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Clinton Will Acknowledge That Senator Barack Obama has the Delegates for the Nomination; Polls are Open in South Dakota and Montana; Senator Kennedy Recuperating Well from Yesterday's Procedure; Obama Meets Privately with Tribal Leaders

Aired June 03, 2008 - 11:00   ET

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


COLLINS: Golf carts. The latest craze in police protection. You have to see this next video. While a Missouri police chief showcases his brand-new police golf cart, shots ring out. Watch.
And off he goes chasing the culprit in between houses and through backyards.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't know if the shots were coming from down here, where they were coming from, you know, so I was scared.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: He came outside. What did you see?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Policemen coming over the fence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The suspect was caught and no one was hurt in that shooting. The police chief says the golf carts helped the force accomplish his mission, surprised the suspect and stay on top of crime.

HARRIS: Man.

And hello again, everyone. You're informed with CNN. I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: Hi there, everybody, I'm Heidi Collins. Developments keep coming in the CNN NEWSROOM on Tuesday, June 3rd.

Here's what's on the rundown.

The end is here apparently. Just minutes ago a report says that Hillary Clinton will signal her campaign plans within hours.

ANNOUNCER: This is "CNN Breaking News."

COLLINS: The breaking news that we have to report is exactly this. According to the Associated Press, officials say Clinton will acknowledge Tuesday night -- that's tonight, of course -- that Senator Barack Obama has the delegates for the nomination.

That is all that we have at this point. Of course, all of our sources and our political team is working this information. And at this point that is the gist of it right now. We're getting some stuff coming up to the desk as we go.

Clinton campaign officials, of course, are who we are talking about in all of this. Again, I'm going to read it to you exactly as we see it here on paper.

The Associated Press is reporting Clinton campaign officials say that the senator will acknowledge tonight that Barack Obama has the delegates for the nomination. Once again, just to be clear. It does not say anything about conceding at least at this point. It does say that she will acknowledge her opponent has the delegates needed for the nomination.

We, of course, are working the story very closely and will bring you the latest information just as soon as we get it.

HARRIS: Can you imagine this? You know it seems like we have been talking about the presidential primaries all year. And now this latest development. The fact is that we have. Iowa kicked things off January 3rd and now the finish line is certainly in sight.

The polls are open in South Dakota and Montana. But the next step belongs to the Democratic super delegates. Their votes will push one of the candidates over the top. And the news just moments ago that the Clinton team is acknowledging that Barack Obama has the delegates. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, looking ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She's an outstanding public servant and she and I will be working together in November.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Once South Dakota decides tomorrow will have a big influence on what people think going forward. Because our main job at the ends of this historic, closely contested primary season, is to nominate the next president who must be a Democrat. That is our goal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Obama insiders say language like that indicates Clinton would likely accept an offer to be Barack Obama's running mate if asked.

Here is a closer look at what's on the line in the final primaries. Montana has 16 pledged delegates up for grabs. It's an open primary which means any registered voter can cast the ballots. South Dakota is also an open primary. That state offers 15 pledged delegates.

COLLINS: Once again, just want to touch on this news that we are hearing according to the Associated Press. Hillary Clinton officials say that she will acknowledge tonight that Senator Barack Obama has the delegates needed for the nomination from that party. So we're trying to get more information on this as, of course, you might imagine.

And then what it could mean moving forward. Lots of speculation that she will be conceding. But we have certainly not heard that as of yet. We're going to stay on top of it for you. Of course, we'll bring you the latest as soon as we get it.

HARRIS: On the eve of today's final primaries campaign, Bill Clinton faced a moment of truth.

CNN's Gary Tuchman was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In the tiny South Dakota town of Milbank, on the day before the nation's final primaries, Bill Clinton, for the first time, sounds like his wife waving a white flag could be in the offing.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I want to say also that this may be the last day I'm ever involved in a campaign of this kind. I thought I was out of politics until Hillary decided to run. But it has been one of the greatest honors of my life to be able to go around and campaign for her for president.

TUCHMAN: Quite a comment.

B. CLINTON: Aren't you glad that South Dakota gets to close out this primary season?

TUCHMAN: But on this last 24 hours of primary campaigning he didn't say it again to voters.

B. CLINTON: All the evidence shows that she is by far more likely to win in November.

TUCHMAN: Nor to me.

(On camera): Mr. President, is it still winnable?

B. CLINTON: Yes.

TUCHMAN (voice over): He blitzed through six South Dakota stops Monday from an elementary school in Watertown to a high school in Sisseton, all tiny towns that heard in many cases the defiant former president criticizing his party's rules committee.

B. CLINTON: In Michigan, I don't know what they did. It didn't make a lick of sense to me. They said we are not only going to give Senator Obama the delegates equivalent to 100 percent of the uncommitted votes, even though some of those votes were for John Edwards and others. We're going to give you some more just to shut everybody up.

TUCHMAN: The former president may be finding himself in an unexpected situation. (On camera): The Clintons are simply not used to losing. Between Bill and Hillary Clinton they have won eight consecutive presidential, senatorial and gubernatorial races. The last defeat, 1980, when Bill Clinton lost the Arkansas governor's race. It was so long ago that Barack Obama was a teenager when it happened.

(Voice over): Now another moment of truth may be arriving.

B. CLINTON: She is the best I have ever seen and I hope South Dakota will say yes to her tomorrow. Thank you and God bless you.

TUCHMAN: But Hillary Clinton's surrogate in chief is giving it his all to the very end.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Sisseton, South Dakota.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Again, following the breaking news very closely here. According to the Associated Press at this point, Hillary Clinton officials say that she will indeed acknowledge tonight that Senator Barack Obama has the number of delegates needed for the nomination.

We want to go to New York now where our deputy political director Paul Steinhauser has been working the story as well, working all of the stories in this race. That's for sure.

Paul, what do you make of it?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: While I'm talking to you right now, we got some of the best in the business making calls trying to confirm this, trying to match this story. Candy Crowley, Jessica Yellin, Gloria Borger, Suzanne Malveaux, Sasha Johnson, they're all trying to confirm this.

This is one of the scenarios that could happen tonight. Listen, Barack Obama right now is about 40 delegates shy of the 1,000 -- 2,119 needed to clinch the nomination. He could do that tonight with a combination of delegates at stake in Montana and South Dakota. Plus the super delegates. It's going to be coming down to them.

If enough of them back him and come out to support him today, he could go over the top. And the big question then is, what is Hillary Clinton do tonight?

We know she's going to be right back here in New York City. She's giving a speech tonight. Her big headquarters tonight is in Brooke University here in Manhattan. And the big question was, what will she do tonight? Will she march on and fight on? Or will she acknowledge that Barack Obama has enough delegates to win the nomination?

COLLINS: Well -- and I think it's a very important point you make, because there are a low of people who already making that step for her. They are saying, OK, she's going to acknowledge that he's got these delegates and then she'll concede. That is not at least what we have here as of yet.

STEINHAUSER: No. It doesn't mean she's going to concede at all. She's got the right and the ability to take this all the way to the convention in August, if she so wants to.

She can do a number of things when Barack Obama -- if he goes over the top tonight or later this week when it comes to securing the number of delegates, she can continue on and she can suspend her campaign for now but not give up her delegates. She can also fight that ruling on Michigan and Florida and take out to the next step which would be the rule -- credentials committee in about a month from now...

COLLINS: Yes, and that...

STEINHAUSER: ... and go all the way to the convention.

COLLINS: Forgive me, Paul. That's what I want to talk about a little bit with you. What if she does contest these rules committee ruling?

STEINHAUSER: She could. If she wanted to, she could. The next step would be the credentials committee which meets in a month. And then of course, the final determination, if she wants to, would be at the convention in August.

Our Candy Crowley, though, is talking to some top people very close to Hillary Clinton. She was supporting this last night that they were saying that Hillary Clinton probably would not take this all the way to the convention because she knows how tough and rough this could be on the party house. How -- you know, right now, the Democratic Party needs unity if they want to beat John McCain in the fall.

She is aware of that and she understands her place in the party and in history and probably wouldn't take this all the way to the convention.

COLLINS: Also, we -- want to bring this up to you, because we found this from an appearance on the "Today" show, of course. Terry McAuliffe was on the "Today" show this morning. I'm sure you've seen this, Paul.

He was asked if Barack Obama reaches the number today or tomorrow, do you believe that Senator Clinton is prepared to concede? Terry McAuliffe said yes. I think that if Senator Obama gets the numbers, I think Hillary Clinton will congratulate him and call him the nominee.

STEINHAUSER: Yes. That's what Terry McAuliffe said on the "Today" show this morning.

Of course, Terry McAuliffe, one of the senior members of the campaign. When it comes to fundraising, he's one of their top people and he's definitely somebody in the know. And that is another indication that maybe tonight if Obama, if Obama, secures the number of delegates needed, the 2,118, Hillary Clinton could come out and say this.

Again, as I'm talking to you, I got people a lot smarter than me like Candy Crowley, and Borger and Malveaux and the rest making the calls and trying to match this story right now.

COLLINS: All right. I know they're working it hard. We appreciate it.

Deputy political director Paul Steinhauser -- thank you, Paul.

STEINHAUSER: Take care.

HARRIS: All right. Let's get to our senior political analyst Bill Schneider.

Bill, what do you make of the news?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, looks like it is just about to be all over. I mean, there's some formalities involved. She is acknowledging that he has a majority. She said that the -- this campaign will not be over until somebody gets the majority of delegates. If he has the majority, hello? It's over.

HARRIS: Yes, and she's also seemingly -- you know, this, again, we're trying to match this story. We don't have it all to ourselves at this point.

But also, the acknowledgement seems to be here that she can't get the number...

SCHNEIDER: That's right.

HARRIS: ... which is an important distinction, I think.

SCHNEIDER: Well, of course.

HARRIS: Yes.

SCHNEIDER: Look, there's one majority. Hello? You can't have her getting majority to have a tie, I suppose. But it's not even close to that.

HARRIS: Well, the reason I mentioned that, Bill, is because she is still -- part of her argument is that, I still have the popular votes, and she's trying to leverage that argument with super delegates. But it seems to play into a realization, at least at this point, that she can't get whatever the number is that moves her forward.

SCHNEIDER: Look, a majority of the delegates is a majority of the delegates and that includes the super delegates. He claims the majority of the pledged delegates a couple of weeks ago. But of course, she said correctly that's not a majority of all the delegates. Well, now she -- prepared, according to these reports, to acknowledge at the end of the primaries tonight that he has the majority of all the delegates. If that's true, there's nothing she can do.

HARRIS: Is -- does that sound to you as though she has received some kind of information to suggest that the lion's share of the remaining super delegates are likely to come forward for Barack Obama in the next day or so?

SCHNEIDER: Yes, that's apparently what happened. They probably have given her indications of how they are going to decide and they are going to decide from Barack Obama, even if they have not announced yet.

We are trying to find out right now -- all our correspondents making feverish telephone calls, trying to find out what she appears to have found out privately, namely that there are a number of super delegates waiting to make a public announcement and that their announcement will be that they will support Barack Obama.

They probably will wait until after the final primary results are in tonight after Montana and South Dakota votes just out of respect to her. But she's apparently, been given private indications. We're just going to try to make those public.

HARRIS: This could be a really, really -- I'm saying the obvious but this could be a really big night.

Bill, stand by.

SCHNEIDER: OK.

HARRIS: We are rounding up all the members of the best political team on television to follow this breaking development this morning.

Got to squeeze in a quick break. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Things may be heating up in the presidential race due to some breaking news that we have gotten here. I want to report it again for you. According to the Associated Press, Clinton campaign officials say that Hillary Clinton will acknowledge tonight that Senator Barack Obama has the delegates needed for the party's nomination.

We want to get to the bottom of this. We have all of our reporters working this story. Also standing by on the line for us now, Clinton campaign manager, Terry McAuliffe, who was on the "Today" show earlier today, and we brought up some comments that he made there.

We want to hear the very latest from you. Terry, what's the deal? Is Hillary Clinton going to be conceding? TERRY MCAULIFFE, CLINTON CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Absolutely not. As I said today on the NBC show, if he's got enough delegates that they ought to put them out but he doesn't have the delegates. And the nomination fight goes on until someone, you know, seize the magic number.

And that isn't there today and that is not at all what Senator Clinton is going to talk about tonight. She's going to talk about the 18 million votes that she received and all the issues that matter to her. I have spoken to Senator Clinton today.

But no, no one has the number to be the nominee of the Democratic Party right now.

COLLINS: OK. Well, I have the transcript in front of me, Terry. And what you said was, "Yes, I think if Senator Obama gets the numbers, I think Hillary Clinton will congratulate him and call him the nominee."

Are you saying that he won't get the numbers?

MCAULIFFE: He doesn't have the numbers today. I mean until someone has those numbers, the race goes on. As I said to Meredith this morning, if he's got the numbers, why haven't he -- why hasn't he come out with the delegates? He hasn't done it yet and we're going to just wait and see.

If someone gets the numbers, then we'll deal with it then. But right now, nobody does.

COLLINS: OK. He's 40 shy of that number. The magic number, 2118. Is it possible for her to get the numbers?

MCAULIFFE: Sure, it is. If we can get enough super delegates, we got to finish up the voting tonight in Montana and South Dakota. The numbers look good for us in those two states. And then we've got to spend the next three days, as I've said consistently over the last couple of weeks, working the super delegates to convince them, A, Hillary got more votes than anyone else, and, B, she is the best one to take on John McCain in the fall.

COLLINS: OK. So Terry, are you then confirming -- is it fair to say -- that the Associated Press is reporting incorrectly?

MCAULIFFE: They are 100 percent reporting incorrectly. And I don't know who the officials are but anyone can be an official in this world. I can unequivocally say, as chairman of this campaign, that until someone has the numbers, this nomination fight continues on.

COLLINS: OK. So what you're saying is there is no story and none of this should be reported. In fact, if you were to write the one-liner that I have in front of me yourself, being the head of the Clinton campaign, what would it read?

MCAULIFFE: The race goes on. We've got two important states to vote today. And then tomorrow we've got to work the super delegates and we believe we can convince enough super delegates to come over and support Senator Clinton.

COLLINS: OK. There's also a little bit of talk about the possibility that she could contest the Rules Committee ruling. What are your thoughts on? Is that a possibility as we move forward?

MCAULIFFE: I think the important thing for Senator Clinton -- yes, we got to get through these two votes tonight. And then we've got to work the super delegates. That's more important.

Listen, we are very unhappy on how Michigan got allocated. I mean Hillary won four votes. They took those four votes away from her. But you know what, it's much broader. It's about health care, it's about education, about all the issues and the 18 million votes that she's got.

That's what our focus is going to be.

COLLINS: So Terry, there will be no surprises tonight when she gives the speech in New York City?

MCAULIFFE: No surprises. I think Hillary is going to talk about the race and all the 18 million people who supported her and she wants to continue to work the super delegates and get people to support us and, you know, how important it is, and she can win the general election.

COLLINS: All right. And as we move forward today with our coverage, we will be sourcing you, Terry McAuliffe...

MCAULIFFE: Please.

COLLINS: ... as the Clinton campaign manager telling us.

MCAULIFFE: Surely.

COLLINS: ... that indeed it is not true that the Hillary Clinton officials on her campaign say that she will indeed acknowledge tonight Barack Obama has enough delegates.

So we appreciate the information very much, Terry, and I'm sure you'll be getting a lot more phone calls as the day goes on. Thanks again to Terry McAuliffe, Hillary Clinton's campaign manager.

We're going to follow this story clearly for many more hours throughout the day and into tonight when we do hear Hillary Clinton at the podium tonight.

And a quick break now. We will be back right here in the CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is "CNN Breaking News."

HARRIS: Let's see if we can take a moment and backtrack the flurry of activity here over the last 10, 15 minutes here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

It all began with a report from the Associated Press. I'll read it to you, that reads, "Officials with Hillary Clinton will acknowledge Tuesday night, tonight, that Barack Obama has the delegates for the nomination.

Needless to say, that's a big deal, a big story.

Just moments ago, Heidi had a conversation with Terry McAuliffe who runs the Clinton campaign. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCAULIFFE: Absolutely not. As I said on today on the NBC show, if he's got enough delegates then he ought to put them up. But he doesn't have the delegates. And the nomination fight goes on until someone, you know, seize the magic numbers.

And that isn't there today and that is not at all what Senator Clinton is going to talk about tonight. She's going to talk about the 18 million votes that she received and all the issues that matter to her. I have spoken to Senator Clinton today.

But no, no one has the number to be the nominee of the Democratic Party right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: All right. That is Terry McAuliffe who is running Senator Clinton's campaign. He just went on to say that the story from the Associated Press is just whatever, 100 percent just flat-out on wrong.

All right. Gloria Borger, part of the best political team on television, is on the phone who with us right now.

And Gloria, let me have you -- we want to take Terry McAuliffe at his word but we certainly want to ask some questions around the edges of this.

The Associated Press, again, reporting that officials with Clinton will acknowledge Tuesday night that Obama has the delegates for the nomination.

There is clearly word going on by both camps to work the super delegates right now.

I'm just wondering if this story arises because someone within the Clinton campaign has received an indication from a number of the super delegates that there is about to finally be this rush of super delegates to Obama.

What is your reporting indicate?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think, first of all, you know, it's clear, and I spoke to Terry McAuliffe earlier today, too. And it's clear that this is kind of a poker game where he's essentially saying show your hand. If you've got it, show it to us.

HARRIS: Yes.

BORGER: Put your cards on the table. And so he's fighting until the very last minute. There are lots of indications, as you know, and we've been reporting it all week, that super delegates -- the shy ones -- are getting ready to move.

The Obama campaign has been furiously trying to get people to move by today, particularly those senators and house members who have been waiting. Some say that they have given Hillary Clinton assurances that they didn't want -- that they would not move until the last voters voted.

And so it's a difficult position for Obama, because he's trying to get them to move so he can go over the top tonight with the magic number of 2,118 so he can get over the top. And some of these people are saying, well, you know what, we want to give Hillary Clinton a grace period. We want to let her get out on her own terms and so we want to wait until a bit later.

So there is a struggle going on now. But you will see today that you could see as many as eight to 10 House members moving, local elected officials moving. You saw James Clyburn moving. And so the Obama people are really trying to push themselves across that finish line.

HARRIS: Does that give -- you mentioned House majority whip James Clyburn announcing for Obama. Does that give some cover for other members -- House members to move forward now, you think?

BORGER: I think it could. And I think that's what the Obama people are hoping. But the Clinton campaign has also gotten assurances from lots of those formally uncommitted delegates that they won't move until she decides that it is time for them to move, until she essentially says, OK, do what you -- you know, do what you need to do.

I think there is a sense in the Democratic Party among these elected officials, in particular in the Senate, the ones I have spoken with, they want to sort of appear to be piling on. Everybody kind of knows where the race is headed at this point. And so they do want to give her a little bit of time to get out in the way she wants to get out...

HARRIS: OK.

BORGER: ... without seeming to push her out the door.

HARRIS: Give Hillary the dignity she's earned from running this race and this campaign.

BORGER: Exactly. Exactly. Exactly.

HARRIS: Gloria, great to talk to you. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Gloria Borger.

COLLINS: Also, quickly, we want to read this to you now. The official statement, if you will. If you were watching us just moments ago, we did talk with Hillary Clinton's campaign manager, Terry McAuliffe, about the Associated -- Associated Press report, that is, saying that she will acknowledge that Barack Obama has enough delegates tonight when she speaks.

But he said no, that's not true. And now an official statement from the Clinton campaign on paper in front of me. I'm sure has been disseminated to all of the different facets of the press.

The AP story is incorrect. Senator Clinton will not concede the nomination this evening.

And to be fair, that is not what the AP press report says. It actually says that officials say -- those are supposed to be Hillary Clinton's campaign officials say Hillary Clinton will acknowledge Tuesday tonight that Obama has the delegates for the nomination. The AP report does not say anything about conceding.

So just to be fair, that is exactly how it came across the wires for us.

So we are, obviously, following this story. Getting a little bit more complicated by the moment.

Want to go directly out now to Sasha Johnson. She's one of our producers who has been traveling with the Clinton campaign over the last several months.

Sort of give us an idea, if you would, Sasha, as of late, what the mood is and what your take is of this report coming out today, and then quickly, being denied.

SASHA JOHNSON, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Well, I mean I think the mood on the campaign over the last couple of days has been realistic. I mean, Hillary Clinton has said -- told reporters before leaving Puerto Rico that she was going to be taking this campaign day by day. She's going to see what happens.

She's reiterated kind of what Terry McAuliffe said that no one has the magic number yet. No one is the nominee. I mean I think aides are realistic that it's a very long shot at this point, that she will get the number of delegates in order to clinch the nomination.

But I think, you know, if you look at what she said over the last couple of days, there's really no indication -- if you listen to what she said on the stump, that Senator Hillary Clinton is going anywhere at this point. She continues to say that she is the strongest candidate to go up against John McCain in the fall.

She continues to say that more people have voted for her, that the super delegates need to take a look at how many popular votes she's amassed over the course of this campaign. And obviously, there's, you know, different numbers of popular votes who has won at this point.

But there has been absolutely no indication that she is going anywhere. And she even said the other night that she hopes that after polls close on Tuesday night the super delegates will take a breath and reassess the campaign and look at how many contests she's won and then they'll take it from there.

COLLINS: Well, that's, I guess, the question then. What happens from here?

Barack Obama needs 40 more delegates in order to get this nomination. I mean, what goes on now?

JOHNSON: Well, you know, she said herself yesterday in several stops in South Dakota that she will -- and what she is doing today, she will continue to call super delegates and she will continue to say, look at my popular vote total, look how many contests I have won since February. Look at the coalition of voters that I put together.

Compare that to what Barack Obama has done. You can -- you know, you can - she'll say to them you can't ignore the kind of support I have gotten across this country. So don't count me out right away. And as she said the other night she will continue to make that case and people will either accept it or they won't, and if they don't accept it, then, you know, they'll cross that bridge when they come to it.

COLLINS: Yes. And who knows where that bridge is, I guess...

JOHNSON: Right.

COLLINS: ... at this point. But it seems that it's coming closer with...

JOHNSON: Right. I mean, you know, aides will privately say to you, they understand that this is a really tough road. I mean, they'll say that even publicly on conference calls. This is a tough road ahead. And -- but they're going to keep trying.

Hillary Clinton spent a lot of time getting ready to run for president and this campaign has gone on for a very long time and I just do not think that they're ready to say that it's over just yet.

COLLINS: All right. Understood.

Sasha Johnson, we certainly appreciate your insight. Been traveling with the Clinton campaign for quite some time. So interesting analysis there.

We're going to take a quick break. But we will be back. And make sure you stick with us because we're going to be running the entire interview that we had with Clinton campaign manager Terry McAuliffe, completely debunking the AP press report saying that Hillary Clinton will announce later today that indeed, Barack Obama does have enough delegates for the nomination. He says no way, not happening.

Stick around, we're back in a moment.

ANNOUNCER: CNN NEWSROOM brought to you by...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Tony Harris and Heidi Collins.

HARRIS: And welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: Hi, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.

Quickly we want to get you back to the story that we've been following for a while here now. Pretty interesting stuff coming out of the Associated Press a little while ago. We had reported that officials say -- this was officials from the Clinton campaign, apparently, say that she will acknowledge tonight that Senator Barack Obama has the delegates for the nomination.

Again, that was the Associated Press report. Just a couple of minutes after we reported that, we were able to get the Clinton campaign manager, Terry McAuliffe, on the line, and he had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCAULIFFE: Absolutely not. As I said today on the NBC show, if he's got enough delegates that they ought to put them out but he doesn't have the delegates. And the nomination fight goes on until someone, you know, seize the magic number.

And that isn't there today and that is not at all what Senator Clinton is going to talk about tonight. She's going to talk about the 18 million votes that she received and all the issues that matter to her. I have spoken to Senator Clinton today.

But no, no one has the number to be the nominee of the Democratic Party right now.

COLLINS: OK. Well, I have the transcript in front of me, Terry. And what you said was, "Yes, I think that if Senator Obama gets the numbers, I think Hillary Clinton will congratulate him and call him the nominee."

Are you saying that he won't get the numbers?

MCAULIFFE: He doesn't have the numbers today. I mean until someone has those numbers, the race goes on. As I said to Meredith this morning, if he's got the numbers, why haven't he -- why hasn't he come out with the delegates? He hasn't done it yet and we're going to just wait and see.

If someone gets the numbers, then we'll deal with it then. But right now, nobody does.

COLLINS: OK. He's 40 shy of that number. The magic number, 2118. Is it possible for her to get the numbers?

MCAULIFFE: Sure, it is. If we can get enough super delegates, we got to finish up the voting tonight in Montana and South Dakota. The numbers look good for us in those two states. And then we've got to spend the next three days, as I've said consistently over the last couple of weeks, working the super delegates to convince them, A, Hillary got more votes than anyone else, and, B, she is the best one to take on John McCain in the fall.

COLLINS: OK. So Terry, are you then confirming -- is it fair to say that the Associated Press is reporting incorrectly?

MCAULIFFE: They are 100 percent reporting incorrectly. And I don't know who the officials are but anyone can be an official in this world. I can unequivocally say, as chairman of this campaign, that until someone has the numbers, this nomination fight continues on.

COLLINS: OK. So what you're saying is there is no story and none of this should be reported. In fact, if you were to write the one-liner that I have in front of me yourself, being the head of the Clinton campaign, what would it read?

MCAULIFFE: The race goes on. We've got two important states to vote today. And then tomorrow we've got to work the super delegates and we believe we can convince enough super delegates to come over and support Senator Clinton.

COLLINS: OK. There's also a little bit of talk about the possibility that she could contest the Rules Committee ruling. What are your thoughts on that? Is that a possibility as we move forward?

MCAULIFFE: I think the important thing for Senator Clinton -- yes, we got to get through these two votes tonight. And then we've got to work the super delegates. That's more important.

Listen, we are very unhappy on how Michigan got allocated. I mean Hillary won four votes. They took those four votes away from her. But you know what, it's much broader. It's about health care, it's about education, about all the issues and the 18 million votes that she's got.

That's what our focus is going to be.

COLLINS: So Terry, there will be no surprises tonight when she gives the speech in New York City?

MCAULIFFE: No surprises. I think Hillary is going to talk about the race and all the 18 million people who supported her and she wants to continue to work the super delegates and get people to support us and, you know, how important it is, and she can win the general election.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: Hillary Clinton's campaign manager, Terry McAuliffe, on the line with us a little bit earlier.

Also just want to put this out to you. The official press release coming from the Clinton campaign says very much the same thing. The AP story is incorrect. Senator Clinton will not concede the nomination this evening.

HARRIS: And we have an update now on the condition of Senator Ted Kennedy. This is a statement not from the doctors who performed the procedure on him yesterday but from the senator's office.

The senator undergoing three hours of surgery yesterday to remove a malignant tumor as much of it as possible.

Our Rusty Dornin -- why don't I leave this statement to Rusty? Rusty Dornin is in Durham, North Carolina.

And Rusty, I believe you have the statement as well.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And you know, we're not hearing from the hospital, Tony. The statement is coming out of Senator Edward Kennedy's office.

Apparently, we know that the operation went very well. But this is really the first we've heard of his condition other than that statement that he said I felt like a million bucks. It says Senator Kennedy has had a restful night's sleep and is recuperating well from yesterday's procedure.

He is experiencing no complications and has been walking the hallways, spending time with family and actively keeping up with the news of the day. He looks forward to returning home to Cape Cod soon and is thankful for all the prayers and well wishes. The next update will occur when Senator Kennedy leaves Duke University Medical Center which is expected in about a week.

Now this is just in keeping with the very tight hold that the family has had on any information coming out of the hospital. We do know that his wife Vicki is here. She was the one he told that he felt like a million bucks, that he'd go through the operation again.

His two children are here as well, Patrick and Kara. They were here during the surgery. Unclear whether they are going to remain here through the week -- Tony?

HARRIS: OK, Rusty.

Rusty Dornin in Durham, North Carolina for us. Rusty, thank you.

A survivor story. Radio talk show host, Eleanor Mondale, is making her own comeback from brain tumor surgery. Her personal battle in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Senator Ted Kennedy is recovering this morning from his brain surgery. Doctors called it a success.

I want to give you a little perspective now on that type of surgery and what comes next.

Eleanor Mondale, daughter of the former vice president, is a radio show host. She had similar surgery in March and is back at work this week. It's remarkable. She's joining us now from Minneapolis today.

Eleanor, a pleasure to have you. Thanks for being with us.

ELEANOR MONDALE, RADIO SHOW HOST, CANCER SURVIVOR: Thank you, Heidi.

COLLINS: Tell us your story. This has been quite a battle for you as well.

MONDALE: Well, I'm sick of it, quite frankly.

COLLINS: I bet you are.

MONDALE: But I am so happy to hear about the senator's recovery because that was a scary operation and, you know, I know we had one of the best doctors. And the fact that he can walk around is great news.

COLLINS: Yes. Excellent news.

I know that you were diagnosed several years ago and went through radiation. In fact, you're having a lot of the same treatments that the senator will face in the coming months.

MONDALE: Yes. Well, the first time I had the brain tumor, I had seizures. So first I had heard the senator had a stroke. And then when I heard he had seizures, I thought, I bet you he's got a brain tumor.

COLLINS: Wow.

MONDALE: Because that's how they found mine. And I was misdiagnosed and ended up at the Mayo Clinic where they correctly diagnosed my tumor as a grade three glioma with astrocytoma cells which are really aggressive cells. But it was so big and it was so close to my motor strip that controlled my left side. The percentage of waking up and being permanently paralyzed was too high for me.

COLLINS: Wow.

MONDALE: So we chose another course of action which was the -- I think it is called IMRD -- it's a very specific radiation -- and the oral chemo which is Temodar, which is what the senator is taking what I saw in the news.

And those are both painless and very effective for me with six weeks, six and a half weeks I did them. A couple of months later, they did a scan and the tumor that they thought they would hope to just hold it at its size... COLLINS: Right.

MONDALE: ... had shrunk it in half.

COLLINS: Wow.

MONDALE: And then eventually went away for two years.

COLLINS: Amazing.

MONDALE: Yes. '

COLLINS: Amazing that it could go away for that long.

MONDALE: Yes.

COLLINS: Probably -- unfortunately, even more amazing, I'm sure to you and your family, is that January it was back.

MONDALE: Yes. That was a bad day.

COLLINS: Yes.

MONDALE: But you -- life gives you stuff and you do with what you will. And I saw the tumor is growing back. I had to wait another month for another MRI, which is a long month of sleepless nights. And when I went back down there it was. It had grown and I said just get it out because it was small -- same spot. Very close to my skull so it's easy to get to and -- but it wasn't as big.

So it wasn't not near anything. There were no risks really involved except for what you risk when they saw your head open.

COLLINS: And Eleanor, you were awake during the surgery.

MONDALE: I don't know. They knocked me out, I think, faster for this than they did for the biopsy.

COLLINS: Wow.

MONDALE: Because I keep saying, knock me out, knock me out.

COLLINS: Right.

MONDALE: But Senator Kennedy would have been brought back awake so they could ask him to move his left or...

COLLINS: Sure.

MONDALE: ... pick up his right hand. I honestly don't know if they did that to me or not.

COLLINS: Yes. Well, unfortunately, we have all of this news going on. You are close to the reading yourself. All of this news is happening today. Regarding the campaign. So I want to ask you one last question before -- unfortunately we have to cut it a little bit short.

MONDALE: That's OK.

COLLINS: What is the status of the tumor today? What is your prognosis? How are you feeling?

MONDALE: Well, the wound is healing and they don't see any new tumor cells. So, so far so good.

COLLINS: I love that.

MONDALE: Thank you.

COLLINS: That's excellent. And we will be praying for and keep your fingers crossed as well.

MONDALE: OK.

COLLINS: Eleanor Mondale, thanks for sharing your story.

MONDALE: Thanks, Heidi.

HARRIS: A bit of breaking news we want to inform you on. Just in the CNN state police say a bus carrying about 30 people -- this is out of Crown Point, Indiana -- about 30 people on this bus. The bus has overturned on southbound Interstate-65 in northwestern Indiana.

Police say that the bus actually overturned about 10:00 a.m. Central Time 15 miles south of Gary. A state police dispatcher says there are some injuries, just don't know how many or how badly at this point. We know that our affiliates in Chicago are scrambling in helicopters to get a view of the situation. We'll try to update this story in just a couple of minutes for you.

The other story we have been following the last hour or so concerns the Hillary Clinton campaign. And the report from the Associated Press indicating that Senator Clinton was ready to acknowledge this evening that Barack Obama has the delegates for the nomination and then the flurry of activity and the denials of that reporting.

Let's get to our senior political analyst Bill Schneider. He is in -- where are you, Bill? Are you in New York?

SCHNEIDER: I'm in New York.

HARRIS: All right, Bill. The back and forth here from Terry McAuliffe shooting the story down. And then from the Clinton campaign, in a written statement, shooting the story down.

Where do you think we are on this?

SCHNEIDER: Well, I think that Terry McAuliffe said this morning -- and there's a critical conjunction here -- if she concludes or finds that he has the majority of the delegates, then she will acknowledge that he is the nominee. And what Terry McAuliffe then said is, well, she hasn't concluded that yet. We indicated that she may have had private assurances, we don't know. We are trying to check on the super delegates who have not come out publicly.

But apparently she has not concluded that he has the majority of the delegates, and therefore tonight, she will not acknowledge at this point that he is the nominee and will not do so until she concludes -- and hopefully we will all find publicly -- that he has reached the number 2118.

She believes she still has a chance to reach that number. But she'll have to change some super delegates' minds and get an awful lot of these remaining super delegates to come out for her.

HARRIS: Yes, he really isn't changing the tune that he's been singing for the last -- certainly let's go back to the last weekend that this race continues until someone has the number. And regardless of what you're reading from the Associated Press and whoever this official is -- I haven't met this official -- that is still the line at this point.

We continue to move forward and we continue to work super delegates very hard.

SCHNEIDER: Yes, that's right. The only question remaining is when will he or she reach that number?

HARRIS: Yes.

SCHNEIDER: The indication earlier from the Associated Press was she had concluded that he would reach that number tonight, but apparently she has concluded no such thing.

But when that happens, and it's a big guessing game, when is it going to happen? When are these super delegates going to come out and publicly say that they've endorsed one candidate or the other?

Well, when -- it could be tonight. And so this whole story could change again tonight if the super delegate come forward. Many of them are waiting until the final primary results are in Montana and South Dakota. When that happens...

HARRIS: Yes.

SCHNEIDER: ... if it happens tonight, then the indication is, from everything she has been saying now for some time, she will be prepared to accept him as the nominee.

HARRIS: All right. There he is, our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, part of the best political team on television from New York this morning.

Bill, appreciate it. Thank you.

SCHNEIDER: Sure. HARRIS: We will continue to follow this story, obviously, for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

But first a break. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Breaking news, revealing developments. See for yourself in the CNN NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: The breaking news we've been reporting today. According to the Associated Press they are reporting that the Clinton campaign officials are saying Hillary Clinton will acknowledge tonight that Senator Barack Obama has the delegates for the nomination.

The Clinton officials that we spoke to here live on our air, i.e., campaign manager, Terry McAuliffe, say absolutely not the case. AP, 100 percent incorrect in their reporting.

We will follow that story, of course, for you throughout the day here.

Meanwhile, Native Americans stepping up as swing voters in both of today's final primary.

CNN's Randi Kaye, has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The traditional sound of Indian country now competing with a new sound -- the stump speech.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You have been ignored by Washington for as long as Native Americans, the first Americans.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need a president next January who understands the obligation that United States government has to the tribes that represent the first people of the United States.

KAYE: In Montana, about 6.5 percent of the population is American Indians. They traditionally and overwhelmingly vote Democrats.

Let the wooing begin.

JEFFREY SANDERS, ASSOC. PROF., MSU BILLINGS: Here you have people who are considered banishing the Americans who, less than 80 years, who today thought of fiercely, whose votes are fought fiercely for because they could well be a swing vote.

KAYE: How much influence do Native Americans have? Most recently they catapulted Democrat John Tester to victory in Montana's 2006 Senate race. He defeated Republican incumbent Conrad Byrnes by a wafer thin margin.

Darrin Old Coyote, a member of Montana's pro-tribe, is organizing a get-out the vote effort.

(On camera): What are you looking for from the next person?

DARRIN OLD COYOTE, CROW TRIBE: More respect. We as (INAUDIBLE) people feel like we are a third world country right here in the United States where a lot of our problems are, you know, basically forgotten.

KAYE (voice over): Old Coyote says tribe members need better health care, education and jobs.

OLD COYOTE: They feel like there is no hope. You know there's just lip service from the U.S. government.

KAYE: It is rarely publicized but Obama also meets privately with tribal leaders including leaders of the Crow Tribe who can sway thousands of votes.

Now known in these parts as Barack Black Eagle, Obama was given a Crow Indian name, which means one who helps people throughout the land.

Obama is promising to honor broken treaty obligations and improve health care and education. He also plans to appoint an American Indian policy adviser to his senior White House staff.

Hillary Clinton is making similar promises.

CLINTON: We will have a representative of Indian country inside the White House working with the president every single day.

KAYE: Clinton vows she'll create jobs and fight crime on reservations. But Obama's appeal, because of his African-American heritage, is unique.

OBAMA: I know what it's like to not always have been respected or to have been ignored.

KAYE (On camera): The Crow reservation is in Big Horn County, Montana, one of the poorest counties in the country. 8,000 people live on the reservation. Average income, according to the head of the tribe $10,000 a year. People here tell me they are tired of struggling. They want to have a voice in who runs this country.

(Voice over): For years Crow Tribe member Jennifer Flatlip, says Native Americans have felt insignificant, devalued. This time so many are expected to vote it nearly brings her to tear.

JENNIFER FLATLIP, CROW TRIBE: It's one of the first times that we are going to be empowering somebody that we think that is going to make a difference for us. We're going to be heard. Our voices are going to be huge. And our votes -- we're going to make a difference.

KAYE: The first Americans may finally have a say in the future of their country.

Randi Kaye, CNN, Montana's Crow Reservation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now.

HARRIS: "ISSUE #1" is moments away. Plus a quick look at the headlines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)