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Nothing for Granted: Obama's New Hampshire Lesson; Battleground: Colorado; Warren Buffett: 'Be Greedy'
Aired October 17, 2008 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And happy Friday, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.
Just 18 days stand between you and the voting booth. Who will get the last laugh?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And we've talked about it. I told him, maverick I can do, but messiah is above my pay grade.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Contrary to the rumors that you've heard, I was not born in a manger. I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father Jorel to save the planet Earth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, they have been poked, ribbed, and jabbed. Now the presidential candidates zing themselves. A political roast on our menu this hour in the CNN NEWSROOM.
So let's get to it. The presidential candidates aren't joking around today. It is back to campaigning in key states as the campaign hits the home stretch.
John McCain holds a rally in Miami next hour. Florida, one of the biggest battlegrounds. And this hour Barack Obama is on the trail in Virginia. We will take you there live when it begins. Obama trying to become the first Democratic presidential candidate to win Virginia in 44 years.
Suzanne Malveaux, part of the best political team on television, she is with the Obama campaign in Roanoke, Virginia.
And Suzanne, after a night of laughs at the Al Smith charity dinner in New York, it really is back to the sprint, isn't it?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It definitely is back to business, Tony. And you bring up a very good point. This really is an ambitious thing for Barack Obama to try to do. Essentially, it's been more than four decades since they could get a Democrat to actually win this state for the presidency, but they believe that they possibly can.
He is taking his economic message here. He is reaching out to some of the conservative areas. He is also reaching out to Independents.
That is why we followed him yesterday to New Hampshire. Forty- four percent of the electorate in that state are actually Independents.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): Despite a strong debate performance and increasing leads in national and key battleground state polls, Barack Obama says he's taking nothing for granted.
OBAMA: We are 19 days away from changing this country. Nineteen days away. But for those who are getting a little cocky, I've got two words for you: New Hampshire.
MALVEAUX: New Hampshire delivered Obama a stinging and startling defeat in its January 8th primary. Polls predicted Obama would be the clear winner after his victory in Iowa, but New Hampshire chose Hillary Clinton as the favorite.
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I listened to you, and in the process, I found my own voice.
MALVEAUX: New Hampshire give Clinton the comeback she needed to revive her campaign, just like her husband's second-place finish here in 1992.
WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you very much.
MALVEAUX: The state known for its fiercely independent voters also saved John McCain's campaign in 2000 against George W. Bush, and put him ahead of the Republican pack this primary season.
At an apple orchard in Londonderry, Obama spoke directly to them.
OBAMA: New Hampshire, it is time to turn the page on eight years of economic policies that put Wall Street before Main Street, but ended up hurting both.
MALVEAUX: Obama also seized on pivotal moments from his final debate with McCain.
MCCAIN: My old buddy Joe...
... "Joe the Plumber"...
... people like "Joe the Plumber." To "Joe the Plumber," Joe, you're rich. Congratulations.
MALVEAUX: He poked fun at McCain for repeatedly addressing a plumber Obama met on the campaign trail.
OBAMA: He's trying to suggest that a plumber is the guy he's fighting for.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: How many plumbers do you know making $250,000 a year?
MALVEAUX: And Obama continued to press that McCain would be no different than President Bush.
OBAMA: I'm not running against George Bush. I'm running against all those policies of George Bush that you support, Senator McCain.
MALVEAUX: Obama's campaign launched a new TV ad to back it up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You may not be George Bush, but...
MCCAIN: I voted with the president over 90 percent of the time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Tony, Barack Obama is going to be speaking shortly. You may hear the crowd getting excited. They're doing the wave across the stadium here.
It is notable that this is the first time that Barack Obama or John McCain has visited Roanoke. It is really a conservative area. So Barack Obama has to work bit harder here.
It's notable that this stadium is not completely packed, not completely full. We usually see all the stadiums completely full. So obviously, he's going to try to win over some of the voters, the Independents and the social conservative, but don't think that John McCain is giving up on Virginia. He's going to be here tomorrow in Prince William County to try and cut into Barack Obama's lead -- Tony.
HARRIS: Suzanne, I'm sorry. We didn't hear a word of what you just said. No, I'm just kidding.
Suzanne Malveaux from Roanoke, Virginia.
Suzanne, good to see you. Thanks.
Colorado hasn't voted for a Democrat for president in 16 years. Barack Obama leads John McCain in the latest polls, but the race is tight. And Hispanic voters could be the deciding factor.
Dan Simon now, part of CNN's battleground coverage from crucial states. He reports from Denver.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lunchtime at Denver's La Casita restaurant, a place known for its tamales. But owner Paul Sandoval has as much passion for politics as he does for spicy food. A former state senator and Barack Obama supporter, he says he knows his demographics.
PAUL SANDOVAL, RESAURANT OWNER: In all honesty, I think Senator McCain scores better on immigration than Senator Obama. That's my personal opinion. That's the opinion of a lot of people. But on the economics and education, no question that Obama scores better.
SIMON: Hispanics make up 20 percent of Colorado's population, about 12 percent of the registered voters. Most vote Democratic. Republicans are trying to win over some of those voters.
(on camera): If McCain is going to win Colorado, does he have to do well with Hispanics?
SANDOVAL: He has to do extremely well. Not well. Extremely well. Simply because it being a swing state.
SIMON (voice-over): We asked this Latina voter Vivian Hansen, a registered Independent and McCain supporter, what the Arizona senator could do to gain more Hispanic voters.
VIVIAN HANSEN, MCCAIN SUPPORTER: Say to them, I'm speaking to the middle class, just as Obama did. You know, he says some great things, but he doesn't direct that to them. And so they're kind of feeling like, you don't really see us.
SIMON: Those decidedly for Obama said things like this as to why they're supporting him...
DAVID LOPEZ, OBAMA SUPPORTER: Just his positivity. You know? He just -- he seems like he's more focused. You know, he may not have the experience that McCain or any of that, but, you know, he has a political background also. So, you know, he's done some things in his time.
SIMON: The McCain campaign says it has stepped up efforts in large Hispanic areas in the state, including Pueblo County, south of Denver. It has a tendency to be more conservative.
TOM KISE, MCCAIN CAMPAIGN: George Bush didn't win the county, but it's a county that we're going to compete in, and we're going to compete aggressively and vigorously in.
SIMON: Nine electoral votes are up for grabs in Colorado, and one constituency could possibly decide it all.
(on camera): Early voting here begins next week, and more evidence that this is perceived as a critical state to the GOP, Governor Palin expected to campaign in the state on Monday. And Senator McCain also expected to stump here at least one more time between now and Election Day.
Dan Simon, CNN, Denver.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And some news just in to CNN. The United States Supreme Court now has weighed in on possible voter registration irregularities in Ohio. The Supreme Court is siding with Ohio's top elections officials in a dispute with the state Republican Party over voter registration.
The justices today overruled a federal appeals court that had ordered Ohio's top elections official to do more to help counties verify voter eligibility. The secretary of state in Ohio faced a deadline, and the deadline actually today to set up a system to provide local officials with names of newly registered voters whose driver's license numbers or Social Security numbers on voter registration forms -- it gets convoluted here -- don't match records in other government databases. So the Supreme Court siding with the secretary of state in Ohio that the deadline was onerous.
So there you have it. The U.S. Supreme Court weighing in on the story that we've been following for weeks now of possible voter registration irregularities in Ohio.
Check out our Political Ticker for all the latest campaign news. Just another reminder here. Just log on to CNNPolitics.com. It is your source for all things political.
President Bush trying to again calm your fears about the financial mess. Speaking this morning at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the president said Americans can be confident government actions will work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I know many Americans have reservations about the government's approach, especially about allowing the government to hold shares in private banks. As a strong believer in free markets, I would oppose such measures under ordinary circumstances, but these are not ordinary circumstances. We took this measure as a last resort.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, billionaire investor Warren Buffett says it is time to be greedy with Wall Street stocks. At fire sale prices, Buffett says he is buying, and you should, too.
CNN's Christine Romans is at the New York business desk for us.
Well, Christine, when the Oracle of Omaha speaks, most listen.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We sure do. And you know why, Tony? Because remember back in the dot-com boom and people said, why isn't Warren Buffett buying stocks? I mean, he is missing the boat here, this is a new economy. Come on. And he said, I just don't understand these companies. I can't invest in -- I just don't understand the economics of what's happening here. And you know, he was right.
Well, he's got an awful lot of credibility. He is the world's most famous and probably successful investor. And when he says it's time to start buying stocks, people definitely, definitely take notice.
What is he saying? He said in an op-ed in "The New York Times," you know, "Buy American. I am." He said his personal account chockfull of United States treasuries, and now he's going to start deploying those assets to buy stocks.
He says, "Why? Well, a simple rule dictates my buying. Be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful." And he notes there's an awful lot of fear out there, Tony.
HARRIS: Yes.
ROMANS: I mean, we've seen it when you watch these numbers. There's an awful lot of fear out there, and he said all of this bad news makes opportunities for people. And he said if you're stashing your cash, it might feel good right now, but in the long term, that cash isn't going to do very much for you. It's not going to create wealth, it's not going to create more money for you. So he's in very simple terms saying why he wants to buy stocks.
Now, he says in the near term, he can't say the stock market is going to go up. He doesn't promise that. He just says that longer term, five years, 10 years, he thinks the health of some of these companies is going to be good and those investments are going to pay off.
And we know that in the near term it's rough. Right?
We've got a housing starts number today that was rough again. Housing starts down more than 6 percent. And that's reflecting the reality in the housing market. There are a lot of unsold homes out there right now.
HARRIS: That's right.
ROMANS: People are paying much lower prices for the homes when they are doing a sale. We're still having a credit crunch here. So a lot of things to work through, but Uncle Warren is confident, and at least that's something positive to talk about in this gloom and doom economic scenario, right?
HARRIS: I'd be more than happy to buy some stocks if he'll offer a bit of a loan to me.
ROMANS: Yes, I wish I had an account that was full of treasuries that I could start buying stocks. But I'm afraid I don't.
HARRIS: Yes, exactly. All right, Christine. Thank you. ROMANS: You're welcome.
HARRIS: A story we first brought you as breaking news last hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, bomb squads and emergency crews right now on the scene of an explosion in Georgia. The blast happened about two hours ago at a law firm near downtown Dalton. That's about 70 miles north of Atlanta.
Witnesses say the blast wounded several people at the McCamy Law Firm. Windows of the building were blown out. Schools in the area are on lockdown.
First pictures here of the scene. A local newspaper reports officials of a person in custody and are questioning him right now.
White ties and tall tales. Presidential candidates go at each other for political laughs at a charity dinner in New York. Ahead, Barack Obama's standup.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Bringing on the laughs. Now, last hour we brought you the funny side of John McCain, appearing last night at the annual Al Smith charity dinner in New York. Now here is Barack Obama's turn at the mike.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OBAMA: It is an honor to be here with Al Smith.
I obviously never knew your great grandfather, but from everything that Senator McCain has told me, the two of them had a great time together before Prohibition. So -- wonderful stories.
The mayor of this great city, Michael Bloomberg, is here. The mayor recently announced some news -- made some news by announcing he's going to be rewriting the rules and running for a third term, which caused Bill Clinton to say, you can do that?
(LAUGHTER)
The president's better half, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, is here.
I'm glad to see you made it, Hillary.
(APPLAUSE)
I'm glad to see that you made it because I heard Chuck Schumer actually tried to tell you that we really did move this event to Yankee Stadium.
(LAUGHTER)
But I'll tell you all from personal experience, Hillary Clinton is one of the toughest and most formidable presidential candidates in history. She's broken barriers. She's inspired millions. She is the -- she is the primary reason I have all this gray in my hair now. I am also glad to see that Senator Schumer is here, and I see that he's brought some of his loved ones. Those would be the folks with the cameras and the notebooks in the back of the room.
(APPLAUSE)
Of course, I am especially honored to be here tonight with my distinguished opponent, Senator John McCain. I think it is a tribute to American democracy that with two weeks left in a hard-fought election, the two of us could come together and sit down at the same dinner table without preconditions.
(LAUGHTER)
Recently, one of John's top advisers told the "Daily News" that if we keep talking about the economy, McCain's going to lose. So, tonight I'd like to talk about the economy. Given all that's happened these past few weeks on Wall Street, it feels like an odd time to be dressed up in white tie, but I must say I got a great deal, rented the whole outfit from the Treasury Department at a very good price.
(LAUGHTER)
Looking around tonight at all the gourmet food and champagne, it's clear that no expenses were spared. It's like an executive sale meeting at AIG. But I don't need to tell any of you that it's been a scary time on the stock market, with people losing their investments, their entire fortunes. It's gotten so bad Bloomberg now has to take the subway.
(LAUGHTER)
And while the collapse of the housing market's been tough on every single homeowner, I think we all need to recognize that this crisis has been eight times harder on John McCain.
(LAUGHTER)
You know, we've been debating a lot these economic issues over the course of the campaign, but lately things have been getting a bit tougher. In the last few weeks, John's been out on the campaign trail and asked the question, who is Barack Obama? I have to admit I was a little surprised by this question. The answer is right there on my Facebook page.
But, look, I don't want to be coy about this. We're a couple weeks from an important election. Americans have a big choice to make, and if anybody feels like they don't know me by now, let me try to give you some answers.
Who is Barack Obama? Contrary to the rumors you have heard, I was not born in a manger.
(LAUGHTER)
I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father Jorel to save the Planet Earth.
(APPLAUSE)
Many of you -- many of you know that I got my name, Barack, from my father. What you may not know is Barack is actually Swahili for that one. And I got my middle name from somebody who obviously didn't think I'd ever run for president.
(LAUGHTER)
If I had to name my greatest strength, I guess it would be my humility. Greatest weakness, it's possible that I'm a little too awesome. One other thing, I have never, not once, put lipstick on a pig or a pit bull or myself. Rudy Giuliani, that's one for you. I mean, who would have thought that a cross-dressing mayor from New York City would have a tough time running the Republican nomination? It's shocking.
(LAUGHTER)
That was a tough primary you had there, John.
Anyway, that's who I really am. But in the spirit of full disclosure, there are a few October surprises you'll be finding out about in the coming weeks. First of all, my middle name is not what you think. It's actually Steve. That's right. Barack Steve Obama.
Here's another revelation. John McCain is on to something. There was a point in my life when I started palling around with a pretty ugly crowd.
I've got to be honest, these guys were serious deadbeats. They were low-lifes. They were unrepentant, no-good punks. That's right, I've been a member of the United States Senate.
(LAUGHTER)
Come to think of it, John, I swear I saw you at one of our meetings.
But I know Senator McCain agrees that some of the rumors out there are getting a bit crazy. I mean, Rupert the other day, FOX News, actually accused me of fathering two African-American children in wedlock.
(LAUGHTER)
By the way, John, I'm just curious, is Fox News included in the media? Because I'm always hearing about this love. Just curious.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: There you have it, Barack Obama last night in New York.
Comedy also coming from Sarah Palin. "Saturday Night Live" won't need to impersonate the vice presidential candidate. Thamp getting the real thing this weekend.
No word yet if Palin look-alike Tina Fey will also appear on the show. Fey has made three appearances on "SNL" as the VP candidate, and they've ban huge success for the show.
Ready to hang up on all those political messages you're getting during the dinner hour? Well, you are not alone.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: On the attack, John McCain leading the race when it comes to the robo-call wars.
Veronica De La Cruz joins us now with details from the Web.
And Veronica, it sounds like some of these call are pretty tough.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, pretty tough, and they are getting worse and worse. And the blogs have been reporting the McCain campaign has been launching a series of these attacks calls.
Take a listen, Tony. This is what some of them sound like.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello. I'm calling for John McCain and the RNC, because you need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: The blog "Talking Point Memo" claims to have documented for of these types of calls. They range from one that questions Barack Obama's patriotism by claiming he attended a Hollywood fund-raiser instead of heading back to Washington to focus on the financial crisis.
There's also a message, Tony, saying you can't trust Obama or Democrats. There's one that questions Obama's stance on abortion. And then there's the one that we just heard, linking Obama to Bill Ayers.
Now, according to a blog at Wire.com, the McCain camp appears to be using these automated phone attacks at a rate three times higher than the Obama campaign. Sean Dakin (ph), who's an anti-robo-call activist in Virginia, says he compiled data that shows the McCain campaign has launched 12 different robo-call attacks in the past month and a half, compared to Obama's four.
The McCain campaign placed these calls to voters in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Virginia and Wisconsin. Obama's campaign has called voters in Kansas and Missouri.
And of course we got that off of Wire.com. Now, needless to say, Tony, people aren't really happy about this. We found this on the blog Daily Kos. This is Laura Thorne in North Carolina. She writes, "My 7-year-old daughter just answered our phone to hear a recorded call about Obama and terrorists bombing government buildings. She didn't know what was going on and she got terribly upset. I pulled the phone from her hands and listened to the last little bit of it. It was disgusting."
So, you know, what can you do about this? Depending on what state you live in, Tony, some of these calls might be illegal. They may be violating the law.
So if you are being bothered by these automated phone messages from either candidate, take the time, register on this registry. It is the National Political Do Not Call Registry. You can register your home phone, you can also register your cell phone. And the Web address is stoppoliticalcalls.org -- Tony.
HARRIS: Wow. OK. Veronica, great to see you. Have a good weekend.
DE LA CRUZ: You, too.
HARRIS: A drop in oil prices could mean an economic stimulus for you, unless OPEC changes the game.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: I've got to tell you, just an uneven day on Wall Street today. But we've been seeing that all week, haven't we, over the last couple of weeks really. We were in positive territory for much of the morning. And then we slipped. And, you know, there's some uncertain news there on housing market. A new report there is a bit discouraging. But as you can see, the Dow is responding to a bunch of economic news now. Down just better than two points. We'll continue to follow the market. OK, down five. We'll continue to follow the market with Susan Lisovicz throughout the day right here in the NEWSROOM.
You know, in these tough economic times, we're all looking for some economic help. Of all places, it could come at the gas pump where falling prices could mean a little more money in your pocket. Cnnmoney.com's Poppy Harlow has our "Energy Fix" for Friday from New York.
Poppy, good to see you. Yes, maybe a little more money to cover our rising food costs and maybe attack some of that credit card debt.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COOM: All of that, Tony.
Some good news for everyone out there this Friday. We're talking about falling gas prices. Let's look back at those$600 stimulus checks that a lot of people out there got. Those were all part of the nearly $170 billion stimulus package from our federal government. But an even bigger stimulus may come from what you are not paying at the gas station. Yesterday we saw oil fall below $70 a barrel. We haven't seen that in about 14 months. Now the Energy Policy Research Foundation says the recent slide in crude prices could add up to at least $275 billion in stimulus. That's a lot more than those checks were worth.
The big question is why? Well, every time we fill our gas tanks, it's money that we are not spending somewhere else. The average American buys 500 gallons of gas every single year. At $4 a gallon, that's $2,000 a year. Remember, this summer, in July, the national average was $4.11. In some places it was a lot more than that. At $3 a gallon, that's $1,500 a year. So you're saving about $500 on average right now. The current average today, from AAA, $3.04 a gallon.
Here's some good news, Tony. Gas prices down now for 30 straight days.
HARRIS: Love it. You know, and that's just one place where we use oil. When you think about it, there are a lot of other places.
HARLOW: A lot of other places. It doesn't (ph) count in the savings you'll probably see in your home heating bill this winter. It will be a little bit more expensive, but not as much as people were fearing when we saw those record high gas prices and oil prices. It also doesn't count the amount of money it saves businesses to ship their everyday items.
When you buy something at Wal-Mart, for example, what you're paying -- part of what you're paying is that shipping cost. Part of that includes the oil prices it takes. As oil prices fall, we could see the prices of some everyday items fall, or at least they won't rise as quickly, hopefully.
And, of course, keep this in mind. OPEC could change all of these scenarios. They have called an emergency meeting to boost production. Possibly that meeting taking place next week. We'll be on top of it.
Tony.
HARRIS: All right. Hey, you know, Poppy, don't go anywhere yet. You know, before I say good-bye, when I introduced you a bit earlier, what was wrong with me? I lost my mind. I really didn't give you a proper introduction. Maybe something like this would be more fitting.
HARLOW: Oh, no.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED MCMAHON, TV PERSONALITY: Now, ladies and gentlemen, here's Poppy!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Come on! You and the icon there. Ed McMahon. What prompted that? And a high five to boot. HARLOW: A high five to boot. That was yesterday. I interviewed him. And our executive producer completely set me up. But it was great. And the whole newsroom erupted in applause. It was great.
HARRIS: That's terrific. Nice moment. You rock. Poppy, have a great weekend. Thanks.
HARLOW: You, too, Tony.
HARRIS: Oh, OK. An I-Reporter gets up close and personal with a presidential campaign, brings back pictures to share with all of us. OK, let's take this trip. Strap in now. This tends to be a bit of a fast and bumpy ride here. Let's head on down to cnn.com I-Report desk. Why don't we check in now with one of the guys helping us run things down there at our I-Report operation, "Tyson's Corner" we're talking about here, Tyson Wheatley.
Tyson, good to see you.
TYSON WHEATLEY, PRODUCER, CNN.COM: Good to see you, Tony.
HARRIS: I loved this story from a couple of days ago from Long Island. The site of the debate. Tell us the story here. This is pretty cool.
WHEATLEY: Yes, this is really cool. For actually a Hofstra University student named Jeremy Rappaport. He got a chance actually to get up close and personal with the Obama campaign. In fact, he got to be a part of the motorcade. He actually got to drive one of the SUVs on this motorcade. And, you know, he was selected by the campaign workers ahead of time. And he actually was assigned to drive, what was called staff one, which was -- he was driving Obama's top advisor, David Axelrod . . .
HARRIS: No kidding.
WHEATLEY: And campaign manager David Plouffe, from LaGuardia Airport to the debate on Wednesday from Hofstra University. You know, he gave us some interesting anecdotes. You know, kind of behind the scenes. Not everybody gets to see this sort of up close, behind the scenes. He told us that the staff members referred to Axelrod as Ax. What's interesting, though, is, you know, he didn't actually get to see the debate. He had to listen to it on the car radio, MPR.
HARRIS: Nice. Pretty cool. Pretty cool.
Now what is this other people of I-Report magic you have here. I'll let you explain this next video folks are going to see.
WHEATLEY: Well, actually, this next story actually comes to us out of Bedford, Massachusetts. And these are some photos. And let's go ahead and take a look at them. This is kind of . . .
HARRIS: Look at this.
WHEATLEY: A scary scene, actually. HARRIS: Yes.
WHEATLEY: This is a car that has plowed into a hair salon there in Bedford, Massachusetts. I-Reporter John Sullivan lives nearby and he was about five minutes after, able to be on the scene and took these pictures. This is, you know, this is an example of a really hyperlocal story that someone has captured and has been able to share with us. Probably wasn't on our radar.
HARRIS: Right. Right.
WHEATLEY: But the good news here is that no one was injured. But it was actually kind of a close call for some people. Authorities tell us that the car narrowly miss a few of the patrons. And one of the hair-stylists actually.
HARRIS: Well, do we know what happened? Did the driver just loose control? Distracted? Or, you know, we often hear that in these accidents.
WHEATLEY: Well, what we understand, it was human error. We're not really sure exactly what happened. I'm guessing it wasn't just to get a little, to get a trim.
HARRIS: All right, Tyson, what's today's assignment?
WHEATLEY: Today's assignment is something really fun, Tony. Check it out. The Ohio Art Company. These are the makers of the Etch-a-sketch. They're turning 100 this month. And so we wanted to do something really fun. We want to see your best Etch-a-sketch creation.
HARRIS: You just happen to have one of these? Oh, look at that. Oh, you guys are so clever down there. You young people there that rock, dot com.
WHEATLEY: Yes, check this out. This was a friend of one of our great developers. His name is Jim Smith. He made this for us. It must have taken him hours. It's really an amazing thing. This is an example of what we want to see from our viewers. So something fun for Friday. Hopefully we'll get something cool.
HARRIS: That's cool. All right, Tyson, appreciate it. Have a great weekend.
WHEATLEY: You, too. Take care.
HARRIS: See you on Monday.
Barack Obama is already winning one battle against John McCain in a big way. The air war. Obama's daily spending on TV campaign ads is three times more than John McCain's. At this rate, Obama is on track to spend more than -- listen to this -- $110 million on campaign commercials this month. That's according to CNN's consultant on political advertising. Obama is spending another $1 million or more on 30-minute ads to air on October 29th. If you have a son or daughter with their thumbs flying over video game controls right now, take a little time to watch. You just may catch a bit of a glimpse of a Barack Obama campaign ad. Here's CNN's Susan Roesgen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Full throttle in a place called paradise. In this new xBox video game calmed "Burnout Paradise" you've got a lot to watch out for. But if you could slow down enough to see it, why, look who's on that billboard. Could it be Senator Barack Obama urging you to vote. And here he is again in a basketball video game.
EVAN TRACEY, CAMPAIGN MEDIA ANALYST: First of all, I think it's clear evidence that the Obama campaign has more money than they know what to do with.
ROESGEN: In fact, Obama has raised nearly twice as much in campaign funds at Senator John McCain. According to the Obama campaign, the ads are supposed to encourage players to register to vote. But the ads only appear in games that are distributed in 10 battleground states. And talk about change. Campaign media analyst Evan Tracey says video games are a new way to reach the next generation. If Obama can get people to stop playing long enough to vote.
TRACEY: This is a captive audience. You know, the other risk is that they're going to stay in and play games and not vote. So I think what they're really trying to do is sort of a subtle -- a subtle, gentle reminder to turn off the games on Election Day and get out and vote.
ROESGEN: Even better might be to put Obama and McCain themselves in those virtual cars and see who leads whom in the dust.
Susan Roesgen, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And back to the economy now. Lost job, lost incomes and growing numbers on food stamps. More and more Americans trying to make ends meet.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And quickly now, let's send you to Roanoke, Virginia, where Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama is holding a rally.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am so grateful to the great state of -- to the great commonwealth of Virginia for sending to the United States Senate a warrior on behalf of working families all across America. Please give it up for Senator Jim Webb.
And I also want to thank this congressional district for having the wisdom to continually re-elect one of the finest gentleman that I would ever care to meet. Please give a huge round of applause to Congressman Rick Bousher.
I want to also acknowledge Delegate Ensly Weir (ph). Thank you so much, Ensly. And although they are not here today, I want to make sure that everybody knows that I love your current governor, Tim Kaine. And I want you to know that I love your soon to be United States senator, Mark Warner.
This is a good-looking crowd here. This is a nice crowd. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to take just a quick sip of water because I didn't know when it was going to be finished and I just -- I just chewed some almonds. I was getting a little hungry. Now all right.
You know, we meet at a great moment of uncertainty for America. The economic crisis we face is the worst since the Great Depression. As the stock markets plummeted, millions of Americans have opened up their 401(k) statements to see that so much of their hard-earned savings have disappeared. A lot of people, they just haven't been able to save at all.
The credit crisis has left businesses large and small unable to get loans. Which means they can't buy new equipment, or hire new workers, or even make payroll for the workers that they've got. And in households across the country, it's getting harder and harder to get a loan for that new car or that start-up business, or that college that you've dreamed of attending. You know, wages are lower than they've been in nearly a decade. You're paying more for everything from gas to groceries, but your paychecks have flat lined.
So, Roanoke, I know these are difficult times. I know folks are worried. But I am convinced that we can steer ourselves out of this crisis, because I believe in this country. Because this is the United States of America. This is a nation that's faced down war and depression, great challenges and great threats, and the American story has never been about things coming easy. It's been about rising to the moment, when the moment is hard.
Young lady, you're going to fall right there. You get down. Get down. Get down. Get down there. I don't want you falling.
Now, America can meet this moment. We have the most talented, most productive workers of any country on earth. We're home to innovation and technology, colleges and universities. I know Virginia Tech is in the house. Colleges and universities that are the envy of the world. Some of the biggest, brightest ideas in history have come from our small businesses and our research facilities. So it won't be easy, but there's no reason we can't make this century another American century.
But, Virginia, I also know this. It will take a new direction. It will take new leadership in Washington. It will take a real change in the policies and politics of the last eight year. And that is why I am running for president of the United States of America.
You know, I'm pretty sure that America's ready for change. I'm sure Virginia's ready for change. You know -- but it's not just Virginia. I was in Ohio a couple of days ago. Last week. And I was -- I was traveling with -- I was traveling with the governor of Ohio, Ted Strickland. Wonderful man. We were down in southern Ohio. And we went into this small town called Georgetown, Ohio, because we hungry and we needed a snack. And I decided that I wanted some pie.
So we asked, where's the best pie around here? And they pointed us to this diner. We went to this diner. And we go in there and we wanted to see what kind of pie they had. And I like sweet potato pie, but they didn't have -- they did not have sweet potato pie.
You can make sweet potato pie? All right. I might have to try some of your pie.
They didn't have sweet potato pie. So I had to -- they had mostly cream pies. I got some coconut cream pie. Ted Strickland, he got lemon meringue pie. So as we're waiting for our pie, some of the employees said, senator, take a picture with us, because our owner is a die-hard Republican. And so we want to kind of -- we want to poke him a little bit. So I said, I'm happy to take a picture.
I'm taking the picture. Suddenly the owner comes out with our pie. And I say, sir, I understand you are a die-hard Republican. He said, yes, I am. I said, how's business? And he said, not so good. He said, my customers can't afford to eat out right now.
I said, well, I'm just curious, who's been running the economy for the last eight years? He said, I guess the Republicans have. I said, if you just keep hitting your head against a wall over and over again and it starts to hurt, at some point do you stop hitting it against the wall? He said, I guess that would make sense. I said, you might want to try the Democrats for a change. You can't do any worse.
So Ohio's ready for change. And I think Virginia's ready for change.
But even as we face the most serious economic crisis of our time, even as you're worried about keeping your jobs or paying your bills or staying in your homes, my opponent's campaign announced earlier this month that they want to "turn the page on the discussion of our economy" so they can spend the final weeks of this election attacking me instead. Senator McCain's campaign actually said, and I quote, if we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose.
Well, Virginia, here's what Senator McCain doesn't seem to understand. With the economy -- that's not true. All right.
With the economy in turmoil, and the American dream at risk, the American people don't want to hear politicians attack one another. You want to hear about how we're going to attack the challenges facing the middle class each and every day.
You want to hear about the issues that matter in your lives. You want to hear about how we're going to bring about the change that we desperately need for this country. That's what the American people want to hear. So let's talk about the issues that matter.
In the debate this week, Senator McCain felt the need to inform me that he is not President Bush. Now, in fairness, Senator McCain doesn't look like President Bush. He doesn't have that Texas accent, like President Bush. And I don't blame Senator McCain for all of President Bush's mistakes. After all, he's only voted with George Bush 90 percent of the time. Ninety percent.
So it is fair to say that over the course of three debates and 20 months and over the last eight years, Senator McCain still has not offered a single thing that he would do differently from George W. Bush when it comes to the most important economic issues that we face today. Not one.
John McCain wants to keep giving tax cuts to corporations that ship your jobs overseas, just like George Bush. I want to give tax breaks to companies that create jobs right here in America.
John McCain wants to give tax cuts to Exxon Mobil and other big corporations, and their CEOs. Cuts we just can't afford. Just like George Bush. I want to give a break to 95 percent of middle class Americans. Folks who need it and deserve it.
I want to give tax breaks to the small businesses that create more than two-thirds of our jobs. That's how we'll strengthen our economy. That's how we'll grow our economy again, from the bottom up. So I know I'm not running against President Bush, but I am running against President Bush's policies. The policies John McCain has supported, the policies John McCain would continue, and that's something that we cannot afford another four years of, more George Bush economics.
Now, that is especially true when it comes to health care. Senator McCain and I have real differences on this issue. Senator McCain's been eager to share some of the details of his health care plan, but not all of them. It's like those ads for prescription drugs. You know, they start off, everybody's running in the fields and everybody's happy and then there's the little fine print that says, you know, side effects may include.
Now, first of all, we found out that Senator McCain wants to pay for his plan by taxing your health care benefits for the first time in history. Just like George Bush. That was bad enough.
But "The Wall Street Journal" recently reported that it was actually worse than we thought. It turns out Senator McCain would pay for part of his plan by making drastic cuts in Medicare. $882 billion worth. $882 billion in Medicare cuts to pay for an ill-conceived, badly thought through health care plan that won't provide more health care to people. Even though Medicare's already facing a looming shortfall.
Now, this should come as no surprise. It's entirely consistent with Senator McCain's record during his 26 years in Congress, where time and again he's opposed Medicare. In fact, Senator McCain has voted against protecting Medicare 40 times. Forty times he's failed to stand up for Medicare.
So what would Senator McCain's cuts mean for Medicare at a time when more and more Americans are relying on it? It would mean a cut of more than 20 percent in Medicare benefits next year. If you count on Medicare, it would mean fewer places to get care and less freedom to choose your own doctors. You'll pay more for your drugs. You'll receive fewer services. You'll get lower quality care.
I don't think that's right. In fact, it ain't right. When you've worked hard you whole life and pay into the system and done everything right, you shouldn't have the carpet pulled out from under you when you least expect it and can lease afford it. Health care, it ain't right. Health care shouldn't be some kind of either/or trade-off where our seniors get left out in the cold. It ain't right. I think every single American has a right to affordable, accessible health care.
So we can strengthen Medicare by eliminating wasteful subsidies to big HMOs in Medicare, making sure seniors can access home-based care, letting Medicare negotiate with drug companies for cheaper prices on their drugs. That's the kind of change we need.
So in the end, Senator McCain can keep trying to attack me and distract you, but it's not going to work. Not this time. Not now. Because, while John McCain thinks this campaign's all about me, the truth is, the campaign's about you. It's about your jobs. It's about your health care. It's about your retirements. It's about your children's future. That's what this election's about. That's what I'm fighting for!
I can take three more weeks of attacks from John McCain. America can't take four more years of the same failed policies. That's why I'm running for president of the United States of America. You know, it is...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obama! Obama! Obama!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Obama! Obama! Obama!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obama! Obama! Obama!
OBAMA: Thank you. It -- it's time to turn the page on eight years of economic policies that put Wall Street before Main Street, but end up hurting both. We need policies that grow our economy from the bottom up, so that every American, everywhere, has the chance to get ahead. Not just the person who owns the factory, but the men and women who worked on its factory floor. Not just the CEO, but the secretary and the janitor; they deserve a break, too.
Because, if we've learned anything from this economic crisis, it's that we're all connected. We're all in this together. We will rise or fall as one nation, as one people.
The rescue plan -- the rescue plan that passed Congress was a necessary first step to eating -- easing this credit crisis, and that was important, because we need to make sure businesses can still get loans, and you can get loans eventually for college and for car loans and all that stuff. But it's also important that we continue to work with governments around the globe to confront what is now a truly global crisis, and most importantly, we now need a rescue plan for the middle class.
If we're going to -- if we're going to rebuild this economy from the bottom up, it has to start on Main Street. Not just the big banks on Wall Street. That's why I've outlined several steps that we have to take right now to help -- help folks who are struggling.
First -- first, we've got to act now to create good paying jobs. We've already -- I know a few weeks back McCain said the fundamentals of the economy are strong. Where I come from, a job is pretty fundamental. And we've already lost -- we've already lost three quarters of a million jobs this year. Some experts say unemployment could rise to 8 percent or even higher by the end of next year.
That's why I've proposed a new American jobs tax credit. Each new employee that a company hires right here in the United States of America over the next two years, they will get a credit. That's how we're going to create good, new jobs here in Virginia, all across America.
Second, we need to help small businesses get back on their feet, to fuel the real engine of job creation in this country. I'll eliminate all capital gains taxes on investment in small businesses and start-up companies and provide an additional tax incentive through next year to encourage new small business investment. And I'll also make sure that small businesses can access the immediate loans they need to pay their workers and finance their inventory.
Third -- the third thing we need to do is provide relief for homeowners who are watching home values decline while their property taxes go up. The treasury must use the authority it's been granted and move aggressively to help people avoid foreclosure, and stay in their homes.
We don't need a new law or a new $300 billion giveaway to the banks, like Senator McCain proposed. We just need to act quickly and decisively for those responsible homeowners in danger of losing their home. I've proposed a three-month moratorium on foreclosures so that we give people the breathing room they need to get back on their feet.
Finally, we've got to help state and local governments that have been squeezed. Today 21 states are facing budget shortfalls, including Virginia, and they might be forced to cut services or raise taxes, which is the last thing we need when so many families are struggling. That's why I'm going to create a $25 billion fund to help states and local governments pay for health care, pay for education, police and firefighters, without having to raise your taxes. And we will save 1 million jobs by creating a jobs and growth fund that will help states and local communities move forward with projects to repair our roads and our bridges and our schools.
Now, these -- Roanoke -- these are the steps we have to take right now, to start getting our economy back on track. But we also need a whole new set of priorities for long-term economic growth. Bottom up growth depends on a tax code that doesn't just work for those folks at the top.
You've heard a lot about taxes in this campaign, but here's the truth. My opponent and I are both offering tax cuts. The difference is he wants to double down on the Bush tax policy by giving $200 billion in tax cuts to the biggest corporations of America, giving the average Fortune 500 CEO -- giving the average Fortune 500 CEO a $700,000 tax cut, but he gives nothing at all to over 100 million Americans.
Now, I've got a different set of priorities. I'll give middle class a tax cut, 95 percent of all workers, and if you make -- if you make less than $250,000 a year. How many people make less than $250,000 a year? All right. If you make less than $250,000 a year, a quarter million dollars a year, which includes 98 percent of small business owners, you won't see your taxes increase one single dime. Not your payroll tax, not your income tax, not your capital gains tax. No taxes.
