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This Week in Politics
Drilling Down; Flip Flop Furor; The Clinton Factor; Olympics and Activism
Aired August 10, 2008 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TOM FOREMAN, HOST: Let the games begin! The candidates are twisting and turning over energy policy. Their staffs are in a split-second competition to be the first with an attack ad. And on Capitol Hill, the loneliness of a Congressional marathon.
Yes, the Olympics have started. But we'll be scoring this week's round of the eternal game of politics right after a look at what's in the news right now.
(NEWSBREAK)
FOREMAN: I'm Tom Foreman. Welcome. Whatever happens in the Olympics next week, it cannot be more exciting than the smash mouth competition in the presidential campaign. Who needs a pommel horse when you've got politicians?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN, HOST (voice-over): In Beijing, the world's best athletes are competing in 28 different sports, but in Washington the only game is bickering. And the only topic...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The energy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Energy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Energy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Energy.
FOREMAN: McCain is off to the races with plans for expanding nuclear power, exploring alternative fuels, and more offshore drilling.
JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need to drill here and we need to drill now. And anybody who says that we can achieve energy independence without using and increasing these existing energy resources either doesn't have the experience to understand the challenge we face, or isn't giving the American people some straight talk.
FOREMAN: But keep your drills dry, Obama says. While he's ready for limited expansion of offshore oil drilling, he's in favor of a lot more green technology. Not so hot on nukes, and he wants to slap a windfall profit's tax on the big oil companies. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, the first thing I want to do is to provide every single family with a $1,000 per family energy rebate to help deal with the rising costs. We're going to pay for it by having a windfall profit's tax on some of these oil company profits. They're making a lot of money. They've made a lot of profits. Give a little bit of that back. There's nothing wrong with that.
FOREMAN: Then came sharp words and accusations of pressure tactics. Obama told an audience many Americans can increase their gas mileage by keeping their tires properly inflated and Republicans howled, even passing out Obama tire gauges to ridicule him.
MCCAIN: My opponent doesn't want to drill, he doesn't want nuclear power, he wants you to inflate your tires.
FOREMAN: Obama shot back saying it's true, as if that's what's important in a political argument.
OBAMA: It's like these guys take pride in being ignorant.
FOREMAN: Tough stuff, but energy politics right now is a contact sport with Olympic intensity.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: To talk politics and energy, our own deacon of doom, senior business correspondent Ali Velshi up in New York. And in Washington, CNN congressional correspondent Jessica Yellin, who spent so much time chasing candidates, she no longer even remembers where Capitol Hill is. Ali, look at this whole issue of energy right now and the plans these guys are rolling out. Clearly, they see pay dirt here in the election.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
FOREMAN: Will their plans work?
VELSHI: You know, Barack Obama had the high ground until the inflating the tire thing because McCain had that sort of silly 18 cents a gallon gas tax summer holiday. And that was getting mocked for a little while. Now Barack Obama has sort of offered his sort of not very effective suggestion.
But the bottom line here is John McCain is gaining the high ground. He's talking about drilling now. And he's been sort of putting forward this idea that if you drill offshore now, he's talked to oil executives who say you can have oil in 10 to 12 months. Barack Obama's been saying 7 to 10 years. If John McCain keeps hammering away at that, he could get some attraction.
FOREMAN: Jessica?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the issue is the economy overall. That's a winner for Barack Obama. And he is not winning as much as he should be on the energy issue for the reason Ali said.
But they're banking on the fact that over time when he brings in health care concerns and the big picture that Barack Obama can dominate this issue by the time we get to the vote.
FOREMAN: Let's take a look at their energy plans, because that's the thing they were talking about so much this week. Barack Obama's plan calls for a lot of different things here, but some of the top things are a windfall profit's tax on these big oil companies, and create 5 million clean energy jobs with some of the money he gets from that. That's his plan, at least. There are some potential problems with all of that, though. If you look at it very carefully, he could run into a problem of a supply decrease. You could have an increase in foreign dependence, if you tax the big oil companies here. They may not produce as much. He could have -- a similar plan failed back in the 1980s, in fact, for that very reason. And even though he may create new jobs, jobs in the coal and oil sectors could suffer and could be lost.
Jessica, this is the problem with all of the political solutions right now, right? Everything that produces good might also produce bad?
YELLIN: That's right. And this is one of the lines they use over and over. Senator Clinton, we heard talking about how green energy is going to solve every problem. That was a big line for her, too. It's sort a three for. We're going to save the environment, reduce our use of foreign oil, and create new jobs by changing to some kind of green economy.
The question is, come on, can we do all of those things with one fell swoop? Will it really work? The Democrats love to promise on this line. I'm not quite sure that the goods will be delivered again.
FOREMAN: Let's look at John McCain's plan, because he's promising a lot of the same things, really, if you look at it very closely. John McCain is proposing, although differently, to build 45 new nuclear power plants by 2030. The problem is there's no immediate relief in that. And very frankly, there's a problem of where are you going to put these things? People are protesting wind farms right now. Before we move to your answer here, Ali about all of that, I do want to say to people, really you owe it to yourself to go to their websites or go to CNN.com.
VELSHI: Yes.
FOREMAN: Read the details of these plans on both sides, because they're much more extensive than we can talk about here.
VELSHI: And the media generally is covering more of these things. So you'll get more information. But you're absolutely right. You made a really good point. People don't want windmills on their properties. Nuclear plants are a whole different ball of wax. And Barack Obama is staking out traditional Democratic ground in saying it could be dangerous. It could be -- it could be not very clean. It could come -- fall into the hands of terrorists. This normal Democratic opposition to nuclear power.
John McCain, again, gaining a little high ground in saying, you know what, we've got to plan now. It may not be a quick solution, but we're going to have to do it. So at this point, we're looking for specifics. Those 5 million green collar jobs, it's a great idea, Tom. We're all green. We all think we want to be more green, but we need specifics as to what that is going to be.
FOREMAN: Ali, both of these guys are saying they need help from the private sector to make it work.
VELSHI: Yes.
FOREMAN: They're about providing incentives to the private sector. How is the private sector reacting to these two plans?
VELSHI: There are -- there's a lot of money to be made. By the way, for those people who are watching and who are investors, there are - there's a lot of money to be made even in public companies that do alternative energy.
Now here's an example. This isn't a public company, but remember T. Boone Pickens talking about the wind farms? And then all of a sudden, the state of Texas says we'll build transmission lines, because no point in having wind farms if you can't get that electricity somewhere.
Those are the public, private partnerships that are probably going to help push this forward, but there's got to be incentive and there's got to be momentum. And that's what these candidates need bring. They have to bring leadership to the issue and vision. And I think you're starting to see this crystallize. I think this only gets better for the American public between now and November because they are going to force these candidates to give us specifics.
FOREMAN: Still, Jessica, as you mentioned, the question for the two candidates is, where does the debate on the economy come down, right? If they can keep it on energy, McCain's looking pretty strong on that front right now. He seems to be beating up Obama a little bit. And the public is leaning towards him. We do want drilling. We want some of the things that you want, that the Democrats don't want.
YELLIN: Right. Well, the question is he might have the popular high ground. Ali keeps using the word "high ground." He has the popular high ground. Does he have sort of the policy high ground on some of these issues?
And it's not clear that maybe over time, Barack Obama's position on some of these energy issues could get more and more support from the policy community. And he could gain a little bit of traction there. Not everybody agrees the drilling is the way to go, even though the public likes it.
On the flip side on some of these other issues, on health care and Social Security, we are going to see Barack Obama come out of the box, out of the convention strong, hitting hard on both those issues, because they target especially a key demographic for Barack Obama, seniors. Those are two issues seniors care about. They could be the key swing vote in this election. And so Obama's looking to win on health care and Social Security and the economy in the end.
FOREMAN: And with that, thanks, Jessica and Ali, too.
We've got a lot more coming up. But first, the big story of course this weekend, former Democratic presidential contender, John Edwards admitting he had an extramarital affair with a campaign worker, Rielle Hunter.
In a written statement, Edwards said "In 2006, I made a serious error in judgment and conducted myself in a way that was disloyal to my family and to my core beliefs. I recognize my mistake and I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman. And I asked her for forgiveness."
Edwards had previously denied any involvement with Hunter, who produced campaign videos for him. Details of this story are still emerging. And you can get them all right here on CNN or on CNN.com all weekend. And we will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN: Back in the '60s, the Beach Boys hit the beach in huarache sandals. Today, the hip footwear is definitely flip-flopped. And this week, each candidate was accusing the other of being the big kahuna of flip-flops.
Let's talk the up-and-downs of the campaign trail with Tara Wall, former spokesman for the Republican National Committee and now with "The Washington Times" and Chris Kofinis, who used to handle the care and feeding of the press for John Edwards.
Tara, let me start with you. So much has been made about flip- flops being a bad idea. And yet both candidates have been hit by it in this campaign. And there's been some defense from each camp of saying, look, if you learn new things and times change...
TARA WALL, FMR. RNC SPOKESPERSON: Right.
FOREMAN: ...you ought to change your mind.
WALL: Well, that's legitimate. I mean, you have to give candidates the opportunity to say if they've made a mistake in John McCain's case, you know, he apologized for not signing a Martin King Luther bill and things like that. But there's a difference between changing your mind, evolving your position, and complete flip-flips. I think the reason you're starting to see some of the changes in the polling with Barack Obama is because he had so many within a short time span, from Iran, to Iraq, to faith-based initiatives, to drilling. So I think that there's -- voters see that as uneasy and, you know, undecided.
Whereas if you truly have evolved from a position, from one position for taxes. John McCain said early on that it was because of spending that he didn't vote for the tax cuts. And now he says it's a good idea because of the economy. There's a difference there.
FOREMAN: Well, Chris, jump in here. What's the difference between a considered reconsideration of an opinion and a flip-flop?
CHRIS KOFINIS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, for John McCain, I think the problem is he's flip-flopping some of the fundamental issues that used to define him as a so-called maverick. He's flip-flopped on taxes. He flip-flopped on the war. He flip-flopped on drilling. I mean, so you end up, you know, basically destroying the very brand that made him unique back in 2000.
FOREMAN: Well, let's back to the question though. What's the difference between a flip-flop and a reasonable reassessment?
KOFINIS: I think the difference is if you explain that your position has changed because you are -- new information or new events, then I think that's reasonable. I think what you saw, for example, with Senator Obama on drilling, he says, listen, I don't like it but I'll accept some drilling in order to reach a reasonable compromise.
WALL: That's ridiculous.
KOFINIS: The difference with John McCain is, he flip-flopped irrelevant of the fact, irrelevant of anything else. He's just saying drilling, drilling, drilling even though he used to say drilling is not going to solve the problem.
WALL: No, he said drilling for Anwar. There's specific is he didn't want drilling. Democrats, including Obama, have long said no drilling, no drilling.
FOREMAN: Let's...
WALL: It wasn't until Obama's hand was forced when Congress ...
KOFINIS: No, quite the contrary.
WALL: ...stalled, that he decided to change his position.
KOFINIS: (INAUDIBLE). John McCain...
WALL: They faced Iraq, Iran.
KOFINIS: John McCain has gone out there and flip-flopped on fundamental issues.
WALL: Such as?
KOFINIS: He is a four-star flip-flopper.
FOREMAN: Hold on, hold on. At four stars, we're going to move on to the next...
WALL: How many positions has Barack Obama had?
FOREMAN: Let's move on to the next (INAUDIBLE) we want to talk about, the next hurdle they have to clear in this Olympic season here.
For the Democrats right now, Bill Clinton said something this week when he was asked by "Good Morning America" about Barack Obama, that a lot of people raised their eyebrows over and said, boy, this is a damning by faint praise. Listen to what he said about Obama being ready to be president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You could argue that, even if you've been vice president for eight years, that no one could ever be fully ready for the pressures of the office. And everyone learns something and something different. You could argue that.
He's shown a keen strategic sense in his ability to run an effective campaign. He's clearly can - inspire, and motivate people, and energize them, which is a very important part of being a president. And he's smart as a whip. So there's nothing he can't learn.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Chris, when you heard this, what did you think?
KOFINIS: Well, you know, my mother used to say, you know, in a family fight, doesn't matter who's right or wrong, just make it right. I think there are some issues that had to be, you know, solved or settled between the two camps. I think the decision yesterday by the Obama campaign to give, you know, President Clinton a speaking role at the convention on Wednesday, I think is a bold, brilliant move. I think it helps kind of, you know settle the waters, if you will.
At the end the day, both Senator Obama, President Clinton, Senator Clinton, we all have one shared goal in unity because at the end the day, that is going to give us the greatest advantage in defeating John McCain in the fall. And to be honest, the irony here is there's much more disunity on the right with John McCain and unhappy conservatives...
WALL: That's laughable.
KOFINIS: ...than there is on the left.
WALL: Oh, that's laughable.
FOREMAN: OK, let Tara respond to that.
WALL: First of all, if I had a vat to fill for the sour grapes among the Clintons, particularly Bill Clinton, I would be drunk with wine right about now. I mean, honestly, he -- if you listen and saw, he could not even bring himself to say. I mean, this is the man that Democrats have rallied around to say that he would make a good president or is experienced.
But remember, it was his wife during the primary that said that Barack Obama doesn't have the experience.
KOFINIS: Wait a minute, how many conservatives -- wait a second.
WALL: So wait, wait, wait...
KOFINIS: How many conservatives...
WALL: ...let me complete my thought because...
KOFINIS: (INAUDIBLE)...
WALL: Wait, let me complete my thought.
KOFINIS: ...with John McCain.
WALL: Listen, but he has -- actually John McCain has increased the support among conservatives. There's no denying, yes, there have been conservatives who certainly are considered sitting on the bench. They're not, you know, rallying and truthfully enthused about John McCain. But certainly, he has closed the gap in the number of conservatives that are now supporting him. And...
FOREMAN: But both of you have parties that have to do some...
WALL: Absolutely.
KOFINIS: Sure.
WALL: There is repair.
KOFINIS: But I'll tell you the one big difference. If you look at the polls, and poll after poll after poll, there is real excitement amongst the base for John McCain, as - excuse me, for Barack Obama. There is no excitement for John McCain. Compare the excitement level between -- amongst conservatives for George Bush in 2000.
WALL: Actually his numbers -- he enjoys 80 percent support among Republicans.
FOREMAN: We're going to the last section. We're running almost out of time here.
WALL: Sure.
FOREMAN: A poll from AARP looked at undecided voters. And there was really, I think a lot of people were surprised by this because it found that 62 percent viewed John McCain more favorably than Obama. Not much within the margin of error here, but let me ask you very quickly, both of you. Do you think we're entering a new phase in this campaign, where the newness of the primary, the newness of who these people are going to be is really settling into the real tough race of these last few months of saying to those undecided voters...
WALL: Absolutely. And undecideds actually -- undecided swing voters are traditionally older voters. And older voters, particularly seniors, garner - John McCain garners more support among those seniors than undecided voters.
FOREMAN: Last word to you, Chris. Quickly here, will the undecideds decide this? Or will the show up of the base on both sides decide this?
KOFINIS: I think the undecideds are going to decide this. The base is, but the one group to look at, I think that's going to decide this election, are new voters. If Senator Obama's campaign can bring at the new voters and they prove that they can in the primaries, they're going to win this election in a landslide. That is, I think, the group to watch.
WALL: But he does have get by that 45.
KOFINIS: McCain does not have a chance.
WALL: Obama's still struggling...
FOREMAN: What I'm watching right now...
WALL: ...above 45 percent...
FOREMAN: What I'm watching right now is the talk. Tara, Chris, thanks for being here. You can carry it on out in the hall.
Straight ahead, a guy who had the cheek to stand up to the Chinese over the genocide in Darfur. Oddly, he's not spending the week watching the Olympics in Beijing. Well, you know, hot tickets are always hard to get. A perfect example, the first story in our "political sideshow."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Talk about your D list star power. One Democratic congressional hopeful is hosting a fundraising event next week. For a mere 500 bucks, you get to meet Jerry Springer.
CROWD: Jerry, Jerry!
FOREMAN: Yes, that Jerry Springer. Bring your bodyguards, you could see some real political in-fighting.
Speaking of fundraising, Alaska's senate candidate Mark Begat sent a letter begging for campaign cash to his opponent. Oops. But then again, his opponent is Senator Ted Stevens, who was indicted last month over disclosure of some gifts. Who knows, maybe Begat figures Stevens has a little extra cash to spare.
And finally, John McCain obviously thinks his wife Cindy is a knockout.
MCCAIN: And notice that you have a beauty pageant. And so, I encourage Cindy to compete.
FOREMAN: And then again, maybe not. This was the Sturgess motorcycle rally. And the beauty competition in the past has featured topless and even bottomless contestants. It could have been a chilly day at the McCain household. Keep your shirt on, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN: What do the Olympic games have to do with presidential politics a world away, besides giving us all something else to watch besides campaign bickering? Well, the answer's right here. Both candidates are going after that enormous television audience with millions of commercial dollars. The question is, should they?
Let's put that question to a gold medalist, who has been denied a visa to see the games because of his protest against China's foreign policy. With me in Washington is speed skater Joey Cheek, who took up political activism, because as he said, there's much more important things to me than skating around in circles and tights. I have trouble believing that's true.
JOEY CHEEK: It's hard to believe, isn't it?
FOREMAN: Skating around in tights. Can't beat that.
CHEEK: Hard to believe.
FOREMAN: Yes, tell me what happened with china and this whole deal. You were going to go. They gave you a visa and said you can come to the games.
CHEEK: Right.
FOREMAN: Then they said no.
CHEEK: Right. Well, I applied for a visa and was granted on July 1st. I got the visa. I've got the sticker right in my passport. Had it for months. And 24 -- less than 24 hours before my flight was to depart, I got the call from the Chinese embassy saying that the visa was revoked. And when I asked why, they said we're not required to give you any reason.
FOREMAN: The obvious reason being because you're part of Team Darfur. Tell me what that is...
CHEEK: Right.
FOREMAN: ..and what it tries to do.
CHEEK: Team Darfur is a coalition of athletes. We have more than 380 athletes from 63 countries around the world, but we have 72 athletes who are competing in Beijing. And our whole mission is just to try and raise the awareness about the crisis in Darfur and try and advocate for more protection for civilians.
FOREMAN: And obviously, we need to raise information about Darfur. You're raising information about China's role connected to that. Did you plan to do any of that at these games? CHEEK: Well, my role in going to the Olympics as I saw it was twofold. I co-founded Team Darfur. And so I wanted to go and support the 72 athletes who joined, who were competing there in whatever role that was. And as an Olympic alumnus, I was in two games of course and medal winners. So there's a whole range of panel discussions and meetings with U.N. ambassadors, ISC officials I'd hoped to have, that I was -- we were arranging before the trip.
FOREMAN: So you did want to sort of lobby for your cause while you were there?
CHEEK: Certainly. I mean the thing that led me to this cause in the first place is my belief that Olympicism and this sort of Olympic ideal, it impels us to do more than just compete. It's really, you know, if you want to talk about the Olympics being more than a sporting festival, then I think that you have to live those ideals as well.
FOREMAN: What about the idea of the Olympics not being more than a sporting festival, though? Because certainly a lot of countries have said, look, the games are supposed to be about what we have in common...
CHEEK: Right.
FOREMAN: ...not what we disagree on. And we should get together in that spirit of being together. So that maybe away from the games, we can have better talks about things like Darfur.
CHEEK: Well, surprisingly, people would surprised to hear me say that I'm not a huge proponent of mixing politics and the Olympics. But what I do believe is that the Olympics are the only event founded, worldwide in this global event that was founded on the premise that sports can transcend, you know, the mere competition and be a force for conflict resolution, be a force for improving human rights and humanity. And that was what the Olympics were founded for. They are founded to try and promote these ideals.
And I think it's kind of ironic that athletes, who are part of an organization, who's sole mission is to try and speak about and to help 2.5 million people who are suffering and who dying by the scores, that it's now treated like, well, that's not what the Olympics. We're not actually for that. We're, you know, just for the sporting part.
FOREMAN: Let me ask you something about being an Olympic athlete and what these athletes are going through this very weekend right now. When you go there, there must be a tremendous amount of pride to see your flag raised when you win a medal.
CHEEK: Yes.
FOREMAN: And simultaneously, a tremendous sense of, there is a world community of people who can come together around, not only issues, but games and other things.
CHEEK: The entire reason I got into Darfur activism and activism in general was because of my Olympic experience. In 2002 and 2006, I went into the games. And met I these athletes from around the world. And I realized I didn't care if an athlete was from Africa, or from Europe, or from Asia. The things that we had in common, you know that idea of the Olympics bringing us together, it really seeded deep in my, you know, belief of the Olympics.
The natural progression for me was for me to say you know what? That's fantastic. And that's what the Olympics are about, but what about all these people who are suffering right now? Don't they deserve that same right?
And so my progression has gone from someone who really, whose eyes were opened up by the Olympics, who believes that there are many instances in which those ideals are not being met, and felt like it was something I could talk about, something I could maybe help.
FOREMAN: Joey, I'm sorry you didn't get to the games, but I'm glad you came here. Congratulations on your medal in the past...
CHEEK: Thank you.
FOREMAN: ...and for being here.
CHEEK: Yes, thanks for having me.
FOREMAN: From the beginning, the Olympics have been used for political protests. Can you remember when blood was literally in the water? Stick around. We'll have the details on that.
But first, President Bush only watched this week as he was greeted by dancers in Bangkok, Thailand. That's a shame, because it surprised us as another shot like this one that we could replay endlessly as he enjoyed dancing at the White House. Good thing that others kept their dancing shoes on.
For the best picks from the web, this week's viral videos.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Barack Obama says his daughter thinks Snoop's song goes, drop it like a sock. But check it out, he knows it's drop it like it's hot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Obama, we must listen to you
FOREMAN: Maybe Obama should watch all of that dancing on joking.com. They're exploring an outbreak of Obama zombies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We desperately need a brain.
FOREMAN: And in case you think that brainlessness is purely a one party phenomenon, check out the Republican fantasy forest at barely political.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With John McCain our future insecure.
PARIS HILTON: So thanks for the endorsement, white-haired dude.
FOREMAN: The famous for being famous really came out this week. Paris Hilton declares she is running for president. Simple platform.
HILTON: I'm just hot.
FOREMAN: Yes, me too. Not to be outdone, Britney Spears is throwing herself into the veepstakes.
BRITNEY SPEARS: Honestly, I think we should just help our president in every decision that he makes and we should just support that.
FOREMAN: But there may be some policy differences to smooth out.
SPEARS: I don't go home and have orgies or anything like that.
MCCAIN: Everybody that I know does.
FOREMAN: We're out of here before it gets too hot for TV, but we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don, I think maybe that's your cue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I have been thinking quite a bit about this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Unlike the advertising executives on AMC's hit show "Mad Men," the creative minds behind this week's political advertising had no trouble coming up with new ideas. In fact, there were so many ads flying back and forth, it's hard to keep track. But these two guys are pros. Mark Preston is the political editor here at CNN. And Ed Henry is getting a break from his White House duties with the president in China. He's been taking it easy out on the campaign trail.
Mark, have we hit a new phase in the advertising for this election? Have we gone really, puts the primaries totally behind us now? And now we're ginning up. And what does that mean?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: We certainly hit a new phase, Tom. But if anyone thinks that it is so negative at this point, let's talk in 30, 60 days. That's when things are going to get really nasty. And that's what independent groups are going to start pouring money in. That's when things -- people are going to say themselves, wow, this has gotten really bad.
FOREMAN: Wow, you expect the same thing, Ed? ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. I mean, what we're seeing mostly, I've been out on the road with John McCain. He's trying to tear Barack Obama down. Obama's been in the lead for a while. And his ads have been somewhat effective so far in raising the question as to whether Barack Obama is ready to lead.
But the challenge for McCain moving ahead in the next phase of these ads is to define who he is. What would John McCain do as president? He has to be careful not to come across as being too negative and just always on the attack. Now he's trying in a second wave of ads to sort of pivot into, here's a positive agenda. You know, this is what's wrong with Obama, but here's what I do.
FOREMAN: Let's take a look at a particular pair of ads here. A little bit from McCain, a little bit from Obama. Both talking about this notion that McCain is a maverick and that Obama's not ready. Big themes for them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: We're worse off than we were four years ago. Only McCain has taken on big tobacco, drug companies, fought corruption in both parties. He's the original maverick.
MCCAIN: The president and I agree on most issues. There was a recent study that showed that I voted with the president over 90 percent of the time.
ANNOUNCER: The original maverick or just more of the same?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: So, Mark, you look at this, and you can see the clear themes here. One guy's saying -- McCain's trying to thread a needle here. In one breath, I am with the president for all of you who like him. And I'm not with the president for all of you who don't. That's a tough trick, isn't it?
PRESTON: It absolutely is. And two very effective messages. I think that if John McCain is going to be successful in November, if he's going to be able to get those Independents to back his candidacy, because look, this is going to be one in the middle. This is going to be won by Independents, you know, supporting either Barack Obama and John McCain. John McCain has to keep on pushing that maverick message.
FOREMAN: Do you think, Ed, that this notion of painting Obama as more of a celebrity with like the Paris Hilton ad, that sort of thing, that yes, he's sort of a flash in the pan. Interesting guy, but not really a leader. What's your sense out there? Is this resonating with people, especially those middle voters?
HENRY: I was just in Ohio in a town hall meeting with McCain. And I went out and interviewed a bunch of the Republican voters waiting on line. So what do you think of this ad? A lot of people in Washington thought it was juvenile. McCain got attacked. Rank and file Republican voters said we like that ad. We want to see more of that. They were telling me because they feel, Republicans -- these are Republicans, obviously, not Democrats, they feel that Obama's not ready. And they were waiting for the Republican party, McCain in particular, to start going on the attack.
And so I think there's a combination here. McCain is trying to attack Obama, trying to bring him down to size. But also on the other hand, is trying to rebrand himself as the maverick. He had that title for a long time on the Hill, but he's lost it somewhat. It's been tarnished because he's been too close to President Bush. FOREMAN: But isn't that a problem in some ways for him, Mark? If he's seen as old-fashioned politics, old attack, I'm ripping into this young guy, doesn't that, in some ways, play into the hand of Democrats who are saying to the same moderates, you don't want these old attack kind of guys. You don't want these old kind of politics guys.
PRESTON: Sure, no question. And it's a fine line that John McCain has to walk right now. You know, he has to make sure that his base stays with him. He has to make sure that they think that he is supportive of President Bush. But at the same time, again, if you're Republican, you are going to vote for John McCain. If you are a Democrat, you are going to vote for Barack Obama. It's all about the Independents. It's all about the middle. And John McCain still has to burnish this maverick image in order to get them to support.
HENRY: We talk about this every four years, oh, it's negative, negative. But negative ads work. We've seen this work over and over. And John McCain wants to define Barack Obama for him instead of letting Obama do it.
FOREMAN: I want to run one of the latest McCain ads that just started airing and get a little reaction to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son's spotlight must be grand, but for the rest of us, time's are tough. Painful taxes, hard choices for your budget, not ready to lead. That's the real Obama.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: We're limited on time, so we can't just always have even number of ads here, but I did want to get a reaction to that because it's new from McCain. Good selling points, bad selling points, Ed?
HENRY: I saw this town hall meeting in Ohio. Swing state, obviously, battleground state. People -- the biggest applause lines were coming for John McCain, when he was talking about energy and questioning whether Barack Obama's ready to lead, and insisting the new refrain from McCain.
FOREMAN: But that's really blue collar vote that we've talk about all the time...
HENRY: Sure.
FOREMAN: ...for Obama being something of an issue.
PRESTON: You know, something, Tom, this ad just continues to theme right now that the McCain campaign, they will tell you that they are frustrated. They realize that Barack Obama is this worldwide celebrity. But what they're trying to do is they're trying to put him in a corner and say, look, while he's very heavy on being a celebrity, you know, he doesn't have the chops to be commander in chief.
But I will tell you one ad we haven't seen on TV. And it's been on the web is John McCain, tying together a bunch of Democrats who say nice things about him. That's the kind of ad that I think would play well with Independents in Ohio, in Pennsylvania, Indiana, states like that.
FOREMAN: Look at this poll we have up over here, which is one of the issues that Obama certainly has to look at. How much have you been hearing about Obama? This question was put to voters. And 48 percent of them said, too much. But you made a really important point here, Mark, that even though 48 percent say they've been hearing too much, that still means that Obama's got a lot of appeal out there.
PRESTON: He absolutely does. And look, I think that's more of a product of the fact that people are getting tired of the presidential election. This had has been going on for a couple of years right now. We're in the dog days of summer. People want to go to the beach. So when they say, look, are we hearing too much of Barack Obama? Someone picks up the phone, yes, I've heard too much of Barack Obama.
FOREMAN: Yes, and half the voters are still saying in a poll like that no, I want to hear more, which speaks to that very rock star status...
HENRY: And McCain can raise a question on him being a rock star, and where there's not enough substance. But the fact is when you're a rock star, you got bigger crowds. So that's at least a positive for Obama. So the challenges for McCain to not let this election be all about Obama and not let him define under his terms.
And where McCain starting to succeed, I stress starting to, is he's thrown McCain -- Obama off his message a little bit. He's put Obama on the defensive with these ads. The question now is can McCain go on offense with the next round of ads and really show the American people what he can do.
FOREMAN: The question is can we stay on the clock by moving? Thanks for being here, Mark and Ed.
When we come back, what to do when congressmen just won't lead? After all, congressional vacations are in the national interest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO: Here is some good news. Since Congress went on recess, oil prices have dropped to $118 a barrel. That's like $30 drop from the record high. You know, maybe Congress should take more vacation, huh? You have ever noticed when these people leave town, things just seem to get better.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN: The devil inside, INXS, it's got to mean time for our devil's dictionary. And our phrase today, "chamber of horror," a level of hell without cameras, where politicians speak to empty seats. And a great example of that is the house chamber this week where rebel Republicans have been fighting for a vote on oil drilling ever since Congress left for its summer recess. Their audience? Well, it's pretty much the other rebel Republicans.
But CNN's Kate Baldwin has been spotted peering down from the press gallery now and then. And she joins us here in the bureau. Kate, what are the Republicans up to?
KATE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are a couple of things going on here. One thing is we now know is the House Republican, they're protesting the fact that Congress adjourned for this five week recess. They want Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker, to call them back into session so they can have votes on energy legislation, which they of course want to include...
FOREMAN: Why didn't they have the votes beforehand?
BALDWIN: They couldn't come to any agreement. Nancy Pelosi, they say wouldn't allow those votes to happen. And as we keep talking about, the leaders of both parties they remain divided on whether to allow for new domestic oil drilling. And that's what Republicans say needs to be part of any energy plan.
FOREMAN: The Democrats have a lot of muscle here. Why didn't they just bring it up and vote it down?
BALDWIN: It's just not something they -- it seems they want to have a vote on, come election year. They want to have votes on things that are - that they know they can either win or they know will -- something they can...
FOREMAN: And this is something they could win, but there's a lot public support now for drilling. So even though they could win the vote, maybe they could be hurt, maybe in a presidential race.
BALDWIN: On some of the themes that it's easier to just not allow a vote, if it's going to cause controversy when you go back home.
FOREMAN: On the other hand, this is also, by definition, something of a political stunt. I want to take a moment and listen to what's being said out on the floor. I'm sure you've heard it in person.
BALDWIN: Yes.
FOREMAN: But listen at home and play along. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JEAN SCHMIDT (R), OHIO: If you're like me and you're sick and tired of demagoguery and no action, please call Speaker Pelosi. I'm asking the American public to call Speaker Pelosi and ask us to come back into session.
REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R), TEXAS: The Speaker of the House turned off the lights, turned off the microphones, the cameras, is attempting to shut down the debate. But she can't shut down the will of the American people. This is still the people's house.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Well, I'm not sure they assure us it's the people's house much of the year, but how are Democrats responding to this? They can't like being put into this position of at least looking like the Republicans want to do something, you don't.
BALDWIN: Well, the Democrats have really responded, as I'm sure people can guess are going to respond. They say this is grandstanding. This is simply a political stunt during an election year that's not going to have any effect on the energy debate. And they have a point. I mean, the Republicans can't have a vote on energy unless House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calls them back into session. And it's unlikely she's going to do that.
FOREMAN: One of the things she did was issue a statement that said the new direction Congress - or what they called themselves -- has repeatedly brought forth proposals to increase domestic supply, reduce the price at the pump, protect American consumers and businesses, and promote renewable energy and conservation.
To date, Democrats have brought forward 13 major initiatives to accomplish the above goals. And each time, a majority of House Republicans have voted against these proposals. Is all of that true?
BALDWIN: Well, it's kind of a descriptor of the debate. I mean, Democrats say they're bringing forward significant energy legislation that will help bring down prices at the pump. They want to take oil out of this strategic oil reserve -- petroleum reserve.
The Republicans say those aren't significant energy proposals. That's not going to have the effect that they want. And that's really where we -- where we stay right now. And that's why they couldn't get anything done before they left for the break.
FOREMAN: In the end though, for people who look at Congress overall, and want solutions from Congress, it seems like there's a lot of validity here for any voter out there to say, same old problem. Both parties so much want to make political hay out of our energy problems, that they will not come together and solve them.
BALDWIN: There is a little bit of that. I mean, Republicans, they want to bring the House back to get a vote. But Republicans at the same time, they want to keep energy in the public eye. They want to keep the focus on it because they think that they have the winning side of the argument come the election year.
There are some - there is a compromise bill that's being discussed or a proposal being discussed in the Senate right now, but we keep talking about it, Tom. It's going to take some time to get stuff together. And when they come back, they have three weeks left before the session's completely out. We'll have to see.
FOREMAN: So they're going need real steam to get anything done.
BALDWIN: We hope so. they're optimistic, but...
FOREMAN: Yes, go back to watching the show and let us know what happens. Good seeing you here.
BALDWIN: I'll let you know.
FOREMAN: As part of our continuing effort to bring you all the facts about the wild weekends with the president and all the candidates, here are some of their pop culture choices as revealed to "Entertainment Weekly."
Barack Obama's favorite TV show is "MASH". John McCain likes "Seinfeld." If we had a hall of justice, McCain would like to be Batman. And Obama prefers Spiderman. And they both cried at their first movie. Obama when they freed Elsa in "Born Free," and the death of Bambi's mother did in the young John McCain. But don't cry for us. We'll be back in a flash with fast track.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN: In the spirit of the Olympics, it's time to jump on the fast track. And if there were gold medals for political prognostication, they'd all go to our CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider.
Bill, both of the candidates are heading off during this Olympic week. Where are they going?
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, Barack Obama is going to grandma's house. He does this every summer. Grandma lives in Honolulu in Hawaii, which is where Barack Obama's from. He takes a week off every summer and goes to visit.
Now, the polls show that a lot of voters think they've been hearing a little too much about Barack Obama. He's going to give the voters a week off. Meanwhile, John McCain, well, he probably feels they haven't heard enough about him. He's going to be campaigning in the rust belt.
FOREMAN: But we're hearing more about religion once again. What's that about?
SCHNEIDER: As soon as the candidates get back next weekend, they're going to both meet with Rick Warren, the pastor of the Saddleback Church in Orange County. He's going to interview them separately. McCain and Obama. He has good relations with both of them. And the latest polls show that why white evangelical voters, white evangelicals are supporting McCain, they're not fully enthusiastic about him.
FOREMAN: And what's this business about some internal e-mails from the Clinton campaign?
SCHNEIDER: Next week, "The Atlantic Monthly" is going to publish over 100 e-mails, private e-mails in the Clinton campaign. A lot of people can't wait to see them because they can contain some very sensational information and accusations and charges about how they relate to Barack Obama, what they said about Barack Obama. Maybe they'll be some explaining to do.
FOREMAN: Another gold medal sprint on the fast track. Thanks so much, Bill Schneider.
And in the Olympic spirit, we turn to our late night laughs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO: President Bush arrived in Beijing earlier today. Again, I don't think he really understands the Olympics that well. Like they asked if he liked the decathlon, he said no, he'd prefer regular coffee.
JIMMY KIMMEL: Security is extremely tight in China, which has been very hard on the locals there. Many stores and factories in Beijing have been required to close. And people have been forced out of their houses. It's sort of like here in the United States, only for them it'll end in a couple weeks. And...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, Lord, please help our athletes bring home the gold. Enough gold so we can melt it down and buy back our economy from the Chinese.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN: Finally, as promised, here are our top five individual Olympic protests. We're not counting the team events because some country's always boycotting or being banned or both, it seems.
In 1972, protests turned into tragedy as 11 Israelis died at the hands of Palestinian terrorists. Probably the most infamous incident. There's no clearer picture of the racial tensions blowing across the United States. In 1968, then Tommy Smith and John Carlos giving a black power salute from the victory stand.
Melbourne, 1956, Soviet tanks had just crushed a revolt in Hungary. And the Hungarian water polo team took their revenge on the Russians in what may well be the most violent contest in Olympic history.
1936, was supposed to be a triumph of the will for Adolf Hitler. However, America's Jesse Owens poked a hole in the Nazi's master race theory by beating them soundly.
And here's one we bet you never even heard of. At the 1906 Olympics, British team member Peter O'Connor won a medal. Then he climbed to the top of the Olympic flag pole and waved an Irish flag. Sadly, we don't even have a picture of that moment.
Our thanks to the Council on Foreign Relations. Check out their history of Olympic protests at cfr.org.
That's it for THIS WEEK IN POLITICS. We've run our race. I'm Tom Foreman. Thanks for watching.
