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Campbell Brown

Joe Biden and Barack Obama Speak in Dublin, Ohio; Gustav Tracking into Gulf of Mexico

Aired August 30, 2008 - 19:00   ET

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

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: The enthusiasm of Democrats, Wolf. Now you're seeing some enthusiasm among those cultural conservatives for the Republican ticket that they did not have before. Look at the size of this rally...
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.

BORGER: The John McCain rally we just saw. He was having trouble getting a lot of people to his rallies. Now today, we saw a very, very large turnout for him. So, this is going to help him in those battle ground states with evangelical conservatives. The big question, Wolf, though, is -- what does it do for those independent voters, those suburban women between the ages of 30 and 60 who supported Hillary Clinton? That is very big unknown.

BLITZER: And John Glenn, the former U.S. senator from Ohio, the former astronaut, a legend, an icon in Ohio, especially. He's introducing Joe Biden, who will then introduce Barack Obama.

And we'll go there live when the vice presidential nominee of the Democratic Party speaks.

It's a difficult challenge that these Democrats have, you point out, and you make a good point, Gloria, on how to deal with Sarah Palin because the surrogates out there, the supporters are saying -- this woman has no experience in national security, she's not qualified to be commander-in-chief. But it's going to be hard as you say for the ticket themselves -- I assume -- for them to directly make that challenge.

BORGER: Yes, they have made a decision not to attack her on the experience issue, for example, but to talk about where they disagree on the issues and where she disagrees on the issues from the Hillary Clinton supporters, because that's key. Most of Hillary Clinton supporters support abortion rights. Most of Hillary Clinton supporters support pay equity. Most of Hillary Clinton supporters believe that global warming is man-made. So I think they're going to stick with the issues against her.

BLITZER: And here you see the pool of photographers coming on the stage. They're going to take some pictures. The ticket, though is about to walk up on the stage. That would be Barack Obama and Joe Biden. And as I say, we'll be hearing from Joe Biden first.

They're walking in. John Glenn warmed up the crowd earlier the governor of Ohio, Ted Strickland, did, and the senator, the Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, as well. So, they've got the big guns of the Ohio Democratic Party out there. This is a state that both of these presidential contenders desperately want to win.

We remember that George W. Bush carried Ohio narrowly in 2004, but that was enough to get him reelected at the expense of John Kerry.

And there you see them walking in. There's Barack Obama. A popular figure at this crowd, very popular figure, going to shake some hands and do that rope line as he comes up to the stage. As I say, Joe Biden should be following him up there, as well.

Let's listen a little bit as we get ready to hear from this -- from this Democratic presidential ticket.

(MUSIC)

BLITZER: All right. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois is working the crowd there as he tries to make his way up to the stage. And he's going to be followed -- I haven't seen him yet, Joe Biden, I assume he's there.

Is Jim Acosta -- there he is, there's Senator Biden right now and senator -- as you can see, Senator Obama a little bit more casual today, neither wearing ties. But Senator Biden's got his blazer there, his got his sport coat, and they're being received by former Senator John Glenn.

All right. Jim Acosta's our man on the scene.

Give us a little flavor right now, Jim. It's a huge, huge rally at this local high school.

All right, I don't think Jim Acosta was hearing me, but it's loud there. Let's listen into Senator Biden.

SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ladies and gentlemen, -- whoa!

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

(CROWD CHANTING)

BIDEN: Ladies and gentlemen -- hello, Dublin. Hey, folks -- folks, my name is Joe Biden.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

BIDEN: And I want to tell you, Barack, when your mother's maiden name is Finnegan and you're going to Dublin and you're appearing at the "Home of the Shamrocks," it kind of feels right. And when you're with a guy named Obama, it really works. Hey, folks -- that's right -- around here, they tell me you draw this crowd for every football game you have, is that right?

Well, I'm going to thank -- let me begin by thanking a really close friend of mine for years, a guy who was, has been, and continues to be my hero. I was a 29-year-old kid when I got to the Senate and one of the most exciting days -- this is the truth -- most exciting days for me, a senator who had been there for a couple years already, was getting to meet John Glenn when he became United States senator.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

BIDEN: And I know you Ohioans know who he is, but let me tell you something, what was even better was getting to know and falling in love with Annie Glenn, one of the finest women I have ever met in my life. You know, John showed that in America at its best -- you can do anything. You can go literally and figuratively as high as you want.

But ladies and gentlemen, that bargain, that bargain we've always had as Americans that defines our nation, which is that when you work hard -- when you work hard, there are no limits.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, that bargain is being frayed today in the Bush/McCain era, that bargain is in question. It's not just the people on the assembly lines who are in trouble, it's people all the way up the line, economically, are in trouble.

My dad -- my dad who may be like a lot of your dads fell on hard economic times used to say, "Champ, when you get knocked down, get up, get up as quickly as you can." But folks, I've never seen in all my time in Washington where so many people have been knocked down and our government has done so little to help them get back up.

I could walk from here to Cleveland and I wouldn't run into a single person, I suspect, who would tell me they thought the economy was strong unless I ran into John McCain. Folks, John's my friend, but he doesn't see the economy the same way Barack and I do, or I suspect any of you do. Like President Bush who said today the economy is getting stronger, that's what he said, in a Saturday address.

John McCain -- John McCain just said a few weeks ago, and I want to quote him, he said, "In the Bush administration, we've made great progress on our economy."

(CROWD BOOING)

BIDEN: He says we're on the right track. Well, if John McCain thinks we're on the right track that's not a train I want to be on.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

BIDEN I honest to goodness don't think John gets it. Let me just explain. I know some of these things are really hard to believe, but this is what John McCain has said and done. John's proposed $200 billion in new tax cuts for corporate America -- for just nine individual corporations, $100 billion.

Ladies and gentlemen -- ladies and gentlemen, he does not call for a single solitary penny in tax breaks for 100 million American families. Ladies and gentlemen, at the same time, John wants to give after the oil companies have made $600 billion in profits since 2000, he thinks they should have another $4 billion tax cut. (CROWD BOOING)

BIDEN: At the same time -- at the same time, not one single penny for renewable energy. No money for new ways in which to save our economy.

Ladies and gentlemen, John McCain -- John McCain, voted 19 times against raising the minimum wage for people who are struggling just to get to the very next day.

Ladies and gentlemen, John wants to spend another -- continue to spend $10 billion a month on the war in Iraq while the Iraqis -- while the Iraqis have an $80 billion surplus. Well, let me tell you something -- this past year, John McCain voted with George Bush 95 percent of the time. So if you think George Bush deserves a third time, vote for John McCain.

(CROWD BOOING)

BIDEN: Look -- look -- Barack Obama gets it. Barack Obama gets it.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

BIDEN: This guy after college, this guy after college -- he gets a little embarrassed at this -- but truth is, this guy after college could have written his ticket to Wall Street or anyplace in the nation, anyplace in the world. But instead, he decided he was going to go to the streets of Chicago, the South Side of Chicago, the very places where literally like all of you have experienced in this state, where the steel plant had just closed down, where a neighborhood, a neighborhood was in distress, and one of the things he did was very simple is the best way for me to explain it.

He made the lives of those people he met there, he made that the work of his life, in the community, in the Senate, and that's exactly what he'll do as your president. He'll make their lives his life.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

BIDEN: You know, I ran in the primaries this fellow, and I saw something incredible. I saw something you all saw. I was working like the devil. I was working hard and I got -- people were being really nice. I don't mean -- and this is literally true. And I saw something I had never ever, ever seen before. I watched a guy tap into just by his very being, his bearing and his ideas, tap into the age old American belief that many have forgotten, and that is -- you don't have to accept the situation you can not bear. You can change it. You can change it.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

BIDEN: And change is exactly what Barack Obama and I will do as president and vice president of the United States.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

(CROWD CHANTING) BIDEN: I think I should let go and not do the rest of this, don't you think?

Ladies and gentlemen -- (INAUDIBLE) that's right. You can.

One thing I want to mention to you, I want to get something straight here. I supposedly, you know, know something about foreign policy. I love these guys all of a sudden call me this big expert. Let me tell you something else I observed. And John McCain talks about, you know, John, that Barack is not ready. Let me just tell you something. Where I come from, the neighborhood I come from, you measure people on their deeds, and not their words.

Let's just do a little comparison here. I want to just -- I want to make just two points here because I want you to hear Barack and I want to get out of the way here.

Ladies and gentlemen -- ladies and gentlemen, I want to point out a couple of things. John McCain -- let's see who's right about this -- John McCain said just about three years ago, he said, "You know, there's a reason we don't" -- I'm paraphrasing. The reason we don't read about Afghanistan in the newspaper anymore, it has succeeded.

Now, wait a minute, Barack Obama -- Barack Obama, in the United States Senate and the campaign trail, well over a year ago said, "We desperately need to add and get two more combat battalions to Afghanistan because if we don't, we may lose it."

Now, wait a minute now. Listen -- what happened? Those mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan are where al Qaeda lives. That's where Taliban is, that's where bin Laden is. And no less than the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States military validated what Barack said by saying and I want to make sure I quote him correctly, he said, "Getting more troops there now is, quote, 'an urgent requirement.'"

Ladies and gentlemen, Barack Obama was right. John McCain was wrong.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

BIDEN: John McCain said famously, "Why would we want to talk to Iran? What do we have to talk about?" Barack Obama said, "And let me tell you something, we better talk to Iran, make clear that they need to change their conduct, and let them know what will happen if they don't."

Well, ladies and gentlemen, after seven years of denial, what did the Bush administration do just a month ago? It went to talk to Iran. Why? Because they know that's the way to enhance our security. John McCain was wrong and Barack Obama was right!

Ladies and gentlemen...

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

BIDEN: I give you one more example. These are the major, major security issues of today. John McCain said if we should not talk about a time line, we should not talk about any plans to how we'll draw our troops down and he went on to say we'll stay there if it takes 100 years.

(CROWD BOOING)

BIDEN: Well, Barack Obama said something a while ago that wasn't very popular. He had the courage to say it. He stood up and he said, "Look, we have to set a timeline to drawdown. We have to shift responsibility to the Iraqis, set a timeline and bring our combat troops home."

Now, after six years, as chairman of the foreign relations committee, I'm about to have an agreement handed to me that we're going to have to vote on that is an agreement between George W. Bush and the Iraqi government that says we're going to set a timeline to bring our troops home. Barack Obama was right and John McCain was wrong.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm truly -- I'm truly honored to join Barack in this historic race. This is a race of great consequence for our generations to come.

Ladies and gentlemen, I've been reminded forcefully when I look at Barack's kids and my grandkids at that convention why I joined this ticket. I joined this ticket for them. I joined this ticket for everybody I grew up with in Scranton and Wilmington, Delaware. I joined this ticket -- I joined this ticket for the cops and the firefighters, the teachers and the assembly line workers. I joined this ticket for the folks whose ever day lives are the measure of whether the "American Dream" is still alive.

And I want to tell you one thing. Like you, the American people are ready. I am ready. Barack Obama is ready. Ready to get back up and -- ladies and gentlemen, the next president of the United States -- Barack Obama.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D-IL) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hello, Ohio. Thank you. Thank you everybody up there, and everybody over there and all you all back there. And everybody up there, thank you. You, too, back here.

What a beautiful night, what a beautiful night. And I understand there might be some Buckeye fans around here.

Congratulations, congratulations.

O-H.

(CROWD RESPONDING)

OBAMA: O-H.

(CROWD RESPONDING)

OBAMA: O-H.

(CROWD RESPONDING)

OBAMA: There are a couple of special thank you's I've got to make. First of all, nobody has -- nobody has had a more distinguished and heroic career in American public life than John Glenn. And I'm proud to have John Glenn's support. But I just have to echo something that Joe said.

I think the thing I admire most about John Glenn is his relationship to his wife, Annie. They have been married for 65 years -- 65 years. And you should see him the way he treats -- he's in love. Sixty-five years later, he's still in love. And no wonder, because she is a remarkable woman.

To your great governor, Ted Strickland, we are grateful to him for all the hardwork that he does everyday. To one of my favorite colleagues in the Senate: Sherrod Brown.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

OBAMA: We lost a member of Ohio's congressional delegation, and Joe and I, Sherrod and Ted were at her funeral today, but I hope all of you send your thoughts and prayers to the family of Stephanie Tubbs Jones, who was just a great, great member of Congress.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

OBAMA: One of my greatest and earliest supporters in this journey, the mayor of Columbus, Michael Coleman.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

OBAMA: And his wife, Frankie. Thank you. To state representative and minority leader in the Ohio House of Representatives, Joyce Beatty, to Barkley Hastings (ph) who led the pledge, and Reverend Colopy (ph) who led the invocation, and Will Wayne who led the field pitch.

And finally, just one other person I want to talk about, there's a woman here named Rebecca King (ph) who was a great volunteer of ours as was her husband. There was a tragic accident and she lost her husband recently. And she's still on crutches, but she's still coming out and volunteering every day and working hard on behalf of this campaign. And it's an example of the kind of contribution and community that people in this campaign are making. We are grateful to you, Rebecca, we love you. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

OBAMA: So we had a pretty good week this week.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

What do you think about Michelle Obama?

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

OBAMA: Michelle's all right. So she -- so she kicked things off and it just kept on getting better. You know, we had Hillary Clinton rock the house.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

OBAMA: We had President Bill Clinton making a case for change as only can he make it.

But you know what made it really special, what gave me great confidence, going into that speech on Thursday night was knowing that after 19 months of traversing this country, traveling through every state -- except Alaska, which now that I think about it -- I'm going to have to go up there now.

But after this long and difficult journey, to know that in the remainder of this journey, I'm going to have with me one of the great statesmen of our time, a man who knows how to talk to world leaders but also knows how to treat the conductors on the Amtrak train that he takes home every night.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

OBAMA: A man who's worked in Washington for decades but has never let Washington change him, is still the same scrappy kid from Scranton who's fighting every day on behalf of his neighbors and his friends, I am proud to have what I believe will be the next vice president of the United States, Joe Biden, standing beside me.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

OBAMA: Joe Biden. Biden, Biden, Biden, Biden, Biden.

(CROWD CHANTING)

OBAMA: Now, I will say that 19 months is a long time. This has been a long campaign. I mean, 19 months, that means there are babies that have been born, they're now walking, they're now talking, they're about to start preschool since I -- since I started this race. People have been remarking that my gray hair is quite a bit more noticeable than since I began.

So people ask me, people ask me -- well, what have you learned about America? I've learned that America is big and it is beautiful. We have some of the greatest real estate on the planet and we are truly blessed to be on this amazing land of ours.

I've learned that the American people are the most decent, most generous, hardest working people that you would ever want to meet, that they believe in family and they believe in community, and they love this country deeply and they are willing to sacrifice for the next generation.

But what I've also learned is that the American people are anxious. The American people are worried because they recognize that over the last eight years, this country has gone tragically off course. You know the statistics because you've lived them here in Ohio. You are working harder and harder just to get by. Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs have left. People have lost not just their job, but their healthcare, their pensions.

Your incomes, the average family income since George Bush took office has gone down $2,000. When Bill Clinton was president, it went up $7,500. So that means that at the end of the month, it's harder to pay the bills. Maybe you're tapping in to savings or you can't save at all.

For a while, maybe you were taking out a home equity loan because that was the only way to make your budget balance, but then nobody was minding the store on Wall Street as they were giving out predatory loans, and deceptive mortgage practices were taking place all across the country, and now suddenly, you've got a full blown housing crisis, you've got the greatest level of foreclosures since the Great Depression. And even if you're still in your home, you're seeing your home values plummet.

Credit cards may be maxed out. If you get sick, you may end up being bankrupt. And there are young people all across America who got the grades and the will to go to college but just don't have the money.

Now all of this is burden enough. High gas prices, high food prices, home heating bills on the way as winter comes.

All that is worrisome enough, but what I think is really making people so intently interested in this campaign is: What does it mean for the next generation, what does it mean for the next generation? Are we going to be able to leave an America that is more unified and more prosperous than the one we inherited from our parents and our grandparents because that is the essence of America? That's what I talked about on Thursday night -- the American promise.

It's not just the promise that we make to ourselves. It's a promise that we make to our kids and our grandkids that says that if you work hard, you will succeed. If you work hard, you can raise your own family. If you work hard, then not only will you succeed, but America will succeed. That's what we're fighting for. That's what's at risk and that's why I'm running for president of the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

OBAMA: Now, John McCain has different ideas. Very different some may say. John McCain has different ideas. I've said before and I will say again, John McCain served this country with distinction and bravery. And for that, we owe him our gratitude. But we don't owe him our vote. Because John McCain has a set of ideas that are identical to George Bush's.

On the most important issues facing this country, on how we rebuild our economy so it works for the middle class and how we change our foreign policy so that we regain respect in the world - oh, what happened, we got somebody fainted? If we got EMT? Just give her a little room or him a little room. Just give him a little room and if we can get an EMT right in front of the riser for the press. And if somebody has some water, I might have some back here. All right.

Here we go. There you go. So, they'll be OK. Now, let me -- That'll be all right.

John McCain as Joe said, said just a few weeks ago said the economy has made great progress economically. He said that the economy was fundamentally sound. Fundamentally sound. Then George Bush today says that we're seeing the economy make improvements. Now keep in mind that this is on the same day that the news was released that personal incomes had plunged more than at anytime in the last three years. Does that sound like great progress to you? Does that sound like an improvement to you? Does that sound fundamentally sound to you?

You know, I think, just like what Hillary Clinton said at the convention, it's a good thing that the republicans are holding their convention in the twin cities because it's hard to tell John McCain and George Bush apart. That's why John McCain - John McCain wants to do the exact same things that George Bush did. He wants to continue the tax cuts not for the middle class. He leaves 100 million people out of tax relief. He wants to cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans. He wants to give 200 additional billion dollars to some of the wealthiest corporations including the oil companies. Does Exxon Mobil need $400 billion more in tax breaks?

He's got no plan to make college more affordable. He's got no plan to make health care more accessible. In fact, he wants to tax your health care benefits in a way that would lead employers potentially to get rid of their health care plans. And heaven forbid you've got a pre-existing condition because if you are on your own and you try to buy health care on the open market, you can't afford it. John McCain says, well, I'll give you a $5,000 tax credit. Here's the problem. It might cost you $14,000 to get a policy. That's not a plan to renew the American middle class. That's not a plan to help people who are struggling.

You see, John McCain and George Bush share the basic idea, this is the outworn republican philosophy that says you're on your own. They call it the ownership society, but it really means you're on your own. Your job gets shipped overseas, tough luck, you're on your own. You don't have health care, the market will fix it. You're on your own. Born into poverty? You're on your own. Pick yourself up by your boot straps even if you don't have boots.

That philosophy has led us to the situation that we are in today. And it is a philosophy that the republicans have to own up to. They have to own up to the failures that they've put in place over the last eight years. It is time for us to fundamentally change America and that's why Joe Biden and I intend to win this election so that we can have a government that is working for you.

Joe Biden and I have a different idea. We believe in individual initiatives. We believe in self reliance. We believe people want to make it on their own. But we also believe that we should have a government that cares enough about ordinary people that they can get people a little bit of a happened up when they need a hand, that they can knock down some of the barriers to success. And that's why Joe Biden and I have said we're going to change this tax code. We're going to take away tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas. We are giving them to companies that invest right here in Ohio.

We are going to give 95 percent of you a tax break. So when you start talking to your friends and neighbors, they see those ads where the McCain folks are just not telling the truth and says I'm going to raise your taxes, you tell them, 95 percent of Americans will get a tax break under our plan. That's the kind of relief you deserve right now.

We are going to finally fix this health care system. So if you've got health insurance, we're going lower your premiums. If you don't have health insurance, you're going to be able to buy the same kind of health care that members of Congress give themselves. We're going to negotiate with drug companies for the cheapest available price on drugs and we will go after the insurance companies so they pay the claims that you've been paying for in your premiums every single day and we're not going to wait 20 years from now to do it or 10 years, we're going to do it by the end of my first term as president of the United States of America.

UNIDENTIFIED VOICE. Yes, we can. Yes, we can. Yes, we can.

OBAMA: We are going to make sure every child gets a world class education. Joe Biden and I, we weren't born into fame, we weren't born into fortune, the only reason we're standing here is because we got an education. Same is true of our wives, Jill and Michelle. Every child deserves that opportunity. And that's why we're going to invest in early childhood education and we are going to pay our teachers higher salaries and give them more support. And that's why we are going to make a bargain with the young people of America, if you are willing to participate in community service or national service, if you join our military or you join the peace corps or you work in an under served hospital or an under served school, we will pay your tuition for four years of public college, public university. We'll invest in you, you invest in America. Together, we're going to march this country forward.

We, Joe Biden and I believe in protecting social security because we don't want to gamble on your retirement. We believe in protecting your pensions because if a company makes a bargain with its workers, that promise should be kept. Joe Biden and I believe that we should allow workers to organize and we are going to start having a department that's not just the department of management, but actually believes in labor.

We also want an administration that believes in science and technology. That's going to make investments in the basic research that will lead to the break-throughs of the 21st century. And one of those biggest places where we are going do it is on energy. John McCain says the problem is Washington hasn't done anything in 30 years. What he doesn't say is he's been there 26. And he's said no to higher fuel efficiency standards on cars. He's said no to making sure that we're investing in renewable fuels. He has been Dr. No when it comes to energy. And Joe Biden and I understand that unless we solve this energy problem, we are mortgaging our children's futures.

We are borrowing from China to send to Saudi Arabia and that doesn't make any sense. And so we're going to make more fuel efficient cars and we'll make them right here in the U.S. of A. And we're going to invest $15 billion in solar and wind and biodiesel, reopening factories all across the midwest, all across the heartland, putting people back to work, making wind turbines and solar panels and biofuels. That's the future we can have, but you got have the courage to change.

That's why Joe Biden and I are running for president and vice president of the United States. And we've got to have the courage to change our foreign policy. I will end this war in Iraq. Joe Biden and I will make sure that we are as careful getting out as we were careless getting in. And we will make sure that we are finally focusing on the central front of terrorists in Afghanistan and the hills between Afghanistan and Pakistan. You heard me say it on Thursday night, John McCain likes to say that he'll chase Osama Bin Laden to the gates of hell. We don't need to do all that, all we need to do is to go to the cave where he's living. That's what we've got do. And in the process, we have to restore that understanding that although we should never hesitate to strike, and we will maintain the strongest military on earth whenever we are threatened, we have to be able to have the capacity to strike against our enemies.

What is just as important is making sure that we've got diplomatic credibility all around the world and Joe Biden understands this and I understand and we are going to talk not just to our friends, but to our enemies and we are going to regain respect of America around the world to deal with terrorism and nuclear proliferation and genocide and climate change and poverty and disease, because that's part of the promise America makes to the world, that we are that bright and shining light for all those who seek freedom and all those who want lives of peace.

Now, let me just close by saying this. It will, it will not be easy. You know, we had a good week and everybody's feeling good. I just want to remind people that there were mostly democrats in that stadium. We've still got some work to do, Joe. We've still got to persuade people that change is possible because we've gotten so cynical. I mean, you know the strategy of the republicans in this race. But what they're going to do is they're going try to scare you. They're going to say, well, you know, Obama's got a funny name. And, well, he hasn't been in Washington long enough. He doesn't have the conventional resume.

You know, that's the strategy that they try every four years. Because as I said, if you don't have ideas to run on, then you run on those old tactics. But I don't think it's going to work this time. I don't think it's going to work this time because all across America, not just democrat, but republicans and independents, they recognize that the one thing we can't do is to give up on that basic idea that America keeps getting better. I think republicans, democrats and independents, they don't want to just take a 10 percent chance on change that John McCain's offering because he agrees with George Bush 90 percent of the time, I think they recognize that the biggest risk we can take right now is to do the same old things with the same old folks and expect different results. I think the American people, they want to fight for a better future.

This election's not about me and it's not about Joe Biden, it's about you. It's about whether you can find a job that pays a living wage. It's about whether you can buy a home in a decent neighborhood. It's about whether you can send your kids to college, whether you can give them health care, whether you can retire with dignity and respect. Whether we can bring this country together instead of tearing it apart. It's about you. And I believe that if you will stand up with me, if you will knock on doors with me and make phone calls with me, if you'll talk to your neighbors and your friends with me, if you'll believe with me, then I promise you this, we will not just win Ohio, we will win this general election and you and I and Joe Biden, we will change this country and change the world. Thank you, God bless you. And God bless America.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: All right. So we've now heard from Senator Barack Obama and Senator Joe Biden, the democratic presidential ticket. Earlier live here on CNN, we heard Senator John McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska. This was really the first chance in back to back campaign appearances to compare and contrast these two presidential tickets. Gloria, give us a quick thought because I want to take a quick break and have more on this, but give us a quick thought on these two very different presidential tickets.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, right now, the McCain campaign is very involved in introducing Sarah Palin to the American people, so they were very thematic. They were talking about who she is, they're still into the biography. They have not had their convention yet. What we saw today from Barack Obama and Joe Biden was too good stump speeches that focused on the economy and the one interesting thing to me, Wolf, was that Barack Obama was called - I mean Barack Obama called Joe Biden one of the great statesman of our time. That's a little bit of a contrast there indirectly with Sarah Palin.

BLITZER: Implied criticism of the governor of Alaska, the republican vice presidential candidate. She doesn't have a lot of national security or foreign policy experience. Standby, we have Jim Acosta there on the scene, we're going to go back it him in a moment as well, but I want to take a quick break. Rick Sanchez is at the CNN Center. He's watching hurricane Gustav right now, a category four monster in the Gulf of Mexico. We're going to have a complete update on that and more politics right after this.

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RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHRO: This is Rick Sanchez here in the world headquarters of CNN. Folks, this Hurricane Gustav is turning into the real thing. People at the National Hurricane Center are saying that this storm could, in fact, be one of those storms that we will be talking about for a long time. By the way, a lot going on with this storm right now. Let me just catch you up to date on what the governor said a little while ago. He mentioned that he's been in contact with the White House and that the feds so far have been incredibly cooperative. Everything is working smoothly. Of course it always works smoothly prior to, not so much after, as we learned from Katrina.

He also said and this is very important that the counter flow that we've talking about where they're going to be getting people out of the city. That's going to start at 4:00 a.m. tomorrow. That means all lanes on the interstates go out of the city. None will be coming into the city.

Don Lemon is standing by, he's been following this situation for us there in New Orleans. Don, first of all, are things going smoothly? Because there were reports earlier today they were trying to put people on buses. And instead it was turning into a bit of a raucous situation. Maybe a bit of (melee)in some places. Is that true?

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, nothing is perfect. You know that. And most of the people we've been speaking to here, the people who have been evacuated, have been saying, you know, it's been pretty orderly. But there have been people, Rick, who are upset because they said they got on buses, and they thought they were going to shelters within the state of Louisiana, and they end up at the airport and they fly to places unknown. I just to show you real quick, they have a very extensive operation here.

Around on the other side, you see of these things here, buses have been coming in all day. 40, 50 buses filled with people from all over, Orleans Parish, Jefferson Parish. If you can pan to the left, they're going in through this area right here that you see with the chairs. And there's really a makeshift airport, just like you see in the airport with security and everything. If you pan around this way, Chris, and they bring them out through here, once they check their luggage, out through here, load them up on buses and then of course over to the right, to your left here, on to the tarmac and load them onto the plane.

Colonel, can you come in here? I'm going to bring the man who is in charge of this entire operation, for getting people out by airplane. It's Colonel Bullet Young and he's with the Department of Defense. Tell us how many people you have, and you're going to be here all night, you said, until you get everybody out?

LT. COL. BULLET YOUNG, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: Yes, the numbers fluctuate. We have about 200 personnel that we're using to move and evacuate the personnel from New Orleans out into the outlying states that have accepted - that have said they would accept evacuees.

LEMON: And about 500 or so people, maybe closer to 1,000 people so far.

Thank you, sir, we're going to have more at 11:00 tonight. Maybe 1,000 people so far that have taken off on seven airplanes to places unknown, and more coming are coming in. It's 24-hour operation, Rick. I have to ask you this, we've seen people evacuated from places on buses. We've seen them on trains. How many times have you seen them evacuate people from a city by airplane? They're taking this very serious, Rick.

SANCHEZ: I know the place where you are right now really well. I spent a lot of time on it. Don Lemon, thanks so much for bringing us up to date on that report.

If you haven't heard, this is now a category 4 storm, folks, and that means that it is getting to the dangerous point. It's right now about to hit the western tip of Cuba. It's not supposed to get any weaker while it goes through that, so says our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras who's been following it for us. But see that? What's it going to do after it goes into Cuba? Go into a lot of warm water in the Gulf of Mexico. That's the problem. We're all over it. You can join me here as well by the way at twitter.com/ricksanchez. CNN talking to hundreds of you as we speak. We'll be back at 11:00.

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BLITZER: I'm Wolf Blitzer. I'm here in St. Paul, Minnesota, we're getting ready for the Republican National Convention. Assuming there is a convention as a lot of the planning now up in the air because of Hurricane Gustav. We're watching all of this very closely. If you've been watching CNN live for the last two hours, you saw two presidential tickets, a contrast between the republican ticket, John McCain, and Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, his running mate, and the democratic ticket, Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Jim Acosta watched and listened in Ohio, Dublin, Ohio, as Senator Obama spoke and Senator Biden spoke. The crowd was huge. Jim, but we're use to that, give us a thought on how they did.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, you mentioned the crowd. We're hearing from the local fire department that there are some 18,000 to 19,000 people inside this football stadium. Which is not a bad number considering Ohio state played a home game today here in Columbus. But if there's one thing that I can pick up on, it is that Barack Obama is and Joe Biden are showing restraint when it comes to the issue of Sarah Palin.

We heard Barack Obama say during this address a few moments ago that he's visited nearly every state in the country during the course of this campaign, he said, except for Alaska. He says, "you know what, now that I think about it, maybe I need to go get to work up there." Making mention by just the referencing of her state of Sarah Palin there. Joe Biden was really setting the table when it came to foreign policy issues, saying time and again whether it was Iran, Iraq, or Afghanistan, John McCain was wrong, Barack Obama was bright. Barack Obama went after John McCain on economic issues. That seems to be the course for this campaign over the coming days. Leave Sarah Palin out of this, go right after John McCain. Wolf.

BLITZER: And the neighboring battle ground state of Pennsylvania, John McCain and Sarah Palin spoke before a huge rally there. Dana Bash is on the scene for us. Give us a brief thought from there, Dana. DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is all about continuing to introduce the unknown running mate to the American public. It was just the second time on a national stage that we have seen and heard from Sarah Palin. We heard a lot of the same themes that we heard yesterday. Explaining that he is a mother of five, that she is somebody who is definitely for family values, reaching out to the social conservatives here in southwest Pennsylvania. Also playing up big the idea that she is somebody, as she put it, that likes to break the old boys' network back in Alaska that she fought against corruption. That is the kind of thing that John McCain is going to play up big as she continues, as he continues to introduce her around the country. Wolf.

BLITZER: And Gloria Borger is here in St. Paul. If viewers are watching both of these tickets, they understand there is a contrast between the democratic and republican presidential tickets.

BORGER: Absolutely. With the democrats talking about the economy largely, talking about foreign policy, trying to link John McCain to George W. Bush. The republicans going out of their way - John McCain in particular - to say, he's the reformer, he's the fellow who can get something done. And introducing his running mate as somebody who comes from outside of Washington. And who can help him bring change to Washington.

BLITZER: All right. Thanks to everyone. Thanks to our entire team. A couple of programming notes. "This week in Politics" will air tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. There is a special three-hour "Late Edition" that starts here from St. Paul at 10:00 a.m. Eastern tomorrow morning. Coming up, right now, two excellent documentaries on John McCain and Barack Obama "Revealed." That starts right now.