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American Morning
Hillary Clinton Will Take Center Stage to Lend Her Support to Barack Obama; U.S. Attorney in Denver Downplaying Possible Threat Targeting Barack Obama; John McCain Out With a New Ad
Aired August 26, 2008 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: It's coming up at the top of the hour. Coming to you live from Denver, Colorado. We are inside the Pepsi Center where it is day two of the Democratic National Convention. And all eyes turn to Senator Hillary Clinton delivering tonight's primetime speech.
Can she help unify the Democratic Party? Some of her supporters are still upset that she lost the nomination to Barack Obama. Also speaking tonight, former Virginia Governor Mark Warner, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius. Instead, two of their biggest guns -- Senator Ted Kennedy and Michelle Obama tried to reintroduce America to the man that they hope will become the next president.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux looks at some of the highlights from day one in Denver.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Opening night at the Democratic National Convention. Michelle Obama took her critics head on. To those who questioned her patriotism --
MICHELLE OBAMA, WIFE OF SEN. BARACK OBAMA: The thread that runs through my journey and Barack's journey and so many other improbable journeys that have brought us here tonight, where the current of history meets this new tide of hope, and you see that is why I love this country.
MALVEAUX: reporter: -- or accused her and her husband of being elitist.
M. OBAMA: Like my family, they scrimped and saved so that he could have opportunities that they never had for themselves. And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values, like, you work hard for what you want in life.
MALVEAUX: Obama also tried to win over Hillary Clinton's die- hard supporters by giving their candidate a nod.
M. OBAMA: People like Hillary Clinton -- who put those 18 million cracks in that glass ceiling so that our daughters and our sons can dream a little bigger and aim a little higher.
MALVEAUX: Earlier in the day, tributes to Democratic icons -- former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalind. And a dramatic appearance by Senator Ted Kennedy, who is undergoing treatment for malignant brain tumor.
SEN. TED KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Where's Barack Obama and for you and for me our country will be committed to his cause. The work begins anew. The hope rises again. And the dream lives on.
MALVEAUX: The climax -- Barack Obama via satellite thanking the delegates and sharing a moment with his wife and daughters.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: How about Michelle Obama? Now you know why I asked her out so many times even though she said no. You want a persistent president.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I love you Daddy.
B. OBAMA: Love you guys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Today, Hillary Clinton will take center stage to lend her support to Barack Obama. It's expected that she'll release her delegates to vote for who they wish in the days to come to promote party unity -- Kiran, John.
ROBERTS: All right. Suzanne Malveaux for us this morning. CNN Candy Crowley joins us now live.
So, this is one case where persistence paid off, I guess, since he won Michelle in the end. What do you think of last night? Do you think that they did what they needed to do last night, or is there something to what James Carville said that it was a wasted opportunity because they didn't go after the Republicans harder?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Let me tell you what the people on this floor are saying. They loved it. They loved Michelle, they loved Teddy. You know, they look at it so differently inside the hall. But then if you look at the blogs, you also see people thought that this is a very powerful speech by Michelle, that she did what she had to do.
So -- and also, this is a continuum. This is four days. I doubt that what we say about the first day holds up by the fourth day. In the end, when people walk out of this convention, they will not be talking about Monday night, Tuesday night, or Wednesday night. It will be that Thursday night speech. That's what pushes people out of the convention.
ROBERTS: I guess there are a lot of Democrats who just don't want to lose again. They lost in 2000, they lost in 2004. And some of them like Carville and like Begala as well, both of them, we should say, are Hillary Clinton supporters, want to make sure that they hit the Republicans as hard as possible to try to make as much of a dent as they can to blunt any kind of momentum that they might get out of their convention. CROWLEY: Absolutely. But, you know, what happens here is that everybody's sort of always playing the last game. And you look back at the John Kerry convention and everybody says, oh, he should have been harder and he should have been tougher. Well, maybe. Or maybe he should have gone to Ohio a couple of times more.
I mean, the convention of a man, who has campaigned on hope and a different kind of politics, does have a hard time walking that line. You just can't come out and be constantly this and this and this if what you're selling is hope.
ROBERTS: Yes. It doesn't quite go with his persona, does it?
CROWLEY: Right.
ROBERTS: All right. Candy Crowley, thanks so much.
CROWLEY: Sure.
ROBERTS: Good to see you this morning -- Kiran.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: John, thanks.
Other stories we're working on this morning, the U.S. Attorney in Denver is downplaying a possible threat targeting Barack Obama at the Democratic convention. Police in Aurora, Colorado arrested three men after officers found rifles and drugs during a traffic stop Sunday.
The party platform is approved. Democrats give the green light to Barack Obama's plan, which includes an Iraqi pullout in 16 months.
Also, John McCain's wife Cindy is in the country of Georgia this morning doing charity work with the United Nations. She is planning to meet with Georgia's President, Mikheil Saakashvili.
Meanwhile, John McCain is out with a new ad this morning, once again using Hillary Clinton to make his point against Barack Obama. In this one, it plays off of her famous 3:00 a.m. phone call ad. Here's a bit of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: It's 3:00 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep. Who do you want answering the phone? Rogue nations, radicalism.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience that he will bring to the White House and Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002.
ANNOUNCER: Hillary is right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, there you have it. CNN's Ed Henry joins us now from Phoenix.
Ed, good to see you. What is the McCain strategy behind this ad?
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, three Hillary Clinton ads in three days. Do you think there's a pattern or what? The bottom line is the strategy from the McCain camp is try and use Hillary Clinton's words against Barack Obama.
But also more importantly, perhaps, drive a further wedge between Clinton and Obama. Both those camps say they're coming together and the media's hyping all that up. But McCain is trying to sort of stoke the fire and he has a clear goal there.
One of the ads yesterday, there was a Clinton delegate from Wisconsin who says she's now voting for McCain. That woman claims there are a lot of other Clinton delegates telling her they're scared to come out right now, but down the road they will come out for McCain. McCain now say he hopes that he's going to get a surge of support from Clinton people -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, Ed, Hillary Clinton herself came out yesterday and said, "I did not endorse this message -- I did not approve this message," rather. Is there a chance it could backfire and actually help bring some of the supporters over to Obama?
HENRY: It could, but at this point, there's really no sign of that. At this point, you saw the CNN poll on Sunday evening that was released that showed that Obama was still struggling to get Clinton supporters to his side. And that, in fact, some 20 percent about were now saying -- former Clinton supporters said they'd go with McCain. Another about 20 percent or so was saying they're undecided.
So, you've got about 40 percent of the Clinton supporters according to that one poll saying they're not quite sold on Obama yet. So McCain is trying to mine that. And you know, he was on the "Tonight Show" last night, sort of low risk for him, joking about his age. He's got a big birthday coming up Friday. And McCain joked, "you know, my Social Security Number is eight and that's how old I am."
It's a chance for him right now, this race is much closer than the Republicans ever expected. So, he's sort of casting himself as the underdog and having a little fun with it. And that's why there's a lot more pressure right now on the Democrats -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Social Security Number eight. I don't think that's possible, but it did get a laugh, that's for sure.
Good to see you, Ed, thanks.
Upstaging the Democrats, we're going to look at how Republicans plan to limit Barack Obama's post-convention bounce.
Also, Barack Obama hoping to finally unite his party at the Denver convention. So, where do the Democrats go from there? Hillary Clinton set to give the big speech tonight and our political panel is standing by. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: 11 minutes after the hour. So, what's next for Democrats once Barack Obama is nominated? Let's turn to our panel for a look ahead. Leslie Sanchez, Republican analyst and CNN political contributor. Patricia Murphy is the editor of citizenjanepolitics.com. And John Avlon, independent political analyst and author of "Independent Nation."
Good morning to you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning.
ROBERTS: To get to where we're going, we need to look at where this convention is headed. And our David Gergen last night, looking at this whole thing, seemed to think that it wasn't translating well outside of this hall. And you really want it to translate well to bring new voters, John, particularly independents. Let's listen to what David Gergen said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: We're two hours into this and the Democrats have offered almost no substance for television purposes. You know, we've had very little that's been compelling this far. I'm sure this is working well in the hall and the excitement in the hall is palpable, you know, in the coverage. But for the large television audience that's watching and waiting to hear what the message is, to get two hours into a convention is really stunning to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So, John, your people are the ones that they're targeting with the television coverage of independents nationwide that they want to bring into the fold. What do independents get from watching this last night?
JOHN AVLON, INDEPENDENT POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think independents got the message of a unified, optimistic Democratic Party. It was a night that was not big.
ROBERTS: Was it compelling?
AVLON: It was not harsh political partisan rhetoric. It was not a lot of red meat, but independents respond to that. I think that's the important thing here. Independents don't want to see an angry party of Obama. What they want to see is a party that's confident, that's reaching out. But there's no question that, you know, Republican Congressman Jim Leach did not give a compelling speech compared to say Zell Miller at the Republican convention four years ago. But I think --
ROBERTS: (INAUDIBLE) set his hair on fire and ran around the room, right? AVLON: Which is hard to do in Denver with the fire codes. But I think the important thing here is they didn't go negative. You're going to see a prosecution of making a case against the Bush administration, but last night was about optimism and unity.
LESLIE SANCHEZ, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: There's an interesting point to that, because if you talk to a lot of sort Democrats or independent conservatives, they will say, I'm tired of the partisan bickering. I want this two people to figure out a way to work together and get to meaningful solution. I think in that respect it's right. But I don't think they connected on the outside, because they didn't connect with the people on the inside. Aside from Senator Kennedy speech and definitely Michelle Obama which were the two highlights of the --
ROBERTS: You don't think they connected on the inside?
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Not really. Nancy Pelosi was the one who engaged the people the most just because there's some red meat.
ROBERTS: What do you think?
PATRICIA MURPHY, CITIZENJANEPOLITICS.COM: Well, last night I thought was a little bit self-indulgent of the Democrats. But it's very typical of the first night at any convention particularly for the Democratic Party. You have to check the boxes. They've got the labor leader. They had Claire McCaskill, who's done a lot of favors for Barack Obama. They had the Teachers Union. You just have to check those boxes people -- certain people need primetime slots. You get it out of the way on Monday night to have two marquis speeches that really I think resonated and left a very strong impression of strong families and strong family values. It was a good night.
ROBERTS: So, as you were saying, Patricia, a lot of people you have to check the box on. So the mantra of the Obama campaign is change, change, change. But what a lot of people saw last night, independent voters as well, was some same, same, same. So are they looking at this now and saying -- wait a minute, what party is this -- John.
AVLON: No. I think Obama is such a historic candidate of change, racial change, generation change. And what Michelle Obama needed to do, she did. She need to humanize the Obama family so the American people feel comfortable making this enormous change. That's the big hurdle she had to clear. Accusations of any Americanism and all that stuff. She more than did that with the compelling speech. That's what needed to be done, and I think she did it.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: Do you want to throw one more angry (INAUDIBLE) before we go.
SANCHEZ: No, really. If you look at the fact, I would agree with the point that this was patronage to all these traditional Democratic groups. If you believe in isolating and disfranchising all the groups together versus Republicans who are looking at solutions and bringing people together for one common thing.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, next week it's your turn and the tables will be turned. We'll do it again with you. All right. Thanks very much.
New details about security scares here in Denver. Was Barack Obama's life really in danger? We're going to tell you what authorities are saying after arresting three men they say were caught with rifles, ammunition, and drugs. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Breaking news into CNN right now. Hurricane Gustav gaining strength as it threatens to hit Haiti. Rob Marciano is tracking the storm live from our hurricane headquarters with more on the track, the path and the strength of this hurricane.
Hi, Rob.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: And right now Ali Velshi joins us. He's been taking a look at how issue number one relates to which candidate is making changes and has a plan to do various things.
We talked about your taxes a little bit earlier. And now, we're talking about jobs.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We've lost almost half a million jobs this year alone. This is a hallmark of a tough economy. So these two candidates both have plans for jobs. And I want to run you through a couple of those.
Let's start with Barack Obama. The biggest thing he talked about is creating about 2 million infrastructure jobs, public infrastructure jobs. You know, replenishing roadways and infrastructure projects. That's sort of almost an old fashioned, new deal way of doing things. But there's an argument that a lot of infrastructure hasn't been maintained. So this might be a good way to do.
He also wants to raise the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour by 2010. It's going to hit $7.25 an hour next year. The last of three yearly increases. Barack Obama wants to increase it further and then peg it to inflation. He also advocates stronger unionization, and that is something that's been strengthened by his choice of Joe Biden as a vice president. Joe Biden has got a long reputation as being a pro- union guy. He also wants to extend and expand unemployment insurance.
Now take it over to John McCain for a second, and see what he's talking about. McCain tends to feel that if you give businesses the money, they will create jobs, they will expand. So he wants to keep those corporate tax low. He wants to lower them from 35 percent a year to 25 percent. Earlier, I had said 20 percent, that was incorrect. It was a drop of 35 percent to 25 percent. He wants to keep the minimum wage at the $7.25 an hour that it hits next July, not link it to inflation. Wants to consolidate some of the unemployment programs.
Something that's interesting is he wants to reform the training programs for job seekers. That's a very big deal because so many of the jobs in this country that have been lost had been manufacturing and industrial workers. People who are maybe middle age, not able to retrain or not easily retrained for other jobs. So John McCain wants to specialize in retraining those people for other jobs. They both have very interesting components of their job plans.
CHETRY: The other hard part is when you've been working for that long and you're making a certain amount.
VELSHI: Very hard.
CHETRY: How do you go back in this job force entry level?
VELSHI: And start entry level. That's exactly right.
CHETRY: All right. Ali Velshi, good to see you. Thanks.
Well, we're gearing up for Senator Hillary Clinton's speech tonight. So what does Barack Obama's one-time rival need to say to get her millions of supporters to rally behind the Democrat's nominee?
ROBERTS: Pulling even.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: Nice to be back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: McCain grabs his own spotlight in late night while Obama tries to steal the show. A top Republican strategist on how McCain stays in the game. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Coming up at 25 minutes after the hour. We're back at the Pepsi Center for the second day of the Democratic National Convention here in Denver. We're covering the "Most Politics in the Morning." And joining me now to talk more about the convention so far, how the Democrats are doing, and where they go from here, CNN political contributor, Paul Begala who was a strategist for the Clinton-Gore campaign.
Paul, good to see you.
PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: John, thanks.
ROBERTS: What do you think so far because going into this convention, you were saying the Democrats can't do what they did in 2004, which was to speak no ill of the opposition.
BEGALA: Right. The most important thing for the party out of power is to challenge the party in power. To tell the American people the folks who have been running the joint have done a bad job.
Now, 82 percent of the country already thinks we're moving in the wrong direction. It should be real easy. Last night there wasn't any of that, but it wasn't the time or place. I couldn't have been more impressed with Ted Kennedy.
ROBERTS: So you disagree with James Carville who said wasted opportunity last night.
BEGALA: I love James, my best friend in the whole world, but a brick is not a wall. Right? One night is not the convention. It would have been wrong for Teddy heroically fighting cancer to stand up there and make a bunch of partisan shots, right? It would have been wrong for Michelle Obama who was there as her husband's best character to introduce this wonderful family to be launching a bunch of political broadsides. So, that's OK with me. Some reassurance, but it should be about three to one attack versus reassurance.
And by attack, I mean, saying they've done a bad job on the issues. I don't want personal attacks, but I think (INAUDIBLE) is not a good shape et cetera. They should attack.
ROBERTS: So you are looking forward to tonight's keynote address by former Virginian Governor Mark Warner as being the starting point of that attack to Republicans.
BEGALA: Absolutely.
ROBERTS: And I told you just a couple of moments ago, that the politico was talking to him and he says he's vowing not to attack, getting to those sort of partisan attacks (INAUDIBLE).
BEGALA: You know, I now live in Virginia. He's one of the best governors my state ever produced, but he's not there as a bipartisan figure. It's a partisan convention and it is his obligation to make the case against Bush-McCain. Why the Republicans are four more years of the same old thing. This is not the rotary club. This is not the chamber of commerce, it is his obligation.
And it's more important that the keynoter do it when you have a remarkable future first lady like Michelle speaking or a hero like Teddy Kennedy. It means Hillary Clinton, who is speaking tonight, Senator Pete Warner -- I hope -- Mark Warner, former governor. All the other speakers are going to have to really tear into the Republicans with the possible exception of Bill Clinton, who's going to talk about foreign policy.
ROBERTS: So if Warner is not going to do it, when you say he needed to do it, does that mean it falls to Hillary Clinton to start doing it?
BEGALA: No, it falls to Mark Warner. He needs to do it. ROBERTS: He says he's not going to do it.
BEGALA: And he's making a mistake.
ROBERTS: I don't know if you're going to change his mind.
BEGALA: Well, he watches every morning.
Governor, they've done a terrible job. If you have run your state the way they've run the country the entire State of Virginia would be bankrupt instead of the best run state of America.
ROBERTS: But if he doesn't listen to you, does it then fall to Hillary Clinton to do some of that?
BEGALA: One person can't do this. Because then they'll just dismiss it, and say -- you know, they attack -- they always attack women more viciously than men. They'll say -- oh, she's a shrew or they use worse language. She needs to do it and I hope she will. And I think she will. I don't think she much approve of how Bush and McCain have been running things, but neither should Governor Warner approve of the Republicans and in how they have run things. Again, I'm not looking for personal attacks, but I want a sustained all-out critique of how they have failed this country.
ROBERTS: What do you expect is going to happen next week at the Republican convention? Are they going to soft pedal the Democrats?
BEGALA: I think the question answers itself. Will the Republican keynote speaker get up and refrain from attacking? They will say things about Barack Obama that you -- of course, that are untrue. They will attack him as my old friend and mentor and boss Zell Miller used to say, unrelentlessly. Go right after him. And that's their job. Well, it's the Democrat's job to make the case for change. The case for change begins with the party in power has done a bad job. And it's an easy case. I think they ruined the country in their first term. They ruined the world in their second. What are they going to do if they get a third?
ROBERTS: Well, we'll find out two things. We'll find, A, if Mark Warner was watching, and B, if he listened to you. Paul Begala, it's great to see you.
BEGALA: Thanks, John.
ROBERTS: Thanks for coming in.
It's coming up on 29 minutes after the hour. Coming to you live from the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, this morning. Day two of the Democratic National Convention. All eyes turn to Senator Hillary Clinton delivering tonight's primetime speech. Also tonight, former Virginia Governor Mark Warner, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, and Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius -- Kiran.
CHETRY: And Michelle Obama used her speech to tackle criticism against her husband and herself. On patriotism, Obama said she loves her country because of a common belief among Americans that the world needs to change. She also spoke about her husband's efforts to boost working class families.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
M. OBAMA: It's what he did all those years ago in Chicago, setting up job training to get people back to work and after school programs to keep kids safe, working block by block to help people lift up their families. It's what he did in the Illinois Senate, moving people from welfare to jobs, passing tax cuts for hard working families, and making sure women get equal pay for equal work.
(APPLAUSE)
M. OBAMA: It's what he's done in the United States Senate fighting to ensure that the men and women who serve this country are welcomed home, just not with medals and parades, but with good jobs and benefits and health care, including mental health care.
See, that's why Barack's running, to end the war in Iraq responsibly. To build an economy that lifts every family, to make sure health care is available for every American, and to make sure that every single child in this nation has a world-class education, all the way from preschool to college. That's what Barack Obama will do as president of the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Obama also deflected criticism about her husband's elitism, saying his family, "scrimped and saved to provide him opportunities."
Barack Obama was watching his wife's speech with Jim and Alicia Gerardo, social workers from Kansas City and their three daughters. Obama then addressed the convention. His big speech comes Thursday, that's when he'll formally accept the party's nomination. John.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN, ANCHOR: We're learning new details this morning, Kiran, about what authorities first thought was a threat against Senator Obama. Police arrested three people not far from the convention center. They say that the men were armed with rifles, boxes of ammunition, and drugs. CNN's Joe Johns has got more for us this morning.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This morning, the United States Attorney's office told CNN, "we can say this. We're absolutely confident there is no credible threat to the candidate. The Democratic National Convention, or the people of Colorado." What we know is that at least three men, possibly four, have been arrested in the Denver area on firearm and methamphetamine charges. Police said one of those men was driving a rented truck with at least two rifles in it and a scope. Police said they also found a bulletproof vest and walkie talkies. Police said a second man jumped out of a sixth- floor hotel room window when they went to visit him. Now, there are at least two reasons why this story sounds a little shaky. A source tells CNN that one of the men arrested said that one of the other men had threatened Senator Obama. So that's not necessarily a reliable statement of fact.
The other big problem for authorities is that drugs are involved. Methamphetamine. The authorities say they simply do not know whether this was serious or whether it was, "some methed up yahoos high on drugs talking out of their heads." Nonetheless, authorities appear to be taking it very seriously.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Clearly we feel that there are federal implications, otherwise we would have not have notified those agencies. Beyond that, I can't elaborate because again the investigation is ongoing at the federal level and with an event that is as large as the one that is going on in Denver and the security implications associated with that, it would be inappropriate for members of our agency to be talking about where they are with their investigation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And tonight it is Hillary's turn. Hillary Clinton will get her chance to unite the party in a big speech, but did the democrats already miss a golden opportunity on night one? Joining me now, republican strategist Ed Rollins. You've been a part of these, you've advised convention leaders on how those things should go for the republican party. And James Carville called last night a wasted night for the democrats. What would you have done differently?
ED ROLLINS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, first of all, I would have featured Nancy Pelosi. Nancy Pelosi is the highest-ranking woman in the democratic party, Speaker of the House, obviously, that's a part of the political process too. She was sort of buried in her speech, obviously, may have been inside, but nobody outside ever heard a thing about it. You know, secondly, I think you've just got to lay out why Barack Obama is qualified to be president. You heard a very lovely speech by the wife about what a great father he is and what a great husband he is, and what he does as a community activist, but that does not reassure Americans that this is a guy ready to step into the Oval office and be commander in chief. And I think those are things that I think are very important to tell.
CHETRY: The other thing that Paul Begala was just saying that he was imploring Mark Warner, the Virginia governor who is going to be giving the keynote address, to go on the attack and to make big distinctions by criticizing John McCain and linking him to President Bush. He says he's not going to do that. Is that a mistake?
ROLLINS: Well, I think the bottom line is you've got to do what you do well. And Governor Warner, obviously, is someone who has had a very successful campaign. It would be nice, I think, for democrats, not for republicans, to lay out the contrasts. Here's where we want to take the country, here's where the democrats, I mean here's where the republicans have and here's where they failed. We're going to certainly do that next week. We're going to basically talk about where we want to move the country and why we think another liberal democrat is not going to take the country in the right direction. CHETRY: John McCain certainly not laying low, he had an appearance last night on Jay Leno. He is out there. John McCain also is trying to make sure that he's not painted as a continuation of a third Bush term. If you look at his voting record since 2001, he has sided with the President about 90 percent of the time. How does he draw that distinction that his administration would not be a continuation of Bush's -
ROLLINS: I think the weakness that President Bush has shown has been in the leadership quotient. It's not about his record in legislation. But I think the bottom line is that people feel he's lost his way as a leader. John McCain is a tough, strong leader. And that's what we need. And I think that's what it's about. It's not about new legislation, it's not about new direction as much as it is replacing one leader who's sort of faltering at the end of his term with someone who's very experienced and someone who can move forward.
CHETRY: Tell me who the targeted voter is for these new ads, McCain ads that are featuring Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton saying Barack Obama doesn't have enough experience and praising John McCain in debates. Who are they targeting?
ROLLINS: Here's the math. Both parties end up with about 90 percent of their base and then you've got a substantial bloc of voters who are independent. You need better than half of those independents to win. You need some democrats. And obviously we have an opportunity with Hillary democrats being unhappy. If it's all democrats voting 100 percent for their candidate, 100 percent republicans. They have more democrats, so we desperately needed those independents. Independents and democrats who are not happy with the liberal direction of their party.
CHETRY: All right. Ed Rollins, great to see you and get your take as always. Thanks for being here.
ROLLINS: My pleasure. Thank you very much.
CHETRY: And don't forget live coverage of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, will kick off here on AMERICAN MORNING. That's September 1st.
Well, after ignoring the faithful for decades, we're going to find out how democrats are trying to forge a new relationship with the religious community and whether or not it will work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY (voice-over): Video vixen. Madonna's new stage show that has both campaigns wanting to pull the plug. You're watching the most news in the morning.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: This is a new video right now from Madonna's new - well, this is actually a shot of KUSA, Denver. A beautiful shot of the Mile High City this morning, coming to us from our affiliate there. And this is going to be Madonna in a second. "Sticky and Sweet" tour, that's what Madonna's new tour is. She has McCain camp and supporters outraged this morning with one element in that tour. And it's a video montage, it features images of destruction, global warming, Adolf Hitler, the dictator Robert Mugabe and then John McCain.
Our Alina Cho joins us now with more on why she's doing it and the fall out.
Certainly, Madonna's no stranger to controversy, Alina, but this one has the McCain camp fired up this morning.
ALINA CHO, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: That's absolutely right. And we're going to show you that video in just a second, Kiran. You know, in the past, she has taken on sex, religion, and now as Madonna kicks off her new concert tour, the "Material Girl" is talking politics. But some say this time, she's taken it too far.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got your documentary coming up.
CHO (voice-over): She may spend much of her time in England these days but Madonna is making her thoughts clear on the United States' presidential election.
The "Material Girl" takes on republican presidential candidate John McCain in her latest "Sticky and Sweet" tour. Seen in this YouTube video. In a montage of her song "Get Stupid," Madonna juxtaposes an image of McCain with Adolf Hitler and Zimbabwe's dictator Robert Mugabe, as well as shots of death and destruction.
The McCain campaign quickly fired back, saying the comparisons are outrageous, unacceptable and crudely divisive all at the same time.
Madonna chose much softer images for the democrats, pictures of John Lennon, Al Gore and Mahatma Gandhi. The McCain camp used that as an opportunity to reignite their claim that Obama is more celebrity than politician.
"It clearly shows that when it comes to supporting Barack Obama, his fellow worldwide celebrities refused to consider any smear or attack off limits."
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Politically it was brilliant for the republicans to take this issue, to seize on it and try to link Barack Obama to it. But the fact of the matter is Barack Obama has no control over who supports him for president.
CHO: For its part the Obama camp condemned Madonna's video at the same time hitting back at the McCain campaign. "These comparisons are outrageous and offensive and have no place in the political process. We hope that John McCain will offer a similar condemnation as his allies increasingly practice sleazy swift boat politics." (END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: And if you watched the video you'll notice that John McCain isn't the only republican featured in the Madonna montage. Former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee also makes an appearance. And did we mention that Madonna's not doing this for publicity. Her international tour kicks off on Saturday. She is coming to the U.S. in October with three concerts right here in New York and she recently turned 50 years old. Nice to see her and I think it's safe to say that she's getting as much publicity now as she did when she was 30, Kiran.
CHETRY: That's her specialty, for sure.
All right. Alina, thank you.
CHO: You bet.
CHETRY: Well, my party held this nominating convention and all I got was this lousy speech. It could be Hillary Clinton's lament. And of course, there's more for her in Denver and you can smell it, it's another unconventional moment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): Finding faith.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The democrats had a wake-up call and said, what are we doing wrong?
ROBERTS: Prayer and politics. Mary Snow looks at the democrat's new game plan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What they really want are the moderate evangelicals.
ROBERTS: You're watching the most news in the morning.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes, it takes a village and it takes a president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: That was then. First Lady Hillary Clinton at the 1996 democratic convention in Chicago and this evening, Senator Clinton will take the stage again, but this time as the democratic runner-up. Also taking the microphone tonight, keynote speaker, former Virginia Governor Mark Warner, who's running for the Senate in Virginia. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, and Kansas Governor, Kathleen Sebelius. So lots of big names tonight. But before they head out to the podium, they'll be backstage. That's where CNN's political contributor and democratic strategist Donna Brazile takes us with a behind the scenes look now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONNA BRAZILE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: The Clinton-Obama campaign, in an effort to unify the party, designed me to be a whip today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sure they're all very grateful to be whipped by Donna.
BRAZILE: I know. Look at that. Florida's over there. I just went to talk to Florida, talked to Michigan, everybody's happy. And I want to do where people go before they get on the podium. Just going to backstage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, this is situation.
BRAZILE: Members of congress are right here in this room. Well governor, the fundamentals of a good speech is start low, go slow, rise high, strike, and then sit your butt down. Mr. Chairman, I just want to say that you've done a terrific and bringing us to this moment.
HOWARD DEAN, DNC CHAIRMAN: All I want to say is that you know, for both us, thing we damn well better win.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: All right. Well, Michelle Obama headlined the first night at the Democratic Convention and she could be the country's first African-American first lady. Last night she talked about her roots, her family values, as she urged Americans to choose her husband as the next president.
Michelle Obama got a thumbs up from her husband whom she praised during last night's speech.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, SEN. BARACK OBAMA'S WIFE: Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values. Like you work hard for what you want in life. That your word is your bond, that you do what you say you're going to do. That you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them and even if you don't agree with them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: That was Michelle Obama talking about how she and Barack Obama share the traditional American values and among them, faith. Which this year is playing a big role at the Democratic Convention. Democrats are hoping to capture religious voters who have typically gone to the GOP. CNN's Mary Snow joins us now with more on this. It is going to be a tough sell, because in 2000 and 2004, you saw large numbers of the, "religious right" voting for George W. Bush rather than John Kerry in 2004.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And some democrats say they learned a big lesson from that. You'll see opening prayers at each session. Also faith caucuses are on the agenda in Denver. It's all part of an effort by democrats to widen the party's tent.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): Here's something you didn't see at the last democratic convention. A choir singing about the lord, pastors and priests and imam and rabbi leading an interfaith rally.
DAVID BRODY, CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING NETWORK: What you're seeing from the democrats is a real effort to make sure that religion is key in the democratic party.
SNOW: And that's a break from the past. In 2004, democrats shied away from using faith as part of their pitch. But when Evangelicals, Protestants and Catholics helped get George Bush elected, democrats took note.
ERIC SAPP, COMMON GOOD STRATEGIES: The democrats had a wake-up call and said, what are we doing wrong?
SNOW: Eric Sapp is consulting the party on religious issues. He says democrats are speaking more openly about values. Case in point, Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey, a Catholic who opposes abortion is addressing the convention. His father, the late governor Bob Casey was denied a speaking role at the 1992 convention because of his opposition to abortion rights. Democrats are appealing to faith-based groups not voting solely on abortion, but also broader concept such as war, poverty, and the environment.
BRODY: What they really want are the moderate Evangelicals and some of the more moderate Catholics that have a concern about the life issue, but also see it much broader than that.
SNOW: But mixing prayer and politics carries some risks.
SAPP: Most voters want to hear about where our values come from. There is always a danger as you engage in this area. You walk along a knife's edge.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: And a recent poll underscores the work democrats have cut out for them in making inroads with religious voters. The Pew Research Center finds preferences particularly of white Evangelicals have not changed much since 2004. Kiran.
CHETRY: And as you mentioned, Bob Casey, he's pro-life and he is going to be speaking tonight. How does he show others in the Christian conservative communities, pro-lifers, that there's room for them in this tent, even though the platform is pro-choice?
SNOW: That is exactly the pitch that he's trying to make. You know, we spoke with him the other day and he acknowledges that there are some voters who will strictly base their vote on abortion and for them the democratic party is not the ticket. He is trying to make the case that there is room for compromise because of a broader appeal of issues.
CHETRY: Very interesting. All right, Mary, thanks.
SNOW: Sure.
CHETRY: Well, here's a closer look at the evangelical vote. In an "A.M. Extra" now, according to exit polls from 2004 of the people who said they were evangelical or born-again Christian, 78 percent voted for George Bush, 21 percent for John Kerry. And in 2000, 80 percent of the voters who identified themselves as part of the religious right voted for Bush, 18 percent voted for Al Gore.
Well, can you smell what Hillary Clinton is cooking? A new perfume has an unconventional obsession with the one-time democratic front-runner. We'll show you. You're watching the most news in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, HOST, "TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": Tonight, Joe Biden is in great physical condition, republicans are raising questions about his health now. I guess he had a brain aneurysm a couple of years ago. Yes. Hey, you can't expect every vice president to be the picture of health like Dick Cheney. OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Jay Leno taking a light-night stab at soon to be former vice president Dick Cheney, who by the way, will be speaking at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September the first, that's a Monday night, the very first night. And of course, CNN will be there with complete coverage. Barack Obama will be crowned by democrats here in Denver this week, but you can still get a whiff of Hillary Clinton's failed bid for the nomination. Our Jeanne Moos has got another un-conventional moment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You won't see this scent for sale at the democratic convention.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Catharsis.
ANNOUNCER: A fragrance for the woman who lost the one thing she ever wanted and instead just gets one lousy speech.
MOOS: A comedy group called Public Service Administration created "Catharsis," calling it a temper tantrum in a bottle.
ANNOUNCER: The smell that says me, me, me. MOOS: Just when the real Hillary is saying, him, him, him.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ready to elect Barack Obama.
ANNOUNCER: Smells like a woman.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A woman who is pretty sure she should be president.
ANNOUNCER: But she'll have to settle for this.
MOOS: With an unconventionally cathartic moment, I'm Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: All right, there you have it.
We have some breaking news into CNN right now. It's Hurricane Gustav now gaining strength as it threatens to hit Haiti. Our Rob Marciano is tracking the storm for us from our hurricane headquarters. Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Kiran. 90 miles an hour sustained winds now. It's almost a category two and about 75 miles from Port-au Prince and heading in that direction. And the forecast is for it to continue to strengthen.
Some of the water temperatures in the Caribbean and then in the Gulf of Mexico as well, 85, 86, 86 1/2 degrees. That's toasty. And that's definitely some juice. It's going to run the gap between Cuba and Jamaica. We get to this area, we get a little less certain as to how strong it is and what direction it's going.
But the National Hurricane Center has this as a category three somewhere along the Yucatan, western tip of Cuba, potentially in the Gulf of Mexico by Sunday as a major hurricane. So this is certainly of a major concern for anybody from Florida to the Texas coastline as this thing could take aim at the U.S. beginning next week. We'll keep an eye on it. Kiran, back up to you.
CHETRY: All right. Rob, thanks so much. And thanks everyone for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. For John Roberts in Denver, I'm Kiran Chetry here in New York and our convention coverage continues right now.
Here's Soledad O'Brien. Hi, Soledad.
