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Ballot Bowl 2008

McCain Speaks to the NRA on 2nd Amendment; Massive Fires in Florida; Obama Speech in Oregon on Why He's Running

Aired May 18, 2008 - 17:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome back to CNN's BALLOT BOWL. I'm Suzanne Malveaux in Frankfort, Kentucky.
This is really your opportunity in the next hour to hear the candidates battle out for the nomination. In the next hour or so, live, unfiltered, a chance to hear them make their case to the voters before the critical Tuesday primaries in Kentucky and Oregon -- all of this in the coming hour as we hear from these candidates.

Joining me for this hour as well, my co-host, Jim Acosta, who's out of Portland, Oregon, keeping up with all the events out of there. I understand Obama campaigning there; Hillary Clinton in the state of Kentucky.

Jim, what do you have in the next hour?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, our bowl overflowed it (ph) here in the next hour of BALLOT BOWL.

I'm live on the banks of the Willamette River where Barack Obama will be speaking to a big crowd of supporters here. They now have the band from Portland, the Decemberists, warming up the crowd here. But Barack Obama will be here within the hour.

And Hillary Clinton, where you are in Kentucky, she will be talking to a crowd in Mayfield, Kentucky. That also will be happening in this hour. And we hope to get to that live event as well.

But earlier today, Barack Obama has been enjoying -- he's been enjoying what is basically been sort of a laid-back weekend for the senator from Illinois. He hit the campaign trail this morning and stopped for some ice cream in Eugene, Oregon.

And then just a few hours ago in Gresham, which is outside of Portland here, he spoke to some seniors and then after that event ended, he answered some questions from reporters. And one of the questions that was asked of Senator Obama was whether or not John McCain is receiving enough scrutiny in his mind from the traveling press, from the press in general, throughout this campaign.

Here's what Barack Obama had to say to that question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D-IL) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I actually think that part of it has to do with the fact that they wrapped up their nomination fairly early. And as a consequence, Senator McCain, you'll recall, had been written off as not being viable about halfway through last year. And he came back and -- but what that meant was during that period, people weren't paying close attention to his record. Then he got wrapped up fairly quickly.

I think it's very understandable that the press focus has been on myself and Senator Clinton because this has been a pretty exciting race on the Democratic side. I would expect that the press will submit him to the same scrutiny that they are submitting me. And if they don't, I'll have them talk to you, because I can tell you would object.

But my sense is that there will be -- I think people will lift the hood and kick the tires with John McCain just like they do with me and just like they've done with Senator Clinton. I think if you're applying for the presidency of the United States of America, then by definition, you have given up your privacy. And, you know, basically, I think people are going to want to know what you've done in your life and what you stand for.

OK. Yes, sir? Sure.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE)

OBAMA: Well, I really think that we can pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill. And I think it starts with having secure borders. I think we've got to be serious about having border surveillance, border security, using technology more effectively than we're using it right now. And I'm committed to putting billions of dollars into border security.

I also think we have to crackdown on employers who are hiring undocumented workers intentionally because they don't want to pay American workers what they deserve. And, you know, I don't -- I don't necessarily fault somebody for trying to create a better life for themselves. A lot of these workers who've come over the borders, they are in extreme poverty in Mexico or in Central America. And, I think, you know, it's not surprising that they're looking for a better life for themselves.

I do blame employers who aren't willing to pay the minimum wage or pay overtime or abide by worker safety regulations and hire people who aren't documented. The one area that I would say there's a legitimate need for workers from outside the United States is in the agriculture sector. Sometimes, it really is hard to find people who are willing to do tough agricultural work here in the United States. And that's why I think we have to have a migrant worker program that accommodates our agricultural needs.

But in a lot of factories and a lot of contracting work, employers just don't want to pay decent wages. We have to crackdown on them.

Now, if we do those things, then the last thing is how do we deal with those undocumented workers who are already here? And I believe that the idea that we're going to send them back, 12 million people, is just not realistic, it's not honest. We would have to use all of our law enforcement resources to arrest, detain, and deport 12 million people, many of whom have been here for years who have children who are U.S. citizens. We'd be breaking families apart. It would not reflect who we are.

And so what I believe we should do is to have them register, have them pay a fine for having broken the law, pay back taxes if they owe them, learn English so that they are making an effort to assimilate, and if -- make sure they go to the back of the line so that they're not getting a legal status before people who applied in the legal way, but give them an opportunity over time to earn their citizenship. I think that's the right way to do it.

The last thing we're going to do is help countries like Mexico and countries in Central America do a better job of creating jobs for their people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So there you have it, Barack Obama answering questions from reporters in Gresham, Oregon, earlier today. We should mention in about 25 minutes from now, he's expected to address a big rally of supporters here on the banks of Willamette River here in Portland.

We should also note that just a few moments ago, CNN's Deborah Feyerick who is standing outside of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, has also reported that Barack Obama has spoken with Senator Ted Kennedy. We don't know much about the conversation that they've had. But according to Deb Feyerick, a spokeswoman I should say for Senator Kennedy is saying that the senator is resting comfortably. He's watched some movies and a Red Sox game.

So that's the latest we're hearing from Senator Ted Kennedy and how he's doing, and that the fact that Barack Obama and Senator Kennedy have spoken with each other since this apparent seizure on Senator Kennedy's part yesterday.

And I'll toss it back to my colleague, Suzanne Malveaux, who is monitoring a Hillary Clinton event that should be happening shortly in Mayfield, Kentucky.

And, Suzanne, I was just curious -- anything that you're hearing differently from the New York senator this weekend, has she talked differently about her own campaign versus what we've seen over the last several weeks? My sense is we haven't seen as much of the fighter in Hillary Clinton as we've noticed in recent weeks.

MALVEAUX: Yes, it's interesting, Jim, because you really get a sense that she's determined, and that she's putting herself out there, and she's going to take it all the way to the very end. But you also listen to some of the language, the words that she is using. Usually we hear her say, "When I'm President, I'm going to do this," or, "If I become president, I'm going to do this." We heard something when she was talking about this gas tax, the break from the gas tax when she said, "If I were to be president," using a past tense as opposed to when "I become president this is what I'm going to do for you." Maybe a slip, maybe it indicates a little bit more, but certainly taking a really close at what she's saying, how she's saying it, what she's conveying to voters. We also hear more and more, she is taking on Barack Obama but she has definitely pulled back a little bit; a lot of her firepower still very much for John McCain, for President bush; a real call for unity within the Democratic Party, talking about how hard she will work for whoever the nominee may be.

So, all of this together, taken together, Jim, really is showing something a campaign, even a strategy that's been altered in the last weeks or so, looking at some of that really difficult math that she's dealing with if she were to become the nominee.

Let's take a listen to Senator Clinton. I understand that she's actually on the stage and she's started to speak.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D-NY) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think we all know what's at stake. We've got two wars. We've got an economy that is on the brink of recession. We've got gas prices going through the roof. Groceries are going up. People are losing their health insurance. There's just a sense in the country that we've got to reverse direction.

Now, you know that old story about how politics is like a car, if you want to go forward, you put it in "D," if you want to go backwards, you put it in "R." So, what we got to do...

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

CLINTON: And so what we got to do is we got to put this car in "D" for Democrat and drive into a positive future for our nation.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

CLINTON: And I'm running for president because I believe with all my heart we can do better. And I know you do, too, or you wouldn't be out here on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at a political event, unless you, too, were convinced that your vote mattered. And that you could join with all your friends and neighbors turn this country back to what it needs to be again -- a country where we have shared prosperity for everyone, where we seek and find peace with those who are willing to work with us, where we take care of the last, the lost, and the least among us.

That is the nation we love. That is the greatness of America. But it's not going to happen by wishing for it or hoping for it. It can only happen if we actually work for it. And that starts by voting for it this Tuesday when all of you I hope will come out.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

CLINTON: And I want you to know what I'm asking you to vote for. I'm not asking you to take a chance on me. I think I've got the qualification and the experience to do the toughest job in the world. I'm asking you to think hard about yourselves and about your families, and to vote for your futures. And I know that we can. If we roll up our sleeves together, begin to meet the challenges that are going to await the next president.

Now, on January 20th, 2009, the world is going to breathe a sigh of relief when that moving van leaves the back of the White House heading to Texas.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

CLINTON: But that's when the hardwork starts. That's when we need a president who can walk into that Oval Office. And remember, the cameras are gone, the lights are out, the speeches are over, and listed (ph), waiting on that desk are all of these tough decisions.

And what I want you to know is what I will do, because I'm offering solutions, not speeches. I'm offering results, not rhetoric. I'm asking you to study up on what I have done, because I've lived long enough to know that the best way to tell what someone will do is to see what they've already done. Where did they stand, what did they fight for.

And so here's some of what I will do. Starting on day one, I'm going to begin to turn this economy around because it's not working for hard-working middle class families.

Now, during this election, I occasionally will hear somebody criticize the 1990s. You heard Fred talk about how good it was. Well, that seems to be most of our memory, but some people criticize the 1990s and it always - it bewilders me. I wonder what part didn't they like -- the peace or the prosperity because I thought when you create 22.7 million new jobs, when more people are lifted out of poverty that at any time in our country's history, when we go from deep deficits to a projected surplus, and end up with a balanced budget, that's what a government is supposed to do when they are in charge.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

CLINTON: So here's what we got to do. We've got to take out of our tax code one penny of benefits, so there is nothing left for any company that moves a job out of Kentucky to a foreign country. That is unpatriotic. It should not be rewarded by the tax code.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

CLINTON: We have to change that tax code so it starts rewarding people to work again and work hard for a living like all of you and your neighbors do. And that means getting rid of all the benefits that have been put in there by the Bush administration. My personal most unfavorite benefit is that if you're a Wall Street money manager making $50 million a year, you can pay a lower percentage of your income in taxes than a teacher, a nurse or a truck driver living right here in Mayfield. That is wrong and that's not the way America works best.

We've got to have trade agreements that are good for our workers and for our consumers and we've got to get tough on China. China has violated the rules they agreed to follow. Our jobs go there. They ship us contaminated pet food and lead-laced toys and polluted pharmaceuticals.

We need a president who says we want a peaceful and positive relationship with China, but we're not going to be taken advantage of any longer. They're going to play by the same rules that we and the rest of the world have to play by. That's the kind of president who will say -- let's change this and make it work for America again.

We also have got to start creating more jobs.

MALVEAUX: Hillary Clinton out of Mayfield, Kentucky, talking about her agenda, what she would do if she was the nominee and beyond if she was president. We're going to bring more of Hillary Clinton live after this very brief break when BALLOT BOWL continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Welcome back to CNN's BALLOT BOWL. I'm Suzanne Malveaux in Frankfort, Kentucky. We're watching an event that is taking place in Mayfield, Kentucky. That is where Senator Hillary Clinton is addressing voters. She is talking about one of the "hot button" issues that resonates with a lot of folks, and that is energy.

Let's take a listen.

CLINTON: There are electric cars, there are hybrid cars. You plug them in at night. You get all of the juice from the electricity then you drive them. Now, I want to give you a $10,000 credit on your taxes if you'll buy a hi-gas mileage car, because we got to create a market for these cars.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

CLINTON: Now, everyone knows that we're getting ethanol from corn, we're getting bio-diesel from soy beans, but we've got to experiment with everything else. I don't think we even yet know what we can use to fuel our cars.

Brazil uses sugarcane. They grow it in abundance. They are now for, all intents and purposes, energy independence when it comes to fueling transportation.

Well, we've got to do more work to figure out what we're going to use that's most efficient. But we also have to be very clear to the oil companies -- they're going to have to put those pumps at those gas stations. They don't want to do it.

We've got flex-fuel cars. You know what those are. They can take blended fuel right now, except there's hardly any place in America to get it.

So we've got to say -- look, we must make this transition. We cannot have our president going and begging. We can't have gas going to $4, maybe $5; diesel already nearly $5. That will wreck our economy. And every time George Bush and Dick Cheney say, well, if we try to change the way we get our energy, we'll wreck our economy - that's fatalistic, that's not American. Americans -- we're the people that roll up our sleeves, we meet any challenge. There's nothing we can't do if we start acting like Americans again.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

CLINTON: That's why I have proposed a strategic energy fund, like we had when we did the space race. We're going to have a fund that will fund research and agriculture to figure out what we're going to be able to use and get more efficiency. I bet there are crops that we haven't even dreamed of grown across Kentucky that can be turned into fuel. I know that we can harness the sun, wind, geothermal, move toward clean coal. All that's standing in the way is we're not organized and we don't have the leadership we need.

I want to have a strategic energy fund and here's how I would fund it -- take the tax subsidies away from the oil companies. They don't need your money to make these unbelievable profits.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

CLINTON: But some people can't wait for me to be president and for us to start doing this. The price of gas and the price of diesel, whether it's in a truck or in a farm equipment vehicle, we know it's going to be breaking people's budgets.

So here's what I think we should do. Number one, if I were president, I would launch an investigation today into the energy traders who are speculating on the energy market, raising the price of oil, taking advantage of us. Nobody is standing in their way. They are almost totally deregulated now. They've gotten through something unfortunately named the "Enron loophole."

I'd ask the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, I'd get the entire government to stop this energy speculation and bring down the price of oil.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

CLINTON: There are a lot of folks who have got credible evidence that the speculation is adding somewhere between $20 and $50 a barrel. And we're just standing idly by. Well, that's not what we used to do. We used to have presidents who would stand up to these interests and stand up especially to the oil companies. I will again.

Number two, I'd release some of that oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. My husband did that in 2000, it dropped the price.

Number three, I will begin to go after OPEC. They are a monopoly cartel that sets the price as well as the supply. Those nations that are members of the WTO are violating those rules and I would change our laws so that we had antitrust remedies to go after them.

And finally, I want to give you a gas tax holiday this summer and have the oil companies pay the gas tax out of their record profits.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

MALVEAUX: You've been listening to Hillary Clinton talking to Kentucky voters.

We're going to bring you the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain, at the other end of this very quick break. He, earlier in the week, was addressing the National Rifle Association, talking about another "hot button" issue for that organization and for Republicans, and that is gun control.

That after this very quick break as BALLOT BOWL continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Welcome back to BALLOT BOWL on CNN.

And we are awaiting Barack Obama's rally to get kickstarted here by the candidate himself in just a few minutes. He's scheduled to be here at 5:30 Eastern. That apparently is not going to be the case. He's running a little behind here.

We understand at a media availability, just a few moments ago, he did make mention of something that happened over at the McCain campaign. Former Texas Congressman Thomas Loeffler, who was the McCain campaign national financial co-chair, has resigned from the campaign over questions that were raised about his ties to lobbyists. He's, in fact, the fifth person to leave the campaign in eight days over such ties.

And so, interesting news happening on the McCain campaign. And Barack Obama making mention of that resignation today during a media availability that just happened a few moments ago here in Oregon.

And speaking of the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain was speaking to folks at the National Rifle Association earlier this week in Louisville, Kentucky. And John McCain used that occasion to draw the distinction, draw the differences between himself and the Democrats over the issue of gun control.

Here's John McCain at the NRA.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R-AZ) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Over the years, we have not agreed on every issue. I've supported efforts to have NICS background checks applied to gun sales at gun shows. I recognize, I recognize very well that gun shows are enjoyed by millions of law-abiding Americans.

I do not support efforts by those who seek to regulate them out of existence. But I believe an accurate, fair, and instant background check at gun shows is a reasonable requirement. I also oppose efforts to require federal regulation of all private sales, such as the transfer between a father and son or husband and wife.

I supported campaign finance reform because I strongly believed our system of financial campaigns was influencing elected officials to put the interests of soft money ahead of the public interest. It is neither my purpose nor the purpose of the legislation to prevent gun owners or any other group of citizens from making their voices heard in the legislative process.

Those disagreements do not detract from my long record of support for the Second Amendment and the work we have done together to protect the rights of gun owners from the political attitudes of the moment in Washington, that view the Second Amendment as a once quaint custom that must now yield to the judgment of modern enlightened opinion.

We have real differences with the Democratic candidates for president. They have learned something since 2000. They don't talk about their plans for gun control. They claim to support hunters and gun owners. But just because they don't talk about gun control doesn't mean they won't support gun control.

And let's be clear, if either Senator Clinton or Senator Obama is elected president, the rights of law abiding gun owners will be at risk, my friends, and have no doubt about it.

(APPLAUSE)

MCCAIN: They have both voted as senators to ban guns or ban ammunition or to allow gun makers to be sued out of existence. It seems every election, politicians who support restrictions on the Second Amendment, dress up in camouflage and pose with guns to demonstrate they care about hunters, even though few gun owners fall for such obvious political theater.

After Senator Obama made his unfortunate comment and inaccurate and wrong comment that Pennsylvanians, quote, "cling to guns and religion out of bitterness," Senator Clinton quickly affirmed her support for the Second Amendment. That drew Senator Obama's derision. She's running around talking about how this is an insult to sportsman. How she values the Second Amendment, he said, like she's out on the duck blind every Sunday packing a six shooter. Someone should tell Senator Obama that ducks are usually hunted with shotguns.

Senator Obama hopes he can get away with having it both ways. He says he believes that the Second Amendment confers an individual right to bear arms.

But when we had a chance to weigh in on the most important Second Amendment case before the United States Supreme Court in decades, Columbia v. Heller, Senator Obama dodged a question by claiming, quote, "I don't like taking a stand on pending cases." He refused to sign amicus briefs signed by a bipartisan group of 55 senators arguing that the Supreme Court should overturn the D.C. gun ban in the Heller case.

When he was running for the state Senate in Illinois, his campaign filled out a questionnaire asking whether he supported legislation to ban the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns, a simple yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: And so there you have it, John McCain speaking to a convention of the National Rifle Association in Louisville, Kentucky. Senator McCain there saying should Senator Obama or Senator Clinton reach the Oval Office, the rights of gun owners will be at risk. Those words from John McCain in Louisville, Kentucky.

We are awaiting Barack Obama here in Portland, Oregon. He should be here any minute to address a big rally in downtown Portland her on the banks of the Willamette River. We'll bring that to you as soon as it gets started.

But in the meantime, a check on other news after a break. This is BALLOT BOWL on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center in Atlanta. We'll get to BALLOT BOWL in a moment, but first, these headlines.

A new message reportedly from Osama bin Laden harshly criticizing Arab leaders. The audio popped up on a militant website that has released previous al Qaeda statements. The new message says Arab leaders have sacrificed Palestinians and calls on Muslims militants to help break the Gaza blockade. It follows last week's statement attributed to bin Laden that vowed to keep up the struggle against Israel.

And this comes at the same time that President Bush is now flying back from his five-day tour of the Middle East. At his last stop in Egypt, the president urged Arab governments to take bigger steps toward full democracy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There are people who claim that democracy is incompatible with Islam. But the truth is democracies, by definition, make a place for people of religious belief.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The president's trip failed to get Saudi Arabia to help with soaring oil prices and it produced no discernable progress on the Israeli-Palestinian front.

Crews in central China removed hundreds more bodies from earthquake rubble. Chances of finding survivors are getting even slimmer. and today the government said the final death toll will top 50,000. China begins three days of national mourning on Monday and the Olympic torch relay is also being temporarily suspended.

And for the first time since the cyclone devastated Myanmar, junta leader, Honshway (ph), was shown on television meeting with refugees. Aid agencies fear some of the worst hit areas are still not getting relief. A top U.N. diplomat arrived in the country today to try to break the juntas resistance to letting in outside relief workers.

And AAA says gas prices went up again, the 12th straight day of increases. The new national average for a gallon of regular unleaded is just over $3.79. Drivers in some cities might consider that a bargain. In New York and Chicago areas, for instance, they're already paying more than $4 a gallon.

And don't write off some kind of Microsoft-Yahoo! tie-up yet. The company Bill Gates built said today that Microsoft is talking to Yahoo! about a different kind of deal that doesn't involve an acquisition. Microsoft withdrew a $46 billion for Yahoo! two weeks ago.

And 33,000 acres are ablaze in Florida's Everglade National Park. Smoke from the wildfire has cast a haze over large parts of south Florida. As of this morning, it was only 20 percent contained. This is one of several major wildfires burning across the state of Florida.

And for more on the fires in Florida, let's check in with Jacqui Jeras in the Weather Center.

A nasty haze.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is, and terrible debris too. It kind of burns your throat. You don't want to be outside if you have to and there's thick smoke in your area. And they're dealing with it from north Florida down to the Everglades.

The good news is the Big Bend area getting a nice soaking as well as Gainesville and Jacksonville, could pick up half an inch of rainfall. Staying pretty dry across south Florida. An isolated shower or thunderstorm is possible. Winds out of the southwest. Miami-Dade, 15 miles per hour, with the fires burning right down here, yeah, that's why you're getting all of that smoke into your neighborhood.

Red flag warnings have been issued from Palm Beach County down through Miami-Dade. And that will continue through the day today. As long as those winds blow in that direction, you'll continue to deal with the smoke. This is the big picture and gives you an idea where we are dealing with those fires or at least the largest ones.

(WEATHER REPORT)

JERAS: Fredricka, one interesting note on this is that after the earthquake of 1918, they started this a few years later to help improve the morale of people. And I'd say it's done its job, wouldn't you?

WHITFIELD: I'd say. So it's more like a run of the liquids.

JERAS: Dress up, have fun. Don't drink too much though, right? I can't condone that. WHITFIELD: Right. Everything in moderation. But they look like they're having a lot of fun.

Thanks a lot, Jacqui.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield. More of BALLOT BOWL right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Welcome back to BALLOT BOWL. I'm Jim Acosta standing near the banks of the Willamette River (ph) where Barack Obama is expected to speak to a big rally of supporters here in Portland, Oregon, in just a few moments. We can confirm that his bus has just arrived.

And shortly before arriving here in downtown Portland, he made some remarks about the progress being made by Senator Ted Kennedy. He said that Senator Kennedy is on the mend. This is from a conversation that Senator Obama had with Senator Kennedy, and said that he hopes that the senator from Massachusetts will be back in the Senate as soon as possible doing the people's business.

So Barack Obama has apparently spoken with Senator Ted Kennedy in his hospital room there over the telephone. But Senator Kennedy, recovering from that apparent seizure that he had yesterday in Massachusetts.

And Barack Obama is expected to take the stage at any moment. He's here with his wife Michele and two daughters. They've had a pretty laid back Sunday by campaign standards. By my count, they've made two stops for ice cream, which is not a bad idea when you have daughters out on the campaign trail.

Let's take a quick break. When we come back on "BALLOT BOWL" on CNN, hopefully the Senator from Illinois will be on stage here in Portland, Oregon. Back after a break. This is BALLOT BOWL on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Welcome back to BALLOT BOWL on CNN. I'm Jim Acosta in Portland, Oregon.

With any luck in just a few moments, Barack Obama will take the stage here in front of what is a very big rally of supporters not only on land but also in the Willamette River behind us. That shot that we took just before going to the past break showed you that some of Barack Obama's supporters here are in boats right by the site of this event here.

I think Senator Obama is about to take the stage now. And why don't we do that. Why don't we show you the Senator from Illinois and his wife taking the stage?

Is that right? They're coming.

And they're coming on now. They just cued up Bruce Springsteen's "The Rising" which is usually a good sign that Senator Obama is taking the stage.

And this is -- this is probably a good moment to bring in the Republican side of this. While we let Barack Obama settle in on stage here, let's go back to the Republican side and check in with John McCain.

We're going to squeeze this in right before the end of BALLOT BOWL. John McCain was on "Saturday Night Live" last night and poked a little fun at the Democrats because of the long, protracted battle they've had in the race for the Democratic nomination. McCain didn't sing any Streisand last night but he did take some jabs at the Democrats. Here's John McCain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want to give you this piece of advice -- Democrats, I have to urge you, do not, under any circumstances, pick a candidate too soon.

ACTOR: So you don't think Hillary should drop out?

MCCAIN: Absolutely not.

ACTRESS: I told you.

ACTOR: Cool it.

ACTRESS: You cool it.

MCCAIN: That's right, fight amongst yourselves.

ACTOR: What did you say?

MCCAIN: Nothing. But what I want to say to the Democrats is this -- you have two incredibly talented candidates. Why not take every possible second to weigh each of their pros and cons. For all you know, they're a bunch of cons you don't even know about yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And that is John McCain on "SNL" last night, having a little fun with the long, protracted battle on the Democratic side for the nomination.

Speaking of that battle, the front-runner, as it stands right now, and with just a couple of races left before the end of this campaign, Barack Obama will be in a very commanding position when it comes to this race for the nomination. He's on stage right now.

As you can see there, Michele Obama was on stage with the Senator just a few moments ago and the Senator's two daughters.

But I'll bring in Suzanne Malveaux, who is standing by live in Kentucky.

Suzanne, I could barely hear myself, so I hope what I said was of some broadcast quality. I don't think it was.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: We could hear you, Jim.

ACOSTA: Suzanne, it's been interesting to watch Senator Obama this weekend. And I think you've taken note of this in recent days. Also looking at Senator Clinton in Kentucky, that these two candidates, after what has at times has been a long and nasty battle for this Democratic nomination, they have certainly dialed back the rhetoric very much here. Isn't that right, Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: It's very intentional, Jim, at least from Senator Hillary Clinton's side. Her aides, her supporters have been urged to stay with her until the very end, June 3rd and beyond, not to have these kind of mass defections or the little trickling where people are disappearing from her support on her campaign. The idea behind that is to stick with her as long as you can, but then to dial back the rhetoric against Barack Obama.

Don't make it hard for people to be on her team, to be on her side because when it's all said and done, if the math works out the way it does, they're going to need to unite. The party is going to need to unite. At least from the Clinton camp, that is the thinking behind kind of that softened tone we've seen from Hillary Clinton -- Jim?

ACOSTA: Suzanne Malveaux, thank you very much.

And the candidate is on stage right now, firing up this crowd here in Portland, Oregon. Right a stone's throw, and that is to be literal about it, from the Willamette River, and his supporters from come not just by land but by sea. There are boats amassed in the Willamette River as we speak.

And let's dip in now and listen to Barack Obama addressing supporters here in Portland, Oregon.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And Congressman David Woo, thank you to all three of them. I'm so grateful to have former Governors Barbara Roberts and John Pitaber (ph), who are both here, great supporters. There's Barbara right there. And finally, Mayor Tom Potter, give him a big round of applause.

So I've been running for president for about 15 months now -- 15 months. And when I first announced, there were a number of people who said, Barack, you're a relatively young man. Why are you running so soon? You can afford to wait. And I had to inform people that I'm not running because only some long-held ambition or because I think it's owed to me. I had to explain I'm running because of what Dr. King called the fierce urgency of now -- the fierce urgency of now. Because I believe there is such a thing as being too late, and that hour is almost upon us.

We are at a defining moment in our history and you see it in the news every day. On the international front, we're in the midst of two wars. One war that we need to win against those who are in Afghanistan, al Qaeda, those who killed 3,000 Americans. But we are also involved in a war that I believe should have never been authorized and should have never been waged, that's cost us hundreds of billions of dollars and thousands of lives and has not made us more safe.

On the domestic front, I don't need to tell people here in Oregon what's happening because you're living it every day. We just went through the first economic expansion since they've been keeping reports, since World War II, in which the average family income went down by $1,000 at a time when the economy was growing. Wall Street was doing fine. Corporate profits were up. But for ordinary families, your income was less than it was, when adjusted for inflation, than it was when George Bush took office.

At the same time, as your costs have gone up, your cost for gas have gone up, your cost of milk and bread and eggs in the supermarket have gone up, your cost for health care has gone up, your cost for college has gone up. And so at the end of every month, there are families sitting around the kitchen table trying to figure out how to make ends meet. 47 million people without health insurance. Millions of people at risk of losing their homes because nobody was minding the store when financial institutions were out there peddling mortgages that they never should have given.

And despite the slogans, we've got millions of people, millions of children who cannot compete in the new global economy because our schools are underfunded, our teachers are underpaid. College has become unattainable. In such circumstances, Portland, we cannot afford to wait. We can't wait to fix our schools. We cannot wait to fix our health care system. We cannot wait to bring back good jobs and good wages and decent benefits. We cannot wait to bring an end to global warming. We cannot wait to bring this war to a close. We cannot wait. And that's why I'm running for president of the United States of America!

Now, when I decided to run, it was with the belief that the challenges we face have outstripped the capacity of broken politics and it was also because it was a bet I was placing on you, the American people, because I was convinced that the American people are hungry for something different, that they are tired of a politics that's all about tearing each other down. They want a politics that's about lifting the country up. I was convinced that the American people were tired of spin and P.R., that they wanted straight talk, honesty from their elected officials. And most of all, I was convinced that people were tired of a politics that divided us, that people wanted a politics that would bring us together.

I learned, as a community organizer, way back in the early '80s, working on the Southside of Chicago after the steel plants had closed, bringing the together blacks, whites, Hispanics, all of whom had worked at those steel mills, all of whom were now at risk of losing jobs, benefits, that when they came together, ordinary people could do extraordinary things.

And when I started this campaign, it was with the belief that still was what was true about America, that when we work together, when we are unified -- black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, young, old, rich, poor, gays, straight -- when all of us are coming together, then there is no challenge we cannot meet. There is no destiny we cannot fulfill. That was the bet that I was making 15 months ago, Oregon.