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American Morning

Mixed Results on the Asian Financial Markets Overnight; Drunk Passenger Tried to Hijack a Turkish Airlines; New Poll Numbers Out This Morning; One-on-One with Oliver Stone

Aired October 15, 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: Crossing the top of the hour. And here are this morning's top stories. Airline officials in Turkey say a drunk passenger tried to hijack a Turkish Airlines jet en route to Russia. But fellow passengers were able to subdue him. The spokesman said the passenger was so drunk that he gave a note to the flight attendant claiming to have a bomb but he didn't have a bomb. The plane was scheduled to land on time in St. Petersburg, Russia,, left from Montoya (ph) at the southern coast of Turkey.
Mixed results on the Asian financial markets overnight. Japan's Nikkei Index closed about one percent higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost about 5 percent. European stocks are trading in negative territory. And Dow futures also down a little more than 100 at this moment.

Three major wildfires burning right now in the Los Angeles area and the flames are getting dangerously close to home. Fierce Santa Ana winds and extremely dry conditions are hampering firefighters. More than 30,000 acres have already been wiped out. Thousands of residents are under mandatory evacuation orders.

Well, we are just now about 13 hours away from the final presidential debate, 9:00 p.m. Eastern from Hofstra University on Long Island, New York. Tonight's debate will be moderated by Bob Schieffer of CBS News.

And we're getting a new poll numbers this morning. A just-released CNN poll of polls shows Barack Obama with an eight-point lead over John McCain, 50 percent to 42 percent. Eight percent remained undecided.

Despite that lead, the race is nowhere near over. Don't John McCain out. These are the seven key states that are still up for grabs. Each one won by President Bush in 2004 and worth 100 electoral votes in total. CNN is bringing you the debate and the run-up to tonight's battle with the Best Political Team on Television. CNN's Ed Henry is covering John McCain's campaign. He joins us now live from Hofstra University.

Ed, what does Senator McCain need to do to try to close that eight- point gap between Senator Obama and himself?

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, John. The stakes could not be any higher for John McCain. This really could be his last chance to shake up the dynamics of this race. You'll remember in last week's debate, he did not go too negative. He did not bring up the name of William Ayres, the former 1960s radical and his alleged ties to Barack Obama. But under pressure from his fellow supporters over the last few days to get tough in their words, to really take to it Barack Obama in this final debate.

John McCain vowed yesterday that he will bring up the name of William Ayres tonight. That's interesting to see how Barack Obama will react, for example. Because the format is different. It's not a town hall- style format like last week. They're going to be at the same table together, just a few feet apart. So, if the fists start flying, how is Obama going to react. How will undecided voters watching at home, how will they react to all of this. It's interesting.

A couple of days ago, John McCain seemed to raise expectations a little bit by telling supporters of Barack Obama I'm going to whip his you know what. Last night, though, McCain told supporters he hopes to do about as half as good as Sarah Palin did in her debate. So, he seems ever so gently, maybe to be lowering expectations as politicians like to do, John.

ROBERTS: You know, Ed, we hear at these debates about the rules, guidelines that the candidates negotiate at the campaigns, at least negotiate for weeks on end. What are we learning about the candidates' special requests for tonight's debate?

HENRY: It's interesting. The university president here at Hofstra yesterday told me there were some very unusual requests such as that they wanted special air-conditioning vents over each candidate. Both campaigns wanted this. They obviously didn't want a repeat of Richard Nixon in 1960. They didn't want a 5:00 shadow showing up. They don't want sweat on the brow or anything like that.

Second request was that both campaigns wanted the university to hand over a replica of the drinking glass they'll both get tonight. They want to make -- show they have the exact size, the feel. Neither candidate wants it to slip out of their hand. So, it's not exactly like the rock stars who demand that they only get the red M&Ms and all the other ones are picked out in the green room. But they do have special request. Nobody wants to leave anything to chance when the stakes are this high, John.

ROBERTS: Well, I don't know. Having the glass propositioned may be more dramatic than making sure that he's just got red M&Ms, I'm not sure. Ed Henry, thanks very much for that. We'll see you later on.

HENRY: Thanks.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And time now for more of the Best Political Team on Television, for a look at how Barack Obama's camp is preparing for tonight's debate. We turn to CNN's Suzanne Malveaux. She's joining us now to talk more about this.

Now, what is the Obama camp doing to prepare for the debate and what do they think they need to accomplish tonight?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're confident. This is something that he has been preparing for for some time. This is the third debate. They feel that they won the first two, they feel that he is going to essentially win the third. What they need to do is simply focus and stay focus on message -- on the economy. To talk about the details. A lot of people still don't know his plan. They're going to be outlining that. And, of course, if there are going to be attacks, if there are things that are going to come up about his past associations with William Ayres or Reverend Wright or anybody else, that he will address them. That he's going to take that head-on, but he is not going to focus on that. And they feel like, you know, he's ready, he's calm, and it's not overconfident, but definitely like this is his night.

CHETRY: Well, I mean, judging from the polls, he's going into this, really, in the poll position if you will. What is the mood like for the campaign?

MALVEAUX: It's funny because you talk to them and everybody seems to be like just a little nervous about being a little overconfident. They're not cocky and they are saying, oh, you know, I don't want to jinx it, I don't want to jinx it, because everything shows that he is ahead. That people -- his message is resonating, but even Barack Obama on the stump said I'm superstitious.

And so, the next three weeks, they're just going to put their head down, they're going to keep focused, they're going to keep working on this and they realize the next three weeks anything could happen. This could change. So, they are just going to basically play it safe and do what's been working, and that's just focus on the economy.

CHETRY: Has been looking for sure. All right, we'll see how it goes tonight, the third and final debate.

MALVEAUX: It will be exciting to watch.

CHETRY: It will be for sure. We'll see you back here tomorrow. Thanks, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: OK, great.

CHETRY: Also, remember to join the Best Political Team on Television for your front-row seat to tonight's presidential debate. We're live from Hofstra University, Long Island, New York. 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

ROBERTS: Well, turning now to issue number one, your money. The next president will come into office with the biggest deficit on record. The federal budget for 2008 swelled to $454.8 billion in the red. That's more than double the 2007 deficit. It's expected to grow even further this year to $482 billion. The Bush administration blames the housing slump and unemployment which in turn reduced tax revenues.

Our Christine Romans joins us now, "Minding Your Business." And through this economic crisis, you know, we're all getting an education here, this financial terminology like mark-to-market, credit default swaps and now Libor. CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Libor. I never thought I would be on television telling people about Libor for breakfast. But Libor is doing a little bit better. Those are the overnight borrowing costs between banks. It's an average of 16 bank borrowings costs and it's calculated in London. And what you need to know about it is that it's loosened up a little bit, showing a little bit of a thaw in that credit freeze. And of course, that's what we've been watching. Every little indicator that we can get our hand on to show that what has been a complete freeze up in the credit system is starting to thaw.

Why does it matter? Because when you have the frozen credit system, this is a system that drives economic growth, that drives companies, that drives business and it drives consumers. And it has not done anything for some time now. So, we've got to get that back to a more healthy, healthy level, watching every little bit of it to see if the bailout package is working. Now, I have a map, John. I brought you a map. A map of the United States. Here we go.

ROBERTS: Oh, look at that.

ROMANS: This is sort of a gut check for where you live on issue number one, the economy. And this is a blend of four -- four things -- jobs, foreclosures, GDP and personal income. "The Financial Times" put this together and you can see that red is not so great.

The things that are kind of neutral there like Iowa and Idaho, those -- those are OK. And green is very, very good. So, you know, we've seen 760,000 jobs lost. We've seen 2.5 million foreclosures expected this year. About half of those people will lose their jobs -- or lose their homes. GDP is expected to stagnate. It's very different in different parts of the country. So, it will be interesting to see how this whole credit crisis sort of bears out on different parts of the world.

ROBERTS: And a lot of that red also mirrors our electoral map. Toss- up states, too.

ROMANS: It does. I think when you put those two things together, it means a lot in 20 days.

ROBERTS: All right. Thanks, Christine.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

ROBERTS: Seven minutes, almost eight now after the hour.

CHETRY: Oliver Stone lied. The controversial director on his movie, "W."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fool me once, shame on you. But fool me twice and -- and -- you can't get fooled again.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHETRY: Hear how he responds to critics who say he went too easy on the president. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Yes, no kidding. Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." Senators Barack Obama and John McCain face a tough task during tonight's final debate -- sway Americans who have still not made up their minds. According to CNN's latest poll of polls, that's about 8 percent of voters. What challenges do the candidates need to overcome? Here now with their thoughts -- Patricia Murphy, editor of CitizenJanePolitics.com, and John Avlon, a registered independent and author of "Independent Nation."

So, John McCain is the one who's got the tough task ahead of him tonight. He's got a lot of ground to make up. Barack Obama's playing defense. He just wants to stay on safe ground.

Patricia, if you were advising John McCain, what would you suggest he do going into tonight's debate?

PATRICIA MURPHY, EDITOR, CITIZENJANEPOLITICS.COM: Well, I think a couple of things. First of all, go back to happy warrior John McCain. That's the John McCain Americans love. The grumpy warrior, personal attacks, nobody likes. So again, go back to the kind of a fighter that Americans have responded to before.

Second of all, put forth your specific policy proposals on the economy. Doubling the child tax care deduction, relief for homeowners, relief for seniors who are nearing retirement. Those are specific issues that I think will resonate particularly with undecided voters. But he needs to put these up there. He hasn't really done it yet, except for yesterday and he's losing so much time. He's got to do it tonight.

ROBERTS: John?

JOHN AVLON, REGISTERED INDEPENDENT: Sure. I mean, let McCain be McCain. Go back to being the proven leader in times of crisis. The guy's got credibility with independents and bipartisanship. 45 percent of the undecided voters left are self-identified independents and centrists.

That's where this election is going to be won or lost. McCain's got great brand name, credibility with these folks. But he's being held back by association with the Bush administration. He should also go on offense against Bush.

ROBERTS: It's going to be a lot about economics tonight because it's a domestic policy debate. The two of them will be seated at the same table. So, lots of room for interaction.

But when it comes, Patricia, to these economic plans, the head of the Tax Policy Center, which is a little bit of a left-leaning organization, suggested that there was a lot of feel-good stuff in here but not a lot that's going to really actually do something for the economy. When you look at Senator McCain's plan, a lot of it is targeted toward older voters who don't necessarily drive the economy but they certainly do come out and vote.

MURPHY: Well, the good news for John McCain is that most Americans are not economists. They don't have PhD's in economics. They want to go down this list of proposals and see, do any of these apply to me? If he's elected, will this help me and my family, get my kids to school, help me retire safely, just make me feel better about this crisis that's going on. His proposals, I think, can do that.

Now, Barack Obama has more sweeping proposals, things that could actually jumpstart the economy as a whole. But that's not really the bar they need to clear. He just needs to connect with voters and make them believe their lives will be better with John McCain as president.

AVLON: And I think it's a mistake for McCain simply to go back to the tax cut well. Just like Obama shouldn't be running on regulation. They both should be reaching out to the center in making the case that America needs to return to fiscal responsibility. Balancing the budget, thinking in terms of generational responsibility again. That's how to frame this economic crisis in a way that really motivates independents and undecideds.

ROBERTS: All right. Let's take a quick look at just some of the latest numbers here. CBS News-New York Times Poll has got Senator Obama ahead of John McCain, 53 percent to 39 percent. And the premise of the story in the "New York Times" today is that the negative attacks are backfiring on John McCain.

So, Patricia, if the opportunity comes up and he suggested in his radio station interview in St. Louis that the subject of William Ayres and Obama's connection to him may come up, should he take the bait or should he stay away from it?

MURPHY: I think he doesn't take that bait. I think it's fine to get negative on Barack Obama, but say, you're not ready to be president; I think you're a good person, but I'm afraid, if you become president, we're not going to get ourselves out of the hole.

ROBERTS: (INAUDIBLE).

AVLON: His character was formed in opposition to Karl Rove's play to debase politics. Too many of his advisers come from that camp. That's where there's a duality. It's been dragging John McCain down. He needs to focus on he is and aim high.

ROBERTS: Good analysis, good advice this morning, folks. Thanks so much. Good to see you.

MURPHY: Thanks.

ROBERTS: And we'll see you tomorrow morning.

AVLON: Great.

ROBERTS: 13-1/2 minutes after the hour. CHETRY: Disturbing images.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was shocked this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: A controversial DVD on radical Islam inserted into millions of newspapers across the country. Why some are calling it dirty politics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That obviously favors one side, the Republicans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: 15 minutes past 8:00 here in New York. Rob Marciano tracking some extreme weather at the CNN weather center. Hurricane Omar is what we're talking about today.

Hey, Rob.

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHETRY: That's good news. The Santa Ana winds can be brutal.

MARCIANO: See you later, Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Thanks, Rob.

ROBERTS: Going into tonight's debate, the third and final one. We are at the magic wall here because we've only got 20 days left in the election campaign. What does the electoral map look like? Who's got the best route and the easiest route to the White House? We'll tell you just as soon as we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." As you can see there -- just a little more than 12 hours left until tonight's third and final presidential debate. And it's all in the table tonight. This is the last chance for these candidates to make an impression on a massive scale. And what they do tonight in this debate could affect the look of our overall electoral map.

Let's check the route to the White House to see who's got the easiest route and how things stand at this point in time.

The states that are in blue, we're just going to allocate those to Barack Obama because he's leading there. Some of them are lean, some of them are safe. But just for argument's sake, we'll give those to Barack Obama. The states in brown, we will give to John McCain. The states in yellow are the seven toss-up states.

Let's take a look at where we are right now. Of course, 270 electoral votes needed to win. 264 currently in the projections for Barack Obama. 174 for John McCain. Now, let's take a look at the lay of the land in these toss-up states across the country. In the State of Nevada, Barack Obama is up by four. He's up by nine in Colorado. John McCain up by one in Missouri though some polls have got Senator Obama up by a couple.

Here in Ohio, Barack Obama is up by two. He's up by four in Virginia. It's all even up here in North Carolina. And Senator Obama ahead by three currently according to the latest poll of polls in the State of Florida. All right, so we have five electoral votes, nine electoral votes here, 11, 20, 13, 15, and 27. So, let's play the Electoral College game here now. So even though Barack Obama is leading in most of these states with the exception of North Carolina where things are even, let's just for argument's sake give these states to Senator John McCain.

Let's say that he wins Ohio on November the 4th. He hangs on to Virginia, he hangs on to North Carolina and he hangs on to Florida. Let's take a look at the lay of the land now. Barack Obama is still 264 electoral votes. John McCain, with 249.

All right, so neither one has got enough. So, just for argument's sake, because this did go to George Bush in 2004, we'll give the State of Missouri to John McCain, all right? That brings him within four, 264 to 260 now. And let's give him the State of Nevada with its five electoral votes as well -- 264-265. John McCain, he's ahead by one. Here we have Colorado, the mountain state. Barack Obama currently ahead by nine points. You give him that one state, that takes him over the top, 273. That's enough to win the White House.

So, this was really interesting about this election is the strategy that we've had before, states like Ohio and Pennsylvania and Florida are potentially going to decide the election may go out the window and it may be the State of Colorado that decides election 2008. We'll be back with more right after this.

CHETRY: One-on-one with Oliver Stone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wish you would have given me this written question beforehand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: The man behind the controversial new movie "W." And why he rushed to release it before the election. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What it all comes down to is who Joe voter wants to sit down and have a beer with. And guess who that is?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just remember to make mine nonalcoholic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, anything about the issues, you come to me first. I'll tell you what to say.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, you're not going to tell me what to say, Karl. I'm going to tell you what I want, because you're the word man. This campaign starts and ends with me and what I think.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need to got it, W.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just a little fairy putting down a little magic dust for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Josh Brolin playing President George W. Bush and Toby Jones as Karl Rove, planning the president, well then Texas governor's run in Oliver Stone's new movie "W." And the movie focuses on Bush's early life, how he eventually became president. How his relationship with his father may have played a part in decisions about the Iraq war. Oscar-winning director and Obama supporter Oliver Stone joins me now. Great to have you with us.

OLIVER STONE, OBAMA SUPPORTER: Hi, Kiran.

CHETRY: We had the chance to see the screening of this movie and I want to ask you a little bit about the timing. This is coming out three weeks before our 2008 presidential election. Why did you want it to come out now?

STONE: Those events are beyond my control. We made the movie as fast as we could starting last May. If I couldn't have completed it, it would have come out in January perhaps for the inauguration. It's not about this election. It's about the last eight years with one man, George W. Bush. It's his story. How he came to be the man he is. How he got elected? How we elected him? And basically if you start to think about it where we are now as a country.

CHETRY: Is it an anti-war movie?

STONE: Of course, it's an anti-war movie because I happen to be an anti-war person. But that's not to say I'm a pacifist. I believe that you fight for the right reasons. This man has got us in three wars right now. I mean, Afghanistan, Iraq, and basically the war on terror. We have a foreign policy which is a very, you know, preventive one. A preemptive one. It's a Bush doctrine. It's a very dangerous place.

Whoever wins the election, Obama or McCain, I think is going to live in the shadow of the events of these last eight years. This man has set -- will be around. His influence will be felt for 20 years, 40 years.

CHETRY: What did you want viewers of your movie to come away with?

STONE: You make it sound like I want, I can do. I can't control that. We made the movie to make people think, to make themselves feel. Frankly, to walk in the shoes of George Bush and to understand him. We're not, we're not -- this is not a job done with malice. This is a fair portrait of the man. I think it's empathetic. I think you care for him and you have feelings for him.

And I think, one person said to me, an activist last night, he said, you know what, I never in my life thought I could feel something for George Bush. I came out of this movie feeling compassionate for him and even more important feeling compassion for our country and where we are now.

CHETRY: In fact, you had some trouble getting financing because people felt that it was too, I guess, sympathetic toward the president.

STONE: Not for that reason. No, I think that the issues that we had with the American corporations were essentially that it was an inconvenient subject. You know, they thought he's gone from office, they don't want to know and he's controversial and blah, blah, blah. These are corporations, large corporations, they're not going to take risks like this. So, the movie business, you got to make movies with risks and unfortunately America's moving away from that in all forms of not just movies.

CHETRY: You know, it's very interesting, though, you had a soliloquy, really a great monologue by the character playing vice president Dick Cheney...

STONE: Yes. Yes.

CHETRY: ...About why -- about the rationale for Iraq. Where did you get -- I mean, it was very detailed, and you had -- it's safe to say you didn't have Dick Cheney's cooperation. Where did you -- where did you compile some of the scenes, some of these dialogues from those scenes?

STONE: Stanley Weiser and myself did a lot of research. And we read -- you know, there's not that much known about this first Bush administration, those first years. That's been coming out in the last few years. Bob Woodward, James Risen, Ron Suskind, Jacob Weisberg, it's coming out gradually. We're finding out about oil and some of these secret meetings.

But this is a supposition. That we know that there are geopolitics involved. The Iraq is not just a war about freedom and democracy. There are other issues at stake. And that's what we're trying to show. Again, I repeat, we're trying to do justice. We allowed Cheney to speak for himself. We allowed Rumsfeld to speak for himself. And Powell, by the way, is the guy who argues with Cheney in that scene.

CHETRY: You also say that George W. Bush has changed the world. Is this something that you believe is permanent?

STONE: Well, put it this way, you know, we have practically an $800 billion Pentagon budget every year. That's a huge amount. That's the amount of the bailout right there. So, are we going to be in a state of reaction in force to everything that happens? Is it the us against them kind of foreign policy? And of course, I'm very concerned about the constitution and about the stripping of liberties, torture, Guantanamo -- do you want the whole list?

I mean, this guy has left -- he's a disgrace, frankly. And his legacy is going to be a hard one to live down. But I hope we take steps in the positive direction. And I am an optimist born.

CHETRY: You know, it's very interesting. "Variety's" review said Oliver Stone's unusual and inescapably interesting "W." feels like a rough draft of a film that may behoove him to make in 10 or 15 years. They say that it lacks an ending because we don't have time as perspective. Did we need some more time?

STONE: I think the film is quite satisfying in that. So far, is it shows you the march to Iraq, and it ends at that very moment when he is about to go to war. I mean, he goes to war. We know how things turn out. It's not a film about those eight years. It's a film about the character of a man. There's a first act when he's in his 20s, a second act in his 40s, and the third act when he's in his mid-50s.

So, it's a character study and we get to the place at which we know the way he's going to behave. And it's a father-son story because a lot of his actions are motivated by this, let's call it, rivalry to be stronger than his father. And that's part of the reason he goes to Iraq.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN, ANCHOR: Very interesting. Oliver Stone, the director of "W." I'm sure you're going to get a lot of people to come out and see that movie. Thank you very much.

STONE: Thank you, Kiran.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN, ANCHOR: Crossing the half hour now, and here are these morning's top stories - airline officials in Turkey say a drunk passenger tried to hijack a Turkish Airlines jet en route to St. Petersburg, Russia, but he was subdued by fellow passengers. A spokesperson said the passenger gave a note to a flight attendant claiming to have a bomb but no explosives were found. The plane has now safely landed in St. Petersburg. The flight originated in Turkey's Mediterranean resort city of Anatolia.

The economic crisis has transformed the presidential campaign and will likely dominate tonight's third and final presidential debate. John McCain and Barack Obama face off at 9:00 Eastern at New York's Hofstra University. The last chance for the candidates to address the undecided masses.

McCain trails Obama by eight points in the latest CNN national poll of polls. A federal judge approving a $24 million settlement for the owners of cats and dogs that were sickened or killed by contaminated pet food. More than 1,500 animals died last year after eating food contaminated containing Chinese-made wheat gluten that was laced with melamine, chemical found in plastics. More than 10,000 pet owners have filed claims so far.

Well, a controversial DVD about radical Islam is being slipped into newspapers across the country. And with less than three weeks now until election day, critics want to know who was behind it and why. CNN's Deborah Feyerick joins us now. How many of these DVDs were distributed?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, we're talking 20 million DVDs in 70 papers around the country, and while the threat of radical Islam is very very serious, a prominent Muslim group has filed complains with the U.S. government saying the DVD is clearly meant to create fear and influence voters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK (voice-over): Just weeks before the election, democrat Priscilla (inaudible) received a DVD tucked inside her local Denver newspaper.

PRISCILLA: I was shocked at the content.

FEYERICK: The hour-long film "Obsession, radical Islam's war against the west" made by an Israeli filmmaker shows disturbing images.

PRISCILLA: I have Muslim friends. And I felt that this was really hateful.

FEYERICK: Republican Rima Barakat Sinclair, a Muslim, also from Colorado, called her local lawmakers.

RIMA BARAKAT SINCLAIR: If this DVD was produced and mass distributed by the KKK, for example, or by some, another anti-Semitic organization, would it be included or would it be examined and outright rejected rightfully so?

FEYERICK: In fact, 28 million DVDs were distribute as advertising inserts in 70 papers primarily in critical swing states including Colorado, Florida, and Ohio. All of it was paid for by the Clarion Fund, a nonprofit group established by the Israeli filmmaker with the goal of exposing the threat of radical Islam.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our focus is to educate with our movies. And to educate and raise people's awareness of the threat. We are not looking to influence the election.

LARRY SABATO, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: It's pretty obvious that the group sponsoring it wants people to think more about terrorism, about national security, about Middle East politics, and maybe less about the economy. Well, that obviously favors one side, the republicans. FEYERICK: Clarion said neither presidential campaign was involved. (Mihad Awad) with the Council on American Islamic Relations calls the film anti-Muslim and politically motivated.

(MIHAD AWAD): That says clearly that it is our responsibility to ensure we can all make an informed vote in November.

FEYERICK: The group, which includes some democratic donors, have filed complaints with the IRS and federal elections commission saying Clarion has violated its tax-exempt status. Clarion will not say who its donors are or how much they're giving. Muslim advocates like C.A.I.R. claim the money is coming from the prominent Jewish educational group Aishatora headquartered in Israel.

It seems that this campaign is well funded and directed by a fallen identity to influence the U.S. presidential election.

Totally ludicrous. We do not accept donations from foreign entities. The accusations by CAIR are totally unfounded.

FEYERICK: Aishatora also denies donating any money to Clarion for its DVD campaign, though the film maker and other clarion staffers work for AISHATORA.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Now critics say there's also something else at play. A number of Americans still believe incorrectly that Barack Obama is Muslim. And political observers say that this DVD could play directly into that misperception and perhaps count as a strike against him. John.

ROBERTS: So why does this benefit Republicans?

FEYERICK: Well, it benefits republicans because John McCain has really positioned himself as tough on terror while trying to portray Barack Obama as less so. And the big unknown here is who is donating all the money. Who is paying for this mass mailing? 28 million DVDs, 70 newspapers. That takes cold hard cash and none of the donors are listed.

ROBERTS: And that certainly doesn't come cheap.

FEYERICK: Yes.

ROBERTS: All right. Deb Feyerick looking into that for us. I assume you'll continue to do that.

FEYERICK: Absolutely.

ROBERTS: Great. Thanks, Deb.

CHETRY: Well if you're up to your ears in debt, is declaring bankruptcy the best credit fix. Our Gerri Willis is working her blogs and she has answers to a lot of your money questions out there today. And there is still time to submit your questions. Cnn.com/am to ask Gerri.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY (voice-over): Virgin voters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to make sure you never forget your first time.

CHETRY: He's not old enough to vote in next month's presidential election, but it hasn't stopped this teen from educating first-time voters before they go to the polls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm asking you to get into doing it this election season.

CHETRY: You're watching the most news in the morning.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Got some great video that we wanted to show you this morning. This is coming to us from news 12 in New Jersey, Newark, that is, and, boy, what we're watching right now is Nick Wallenda. He is trying to break the world record by walking across a high wire. This is suspended 135 feet in the air between two cranes. This is next to Newark's Prudential Center Arena. No safety net, and we're watching it live. He's walking across 235 feet. And then, as if that's not enough - there he is. Brushing something off his hair. Waving. Waving, with one foot up no less. He's going to return on a bicycle. He wants to establish a Guinness world record for the longest distance and greatest height ever traveled by a bike on a high wire. He's part of the seventh generation of the Flying Wallenda circus family, by the way. And, again, we are watching this live right now as he attempts to go 235 feet. He's, again, 135 feet in the air. Suspended between two cranes. And there is no safety net.

ROBERTS: A couple of seconds ago - whoa! Was that real or was that a fake?

CHETRY: He caught himself.

ROBERTS: A couple of minutes ago he was on the cell phone. You can imagine him saying to whoever he was talking to the other end of the line, I told you never to call me at work.

CHETRY: All right. Honey, can I call you right back?

ROBERTS: We'll keep on watching this.

39 minutes after the hour. You've heard of Virgin Records, Virgin Airways. Have you ever heard of a virgin voting? Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Are you registered to vote yet? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No but I'm in the process of doing that.

Do you plan on voting in the next presidential election?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

Why not?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Um, I don't know. I'm busy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I don't have the time, really. Because, I'm really, really, really busy at school.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: That's a clip from a film made by 16-year-old Noah Gray, he's encouraging first-time voters to get out to the polls with his project "Virgin Voting." He is also asking them to document their first time, voting that is. And now he joins us this morning. Good morning to you.

NOAH GRAY, FOUNDER, VIRGIN VOTING: Good morning.

ROBERTS: So what is this get out to vote drive all about?

GRAY: Well, my "Virgin Voting" project is three parts. The first part is the documentary that you just saw, 10 minutes. I spoke to some presidential candidates well as young people to see if there were going to vote and what issues were most important to them. And that was first part of the project. The second part of the project is we made these "Never Forget your First Time" t-shirts to promote the voting.

ROBERTS: You've got one on this morning. Very stylish.

GRAY: I've got one on, yes. And then the third part is the "Virgin Voting" video contest which I've launched which I guess we'll talk a little bit about that, which is to encourage -

ROBERTS: We'll talk about that in just a second. Let me ask you first of all. Some of the people that you talked to in that video clip have said no we're not going to vote. Statistics show, 47 percent in 2004, 47 percent of people between the ages of 18 to 34 went out to the polls compared to 66 percent of the people age 25 and older. What are you finding about why more young people don't go out and vote?

GRAY: Well, a lot of young people are very busy. But keep in mind that those interviews were conducted during the primary season but now it's getting a lot more close to election day and as we see, more young people than in any other election basically have been registered to vote. And it's been that peak and since 1972, when voting age was lowered down to 18, it was - it soared. And then it sort of gradually went down and then this year should be the peak year. But I think more young people are going to try to make their way to the polls and they've all registered. And young people have been known not to go to the polls after registering, but I hope they do and they do turn out on November 4th.

ROBERTS: An interesting point about what you just said that that video was taken during the primary process. A record 6.5 million young people went out and participated in those primaries. Do you expect that we're going to see a similar participation or even greater participation on November 4th?

GRAY: I think it's going to be similar if not greater and that's what I'm hoping for.

ROBERTS: So what is it now that's driving the interest among young voters? Because for so many years they felt disenfranchised. They felt that they couldn't make a difference and they weren't part of the process. Why do they feel engaged now?

GRAY: Right now young people are the future of the country. They should - they want to determine the leader who's -

ROBERTS: But they always have been.

GRAY: They have. Yes, but now it's so key whether or not they're going to go fight a war, whether or not they're going to be able to get affordable health air, whether they're going to be able to pay for college, what kind of planet are they going to inherit? I don't know why exactly but young people seem to be more interested than ever. Maybe it's because the candidates running.

ROBERTS: Now, let's talk about this "Never forget your First Time" part of the campaign. You want people to document their first time at the voting booth sort of like a mini documentary of their experience which you're going to post on youtube. You are trying to create sort of a community feel, share their experiences?

GRAY: Yes. I'm trying to have them share their experiences but to promote actually going to the polls and document that. Because like I said, young people are known for registering but not actually voting. So, hopefully I'm giving them a second incentive, which is the details on are on my website, virginvoting.com. But the first prize is going to have a $500 gift card to the Apple store that gives them another incentive to vote if they don't already have one or ready to select the next president.

ROBERTS: You know, with the name virgin voting, you may want to reach out to Richard Branson. He may be able to up the ante here.

GRAY: It's all been on my own though.

ROBERTS: It's a great project. Noah Gray, it's great to meet you.

GRAY: Thank you.

ROBERTS: To meet a young man like yourself who is really involved in the process. Good luck to you. I know will be watching the debate tonight.

GRAY: I will be covering the debate at Hofstra this afternoon. ROBERTS: Fantastic.

GRAY: All right.

ROBERTS: Good to see you.

GRAY: OK.

ROBERTS: By the way, to learn more about first time voting and the Virgin Voting youtube contest, logon to virginvoting.com. It sounds like a great idea. Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, even the too young to vote are making their voices heard, and there's good reason to listen to them. Here's a little bit more in an "AM Extra."

A scholastic poll of about quarter of a million students gave Barack Obama a victory with 57 percent of the votes compared to John McCain's 39 percent. Students 8 to 13 voted and it's not child's' play because a poll taken in every presidential election since 1940 has picked the winner in all the two elections. That's an 88 percent accuracy rate.

All right. Let's take you back right now to Newark, New Jersey where we had Nick Wallenda of the flying Wallenda Circus family. He's attempting to break a record here. He is riding his bike 135 feet in the air -

ROBERTS: Who does this in I can ride my bike with no handlebars?

CHETRY: I don't you know. But we should be playing it right now. 135 feet in the air between two cranes. This is over the Prudential Center Arena. He has no safety net. The distance is 235 feet and if he completes it on his bicycle he will have broken the Guinness world record for the longest distance and greatest height ever traveled by a bicycle on a high wire. I'm kind of nervous. My heart's beating faster.

ROBERTS: Yes. Well it seems like there's not a lot of wind out there. He's got a pretty good day. Flow bites, by the way. And I can ride my bike with no handlebars in case are wondering. A helicopter watching the progress there. 135 feet up in the air working without a net. Just the balance pole obviously adds an incredible amount of stability.

CHETRY: Right. When we saw him walking it, I guess he did the test run a little while ago, that we showed you walking, and he did stumble for a second there and went down on one knee and caught himself. But it looks like he -

ROBERTS: Well, you know, he was waving to the crowd as well. Standing on one leg. So, was that really a stumble or was that just part of the showmanship? Because the Wallendas are certainly known for that.

CHETRY: Well, you never know. But he is - this will be - we're watching live. ROBERTS: Oh.

CHETRY: Oh. You think that was just for show?

ROBERTS: I don't know.

CHETRY: I don't know if you want to play around when you're that high up.

ROBERTS: Lance Armstrong would call that a flat spot in your pedal stroke.

CHETRY: So 235 feet and he's almost there. Again, he's 135 feet in the air between two cranes. And there is no safety net. But wow, --

ROBERTS: Here he comes -

CHETRY: He's just about to finish it.

ROBERTS: Up to the very end.

CHETRY: And you're witnessing him about to break a world record.

ROBERTS: Look at this, he doesn't want to quite get there he wants to go back and forth a little bit, getting settled to make the final landing.

CHETRY: He just wants to keep us all on bated breath here.

ROBERTS: Part of the showmanship and away he goes. Forward, inching, inching, ever so close. And there he is! He made it across. A new world record.

CHETRY: Congratulations. A new world record. Do I hear some clapping in the audience here this morning? Congratulations.

ROBERTS: And there's the big wave!

CHETRY: And there he is, pumping his fist. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Here to help with your money questions, CNN's personal finance editor Gerri Willis. She's monitoring her blog and she's here with some questions this morning from people that wrote in.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Yes. We have lots of them and lots of great questions. Thom in New York writes and he says, "I decided at 32, to move back in with the folks to save some money and hopefully to secure some financial stability. I have very little credit card debt but very bad credit and almost 20,000 in student loans, what's my best bet for rebuilding credit?" Well, Thom, let me tell you, I know it's uncool, but moving back in with mom and dad to save some dough is a great idea. I've seen people do that very successfully. What you want to do is pay off that college debt regularly on time. And then I got to tell you, this is a tough one for me to say, but take out a credit card. Occasionally charge something off on it. Make sure you don't put more than 10% of the total amount you're allowed to borrow on that card. Pay it off regularly and you'll start to establish a really great credit history and get a great credit score.

CHETRY: Hey, and a tip for the parents, charge him rent, just a little bit.

WILLIS: Yes. You better help mom and dad, too, right? Occasionally make dinner and do the laundry. OK. Thanks, mom.

Scott in New York writes and says "like many others, I have accumulated far more debt than I can pay. I have tried renegotiating with various creditors with only mixed success. At this point, my credit has basically been destroyed. While utterly humiliating, I have been told by some that fastest way to fix my credit is to declare bankruptcy." This is from Scott in New York.

Well, Scott, I got to tell you, seven to 10 years back from bankruptcy before that leaves your credit history before people don't see it anymore. I think a much better thing to focus on rather than your credit score right now is paying back your debt. That's the main thing you want to think about. Go get a debt consolidation expert to help you figure out how to pay back that debt.

Nfcc.org, a great place to go, the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. They can help you. Guys, over a million people are going to file bankruptcy this year and it's just a devastation for them. A devastation. You got to try to stay away from it if you can.

CHETRY: All right. Gerri, good advice. Thank you.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

ROBERTS: Did McCain say one thing about the economy and then change his stance just hours later? Joe Biden says he did. But we are checking the facts, the truth squad is on the case when the most news in the morning returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. It's time now to check in with the truth squad and a claim that John McCain had two stances on the economy in one day. Did he? Well, Alina Cho joins us now with more. Hey, Alina.

ALINA CHO, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kiran. Good morning, an interesting question. Good morning, everybody. By now we've auld heard the attacks from the Obama campaign. McCain recently said the fundamentals of the economy were strong. We do know that. But is there more to the story? It's a frequent theme in the attacks on John McCain. Joe Biden accusing McCain of, "lurching from one view to another in a matter of hours."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: At 9:00 a.m. on Monday morning, September 15th, when the bottom started to fall out of the market, John McCain said at 9:00 that morning, he said, the fundamentals of the economy are strong. At 11:00 a.m. that morning, at11:00 a.m. that morning, he said, "we've made - there is a great economic crisis we have on our hands." Paraphrasing.

CHO (voice-over): Is Biden getting it right? As they say, let's go to the videotape. Here's McCain September 15th in Florida. Shortly after 9:00 a.m.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Still, the fundamentals of our economy are strong, but these are very, very difficult times.

CHO: Fast-forward. About three hours later, at an appearance in Orlando.

MCCAIN: We're going to put an end to the abuses in Washington and in Wall Street that have resulted in the crisis that we are seeing unfold today.

CHO: But that's not all McCain said. He also appeared to clarify what he meant by "strong fundamentals."

MCCAIN: The American worker and the innovation, the entrepreneurship and small businesses, those are the fundamentals of America and I think they're strong.

CHO: So is Biden right?

BIDEN: At 9:00 a.m., the fundamentals of the economy are strong. At 11:00 a.m. there is a great economic crisis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: All right, so, what's the verdict? The truth squad says this one is - misleading. Biden took some of McCain's remarks out of context. Of course, as always, we want to encourage our viewers to go to cnn.com/am. You can catch some of my previous reports. I know you going to go straight to your desk and do that after this show, Kiran. But a lot of people want to get a tally, how many truths, how many falses there are especially when you consider there are 20 days until the election.

CHETRY: They need the truth squad now more than ever. Alina, thanks so much.

CHO: You bet.

CHETRY: A quick break and AMERICAN MORNING will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Just a couple of minutes until the top of the hour now. We just want to run back over to our magic wall one more time to find out where we are and who has got the route to the White House, Kiran, and how John McCain can potentially get there. Let's take a look again, 270 electoral votes needed to win. Barack Obama has got 264 projected right now. John McCain 174.

Now, when we look at the polling across the nation, Nevada, Colorado, Ohio, Virginia, and Florida, Barack Obama leads. Anywhere between three and nine points in Colorado. John McCain up a little bit here in Missouri. It's all even up in North Carolina. So, if Barack Obama with 264 electoral votes were to win, let's say, Ohio, that would put him over the top. If he were to win Virginia, that would put him over the top. If he were to win North Carolina, that would put him over the top. Florida, of course, with 27 electoral votes, that would put him over the top as well. So, what does John McCain need to do between now and November 4th in order to win the White House?

CHETRY: He certainly has a bigger climb, but he can still do it.

ROBERTS: Bigger climb. I mean, he can definitely do it. Some of these other states could turn around as well. But let's say that the lay of the land is as it is now. Blue states for Barack Obama and brown states for John McCain. He literally to use a pool analogy has to run the table. Every state here, Colorado gets him to 269. He would need Nevada as well on top of that to put him over the top. 274 electoral votes. You know, it's not impossible. It could be done. And, again, you know, some of these states, some of these states are leaning Barack Obama. They're not solidly in his territory, so between now and November the 4th, John McCain can change up some of the math in some of these other states like New Hampshire, like Wisconsin. Like Iowa. He may be able to move things around in his favor. But right now, Senator John McCain has got a much longer route to the White House. A much more difficult route to the White House than Obama does. So, he really needs tonight to make a case to those independent voters to turn some of those numbers around in some of these toss-up states.

CHETRY: Absolutely. So, I mean, the way that it stands right now, he would have to almost take, he would literally take every -

ROBERTS: He would have to win every one -

CHETRY: -- single toss-up state that we have on our map.

ROBERTS: Take a look at these two very quickly, if John McCain were to win every state here and Barack Obama were to win Colorado, we'll make that one blue, that would put him over the top. So, Colorado could make the difference in this year's election.

CHETRY: We'll be waiting tonight for the third and final presidential debate. We'll be talking about it all day tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING. Hope you join us then.

ROBERTS: All right. CNN NEWSROOM with Heidi Collins starts right now.