact that their loved ones are on their second or third tours of duty in a war that I believe should have never been authorized and should have never been waged.

In such circumstances, we can't afford to wait, Ft. Wayne. We can't wait to fix our schools. We can't wait to fix our health care system. We cannot wait to bring back good jobs and good wages here to Indiana. We can't wait to bring this war in Iraq to a close. We can't wait. That's why I'm running right now for president of the United States of America.

But understand this. This campaign is not about me. It's also about you. Because the fact of the matter is, when I decided to get in this race, I was betting on you, that you were tired of the politics all about tearing each other down. You wanted politics that was about lifting the country up. That you were tired of spin and P.R. from your politicians, that you wanted honesty and truthfulness. You wanted some straight talk out of your leadership.

And I also believe that when we unify this country, when we came together just like this, this wonderful auditorium looks like today, with black and white and Hispanic and Asian and Native American and young and old and rich and poor, I was sure that when we come together, nobody can stop us. No challenge is too great. No mountain is too steep to climb.

And I'm here to tell you this. After 15 months and 46 states, speaking to hundreds of thousands of people and shaking hundreds of thousands of hands, kissing hundreds of babies, I am here to report that my bet has paid off because the American people have stood up and they have said, we want something new. We want something different. We're going to move this country in a new direction and it'll start right here in Indiana on Tuesday if you're with me.

Now, for those of you who are worried about whether the Democrats are divided, you know, you got the Clinton folks and the Obama folks, let me tell you something. We will be united in November because we don't want another four years of George W. Bush and that's what John McCain is offering, so we'll be united on that. John McCain wants to continue this war without an exit strategy. John McCain wants to continue Bush economic policies that give tax breaks to the wealthy but leave you without the kind of support you need. So we don't need four more years of George Bush policies.

But this election on Tuesday isn't about that party. It's about what we, the Democrats, stand for. What is it that we want to do for this country? And although Senator Clinton and I have some overlap in terms of the policies we want to promote, although both she and I want universal health care for the people of Indiana, both she and I want to deal with the environmental crisis of global warming, although both of us have some overlapping plans, there are some big differences that you've got to look at before you cast your ballot on Tuesday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Senator Barack Obama going back to some familiar themes that were successful in the past, talking about a unique and diverse coalition -- black, white, young, old, many different types of people -- also talking about the hope of the country and sending a clear signal that he is not only competing with Hillary Clinton but also the Republican presumptive nominee John McCain, really trying to send a signal that he is looking forward to the general election.

Now, obviously there are going to be very tight and close races in Indiana and North Carolina, critical primaries for both of these candidates looking for momentum as well as looking for delegates.

But it is quite telling, Jessica, that it has gotten to this point where we are focusing and a lot of people focused on this yesterday, the situation in Guam, the caucuses in Guam that that might actually have an impact here in this race.

YELLIN: That's right. Guam held its caucus yesterday and the results of that are essentially a wash for the candidates. Barack Obama did come out ahead but he won so narrowly that it's almost -- well, he won by just seven votes, so it's almost a tie there. Barack Obama picking up two delegates and Senator Clinton picking up two delegates as well. So they are still divided by just 137 delegates total. Barack Obama leads by that much.

So the Guam vote is under their belts and now they're looking ahead to the vote here in Indiana and North Carolina on Tuesday. Both candidates continue to compete vigorously and we are still monitoring that J.J. dinner which takes place this evening.

We'll bring that to you live when Clinton and Obama take the stage there. But first, on the other side of this break we're going to bring you John McCain, who spoke this week for the first time about his health care plan. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

YELLIN: Welcome back to CNN BALLOT BOWL. You are looking at a live picture of the Jefferson Jackson dinner here in Indianapolis, Indiana. It's a fundraiser for the Democratic Party.

And on the stage there, Senator Evan Bayh, former governor of Indiana, currently a senator, a super delegate and an avid supporter of Senator Hillary Clinton. He has been stumping for her throughout the state. Let's listen for a moment to what he has to say.

SEN. EVAN BAYH (D), INDIANA: Because the consequences of this race go far beyond either candidate. They go far beyond the welfare of the Democratic Party. At stake in this election is the future of our great country and the welfare of our children and those who will follow in our foot steps.

Barack and Hillary may have some differences about how to provide health care coverage in this country, but they're going to do a heck of a lot better than the Bush-Cheney administration that has allowed eight million Americans to lose their health care coverage over the last eight years.

Barack and Hillary are debating what to do about the energy crisis and our dependency, what to do about the gas tax. But either one of them would do a heck of a lot better than the two oil men in the White House who have made us more dependent on imported oil today than we were on 9/11. We will do better than that.

YELLIN: Earlier this evening in that speech Senator Evan Bayh also said he is not against Barack Obama, he is just for Senator Hillary Clinton.

Just to give you a sense of how unusual it is for the J.J. dinner in Indiana to get this much attention, the last time a presidential candidate spoke at one of these dinners was Jesse Jackson. He was the last Democratic presidential candidate to show up here. This year, they have both the Democratic contenders and we will again bring you both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama's speeches when they do happen.

For now we're going to turn and look for a moment at John McCain, who was on the trail this week in Tampa, Florida, talking about his plan for health coverage. While Senator Clinton has proposed a plan that she is describing as universal health coverage, everyone would be enrolled. Barack Obama proposes a different version where everyone could choose to be enrolled. John McCain is proposing a health care plan that is based on private sector, on individuals paying for their own health care along with employers and getting a hefty tax credit in return. Let's listen to his plan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are those convinced the solution is to move close tower a nationalized health care system. They urge universal coverage with all the tax increases, new mandates and government regulation that come along with that idea. But in the end, this will accomplish one thing only. We will replace the inefficiency, irrationality and uncontrolled cost of the current system with the inefficiency, irrationality and uncontrolled costs of a government monopoly.

We'll have all the problems and more of private health care -- rigid rules, long waits, lack of choices, and risk degrading its great strengths and advantages including the innovation and life saving technology that make American medicine the most advanced in the world.

The key to real reform is to restore control over our health care system to the patients themselves. Right now even those with access to health care often have no assurance that it is appropriate care. Too much of the system is built on getting paid just for providing services regardless of whether those services are necessary or produce quality care and outcomes.

American families should only pay for getting the right care -- care that is intended to improve and safeguard their health. When families are informed about medical choices, they are more capable of making their own decisions, less likely to choose the most expensive and often unnecessary options and they're more satisfied with their choices.

We took an important step in this direction with the creating of health savings accounts. As you know, they are tax preferred accounts that are used to pay insurance premiums and other health care costs. These accounts put the family in charge of what they pay for and as president I would seek to encourage and expand the benefits of these accounts to more American families.

Americans need new choices beyond those offered in employment- based coverage. Americans want a system built so that wherever you go and wherever you work, your health plan goes with you. And there is a very straight forward way to achieve this. Under current law, the federal government gives a tax benefit when employers provide health insurance coverage to American workers and their families. This benefit doesn't cover the total cost of the health plan and in reality each worker and family absorbs the rest of the cost in lower wages and diminished benefits.

But it provides essential support for insurance coverage. Many workers are perfectly content with this arrangement, perfectly content and under my reform plan they would be able to keep that coverage. Their employer-provided health plans would be largely untouched and unchanged.

But for every American who wanted it, another option would be available. Every year they would receive a tax credit directly with the same cash value of the credits for employees in big companies, in a small business, or self-employed.

You simply choose the insurance provider that suits you best. By mail or online you then inform the government of your selection. And the money to help pay for your health care would be sent straight to that insurance provider. The health plan you choose would be as good as any that an employer could choose for you. It would be yours and your family's health care plan and yours to keep.

The value of that credit, $2,500 for individuals, $5,000 for families, would also be enhanced by the greater competition this reform would help create among insurance companies.

Millions of Americans would be making their own health care choices again. Insurance companies could no longer take your business for granted, offering narrow plans with escalating costs. It would help change the whole dynamic of the current system, putting individuals and families back in charge and forcing companies to respond with better service at lower cost.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YELLIN: Senator John McCain earlier this week in Tampa, Florida. One of the central differences between the health care plan John McCain proposes and the reforms proposed by both Democrats is the Democrats include an option to choose government-backed health insurance. John McCain relies entirely on insurance provided by the private sector. So a very key difference between the two parties that will no doubt become more and more clear as this race moves into the general election.

I want to point out that John McCain was off the campaign trail today but he did make a fun stop for him at the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball game. They were playing the Mets in Phoenix and bad news for John McCain. They lost to the New York Mets, which has to be good news to New York Senator Hillary Clinton. There you see John McCain at the ballgame. His team lost to the New York team.

We continue to monitor that Jefferson Jackson dinner for you. We're told that Senator Clinton is expected to take the stage any time now and we will bring that to you as soon as it happens. We're going to take a quick break for now, but come back and we will hopefully have Senator Clinton for you at this Jefferson Jackson dinner.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: I'm Suzanne Malveaux in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Welcome back to CNN's BALLOT BOWL.

We are watching live events this hour. One, of course, Senator Hillary Clinton at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, a Democratic fund raiser in Indianapolis. She is expected to speak momentarily. We are keeping our eye on that event and will bring you that live speech as soon as it begins.

Also want to show you Senator Barack Obama. This was from yesterday in the same city, Indianapolis, where he really was giving his closing arguments, the case he was making to Indiana voters where he's talked about his own vision. He talked about education, making college more affordable and all of the kinds of things that voters have been asking questions about in the last couple of weeks. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If we want our children to succeed in this global economy, if we want them to be able to compete with children in Beijing and Bangalore, then we need to make sure every child everywhere gets a world-class education from the day they're born until the day they graduate from college.

And that means investing in early childhood education to close the achievement gap. It means that we need to recruit an army of new teachers by not just talking about how great teachers are but rewarding them for their greatness, by giving them higher salaries and giving them more support.

And it means that in this country, in this global economy we will not create a small class of the educated few by allowing thousands and thousands of young people to be priced out of the college market year after year. We are better than that.

When I'm president, we will create a bargain with every American who wants to go to college. We will pay for your tuition if you serve your country in some way for two years after you graduate. We'll invest in the young people of America. They can invest back in America. Together we'll move this country forward.

That's what this election has to be about. Real relief to middle class families, savers, homeowners, lower premiums for those who have health care and coverage for everyone who wants it. Five million green jobs right here in America, a world-class education that will allow every American to reach their god-given potential and compete with any worker in the world.

All of this is possible. But it's just a list of policies, just 10-point plans, until you decide that it's time to make the Washington we have look like the America we know, one where the future's not determined by those with money and influence, where common sense and honesty are cherished values.

But we are stronger than that which divides us because we realize that in the end, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people.

It was 40 years ago, this May, that Robert Kennedy took his unlikely campaign to create a new kind of politics to Indiana. As he campaigned in Fort Wayne he laid out a vision of what America should look like, the America we know. He said, "Income and education and homes do not make a nation, not do land and borders. Shared and ideas and principles, joined purposes and hopes, these make a nation. And that is our great task." That's what Robert Kennedy said.

And this is still our task today. This is still our task.

Indiana, we've always known this wouldn't be easy. The change we're looking for never is. Generations before us have fought wars and revolutions. They've struggled and they've sacrificed. They stood up and spoke out and marched through the streets for the opportunities that we enjoy.

That's why the only way that a black man named Barack Obama, who was born in Hawaii, and started his career on the streets of Chicago, is standing before you today. And that's the only way I can win this race, if you decide you've had enough of the way things are. If you decide -- If you decide that this election is bigger than flag pins or sniper fire or the comments of a former pastor, bigger than the difference between what we look like or where we come from or what party we belong to. And if you do, if you, Indiana, if the people who are going to be voting on Tuesday in North Carolina, if you decide that this moment is about what kind of country we'll be in the next year and the next century, about how we'll provide jobs to the jobless and opportunity to those without it, about health care and good schools and a green planet, and about giving our children a better world and a brighter future, then I ask you to enlist your neighbors and knock on doors and work your heart out from now until Tuesday.

In the face of all cynicists (ph), all doubts, all fear, I ask you to remember what makes a nation and believe that we can once again make this nation the land of limitless possibility and unyielding hope, the place where you still make it if you try.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Barack Obama, once again, that final plea to voters, wrapping up his closing argument, saying that he wants them to go out to vote for him, that there's this possibility of change, the distractions, controversies of the last couple of weeks, put them aside and to move forward. Obviously, a critical primary on Tuesday in Indiana as well as North Carolina.

We are still waiting in Indianapolis, Indiana. That is where the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner is taking place. It's a Democratic fundraiser. Up, expected very, very shortly is Senator Hillary Clinton, who will address the crowd. Barack Obama will do it a little bit later. Both of them addressing this group. Very important here in term of the messages, in terms of the delivery here. Obviously, both of them looking not only to compete for the voters here in Indiana and North Carolina, but for those superdelegates, those party officials who, in all indications, may actually determine the outcome of this race.

We are going to be having a special BALLOT BOWL tomorrow. It's going to start at 9:00 in the morning. It's going to go to 4:00 in the afternoon. All day we'll have live coverage of all the candidates. It is raw, unfiltered, live, turning around tape as quickly as possible to give you a sense of what they are saying, the type of questions they are taking, the mood, the atmosphere leading up just 48 hours away from those critical Tuesday primaries.

We'll have much, much more. We're still looking for Hillary Clinton in that live event. We'll bring that to you most likely on the other end of the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN's BALLOT BOWL, coming to you from Indianapolis, Indiana.

Senator Clinton is just walking onstage at this JJ Dinner. You can see her there. This is a live picture. That is the Jefferson- Jackson Dinner, an annual fundraiser for the Democratic Party. All the states have them but usually they don't get as much attention as they have been getting this year. As we said earlier, the last time a Democratic presidential candidate spoke at one of these events it was Jesse Jackson. But this year Senator Clinton is here. Barack Obama is here. We understand Howard Dean is in that room as well. He is the chairman of the Democratic Party.

We're going to bring you Senator Clinton's speech as soon as she starts.

My co-anchor, Suzanne Malveaux, is in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Susanne, the Clinton campaign has just announced Senator Clinton plans to be here in Indianapolis the night of the primary, a sign she is feeling quite good about her chances here in Indiana. But no word so far from Barack Obama's campaign -- Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: They're still actually keeping that kind of quiet, under wraps. You bring up a very good point, Jessica. It all depends on how this is going to unfold. Often what you'll see is the candidate will either be in the state where they're successful or they'll move on ahead.

Let's take a listen. I know Hillary Clinton has just taken the stage.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I have had the most wonderful time crisscrossing this state. I think, between my husband, my daughter, and myself, we've made a hundred stops and every one of them has been a joy and a privilege.

I want to thank all of the Hoosiers who have welcomed us into their homes, their businesses, their union halls, their high school gyms, every place we've been.

And what I have seen with my own eyes is what I've always been told and believed. Hoosiers are the kind of hard working people that keep this country going and growing. And it is time that you had a president who knows that middle class Americans are the back bone of this economy and the guarantor of the American dream. You deserve a president who will work with you to make Indiana an engine of prosperity.

So with the Indy 500 right around the corner, let me ask you, Indiana Democrats, are you ready to start your engines and get America going again?

I am so excited that you will help pick the next president. and we're here for one reason, to make sure that the next president is a Democrat. All that unites us, as Democrats, is so much greater than our differences. And the stakes for our country are high. And I know in my heart that when this primary season is over, we will come together behind our nominee. We will roll up our sleeves, and we will work and obtain a great victory in November, 2008.

We have a lot of guests here today. I want to change -- to thank Chairman Howard Dean for his hard work on behalf of the Democratic National Committee. I want to thank Chairman Dan Parker for his hard work on behalf of the Indiana Democratic Party. I know somewhere in this great throng is Ms. Indiana 2008, Brittany Mason.

I want to thank all of the members of Congress who are here, particularly the Indiana delegation, all of the labor supporters who mean so much to our economy and to our way of life. I want to thank my steering committee, all the mayors from across this state, district, and county chairs.

And I particularly want to thank Senator Evan Bayh for being a fabulous public servant and for heading up my campaign here in this state. Evan and I sit next to one another on the Senate Armed Services Committee where I have seen time and time again how hard he works to keep our families safe and to keep Indiana's defense jobs right where they belong, here in America. He has served you well as your governor, now as your Senator. And I am so grateful to him and Susan for their friendship.

Indiana once could have had a Democratic dinner like this in a much smaller place. But tonight, I think you can see that the Democratic Party is on the way up in Indiana. It's only appropriate that you now are playing such a central role in helping to determine the future of our country, because we stand on the threshold of a new beginning for America. If you listen closely, you can almost hear it in the distance. The sound of the moving van pulling away from the back of the White House, taking George Bush back to Texas.

The whole world will breathe a sigh of relief when George Bush and Dick Cheney turn over the keys to the people's house and once again Democrats are back in charge.

We've had seven years of a president who gives tax breaks to billionaires while jobs get shipped overseas. Seven years of a president who puts corporate special interests first and hard working families last. Seven years of a president who's looking out for the well off and the well connected. And that is seven years too long.

But it's not just George Bush. The wealthiest have had not just a president but a party that looks out for them. The Republican Party will give the well off and the well-connected tax cut after tax cut. They'll run up the deficit even higher. They will stick our children with the bill.

But if you're fighting to pay the grocery bills and the doctor bills, the credit card and mortgage payments and the outrageous price of gas at the gas pump, there is a party for you, too. And we invite all of the Independents and Republicans in Indiana to join us at the oldest political party's resurgence right here in this state, the Democratic Party.

If there were ever any doubt before, the last seven years should have dispelled it. The Democratic Party is the party of working people and middle class families, the party of progress, the party of all who need a president on your side and a champion in your corner.

I'm running for president to be that champion, to restore to the White House once again a president who understands that we must put the American people first. It is long pastime for us to pay attention to the bread and butter, kitchen-table issues that determine whether or not people feel like they're going to have a chance at the American dream. And there is no doubt in my mind that we can repair the damage we will inherit and once again enter the future with confidence and optimism.

I grew up outside of Chicago. I was raised in a middle class family back when our leaders knew that the middle class makes America great. My father served in the Navy and ran a small business. My mother taught Sunday school and took care of us. I stand here today because of their hard work and sacrifice. I carry with me not just their dreams but the dreams of people like them all across our country, people who embrace hard work and opportunity.

MALVEAUX: Senator Hillary Clinton at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Indianapolis, Indiana, obviously addressing the Democrats but also Independents and Republicans, Indiana being an open primary. They can participate as well, making it a very unique situation on Tuesday, a critical race for Senator Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. We also expect Barack Obama to address the same group later on this evening.

Right after the BALLOT BOWL break, we'll bring you a little bit more live coverage of Senator Clinton.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

YELLIN: And we have again a live picture of Senator Hillary Clinton speaking at tonight's Jefferson-Jackson Dinner here in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Barack Obama, we understand, is holding an event at the hotel adjacent to the venue where Senator Clinton is speaking right now. He is going to take the stage at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner later on this evening. And we plan to bring you some of his comments later on in newsroom around 10:00 this evening.

But that's going to do it for us. I'm Jessica Yellin, coming to you from Indianapolis.

My co-anchor Suzanne Malveaux is in Fort Wayne -- Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: And we'd like to tell you about a special BALLOT BOWL. That is tomorrow, starts at 9:00 in the morning and goes all the way to 4:00 in the afternoon. Your chance to see all of these candidates raw, live, unfiltered as they talk to the voters and make the critical appeal leading up to the Tuesday primaries in Indiana and North Carolina.

Thank you very much for joining us for BALLOT BOWL. Special coverage of BALLOT BOWL on Monday, tomorrow.

"Larry King Live" is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)