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Biden, Palin Square off Tonight; House to Vote on Sweetened Bill; Fossett's Plane Found
Aired October 02, 2008 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Two big debates, and the clock is ticking on both. The vice presidential face-off in St. Louis now less than nine hours away. We will have a live preview for you.
And on Capitol Hill, the House debate over the latest financial rescue bill is just a day away.
St. Louis showdown. Vice presidential candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin square off tonight in their one and only debate. Presidential candidate John McCain giving a little shout-out to his running mate. He told CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" Palin will do well in spite of her critics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know that there have been attacks on Sarah Palin that have been remarkable to me in many way, but I have total confidence in her. She's very comfortable in her own skin. She's had more experience in leadership than Senator Obama and Senator Biden put together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: So the stakes are high. Joe Biden, the political veteran, trying to avoid any major gaffes. Palin, the newcomer, said to be eager to prove herself.
At the debate site in St. Louis, CNN's Suzanne Malveaux covering Senator Biden, and our Dana Bash covering Governor Palin.
Let's start with you, Dana. Is she ready to go, as John McCain's suggests?
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, she certainly basically has no choice. She's actually on her way here right now. She just left Arizona, where she has been for the past two and a half days or so, Tony. She has been at John McCain's cabin there, his creekside cabin, getting what aides call fresh air, trying to sort of relax more as she prepares for today.
But what was really interesting I thought in that sound bite you just played from John McCain from "AMERICAN MORNING" this morning is how every question that Kiran Chetry put to him about Sarah Palin, his response included experience and leadership, experience and leadership. That is clearly what we are seeing if a host of polls that is part of Sarah Palin's problem right now, that voters are not comfortable with her, at least a lot less comfortable with her now in terms of those two issue, experience and leadership, than they had been about two weeks ago.
They know that that is one of the major things that they have got to build back up in tonight's debate, because it's not just a question and issue for Sarah Palin, it means it's a question and issue for John McCain. And that has been his strong suit, bar none -- Tony.
HARRIS: And Dana, where can, in your view -- you've been following this for so long now. Where can Sarah Palin score some points against Joe Biden? What do you think?
BASH: Well, I'll tell you where McCain aides and Palin aides say they want to score points against Joe Biden. And frankly, against Barack Obama, because keep in mind, when you talk to aides to both of these candidates, the top and bottom of the ticket, they say that that is their target tonight. Joe Biden is going to be sitting there, and next to Sarah Palin, but you can be sure that they are going to try to keep their eyes on the prize, and that is beating Barack Obama, not necessarily Joe Biden.
But with regard to what she wants to get across, you kind of heard her preview this in a couple of conservative talk radio interviews that she did over the past couple of days, try to connect. Really get back to where she was when she made a big splash on the national and international stage, present herself as somebody who's not just an average hockey mom, as we've heard time and time again, but somebody who can understand what average Americans are going through the right now. Because she's not somebody who comes from a lot.
She's somebody who's had problems with her health care. She's somebody who, she mentioned the other day, her husband is looking at his 401(k) and going, oh, gosh. So it's that kind of connection I think that her aides are trying to make sure, and working with her, that she gets across tonight.
HARRIS: There she is, Dana Bash for us.
Good to see you, Dana. Thank you.
Now let's bring in our Suzanne Malveaux for the view from the Biden camp.
Suzanne, what's the fine balancing act for Senator Biden tonight, in your view?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's really interesting that Dana mentioned the whole issue of experience, because I spoke with spokeswoman Linda Douglass of the Obama campaign, who says that Joe Biden is not going to go there. He's not going to take on Sarah Palin when it comes to experience, he is not going to get personal.
What he is going to do, essentially, is try to set up this contrast, the kind of McCain/Palin team versus the Obama/Biden team. That he's going to make the case that this election is about core issues and it's about how people live their lives, how they're going to pay for their gas, how are they going to take out their mortgages, how are they going to put their kids through college. And that he's going to try to deal with what she calls these meaty issues, that there's going to be a lot of meat on the bone, that it's going to be substantive.
And Linda Douglass also said he's not going to take the bait, if there's any kind of criticism or those one line -- those zingers that they saw at the Republican National Convention, that he's going to kind of sidestep that and just try to focus on what he believes the voters want to hear, what's important to them. Talking about the economy, talking about the war. So that really is their strategy.
The other part of this, Tony, as you know, a lot of people have been talking about, what is it like to debate a woman? Is that going to be a difficult position for him? Are people going accuse him of being sexist or chauvinistic, like they have, you know, in some cases in the election?
They say that he's not necessarily worried about that. That he has debated before, toe-to-toe, head-to-head, with Senators Mikulski, Kay Bailey Hutchison, the kind of people that he's been accustomed to working with. And so they said that he's dealing with smart women, strong, tough women all the time. So that is not going to be something that he's even going to focus on, but a lot of people are going to looking at body language.
HARRIS: Absolutely.
MALVEAUX: Obviously looking at that, the words that they use, and how they respond to each other, to see if there's anything like that.
HARRIS: Yes. All right.
Suzanne Malveaux for us.
Suzanne, great to see you. Thank you.
And you can see that match-up between Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin live tonight, 9:00 Eastern, right here on CNN, your home for politics.
A judge holds a hearing today on a lawsuit that seeks to end an investigation of Governor Sarah Palin. The investigation focuses on whether Palin abused her authority in the firing of a public service commissioner. He says he was sacked for resisting pressure to fire Palin's ex-brother-in-law, a state trooper. Palin denies any wrongdoing. The lawyer hired to handle the investigation says he has already started drafting his report.
The bailout bill is headed back to the House after lopsided approval in the Senate. Will naysayers hold their noses and vote "yes" this time around?
CNN's Brianna Keilar is on Capitol Hill.
Brianna, good to see you.
If you would, set the scene for us. What's happening there today?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, all eyes are on, who else, House Republicans, as they have been for some time now. At this moment, House Republican leaders seriously working the phones, trying to get some of the rank and file House Republican members on board, because as you know, the leaders were on board Monday when the plan went through, but it was the rank and file members who weren't.
So one of the tools that House Republican leaders have in this arm-twisting exercise is some of the sweeteners that the Senate put into their plan that passed last night. That includes increasing the FDIC insurance cap for how much of a bank deposit is insured, increasing that from $100,000 to $250,000. That's appealing, of course, to small businesses, who you can understand might run a balance over $100,000. They have to make payroll and that kind of thing.
But some of the other sweeteners include tax cuts. Let me just run through some of these for you.
A fix to the alternative minimum tax, as well as tax cuts for wind and solar energy, for the industry there. As well as tax cuts for research and development for businesses.
So these are sweeteners that House Republican leaders can use, but the question is, bringing some of those House Republicans on board, do you also maybe lose some House Democrats? Because you have blue dog Democrats, as they're called. These are fiscally conservative liberal members who want to make sure that these tax cuts are offset.
They may be bothered, of course, if they're not, but at this point we're hearing some leadership from House Democrats, downplaying that they're going to lose many Democrats. And so I guess that's good news, Tony, that they're downplaying that.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes.
KEILAR: But at the same time, Senate Democrats, Senate Republicans, House Democrats, they say they're cautiously optimistic. You know at this point, Tony, you don't really take that to the bank. So the bottom line is, we don't know exactly how this is going to turn out tomorrow.
HARRIS: You don't take it to the bank, because you may not be able to get it out.
Brianna, we heard a lot about the phone calls from constituents who are so against the bailout. Is it the same now just days after the House voted it down, but just a day after the Senate approved it? KEILAR: Well, certainly, Tony, there are a lot of people calling in, constituents who are making it clear to their representatives that they are not happy with this bailout. But at the same time, there seems to be kind of a change, sort of a slide, if will you. More people calling in who say they're for it. They're really fearful that they're already feeling it or they're going to feel this economic crisis on a very personal level.
So there's certainly a change, but I would say you've got -- you definitely have got some of each.
HARRIS: Yes.
Brianna Keilar on Capitol Hill for us.
Brianna, appreciate it. Thank you.
You know, you can follow the crisis on Wall Street, the buyouts, the bailouts -- sorry, the rescue plans -- oil prices, what's happening with the price of gas, all of it at CNNMoney.com. Get all the day's market news, the numbers, plus expert analysis. Log on now.
Alaska Senator Ted Stevens' criminal trial came to a screeching halt this morning. An angry judge called a hearing for this afternoon to consider a mistrial or dismissal.
The defense asked for the move, saying the prosecution withheld FBI reports about the government's star witness. Prosecutors say it was an honest mistake. Stevens is charged, as you know, with failing to report gifts and home renovations on his Senate disclosure form.
The mystery of the disappearing millionaire adventurer. We could be one step closer to learning what happened to Steve Fossett.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Very quickly, let's get you to Mammoth Springs, California, right now. As you can see, the National Transportation Safety Board is on the ground there, holding a news conference. We're getting the latest on the Steve Fossett crash.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
MARK ROSENKER, ACTING CHAIR, NTSB: Obviously that's going to change. So we have a good deal of factual information that has already been collected -- witness statements, maintenance records.
We're looking now at medical records. We'll be looking at the history of the aircraft. We'll be doing some additional work, obviously in examining the specific wreckage.
But we have done a lot already to understand the weather conditions of where the aircraft took off from and the conditions in the surrounding areas. We'll be looking at those to try to make a little more sense out of what potentially may have happened that day.
QUESTION: What do you know about whether this was an accident, or a suicide, or if there was any foul play involved?
ROSENKER: We are investigating this accident at this time as an accident. At this moment, there is no reason to believe that there's anything other than a tragic accident.
QUESTION: Do you know (OFF-MIKE).
ROSENKER: Yes. We know that there was a post-impact fire. Post-impact fire.
QUESTION: What are the difficulties with examining a crash that's over a year old, as opposed to one that we find a day or two later?
ROSENKER: Well, obviously, there is wear and tear by weather. It snows obviously a great deal. You know more about the weather conditions up there than I would. But we still have a good deal of the aircraft that we'll be able to bring back, and we will do a very thorough investigation when we bring the parts of the aircraft back to a facility where we can examine them more closely.
QUESTION: Where to?
ROSENKER: That's to be determined right now.
HARRIS: You have been listening to Mark Rosenker. He is the acting chair of the NTSB.
Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett's plane mangled and scattered across a California mountain. The wreckage found last night, but no signs of a body. Fossett disappeared a little more than a year ago.
And our Dam Simon is in Mammoth Lakes right now, just east of the crash site.
And Dan, we heard a little bit of that news conference under way. But clearly, the NTSB is on the ground and taking over this investigation.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Tony, trying to figure what may have caused this plane to go down.
This had really been a mystery for well over a year. What happened to Steve Fossett? What happened to this plane?
And when this first occurred a year ago, this search involved 1,000 volunteers, and it covered 20,000 square miles. Actually, one year ago to this day, that search was suspended.
Of course, all along, everyone suspected that Steve Fossett died, but there was still this lingering question, what happened to the plane? Well, we now know the answer, and it happened as a result of a hiker going into the California Sierra and stumbling upon three pieces of identification that had Steve Fossett's name on them. There was also $1,000 in cash. Well, he eventually took those IDs to the authorities, they launched a whole new search yesterday, and within a quarter of a mile from where those IDs were found, they found this crash site. And this morning authorities confirmed that that plane was, in fact, the plane that Steve Fossett was flying -- Tony.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF JOHN ANDERSON, MADERA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: The search team, they were planning to spend the night in the mountains. They got the GPS coordinates from the aircraft. They went in and they did locate an aircraft which we have now confirmed is the one that Steve Fossett was flying when it disappeared last Labor Day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: The site, about 12 miles behind me, deep in the California Sierra. Right now, authorities are taking pictures of the crash site, the NTSB is documenting it, the first stages, in trying to determine what caused that plane to go down. But the focus is also on trying to find Steve Fossett's body, and there are about five dozen search crews up there, and several cadaver dogs trying to find any human remains -- Tony.
HARRIS: The acting chair of the NTSB saying just moments ago, there is nothing to indicate that this was anything more than a tragic accident.
Dan Simon for us this morning.
Dan, appreciate it. Thank you.
The former Fed chairman, Alan Greenspan, today said it would take two things to end the financial crisis we're in now: trust and confidence. The massive bailout bill is supposed to help restore calm, but what would the economy look like if confidence doesn't return to the credit markets?
CNN's Christine Romans checks the doomsday scenario.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A crescendo of gloomy predictions.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're in the midst of a serious financial crisis.
HENRY PAULSON, TREASURY SECRETARY: The taxpayer already is going to suffer the consequences if things don't work the way they should work.
BEN BERNANKE, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: This plan is an emergency plan to put out a fire, to resolve a serious crisis. ROMANS: So just what is going to happen and when? No one believes America will wake up tomorrow to soup lines, shanty towns and depression era panic on Wall Street. What they do expect --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Banks get weaker. They can't finance home credit. They start foreclosing. Individuals stop spending. Banks get weaker. Still, the stock market goes down.
ROMANS: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce predicts a vicious cycle of frozen credit markets where banks don't lend money. Towns can't borrow for important projects. Companies miss payrolls and consumers stop spending.
The chamber says the cycle could begin in a week or two and once started would be hard to stop. Others predict it will be much further down the road.
Listen to the president's own prediction of life without a bailout bill.
BUSH: Further stress on our financial markets would cause massive job loss, devastate retirement accounts, further erode housing values and dry up new loans for homes, cars and college tuitions.
ROMANS: Harvard economist, Ken Rogoff, says government action is better than the alternative.
KENNETH ROGOFF, HARVARD ECONOMIST: We're worried about something that wipes out a big chunk of our financial intermediation that gives us, you know, credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, you name it. It's something that hurts us for many years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: The risk, he says, is no plain vanilla recession. A former vice chairman of the Fed puts it this way. She says, anticipating what the world would look like without a bailout is "like anticipating nuclear war. We don't know what the chances are, but we should do everything we can to avoid it."
Tony.
HARRIS: But Christine, bottom-line this for me. You know, bailout, no bailout, aren't we headed for a tough economy no matter what?
ROMANS: We are and we're already in it. We've seen car sales plunge. We've seen just in the last two weeks almost a million people, Tony, line up for the very first time for jobless benefits from their unemployment offices, and we're already seeing it start.
That's a big, tough sell for these senators and congressmen for their constituents. They're already feeling it. They don't understand why we have to spend all this money so that -- and know that it's not necessarily going to thwart a plain vanilla recession, it's going to thwart something much worse that no one can identify how bad it would be.
HARRIS: All right. Christine Romans for us in New York.
Christine, thank you.
ROMANS: Sure.
HARRIS: Next, a lot of us trying to solve our energy fix with public transportation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And two bills winning approval in the Senate are seeking to solve a crisis. And, no, we're not talking about the much- ballyhooed financial crisis. These bills are taking aim at the energy crisis.
CNNMoney.com's Diane King has our "Energy Fix" from New York.
And Diane, I've got to tell you something, we could really -- I know there's not a lot of extra money out there, but we could really use some extra money with gas prices so high right now -- you can't find gas in many places in the South -- for public transportation.
DIANE KING, CNNMONEY.COM: Right. Well, hi, Tony.
As energy prices have surged, so has ridership on public transportation. And a bill that just passed both houses of Congress authorizes the first comprehensive funding for Amtrak in a decade.
It calls for spending $13 billion over five years for a variety of projects, including repairs along the Northeast Corridor and support for 11 high-speed train routes. The bill is also aimed at improving safety.
Now, the horrific train collision in Los Angeles last month that killed 25 people may have swayed some votes in favor of the bill because of the safety provisions. It includes the establishment of a toll-free number where the public can report crossing problems. Now, President Bush has not said whether he will sign the bill, although it passed both houses with veto-proof majority -- Tony.
HARRIS: So, Diane, that's one bill.
KING: Right.
HARRIS: What about the other?
KING: Well, the other provides tax breaks for alternative energy. Now, it renews tax credits that were set to expire at the end of the year.
The solar and wind industries have, of course, been lobbying heavily for the bill, saying it will help the country become energy independent and create jobs. Now, you know we need those.
HARRIS: Yes.
KING: Industry points to research showing that when these credits have expired, investment in alternative energy has fallen dramatically the following year. Now, the bill is part of the $700 billion bailout that passed the Senate last night and is, of course, up for a vote in the House tomorrow. So the passage of these tax credits is still very much in the air.
CNNMoney.com is following the "Energy Fix" and bailout stories very closely. Log on to our Web site for all of the latest news.
Tony, I'll send it back to you.
HARRIS: Well, look at that. Diane King sitting in there for Poppy Harlow.
KING: Yes, indeed.
HARRIS: Nice job. Good to see you, lady.
KING: Thank you.
HARRIS: All right.
Sarah Palin and Joe Biden had been getting a lot of advice about what to do in tonight's debate. We will show you what the bloggers are suggesting.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: What do you say we take you to the New York Stock Exchange right now and look at the sell-off? This is a pretty steep sell-off right now.
The Dow, as you can see, down 257 points. All of the major indices are down right now. The Nasdaq is down 58. The S&P down 30, or 31 points, depending on when we check in.
Of course, we are going to be following the market throughout the day with Susan Lisovicz, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Countdown to debate night in America. The vice presidential candidates face off tonight in their one and only debate. Both candidates have tried to lower expectations.
Observers say Senator Joe Biden's biggest challenge will be sticking to the script. He is known for making off-the-cuff remarks, shall we say.
Governor Palin is said to be eager to prove herself and answers critics who question her qualifications. The topics for the debate will range from domestic issues to foreign policy.
So what are blogger saying ahead of tonight's debate? Veronica De La Cruz has been watching the web this morning. Diving into that often dicey, murky world for us. You know what, Veronica, my guess is there is plenty of free advice out there for the candidates.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you're right. I think the question really is, what aren't they saying?
HARRIS: Yes, there you go.
DE LA CRUZ: What aren't they saying? But you're right, plenty of friendly advice for both vice presidential candidates, Tony. We're going to go ahead and start with this blog right here. The Presidential Debate Blog.
Founder Aaron Zelinsky has this to say. His advice to the candidates. "If I were advising Palin, I'd tell her don't answer the question you were asked. Answer the question you wish you were asked with generalities." And then for Biden, Tony, he says, "I don't think people want a stated VP. He should act himself and focus the firepower on McCain."
All right. Want to get you now to the CNN political ticker. This commentary posted by our own Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist. He has a couple of words of wisdom for both of the candidates. He has 10 rules for winning a debate. Among them, Tony, he says, number one, "debates," remember this, "are easy." He says, "they're easier than news conferences, town halls, one-on-one interviews. You simply hit your mark, you deliver your lines, you try not to pass out or throw up, then you declare victory."
HARRIS: OK. I like that.
DE LA CRUZ: There you go. Just remember that.
Paul also says to create a moment. The voters who will decide the election are unlikely to be watching the debate in its entirety. Instead, they will see brief clips repeated frequently. So the job of any debater is to force his or her way into one of those clips by creating a moment.
So also on the web right now, what can we expect from tonight's debate? Some useful information. Tonight's debate takes place Thursday, October 2nd, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Of course, going to be hosted by Gwen Ifill. She's moderating.
The format, like the first presidential debate, Tony, you probably remember, divided into eight, 10-minute segments. The first five minutes include two-minute responses from each candidate. And then the last five minutes will be an open discussion. And then, like you just mentioned, Tony, the focus, of course, will be domestic issues and foreign policy.
Now we also want to get you to cnn.com or we're asking in our Quick Vote, how interested are you in Thursday's vice presidential debate? Are you interested? Fifty-five percent, Tony, saying they are very interested. Twenty percent, Tony, apathetic saying, no, not interested at all. HARRIS: I don't buy that. I don't buy that.
DE LA CRUZ: More than 215,000 people have voted. And, of course, you, too, can cast your vote by logging on to CNN.com.
You don't buy that?
HARRIS: No, I don't buy it.
DE LA CRUZ: Twenty percent of the people are saying they don't care, they're not going to watch tonight.
HARRIS: No. I think there is tremendous, tremendous issue -- interest in the issues surrounding this race this year. And I just can't believe 24 percent of folks will check out or . . .
DE LA CRUZ: Twenty percent.
HARRIS: Maybe they will watch, but let's hope they get some . . .
DE LA CRUZ: Well, you know, 55 percent are saying they're going to be parked in front of the TV. So, you know.
HARRIS: Yes, absolutely. All right, Veronica, good to see you. Thank you.
DE LA CRUZ: You're going to be watching. That's all that matters.
HARRIS: You better believe it.
And you can see this match-up between Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin live tonight, 9:00 Eastern, right here on CNN, your home for politics.
Can you remember the last time there was so much fascination in a vice presidential debate? Millions, and I believe this, millions of you will tune in tonight and the CNN truth squad will be watching for the spin and the facts. CNN Josh Levs is here for a fact check.
Actually, on one of Joe Biden's arguments, something he's been making on the stump.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony, I've got to have a talk with Paul Begala. We've got to talk. Because basically he said that they can spin all they want to tonight as long as they don't get nauseous.
HARRIS: And then claim victory.
LEVS: Yes. Thanks a lot. It's going to be even tougher now on (ph) the truth squad.
All right. So, as you know, last hour we looked at something that McCain/Palin has been saying, that ticket's been saying. Now we're going to look at one of truth squads has focused on Joe Biden. He said this about the McCain health plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Largest tax increase in the history of America for the middle class. It will cost the middle class over the next four years over $1 trillion in additional taxes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: Well, is that true? Here is the deal. Right now, if you get health insurance through your employer, what you pay, as I'm sure you know, can be tax free. Well under McCain's health plan, that ends. So the McCain campaign has said that would raise about $3.6 trillion over 10 years.
With the Obama camp is doing is they're saying that's roughly $1 trillion in new taxes over four years. They're calling that the largest increase ever.
But Biden left out the whole other side of McCain's plan, and that's these, tax credits. $2,500 per individuals, $5,000 per family. And the non-partisan Tax Policy Center says initially many people would come out ahead. There would actually be a net tax cut for virtually all Americans through 2013. The middle class would likely save through 2018.
But, Tony, I will say that long-term those benefits could erode as health care costs more and more if those credits don't keep up with it. So CNN Truth Squad verdict on this line from Joe Biden, false, because the statement ignored McCain's plan to provide tax credits. And we will be here watching that debate and checking all the facts for you throughout the day tomorrow -- Tony.
HARRIS: You really do have to get beyond the sound and fury and do a little work on this, don't you?
LEVS: No kidding.
HARRIS: That's good stuff.
LEVS: Yes. It take some real digging after sometimes what gets tossed out there. But we're hear to do that for you. We've got you covered.
HARRIS: All right, Josh, appreciate it. Thanks.
LEVS: OK. Thanks.
HARRIS: What issues will spark the most reaction at tonight's debate?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Sorry, but I couldn't resist. The stage is set for tonight's big debate in St. Louis. Is it a danger zone for the vice presidential candidates? Biden versus Palin. Does it seem there is more at stake when a male and female candidate go toe-to-toe in a presidential, political -- any kind of political debate?
Well, Fredricka Whitfield examines the issue of gender at the podium.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Perhaps more so than any other political debate in modern history, their words, their actions under scrutiny.
DANA MILBANK, "WASHINGTON POST": This debate throws everything out the window.
WHITFIELD: First-term Alaska Governor Sarah Palin going toe-to- toe with 35-year veteran Senator Joe Biden. The disparity and experience and the difference of gender feeding the anticipation.
MILBANK: It's sort of the most public IQ test ever given in the history of the world, because everybody's wondering about Sarah Palin, and everybody's wondering if Joe Biden is going to make some horrible gaffe, as he is prone to do.
WHITFIELD: Just take a look at the history of man against woman on this stage, sparks fly. Remember this moment 24 years ago between Geraldine Ferraro and George H. Bush?
GERALDINE FERRARO, (D) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I almost resent, Vice President Bush, your patronizing attitude that you have to teach me about foreign policy.
DEBORAH TANNEN, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: She is speaking directly to him, which right away is something a little bit different than we've been seeing in debates more recently.
WHITFIELD: Georgetown University linguistics professor, Dr. Deborah Tannen, says Biden and Palin can learn a lot from past face- offs. There was this in a New York senatorial debate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I think everybody wants to see you signing something that you said you were for.
TANNEN: I don't think anyone's going to do that again anytime soon. Any time you have a man and a woman in close physical proximity, there is an unspoken awareness he could physically attack her.
WHITFIELD: And when it was Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama earlier this year, delicate make or break moments.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They seem to like Barack Obama more.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) NEW YORK: Well, that hurts my feelings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sorry, senator. I'm sorry.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You're likable enough, Hillary.
CLINTON: Thank you so much.
TANNEN: She was able to turn it around in a way that she used her gender in a popular way.
WHITFIELD: Then if that's a strategy, do you see Sarah Palin looking for that kind of opportunity to do that?
TANNEN: I do.
WHITFIELD: Dr. Tannen says Biden runs the risk of talking down to Palin. And Palin, in the words of the professor, could be in danger of seeming too weak. For both candidates, it will be like walking on eggshells in what's expected to be the most watched vice presidential televised debate in history.
Fredricka Whitfield, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: So what will the candidates do tonight to get the upper hand? We don't have a crystal ball, but our guest can tell Palin and Biden what they ought to say. Politico.com's correspondent Jeanne Cummings is with us.
Jeanne, good to see you, as always.
JEANNE CUMMINGS, POLITICO.COM: Thanks for having me.
HARRIS: And CNN's special correspondent Frank Sesno, who covered the White House for CNN for many years.
All right, Jeanne, let me start with you.
Where do the candidates score points tonight? It seems to me that Joe Biden is going to hammer away at McCain/Palin on the economy. Does that make sense?
CUMMINGS: I think you will see that. I think the economy is going to probably dominate the first part of the debate, just as it did last week for the presidential candidates, even though that was supposed to be about foreign affairs. It's just too hot an issue. It's number one for voters. And it is where both candidates are going to try to be as persuasive as they can be, because the election could turn on that.
HARRIS: Yes. And, Frank, as I look a little beyond that one issue. Certainly we're talking about the economy, but we're also talking about foreign policy. We're talking about national security. I'm just wondering, where you believe Sarah Palin can score some points tonight? FRANK SESNO, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Common sense, because that's how she speaks and it really connects with people in that regard, connecting with people, and energy. That's her own backyard. It's something she knows very well. It connects to the economy and security. She's going to have to answer, you know, serious questions on this financial bailout package and all that anger. But I think those are the areas where she has the best prospect.
HARRIS: You know, John McCain says Sarah Palin's real strength is her leadership. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: I know that there have been attacks on Sarah Palin that have been remarkable to me in many way. But I have total confidence in her. She's very comfortable in her own skin. She's had more experience in leadership than Senator Obama and Senator Biden put together. She's been a mayor. She's been a governor. She knows energy issues. She negotiated a $40 billion pipeline of natural gas to the lower 48.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: So, Jeanne, let me come back to you on this one. Do you believe Sarah Palin can effectively argue the leadership point tonight? And how does Joe Biden counter that, in your view?
CUMMINGS: Well, I think that Sarah Palin, she has the confidence, an easy confidence, on television in particular. And so rather than trying to use her resume I think by using her presence, she can demonstrate that she can stand on that stage and show some leadership qualities. So I think she's capable of doing that. And as Frank said, one of her great goals tonight, I'm sure, is going to be to reach average people, because John McCain didn't do that very well in the first debate.
Now, for Biden, I think Biden is going to -- he doesn't have to argue the leadership point. He's already -- that's demonstrated. So I think from Biden, what we'll see a lot more is a policy discussion, where he's going to be talking about what's wrong -- what he thinks is wrong with McCain's policy versus what's right with Obama's policy. And that may be where the two really interconnect. And that is, is McCain's policy good or bad with Sarah Palin in the role of defending it and Joe Biden taking the role of attack.
HARRIS: Right. Hey, Frank, I'm wondering, what do you think of this. Does Sarah Palin tonight just hammer Joe Biden on being part of the old boy Washington network? That group that has done nothing to change Washington culture. I mean, does she hit him hard on than?
SESNO: Well, she can try, but there's a little peril in that too because all he has to say is, excuse me, who are you running with and how long has he been around? So, you know, I mean all of this stuff is laced with peril. I think -- one thing I think is that the country is tuning in, not just because this is a curiosity, but people are scared. HARRIS: I think you're right.
SESNO: And they're worried. And it's their pocketbooks. And it's their college loans. And it doesn't matter what age they are. And so I think people are going to be listening for answers and for what they say, as well as for what they don't say. If she has a Katie Couric moment where she stumbles or can't come up with something, it's what I call the "SNL" syndrome here. If there's a "Saturday Night Live" syndrome and she's nor Tina Fey than she is Palin, then there's a problem.
HARRIS: Well, and, Jeanne, to that point, how tough a job does Gwen Ifill, the moderator, have tonight? When she asks a question, she is looking for an answer. So how hard can she really push both of these candidates, and in particular Sarah Palin?
CUMMINGS: Well, it's definitely the challenge for anyone who sits in the moderator's chair and Jim Lehrer tried to do his best last week. Gwen will do her best this week. But these debates are structured in a way where it does favor the candidates. They can, you know, the two-minute responses, that sort of thing. They can get these talking points down. And if they stick to them, they can evade answers.
But to your earlier question about whether Biden actually has a challenge here in terms of being an old boy, I do think that's going to be a point that she's going to hit. And where she should or could take it is to his long ties with lobbyists. Even his son had been a lobbyist.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes. Yes.
CUMMINGS: And Barack Obama has made, you know, great hay out of his disconnect with lobbyists. He's free of them and he's doing that right to this day out on the campaign trail. And in that sense, Biden carries a weakness. And I suspect that's a place where the Republicans and the governor will try to go to undercut Biden's argument.
HARRIS: And let me ask one more of you, Jeanne, to get to Frank's point here. A personality over facts and figures. Does that really fly tonight or are we paying such close attention to this race that if either of these candidates gives us generalities, that they're going to be hammered after the debate?
CUMMINGS: Well, it's a combination of both in this cycle. I think, generally, voters do size up the candidates when they're watching these debates. They don't necessarily listen to every single word, but they get a sense of who they are, how comfortable they are. But I think Frank is right, that the economy's so scary right now, to many voters, that unlike some debates, perhaps in the past where candidates could get a pass on content, I think it really does matter tonight. I think they will be looking for answers as well tonight, in addition to the sort of classic, am I comfortable with this person, did they persuade me they could be a leader.
SESNO: If I may, Tony.
HARRIS: Yes, please.
SESNO: I really think it does hit on both of those cylinders. People need to have confidence in their leaders. They're looking to both get to know these people, get to know them better and see if that both projection of confidence and kind of realness, if that be a term that Colbert would use, is going to work.
But, you know, we in the media consistently underestimate the public. I remember when Bill Clinton would come up with his hour-long State of the Union addresses and people would be saying, oh he's going on an on and it's all wonk stuff. And the ratings were huge. People have real reason now and they're going to be tuning in. And if they are, you know, media mastered or talking pointed too much, I think that's going to work against either one of them.
HARRIS: This is fascinating. Can't wait to see this tonight.
Frank Sesno, Jeanne Cummings, great to see you both. Thank you for your time. We appreciate it.
SESNO: Thanks, Tony. Thanks.
CUMMINGS: You're welcome.
HARRIS: And you can see the match-up between Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin live tonight, 9:00 Eastern, right here on CNN. Your home for politics.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Three hundred people, 300, still listed as missing three weeks after Hurricane Ike. Dog teams have been searching the storm debris in Galveston and along the Texas coastline. A group working to track the missing says many may have been evacuated to shelters or left for other areas and don't realize they've been listed as missing. Among the unaccounted for, 24 children.
So let's get to it. Tonight's vice presidential debate getting a lot of people pretty riled up. Let's take a trip. Roll that clip here to CNN.com's I-Report desk. Let's check in with one of the guys helping run things. That's pretty slick there. Running our I-Report operation, producer Tyson Wheatley.
Tyson's Corner I like to call it, Kyra.
You know, a lot of pressure good to see you, Tyson.
You know, a lot of pressure on the moderator of tonight's debate, Gwen Ifill.
TYSON WHEATLEY, PRODUCER, CNN.COM: That's right.
HARRIS: Taking some heat for writing a political book that, let me get this correct here, features Barack Obama, but it is not about Obama, but he is featured?
WHEATLEY: Yes, that's right. And it's also coming out, a lot of political -- or conservative pundits pointing out that it's coming out around, near or around the inauguration of the next president. So a lot of controversy. We're getting a lot of rumblings on ireport.com.
But not everybody is upset by this. In fact, we have this video I'm going to show you. It comes from Jordan Sarver. He's from Athens, Georgia. And he says, you know what, McCain doesn't think this is a big deal. So why should we?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JORDAN SARVER, IREPORTER: She hasn't hidden the fact that she's written this book. It's on amazon.com. It's on Doubleday, the publisher. This isn't some secret. This is something that's just been announced and I feel like this is just another ploy, another pillow under the cushion of Sarah Palin. And I think it's just ridiculous. I think that the debate will be fair. I don't think it will be biased at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHEATLEY: OK. So, Tony, it to be fair, Jordan is an Obama supporter and, you know, but . . .
HARRIS: Well, I think it's interesting. I mean, you know, it does raise the question of, with these out there, the book is -- the book, it's been written. As you mentioned, it's set to be released in January. It makes you wonder how hard she can really push before critics on either side of this begin to howl about it.
I know you're getting some I-Reports from young people as well.
WHEATLEY: Yes. So, OK, so we know that tonight's debate is going to be heavily watched, right?
HARRIS: Yes.
WHEATLEY: But just how important is it? I mean I think that's kind of a big question. Well, one of our newest I-Reporters, I want to make sure I get her name right, Leona Marks. She's in St. Louis hanging out at Washington University today and she's speaking to some young people. And she talked to this student there who says that this debate is actually going to be very important to his decision. Check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the decision were between Senator Biden and Governor Palin, I think I would vote for Senator Biden.
LEONA MARKS, IREPORTER: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But when it between McCain and Obama, I don't know. It's McCain/Palin and Obama/Biden. I really don't know what I'm going to do.
MARKS: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I'm actually -- it's actually great that the debate are here because I'm going to probably end up basing a lot of my decision based on the vice president debate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHEATLEY: OK. So, Tony, the stakes are high.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes.
WHEATLEY: So tonight we want our I-Reporters to watch the debate, naturally, and then go to ireport.com and tell us who won.
HARRIS: Can't wait.
All right, Tyson, appreciate it. Good to see you. Thank you, sir.
WHEATLEY: Take care, Tony.
HARRIS: You know, it is anything but corny. We will show you why Muhammad Ali is still the greatest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So Josh is back. Found a couple of off-beat items as we gear up for Kyra's hours.
LEVS: I love 12:58.
HARRIS: Yes.
LEVS: It is such a good feeling. We get to play for a minute. We find a fun video.
HARRIS: And we get to go home.
LEVS: That's why you should be here every day at this time.
Have you seen this thing? you were just saying corny and then making match-up of Muhammad Ali.
HARRIS: That's right. Yes.
LEVS: Let's just get right to the video. This is great. I saw this -- give credit where it's due. I saw this on this thing this morning, on CNN.com, our video page. Take a look at this. And that's Muhammad Ali carved into a cornfield in Queen Creek, Arizona, which is just found is about southeast of Phoenix. And apparently, according to the eastvalleytribune.com, Muhammad Ali himself went up and took a look at it.
HARRIS: Did he really? LEVS: He saw it. And his wife says that he liked it and he was amazed by it. And she was impressed at how intricate it is and what a good job they did at capturing his likeness in corn.
HARRIS: Yes, that looks like Muhammad right after maybe the Olympics, huh? Young Muhammad.
LEVS: Yes, back in the day. Back in the day.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: In the '80s (ph) he liked to box? Oh, I'm sorry. Is that man-made. Hello!
LEVS: Now you know Kyra . . .
HARRIS: Yes, exactly.
LEVS: Actually, Kyra, I have a second one for you. You might like this one. But I don't think aliens should use it. Let's take a look at it. This is the other thing that was in. Take a look at this. It's about a composting toilet, which is apparently this new thing.
HARRIS: Hang on here. Where are you going with this?
LEVS: Over in (INAUDIBLE) Washington. Apparently this is catching on. Some people are considering it great. And just to explain it. Cleanly (ph) what they say is, these are toilet systems that treat human waste by composting them and magically turning them into useful fertilizer.
HARRIS: Look, it's a tight economy. You've got to use everything.
LEVS: You've got to -- that's interesting. Yes, you've got environmental reasons to do it. Apparently more and more people are now composting their human waste. So congratulations on that to those of you who choose to do that. I don't think it will happen any time soon at CNN.
HARRIS: OK, now -- Kyra, Kyra.
LEVS: Take either one, Kyra. Just run with it.
PHILLIPS: I can't wait for the debate. I can't wait for the debate tonight.
HARRIS: Are you ready?
PHILLIPS: I'll tell you what. Yes, on input, yes, I'm going to totally change the subject here.
LEVS: I don't blame you. I would too. Swosh.
PHILLIPS: I don't know about you, because you're men. But as a woman, what is this about, oh, let's treat her like a lady and let's be a gentleman. Let's help the old lady cross the road, folks, shall we? Sarah Palin can handle her own. Come on. Should she treat him like a gentleman?
HARRIS: I totally with you. Well, yes, let's can we (ph) be polite.
PHILLIPS: What's he going to do? He's going to pull her seat out for her. Check her mike.
HARRIS: Can we disagree without being disagreeable. Of course. But if you, look, you know me, I came from Baltimore. If you step into the ring, if you step on the basketball court, you better bring something, right? And she's going to bring it tonight.
PHILLIPS: She went against the good ole' boy network. That's how she became governor. She's going to give it to him. He's going to give it to her.
LEVS: The debates are about perception, right? I mean that's what the concern is, that they're about perception and what if there is the perception, at some point, that he is doing something inappropriate. It's more like avoiding doing something inappropriate.
PHILLIPS: OK. Hillary Clinton debated with what -- how many guys?
HARRIS: That's right.
PHILLIPS: Did this ever come up with Hillary Clinton?
We got to wrap this.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: And you know what? I'm going to handle my business right now.
HARRIS: Can I do it?
CNN NEWSROOM continues right now, with Kyra Phillips.
