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American Morning
Clinton Crushes Obama in West Virginia Primary; Clinton Takes Campaign to Kentucky; What Exit Polls Reveal About Clinton's Win; Myanmar Authorizes More U.S. Flight Aid
Aired May 14, 2008 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: But taking a look at the county-by- county map, it is another sign of the struggle that Barack Obama has had in rural working class areas. A sea of light blue, as you can see behind me here, almost a clean sweep across the state for Senator Clinton. Last night she tried to fire up the base for the next round and the rounds after that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: With your help, I am ready to go head-to-head with John McCain to put our vision for America up against the one he shares with President Bush. Now, I believe our party is strong enough for this challenge. I am strong enough for it. You know I never give up. I'll keep coming back, and I'll stand with you as long as you stand with me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Senator Barack Obama for the most part is ignoring last night's results. He even conceded defeat before the polls closed and instead focused his efforts on the presumptive Republican nominee, Senator John McCain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Bush/Cheney ticket won't be up for reelection, but Bush/Cheney policies will because John McCain has decided that he is running for George Bush's third term in office. That's what his campaign has been about, to offer the American people four more years of the same approach that has failed the American people over the last eight years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Obama is campaigning in Macomb County, Michigan today, home to the so-called Reagan Democrats. Those white working class voters deserted the Democratic Party back in 1980, so far have been hesitant to support him. One of the big questions for November, can he win them over? He needs to if he hopes to beat John McCain -- Kyra.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, John, working white class voters were the key to Hillary Clinton's landslide win in West Virginia. And Clinton says that proves that she's the better candidate to lead the Democrats against John McCain in the November presidential election. But is the win enough to keep her ship afloat? CNN's Jessica Yellin reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, West Virginia.
JESSICA YELLIN, CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A big victory for Hillary Clinton, but is it too little too late? Clinton's landslide win in West Virginia will allow her to make a small dent in Barack Obama's lead in delegates and the popular vote. But if this race for the Democratic nomination is supposedly over, no one has told Hillary Clinton.
CLINTON: There are some who have wanted to cut this race short. They say give up, it's too hard. I am more determined than ever to carry on this campaign.
YELLIN: A look at her schedule proves that point. Clinton's expected to campaign in South Dakota, Oregon, and Kentucky over the next week, and her message to the superdelegates remains the same.
CLINTON: I am in this race because I believe I am the strongest candidate, the strongest candidate to lead our party in November of 2008.
YELLIN: But to do it, she needs help.
CLINTON: I hope you'll go to HillaryClinton.com and support our campaign.
YELLIN: Obama is still in the driver's seat as he remains modest.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Clinton is still competing. We haven't resolved this nomination.
YELLIN: Where he spent Tuesday evening is very telling. He campaigned in Missouri. It's already held its primary but is considered a crucial battleground state and the person on Obama's mind isn't Clinton, it's John McCain.
OBAMA: Just look at where he stands, and you'll see that a vote for John McCain is a vote for George Bush's third term.
YELLIN (on camera): Fresh off her victory in West Virginia, Senator Clinton will be meeting with top supporters in Washington today. We're told she'll assure them that she plans to stay in this race and that she has the money to do it. Campaign sources say fund- raising picked up after she declared victory in West Virginia. Jessica Yellin, CNN, Charleston, West Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And a quick programming note, Hillary Clinton is Wolf Blitzer's guest in "THE SITUATION ROOM" today, 4:00 p.m. Eastern. Also, here's a look at what's ahead.
Five primaries in the next three weeks with 189 delegates up for grabs. Next Tuesday, it's Kentucky and Oregon with a total of 103 delegates. Oregon is a mail-in vote which is already under way. And then on June 1st, it's Puerto Rico with 55 delegates, then on to June 3rd, Montana and South Dakota with 31 delegates total.
Now, the new delegate count has Barack Obama leading with 1,881 total delegates. Hillary Clinton has 1,713. 2,025 is the magic number to clinch the nomination. John has more now with our all-star political panel -- John.
ROBERTS: Thank you very much. Joining us this morning, Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons who's supporting Barack Obama. Democratic strategist Julian Epstein is back with us. He's a Hillary Clinton supporter. Leslie Sanchez, Republican strategist, and, of course, our political analyst and chief political correspondent for Slate.com, John Dickerson here with me.
Hillary Clinton last night when she took victory in West Virginia, I don't want to say she changed the goal post, but she indicated that her number is a little bit different than the number that the DNC has been going for in terms of the number of delegates needed to chinch the nomination. Let's listen to what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe we should honor the votes cast by 2.3 million people in those states and seat all of their delegates. Under the rules of our party, when you include all 50 states, the number of delegates needed to win is 2,209, and neither of us has reached that threshold yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: 2,209, Jamal and Julian, that the number that the DNC has been going with is 2,025. It may change now that Travis Childress has been elected in Mississippi to 2,026, but is she moving the goal post here?
JAMAL SIMMONS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Oh, of course, she's moving the goal post. I mean, you know, they're trying to go back in time and recreate this Florida and Michigan scenario the way that's favorable to them. But in fact, Senator Clinton signed a pledge saying she wouldn't campaign in those states. She then said that everybody knows the states won't matter.
Her chief -- one of her chief strategist, Harold Ickes, was part of the committee that stripped Florida, promptly (ph) took it away from Florida.
They want to go back and change it. But, you know, I want to go back and change my freshman year GPA. You can't do it, so they're going to have to just get over it and realize that the DNC will find a way to accommodate those delegates, but it's not going to be the way that Hillary Clinton -- (CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: Julian, why do they keep talking about Florida and Michigan? Do they factor in the math for the nomination?
JULIAN EPSTEIN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I'm going to give Jamal a statute of limitation of how many times you can use that. Look, you can make the argument that Jamal just made and it's certainly a credible argument. Hillary Clinton did say all those things. The campaign did say all those things. At the end of the day, what matters mostly I think to Democrats is whether or not the votes count.
ROBERTS: Right.
EPSTEIN: That's where we were in 2000 were in Florida we count --
ROBERTS: Let me just interrupt you if I could.
(CROSSTALK)
EPSTEIN: Florida and Michigan ought to count.
ROBERTS: Hang on for a second, Julian. I'm not interrupting. We're seeing an editorial (ph) apparently we have a technical problem here. The microphone is not working very well.
EPSTEIN: OK.
ROBERTS: So hold that thought and we'll get back to you. We'll work on that.
LESLIE SANCHEZ, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I didn't do that.
(LAUGHTER)
That was not my intent.
ROBERTS: Oh, apparently -- OK, they are working now. So tell me about that then. Why are you saying Florida and Michigan have to count in the overall calculation for the nomination? Because the DNC said you go early, you're excluded. We may figure out a way to seat the delegates, but do you count the overall math?
EPSTEIN: Because I think at the end of the day when all the arguments have been made, the one thing that will matter is what Democrats have always stood for, which is that the votes count. Jamal can make all the arguments he wants to but at the end of the day, Democrats are not going to tolerate, they're not going to count the idea that Florida and Michigan should be wiped off the map. They have to count.
You can't decide the delegates in an arbitrary way. It's got to reflect in some manner the popular will of those states.
ROBERTS: Let me just go over here, Jamal, in our first round I just want to get to everybody. John and Leslie, is it increasingly held that Hillary Clinton is holding out for the VP slot? She wants to be the running mate. What have you heard?
JOHN DICKERSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, that's, you know -- people are wondering why she's still in it? The math is so stacked against her. What possibly could motivate her?
I think what's motivating her she still wants to win. I mean, if you look at her remarks last night, she was making clear distinctions. She didn't mention Obama by name, but she was still pressing these arguments.
The clip you just showed about the numbers, that argument is an argument by somebody who wants to win. It has nothing to do with the vice presidential slot, so I think she's still focused on trying to pull this out of the hat somehow.
ROBERTS: Leslie, do you think she's still trying to win?
LESLIE SANCHEZ, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Absolutely. I don't think there's any denying that. I think what you heard last night is Hillary -- the Clintons have always been about the Clintons first and the party second. And I think there's no holds barred. I think that's the biggest challenge for the Democrats.
They know that the Clintons are willing to do and say anything to get to that finish line even if it means moving the finish line. I think the interesting part is going to be this DNC meeting on May 31st...
ROBERTS: Right.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: The Rules Committee to settle this out.
ROBERTS: The Rules Committee to see what they do.
SANCHEZ: But already you're hearing oh, how do you appeal that? You know, then it goes to credentialing committee. I mean, it starts to sound like Florida recount.
ROBERTS: You're going to be with us for another two hours and 50 minutes. We got to move on to some other business, but we'll get back to you because there's an awful lot to talk about this morning -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: John, thanks. Alina Cho now joining us with other stories making headlines this morning. Good morning.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On this post primary day, good morning, Kyra. And good morning, everybody. New this morning.
President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush have just touched down in Israel. They have arrived to celebrate Israel's 60th anniversary. Mr. Bush will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to help push Mideast peace talks. Tomorrow he heads to Saudi Arabia and there he will meet with King Abdullah to talk about oil production.
Military helicopters are bringing food and medicine to earthquake survivors in China. They have finally reached some remote villages. In some areas, survivors are being rescued from collapsed buildings after being buried for two days.
We have this just in. China's state media is reporting close to 15,000 people dead in that quake and around 60,000 people are missing near the epicenter. Officials say they fear the death toll could reach nearly 20,000.
And baseball's all-time home run king is facing more charges this morning. A grand jury has updated the indictment against Barry Bonds, boosting the number of perjury counts from four to 14. He's also facing one count of obstruction of justice.
Back in November, Bonds was charged with lying and blocking the government's investigation into steroid use in baseball. His lawyers say this change is nothing saying Bonds is innocent.
Almost 11 minutes after the hour. That's a look at the news. I'll be back in 30 minutes, guys, with more news, including a crash test on the smart car. You know it's small.
ROBERTS: Right.
CHO: It's affordable. It has great gas mileage, but how safe is it? You may be surprised at the results.
ROBERTS: It's so tiny. You'd wonder how it would fair in a fight with an SUV.
CHO: Well, yes. I mean, but they pack a lot of safety in that little package. So you'll have more on that later.
ROBERTS: Great. All right. Looking forward to it. Thanks.
PHILLIPS: Hillary Clinton's big win in West Virginia came thanks to some groups that normally favor Obama. See what the exit polls reveal about how she won. That's coming up.
Plus, it's West Virginia's neighbor and it's the next battleground in the race for president. See what's important to voters there, straight ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Tonight in light of our overwhelming victory here in West Virginia, I want to send a message to everyone still making up their mind. I am in this race because I believe I am the strongest candidate.
(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: Well, we knew Hillary Clinton would win women and older voters, but she owes her victory in West Virginia to groups that don't always support her. Senior political analyst Bill Schneider joins us now with all the exit polls.
Busy night. Not as crazy as we expected. You got a little more sleep.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: That's right. We didn't have to stay up to 1:00 in the morning to count the votes in Gary, Indiana. But this is what I call in forwards big victory, small state. She carried a lot of groups that she normally doesn't carry.
For instance, men. Men voted 57 percent for Hillary Clinton. She usually has trouble carrying men. Not this time in West Virginia.
Young voters. You know how everyone talks about young voters going heavily for Barack Obama. Not in West Virginia. Those under 30, 56 percent to 38 for Hillary Clinton.
Voters with a college degree, Barack Obama does very well with well-educated voters. Not in West Virginia. They voted for Hillary Clinton 54 to 39 percent.
And finally, here's a group that she usually carries and she did really well with. They've been much discussed, those blue collar white voters. White voters without a college degree voted 72 percent for Hillary Clinton. There was a lot of discussion, can he carry those voters?
Well, in West Virginia, no, and that's an argument that she's going to make to superdelegates. These are important voters for Democrats. He can't carry them.
He has one counter argument, which is that he did very -- that the Democrat won in Mississippi despite the Republican's efforts to make him the issue.
PHILLIPS: How about independents?
SCHNEIDER: Independents are the swing voters, of course, par excellence. And in West Virginia those independent voters did go for Hillary Clinton, 51 to 35. They were very important for her.
You know, I call her the comeback of the month kid. Every month she's given up for dead, and every month she rises again. Pennsylvania, Ohio, and this month it was West Virginia, but again it was a big victory in a pretty small state.
PHILLIPS: Oh, there's been all these pundits, too, saying oh, she'll be out by this time. No, maybe this time. No, maybe this time. She's saying hey, I'm going to be all the way into November.
SCHNEIDER: She's still here.
PHILLIPS: She's here. All right. Thanks so much, Bill. SCHNEIDER: Sure.
PHILLIPS: All right, John.
ROBERTS: She is here and there is not much time to rest before the next contest. Among them, Kentucky. Ahead, a look at the overriding issues there.
And Hillary Clinton says the White House is one of the swing states and she is winning in those states. Does it make her the better choice for the Democratic nominee? Your chance to speak out, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I can win this nomination if you decide I should, and I can lead this party to victory in the general election if you lead me to victory now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Senator Hillary Clinton propelled by her big win in West Virginia is moving ahead to Kentucky, next door to West Virginia. And CNN's Dan Lothian is live for us in Frankfort, Kentucky, with the issues important to people there. He joins us now.
Hey, Dan, what are the issues that are important to people there in Kentucky? I would assume the economy is probably number one, yes?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. The economy really is the big issue here, and, you know, Kentucky, much like West Virginia, really plays to Senator Clinton's strengths. Polls here showing her with a huge double-digit lead over Senator Barack Obama.
And as voters here look to the upcoming primary, the big issue for them, who has the best solution to fix the economy?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUDY MARTINEZ, JC & FAMILIA RESTAURANT: Everything looks bad right now.
LOTHIAN (voice-over): Judy Martinez says running her two-year- old restaurant in Frankfort is especially challenging these days.
MARTINEZ: Buying fish used to be $10, like I told you. Now, it's $13.
LOTHIAN: This mostly rural state with its rolling hills and horse farms was already hurting before the economy went south.
TREY GRAYSON, KENTUCKY SEC. OF STATE: Where our unemployment rate has been higher than the national average by about a percentage point the last few years. LOTHIAN: Secretary of State Trey Grayson says many were laid off after textile factories closed and production went out of state or overseas. The auto industry has filled some of the gap, but it's not nearly enough.
Danny Walker runs a car wash and flower business in Frankfort.
DANNY WALKER, BUSINESS OWNER: They need to get the businesses back in this country. It's really killing the middle class people, the blue collar workers here.
LOTHIAN: He wants the next president to bring back new jobs. While they're at it, do something about the high gas prices.
WALKER: Yes, they raised it here yesterday 10 cents.
LOTHIAN: Senator Hillary Clinton is expected to do well here. Her working class message resonates with many rural Democratic voters.
GRAYSON: We have a state that's primarily white, primarily small town.
LOTHIAN: Less than 10 percent of the population is minority. Barack Obama has most of his support in the more urban areas of the state, like Louisville. Interest is unusually high in the Kentucky primary because the Democratic race is still undecided and because as one voter put it, the stakes are high.
JOHN PHILLIPS, FRANKFORT RESIDENT: We were a lot worse off than we were eight years ago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LOTHIAN: We talked about the high interest, but state officials tell us that it's not at the level that we've seen in some of the other primary states and, in fact, Kentucky has not seen a record number of new voters. Some of the reasons for that is that historically the primary has not been a big draw.
And then there's the Kentucky Derby factor. Kentucky Derby is huge here. It attracts a lot of attention and some people tend not to focus on the primary for that matter, anything else until after the Kentucky Derby. And, John, that, of course, happened a little less than two weeks ago.
ROBERTS: It did. All right. Dan Lothian for us this morning. Dan, thanks very much -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: The Clinton campaign has a message for the superdelegates today. Plus, a former Clinton insider has a message for her. Stop helping John McCain. But Clinton says she plans to stay in and she says she has a good reason why.
We're going to ask our political panel to weigh in straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Senator Hillary Clinton thanking a crowd of her cheering supporters last night for her win in West Virginia, but she insisted the outcome of the Democratic nomination still remains very much in doubt. Clinton carried West Virginia by 41 points, 67 to 26 percent, which means that she's going to get the lion's share of those 28 pledged delegates that were at stake.
PHILLIPS: Senator Hillary Clinton winning big in West Virginia. She's touting her landslide victory as evidence that she has what it takes to carry the all-important swing states come November.
And this morning we want to hear from you. If Obama can't win the swing states now, can he win them in the general election? Yes or no?
Cast your vote, CNN.com/am. You can also send us an e-mail. Let us know what you think. Are Clinton's claims that she is more electable than Obama legit? Again, that's CNN.com/am.
ROBERTS: A big win in West Virginia but what does it really mean for Hillary Clinton's campaign going forward? Our political panel weighs in again.
And they're smart on gas mileage. How do they fair in a crash? Crash test results are just in on the smart car. We'll show you how they did coming up in our next half hour right here on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: This just coming into CNN right now. We're getting word that the government of Myanmar, that military junta that has been holding back military aid to come in to help those cyclone victims, apparently the government has decided to authorize five more U.S. flights to land there in Myanmar to help aid the survivors of that horrible devastation where thousands of people are on the brink of starvation and disease right now.
The head of those military operations, U.S. Admiral Timothy Keating, commander of Pacific Command. He's the one that has been leading that aid into the area. Just calling into us right now. We got him on the phone.
Admiral, can you bring me up to date on the operations as we get word that the military is actually going to allow more aid in?
ADM. TIM KEATING, COMMANDER, U.S PACIFIC COMMAND (ON THE PHONE): Kyra, you have it just right. We were in discussions with Burmese officials or Myanmar officials as you say on Monday. They have begun to allow a very limited number, but a number of transport flights in, C-130 flights staging out of U-Tapao (ph), Thailand.
We have delivered thus far 170,000 pounds of relief supplies, water, food, shelter, and interestingly some mosquito netting. So the spigot isn't wide open, but it is open gradually there a little bit. PHILLIPS: Is it -- OK. So you're saying a little bit. You're saying it's getting in there gradually. Is this even close to being enough aid to help save the thousands of people that are on the verge of dying? They're already dying. I mean, we're getting the reports of the bodies floating down the riverbanks.
KEATING: It's not enough, Kyra. We are capable of doing more, and it's not just us and Pacific Command. I met in Bangkok with representatives of the World Food Programme and another meeting with United Nations representatives. Everyone is very anxious to provide relief that is desperately needed. We can move a lot more than we have moved, but at least we're seeing some gradual opening.
PHILLIPS: Have you thought about air drops? In a situation like this where the people are so desperate, you know what you want to do. Have you considered just going for it with air assets and making the drops versus trying to get things in by foot?
KEATING: We talked to our Burmese host about that option, Kyra, of slinging supplies underneath helicopters and bringing them from the USS Essex Group, which is off the southwest coast of Burma. They're in position now with a dozen plus heavy lift capable helicopters, but we're not going to "invade Burmese air space." We will only do this with the approval of Burmese officials, and as I say, it appears that they are allowing limited numbers but increasing numbers.
We flew five sorties today, two on Tuesday, five today Wednesday our time. So we're very, very guardedly optimistic that we will see enough approval for more flights.
PHILLIPS: And that is the good news. Final question, admiral, the fact that you're not going to go against what the military is doing here, is that because you are concerned that things could get worse, that possibly the military could turn against its people there in an even worse way than it already has?
I mean, I have seen the reports, the allegations that they're hoarding the good food and giving these victims the rotten food.
VOICE OF ADM. TIMOTHY KEATING, COMMANDER, U.S. PACIFIC COMMAND: Kyra, it's our long standing assessment that this may not be the most enlightened leadership in the world. So we want to be as non- confrontational as is humanly possible, but at the same time we are -- have expressed our willingness, the willingness of pacific command to bring any and all supplies. We don't care what flag or sticker is on the package of water, we just want to get it to the folks that needed and we need the cooperation of the Burmese government to provide that assistance.
PHILLIPS: Well, I know that you will not stand in. You will continue to get that aid in there and do everything possible. Admiral Timothy Keating, commander of Pacific Command there in the region getting continual aid to those cyclone victims in that hard hit area of Myanmar.
Admiral, thanks so much. JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: 31 minutes after the hour now. A big win for Hillary Clinton last night in West Virginia. Won 66 -- it was an incredible win that she got over Barack Obama. Let's turn to our political panel now for more on this. Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons, a Barack Obama supporter. Democratic strategist Julian Epstein who is a Hillary Clinton supporter. Republican strategist Leslie Sanchez here and as well our political analyst, chief political correspondent for "Slate" magazine, John Dickerson.
Hillary Clinton last night after the win and why wouldn't she, she won so big last night, vowed to stay in the race. Let's listen to what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am more determined than ever to carry on this campaign...
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
CLINTON:...until everyone has had a chance to make their voices heard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Until everyone has had a chance to make their voices heard. Julian, what is that point? Is it June 4th after the primary season is over? Is it after the superdelegates have rung in? Is it at the convention? When have all the voices been heard?
JULIAN EPSTEIN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Whenever the superdelegates finally make up their minds. And that will be sometime before the convention but after I think Michigan and Florida are resolved. Her math, as Jamal will point out, her delegate math did not fundamentally improve last night but her argument to superdelegates did. Which is since March 1st, since beginning March the second, half of this primary season I'm the one winning the swing states, I'm the one winning the swing voters.
ROBERTS: All right. So he says that the argument to the delegates and superdelegates has improved yet they all seem to be -- at least the majority of them in the last week have been breaking toward Barack Obama. What do you expect to happen in the next few days?
JAMAL SIMMONS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I think you'll see more superdelegates come out for Barack Obama. And most people in the party are prepared and ready for this fight to end. I mean, she won last night pretty handily and deserves some credit for that. We have to remember Barack Obama won 15 contests in this election cycle with 60 percent or more.
So those kinds of margins, they're impressive, and let's also remember also the Clinton people have been saying for a long time small states don't matter. Now apparently they're arguing small states do matter. They got to sort of make up their mind about which (INAUDIBLE).
ROBERTS: Of course, one argument that the Clinton campaign is making is that swing states matter. West Virginia is a swing state. Pennsylvania is a swing state. Ohio is a swing state. He has lost all of those.
SIMMONS: He won Iowa, he won Wisconsin, he won Missouri. He's won swing states.
ROBERTS: But can it be held? I mean, if everybody says this election could come down again to Ohio, Pennsylvania, and/or Florida. So if he can't win those states in the nominating contests, does that indicate that he may have problems in the general election?
LESLIE SANCHEZ, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think it does. I think the Clinton campaign has a strong argument there. You're talking about Florida. Hillary Clinton would be much more competitive against John McCain in Florida because of the name recognition. A lot of longevity there. And especially the Hispanic vote.
She's much more competitive and fewer in the Hispanic community know Barack Obama. It takes more time to build that relationship. If you're looking at the fact, it will probably come back to those rust belt states which are working class, white, traditionally white voters, Reagan Democrats, a lot of Catholics. She's doing incredibly well in competitive states with the Catholic vote winning almost two thirds.
ROBERTS: Now Obama is in Macomb County, Michigan today.
SANCHEZ: A state that Democrats have won since 1988, but by smaller and smaller margins. So it is going back to that --
ROBERTS: But John, is there a real difference between what we're going through now in terms of winning these swing states in the general election? If Barack Obama doesn't win Pennsylvania in the nominating contest, it doesn't mean he's not going to win it in November.
JOHN DICKERSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. And this is the argument the Obama people make which is that you can't extrapolate. You can't take the results in the primaries since that's exactly what's going to happen in the general. In fact, there's plenty of polling that suggests it's a very muddy picture.
He does well in the recent "L.A. Times" poll and "The Washington Post" poll. He does well among whites. He does as well as Hillary Clinton does versus John McCain. So as Hillary Clinton is making this argument with superdelegates, she needs very powerful arguments. She has arguments but they're just not powerful enough to push back the momentum that is going towards Obama among superdelegates. And he has sufficient arguments to poke holes in hers about his electability among downscale white voters and white voters in general.
ROBERTS: Well, we'll see what happens with the superdelegates as we go through the day and the coming days ahead. Folks, lots more to talk about and lots more time to do it as well. Hold that powder dry for a second (INAUDIBLE).
Kyra?
PHILLIPS: Well, you think filling up your car was bad yesterday. Wait until you go to the gas station. This morning, gas prices break another record overnight what you're paying today.
ROBERTS: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, putting the smart car to the test. It can save you money at the pump, but can this little guy save you in a crash? Surprising results from brand new tests ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Senator Hillary Clinton savoring a primary win this morning. She picked up 67 percent of the vote compared to 26 percent for Barack Obama. Clinton reminded voters that she's been counting out of the race time and time again but she says she's committed to seeing the campaign to the end.
Alina Cho joins us now with other stories this morning.
Good morning.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you, John, Kyra. Good morning, everybody. And new this morning, we just heard from the commander of the U.S. Pacific Command about the relief effort in Myanmar. And Admiral Tim Keating told Kyra just a moment ago that the U.S. will only enter Myanmar airspace to drop aid to cyclone victims with the approval of the government. There is a strict military junta in place there.
170,000 pounds of U.S. aid has arrived so far, but, of course, much more is needed. The situation is so desperate there, and there is news a second cyclone could be headed to Myanmar within the next 24 hours.
A town that was already on the brink of extinction might never rebuild after a tornado essentially wiped it off the map. Officials who tour the tiny mining town of Picher, Oklahoma say federal aid will help victims relocate rather than rebuild. Storms in the Midwest and South killed 23 people over the weekend. Six of them in Picher where 114 homes were leveled.
And another day, another record for gas prices. AAA says the new national average for a gallon of regular is $3.76 as you see there. That's up almost 3 cents from yesterday and up nearly 40 cents from a month ago. That much in a month? It is the seventh straight all-time high. And you know, those high gas prices have many people looking for better alternatives, including better gas mileage for their cars. A lot of people ditching their SUVs for things like the smart car. The new micro car that's available.
PHILLIPS: But are they safe?
CHO: But are they safe? Big question. (CROSSTALK)
CHO: And we'll have more on that right after the break.
ROBERTS: Looks right at home in a place like Rome or Paris, but you know, what about the streets of America?
(CROSSTALK)
CHO: Well, and you know, it's very popular. Wildly popular in Europe. But how is it going to play in the U.S.? You might be surprised at what the demand is here.
ROBERTS: You know, we've seen more and more on the streets. That's for sure.
CHO: That is.
ROBERTS: Alina, looking forward to that. Thanks.
Barack Obama's Achilles' heel could be white voters. They may have cost him a win in West Virginia. So, what will happen next week in Oregon and Kentucky? We'll have a look ahead.
And Hillary Clinton wins big last night, but it's a costly victory. Her campaign remains $20 million in debt. Coming up, a look at how she can get out of the red.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Well, it's so tiny. It almost feels like you could put in your pocket and carry it into work. You could put two of them in the parking space that takes up one average car. And it runs on the smell of an oily rag. But is it safe?
Well, Alina here with more on that. Talking about the smart car.
PHILLIPS: It's like the Mr. Magoo car. Remember that?
ROBERTS: That is the cutest little thing in the history of the universe.
CHO: You know, the first time I saw it in Europe, I was taking like five, ten pictures of it. It's incredible to see. You know, it can park nose first into a spot and that's normal.
ROBERTS: There you see them. You see them parked like that -- nose first until they back in to a parking space.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: My little bump here over the edge.
CHO: Two feet shorter than a Mini Cooper. Two feet shorter than a Mini Cooper, guys. You know, they call it a bread box on wheels, a glorified golf cart. The smart car, if you can believe it, gets 41 miles to the gallon on the highway. It's easy to park. It's small. It's affordable. Certainly, cute as John just pointed out. But is it safe? You may be surprised at the answer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice-over): In a 40-mile-an-hour crash, the lightweight smart car spins around, but the dummy inside stays relatively intact. The smart car 42 got the highest rating in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's front crash test.
ADRIAN LUND, INSURANCE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY: The smart engineers have done a good job of getting as much safety as they can into a small package.
CHO: Larger cars like this Ford Fusion have a bigger crash zone to protect passengers in a frontal crash, but researchers believe the smart car's design compensates in other ways.
LUND: The seat belt and air bag inside has to do much more work to protect the occupant from hitting something very hard in the vehicle.
CHO: The smart car also got high marks for side crash protection and was rated acceptable in preventing whiplash in rear crashes. Still, bigger cars tend to be safer.
LUND: Larger and heavier cars given the same safety features can protect you better than smaller, lightweight cars.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Now, the smart car costs about $14,000 to $17,000 depending on the model. It's a pretty good deal, but good luck getting one. Get this, guys. The company has 30,000 smart cars on back order. The waiting list is up to a year.
PHILLIPS: Wow.
CHO: That's incredible.
ROBERTS: It just kind of bounces off, doesn't it?
CHO: Yes, but listen, I mean, as the National Highway Safety Institute points out, you know, they pack a lot of safety into that small car. But overall, there's no way it can compete with an SUV. A bigger car, a larger car's always going to be safer.
ROBERTS: I'd like to hear Sanjay ring in on this because he was telling me -- we saw this race car accident. He was telling me about diminishing inertia and, you know, the more -- the longer it takes for the momentum of a car to finally, you know, decline and come to a halt, the better the human body does. It's when it's sharp like that that the body takes much more punishment.
CHO: Yes and keep in mind in this crash test, as my producer pointed out to me, it doesn't matter what the car looks like at the end of the crash. It's all about the dummy. How does the dummy fair? And the dummy fared pretty well in this smart car.
PHILLIPS: Of practicality, though, really, what can you get into this car? Who --
CHO: Not a lot.
PHILLIPS: What is it on back order for? I mean, is it to zip around to the grocery store?
CHO: I mean, I think a lot of city dwellers are into it. You can't get two suitcases in it. There's no trunk.
PHILLIPS: Yes, no golf clubs.
ROBERTS: No, it's totally a commuted car. It's you and a buddy and a briefcase.
CHO: That's right.
PHILLIPS: It better be a small buddy. We were talking about our height --
CHO: Yes, that's right.
PHILLIPS: You know, with your heels on, you would not fit in that car.
CHO: Might not.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Alina.
CHO: You bet.
ROBERTS: I can't believe you think it's ugly, though.
PHILLIPS: OK. It's cute, all right?
ROBERTS: You probably didn't like Knut the Bear either, did you?
PHILLIPS: But I love Mr. Magoo.
All right. Despite her big win in West Virginia, Hillary Clinton's campaign's still $20 million in debt. We're taking a look at creative ways that she might be able to get out of the red.
And he calls himself a red-necked boy in the Promised Land. But he's also a former congressman. Do you recognize his face? Now, he's supporting Barack Obama. Ben Jones, also known as "Cooter" From the "Dukes of Hazard." Coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": Hillary Clinton is so broke now, and this is true. Some friends of mine spotted her in the middle of the night last night at a Laundromat -- at a Laundromat, honest to God, with a hamper full of pantsuits.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: It's no laughing matter to the Clinton campaign. More than $20 million in debt and not much time to get out of the red. Here's an A.M. extra look at how Clinton could pay it off.
Well, first thing, she could tap the family bank account again, but she has already loaned her campaign $11 million and has to pay that back by the convention in August or she loses the cash.
She can transfer the debt to her Senate campaign account and use money that she raises for reelection in 2012. She's sitting on $22 million raise for the general election. It's tricky but she may be able to use some of that. And then there's the Obama option. Asking for his help as a condition of dropping out of the race. But there's going to be no big check from Obama because he would have to ask his donors to help.
Kyra?
PHILLIPS: Well, in our "Quick Vote" question this morning. We're asking if Barack Obama can't win the swing states now, can he win them in the general election? Right now, our viewers are split. 50 percent of you say yes, 50 percent say no. Head to cnn.com/am to vote. We'll see if it breaks up.
You can also send us an e-mail. Let us know what you think. Do Clinton's victories in swing states like West Virginia prove that she is more electable? Again, go to cnn.com/am and click on "Contact us."
ROBERTS: Working class hero.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: Here in West Virginia you know a thing or two about rough roads to the top of the mountain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Hillary Clinton's big boost from her blue collar base. Can Barack Obama win them over? We'll ask the self-proclaimed red neck who rode his fame to Capitol Hill, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Hillary Clinton crushed Barack Obama in West Virginia overwhelmingly winning working class white voters. So what does Obama need to do to win over the blue collar crowd? Joining us now, Obama supporter former Georgia Congressman Ben Jones. But you may remember him as "Cooter" on the television series "Dukes of Hazzard." He's also the author of "Redneck Boy in the Promised Land."
Good morning. Great to have you with us.
BEN "COOTER" JONES, AUTHOR "REDNECK BOY IN THE PROMISED LAND": Great to be here. Great to be anywhere at my age.
PHILLIPS: And you're looking darn good, Cooter.
JONES: Thank you. I like it.
PHILLIPS: All right. I'll take it back around to former congressman here. Barack Obama suffered a massive defeat last night. Why did he do so poorly?
JONES: Well, for one thing, the race is over. And I think people understand that. It's almost like it's the fourth quarter of a ball game and you know, you've sort of let the other team score a touchdown or two, you know. But this thing is over and this is a Democratic primary, and I think all of those folks are practically all of them will be back in the fold in November for Obama. So it's a good sign.
PHILLIPS: Well, Hillary Clinton says, hey, it is not over yet. Take a listen to part of her speech last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: Tonight in light of our overwhelming victory here in West Virginia, I want to send a message to everyone still making up their minds. I am in this race because I believe I am the strongest candidate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And she's also come forward to say, hey, I can attract these working class white voters, and you've said she sounds so racist when she says that. Why?
JONES: Well, it is a racist appeal whenever you say, you know, I can win the white vote and he can't. That's a clear and blatant appeal to racism. Now, most folks where I come from, and I come from those -- that working class, rural, southern values and all of that stuff, we don't judge people by the color of their skin.
It wouldn't matter if the candidate was magenta and green and white polka dots and yellow stripes. If he is the person for the job or she is the person for the job, she is the person that reasonable people are going to vote for. And in a couple weeks, you know, after Oregon and you know, what finally counted up, she's going to say what we all know she's going to say, no mass, no mass. It's going to be over and she'll support him and so will her supporters.
PHILLIPS: Well, here is what's interesting because typically, the working class of white voters, you know, I'm going to let you say redneck --
JONES: Redneck.
PHILLIPS: Redneck has gone for the conservative vote. I can't -- well, I'll just lay it out. Do you see those NASCAR drivers or supporters with the confederate flag voting for a black candidate or voting for a female?
JONES: Of course. I mean, the assumption in all of that that you just said is that, you know, we were born behind the barn when the brains were passed out. You know.
PHILLIPS: But I'm just going with history that they've gone more for the Republican candidate.
JONES: Just look, Obama won Virginia. Obama won North Carolina. Obama won South Carolina, Obama won Georgia, Obama won Alabama, Obama won Mississippi. What do we need -- and with white support. You know, Virginia elected the first black governor in America 20 years ago.
PHILLIPS: Now, you've said Obama though needs to get in with the culture. He needs to start eating grits, going to stock car races, go to truck stops.
JONES: No, it wouldn't be. Yes, he's got to learn to eat grits. You know, but he's got to be himself. And I think, you know, -- don't try to pander as Miss Clinton has and be a shape shifter and somebody different every day. If he's just himself, genuine and honest and charismatic and thoughtful, there's an appeal in that. I don't care what color you are. We don't judge people by the color of their skin. We judge them by the content of their character and he's a man of good character.
PHILLIPS: Well, you were supporting John Edwards. You made the switch to support Obama. Why?
JONES: And I think that Obama should take a look at Edwards' Rural Recovery Act. His plan for restoring the vitality of the heartland of America. That would be a good place for him to start. He does have to eat those grits and pretend he likes them a little bit. That would help. But, no, I think that John Edwards is a natural segue way for me because, you know, I can relate to Obama's personality.
I can relate to his economic plan and I think it's hilarious, in fact, that the Clintons have sort of taken the mantle of working for, you know, blue collar white people when they are the folks who brought us NAFTA and they are the people who brought us globalization and they are the people who brought us this massive exportation of jobs.
PHILLIPS: Final thought, I'm going to put you in character for a minute there, Cooter. What are you going to say to your people --hey, get her done. Is that what you said.
JONES: Get her done. That's Larry, the cable guy.
PHILLIPS: And by the way, still our audio guy, that's on his cell phone. That's just for you.
JONES: Well, here is --
PHILLIPS: He'll be voting.
JONES: Here is a great big Yee-Ha for Obama. Get her done.
PHILLIPS: Good to see you.
JONES: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: All right.
John?
ROBERTS: All right. Thanks very much. She's coming back again, but Hillary Clinton still short on delegates and running out of time even after a decisive win in last night's West Virginia primary. The final tally, 67 percent to just 26 percent for Barack Obama.
A blowout made possible by her working class base. And last night she made it clear that she is in it for the long haul.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I believe our party is strong enough for this challenge. I am strong enough for it. You know I never give up. I'll keep coming back and I'll stand with you as long as you stand with me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And if you were only watching Senator Barack Obama last night, you would never know that he lost in West Virginia. Obama ignored Clinton's victory and instead focused on the general election saying that now is the time to unite the Democratic Party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is our chance to build a new majority of Democrats and independents and Republicans who know that four more years of George Bush just won't do. This is our moment to turn the page on division and distraction and actually get things done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So here is the new delegate count after last night. It's got Barack Obama leading with 1,881 total delegates. Hillary Clinton has 1,713. The magic number to clinch the nomination, 2,025.
And here is a look at the next races coming up a week from today. Next Tuesday actually. 103 delegates will be up for grabs when Oregon and Kentucky hold their primaries. Oregon is a mail-in vote. It's already been under way for a while now. On June the 1st, 55 delegates up for grabs in Puerto Rico and then Montana and South Dakota. June the 3rd round out the primary season with 31 delegates total.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux joins me now with where the campaigns and the issues go from here.
