Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Final Democratic Convention Preparations; Preview of Today's DNC Activities; Spanish Airliner Crash Memorials
Aired August 25, 2008 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN HOST: Convention update for you, a look at the Pepsi Center. The Democrats start their big show this evening at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time. And they are hoping that when it is all over, they will be, once again, a party united behind Barack Obama, with the kind of momentum that's going to take them to the White House. For now though, they certainly have their work cut out for them. The latest CNN polling from opinion research corporation shows that the race is all tied up, 47 for Barack Obama and 47 for John McCain. Especially worrying, of course, those numbers for the Democrats, only two and three Hillary Clinton supporters say that right now, they're going to be supporting Senator Obama, that's down from three in four just last month.
On the agenda tonight, we'll be hearing from Jimmy Carter, House speaker Nancy Pelosi and there will be a tribute to Ted Kennedy and also we'll be hearing from Michelle Obama. CNN's Dana Bash is there for us. Today, she joins us from just outside the hall. Hey, Dana, how are you this morning. Good morning to you. Lots has happened over the last couple of days. Those full voting rights restored to the delegations from Florida and Michigan. We heard that Hillary Clinton is going to release her delegates as well. What's the impact of all of that for Barack Obama?
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's interesting. I think there are two ways to look at it, Soledad, one is maybe actually, maybe the question could be what's the impact for Hillary Clinton. Because Hillary Clinton is really trying to do her best to symbolically show her delegates that it's time to move on, that it is time to support Barack Obama. And she is doing that for a number of reasons. Maybe the biggest reason is frankly her own viability. She understands according to the people close to her, that if she wants to continue to be a very powerful force in the party, she's got to make nice. But in terms of the delegates, people on the floor and actually supporters of Hillary Clinton, I talked to some who said no matter what she say, they still are not really, many of them, enthused about supporting Barack Obama.
So, you know, you have a little bit of a dichotomy between what Hillary Clinton is saying and what the people who supported her all along are willing to do or not do for Barack Obama.
O'BRIEN: It sounds like a big old chopper is about to land on the CNN Express behind you. Let me see if you can hear this question. John McCain has got a new ad. And I want to play a little bit of it. So let's listen to it first.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBRA BARTOSHEVICH, FMR. CLINTON DELEGATE: I'm a proud Hillary Clinton Democrat. She had the experience and judgment to be president. Now, in a first for me, I'm supporting a Republican. John McCain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: So John McCain is doing everything he can to leverage what you were just talking about, those folks who say, I'm not quite feeling it yet for Barack Obama because I supported Hillary Clinton. How effective do you think he can be?
BASH: Well, you know, he's trying, they're trying so hard, it is very interesting. This is actually the second day in a row, Soledad, that the McCain campaign is trying to drive a wedge, more of a wedge between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and specifically, try to lure those still disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters over to John McCain. And there is evidence, we have new evidence today that they have a very good case to do that. You know, one of our new poll numbers shows that 27 percent, 27 percent of Hillary Clinton's supporters say that they could now vote for John McCain. And what's most fascinating about that is that number has grown, almost doubled since right after the Democratic primaries.
After the primaries, we thought, well, it's till bad blood because it's such a tough primary battle but and that these Hillary Clinton supporters would get over it. But in fact, it's changed and it's gotten even worse for Barack Obama, if you will. And so that's why John McCain is trying to really play in and tap in almost, you know, to exploit what's going on here between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama supporters.
O'BRIEN: Yes, those are some troubling numbers for the Barack Obama fans. Right. Dana Bash for us this morning. Thanks, Dana. I certainly appreciate it. We're going to take a short break and we'll be back in just a moment and digging a little bit deeper with conservative analysts and CNN contributors, Amy Holmes and Dana Milbank. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Take a look there at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, where DNC chairman, Howard Dean, is going to be bringing down the gavel early this evening and officially kicking off the 2008 convention. Joining us to talk about this is conservative analyst and CNN contributor Amy Holmes and CNN contributor, Dana Milbank of the "Washington Post." Hey guys, nice to see both of you. Amy, let's start with you.
Strategically, the Barack Obama folks have a challenge because they have to get out there with a message that highlights the upside of the candidate, obviously, but there's also some weaknesses. I mean, how do you walk that line talking about the weaknesses of your candidates and also talking about the up sides as well. It's a tricky path, isn't it? AMY HOLMES, CONSERVATIVE ANALYST: It is tricky but they can walk and chew gum at the same time. And we heard Howard Wolfson say over this weekend that they don't want to make the mistake that they did in 2004 and go easy on George Bush. Now, we got a bit of a preview this weekend in the Joe Biden speech, that they plan to hammer George Bush and in a certain way, doing the strategy of the enemy of my enemy is my friend and getting those disaffected Clinton voters, those Democrats that CNN has polled that said they plan to vote for John McCain and try to make John McCain unpalatable to their own party.
O'BRIEN: Dana Milbank, you certainly can't expect that that would Barack Obama doing that himself this week. That's sort of the VP nominee's job, isn't it?
DANA MILBANK, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes. That's not his of his role but I wouldn't be surprised to hear him perhaps utter the name of his opponent. And Amy's right that the one thing that seems to be unifying this otherwise very fractious party is the need to defeat John McCain. It is really extraordinary, I'm reminded of the Will Rogers' adage, I'm not a member of an organized political party, I'm a Democrat. The opinions out here are all over the lot. But they're definitely unified when it comes to being against John McCain.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: And how come - let me stop you there for a sec. But how come we haven't really been hearing more about it. If you had to do sort of a general poll, you'd say, boy, we heard a lot about the Clinton drama, more certainly than you've heard anyone consistently saying, let's tie George Bush with John McCain and let's hammer that down everybody's throats, at least so far.
MILBANK: Yes. The Clinton drama has really been a detractor from the main event here. I expect that when they actually get to the floor, it will be-all sort of harmony and love. But it's definitely sort of affecting the chatter, detracting from the message that Obama is trying to get out there. And people are very worried about exactly what Bill Clinton will do when he takes the stage. I wouldn't be surprised to see them setting up a trapdoor somewhere over his shoulder.
O'BRIEN: That would be smooth.
You know, politico.com is reporting, Amy -
HOLMES: Yes.
O'BRIEN: That Bill Clinton is unhappy with his topic, would rather be talking about something else. Again, I guess, I mean, as Dana says, it seems like a strange strategy right now to continue that as opposed to going after the enemy of my enemy is my enemy.
HOLMES: Right. I don't think that is a Barack Obama strategy and I'm sure they're very unhappy.
O'BRIEN: A Democratic strategy. HOLMES: No, and I'm sure they're very unhappy to be seeing that -
O'BRIEN: How much pressure is on the Clintons, do you think?
HOLMES: Well, there is a ton of pressure as Dana Bash was talking with you earlier. Hillary doesn't want to be blamed if Barack Obama doesn't win this election, with all the statistics, all the on the ground facts that Democrats do so much better in generic polling than Republicans, that this should be a Democratic year and Hillary does not want that tied around her neck because of Clinton shenanigans, Clinton quotes, but let's remember, Soledad, just recently, I think just last week, we had Bill Clinton praising John McCain's energy policy. So Bill Clinton, he's, you know, he's his own actor. He's a loose cannon. And I'm sure that's giving the Obama campaign heartburn.
O'BRIEN: Back to the hook and the trapdoor that you and Dana were talking about. Dana, I'm getting a note that's telling me that Barack Obama's going to be appearing after Michelle Obama does her speech. He'll then appear via satellite. How much pressure do you think is on her right now for sort of keying up the candidate, the first big night, first big speech?
MILBANK: It really is. There's always a chance the whole thing will be overshadowed by Ted Kennedy and the tribute to him tonight. But for Michelle Obama, she's been a lightning rod throughout the campaign. This will be a chance to introduce herself or reintroduce herself. And obviously, there's not much room for the sort of the unscripted error here. So presumably, this will be a favorable moment for her when all eyes are on her. But she is in some ways taken more heat than the candidate themselves.
O'BRIEN: Pressure, pressure all around. We'll be here to watch all of it. Dana Milbank and Amy Holmes for us this morning. Thanks, guys. Appreciate it. I know you're sticking around with us. We'll be back in about 30 minutes. I'm Soledad O'Brien, reporting from New York. We're going to send it back to CNN Center in Atlanta right after the short break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the rundown for you. Monster tornadoes dancing around houses on the outskirts of metropolitan Denver. Incredible pictures.
COLLINS: One week later, Fay checking out of Florida today. We check in with our CNN i-reporters. The state facing a difficult week of flood cleanup.
HARRIS: The end, China bringing down the curtain on a spectacular Olympiad. Relive the highlights today, Monday, August 25th. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Boy, oh boy, quite a show, in Colorado, not far from Denver. As many as four tornados cutting through the area. Check out this incredible videos of one of those twisters. This one spotted near Parker, Colorado. That's about 25 miles from Denver, site of the Democratic National Convention. There was also a good bit of hail hitting the houses around that area there. Luckily, there were no reports of severe damage or serious injuries.
COLLINS: Now, let's take a look at what's happening in the southeast. The region dealing with the remnants of tropical storm Fay. In Florida, more evacuations. Days of heavy rain, raising floodwaters from Orlando to Tallahassee. Thousands of people have been forced from their homes. The panhandle could be battered even more. Today, remnants of Fay still hanging around there, dumping even more rain on already waterlogged areas. There is also the threat of tornados now in Alabama. The weather has already caused a slew of school closings. There's also the threat of flooding in Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana.
HARRIS: Yes. Let's get more on the story in the southeast, Alabama, Mississippi. There he is, Rob Marciano in the Severe Weather Center. Rob, good morning.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, guys. I want to update you on the tornado warnings that we have been talking about for the past couple of hours. Another funnel cloud reported and tornado warning extended now for Chilton and Shelby counties. That's in north central Alabama, near Montgomery, actually it's all with this rotating squall line that's moving up the i-65 corridor. So, here's your warning, it's getting very close to the Birmingham radar. And you see the swab and site there and all the reflection that's coming in and returns from that radar beam.
But nonetheless, everything is pretty much heading up 65. So if you live in Chilton or Shelby counties and this includes the city of Columbiana, Calera and Alabaster, there is a report of a funnel cloud there. This has had a history of producing tornadoes down the line. So be aware of that. Also, extended Bullock, Macon and Russell counties. That's in southeast parts of the state. That one reported on the ground but nonetheless Doppler indicate it. So, it's all part of this rotating band of moisture that continues to come off the Gulf of Mexico. I mean this just happened right there. And just like a hose being pumped up into the southeast. Then you have this rotation which is coming around what is still left of Fay that doesn't want to go away and we get that avid spin in the atmosphere. It's all heading to Montgomery up to Birmingham, Alabama. And we have live shot there right now.
Let's take a look at it. Just have look out the window and it don't look that good. WBMA, our affiliate out that way. Low visibility, you're going to have thunderstorms and you're in the tornado watch until 3:00 or 4:00 this afternoon. This watch box, by the way, looks pretty darned full at the moment and I anticipate it to be active for the next several hours. Flood watches and warnings are also posted for all of Alabama. Some of these will be getting up into the much needed northern Georgia and south Carolina area, which needs the rain desperately. But some spots obviously, we'll see some flooding.
Want to point this out, guys, very impressive system here in the central Caribbean. Hurricane hunter aircraft into it today. This could be our next depression if not named system. I mean, you guys, you can look at it. Tony.
HARRIS: That's well shaped, well-formed. That's pretty impressive. Yes.
MARCIANO: So, we'll keep you posted on that situation.
COLLINS: Please do. All right. Rob, thank you.
MARCIANO: You got it.
COLLINS: We just to let you know, if you would like to get involved in relief efforts for people affected by Fay, you can visit our "Impact your World" page. There, you will find links to groups providing food and shelter to people in need. Once again, that is at CNN.com/impact.
HARRIS: A former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawa Sharif withdrawing today from Pakistan's coalition government. Sharif is the head of the Pakistan Muslim League. The leagues withdrawal from the coalition likely to concentrate powers with those political parties that back an alliance with Washington.
COLLINS: Israel looking to energize the peace process with Palestinian authority president Mahmoud Abbas. It released almost 200 Palestinian prisoners today. The mover coming hours before Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives. Washington have been pressuring Israeli and the Palestinian authority to reach a peace agreement before the end of the year. Most mideast observer say, not likely.
HARRIS: So how about this, hardened criminals in high security prisons are going through a unique rehab program, yoga of all things. CNN's Harris Whitbeck from Mexico City.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a long way from this gritty prison courtyard in Mexico City to nirvana. But Christian Rodriguez is getting a little bit closer. For three months now, he and 90 other inmates have been receiving weekly yoga classes. Yolanda Acevedo is their teacher.
YOLAND ACEVEDO, YOGA TEACHER: When you know what you really are, when you recognize what you have done before the world would be better.
WHITBECK: Christian, 24 years old, is addicted to cocaine. He's been in prison for two years. He was busted for selling coke. He's got eight years left in his sentence. Yoga, he say, has helped him deal with the harshness of his life.
CHRISTIAN RODRIGUEZ, INMATE(through translator): Through your mind, you can do anything. The person guiding the meditation can transport you to a nice forest, for example. And if you concentrate hard enough, you can go there with your mind.
WHITBECK: It was hard at first. Before he went to prison, he says he never imagined himself doing yoga. Now, the practice offers him and other inmates hope.
RODRIGUEZ (through translator): I want to stop doing drugs. I'm learning things here that I would have never learned out on the street.
WHITBECK: Prison officials agree.
EVA MONTANO, PRISON OFFICIAL (through translator): If we just keep them here, just punishing them, they won't leave here with a different spirit, another mentality. That would be a disservice to society.
WHITBECK (on-camera): These are hardened criminals, convicted of stealing, of kidnapping and even killing people. Yoga instructors try to look beyond that. They say they try to connect with the humanity, they believe, still exists within their pupils.
ACEVEDO: We are the best of god's creation and we are acting as the worst. But when you recognize who you really are, maybe the image of god, you have to act as a god and see the other person as a god.
[ chanting ]
WHITFIELD: Wisdom from an ancient practice, reaching souls few had ever reached. Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Your money, your concerns. "Issue number one," here at CNN. The big week rings in at Wall Street, just minutes ago. We learned sales of existing homes saw a 3.1 percent jump in July. That's almost double the rate expected. It's the first of several snapshots this week on the health of the nation's economy. Checking the big board now, we are down by about 80 points or so, resting at 11,549. So we will continue to watch those numbers, along with several others, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: And how about gas prices? Gas prices still dropping. According to the Lundberg survey, the national average up 3.70 a gallon, is 15 cents less than two weeks ago. That's still almost 95 cents higher than it was a year ago.
COLLINS: Washington empties out in August. But the Congressional recess is no fun and games for lawmakers. They're going home to voters angry about fuel prices. CNN's Kate Bolduan has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. JOE SESTAK (D), PENNSYLVANIA: You can fix the income. I tell you it's $3 or something.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Democratic congressman Joe Sestak says there's been no vacation from the energy debate this recess. SESTAK: During the election, I heard all the time that they want the tone to change. I now hear that it's can't you do something?
BOLDUAN: Sestak's office says they've been flooded with complaints and suggestions on the energy crisis. At least 2,500 calls and letters since March. Energy was definitely on the top of constituents' minds in this Philadelphia suburb last week.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really think there's something on oil speculation and thinking I hope you can do something to get Republicans to agree on something.
BOLDUAN: And nearly 100 people packed an energy town hall Sestak hosted.
SESTAK: Nancy Pelosi doesn't want to drill offshore. I understand that but no one's said why.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why there is more pressure for more drilling?
SESTAK: I think it's - the question here, how do you balance keeping oil prices decent?
BOLDUAN: Off shore drilling, wind and nuclear power among the options voters brought up but no matter their stance, they all demanded answers.
Do you accept some responsibility being in the majority?
SESTAK: I do. Do I? Yes, absolutely. I put as much blame if not more on the Democratic party because we're the majority party. We're the ones that can sit down and potentially compromise.
BOLDUAN: Sestak says he's open to a compromise but like many Democrats remains skeptical of expanded domestic drilling, something his Republican opponent Craig Williams is hoping to capitalize on. Williams recently visited part of Alaska, banned from drilling and many other Republicans are also trying to use the issue to their advantage.
ANNOUNCER: Feeling the pinch at the pump? Everyone is, everyone, it seems, but Congress.
BOLDUAN: And dozens of house Republicans continue to mount a protest on Washington, calling for a vote on drilling.
REP. JOH BOEHNER (R), MINORITY LEADER: Put up or shut up. Make sure that you're saying the same thing at home that you're saying here in Washington D.C.
BOLDUAN (on-camera): There are compromise bills in the works in the House and Senate but Congressman Sestak, at least, isn't optimistic that they can actually get anything done with only a few weeks left in the session once Congress returns. Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HARRIS: And minutes from now, we will return our focus to the Democrats' national convention in Denver. It kicks off today with the newly formed ticket of Barack Obama and Joe Biden. CNN was the first to tell you that it was Biden who won the coveted spot. The next question, where does the ticket go from here? CNN's Soledad O'Brien will have the very latest.
COLLINS: And John McCain seizes his spotlight this morning. He has a live event coming up next hour in Phoenix. We will be there and bring it to you live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: And Heidi, we will keep track of all the watches and warning in Mississippi and Alabama throughout the morning with Rob Marciano right here in the NEWSROOM. And that is the news from the CNN World Headquarters here in Atlanta. We will be back with more news later this hour.
COLLINS: For now, our special coverage of the Democratic National Convention continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN's live coverage of the Democratic National Convention.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN HOST: And hello again, welcome to New York. I'm Soledad O'Brien with the convention update. Let's begin at the CNN Grill in Denver, Colorado where they're getting ready for the big day. It's day one of the Democratic National Convention. At the nearby Pepsi Center, Democrats hoping to leave Denver mile high in the public view, really, Barack Obama to except the nomination outdoors at Invesco Field in front of an estimated 75,000 supporters. We're learning he's going to make a video appearance at the convention hall tonight and we're also learning that Senator Ted Kennedy, who is battling cancer, as you well know, he is going to be in the hall in person, where he will receive a video tribute and no doubt it will be a very emotional outpouring as well.
Now as for Senator Obama, the big question for him all this week is going to be can he get enough of those Hillary Clinton supporters on board come November, also, will his choice of Senator Joe Biden as his running mate move the needle in his favor on several fronts. Let's talk about it with CNN contributor David Brody, he is with the Christian Broadcasting Network, also CNN political analyst Roland Martin is joining us as well.
Gentlemen, nice to see both of you.
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN ANALYST: Likewise.
DAVID BRODY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good to see you.
O'BRIEN: Roland, let's start with you if I can. It's interesting, we've seen this statement. I don't know if you've seen this yet, the joint statement by the Obama and Clinton camps on the various media reports, you can see it right there, in a nutshell, it says this, "Senator and President Clinton fully support the Obama/Biden ticket and look forward to addressing the convention and the nation on the urgency of victory this fall."
It continues on. "Anyone saying anything else doesn't know what they're talking about period." I hear giggling there.
What's interesting to me, of course, is going into day one of the convention, Roland, a lot of the talk has been about the friction between the Clintons and Obama camp. And not the focus on McCain, which has been a little bit of a problem, as you head into day one, don't you think?
MARTIN: Absolutely. Because the problem is you have Clinton backers who are still trying to run the primary and somehow they did not get the e-mail that they actually lost, it is over, it ended the first week in June. That's been the fundamental problem here. It was ridiculous on Saturday, when the focus should have been on Obama and Biden, the talk was about well, was she vetted? Did she get a phone call?
And then even today, it's Bill Clinton is unhappy because of his speech on Wednesday. Look, this is not the Clinton national convention, this is the Democratic National Convention where you're providing the nominee to Obama. I understand her supporters, but at some point, you have to recognize the issue is November.
O'BRIEN: Is that supporter or -- is that a supporters' issue, certainly the supporters' issue you see in the poll numbers which now have Barack Obama and John McCain neck and neck with many of those Hillary Clinton supporters looking like they're going with John McCain. Somebody is leaking this information to the press and it's making it on politico.com which reported Bill Clinton being unhappy with his speech topic, they're a well respected political Web site, they're not make this stuff up.
MARTIN: Of course. Look, Soledad, at some point, Bill Clinton, or the Clinton advisors are going to have to zip it and recognize the issue is November. One of the things I have always respected about Republicans, they know how to win, they focus on winning. You hear all the talk this summer, John McCain, he's not conservative enough, if he wins the nomination, we are going to support Hillary Clinton, they were never going to do that. Republicans are focused on winning and Democrats are still fighting a primary battle.
BRODY: And Soledad, here's also the - here's part of the problem, too, is that we're getting the trickle effect of Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton's stories this week already. Tuesday night she's going to speak, what is she going to say? Wednesday, Bill Clinton will speak, what is he going to say? Now we have this delegate meeting, this whole idea Hillary Clinton will release her delegates. Why wasn't this done pre-convention week? Just once again, it's another media sensation, if you will, they're going to cover, we're all going to cover it. Once again, it may overshadow to a degree, Barack Obama and more important the message of what they're trying to convey this week.
MARTIN: Big old soap opera. That's the problem.
BRODY: Right.
O'BRIEN: Let me ask David a question about the message from John McCain. Often, the Republican candidate, the other candidate in the race stops campaigning during the convention for the other side. This time, John McCain we know is going to continue to campaign, making news, I imagine all week long while the DNC is going on. What do you think his message is going to be? What is his strategy going to be?
BRODY: Well, I think his strategy, we saw pretty clearly this morning when the McCain campaign released that Deborah ad, that campaign ad really targeting these Hillary Clinton voters. Look, this is red meat for the McCain campaign. They understand that. They're going to use the "D" word, dissension, dissension, dissension all week long. If they can go ahead and somehow tap into that, they've already used Hillary Clinton's remarks against Obama, against Obama again. So that's part of it. You have all of this going on. If they can do that, if they can somehow some way crash the party here, it's a success for them.
MARTIN: I have one more "D" word, dumb. The Democrats are dumb. How in the world do you not realize what is hanging in the balance? That is in November, you are talking about the Supreme Court, you're talking about tax cuts and you are talking about the Iraq War. To sit here and be involved in this protracted battle is dumb. This is a perfect example why Democrats typically blow it because they don't know how to go in for the kill.
O'BRIEN: When you say dumb, you're talking about leadership or you're talking about voters?
MARTIN: I'm talking about Democratic apparatus. I don't understand why Harry Reid, the majority leader, Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean say, look, we're not going to squash this and have 48 hours of Clinton/Obama drama. This is about McCain, this is about winning, this about defining Bush and linking McCain to Bush. At some point, they have to shut it down to say, this is about party over your petty personal issues.
BRODY: And part of the problem here is ...
O'BRIEN: Go ahead, David. Give me a quick final word.
BRODY: Part of the problem, we heard this catharsis word. Everybody says they have to have this catharsis with the Clinton supporters. The problem is if catharsis goes on too long, it does become somewhat of a distraction and that's an issue.
O'BRIEN: David Brody and Roland Martin joining us this morning. Thanks gentlemen, I certainly appreciate it.
We're going to be back in just a moment with the latest poll numbers. And it appears a growing challenge for the Democrats. Bill Schneider has been crunching the numbers. He will join us next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. And we are back on day one of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.
Michelle Obama will be speaking tonight. Barack Obama is expected to make a video appearance. Ted Kennedy, who is in Denver is expected to attend a tribute in his honor tonight, he has been fighting brain cancer. He was an early supporter of Senator Obama's.
And Senator Obama now has a pretty big challenge ahead of him if you believe some of the CNN polling. Joining us with that is CNN's Bill Schneider. Bill, what do the numbers say?
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN ANALYST: Deadlocked. That's what they say. Forty seven percent of the voters around the country say they're going to vote for Obama and 47 percent right now are voting for McCain. This poll was done over the weekend, after the announcement of Biden on the ticket. A month ago, Pbama had a seven point lead. Why has the race tightened up? Partly because of Hillary Clinton supporters, more than a third of Democrats say they would rather see the party nominate Hillary Clinton rather than Barack Obama. Among those Hillary Clinton supporters, 27 percent, more than a quarter say they're going to vote for John McCain. That figure is up. In June, just 16 percent of Hillary Clinton supporters said they were going to vote for McCain. What happened? One, Obama did not put Hillary Clinton on the ticket. Two, some Clinton supporters feel that his selection process was disrespectful of Senator Clinton, and, three, McCain, as we saw in those ads, is actively trying to exploit those resentments.
By our calculation, half of Obama's decline in the polls over the last month is attributable to angry Clinton supporters.
Soledad?
O'BRIEN: What do those Clinton supporters, angry or not angry, feel about the Joe Biden as the V.P. pick, especially as many of them felt Hillary Clinton should have been given the nod?
SCHNEIDER: Let's look at how the voters and those Democrats feel about Joe Biden? Voters are pretty positive about the selection of Biden. A majority say it was an excellent or good choice. Seventy three percent of Democrats think it was a good choice. Here is the clincher. Fifty nine percent of Clinton supporters say the selection of Biden was a good choice. They do not have a problem with Joe Biden himself. Their problem was Obama did not choose Hillary Clinton. Thirty eight percent of Democrats wanted Obama to pick Clinton. Some of them clearly are taking it out on Obama.
O'BRIEN: Day one of the DNC, Bill, to be talking about this and not talking about the big picture for Democrats is a problem for them I would imagine.
We're going to talk more about that. Bill Schneider for us this morning. Bill, thanks as always.
And we'll be back shortly with more convention coverage for you right, CNN NEWSROOM continues right after this short break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning once again everybody. Heidi Collins along with Tony Harris. Talking weather today, big time.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: That's right.
COLLINS: Coast to coast sort of the problem today. Take a look, in fact, at this amazing video. You can see one of four tornados touches down in colorado, not far from Denver, the site of the Democratic National Convention. This is Parker, Colorado, no reports of serious injuries, thankfully.
HARRIS: And flooding the far in parts of the Southeast. The remnants of Tropical Storm Fay settling over several states today. The rains a welcome relief from a long running drought. We can testify to that fact here in the Atlanta area and in the Pacific Tropical Storm Julio is dumping heavy rain on the Baja Peninsula.
COLLINS: Some tornado watches, too, to talk about, also some warnings in the Southeast. Meteorologist Rob Marciano is tracking all of this for us. Rob is in the severe weather center. Hey there, Rob.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Obviously, a lot going on. Rob, let us know if we need to come back to you with all that going on. Thank you.
HARRIS: Fay leaving behind quite a mess in parts of Florida. Veronica de la Cruz has your iReports and I would imagine, Veronica, some pretty dramatic iReports at that.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Some pretty intense images we're going to talk with. From Barrett Stejskal, he is an amateur storm chaser, Tony, and he was able to capture this video as he drove through the eye wall of the storm. This is in Moore Haven, Florida. Take a look, Tony. He says wind speeds there were kicking up around 84 miles per hour. He was able to grab this video for us.
And I want to show you Tallahassee, Florida, Beverly Dotter, she sent us this video of her horse farm. The horses have been stranded in four feet of water. Beverly --Yeah. She hopes to have them moved to higher ground today. That is actually one of her horses standing on an island, that is the highest point on her farm. Today, she hopes to have them moved out to some dry ground.
Tony, I want to show you what the storm left behind in Ft. Pierce, Florida. This is Ron Dillon's house and his neighbor Trish Powers snapped some photos as they went back to get whatever they could. Ron was able to grab some clothes and a couple of blankets. Take a look at that, Tony. As you can see, everything else pretty much everything flooded out.
HARRIS: You would think the basement flooded and at least first floor. DE LA CRUZ: That's the kitchen. Luckily, he says he has flood insurance and says the adjustor has been by. I want to show you a couple more pictures. This is his garage, Tony, after Fay passed through everything there underwater, including his bike, all damaged, all destroyed and he says that the flooding was worse than he experienced with back to back hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Fay was actually worse.
HARRIS: Kind of two-edged storm, you needed so much rain there to alleviate drought conditions. But here is the trade off, you get this extreme flooding.
DE LA CRUZ: Yeah, and he was lucky because his neighbors were kind enough to come by and help him save pictures and mementos and actually he says the Red Cross was great and came by with supplies. That is the Ron Dillon story. If you have a story you would like to share as well you can and logon to our ireport.com.
Tony?
HARRIS: We love our iReports. Veronica, good to see you. Thank you. If you'd like to get involved in any of the relief efforts for those impacted by Fay, we'll invite you to visit our Web site Impact Your World. There you will find links to people providing food and shelter to people in need. That's at cnn.com/impact.
COLLINS: Breaking up is hard to take, even the virtual world. Police say a North Carolina woman met a Delaware man in a Web community called Second Life. They fell into an online love affair which he broke off after they met in prison -- excuse me, forgive me, after they met in person. That was a complete mistake on my part.
The police say the woman drove from North Carolina to Delaware with her dog and broke into his apartment and attempted to tie him up and kidnap him. The man escaped, called 911 and the woman was later arrested. She left her dog behind.
HARRIS: A terrifying night of baseball. Kids watch as a plane crashes. And ends their game. More now from Kristen Ross of our Texas affiliate KBTX.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTEN ROSS, KBTX CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was anything but your typical ballgame in Caldwell Wednesday night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was coming in and it nailed -- it hit the pole. If it wasn't for the pole, it would have probably came in the field and hit some of us.
ROSS: But this was no fastball, rather a single engine Cessna plane that crash landed a few feet from the pitcher's mound.
AIDEN HOSEA, WITNESS: I just didn't know what to do. I was just so scared. ROSS: One of the first officers on the scene captures the chaotic moments followingthe crash on his helmet camera, as people rush onto the field to help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The left wing that was kind of hanging and was on top of them. We were trying to move the wing so they can crawl out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where are you at right now? Do you remember what happened? No?
ROSS: A scary day many believe could have been much worse.
GENE HAWKINS, WITNESS: We're saying prayers for the pilot and passenger and hope they're OK.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And they are. Both the pilot and passenger survived. And amazingly, no one on the ground was injured.
COLLINS: Plane crashes overseas, too, a small plane carrying humanitarian workers went down Guatemala. Ten people killed, including eight Americans. It happened yesterday. Authorities say the pilot called in engine troubles 45 minutes before going down in a field east of Guatemala City.
On the other side of the world, emergency workers comb through the wreckage of a passenger jet crash outside Kyrgyzstan's main airport, 65 people killed there and 25 survivors others did survive yesterday's crash. The Boeing 737 was headed to the Iranian capital of Tehran. Officials say the cause most likely a technical problem.
HARRIS: Burned beyond recognition, Spanish authorities say some of the bodies from last week's plane crash in Madrid may never be identified. CNN's Ralitsa Vassileva reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RALITSA VASSILEVA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Religious services in churches across the nation pay tribute to the victims of Wednesday's crash of a SpanAir liner, Spain's worst air disaster in nearly 25 years, 154 people of the 172 on board died. At his summer residence, Pope Benedict XVI expressed closeness and continued prayers for the dead and for their families.
Relatives of the victims attended special memorial services. But funerals have been delayed because fewer than half of the victims have been identified. DNA testing is being used to identify those too badly burned for fingerprinting. A further agony for relatives whose family members are presumed dead based on flight records. Some refuse to see the grief counselors offered by the airlines.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They offered us a psychologist to come with us to collect the body. But we do not want that. We will go with our loved one ourselves, accompanying him, behind him. And that's it. VASSILEVA: Initial reports suggested an engine may have been on fire before the plane went down but survivor statements and airport surveillance video indicate the plane was briefly airborne before its right wing suddenly dipped and the aircraft veered coming down along the side of the runway in a cloud of dust before breaking up in a ball of fire. Flight, voice and data recorders were recovered but the information has yet to be analyzed.
Because the MD-82 jet was American built, the crash investigation is being led by a team from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. But reconstructing the disaster and finding its cause may take months to complete. Ralitsa Vassileva, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: A success for Beijing, not just as Olympic hosts, but as fierce competitors capturing the lion's share of gold medals, 51 in all. The U.S. was in second with 36. CNN's John Vause has more on China's gold rush.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For China, the perfect end to the perfect games, winning more gold medals than any other country.
DAVID WALLECHINSKY, OLYMPIC HISTORIAN: What you're seeing in China is the most dramatic improvement than we've ever seen of any country.
VAUSE: Dramatic because until China returned to the Olympics in 1984, after years of boycott, it had never won an Olympic gold. Now, China's record setting golden athletes will be rewarded with hundreds of thousands of dollars, perhaps even millions of dollars in government bonuses and sponsorship deals.
MA YANHONG, 1984 Olympic gold medalist: To make money is good.
VAUSE: Back in 1984, Ma Yanhong was paid just 10,000 Yuan, about $1,400 U.S. dollars on today's conversion for her gold in gymnastics.
YANHONG: I think I enjoyed it. And it last very long to spend that money, in those days.
VAUSE: In Beijing, China has not only dominated sports where it's traditionally strong in table tennis, diving and badminton but also winning first time gold in archery, sailing and on the trampoline.
BRIAN CAZANEUVE, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: What they did was really isolate the sports in which they could get multiple medals, it was a very sort of scientific approach to the medal count.
VAUSE (on camera): Months before the Olympics, Chinese officials began playing down the chances of topping the gold medal tally. Nonetheless, from the moment Beijing won the rights to stage these games seven years ago, this country began spending big to try and guarantee its best ever sporting result. (voice-over): Critics say it's a lot more than a place in sporting history.
WALLECHINSKY: This is a message that is totally being sent by the Communist Party of China to their own people. That message is, we brought you this success, trust us in everything else.
VAUSE: Whatever the message, it was delivered not just to most of China but to the biggest global television audience ever. John Vause, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: We are watching severe weather here at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Join us for the very latest in the next hour.
For now, back to our special coverage of the Democratic National Convention.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Hello again. Welcome everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien reporting from New York this morning, with the very latest happening. Day one of the Democratic National Convention. The race is deadlocked, at least
