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Ballot Bowl 2008

Obama Rebukes Bush, Says McCain Same as Bush; In Ohio McCain Speculates on His First Term; Clinton Speech Claims She's Still Electable

Aired May 17, 2008 - 17:00   ET

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

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome back to another round of BALLOT BOWL '08. I'm Jim Acosta and as always, BALLOT BOWL is a chance for you, the viewers, to hear the candidates in their own words.
And some of the words that we'll be sharing today will be on the condition of Senator Ted Kennedy who is now resting in a hospital in Boston. He showed signs of what feared to be a stroke earlier this morning. It turns out according to his Senate office that this was a seizure, we want to get the latest on the senator's condition from our very own Dan Lothian who is standing by live in Boston, standing outside of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Dan, what's the latest?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the very latest comes from the Associated Press that got a release from a spokesperson. And according to the Associate Press, Senator Edward Kennedy says, a spokes person saying he is, quote, "conscious, talking and joking with family."

Outside of that, though, we have not gotten any independent confirmation of that. But again, the Associated Press reporting that he is quote, "conscious, talking and joking with family."

Now, we had been expecting to hear something from officials here at the hospital. But I did talk with the spokesperson at Mass General Hospital and she told me that they w3ill not be coming out here and addressing the media. That in fact they are staying in close contact with the Kennedy family passing along information and that it will be up to the Kennedy family to release any information. The only information we've gotten came in a statement from the Kennedy family earlier today saying he is undergoing tests and resting comfortably and that he -- they will not be releasing any additional information for the next 48 hours or so.

Not just to back up a bit, there was a 911 call that was made from the Kennedy compound about 8:19 this morning, that's down on Cape Cod. He was taken to Cape Cod hospital where he was evaluated then air lifted here to Mass General Hospital. And again, we have been standing out here all day and seen a number of folks go in there to presumably to visit with him, his niece Caroline Kennedy was seen going into the hospital and also the junior senator from Massachusetts, John Kerry seen going inside the hospital. He spent about 45 minutes inside the hospital and left without saying anything at all. We do know that his wife, Ted Kennedy's wife Vickie is also by his side. So we continue to monitor this story waiting for additional information we might receive. But again, the Associated Press reporting that a spokeswoman for Senator Kennedy is saying, quote that "he is conscious, talking and joking with family." Jim?

ACOSTA: That is good news. Dan Lothian, thanks very much. And we heard also that there is a statement coming from the Senate majority leader Harry Reid out of Nevada saying that Senator Kennedy according to Mr. Kennedy's wife is going to be fine. Those are the words coming from Harry Reid who also referred to Senator Ted Kennedy as a fighter. For some medical perspective we want to turn now to our very own Dr. Sanjay Gupta who is standing by live in Chicago on the phone.

And Sanjay, thanks very much for talking to us on this Saturday. I wanted to ask you, earlier in the day we had heard that Senator Kennedy was feared to have suffered a stroke. But now it turns out that this may have been just a seizure. How do we get from one to the other?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, sometimes they are actually not completely separated. Sometimes someone can have an interruption of the blood flow to the brain even for a short -- not a stroke as much as it what people know as a TIA, or mini stroke and can actually cause a seizure. The two things can actually be related in that way. We're getting more information as you say. And it sounded like it wasn't a stroke that caused this but something else.

I was just hearing you talk about Senator Reid's comments as well saying that the Senator Kennedy is going to be fine. Hard to know what that means exactly. But I imagine over the last several hours, several things happened in the hospital. One thing is getting a scan and MRI most likely of the brain to see if there's anything abnormal in the brain that may account for this and hearing Senator Reid saying everything will be fine, maybe that test turned out normal. Also get what's known as an EEG which is essentially monitoring the electrical activity in the brain to figure out exactly where the seizures came from. That's what happens. The fact he's conscious and the fact that he has been able to speak on the phone, I understand, all as you might imagine good signs, Jim.

ACOSTA: Absolutely and one of those signs came early on as we heard leaking out of Senator Kennedy's behavior earlier this morning. Apparently he was on the phone making calls to some associates, rearranging his schedule because of all of this. I suppose that's also a good sign but not necessarily iron-clad proof he's out of the woods just yet.

GUPTA: I think it might surprise a lot of people in fact, after you have a seizure, the vast majority of the people within a short period of time do return to what people would describe as normal, normal activity. Conscious, as you mentioned, able to have a conversation. That all seems to fit with the seizure and we know that he had at least one. It may have been more than one as well. I've heard from some of my sources. So it sort of fits the natural history, but the key to this is figuring out, why did he have a seizure? Sometimes the answer may come back, we don't know. We'll never know what caused it and in fact that is often good news, it is not something bad or something that might have portend a bad outcome that caused it.

ACOSTA: Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta on the phone from Chicago. We very much appreciate your help in sorting out this important story. Sanjay Gupta, thanks very much.

And we want to turn now back to the campaign trail because that is after all what we do here on BALLOT BOWL. And Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are in the states they expect to do well in. Senator Clinton in Kentucky. And Senator Obama here in Oregon. We should mention that Senator Clinton is speaking at an event in Frankfort, Kentucky. And we'll be getting to that in just a moment.

First, we want to hear from the candidates as they spoke earlier this morning about this unfolding story about Senator Ted Kennedy and his condition. Let's hear first from Barack Obama who received that all important endorsement from Senator Kennedy a few months ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let me quickly say, one of my dearest friends in the Senate, Ted Kennedy, had a little emergency this morning and we're all worried about him. I've spoken to the family and there have been reports that indicate that it was a seizure rather than a stroke and we hope he's going to be OK. We think he's going to be OK. I want everybody to -- I want everybody to keep Ted Kennedy and his family and wonderful wife Vickie in our thoughts and ...

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Speaking of health care, we had word that my good friend and great champion of working people, Senator Ted Kennedy was rushed to the hospital with symptoms of a stroke. And our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. Because he has been a champion for health care. Nobody has fought harder to make sure everybody got good health care.

And I know that we all join together in wishing him well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LOTHIAN: Senator Clinton there campaigning in Loreto, Kentucky. And we should also mention that Senator John McCain has released a statement about Senator Ted Kennedy. And here it is. Quote, "I was very sorry to hear Senator Kennedy has taken ill. And like millions of Americans we anxiously await word of his condition. Senator Kennedy's role in the U.S. Senate cannot be overstated. He is a legendary lawmaker and I have the highest respect for him. When we have worked together he has been a skillful and fair and generous partner. I consider it a great privilege to call him my friend. Cindy are praying for our friend, his wife Vicki and the Kennedy family." Those words coming from Senator John McCain in response to this serious illness that happened to Senator Ted Kennedy earlier this morning. A story we'll be continuing to follow here on CNN. But coming up after a break here on BALLOT BOWL on CNN, we'll take you out live to that event that Senator Clinton is holding now in Frankfort, Kentucky, the capital of the Bluegrass State.

So stick with us, this is BALLOT BOWL on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Welcome back to BALLOT BOWL on CNN. I'm Jim Acosta in Portland, Oregon. And we are standing in front of a terrific backdrop of Mt. Hood here in Oregon, one of the terrific sites that you'll see here in the City of Roses as it is called from what I understand.

And we want to turn now to the other state that is holding a primary coming up on Tuesday and that is Kentucky. And yes, Hillary Clinton is there and she knows according to the polls she should do quite well there in Kentucky. She is in the state capital right now, Frankfort and she has been as she has been over the last couple days, over the last several minutes, talking about George W. Bush. We've seen this over the last several days taking her aim off of Barack Obama and placing it right on the president and she has also returned to the message that she has come back to time and again. And that is her economic message and what she considers to be the forgotten middle class. So here's Hillary Clinton talking to voters in Frankfort.

CLINTON: That's what we're going to do in America. And we're going to fund that in a strategic energy fund by making it clear that we're taking the tax subsidies away from the oil companies, they don't need your money to make a really big profit. Do they? We need to take that money and put it to work to create a market with higher gas mileage cars and greater opportunities for Americans to start businesses that are going to wean us from our dependence on foreign oil. And looking for clean renewable alternative sources for electricity.

I'm convinced if we do this right it could be one of the greatest economic boons in American history. But we got to get a president who is ready to do it.

And the same is true when it comes to try to give you relief at the gas pump. There's no doubt in my mind that many people here and throughout Kentucky are having a hard time paying the gas prices. It's moving up towards four dollars a gallon, right? Diesel is approaching five dollars a gallon. People are worried about how they are going to pay for gas and groceries. Because everything is going up in cost because the cost of transportation is so much more expensive.

So I would take four steps if I were your president right now. Number one, I would ask the Department of Justice to investigate the energy market because I think the speculators in energy are driving the price up. And I think that adds to your ultimate cost at the tank and I would also begin to look hard at how to take on OPEC. OPEC is a monopoly cartel. It's time the United States government stood up against them. Instead of having our president over in Saudi Arabia, begging the king of Saudi Arabia to give us a break, we ought to be taking them on. They should not be allowed to control the market like this.

We've stopped finally after the Congress passed it and I voted for it, filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, we should let some of that oil out. We need to try to put a brake on this market to try to break the fever here. Because it's going up unconnected to supply and demand. You think about it. You know what the Saudis said when President Bush said please, please produce more for us. They said, we don't have any need to do that. Our customers say they don't need any more oil.

So all of this talk about how it's demand pushing it up, no, it's controlling the market to keep a tight market. And so we need to take on OPEC. And finally, I have said I want the oil companies to pay the gas tax this summer out of their excess profit instead of having you pay it.

And this is one of these differences in this campaign. My opponent Senator Obama says, that's not going to help people much. Well by our figures it would help the average driver $70 this summer which is not inconsiderable. It could help a lot of people. And if you drive a lot and commute long distances and use your car or your truck or your own the farm and have to load up with the diesel for all of your farm equipment, it will save you a whole lot more.

And Senator McCain has said yeah, let's give everybody a gas tax holiday but doesn't want to pay for it. I think I've got the best plan. Let the oil companies pay it out of their excess profits.

Now, I know we're not going to have a different energy policy until we get the two oilmen out of the White House, but as soon as we do, we're going to start working towards it.

Just like we're going to begin to move toward quality affordable health care for every American. It is morally wrong and counter productive not to have a system that gives everybody access to quality affordable health care. And it's way past time.

Because no matter what your situation is today, if you do have health insurance, you are paying a $900 hidden tax because every time somebody without insurance goes to the emergency room and gets taken care of, somebody has got to pay the pay the bill. So people with insurance pay it. If you are uninsured you know how hard it is. You just hope you don't get sick or get sicker. If you have insurance but it doesn't cover what you need, you're always fighting with the insurance company, aren't you, to get them to pay the hospital bill or doctor bill.

So part of what we have to do is come up with a uniquely American approach. Here's what I would do. Congress has a good plan for itself and federal employees, about 9 million people. If you have health insurance and you're happy with it, nothing changes, you don't have to do anything. Except watch the price go down because we're going to get rid of that hidden tax. If you're insured we're going to open up the congressional plan to you so that you can have the same options that members of Congress have at the lower prices that are available.

ACOSTA: And there you have it. Hillary Clinton at a rally in Frankfort, Kentucky with a truck full of red meat there. You heard her about getting the two oilmen in the White House out of office there. That is the stuff she always throws out to rev up her crowds and it had the desired effect in Kentucky.

And I want to throw it out to my colleague, now, Paul Steinhauser who is the deputy political editor here at CNN and is standing by live in Frankfort with the CNN ELECTION EXPRESS.

And Paul, I wanted to ask you something about Hillary Clinton said in Loreto, Kentucky earlier today. And I'll just read you a quick quote. Right now I'm leading in the popular vote, more Americans have voted for me. End quote. I like to think of myself as more than a casual observer of this campaign season. I thought it was Barack Obama who had basically taken the lead in the popular vote. What is she talking about there?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Call it creative mathematics, and I think you can say both campaigns are guilty of that but Hillary Clinton and her campaign are saying if you include the primaries but don't include the caucus states but do include Florida and Michigan, remember those were two states that moved up their primaries, broke the Democratic Party rules and they were penalized and delegates haven't been seated yet. Or won't be seated at the convention. If you do all that, the campaign says yes, we're ahead in the popular vote. That's kind of her message to the superdelegates right now.

Because the Clinton campaign knows by the end of the primary season on June 3rd she's not going to be able to catch up to Barack Obama when it comes to delegates. He won't get to 2026 either. That's the magic number you need to clinch the nomination. But she'll be behind him.

So they are saying now that if you do all these other things she's ahead in the popular vote and that's her message to superdelegates, one of her messages. The other one is electability. She continues to say that she's more electable than Barack Obama, that come November she would be the better candidate to beat John McCain. So these are her arguments to convince superdelegates to go for her. So Jim, in the end it will come down to superdelegates to but Clinton or Obama over the top to clinch this nomination.

ACOSTA: Right. And speaking of delegates, the Obama campaign is looking to Tuesday to say, we've got the mathematical edge because we'll have the majority of the pledged delegates at that point. They are both looking at the numbers here and isn't it also true that Senator Clinton when she talks about this popular vote advantage talking about Michigan and Florida which is disputed within the rank and file of the democratic party, people on both sides arguing two different things there? STEINHAUSER: Yeah. Michigan and Florida is a big problem for the Democrats. The states moved up their primaries, they broke the party rules, they've been penalized but Democrats realize not only do Michigan and Florida kind of hold the key to who wins the nomination, they need to get the states back in line because they are very important to win the general election. They need to win Michigan, they need to win Florida to win the White House back in November.

The Democratic Party in DC, Washington, DC on May 31, a big party meeting will try to resolve this. But Jim, I was in the room with Hillary Clinton and you were talking about it too and we heard her.

A very populist message. Besides the gas tax stuff we heard earlier before you guys went to her live, she was talking about cutting taxes for the middle class, raising taxes for the wealthy, she was talking about keeping away privatization from Social Security, a very populist message, and you hit on another theme as well, Jim. You hear her keep saying the names George Bush and John McCain and name you don't hear her say is Barack Obama. Very interesting stuff.

ACOSTA: Very interesting, Paul. And thanks very much for keeping tabs on it. Thanks very much for your work today. We appreciate it. And coming up after a break here on BALLOT BOWL here on CNN. You heard Paul Steinhauser there talking about George Bush and John McCain. We'll go back to that controversy that exploded earlier week with the president's comments on appeasement in Israel. That's coming up after the break on BALLOT BOWL on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Welcome back to BALLOT BOWL on CNN and if you've been following the campaign trail over the last days, you're well aware of the dustup that flared up on the campaign trail. Barack Obama referring to it as a dustup. He is talking about President Bush who in Israel celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Jewish state referred to "some" as the president put it and implied within the Democratic Party were adhering to a policy of appeasement when it came to dealing with the war on terrorism.

Well, that was taken by many democrats to be a not so veiled comment and slap at Barack Obama and political firestorm ensued. Barack Obama took note of this yesterday in South Dakota when he was campaigning there and essentially used those comments to hogtie President Bush's foreign policy to John McCain, the Obama campaign is fond of referring to the Arizona senator as John McBush.

Well, nevertheless, we should mention Barack Obama is back on the message today. Did it today in Roseburg, Oregon, in the southern part of the state where he talked about the dustup over the word "appeasement." Here's Barack Obama in Roseburg.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You focus on the war we need to win in Afghanistan and go after al Qaeda's leadership wherever they exist. We will use every American -- every element of American power to pressure countries like Iran and North Korea and yes that includes tough, principled direct diplomacy.

I want everybody to be absolutely clear about this. I want everybody to be absolutely clear about this because George Bush and McCain have suggested that me being willing to sit down with our adversaries is a sign of weakness, is a sign of appeasement.

Understand that George Bush had a policy of not talking to North Korea and not talking to Iran and over the last eight years they are stronger as a consequence of George Bush's foreign policy. So their way has not worked. Ironically the only progress we've made in getting North Korea to stand down on nuclear weapons, is because over the last couple of years quietly George Bush has changed policy and started talking to the North Koreans and they are cooperating with us potentially and reducing the nuclear weapons stock pile. That's what we've been talking about throughout this campaign.

And so the fact they are trying to make this into an issue indicates they don't understand how foreign policy works. If George Bush and John McCain have a problem with direct diplomacy led by the president of the United States then they can explain why they have a problem with John F. Kennedy, because that's what he did with Khrushchev and Ronald Reagan, because that's what he did with Gorbachev or Richard Nixon because that's what they did with Mao.

That's exactly the kind of diplomacy we need to keep us safe. That's what this debate is all about. That's the choice in this election. Do you want more of the same? Or do you want change?

CROWD: Change.

OBAMA: We've got some change voters here. Now, that's on the foreign policy, but the same is true when it comes to domestic policy. For eight years, George Bush has done nothing on health care except offer a few tax breaks to folks who don't really need them. Today we've got 47 million people without health insurance and if you've got health insurance, you've seen your co-payments and deductibles and premiums going up and up and up, leave millions of people who can barely pay the bills and families all across the nation threatened with bankruptcy just because a family member gets sick. We hear story after story. Everywhere I go. Single moms trying to figure out how to get health care for their families and senior citizens who are taking half of their prescription because that's all they can afford.

Folks who lost their job, they also lose their health care. Uh- oh. Maybe I need -- where's my nurse? No, I'm teasing.

So everybody here knows somebody who doesn't have health insurance or themselves don't have health insurance or are seeing their premiums going up and up. The average family paying 78 percent more on health care than when George Bush took office. And now what do we get from John McCain? He wants to give you the failed bush health care policies for another four years. And essentially his plan is we're going to dismantle the employer based system and give everybody a tax break and see if you can fend for yourself in the marketplace. I know there's been a lot of talk over the past few months about the differences between my health care plan and Hillary Clinton's health care plan and John Edwards health care plan. I want to be clear, the differences between Democrats on this issue pale in comparison to the differences we have with John McCain.

Because unlike John McCain, because unlike John McCain we all propose plans that would provide affordable health care to every single American who wants it. Plans that would stop insurance companies providing coverage to those that need it most.

What John McCain is offering could not be more different. Like George Bush he is offering a plan that works great if you're already healthy and wealthy. If you don't have health care or if you're struggling to pay for it, John McCain's only answer is a tax cut that won't guarantee coverage and won't make it affordability. If you've got a preexisting condition, under John McCain's plan, he'll actually make it easier for the insurance companies to deny you health care or jack up the price you pay or drop you all together. And rather than help businesses get health care costs under control, he wants to shred employer-based coverage, make health care costs higher for companies or leaving your health care to the whims of the marketplace.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: There you have it. Barack Obama responding to President Bush's claim that some Democrats would prefer policy of appeasement in the war on terrorism and then Obama then parlaying that into a litany of suggestions about the last eight years in the Bush administration and what John McCain would bring should he be elected to the oval office.

Coming up after a break here on BALLOT BOWL on CNN, we'll have a check on other news.

But we want to remind our viewers that coming up on Tuesday night, our primary coverage not only here in Oregon, where there are 52 delegates up for grabs, but in Kentucky, where there are another 51 up for grabs, you want to tune in Tuesday night, 7:00 p.m., starting with the CNN Election Center for our very extensive coverage of the primary night coming up in Oregon and Kentucky.

Stick with us. More "BALLOT BOWL" coming up after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Hello everybody, I'm Rick Sanchez. We're going to take you back to BALLOT BOWL in just a little bit. First, let's catch you up on the stories we've been following throughout the day.

We'll begin with what CNN has been covering throughout the day, Senator Edward Kennedy's health scare. He had an apparent seizure this morning at his home in Hyannis Port. The 76-year-old Democratic icon is said to be resting comfortably while doctors run tests to try to figure out what's wrong. Kennedy's wife, Victoria, his children and niece, Caroline Kennedy, are among those with him at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. A spokesperson for the Senator is saying he is conscious, talking and now joking with family. We'll be all over this story tonight.

A gunman opened fire today at a church festival in southern California. Three people wounded, one of them is the gunman's ex- wife. Police say that the two were apparently in the middle of a custody dispute. An off-duty office and some other bystanders tackled the suspect and held him until police arrived.

Also, more than 3,000 residents of Lafayette, Louisiana, had to be evacuated after a train derailment. Two cars were leaking hydrochloric acid, sending toxic fumes into the air. Everyone in the one-mile radius was ordered to leave, including residents of a nursing home.

Running for higher ground now, thousands of Chinese earthquake survivors flee a town near the epicenter. Officials fear a damaged dam as well as lakes formed by landslides blocking a river could collapse and flood the area at any time. China says the number dead from Monday's disaster in Sichuan Province is now approaching 29,000. Wow.

Jacqui Jeras, following the situation for us at home.

What do you know, Jacqui?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, hot stuff, Rick.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SANCHEZ: We'll be watching. Thanks so much, Jacqui.

Getting fit, it's never easy to do, as we all know. It's even harder if you have to lose a whole lot of weight. That didn't discourage one woman who lost the extra pounds by gaining a healthy lifestyle.

What do we mean? Well, here's CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(FIT NATION REPORT)

SANCHEZ: Here's what else we have coming up. John McCain, looking into a crystal ball and making predictions about America's future and what he would achieve if he's elected president. We'll have that coming up for you as BALLOT BOWL '08 continues right here on CNN. I'm Rick Sanchez.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Welcome back to "BALLOT BOWL." It's a chance for you, the viewers, to hear the candidates in their own words.

And coming up right now, one of the candidates, John McCain, the presumptive nominee. The Senator from Arizona was campaigning in the battle ground state in Ohio this week. and on Thursday in Columbus in the state capitol he laid out a speech that was greeted with some enthusiasm and some skepticism as it was quite a departure for the Senator in that he talked about what life would be like in the year 2013, at the end of a first McCain term in which he described victory in Iraq and the scenario in which the troops, American troops, returning home in victory.

So here's some of that speech from John McCain in Columbus, Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What I want to do today is to take a little time to describe what I would hope to have achieved at the end of my first term as president of the United States. I can't guarantee I will have achieved these things. I'm presumptuous enough to think I would be a good president, but not so much that I believe I can govern by command. Should I forget that, Congress will of course hasten to remind me.

But the following are conditions that I intend to achieve. And toward that end, I will focus all of the powers of the office, every skill and strength I possess, and seize every opportunity to work with members of Congress, who put the national interest ahead of partisanship, and any country in the world that shares our hopes for a more peaceful and prosperous world.

By January of 2013, America has welcomed home most of the servicemen and women who have sacrificed terribly so that America might be secure in her freedom. The Iraq war has been won and Iraq is a functioning democracy, although suffering from the lingering effects of decades of tyranny and decades of sectarian tension. Violence still occurs but it's spasmodic and much reduced. Civil war has been prevented and militias disbanded and the Iraqi security forces secure and confident. Al Qaeda in Iraq has been defeated and the government of Iraq is capable of imposing its authority in every province of Iraq and defending the integrity of its borders.

The United States maintains a military presence there, but a much smaller one. And it does not play a direct combat role. The threat from a resurgent Taliban and Afghanistan has been greatly reduced but not eliminated. U.S. and NATO forces remain there to help finish the job and continue operations against the remnants of al Qaeda.

The government of Pakistan has cooperated with the U.S. in successfully adapting the counterinsurgency tactics that worked so well in Iraq and Afghanistan to its lawless tribal areas where al Qaeda fighters are based. The increase in actionable intelligence that the counterinsurgency led to the death of Osama bin Laden and his chief lieutenants. There is no longer any place in the world al Qaeda can consider a safe haven.

Increased cooperation between the United States and the allies and the concerted use of military, diplomatic and economic power and reforms in the intelligence capabilities of the United States has disrupted terrorist networks and exposed plots around the world. There is still, still has not been a major terroristic attack since September 11th of 2001.

The United States and its allies have made great progress in advancing nuclear security. Concerted action by the great democracies of the world has persuaded a reluctant China and Russia to cooperate in pressuring Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions and North Korea to discontinue its own. The single greatest threat facing the west, the prospect of nuclear materials in the hands of terrorists has been vastly diminished.

The size of the Army and Marine Corp has significantly increased and are now better equipped and trained to defend us.

Long overdue reforms to the way we acquire weapons programs, including fixed price contracts, have created sufficient savings to pay for a larger military, a substantial increase in veterans educational benefits and improvements in their health care as aided recruitment and retention.

The strain on the National Guard and Reserve forces has been relieved. After efforts to pressure the government in Sudan over Darfur failed again in the U.N. Security Council, the United States, acting in concert with a newly formed league of democracies, applied stiff diplomatic and economic pressure that caused the government of Sudan to agree to a multinational peacekeeping force, with NATO countries providing logistical and air support to stop the genocide that's made a mockery of the world's repeated declaration that we would never again tolerate such inhumanity.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: There you have it, John McCain laying out his case on foreign policy, his national security case that many say will deliver the election to John McCain come this fall.

And we want to switch gears now and get to one last piece of sound to play for you here from Hillary Clinton campaigning today in Loretto, Kentucky.

There's been much talk over the last couple of days that Hillary Clinton has taken her aim off of Barack Obama and placed it squarely on George W. Bush and John McCain, an indication that many of the punditry have suggested means something, that Hillary Clinton is putting out the campfire and starting to take down some of the tents there at Clinton campaign headquarters.

But if you want to listen to a bit of speech here, she's standing in front of some maker's-mark barrels of Kentucky bourbon whisky and insisting she has still has a statistical advantage in this race for the Democratic nomination.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And right now, I'm leading in the popular vote. More Americans have voted for me. Right now, if you add up the states I have won, it totals 300 electoral votes. You have to have 270 electoral votes to win. There are some states I've won that maybe won't go for the Democrat, like Texas or Oklahoma. But I still have a comfortable margin. My opponent has won states totaling 217 electoral votes. And lots of states like Alaska and Idaho and Utah that haven't voted for a Democrat in a long time. So if you look at the states we have to win, if you look at the big states and you look at the swing states, I am the stronger candidate.

You know, last week I won West Virginia by 41 points. And I'll tell you, a Democrat hasn't been elected president since 1916 without winning West Virginia. But here's something else. You don't win the White House without winning Kentucky.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: So there you have it, Senator Clinton laying out the numbers there that she says works to her advantage in showing her supporters that there's still plenty of fight left in the Senator from New York.

That's all of the time we have for BALLOT BOWL. We want to remind our viewers that there's plenty of BALLOT BOWL coming up tomorrow at 4:00 eastern. We hope to have some of that footage from John McCain who is going to be on "Saturday Night Live" tonight and also plenty from the candidates on the trail, including Barack Obama here in Portland, Oregon.

But stick with us here on CNN. "This Week in Politics" with Tom Foreman is coming up next. And of course we'll continue our coverage on the situation with Senator Ted Kennedy in Massachusetts. Thanks again for watching.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)