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American Morning
President Bush Lays Out Economic Bailout Plan; Hillary Clinton's Thoughts on the Campaign; International Markets Soaring; Relentless Wildfires in Southern California
Aired October 14, 2008 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: In fact, we are about 30 seconds away as the picture live from the Rose Garden at the White House. The president is going to come out after meeting with his working group on financial markets -- Henry Paulson, Ben Bernanke, Chris Cox -- the chairman of the SEC, Walter Lukken -- the chairman of The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Sheila Blair who is the head of the FDIC -- talking about how they are going to implement the tools in this new economic legislation to us.
The White House says strengthen and stabilize the financial system. The president won't be taking any questions, but the White House is making the point here that it's being reported that they've gone with this idea of bailing out the banks, recapitalizing the banks because the idea to buy up these toxic assets is not going to work. They say, well, wait a minute, we haven't even gotten to that point yet. That is still a tool in our kit and we still plan to use it.
Let's listen to what the president has to say this morning.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Good morning. I just completed a meeting with my Working Group on Financial Markets. We discussed the unprecedented and aggressive steps the federal government is taking to address the financial crisis.
Over the past few weeks, my administration has worked with both parties in Congress to pass a financial rescue plan. Federal agencies have moved decisively to shore up struggling institutions and stabilize our markets. And the United States has worked with partners around the world to coordinate our actions to get our economies back on track.
This weekend I met with finance ministers from the G-7 and the G- 20, organizations representing some of the world's largest and fastest growing economies.
We agreed on a coordinated plan for action to provide new liquidity, strengthen financial institutions, protect our citizens' savings, and ensure fairness and integrity in the markets. Yesterday, leaders in Europe moved forward with this plan.
They announced significant steps to inject capital into their financial systems by purchasing equity in major banks. And they announced a new effort to jump start lending by providing temporary government guarantees for bank loans. These are wise and timely actions, and they have the full support of the United States.
Today, I am announcing new measures America's taking to implement the G-7 action plan and strengthen banks across our country.
First, the federal government will use a portion of the $700 billion financial rescue plan to inject capital in the banks by purchasing equity shares. This new capital will help healthy banks continue making loans to businesses and consumers.
And this new capital will help struggling banks fill the hole created by losses during the financial crisis, so they can resume lending and help spur job creation and economic growth. This is an essential short-term measure to ensure the viability of America's banking system.
And the program is carefully designed to encourage banks to buy these shares back from the government when the markets stabilize and they can raise capital from private investors.
Second, and effective immediately, the FDIC will temporarily guarantee most new debt issued by insured banks. This will address one of the central problems plaguing our financial system. Banks have been unable to borrow money, and that has restricted their ability to lend to consumer and businesses. When money flows freely between banks, it will make it easy for Americans to borrow money for cars and homes, and for small businesses to expand.
Third, the FDIC will immediately and temporarily expand government insurance to cover all non-interest-bearing transaction accounts. These accounts are used primarily by small businesses to cover day-to-day operations. By insuring every dollar in these accounts, we will give small-business owners piece of mind and bring stability to -- and bring greater stability to the banking system.
Fourth, the Federal Reserve will soon finalize work on a new program to serve as a buyer of last resort for commercial paper. This is a key source of short-term financing for American businesses and financial institutions, and by unfreezing the market for commercial paper, the Federal Reserve will help American businesses meet payroll and purchase inventory and invest to create jobs.
In a few moments, Secretary Paulson and other members of my Working Group on Financial Markets will explain these steps in greater detail. They will make clear that each of these new programs contains safeguards to protect the taxpayers. They will make clear that the government's role will be limited and temporary. And they will make clear that these measures are not intended to take over the free market but to preserve it.
The measures I have announced today are the latest steps in this systematic approach to address the crisis. I know Americans are deeply concerned about the stress in our financial markets and the impact it is having on their retirement accounts and 401(k)s and college savings and other investments.
I recognize that the action leaders are taking here in Washington and in European capitals can seem distant from those concerns. But these efforts are designed to directly benefit the American people by stabilizing our overall financial system and helping our economy recover.
It'll take time for our efforts to have their full impact but the American people can have confidence about our long-term economic future. We have a strategy that is broad, that is flexible, and that is aimed at the root cause of our problem.
Nations around the world are working together to overcome this challenge, and with confidence and determination, we will return our economies to the path of growth and prosperity.
Thank you.
ROBERTS: President Bush there on the Rose Garden laying out the first part of the economic bailout plan, that is to dump $250 billion into certain banks, recapitalize them by an equity stake in them. Trying to get the help of those banks back up again. There is still another $350 billion to go on top of that, and no idea where that money is going to go just yet. Though, the White House is saying that it will leave open the possibility of still buying up some of those toxic assets.
Our Christine Romans is here "Minding Your Business" this morning.
So, this obviously was something that the stock market liked an awful lot yesterday, for the day, are they going to continue to like it going forward?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We'll have to see, because there's also signs that the credit market is thawing a little bit this morning. And after being closed for three days in a row and being frozen for some time. So we are watching that as well.
But the reason why there is confidence coming back to the credit market is because worldwide people are looking at these endeavors by the United States and Britain and many other governments and saying they like the coordinated global effort to recapitalize the banking system.
You know for the past ten days, we have been talking about this bailout as an attempt to soak up those toxic assets using our money. Take them off the books of the banks. That's still part of this whole deal, but taking center stage now is the idea of directly injecting money into the banks. The government taking maybe preferred shares, non-voting shares of stock and becoming minority owners. That has raised all kinds of concerns among the free market types of what just what exactly is happening here.
We've got free markets around the world sharing the fact that there is unprecedented government intervention. The president says all of this is meant to be limited and temporary. It's not intended to take over the free market, but preserve it. We can talk about ideology in the philosophical arguments about what all these means. But at the very near term, what we're hearing from some very big free marketers that this has to be done to preserve the integrity of the global system.
ROBERTS: And I'm sure there's other $450 million left after this. Good thing I'm not doing the accounting here.
ROMANS: Well, the next president is the right -- the next president is definitely going to have a big chunk of money that's going to have to be deployed as well.
ROBERTS: All right.
CHETRY: And isn't it a sign of the times that a billion here or there is counting, unfortunately.
ROBERTS: Yes, exactly. Unfortunately. All right. Christine, thanks for that.
ROMANS: Sure.
CHETRY: Well, we want to talk right now about how this is playing overseas. London FTSE up more than 5 percent at this hour. So, what does the president's speech mean overseas? CNN's Richard Quest is live in London where they are going through a very similar situation as we are this morning.
Hey, there, Richard.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Good morning to you. Yes, the London market having seen such -- but all the European markets having seen such strong gains over the last 24 hours. It's up once again, between 5 percent and 7 percent depending on which number.
But everybody looking at what President Bush was saying, and, substantially again, to put it bluntly, the U.S. is now in line with what the Europeans are doing and what the Brits are doing. Everybody has finally accepted it is a capitalization issue. In other words, buying up the banks.
And yes, Kiran, just as much as there will be the critics, the free market critics in the U.S. saying, what's the government doing buying banks? Those people are also at play on this side of the Atlantic as well. But that seems to be taking second fiddle if you like. Governments are buying banks around the world.
CHETRY: All right. Very interesting where we've ended up and we'll see how it goes from here. Richard Quest, thank you.
ROBERTS: Coming up now at 11 minutes after the hour, we're just three weeks to go now until the election. Hillary Clinton shares her thoughts on whether the campaign is getting too negative. Hear what she has to say about John McCain's rallies and Barack Obama's ties to William Ayers, ahead on the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROBERTS: Welcome back to the "Most Politics in the Morning." We are getting a new look at CNN's electoral map this morning. Senator Barack Obama now with a projected 264 electoral votes, 174 for John McCain, with 100 votes still available in toss-up states. The latest CNN poll of polls shows Obama with an eight-point lead on John McCain, but the Arizona senator says he's definitely not out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As I said in my statement, we got them just where we want them. We're going to be just fine. I have been written off, Dana, on so many occasions by political pundits, that it's hard for me to count. I think it's more lives than a cat. But the point is, we're doing fine. I'm happy with where we are. We're fighting the good fight. That's what it's all about. That's what I love.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Obama, meantime, unveiled his new economic plan at a rally in the toss-up state of Ohio.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've already proposed a middle-class tax cut for 95 percent of workers and their families. But today, I'm calling on Congress to pass a plan so that the IRS will mail out the first round of those tax cuts as soon as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: CNN's Suzanne Malveaux joins us now.
Senator McCain has got Barack Obama right where he wants him. Where exactly does he want him?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I guess, up against the ropes. It will be very interesting to see the debate obviously tomorrow night. Got a lot of people looking at that final face-off. And I spoke with Linda Douglass, spokeswoman with the Obama campaign, this morning. She says they want a clear victory like they believe they got the last two times.
Essentially, what does that mean? He's going to focus on the economy. A lot of people, perhaps, have not seen his Toledo, Ohio speech. So, he's going to be talking about some of those new details that we have been talking about this morning. He's also going to essentially talk about how he believes that John McCain is inconsistent and erratic in his behavior when it comes to the economy.
And one of the things that he does, John, is now he kind of paints him as somebody who, perhaps, is even deceptive. He says don't fall for the old okie-doke. Don't be bamboozled. That's the kind of language that we hear on the campaign trail, trying to link McCain to President Bush, and also implying that he's not necessarily being truthful to the American people about it.
ROBERTS: Obama yesterday unveiled his economic plan. Today, John McCain will unveil an economic plan as well. This is one that we had expected, listening to Lindsey Graham on Sunday, to have come out yesterday.
MALVEAUX: Sure.
ROBERTS: I guess they waited until today. And there is at least one area of commonality between the two. And this is this idea of people who, when they reach the age of 70-and-a-half, if they have a 401(k) plan, then they just need converting some of that stock. And if you convert stock now, obviously, you're going to take it at a loss compared to when you bought it a year or two ago.
They both want to delay these conversions of stock, which would give people an opportunity to let the market rise a little bit so as not to walk (ph) into those losses. But outside of that, how different are these plans?
MALVEAUX: Well, it's interesting because, obviously, you look at the $300 billion that John McCain is pushing to buy those bad mortgages directly. That is something that's very different than what Barack Obama is calling for.
Barack Obama, obviously, also calling for a major tax cut, 95 percent of working families. John McCain focusing on the other 5 percent. The wealthiest Americans saying that's not necessarily a good idea because those are the folks that are investing the economy, that are making this system run. So, there's more of a focus on businesses, on the free market system. Barack Obama is focusing on working families and small businesses.
ROBERTS: That debate tomorrow night at Hofstra is going to be an interesting time.
MALVEAUX: I can hardly wait.
ROBERTS: Suzanne, thanks so much for joining us.
MALVEAUX: OK. Thanks.
ROBERTS: It's 17 minutes now after the hour.
Three weeks to go. Who is best equipped to handle the challenges ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The next president will inherit, I think, some of the biggest problems any American president has walked into.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Senator Hillary Clinton on the country's future and the final weeks of the election. You are watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: We are Americans and it's time to chart a new course. And the only way is to change who the captain of our ship is, and throw out the crew that brought us up on the rocks and get us moving in the right direction again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Senator Hillary Clinton campaigning for Senator Barack Obama in Pennsylvania yesterday. I had the chance to sit down with the former presidential candidate and asked her what she thought of the tone of the campaign so far, specifically comments from Congressman John Lewis, who said he's disturbed by the negative tone of Senator John McCain's rallies and that McCain and Palin are, quote, "playing with fire."
Here's what Senator Clinton said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: Well, I think that even John McCain realized that there were things being said that he did not want or approve of, and made a comment to that effect, and I appreciated him doing that.
This campaign needs to stay focused on what the American people are focused on. And not stray off into negativity and distraction and diversionary tactics, because after all the next president will inherent I think some of the biggest problems any American president has walked into.
So, let's stay focus what we elect a person for. We hire a president to make the very best decisions, to have a good team around, to really push our country forward toward goals that are going to make us, you know, stronger and richer and safer and smarter in the future. So, I'm hoping that's what this election in the next three weeks will be about.
ROBERTS: Now, senator, the catalyst for all of this ire at the McCain-Palin rallies appeared to be when Governor Palin first said that Senator Obama has been, quote, "palling around with terrorists." Now, you did never say that he was palling around with terrorist. But you did raise the issue of his relationship with former weather underground member, William Ayers. Why did you raise that issue?
CLINTON: Well, look, I think that all kinds of issues are raised in campaigns, but it really depends upon how they are raised. And, you know, Senator Obama and his campaign have responded to this.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: But what was the relevance, though? What's the relevance? (CROSSTALK)
CLINTON: Well, I think that the relevance is that people, when you run for president, everything is wide open, and obviously, voters are going to want to know a lot about you.
ROBERTS: Right, but is there any particular significance to his relationship with William Ayers that the country should be concerned about?
CLINTON: Well, I think he's answered that, and you know, certainly it's time to move on and focus on what Americans are concerned about.
ROBERTS: Right. The McCain campaign itself, Bill Crystal says that John McCain should fire his campaign. Ed Rollins drew some parallels with the splits that fractured your campaign. You're a long time friend of Senator McCain. You've travel around the world with him. What advice would you give him, Senator, to turn things around?
CLINTON: Well, I'm not going to give him any advice. You know, he has to decide what is best for him to do. But, you know, certainly, one thing I hope is that at the debate Wednesday night and in the next three weeks, we have a clash of ideas here, different policies. You know, defend your proposal to privatize social security, defend your health care plan which would undermine employer- based health care.
If you think these are good ideas for America, then go out and present them and see whether you can convince people. That's what campaigns should be about in my opinion, and you know, that's what I hope the next three weeks is about. And I'm confident when the American people compare the Obama-Biden ticket with the McCain-Palin ticket and what each stands for, they're going to support Senator Obama.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Senator Clinton also discussed the economic crisis. She said that she did not believe that Senator McCain's plan to buy up mortgages would work in the way it is. Now, she had a similar plan, but hers would have devalued the mortgage. Senator McCain might buy it at face value. She says that you'd have to write down the value of the mortgage for the plan to work.
CHETRY: Well, John McCain says that Barack Obama wants to end union voting as we know it. The "Truth Squad" is checking his claim. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: John McCain taking on Barack Obama this time over some tough talk about unions. Alina Cho and the "Truth Squad" checking it all out for us. She joins us this morning.
Good morning to you. ALINA CHO, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, good morning, again, John. Good morning, everybody. John McCain says Obama wants to fundamentally change the way that unions vote. Take a listen to what he said Monday in Virginia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: Senator Obama is measuring the drapes. And planning with Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid to raise taxes, increase spending, take away your right to vote by secret ballot in labor elections.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: All right. So we're focusing on the last part of McCain's statement, "take away your right to vote by secret ballot in labor elections." Is that what Obama really wants to do? Is McCain right to make that claim?
Well, here's what you should know. Currently, there are two steps before a union is recognized. First, workers have to get a majority of their colleagues to sign an authorization form, then a secret ballot vote is held to finalize it.
Now, Obama supports a plan that would allow workers to skip the vote and let a union be recognized immediately after a majority of the workers signed the authorization. The plan is part of the Employee Free Choice Act, as it's called. Unions say it would cut down on pressure that employers put on employees who were trying to organize. But opponents like McCain say the exact opposite, that the secret ballot protect workers who don't want to organize from being publicly pressured to sign up.
So, again, the question, when McCain says Obama would, quote, "take away the vote by secret ballot in labor elections," is he right? The "Truth Squad" verdict on this one, true. McCain is accurate on Obama's stance. Although the candidates disagree on the merits of the plan, the bill by the way that would do away with union's secret ballot votes passed the House last year, but John, it did not make it through the Senate.
Of course, we're watching both sides everyday until the election. And again, I just want to push our Web site, cnn.com/am. You can watch some of my past reports. A lot of people asking about a running tally. How many trues and falses there are among the candidates? You can go to the Web site and find out.
ROBERTS: All very important stuff, Alina. Appreciate you. Alina, thanks so much.
CHO: You bet.
ROBERTS: 28 minutes after the hour. New this morning, international markets are soaring right now, reacting to yesterday's massive gain in the Dow. Japan's Nikkei index closed at more than 1100 points or more than 14 percent. Don't forget though it was closed on Monday, so it had some ground to make up. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended three percent higher and London and the FTSE right now is surging more than 5 percent. French and German stocks also climbing around 5 percent higher.
Oil prices had been plummeting during this economic crisis and it's having an impact at the gas pump. According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular now $3.16 a gallon. Down slightly from yesterday. In the past 27 days, gas prices had fallen 69 cents. Interesting to watch to see whether oil continues to go down now that the markets are starting to go up.
And wildfires pushing deeper into Southern California near Los Angeles. They are being fueled by the warm, dry, Santa Ana winds, which are at times gusting up to 60 miles an hour. So far the flames have been blamed for at least two deaths. More than 15 square miles have been torched and dozens of mobile homes destroyed.
CHETRY: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." Our next guest has been in charge of "The New Yorker," as well as "Vanity Fair." Now, Tina Brown has a new project. It's thedailybeast.com. A new Web site that's a mix of politics, the latest news, buzz and of course opinion. And Tina Brown joins me now.
Thanks for being with us.
TINA BROWN, THE DAILY BEAST: Happy to be here.
CHETRY: Great site, by the way.
BROWN: Thank you.
CHETRY: I was getting on it already this morning. Now, what we just heard from the president, he announced these steps to buy up banks or at least some stake in banks in order to help rescue the financial world right now. And he said that this is something that the government is doing so we can have confidence in the long term economic future of the country. Did these steps give you confidence?
BROWN: Well, the truth is that there is little out there that can give us confidence except just some kind of inspirational, kind of slap on the back because right now there was a real scent that nobody really understands what's going on, as we saw in the origins of the meltdown. It happened really because banks themselves doesn't know what was going on. And the problem for Bush is that people don't really trust him. So, the question really is how do you market confidence in a time when people just seem to have it in no one.
CHETRY: Also interesting, you wrote on your web site about what's going to be the key issues for the next president which is figuring out how to get us out of this, or at least seeing us through this financial crisis.
You write, "now among opinion formers, there is a new bipartisan fear that neither of the candidates is up to the colossal, unprecedented challenges of this presidency." Now they have tried to get more specific about their economic plan in recent days. Are either of them up to the task?
BROWN: Well, we won't know, that's the big terror of the American public. That's why it's such a kind of unanimous panic because in fact we don't really know much about Obama, because his record is so very slim. And with McCain, it doesn't look as if he is going to win.
And frankly his erratic behavior in the last weeks have not really given anybody a sense that he should. So have this kind of sense of, oh my god, what happens if neither of these two people can really face it? I think people feel that Obama - we are just going to have to bet on Obama, and hope that he knows how.
CHETRY: It's interesting that you talk about the "erratic behavior," of John McCain. It seems that he is getting advice from all sides. There seems to be conservative analysts saying to him forget the economic stuff right now and just go after Barack Obama about questioning who he is, and some of his ties from the past. Throw the kitchen sink, if you will, and others telling him no leave that stuff off the table and try tot talk about how you will solve problems.
I mean, who is McCain listening to?
BROWN: Well, I think he's listening to one person one day and one person the next. I mean, he doesn't like the really negative hostile slimy stuff that he is having to throw at this point. The problem for McCain is that all the scandals that apparently dogged Obama are about William Ayers or about the Rezkos to a real estate deal and etc., are all things that the public doesn't really understand.
It's a bit like Whitewater, which nobody really understood. And in the end it didn't hurt the Clintons at all. It was a media obsession but These things like William Ayers, and Rezko, and all the things that the McCain staff keep digging up, it just doesn't really resonate with the American public.
The only thing that did resonate for a time was the Reverend Wright business and that was purely because there was that video clip of the Reverend Wright raving from the pulpit. So really the model of this election is unless there is a video clip, you can get away with anything.
CHETRY: Very interesting take this morning. And Tina Brown, your web site is great, thedailybeast.com.
Thanks for joining us.
BROWN: Thank you.
ROBERTS: It's 32 and a half minutes after the hour. I want to talk more about his big economic bailout plan the president his morning unveiled. How the first $250 billion is going to be spent.
Our Christine Romans here "Minding Your Business."
The markets like what we see so far, but is this just a temporary fix? Are they sort of ebullient in the day, and then maybe tomorrow or the next day it goes back into the pessimism again.
ROMANS: Wow, wouldn't I like to know the answer to that question, we'd all be rich, right? Actually, a lot of this has to do with confidence, and the confidence is starting to ever so slightly come back into the credit market. I mean it's the idea around the world that the direct injection of cash and money into the banking system is going to be the approach that works. The idea that this is something that is happening out of a coordinated basis, that's what the stock market likes.
And you know, as Allan Chernoff reported earlier today, it's also an awful lot like the rubber band, if you stretch it far enough and it's going to have to snap back. And that's something that we have seen in the stocks for sure. I mean, the Nikkei up some 14 percent. That's just something that has never been seen before. So we're hearing at this very hour more about the Treasury Secretary and his team, and what they are exactly going to be doing with your $700 billion, or at least the first big chunk of it.
What we know is that this whole thing has evolved. It has evolved from a single-minded approach of taking toxic assets off the books of the banks, and buying them at some sort of a reverse action and then hopefully selling them later, and it's evolved from that into that being a lesser part of it, and number one, actually buying stakes in American banks. That's right, the United States government buying stakes in American banks and then hopefully temporary and limited, and the President says at some point getting out.
ROBERTS: But the White House reminds us that this first trench of money $250 billion, may be going into re-capitalized banks, but they still got $450 billion -
ROMANS: That's right.
ROBERTS: - left to spend. And they may in fact continue with this plan of buying up these toxic assets.
ROMANS: That's absolutely right. And more and more, I have been talking to top economists who say there are things that we don't even know yet that we might have to be doing into next year. But the number one thing for the next president is going to be adjusting the plan on the fly as we see what's happening in the financial system and in the credit markets. Because this is still just the beginning. The markets really like this. The FDIC doing a couple things, expanding guarantees on loans and deposits. I mean, all of these are a part of a very, a toolbox, if you will, that metaphor is so over used. But a toolbox is getting bigger and bigger with all kinds of stuff in it that we have never seen before.
ROBERTS: Keep the Advil close at hand. Christine, thanks very much for that. 34 minutes after the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): Voter fatigue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am worn out by this presidential election. I want it to be over with.
ROBERTS: Carol Costello on how the long road to the White House is taking an emotional toll on voters. You are watching "the most news in the morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: 38 minutes after the hour. Welcome back to "the most news in the morning." With three weeks left now until election day, CNN's latest poll of polls shows Barack Obama leading John McCain by eight points. Obama and McCain will meet for their third and final debate tomorrow night in New York. CNN senior political correspondent Candy Crowley joins me now.
So, in an interview that we did with them yesterday, John McCain told our Dana Bash that he's got Barack Obama right where he wants him. And I'm sort of reminded a little of Elmer Fudd going after Bugs Bunny, and he's got bandages all over his face and at the end of the shot gun is turned open like that but he says, I got him right where I want him. Where is he?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the good news for people who say let McCain be McCain is he appears to be getting there. I mean it reminds me of that, you know, as you know, his famous statement about as Chairman Mao said you know, it gets really dark before it all goes black. So this is kind of McCain humor. And so if you want the McCain like (inaudible), it is tough for him, but we have given him up for lost before in a couple of ways.
But honestly, it's a big - it's a pretty big gap, particularly not just the national polls, but the battleground polls make it very difficult. I have seen too much for the last year and a half to tell you it's done. I will tell you that.
ROBERTS: You take a look at the map here, and we have whittled down to what is it now, six battleground states, and it was eight, nine -
CROWLEY: Right.
ROBERTS: - at one point. Oh, sorry, seven battleground states. It was eight or nine at one point. And I guess at one point during the whole election, there were 18 and some of the campaigns thought were in play. You know, you talk about being as far behind as he is. If this were August, that would be OK. But with 21 days left, can he make up that ground?
CROWLEY: Right. I mean, let's look, I don't think so. It's tough. And look where he is. Look at the geography of where he was yesterday. He and Sarah Palin did a rally in Virginia. Virginia has not voted for a democratic candidate since 1964. Where did he go after that? North Carolina, not since '76 have they voted for a democratic candidate. Where is she going at the end of the week? Indiana.
These are - I mean, it reminds me a little bit of Bob Dole at the end of his campaign was in Texas. That's not - you're in trouble if that's where you are as a Republican, because those are must-win states. You can't just make that up in New York. You know, I mean, they're playing in all of John McCain states.
ROBERTS: And in terms of playing, Barack Obama has got all of this money to play as many different tables as he wants. It's like you are at the casino, and John McCain is playing at the blackjack, and the crats and maybe he's got one of the roulette wheel where as Barack Obama floods every table in the place.
CROWLEY: Yes. You look at the spending, just for last week in some of these states, four to one, Obama, eight to one in one state, Obama. I mean, look, McCain has spending limits because he took the federal money. I mean, when a man comes out and says, by the way, I'm going to purchase 30 minutes of primetime from several networks on pretty much the eve of the election or just before it. This is a man looking like he's got money to burn. We'll know later on but I mean -
ROBERTS: And then Bill Crystal comes out and says to John McCain, fire your campaign and retool. A little late for that.
CROWLEY: A little late for that. And honestly, a campaign is about the person at the head of it. Now listen, again, John McCain's comfort zone tends to be discomfort. He does well when he is down and out. And that brings out, you know, the essence of John McCain.
ROBERTS: Never count out Lazarus though.
CROWLEY: Right. Absolutely.
ROBERTS: All right. Candy, thanks so much for that.
CROWLEY: Thanks, John.
ROBERTS: Emotions running high in the race for the White House. Have you had enough? Why this election season in particular is taking an emotional toll on voters. You are watching "the most news in the morning."
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CHETRY: Welcome back to "the most news in the morning." Three weeks to go until the election. There are signs though that election fatigue may be setting in. AMERICAN MORNING's Carol Costello joins us live from Washington. We thought it was just us, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I know. We are feeling fatigued, aren't we? I mean, doesn't it seem like this election has gone on for a century now. At first excitement because it was a historic election. Now election 2008 is starting to get on voter's nerves. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will the real Sarah Palin please stand up?
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": The bridge to nowhere.
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": And Barack Obama has bought a half-hour of air time.
COSTELLO (voice-over): Just 21 days until the big day, election day and the political noise is inescapable. Ads, news, capable, the web, even entertainment shows like "The Insider."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is Sarah Palin getting her own prime time show?
COSTELLO: And "Access Hollywood" is covering the McCain-Palin- Biden-Obama drama.
MIKE MOCERI, MICHIGAN VOTER: I am worn out by this presidential election. I want it to be over with.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are tired and frustrated.
COSTELLO: 2008 may go down as the most emotionally draining election of all time. Political observer say it's forced voters to think about racism, sexism and ageism. At a time Americans are standing on the edge of an economic cliff wondering if they'll fall off.
So when you go into that voting booth on November 4th and you pull the lever how will you feel?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Relieved.
COSTELLO: For that voter, O-b-a-m-a will spell relief. But for some conservative voters it will spell d-o-o-m.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm mad. I'm really mad. It's time that you two are representing us and we are mad.
COSTELLO: Analysts say his anger is in part fear. Republicans have either held the White House or controlled Congress since 1994. Drew Westin is author of "The Political Brain" and a democratic consultant.
DREW WESTIN, AUTHOR "THE POLITICAL BRAIN": What we're really seeing on the right right now is a mixture of fear and anxiety. I mean, the fear is is Obama really someone we can trust? And the anger and the hatred that got elicited are really about, he is really not one of us.
COSTELLO: In Detroit, Michigan, some African-American voters feel fear too. This voter told me she's undecided and is afraid to talk about it because of ugly rumors. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want to say because I heard about someone getting sacked over their presidential choice.
COSTELLO: Other voters desperately want to hear how the candidates will solve the country's problems. But with all the noise, it's hard.
HENRY KRZYSTOWCZYK, MICHIGAN VOTER: You can't determine what's fact or what's rhetoric. I feel that if when I do vote I won have that feeling that I voted for the right candidate. There will always be a doubt because I don't know.
COSTELLO: Analysts say election 2008 will only get more intense. Three weeks to go. Can you handle it?
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COSTELLO: And you know what the biggest nightmare will be, if the election really isn't over after election day. I mean, what if there's voter fraud and lawsuits filed and election 2008 drags into election 2009? Kiran.
CHETRY: Hopefully it won't, but we'll be here.
COSTELLO: Yes.
COSTELLO: I guess we will.
CHETRY: It's so funny, Carol. I was just looking at some pictures. John and I in the primary race in New Hampshire. It feels like a lifetime ago that we were there, you know, talking about these very same issues.
COSTELLO: I know. I mean, do you remember - I mean, I think John McCain announced in May of 2007, or was it March? I can't even remember now, specifically. But both candidates announced in 2007, I remember when there were a gazillion candidates during the primary on both the democrat and republican side. Nobody could even remember that anymore.
CHETRY: Absolutely. A lifetime ago, it seems. All right. Well, we are ready, only 21 days to go?
COSTELLO: 21 days to go.
CHETRY: All right. Carol, thanks.
ROBERTS: It's 48 minutes after the hour. We got some big news for you here.
This just in to CNN, with 21 days left until America votes on November 4th, we got the results of some new battleground polls. It's a poll of polls to tell you about in three cases, in single polls and another in the state of Minnesota, we now have Barack Obama ahead of John McCain 51 to 42. That's a nine-point lead. That would leave Minnesota in the leaning Barack Obama category where it is now, can't stretch that out into a solid Obama just yet.
But take a look at this, in the state of Wisconsin, in the new poll of polls, 52 percent to 41 percent for Barack Obama. That is an 11 percent difference. That is getting into territory where Wisconsin, which was a toss up, now lean Obama, could be close to being moved into the safe Obama territory. We'll have to work that out with our political unit a little bit later on as we go through the day, because it takes into account not only current polls but also historic voting trends.
Take a look at this, in the state of Colorado, nine percent lean now on the Quinnipiac poll, October 8th to 12th, Obama ahead had 52 percent to 43 percent. That might be enough to put it into the lean Obama category, from it's current toss up status. But take a look at this though, amazing Dixon poll taken earlier this month, September 29th to October 1st. A little bit smaller has them still tied at 44 a piece. So we're not ready to make any moves in Colorado just yet.
But look at this, Michigan, 54 to 38 percent for Barack Obama. That is a margin of 16 percent. Michigan now in the lean Obama category. That may be enough to put it into solid blue in the solidly Obama category. More on this throughout the day on "the most news in the morning" here on CNN.
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ROBERTS (voice-over): Lunch line makeovers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to stay healthy and have a healthy life.
ROBERTS: Forget mystery meat. Dr. Sanjay Gupta on how more and more schools are helping kids go vegetarian.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it's important to teach them these lessons when they are young.
ROBERTS: You are watching the Most News in the Morning.
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ROBERTS: For most people, the words school lunch summon up images of greasy pizzas or cream filled donuts or mystery meat Monday. Well, one school district is trying to change all of that and they're having surprising success. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta is live in Atlanta this morning. Are kids really eating all this stuff, Sanjay?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's exactly the way you described when we went to school. But as the saying goes, if they build it they will come, and if you cook it, they will eat it. It is a new wave in the way that these schools plan these lunches. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) GUPTA (voice-over): Tofu dogs, black bean burgers, soy chick patties. Not a typical diet for most teens, but at Berkmar Middle School in Liburn, Georgia, the kids don't seem to care.
ALISHA ZARIWALLA, MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT: I like the vegetarian chicken nuggets, and the vegetarian corn dogs here.
CHRISTOPHER HOLMES, MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT: I eat the grilled cheese sandwiches and apples and sometimes I eat the veggie burger.
GUPTA: Berkmar is just one of Gwinnett county schools that offers vegetarian options in the lunch line and the kids voting vegetarian at a surprising rate.
KAREN CRAWFORD, SCHOOL NUTRITION COORDINATOR: You know, it's estimate around three percent of teens are vegetarians which are around 5,000 students for us.
GUPTA: Now some of the kids eat vegetarian for religious reasons, but many of these 10-12 year olds say they choose it for health reasons.
CINDY HERNANDEZ, MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT: I went to the doctor, and I was ten pounds overweight, and the doctor said that could affect me and when I grow up I could die faster, and so my mom starting making made more healthy food and naturally maybe I lose those ten pounds.
KEVIN FAOTTO, MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT: I want to stay healthy and have a healthy life.
GUPTA: All in all, Gwinnett County schools have served close to 500,000 vegetarian meals in this last year alone, and Karen Crawford hopes the habit they learn now will stay with them for a lifetime.
CRAWFORD: We know that nutrition profoundly affects how kids, their ability to learn and grow and maintain a healthy lifestyle, and it's important to teach them these lessons when they are young.
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GUPTA: You know, it's so good to see so many kids actually focused on their health even if it comes on their diets. A big criticism is always is it nutritious enough. Is there enough protein for example? Well you can get protein on other sources such as soy and so many food are fortified nowadays, John, that you get enough of the nutrients in other ways as well. John.
ROBERTS: Interesting stuff. Sanjay Gupta for us. Sanjay, thank you so much.
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CHETRY (voice-over): Up close and personal. Jeanne Moos on Obama's door to door campaigning and other close calls for the candidate. You are watching "the most news in the morning." (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: What would you do if you met one of the presidential candidates in person? Would you laugh? Would you be so overwhelmed that you cry? CNN's Jeanne Moos checks it out.
All right. Well, we obviously had a little problem with the tape, John. It was a great piece though, so maybe we will see it a little later.
ROBERTS: Yes, things are bound to happen once in a while. While we got a little bit of time here, again, why don't we got back over those battleground polls that we were talking, just a couple of minutes ago. Because it looks like Jeanne Moos has gone away and will not be coming back.
Let's take a look first of all, the poll in Minnesota, and it's significant because this was a race that was fairly tight coming out of the Republican convention. John McCain and Sarah Palin had the convention there in St. Paul, and had fairly tightened things up. It was in toss up category. Now Barack Obama has extended a nine-point lead in the state of Minnesota. It still remains a lean Obama state. It's not ready to go just yet, a darker shade of blue which I think would be a safe Obama state.
But take a look at this, in the state of Wisconsin, very, very nearby, 52 percent to 41 percent, Barack Obama over John McCain. That's an 11 point difference. That's getting close to based on historic trends and see how some other polls are going. And these again, our poll of polls, that could be enough to take it from lean Obama status into safe Obama status.
Here is the big news, though. And take a look at this. The state of Colorado. Currently a toss upstate with nine electoral votes. And Barack Obama in a Quinnipiac poll leads John McCain 52 percent to 43 percent. That's a nine point difference. That might be enough to put that into a lean Obama category. However another poll Mason Dixon poll taken at end of September, at the beginning of October has them tied at 44 a piece. So again we take into account historic polling trends, historic voting trends as well.
The state of Michigan which is already safe Obama, the latest poll has him 16 points ahead, 54 to 38 percent. And so it looks like John McCain's decision to pull out of Michigan may in fact have been a wise one, and why spend money in a place where it looks like it is not going to do you any whole lot of good any ways.
CHETRY: All right. So those were the latest polls from the battleground states. Some of them maybe changing -
ROBERTS: Hey, there's still 21 days left to go. That is more than a lifetime in politics.
CHETRY: It sure is. Well, thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. Hope to see you back here tomorrow.
ROBERTS: Right now here is CNN NEWSROOM with Heidi Collins.
