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American Morning

Obama, McCain Campaigns in Full Swing

Aired September 10, 2008 - 07:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator McCain goes even further than President Bush in opposing the sovereign Iraqi government's own support for a timetable to redeploy our troops while offering no plan to press the Iraqis to reconcile.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Obama also went after John McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, over their portrayal as the real agents of change. But he argued it works in his favor.

OBAMA: The Republican Party, which had been trying to make an argument about experience, basically got off that and came to our field, and they realized that this is going to be a change election. That's a debate we welcome.

MALVEAUX: In Riverside, Ohio, Obama highlighted how he would change the country's education system.

OBAMA: I want experimentation but I also want accountability.

MALVEAUX: His agenda includes investing in early childhood education, doubling funding for successful charter schools, providing $4,000 tax credits for students doing community service, and increasing training and pay for teachers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: And on top of that, fund the government's existing program, No Child Left Behind, to reward good schools. The big question is, obviously, Kiran, how is he going to pay for all of this?

Well, Obama brings it back to Iraq. He says that getting out will save the $10 billion that the U.S. spends on the war each month -- Kiran.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Suzanne Malveaux for us in Washington, thanks.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Ed Henry is following John McCain and Sarah Palin this morning from Fairfax, Virginia. And, Ed, she is headed back to Anchorage, Alaska. Why is she going back home?

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, obviously, her son is going to be deploying to Iraq and heading out on September 11th, so she wants to get back there. She's also going to be doing some interviews, as you know, with ABC News. This is her first real go around to go through the national media.

There have been a lot of questions about why Sarah Palin has not really faced that kind of scrutiny yet. She's mostly been sticking to script out here on the campaign trail and that's what the McCain camp likes right now. They obviously want to get her up to speed. She has not faced this kind of limelight before.

But the rally that's going to be here in a couple of hours behind me in Fairfax, key swing state, obviously. The McCain camp expecting anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 people. They think they're going to get a really strong turnout because of Sarah Palin in particular.

And as you know, Democrats have not carried this state since 1964 with Lyndon Johnson, but they have high hopes of turning it into a Democratic state this time. And for John McCain to hold it, he really needs to make some inroads here in northern Virginia, where normally Democrats get a very high turnout. That's why you're going to hear him today trying to stress his maverick credentials and trying to roll out Sarah Palin as well, to try to reach out to those what used to be called soccer moms, maybe now the McCain camp calls hockey moms, John.

ROBERTS: As you said, Ed, she is going to be when she goes back to Alaska, sitting down and talking with a couple of networks, her first public interview since she was named as the running mate.

But on the campaign trail, you know, very often there was the speech and then when the candidate gets off of the stage, the traveling press throws some questions at them and then they pretty fairly go back and forth with, you know, some adlib. They've been keeping her away from that since she was named. Why have they been doing that?

HENRY: Well, obviously, she has not faced this kind of scrutiny before. The McCain camp wants to keep the message very tightly controlled around her. And frankly, they've been doing the same thing with John McCain. In recent weeks, when I traveled with John McCain on and off around the country, he used to, as you know, used to be very free wheeling, used to be on the Straight Talk Express taking questions from reporters.

I've been at several events where McCain has been kept a very far distance from reporters. He's obviously done some media interviews, a lot of media interviews. But he has not been taking as many questions and that's because with Steve Schmidt in control, the former Bush- Cheney campaign aide, as you know, he wants to make sure the message is much more tightly controlled. And that obviously translate to Sarah Palin even more. As a newcomer, they're not going to just throw her out there immediately -- John.

ROBERTS: I remember in the early days of the Bush administration, the president would answer any question I'd throw out at him and then eventually Karl Rove told him, don't do that. And he said to me, "I've learned not to listen to you, Roberts."

Thanks, Ed. We'll talk to you again soon.

HENRY: Thanks, John.

ROBERTS: As we hit the stretch run, the attacks are getting more personal and campaign promises are hitting the backburner. But as the projected budget deficit hits a record $407 billion, we're taking a look at how much each candidate could cost us.

Christine Romans is crunching the numbers for us this morning. Good to see you. Thanks for coming in.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John.

Well, a tough economy and a big budget deficit might make some of those big ideas you're hearing on the campaign trail more like empty promises. In fact, John McCain and Barack Obama just might not have the flexibility to get all their ideas done should they take office.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Taxes low.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Cut taxes.

MCCAIN: The energy independence.

OBAMA: Energy independent.

MCCAIN: My health care plan.

OBAMA: My plan will lower your premiums.

ROMANS (voice-over): It wouldn't be a campaign without promises, promises you and I would inevitably pay for.

MAYA MACGUINEAS, COMMITTEE FOR A RESPONSIBLE FED. BUDGET: What they're talking about would cost a good deal of money. And right now, we're not paying the bills for even what we're already spending.

ROMANS: Maya MacGuineas works for a budget watchdog and has tallied the cost of Obama's and McCain's respective plans.

MACGUINEAS: None of the policies the candidates are talking about come for free. And the most expensive items for both of the candidates are tax policy.

ROMANS: She says McCain's tax plan would cost a whopping $417 to $485 billion. Obama's $360 billion. Obama's promise of health coverage for everyone, $65 billion a year. And McCain's pledge to end pork barrel spending --

MCCAIN: Every single pork barrel earmark bill that comes across my desk as president, I will veto it.

ROMANS: Would save $35 billion a year, a drop in the bucket, according to Washington policy analyst, Daniel Clifton.

DANIEL CLIFTON, STRATEGAS RESEARCH PARTNERS: That does not get him anywhere close to offsetting the cost of his proposals.

ROMANS: He says the candidates are talking about new promises that they cannot possibly pay for.

CLIFTON: I think that the media has really given these candidates a pass by knowing that a lot of these proposals aren't realistic.

ROMANS: Both campaigns promise to close tax loopholes, slash unnecessary spending, and cut health care costs. Promises seemingly repeated every four years.

MACGUINEAS: Neither Senator Obama or Senator McCain could get into office and possibly pass all the ideas that they have.

ROMANS: So consider these platforms more of a wish list than a to-do list.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: And I spoke with the economic advisers for both candidates. The Obama camp insists it can find ways to pay for any new spending and says its plans are more specific than John McCain's. Also, Obama doesn't pretend to promise to balance the budget, getting health care for everyone and repairing the middle class, they say, are more immediate.

McCain's camp says its economic plan is a vision for where he wants to take the country. John McCain is committed to balancing the budget, but the number one priority, John, is getting the economy to grow again. Every four years we hear the big ideas, you know, how often do they all come to fruition.

ROBERTS: Yes. And many times it just all involves more money out of our pockets.

ROMAN: Our money. That's right.

ROBERTS: Christine, thanks so much for that.

CHETRY: Well, here's what we're working on for you this morning.

A $407 billion deficit. You're paying for it and the next president will inherit it. From the war to health care, the forces behind all that red ink.

Texas on alert. Hurricane Ike enters the gulf where it could become a devastating Category three storm. We've got the latest prediction.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Well, comedian Al Franken one step closer to the U.S. Senate. He won the Minnesota Democratic primary. Now the former "Saturday Night Live" cast member will run against incumbent Republican Norm Coleman.

Senator Larry Craig's lawyers will be in a Minnesota court today trying to get his guilty plea thrown out. Craig will skip the hearing. He pleaded guilty earlier to soliciting an undercover police officer for sex in an airport bathroom. He was denied in his first attempt to withdraw that plea.

And Republicans want Representative Charlie Rangel removed as the leader of a powerful congressional committee, the Ways and Means Committee. This report comes out after reports that Rangel got an interest free loan at a resort villa in the Dominican Republic and that he never reported rental income from that property. His lawyer says that Rangel made a mistake but did not intentionally do anything wrong.

And for more up-to-the minute political news, you can head to CNN.com/ticker. I was on that fair tax Web site just reading about it. Chuck Norris is a big proponent, and he said if the Ways and Means Committee chairman can't even understand tax law, how can anyone else?

ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, yes. Yes.

ROBERTS: There you are. Ten minutes after the hour. Ali Velshi here "Minding Your Business" this morning. We're talking trade today.

VELSHI: And we're comparing all those -- comparing the candidates' positions on major issues that affect your pocketbook. Trade is one of them. It's not one that gets as much attention as some people would like. It sort of ebbs and flows. But let me give you a sense of what we're talking about.

And we're talking about Barack Obama and John McCain's positions on free trade. We're talking about -- when we talk about free trade, we're describing trade without taxes, tariffs, duties, quotas, subsidies, or other government-imposed barriers. And the idea is that you are able to trade with other countries and it provides reciprocal access to consumers in both the countries that are trading, and there could be many countries involved.

Let's talk about John McCain's position on free trade. He is an unabashed free trader. He says it allows cheaper foreign goods to be imported into the United States. It opens foreign markets up and exposes foreign consumers to U.S.-made goods, and it creates jobs in industries where the United States has a competitive or cost advantage in making a product or providing a service.

Barack Obama and Democrats generally are not as in favor of free trade. Barack Obama says he even wants to consider renegotiating NAFTA. He says that it creates competition at home for U.S.-made goods. It eliminates jobs in industries where the United States has a competitive or cost disadvantage, and it results in outsourcing of lower value work. And manufacturing is an example of that because many countries can manufacture goods at a price much lower than the U.S. can because they pay lower wages, and in many cases, offer lower benefits and different working conditions for their worker. So, a real split on this and it can affect your job. Because free trade, some people say, is very good for the economy and others say it eliminates jobs. If you live in the rust belt of the United States, generally speaking, people there don't like free trade because they feel it's contributed to the closing of so many of those factories, auto and otherwise.

ROBERTS: Well, no question, a lot of American jobs have moved overseas, right?

VELSHI: Yes. But the question is whether that's free trade or whether that's the evolution of an economy that sheds low, lower value jobs and starts to build higher value jobs. If you buy that argument, your question is, what exactly are those higher value jobs that can't be outsourced?

CHETRY: Which is also come to another issue that's on the campaign trail, which is incentives to companies that don't outsource and vice versa.

VELSHI: Right.

CHETRY: And how that plays.

VELSHI: Well, those incentives have to be pretty strong because you're outsourcing because the work can be done cheaper in China or the Philippines or wherever it is. What incentive do you have to have to stay here to make up for the difference in the money that you're not going to make?

ROBERTS: And then the other issue is, what do you do with those workers who are in the lower value jobs? They find themselves out of work.

VELSHI: How do you retrain them? And that is a topic that's coming up. Both of these candidates discuss retraining of workers maybe in their middle ages into things that are growing. There are growing industries in the United States, but sometimes the workers who are displaced can't get into those.

CHETRY: Yes. We can talk about this all day.

VELSHI: That's the topic.

CHETRY: But anyway, very interesting, Ali. It affects a lot of people.

ROBERTS: Doesn't it feel good to talk about an issue as opposed to cosmetics?

VELSHI: Cosmetics? Was I talking about cosmetics?

ROBERTS: No. Not you.

VELSHI: All right.

ROBERTS: Everybody else is.

Thanks, Ali.

CHETRY: I think he means lipstick.

VELSHI: Oh, all right. All right.

CHETRY: The lipstick comments. All right.

Well, Texas is getting ready. Hurricane Ike bearing down on the Gulf Coast and officials there are preparing evacuation plans.

Our Rob Marciano is tracking the storm from the CNN weather center. How's it looking, Rob?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, it's organizing. Kiran, it's got winds of 85 miles an hour. Like you mentioned, it's going to be heading towards Texas. We'll show you the forecast track when the "Most News in the Morning" comes right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: And welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." The Gulf Coast bracing for Hurricane Ike this morning. Newspapers across the region covering the story with headlines like "Where will Ike strike?" That's from The Lufkin Daily News."

Right now, the answer is still up in the air. Ike is moving through the Gulf of Mexico, a Category one hurricane with sustained winds of 85 miles an hour. And that storm finally moved passed Cuba after battering the island for two days.

More than one million people were evacuated due to the major flooding in that island nation. Some areas got as much as 20 inches of rains. Strong winds ripped the roofs off of homes and knocked down trees.

Now, Florida dodged a bullet as Ike moved past without causing too much damage. We did get some I-reports though. This one from Bobby Pate (ph) in the Florida Keys. He shot this video of palm trees blowing in the wind from his back porch.

We turn now to Rob Marciano in the CNN weather center. As we said, Florida dodged a bullet. They still, though, wanted to make sure their residents were, especially in the Keys, more prepared just in case. They actually told tourists and residents to get out of the Keys, but they're OK.

MARCIANO: They are all right and there will be more than just palm trees blowing in the wind, I think, when this thing hits Texas. It's gaining strength. Winds of 85 miles an hour.

Most of the hurricane force winds are in the northern quadrant of this storm. It's not a huge storm at the moment, but the smallest storms tend to have a better chance of getting organized faster. But this thing does have plenty of time and plenty of warm water to go through.

You know, we talk about our computer models. Here's a look at some of our models. Each line represents a different computer, and it represents the forecast track. So you can see they are pretty well centered on the central Texas coastline, anywhere just north of Brownsville to just to the west or just right around Galveston.

So confidence is gaining here as far as where we think this thing is going to go. And the forecast track from the National Hurricane Center kind of echoes what those computer models are showing us and then we throw in the intensity forecast.

So, Thursday morning or tomorrow -- what's today? Wednesday. Yes, Thursday morning early, 1:05. Friday morning early, 120 Cat three. Late Friday night into Saturday morning is when we expect this thing to make landfall anywhere from Brownsville towards Houston. Maybe towards Beaumont, that's a possibility as well. Those can take some extreme right turn right after landfall. If that right turn comes before landfall, and we've got ourselves a serious forecasting issue and that could affect more people.

Still getting battering wind and some waves across parts of Florida. We had a couple of tornado warnings out for this area of the country. And high pressure, guys, in New York is what's squishing Ike and forcing it west and keeping it from going into New Orleans and the Florida panhandle. Kiran, back up to you.

CHETRY: All right. Wow.

So it does take that sharp right, as you said, but not until it hits landfall at least right now, according to the model.

MARCIANO: At least right now -- Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. That's why we need you every day because things change.

MARCIANO: Job security.

CHETRY: Thanks, Rob.

ROBERTS: Every hour. A couple of times an hour for that matter.

It's 19 minutes after the hour. A potential O.J. Simpson juror says she thinks that he got away with murder. What defense attorneys are doing to keep the focus on the current case.

CHETRY: Candid talk about Sarah Palin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK HEATH, SARAH PALIN'S FATHER: I'm talking about my little girl running for mayor and she'll never make it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Drew Griffin in the family home, one on one with the candidate's father.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIVE UNIT CORRESPONDENT: Seems like it's made up that your daughter is a vice presidential candidate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Our top stories right now on CNN.com, most popular, John McCain saying vice presidential candidate Joe Biden has "sunk to a new low." This after Biden said Republican advocates for children with birth defects should support embryonic stem cell research. McCain does support that research. Gov. Sarah Palin who has a son with Down syndrome is against it.

Also, I thought he was guilty the first time. That's what one potential O.J. Simpson juror said during jury selection at his armed robbery trial in Las Vegas. The judge dismissed the potential juror.

And a record settlement in the Enron case. More than a million shareholders will split $7 billion. The Enron collapse back in 2001 cost investors billions and 4,000 people lost their jobs.

CHETRY: In an effort to help make an informed choice in the few weeks ahead, we're bringing you the candidates in their own words on issues. And so, here's what the Democrats had to say yesterday, starting with Joe Biden on Sarah Palin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Sarah Palin eventually is going to have to do what I do. She's going to have to go and meet the press like I do, and have them come out like they come at me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It seems like her nomination has ignited a cultural war. Do you think if she does win that that would be a step forward for women?

BIDEN: Well, look, I think the issue is what does Sarah Palin think? What does she believe? I assume she thinks and agrees with the same policies that George Bush and John McCain think. And that's obviously a backward step for women.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: John McCain says he's about change too. And so, I guess his whole angle is watch out, George Bush, except for economic policy, health care policy, tax policy, education policy, foreign policy and Karl Rove style politics, we're really going to shake things up in Washington.

That's not change. That's just calling some the same thing something different. But, you know you can't -- you can put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig. You know, you can --

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: So lipstick on a pig. Barack Obama said it. The McCain campaign is angry. It turns out John McCain has said it before too. The hot debate over cosmetic politics. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." Here again is Barack Obama describing John McCain's agenda for change. It's all the buzz this morning. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You can put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig. You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper, call it change, it's still going to stink. After eight years, we've had enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: The McCain camp says the comments about "lipstick on a pig" were offensive and a disgraceful shot at Sarah Palin who said to rousing cheers at her convention speech the difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom is lipstick.

Well, joining me now, CNN political contributor and Democratic strategist, Robert Zimmerman, and from Washington, CNN political contributor and Republican analyst, Leslie Sanchez. Thanks to both of you for being with us.

ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good to be here, Kiran.

CHETRY: Robert, you're the only one not wearing lipstick so let me start with you.

(LAUGHTER)

CHETRY: Tell me whether or not you think this was a shot at Sarah Palin?

ZIMMERMAN: No. What it was was an effort to avoid discussing real issues by John McCain. These are the -- the words that Barack Obama used were the exact words that John McCain used in describing Hillary Clinton's health care program.

What we're really witnessing is the McCain campaign's effort to avoid discussing real issues about how they represent change, how their economic policies differ from the Bush economic policies. That's what we're facing, and that's why we're seeing all these distractions in these nonsensical issues.

CHETRY: You're right. We're talking about distractions because Leslie, I mean, on the campaign trail, there's 50 some days left until Election Day and every single thing these candidates say is dissected. So do you think that Barack Obama meant to say that?

LESLIE SANCHEZ, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Absolutely.

CHETRY: He meant to refer to Sarah Palin?

SANCHEZ: Sure. Absolutely. You know, we can't suspend disbelief at this point. You want him to be credited for being this wonderful orator who really understands his message, who can connect with people and all of a sudden he forgets how to do that.

What is interesting is over the last week I think the campaign, the Obama campaign has been flatfooted not knowing how to respond to a real challenge. There's a coalescing that's happening in America and you have a lot of suburban, ex-urban and rural voters, you know, who have classic American values who are against the center city machine in the Democratic Party.

ZIMMERMAN: What we're really seeing is the extreme right-wing come together behind Sarah Palin and ultimately we're not seeing John McCain or Sarah Palin talk about the issues that really matter to Americans.

SANCHEZ: Robert, I'm so glad --

ZIMMERMAN: For example, how are you going to provide health care for a record number of people without health care? How is John McCain different from George Bush's economic policy?

SANCHEZ: You know, Robert, I'm glad --

ZIMMERMAN: You don't have to know that.

SANCHEZ: Robert, you raised some really very good points.

ZIMMERMAN: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: And I think the McCain campaign has been very strong in responding consistently with the same message about getting rid of earmarks when you've got Barack Obama asking for a billion dollars of earmarks in the last three years.

ZIMMERMAN: And we have Sarah Palin who --

SANCHEZ: He's talking about a plan for economic, diplomatic and political --

(CROSSTALK)

CHETRY: All right. Guys, I want to ask you another quick --

ZIMMERMAN: We have Sarah Palin who is governor of Alaska, she campaigned against the bridge to nowhere and then she, of course, then she supported it. And now, we find out that the bridge was denied. She kept the federal funds for her own pet projects in Alaska.

SANCHEZ: You know, the bottom line, I think the Democrats are searching in any way they can to try to smear this excellent candidate for vice president when the real issue...

ZIMMERMAN: Is it true, is it not, Leslie?

SANCHEZ: Robert, I let you finished.

ZIMMERMAN: OK.

SANCHEZ: The real issue is you have a campaign that's inspiring. We're not asking for them to change America, they're asking to change Washington. Washington is fundamentally broken.

(CROSSTALK)

ZIMMERMAN: But you can't change -- you can't change Washington --

SANCHEZ: And this is a candidacy -- this is a candidacy with McCain and Palin that is looking to strengthen not only and look out after the interest of America's middle class and working class, but also find a way to keep America safe and secure.

(CROSSTALK)

ZIMMERMAN: But, Leslie, when the --

SANCHEZ: You guys can talk around all the issues and be a government program, but the bottom line --

CHETRY: All right. I want to ask one quick question before we go.

Leslie, the Democrats have been hammering over and over again and the campaign speeches haven't changed much on this stump. She's still talking about the bridge to nowhere, saying that she told Congress, thanks but no thanks. And they're really being able to use this as saying she's not necessarily being totally honest on the campaign trail.

Is that something that the GOP should think about her explaining more? They talk about this tightly controlled message where she hasn't really expanded on her take on some of these issues.

SANCHEZ: Well, there's no doubt about it that voters want transparency. They want to know that people are consistent in their views and their positions. She's about to do a very extensive ABC News interview. I think you're going to hear more of that.

But, it is not unusual for candidates to be using the same stump speech. Barack's been using his for 18 months.

ZIMMERMAN: But it is unusual for a candidate --

SANCHEZ: I mean, this doesn't change. And with respect to bridge to nowhere --

ZIMMERMAN: Leslie, if I can make a point. SANCHEZ: Do not deny the fact she's used that veto pen to cut wasteful spending more than any governer --

CHETRY: OK, last word then and we got to go.

ZIMMERMAN: OK, Leslie, the bottom line is her core message is a fabrication. She supported the bridge to nowhere. Then she kept the earmark funds. She even hired lobbyists to bring more pork barrel to her state. And that's the bottom line.

CHETRY: All right. We have to leave it there. I want to thank both of you for being with us. A lot to talk about this morning. I'm sorry we couldn't get to it all.

Leslie Sanchez and Robert Zimmerman, thank you.

ZIMMERMAN: Good to be with you.

ROBERTS: It is now 31 minutes after the hour and here are this morning's top stories.

Hurricane Ike regrouping in the Gulf of Mexico and now targeting Texas. It is expected to make landfall later this week. Emergency officials are on stand by ready to evacuate a million people from the Rio Grande Valley. The storms already tore a deadly path through Cuba, dumping up to 20 inches of rain.

OPEC tried to stop the steep decline in oil prices. The cartel is going to stick with earlier production quotas, defectively cutting crude production by 520,000 barrels a day. The decision came just hours after oil prices hit a five month low, around $102 a barrel. OPEC's president says prices will probably continue to decline, despite the cut.

With unemployment hitting a five year high, Democrats are pushing another economic stimulus package worth $50 billion. It would extend jobless benefits and grant heating subsidies. The White House says allowing offshore drilling would be a better way to boost the economy.

There are heartbreaking and inspiring stories behind each running mate this election year. CNN is giving you and intimate look at each vice president candidate in two new special reports. Joe Biden and Sarah Palin Revealed. Our special investigations unit is here now with a preview.

First Abbie Boudreau we the story of Senator Joe Biden.

Hi, Abbie.

ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS: Hi, John.

It was a tragedy that nearly ended his political career before it really began. The 1972 car accident in which Senator Biden's first wife Neilia and young daughter Naomi, were killed. It was so devastating that he thought about giving up his Senate seat he had just won it. I asked him to read a passage from his book "Promises to Keep," in which he writes what his current wife Jill means to him.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I asked her once not long before our wedding, how she could marry me knowing how much -- knowing how much I adored Neilia. And she didn't hesitate. She said, and quote, that's the reason I can marry you, she told me. Anybody can love that deeply once can do it again. That's when I realized exactly what Jill's love had done for me. It had given me permission to be me again.

God, I'm sorry. She did. I mean, she restored my life. I know that sounds corny but she really did. I mean, she gave me permission to -- that one statement, sort of gave me permission to -- anyway, it's accurate.

BOUDREAU (on camera): She brought you back

BIDEN: She did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOUDREAU: I mean, this was a really emotion interview. We sat down with him for a little while and he really opened up about his life story. And this is a story that so many just don't know about. I mean, of course, insiders know his story. But the people at home, people like myself, who's not a political reporter, really surprised by a lot of what he said and how deeply he was moved by some of those passages that he read. And also just his life story, how interesting and dramatic it really is.

Of course, we talked about his 36 years as a senator and where he stands on political issues. But the thing that I think people are going to really take away is how deep we're going to go into his life, who he is as a person, how he is with his family.

John, I think it's going to be a really interesting view of his life and hopefully people will learn something about this man. We're hearing so much about Sarah Palin right now. So, hopefully people will learn something about Senator Joe Biden, as well.

ROBERTS: You rarely see that level of emotion from the senator. Looking forward to seeing more on that.

Abbie Boudreau for us this morning. Abbie, thanks.

Meantime CNN's Drew Griffin is live for us this morning in Anchorage, Alaska. He spoke with Governor Sarah Palin's father recently.

Hey, Drew.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, you know, Sarah Palin's a unique American story, politics aside, No where do you find that more out than when you go to her parent's home, which is like a natural history museum complete with a science teacher, her father, to explain the whole thing. We did sit down with him. He told us his family was so poor when they came to Alaska, they didn't have a TV for years and Sarah Palin and her brother and sisters grew up mostly eating meat that he shot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN (on camera): I have to tell you, Chuck, sitting here in this house, with all your trophies and you're a school teacher and your wife's a school secretary and you guys hunt and you're in Alaska. It almost seems like it's made up that your daughter is a vice presidential candidate.

CHUCK HEATH, SARAH PALIN'S FATHER: Well, it's finally sinking in that she is the governor of Alaska. Now what happened last week, it still hasn't sunk in. I mean, it's -- when I was in Minneapolis yesterday and the day before and the day before that, I was in la-la land. Dream land. I couldn't believe this was happening to my little girl. Completely blind sided.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): He says his daughter, Sarah, has always been full of surprises. When she became a beauty queen that was a surprise. When she eloped with her childhood sweetheart, surprise again. And when she ran for mayor of Wasilla, her dad drove her around to knock on doors but wondered, what is his little girl doing.

HEATH: Yes. I though my little girl running for mayor and she'll never make it.

GRIFFIN (on camera): Are you sexist?

HEATH: It wasn't -- the agenda. It was was she was running against a guy that had been in there for three terms and he was running for his fourth term. And he was a popular guy. He was from the old school. And a good old boys. And I said to myself, she'll never beat him. And bingo, she did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: John, you know, every election season they have that silly poll which candidate would you most like to drink a beer with. This guy ain't running but he's the winner of that poll. He's one of the many characters we meet in Sarah Palin's life that I think you'll find interesting in our documentary.

ROBERTS: Well, perhaps politics is in his future.

Drew Griffin for us from Anchorage. Drew, thanks so much.

Don't miss the special documentary, Sarah Palin Revealed and Joe Biden Revealed, beginning at 9:00 p.m. Eastern this Saturday, right here on CNN.

CHETRY: Platinum parachute. Donald Trump live on the state of the economy. And why CEOs who fail get paid off while we pick up the tab. You're watching the Most News in the Morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST OF THE "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": Are you folks following this Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae fiasco? Do you know anything about it? It's horrible, isn't it? I mean, it's horrible and scary. Thank god it's over. Earlier today, earlier today, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were both adopted by Angelina Jolie. Thank goodness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Actually maybe David Letterman is on to something. Maybe that could solve some of the problems. Well, he's having some fun with the government takeover of the two biggest U.S. mortgage finance companies. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But, was bailing out the lenders a good idea?

Joining us on the phone this morning, Donald Trump. He's the president and CEO of the Trump Organization.

Great to talk to you this morning.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF TRUMP ORGANIZATION: Good morning.

CHETRY: What do you think? You know, it seems that the consensus in the business world is, it was the best choice of a lot of bad options.

What is your take on this bailout?

TRUMP: Well, I think that's exactly right. It was a necessary evil. I think that Secretary Paulson did a wonderful job. It was a tough job. It wasn't easy. And we're going to have to live with it for a long time as taxpayers, probably. But it needed credit, it needed credit worthiness and they get it from the United States. I mean, they get the ultimate credit. Hopefully the United States's credit remains strong.

CHETRY: What about the multimillion dollar severance packages of the two CEOs. You're getting rewarded for failing companies?

TRUMP: Well, that's been controversial on so many levels. I mean, you have that happening with regular companies that go bad and they throw out the -- I mean, you look at Citibank and so many other banks and companies and the same things have happened. People walking away with $50, $60, $100 million for having done a bad job. That's been going on -- I don't know if you can legislate against it. It's supposed to be up to board of directors. But, don't forget the board of directors are usually picked by these people.

CHETRY: Right. Well, what's your advice right now? A lot of fears, a lot of jitters about the economy. Everything seems to be costing more and people seem to be bringing home less.

Where should people, if they have some money to save, be putting that money right now, in your opinion

TRUMP: Well, I love real estate. I think that this is now the time to go out. You know, I'll make speeches and two, three years ago, I was telling people, please don't buy real estate right now. Do not buy. And you had all the exploding mortgages and all the crap that was happening. And now I love it.

Now I love going out and this is the time to buy. I just bought a big country club in Colts Neck, New Jersey. And two, three years ago I would have paid three or four times the price. It's amazing what you can do today in real estate. So, this is really a great time to go out and buy real estate.

So much of the problem of the world is oil related. And yet you have tankers floating all over the seas, every where, loaded up with oil they don't know where to dump it. And OPEC today came out and reduced oil. You saw what happened with OPEC. Now, I've been saying for two years this is the problem. But OPEC got together in a room and they said, listen oil is dropping, dropping to the highest levels ever, except for a few months ago And they said let's do something. So they reduced the output of oil, which was not exactly expected and was a pretty unfriendly act, I would say.

CHETRY: Right. Now, who has the best plan for what to do about that problem, presidentially speaking? Barack Obama or John McCain?

TRUMP: Well, I've known John McCain for a long time. He's a great guy, a great man. And I'm backing John McCain. I like the idea of no tax raises, which is what his platform is. In fact he's going to give tax incentives. And I back John McCain because I've known him and he's a great man.

CHETRY: All right. Well, Donald Trump, always great to get your take. Thanks for calling in, in this morning.

TRUMP: Well, thank you very much.

ROBERTS: Issue number one, the candidates on trade. Ali Velshi looks at what the policies of the next president could mean for your job. You're watching the Most News in the Morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Wow, $407 billion. That's the estimate for the federal budget deficit this fiscal year. The Congressional Budget Office also predicted that the deficit would reach a record $438 billion in the next fiscal year. And that is not even counting the cost of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac take over.

Our Alan Chernoff is looking this morning, at where your money is going and how much of it is being thrown away. And he joins us now.

Hey, Alan. ALAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. The numbers are simply astounding. The federal deficit is growing at a rate of three-quarters of a million dollars a minute.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHERNOFF (voice-over): The surge in Iraq may be effective but it's expensive. Pentagon spending in Iraq dumped $20 billion this fiscal year. Enough money to build a new home for every American living in poverty. Add the war in Afghanistan, and spending on military operations has almost doubled in the past four years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. At the same time, spending at home on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security is soaring. Up a combined $60 billion this year.

STEVE ELLIS, TAXPAYERS FOR COMMON SENSE ACTION: It is up to the American public to share their outrage to tell Congress, to tell the administration, you need to get it together and you need to get the fiscal House in order otherwise we're going to be crushed under a huge budget debt in the future.

CHERNOFF: The debt is already crushing. Our nation is borrowing so much money that interest payments alone this year totalled $450 billion. More than enough to build a new home for every American.

ELLIS: That's money we're throwing away. I mean, we're not getting any benefit to this country out of that.

CHERNOFF: President Bush in 2004, predicted just the opposite.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I proposed a plan, detailed budget that shows us cutting the deficit in half by five years.

CHERNOFF: The slumping economy has caused even bigger government expenses. Unemployment benefits, bank bail outs and lower tax revenues. Given those numbers, the only thing that's cheap in Washington is talk.

SEN. JUDD GREGG (R), NEW HAMPSHIRE: So this is a failure. These numbers reflect a failure. They're not good and we need to get back to some fiscal discipline around here.

SEN. KENT CONRAD (D), NORTH DAKOTA: We have a housing crisis, an energy crisis, a health care crisis and a fiscal crisis. That is more than a trifecta. Now, that is a combination of mismanagement that will take years to undo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHERNOFF: And we can look forward to footing the bill for the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailout. The Treasury already has set aside $200 billion. Until the economy picks up, this situation is only going to get worse. In fact, during this report, the deficit grew by $1.5 million -- John.

ROBERTS: Just astounding the way it piles up. Alan Chernoff for us, this morning. Alan, thanks so much.

It's 49 minutes now after the hour.

Dying to be skinny.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just because they're thin, doesn't mean they're not healthy.

ROBERTS: Alina Cho looks at life on the runway where being thin is a job requirement. And where recently, at least six models have paid the ultimate price.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you're a model you're thin. If you are thin, you can be a model.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Got some headlines across America for you this morning. The Minnesota bridge that collapsed last year will reopen to traffic next week. The state commissioner says the I-35W bridge has been rebuilt to the highest safety standards. 13 people were killed when that bridge collapsed last August 13th.

ROBERTS: The last four tree sitters at UC Berkeley have come out of their trees. That ends a 20-month standoff aimed at preventing the school from cutting down trees to build a new sports center. When the four protectors got down, they were immediately arrested and the school cut down their trees a few hours later.

CHETRY: And a Wisconsin man says that he's eaten 23,000 Big Macs in the last 36 years. A man after my own heart. He says he's eaten at least one Big Mac every day but one day since May of 1972. He says he saves every receipt in a box to prove it. The man has obsessive compulsive disorder and he says the McDonald's sign tracking number of customers inspired him. How about that one?

ROBERTS: Popular target.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: You can put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig.

ROBERTS: As the Palin effect hits the polls, are the attacks getting ugly?

Plus, the scars of smoking.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I did not stop, my implants were going to come in.

ROBERTS: Why you better kick the habit before you go under the knife.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROBERTS: Welcome back to the most politics in the morning. Our next guest has been to the top of the mountain helping George Bush win two terms in the White House. He was planning to get John McCain there, too. But earlier this year Mark McKinnon left his post as McCain's chief media adviser, saying that he did not want to work against Barack Obama and his message of hope.

Mark joins us now live from Austin, Texas.

Mark, it's good to see you. Despite the pledge you were seen around the Republican National Convention last week, particularly on Thursday night. How do you square that with your pledge of not helping out McCain?

MARK MCKINNON, FMR. MEDIA ADV. TO SEN. MCCAIN & PRES. BUSH: Oh, I've always said that I'm the No. 1 cheerleader, fan, supporter of John McCain. I think this is a great race. I was out there just helping Cindy McCain with her speech. But I have no formal role in her campaign. And like everybody else in America, I'm loving watching this because just when we thought it couldn't get any more exciting now, with Sarah Palin on the ticket, this is the most exciting race of a lifetime. It's terrific.

ROBERTS: Coming out of the Republican National Convention the McCain campaign appears to be very effective at undercutting Barack Obama's message.

What is Obama doing wrong?

MCKINNON: Well, the deck has been reshuffled and you know, it's taking them a while to get their footing, trying to figure out how to face a ticket that's not the one they anticipated.

You know, this was a surprise for not just for Republicans, but the Democrats and everybody in the country. So they'd weeks and weeks of planning for, you know, Mitt Romney or Tim Pawlenty, or lots of others who'd have been talked about on the ticket. But Sarah Palin was a complete surprise and is a classic McCain play and it's very exciting.

ROBERTS: She has, as you know, presented herself as being against this bridge to nowhere, being a foe to earmarks.

But clearly if you look at what she said in her campaign for governor, she was before that bridge before she turned against it. She also said yesterday on the stump that Barack Obama had requested a million dollars a day in earmarks while he was a senator. If you look at her record, she's asked for pretty much the same thing during her time as governor.

So, how is it that she can seemingly do the same things that Barack Obama is doing and yet, excoriate him for doing it? And how does she present this idea that she was always against this bridge, when clearly the record states that she wasn't always against the bridge? MCKINNON: Well, I don't think she's said she was always against it. The important thing is that when it came down to the ultimate vote on that appropriation, she was against it. And she's been a chief executive up there in Alaska. And she's got a terrific record as a reformer in Alaska. nobody questions that record of reform.

ROBERTS: But what about this earmark idea?

MCKINNON: Well, as mayor, she was for appropriations for the city.

ROBERTS: And as governor.

MCKINNON: But, on federal appropriations, you know, she's consistently been against it. So --

ROBERTS: Whoa! Wait a minute, hold it. She has -- the governor's office asked for federal earmarks which have gone into the budgets, like to the tune of $453 million.

MCKINNON: Yes. Well, as I said, at the end of the day when it came to the bridge to nowhere, she was against and it she's got a long record of reform that nobody disputes in Alaska.

ROBERTS: Hey, another issue that you're talking about, Mark, is this Employee Free Choice Act. It's a bill making its way through Congress. Passed the House, got denied by the Senate but may come back.

It would eliminate secret ballots in Union organizing in favor of only counting these publicly signed authorization cards. It got minimal bipartisan support.

What in your estimation, is wrong with the bill?

MCKINNON: Well, I don't always agree with George McGovern, but he and I agree with him on this issue.

This is -- it would be the most radical change in labor law in 60 years. And would deny people being organized in workplaces, the fundamental America right to cast their ballot in private. And it's, you know, ironically called the Employee Free Choice Act. It should be called the employee forced choice act because it forces them to disclose their vote, which opens them up to coercion from those who are organizing the collective bargaining unit.

So, it's a Trojan horse and it -- and we're trying to get the word out, because businesses in America don't realize that there's a lot of focus on this very exciting election, these very exciting candidates --

ROBERTS: Wait. Why haven't we heard more about this during this election?

MCKINNON: Well, it's been floating under the radar. But businesses are starting to wake up and realize that this could be the most radical transformation of the American workplace in decades. And so we're getting the word out and it's important that workplaces and employers know that this radical transformation could take place if Barack Obama's elected president because he supports it. And if they get 60 votes in the Senate, it could become law.

ROBERTS: All right. Well, no suggestion that they're going to get 60 votes at this point. We'll keep watching, though.

Mark McKinnon from Austin, Texas, this morning. Thanks for joining us. Appreciate it.

MCKINNON: Thanks, John. Thanks for having me on.