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American Morning

Sarah Palin Delivers A Knockout at the RNC; Palin Slams Obama; Hometown Reacts to Sarah Palin's Speech; Triple Tropical Storm Threatens U.S.; Barack Obama Targets Women Voters

Aired September 04, 2008 - 06:00   ET

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


KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Staying on the offense. The Republicans pile on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Barack Obama has never led anything, nothing, nada.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Governor Sarah Palin comes out swinging.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What does he actually seek to accomplish after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Tonight, John McCain accepts Barack Obama's challenge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Don't you think we made the right choice for the next vice president of the United States?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: This morning, reaction from Senator Joe Biden. The final day of the RNC starts right now live from Saint Paul.

And good morning. Glad you're with us on this Thursday, September 4th. I'm Kiran Chetry here in New York. John Roberts out in Saint Paul.

And boy, it's the morning after. Probably the most highly anticipated speech of the RNC. The papers today, "Knockout" and "Pit bull in lipstick." Her words, not ours.

Hey, John.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: You can still smell the cordite in the air from all of the fireworks that were on that stage last night. And this being September 4th, the 4th day of the Republican National Convention, they are taking the stage apart, restructuring it for John McCain's speech tonight, because tonight he will come in to this hall to claim the Republican nomination. He arrived in the Twin Cities yesterday as the convention formally nominated him for presidency of the United States.

But last night it was all Sarah Palin. The Alaska governor wowed the party faithful in a high stakes speech. She came out very strong, slamming Barack Obama again and again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I might add that in small towns we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they're listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening. No. We tend to prefer candidates who don't talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: And one of Senator McCain's toughest attack dogs, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, also tore into Obama's record.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI, FMR. NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: He is the least experienced candidate for president of the United States in at least the last 100 years. Not a personal attack, a statement of fact. Barack Obama has never led anything, nothing, nada.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, it's the traditional role of the vice presidential candidate to attack the other side and last night Governor Sarah Palin proved to the Republican Party and to the American people she's up to that challenge. Here's CNN's Dana Bash.

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, tonight John McCain will take to this hall and officially accept his party's nomination. And he'll have a tough act to follow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice-over): It's his party now, but it was her night.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Don't you think we made the right choice for the next vice president of the United States?

BASH: Sarah Palin wowed the Republican crowd with a performance most seasoned politicians can't deliver.

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.

BASH: She made history with a political cocktail not easy for a woman to stir. Softness and sarcasm, biting attitude with a smile. Defending her own experience by tearing into Barack Obama's.

PALIN: I guess a small town mayor is sort of like a community organizer except that you have actual responsibilities.

BASH: And playing up her small town appeal by mocking her inside the beltway critics.

PALIN: Here's a little news flash for those reporters and commentators. I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion. I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this great country.

BASH: And as cameras panned across Palin's husband and five children, including her pregnant teenage daughter, this.

PALIN: From the inside no family ever seems typical. And that's how it is with us. Our family has the same ups and downs as any other -- the same challenges and the same joys.

BASH: Except for a few lines on drilling for oil and energy independence, this was not an attempt by the first-term governor to combat criticism of her grasp of critical issues. It was about defining herself as part average woman she hopes voters can relate to, part McCain-like reformer determined to diminish government excess.

PALIN: That luxury jet was over the top. I put it on eBay.

BASH: Meanwhile, three of McCain's GOP primary opponents also addressed the crowd with a combination of praise for their new nominee and Republican red meat.

RUDY GIULIANI, FMR. NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Change is not a destination. Just as hope is not a strategy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: An Obama spokesman called Palin's speech the kind of divisive partisan attacks we've heard from George Bush over the last eight years. McCain aides are actually hoping Palin's Bush-like qualities, her folksy ability to connect with voters breathes life into their campaign in a tough election year -- John and Kiran.

CHETRY: Dana Bash for us in Saint Paul. Thanks.

Well, Republicans are hoping that Palin's speech and the party's coronation of John McCain will give them a bounce in the polls. For the moment, though, Barack Obama maintains a six-point lead over John McCain in the latest CNN poll of polls, 49 to 43 percent, eight percent still undecided -- John.

ROBERTS: Tonight John McCain, Kiran, takes his campaign for president to the next level when he formally accepts the nomination for the Grand Old Party, and the party faithful still buzzing about the speech that his running mate delivered last night.

CNN's Jessica Yellin joins me now with a reaction to Sarah Palin's speech and to look ahead at what John McCain needs to do tonight. In the hall last night, it was nothing less than electric. It was that she just connected with everybody here on a level that you rarely see in politics.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A spectacular hit with the party faithful. And she showed the national audience as well that she's an enormously capable and fearsome political figure and that she is absolutely no victim. As John McCain said when he came out, you can see why I chose her.

The big unknowns are, how did she connect? How well did she connect with independent women who may have felt that the sarcasm was a little heavy and that she wasn't big on specifics what she would deliver as VP?

ROBERTS: She certainly showed herself to be tenacious. Certainly gave us an idea of the role that she is going to play over the next 60 days as the election campaign kicks into high gear, headed toward November 4th. But what about those specifics? What about how she feels about the economy, what she thinks about job creation, housing, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, trade around the world? Not much on that.

YELLIN: Not much on that and that will be John McCain's challenge tonight. In addition to portraying himself in a light that's different from George Bush, that's one of his prime goals, I'm not George Bush.

Also, what will he do on the economy? He needs to give some specifics so that people leave this convention, the viewers, knowing how he would be different as a president.

ROBERTS: All right. Well, certainly gave us an idea of how that ticket works together and so far it seems to be a pretty dynamic one.

Jessica Yellin this morning. Jessica, thanks -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, we're also following news as it relates to weather. A dangerous situation right now in the Atlantic. Hurricane Ike has now exploded into a Category four hurricane possibly heading toward the U.S., and Hanna could regain hurricane strength.

We're also keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Josephine, a very, very busy couple of days in the Atlantic. CNN is your hurricane headquarters.

Attack dog.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Governor Palin comes out swinging. Our panel tells us if she hit a home run. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What does he actually seek to accomplish after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And there is much to like and admire about our opponent. But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs, but not a single major law or even a reform, not even in the state Senate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin taking a spirited slap at Senator Barack Obama's record or as she put it, lack thereof.

Joining me now, Democratic analyst Julian Epstein and Republican strategist Terry Holt this morning.

Julian, why don't you take on that statement. Was that true what she said last night?

JULIAN EPSTEIN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: No, it was false. Senator Obama has passed, in fact, very important reform legislation with Senator Lugar on nuclear proliferation. In fact, his positions on Iraq, on Afghanistan, and even on negotiations with Iran have now become conventional wisdom that Republicans have even adopted. So I think she was wrong about a lot of things including that.

ROBERTS: Right. You know, last night, Terry --

TERRY HOLT, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I would say that Nunn and Lugar, the pioneers of controlling nuclear proliferation, would probably say that, well, Obama may be interested in their issue but not quite the leader that he puts himself up to be.

ROBERTS: Well, it was an extension of the Nunn-Lugar act on proliferation.

HOLT: Right, right.

ROBERTS: But there were a lot of things that were thrown around last night. Mike Huckabee in his speech said that she got more votes as mayor of Wasilla than Joe Biden got running for president, which according to a tally of the votes seemed to be untrue. She got 1,500 and some votes in her two terms as mayor. He got some 75,000 votes. HOLT: Delivered a hyperbole but an excellent point that she's run for office, that she's earned the support of her constituents. She has 80 percent approval rating in Alaska, which is unheard of in this country right now for politicians where the United States Congress has something like a 17 percent approval rating. So --

ROBERTS: OK. There is some dispute over the facts that were thrown around here last night. But how in the overall do you think she did?

HOLT: Oh, she's phenomenal. I mean, she's a sensation. She electrified this crowd and in my view, for this party, it's kind of the star power that we need, you know. People need to be fascinated and interested in politics, and she's just the kind of perfect figure that Republicans need to really be competitive in the general election.

ROBERTS: Julian, if you're Joe Biden, are you sitting back this morning saying, oh, why didn't he pick Tim Pawlenty? That was --

(LAUGHTER)

EPSTEIN: No, I think he's actually looking forward to the debate. And I think she's going to -- I mean, all you've heard this week, you haven't heard anything positive about what the Republicans would do on the economy or in any issues that people really care about. All you've heard is a swirl of controversy about her this week. So I think it's been a bad week for Republicans.

But I think she gave a speech that was good. It wasn't great. It was basically sarcastic barbs of a culture warrior. But you didn't hear her say anything about what she's going to do to fix the economy, how she's going to address the anxieties of Americans, how she's going to restore America's position in the world.

ROBERTS: What about that, Terry? We did a focus group and sort of the overall sense of the focus group was they liked her. They thought that she connected with her. And this was a focus group of women. They did not like the sarcasm, and they do want to hear more about her and her policies.

HOLT: Well, and I think that she's so new on the national stage, that's quite understandable. You know, (INAUDIBLE) Julian has said that they haven't heard anything nice about what they're going to do about the economy, but we spent a whole week in Denver last week not hearing anything good about America.

And here in the Republican Convention, and it's really typical, the Republicans really put a lot more higher priority on talking up America and being positive about America. And I think that that was really a big difference between these two conventions.

And John McCain is the top of the ticket. We've got our star power Sarah Palin. She's going to be an effective critic of the Democratic ticket, and I think maybe Democrats are having a little bit of candidate envy at this point.

ROBERTS: Well, we'll talk about that.

EPSTEIN: It shows in the polls.

ROBERTS: We'll talk about that throughout the morning. Stay with us because there are a lot more to go through.

You're watching the "Most News in the Morning." 13 minutes now after the hour.

CHETRY: Hometown hero.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEATHER BRUCE, GOV. SARAH PALIN'S SISTER: But my heart is just bursting with pride.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: And family and friends react to Palin's big night. Live in Alaska with exclusive access.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEATHER BRUCE, GOV. SARAH PALIN'S SISTER: I think she made Alaskans and Americans proud.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI (R), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm sorry Barack Obama feels that her hometown isn't cosmopolitan enough. I'm sorry, Barack, that it's not flashy enough. Maybe they cling to religion there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: That was Rudy Giuliani firing up the Republican crowd and defending Sarah Palin with a mocking reference to Barack Obama's comments about small town residents clinging to guns and religion. The governor's speech was a rating's grabber in Alaska.

CNN's Kyra Phillips talked exclusively with Palin's sister and brother-in-law, and she joins us live from Anchorage. Hi, Kyra?

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The family is definite large. They're very close knit and they're definitely not used to all this attention. When I was sitting next to Sarah Palin's sister, Heather, and her brother-in-law, Kurt, I said to Heather, I said, what do you think about seeing your sister up there on the big screen? I mean, she could possibly be the vice president of the United States. And she looked at me and she laughed and she said, "Kyra, I'm glad it's her and not me."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Governor Sarah Palin hadn't even said one word yet. And Alaskans here in Anchorage went crazy. I watched the historic speech with Palin's sister, Heather.

(on camera): Are you nervous?

HEATHER BRUCE, GOV. SARAH PALIN'S SISTER: Oh, my gosh. I'm very nervous. She's going to do great. She's going to do great.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): The most talked about governor in the U.S. says she's just an average hockey mom.

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.

PHILLIPS: And it's that pit bull side of Palin that energized this crowd. Palin talked energy independence, winning the Iraq war, ethics reform, and ditching the governor's luxury jet.

PALIN: I put it on eBay.

SHEILA LANE, REPUBLICAN VOTER: She was no hold's barred. She hit things on the head that so many people have been questioning about her capabilities.

GARY KONTUL, INDEPENDENT VOTER: The things that really got to my heart and my emotions was the fact that she was going to go to work for a man that had the honor and integrity that we need in this country.

PHILLIPS: But it was when she talked family and honor to her newborn with Down syndrome --

PALIN: To the families of special needs.

PHILLIPS: Her sister Heather felt the love thousands of miles away.

BRUCE: We have a special needs son ourselves. He's 13. And I really think that now we do have a really strong advocate.

PHILLIPS: And in Palin's hometown of Wasilla, her attacks on Democrats --

PALIN: Al-Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America. And he's worried that someone won't read them their rights.

PHILLIPS: Had supporters cheering for the high school basketball captain nicknamed Sarah Barracuda decades ago.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've lived in Alaska since 1967. She has been the best governor we ever had.

PHILLIPS: And now, they're hoping she'll be the best vice president of the United States.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And, Kiran, Heather, Sarah's sister, is married to Kurt. They've been married for 19 years. That was something really interesting to see, too, within the family just how everyone has known each other since, like, elementary school and they're all really close. But he was saying he's watched Sarah through the years as well, and has watched her with regard to foreign affairs and military. He thinks that she has had a lot more experience that people don't know about.

She spent time in Kuwait. She spent time in Germany visiting the troops there and that she's very pro-military, and she wants to step in and she wants to see a victory in Iraq.

CHETRY: And you talk about just how long they've known each other and how much they feel for her. How are they handling watching her getting picked apart on the national stage?

PHILLIPS: It's a great question and I asked them that as well. I said, look, you know, Sarah Palin is dealing with the so-called "Troopergate." That's what the local media calls that here, that investigation that's happening right now about possibly abuse of power.

And also, of course, the pregnancy of her teenage daughter because, you know, she's a candidate that stands very firm on abstinence education in school. And they're keeping it private. They don't want to talk about it.

The family members are saying, look, she's a strong woman. She can handle herself. She doesn't have to defend herself. She is of great character and strong family values, and they are just not going to go there. They don't feel they have to defend her.

CHETRY: All right. Kyra Phillips for us in Anchorage, good stuff. Thanks for being with us this morning.

PHILLIPS: Sure.

ROBERTS: Gathering storms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are not letting our guard down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Ike blows up into a major hurricane. Two other storms on the move. The latest on Hanna, Ike and Josephine. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." And live from Saint Paul, Minnesota, this morning we are following another breaking story for you.

Weather and a triple threat now in the Atlantic including Hurricane Ike, which has blown up into a monster Category four storm and racing toward potential landfall in the continental United States.

CNN's Rob Marciano live in the weather center for us this morning.

Rob, this is really one to watch out for. Looks like the Bahamas may be in the bull's eye and what about the East Coast to the U.S.?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Definitely in the cross hairs. We'll just have to wait and see on that one. We've got several to get through and let's go through it.

Hanna, here she is. There's Ike. That's the monster Cat four and Josephine way out here. So obviously Hanna is the first item up for bids or at least the one that we have to be more immediately concerned about.

This is still forecast to become a Category one storm and make landfall somewhere in the Carolinas over the weekend. Likely early Saturday or late Friday night. They flew a Gulfstream G-4 into this thing last night.

Now the computer models are really getting a better handle as to where this thing is going to go. And it is possible that it shifts and goes offshore. That is certainly something the folks in Carolinas are hoping for. But right now, the cone is certainly driving towards South and North Carolina Friday and Saturday.

All right. Here's Ike. This thing is a Category four with 145 mile- an-hour winds. This thing's a beast, and it's heading to the west/northwest and is expected to dip. And then as we get towards the beginning of next week, still a major hurricane or better through the Bahamas and certainly eyeing Florida and the southeast coast, potentially the Gulf of Mexico as well.

So that is going to be something pretty scary to watch and we'll hope that things change as we go through time. And then Josephine way out there. We're really not going to have to deal with her for quite some time. Just a tropical storm and we'll get to her when we need to.

This is what's left over of Gustav. Decent amount of rain across parts of the central U.S. and still (INAUDIBLE) bands sort of coming in off this thing, heading into southeast Louisiana where they got slammed by Gustav the first time around. So heavy thunderstorms heading through Thibodaux and in through parts of Houma and Morgan City this morning.

That's the latest from here, John. We will certainly be watching both Hanna and Ike, the scarier of the two. But Hanna, certainly the one that's going first back to the U.S. here in the next few days.

Back to you.

ROBERTS: Yes. Going to be a busy weekend and a busy next week as well. Rob, thanks so much for that. We'll check back with you.

Political triple threat. Sarah Palin's faith, family and politics. Could it be the perfect combination for scoring evangelicals and stealing independents away from Obama? The young woman who says yes ahead on the "Most News in the Morning."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Sarah Palin passed her first big test as John McCain's running mate and her presence on the Republican ticket could help attract young, conservative and independent voters. Karen Agnes is the founder of the Network of Enlightened Women. It's a conservative campus group and she joins us now from Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Thanks for being with us this morning, Karen.

Karen, can you hear me? I can't hear Karen. We're having a couple of audio problems with her. We're going to try to get her back.

First, let's go back to John in Saint Paul and then we'll try to get with Karen again. A little minor audio blip there, John.

ROBERTS: The dangers of live TV, Kiran. 28 minutes after the hour. We're here inside Xcel Center, which has become a construction site right after Sarah Palin's speech and John McCain's appearance on stage last night and everybody filed out of the hall.

They started tearing down the stage. They're going to remake it today into something that looks very similar to what President Bush had in 2004 at his convention. There will be a stage that extends out into the audience with a riser that will be surrounded by the delegation from Ohio. Now, Ohio, of course, a very important battleground state where things are pretty much evened up in the latest polling.

John McCain, of course, wants to look like a man to the people. He wants to appeal to those battleground voters not only in Ohio, but Pennsylvania, Missouri, Iowa, and this stagecraft tonight for his speech will be designed to illuminate that idea.

You'll remember that Barack Obama, even though he was in the grandeur of INVESCO Field there last Thursday had a stage that extended out into the crowd as well, which gives the impression of a little bit more intimate setting.

John McCain does make his case for the presidency. It will begin prime time. But last night the Republican Convention belonged to his vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, who in a rousing speech ripped into Barack Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When the cloud of rhetoric has passed, when the roar of the crowd fades away, when the stadium lights go out, and those styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot --

(APPLAUSE)

...when that happens, what exactly is our opponent's plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet?

(LAUGHTER, CHEERS, APPLAUSE)

The answer -- the answer is to make government bigger, and take more of your money, and give you more orders from Washington, and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world.

America needs more energy. Our opponent is against producing it. Victory in Iraq is finally in sight, and he wants to forfeit. Terrorist states are seeking nuclear weapons without delay. He wants to meet them without preconditions. Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America. And he's worried that someone won't read them their rights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: She definitely just hold her own last evening (OFF MIKE) criticism that Palin's resume is too thin to be the vice presidential running mate. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani came out big for the Alaska governor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI, FMR. NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: They would have you believed that this election is about change versus more of the same. But that's really a false choice because there's good change and bad change because change is not a destination just as hope is not a strategy.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Barack Obama coming under fire but the Democratic nominee is not keeping a low profile during the Republican convention. Instead, he is coming out swinging, hoping to gain ground with women voters.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is live for us in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this morning.

And how's the tone out there on the campaign trail this week?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, it's really fascinating to see because Barack Obama certainly is hitting back hard here. They know that female voters are really a critical voting bloc here. What they are counting on is if Barack Obama goes out there and talks about specific plans and policies that impact women, that he will make some inroads with that group. That is why we saw in the lead up to Palin's speech, he was out in Appalachian country, rural Ohio, talking about the minimum wage, raising it to $9.50 and also about lowering taxes for 95 percent of American workers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I was talking about my mom but let me talk about my grandmother.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Readying for Sarah Palin to take center stage. Barack Obama zeroed in on the female vote.

OBAMA: Women are making 77 cents to every dollar that a man makes on the job. When I am president of the United States, we are going to pass equal pay for equal work.

MALVEAUX: Obama is trying to win over working-class white woman who may find John McCain's V.P. pick, Palin, an appealing alternative.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, Ohio!

MALVEAUX: Some of those same women helped put Hillary Clinton over the top here in Ohio during the primaries.

OBAMA: When I think about my grandmother and what she could have done if she had been treated equally -- she had been treated fairly.

MALVEAUX: At Kent State University, Obama appeared with a single mother who makes minimum wage at a local bakery. He argued under his economic plan she would get at least $3,000 in direct relief. At the same time, Obama accused Republicans of ignoring women's struggles.

OBAMA: The truth of the matter is that the other party and John McCain don't get it. They don't get what Gabriel is going through. They don't get what most of you are going through. They just don't get it.

MALVEAUX: Obama went directly after Palin on the issue of equal pay.

OBAMA: I disagree with John McCain on this. And I disagree with Governor Palin on this. They think that the reason women aren't getting paid the same is because of different educational levels. That's just not true.

MALVEAUX: And in an effort to connect with his largely female audience, Obama talked about the impact of being raised by a single mother and how he struggled when she died.

OBAMA: I miss her dearly. And everything I owe, all my success, I owe to her.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: And, John, we're starting to hear a little bit more about his personal story. That also being an appeal to women. He talks more now on the campaign trail about his grandmother from Kansas, how she went from working as a secretary up to the vice president of a bank. He also talks extensively about his mother, how they struggled financially, a lot of the sacrifices that she made. So obviously, he's trying to paint a fuller picture of himself, his background. And he's also going to be hitting once again those bread and butter issues. He's going to be talking about the specifics of the economy, the struggles that people are -- voters are going through in Pennsylvania, two stops today.

They really believe -- the Obama campaign believes the more he talks about those specifics and things that will address people's concerns. So, they're not going to pay that much attention to a lot of the red meat that was thrown last night.

John?

ROBERTS: All right. Yes, we've got some polling -- focus group polling that they weren't exactly tuned into the sarcasm last night. So, we'll see how that plays. Suzanne Malveaux for us on the campaign trail with Barack Obama.

Suzanne, thanks.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And we're asking once again, can a V.P. pick of Sarah Palin add a new energy to the Republican ticket and attract more young and even independent voters?

We're back with Karin Agness, the founder of the Network of Enlightened Women, a conservative campus group. Sorry for that audio glitch last time we checked in with you. Karen is in St. Paul, Minnesota, for us this morning.

Hi, Karin.

KARIN AGNESS, FOUNDER, NETWORK OF ENLIGHTENED WOMEN: Good morning.

CHETRY: Now, you were at the convention last night. You had the chance to listen to that speech. Pundits have talked about this enthusiasm gap, you know, the Dems are far more fired up over Barack Obama than the Republicans are about John McCain. Can Sarah Palin change that? Did she change that for you last night?

AGNESS: Yes, she has already changed that. As soon as McCain added her to the ticket, the excitement and enthusiasm in the Republican Party has just skyrocketed. I had the opportunity to be on the floor last night. And there was not a person sitting down for half the speech. Everybody was out of their chairs. I mean, people are excited about Sarah Palin.

CHETRY: What is it about Sarah? Her issues or her as a woman and a mother that excite you?

AGNESS: Oh, I think she is, you know, the whole package. She's the real deal. She is a liberated woman in every sense of the word. She's grown up in an era where she could choose, you know, to focus her efforts on family or careers. And she has found a great path for that and one that's worked for her. And she's a real role model to a lot of Americans out there. CHETRY: You know, do you believe that she's going to be able to bring independent, young women voters who don't see eye to eye with her ideologically just because she's a woman?

AGNESS: Well, I think she is. And I think that's because a lot of women, especially liberal women, talked about how they want a woman on the ticket, the national ticket. They always claim that they don't care if it's a Republican or a Democrat. But it's always been easy for them because often, you know, the higher -- women running for higher office are on the Democratic ticket.

Now they've got the chance to walk the walk by voting for a Republican woman on, you know, on the top of the ticket. So, I think it's a great opportunity for these liberal women and women all across America who want a woman in higher office to vote for her.

CHETRY: But let me ask you this flipping it around. Would you vote for Hillary Clinton, let's say, even if you did not agree with her on issues about abortion, gun control, budgets, just because she was a woman?

AGNESS: I would not vote for her just because she is a woman because of the issues. But, in fact, on the left there's actually a coalition called the "Just Say No Dealers." That is a website that's a clearinghouse for these liberal women's groups who think that Hillary Clinton was just treated terribly by the media and by the Democratic Party. And they're looking for a reason to, you know, to distance themselves from the Democratic Party and vote for another candidate. And I think that Governor Palin can be that reason for them.

CHETRY: All right. Very interesting take this morning from Karin Agness, the founder of the Network of Enlightened Women. Thanks for being with us.

AGNESS: Yes, thanks for having me.

CHETRY: Still ahead, celebrity magazines are putting more campaign stories on their covers. And with Sarah Palin's sudden rush of stardom in the GOP, there's a sudden rush of scrutiny as well. But is it fair? We'll break it down.

ROBERTS: The other running mate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: First of all, I don't know the governor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: The man who will go face to face with Sarah Palin. We're live with Joe Biden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALIN: You know, they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Governor Sarah Palin is the rising star of the Republican Party and her new high profile has celebrity magazines swarming. CNN's Lola Ogunnaike joins me now.

Usually when you flip through "People," "OK," "US Weekly," you're seeing celebrities from Hollywood, but not this week.

LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Not this week at all. It's all Palin and all of them -- you've got her on the cover of "US Weekly, you've got her on the cover of "OK!," you've got her on the cover of "People," and you've got her on the cover of the "National Enquirer." So, it's four for four.

CHETRY: Yes, and they're featuring interesting - "US Weekly" in fact has featured the Obamas, the Clintons, but -- and so it's not the first time that they've gone political. But some of these other magazines, this is not what you see.

OGUNNAIKE: Oh, no. This is actually the first time that "OK" magazine has gone political. And they've gone really political. This cover, the front is life with the Obamas. It's really wholesome and really sweet. He reads to his daughters, Harry potter. You flip it over and it's Sarah Palin's baby scandal.

Now, when you read the story it's not nearly as interesting or colorful as the cover line would suggest. It's pretty much an overview of her resume, who she is, really introducing her to the reader. "US Weekly" stuff is pretty much the same as well.

CHETRY: Well, they make these determinations. A lot of people read this. Millions of people but a lot of women read this. And they make these determinations based on who they think is going to sell. So, clearly they think they have something with this.

What did "US Weekly" tell you about the feedback they're getting.

OGUNNAIKE: Well, I spoke Janice Min yesterday. She said they actually contemplated going with a cover about the hit show, The Hills, and they thought about maybe they would use Halle Berry and her baby picture cover. But as soon as the news about Sarah Palin came out, they decided we're going with her.

And they think that this is going to perform really strongly. They've already gotten a lot of feedback, most of it has been from men. And they think that "US Weekly" has been smearing Sarah Palin. They're saying, look, we're just introducing her to our reader. We think it's a fair representation of who she is.

CHETRY: And also apparently the "National Enquirer" also doing some reporting, sending people to go cover her. What's been -- what they're trying to do? What's going on with the "National Enquirer?"

OGUNNAIKE: Well, if you're looking for the more colorful allegations about Sarah Palin, you've got to go to the "National Enquirer." Now, can't really go into all of that here. But what I can say is that I spoke with the editor-in-chief of the "National Enquirer" yesterday. They have three reporters in Alaska. They're sending four more there. He says that this is a story that they're really going to be investigating and don't be surprised if you see Sarah Palin on their cover next week. They're sending out the full court press on this story and they're promising a lot more to come.

CHETRY: Wow. All right. Lola Ogunnaike, thanks.

ROBERTS: The first dude.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My husband, Todd.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: The extreme snowmobiler who's part Eskimo and Governor Palin's high school sweetheart.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was kind of the hot, young guy. Her father told me that Sarah just had to have him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALIN: We met in high school, and two decades and five children later he's still my guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Sarah Palin introducing her husband, Todd, to Republicans, Democrats and the nation last night here from the Excel Energy Center. CNN's Carol Costello takes a closer look at the man behind the governor.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, he calls himself the first dude. And while there is some controversy swirling around him, one thing is for sure. He is very much the man behind his woman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO (voice-over): Todd Palin sounds like a career woman's dream. Handsome, a hands-on father, a man who quit his job at BP because it interfered with her job. He told the "Anchorage Daily News" last year, her schedule dictates my schedule. As long as the kids are good, that's the big decision whether I go back to work.

AMANDA COYNE, ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS: He's very, very protective of the family. And he and Sarah keep very close counsel.

COSTELLO: 43-year-old Mr. Palin calls himself the first dude. A blue-collar guy, he met his wife, the governor, when both were in high school. They eloped in their 20s.

COYNE: He was kind of the hot young guy that came into Wasilla High School. And her father told me that Sarah just kind of had to have him.

PALIN: With my husband, Todd.

COSTELLO: Palin seems content to remain in the background. The only time he takes the spotlight is when he races in Alaska's equivalent of NASCAR, a 2,000 mile extreme snowmobile race. That's his wife hugging him at the finish line in 2008. He's a four-time champ.

Not that his past is unblemished. At 22, he was arrested for driving under the influence. But that's 22 years ago. Politically, he has not always been a Republican. According to the Alaskan Division of Elections, he was a member of the Alaskan Independence Party until 2002, one of its goals a vote for Alaska to become a separate and independent nation.

If that's a skeleton in the closet, it's one the McCain camp asserts few care about. Todd Palin is a registered Republican that re- registered with a third party for a time. It's just not that relevant, it says.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And as for the big 2009 snowmobile race in Alaska, Todd Palin is registered. And those who know him say even if his wife makes it to the vice president's office, he will probably participate in the race. He is a four-time champion.

John?

Kiran?

ROBERTS: The other running mate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: First of all, I don't know the governor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: The man who will go face to face with Sarah Palin. We're live with Joe Biden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALIN: You know, they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Well, she's suddenly the most famous hockey mom in America. And while the nation was being introduced to Sarah Palin's family last night, all eyes were on the smallest member of the clan. Here's Jeanne Moos with another unconventional moment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Meet the Republican Party's new star. Not her. We mean --

PALIN: A perfectly beautiful baby boy named Trig.

MOOS: Trig did a lot of traveling. Palin's baby, the child with Down Syndrome started the night in daughter Willow's arms. Showed up next cradled by Cindy McCain sleeping soundly through Rudy Giuliani's applause lines.

GIULIANI: When did they ever ask a man that question? When?

MOOS: Husband, Todd, then held and handed Trig over to daughter Piper. So that the handsome hubby could be introduced.

PALIN: Two decades and five children later, he's still my guy.

MOOS: We barely know the candidate for VP, and already we're on a first-name basis with the Palin clan.

PALIN: Bristol and Willow and Piper.

MOOS: That's 17-year-old Bristol, the soon to wed pregnant daughter holding hands with her baby's father. Everywhere they went they held hands. The VP pick from Alaska was celebrated with moose hats and snowy postcard views. There was Palin Power, Sisters for Sarah, We've Struck Oil with Sarah. And did we mention the Hockey Moms?

PALIN: I love those Hockey Moms. You know, they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.

MOOS: Cindy McCain seemed smitten. And look where Trig ended up finally awake. Trig seem a bit freaked out by the limelight. Piper didn't seem to mind. She was captured on camera chewing on Trig's pacifier, piping something off him and best of all licking her hand to smooth Trig's hair. We haven't seen something like that since Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11," featured former World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz' questionable grooming. She's a spitting image but a whole lot cuter. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: Power play.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALIN: The difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Governor Sarah Palin says she's ready for the big time. And Obama-Biden takes a beating.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, than Joe Biden got running for president of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: This morning Senator Joe Biden fires back on the most politics. Live from the RNC.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: 56 minutes after the hour. Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." Sarah Palin had her big moment last night at the Republic convention, but did she do enough to convince voters that she is ready for the vice presidency.

Joining me now is Carly Fiorina. She is chair of the RNC Victory 2008 Committee and an economic adviser to John McCain.

Good to see you this morning. Thanks for getting up.

CARLY FIORINA, CHAIRMAN, RNC VICTORY 2008: Great to be with you, John.

ROBERTS: I know it's early after a very late night. There was a little bit about her family last night in the speech. Lots of zingers. She obviously did well with the crowd here who's looking to her to sort of define herself and define how she would be as a running mate candidate. But did she do enough to illuminate who she is, what's important to her? We did some focus group polling last night and then people said they wanted to know more about her.

FIORINA: Well, I think one of the reasons people want to know more about her is she's fascinating. You know, here this woman comes out --

ROBERTS: She's also a bit of an unknown quantity at this point, too.

FIORINA: Well, and that's exciting, I think. First of all, I think she did a fantastic job last night. I think she talked in a way that not only illuminated a lot about her family life, but really let her personality come through.

I mean, this is obviously a woman who sounds the same whether she's talking to 5,000 people or five people. I'm not surprised that the American people want to know more. But I think she did a wonderful job last night of talking about why John McCain, of illustrating why John McCain picked her, talking about her family, but also talking about her approach. What a mayor's job is really like? What's a governor's job really like? And I think she also was able to demonstrate wonderful expertise and fluency with the energy issue which is so critical.

ROBERTS: But is it not true, Carly, that people also want to know how she would be, not just how she was as a mayor and a governor, but how she would be as a vice president and how she might be, God forbid, if something ever happen to the president? Do they want to hear more on the economy, job creation, the housing crisis, the war in Iraq, Afghanistan, trade -- how she would approach all of those issues? There didn't seem to be any of that last night.

FIORINA: Well, I think there was a great deal of it. But of course, it's only one speech. So she talked a great deal, for example, about energy, which is the single most important issue on American voters' minds. That's what all the polls say.

And she knows very well she has great expertise in that area. I think she will continue to talk to the American people about the issues. But I think she covered the ground she needed to cover last night. And I think people should be and are unbelievably excited about her and the historic nature of her candidacy.

ROBERTS: But the McCain campaign, I'm sure, is hoping that you might be able to peel off a few disaffected Hillary Clinton voters.

FIORINA: I had them in my box last night. My box was filled with Democrats.

ROBERTS: Gloria Steinem has got a rather harsh editorial in the "Los Angeles Times" today. On that point, here's what she says, quote, she says, "selecting Sarah Palin is no way to attract most women, including die hard Clinton supporters. Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Clinton. Her down-home divisive and deceptive speech did nothing to cosmeticize a Republican convention that has more than twice as many male delegates as female; a presidential candidate who was owned and operated by the right wing and a platform that opposes pretty much everything Clinton's candidacy stood for."

What do you say in reaction to that?