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Targetting Tossup States; Gas Prices Continue to Decrease; How Effective are Political TV Ads?

Aired October 17, 2008 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Running for president ain't cheap, especially this year. Are the unprecedented ad dollars paying off? We will do some accounting.
The job market is tough, but the Labor Department says that opportunities are good for plumbers.

Besides you know who, the you know what, which other American workers look set to ride out the bailout -- the most and least recession-proof jobs.

And, thou shall not covet thy neighbor's wife and you should not kill her out of jealousy. A sexy singer dead, a billionaire politician is on trial in this international murder mystery.

Hello everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live in the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

You're live at the CNN NEWSROOM.

We are going to take you straight to John McCain, a rally in Miami, Florida. We heard from Barack Obama in Virginia and now it is the Republicans.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... and values in America. We need it in Florida, we need it in Arizona, we need it in America.

And this secretary of Treasury has got to go out to help the American homeowners to realize the American dream, we have to buy their mortgages, let them stay in their homes with a new mortgage and save them in their homes and their families.

This admin -- this administration is not doing that. I have a plan to let retirees and people nearing retirement keep their money in their retirement accounts longer so they can rebuild their savings. I will protect Social Security so that retirees get the benefits they have earned, and I will bring both parties together to fix the Social Security so it is there for your generation as well as others.

I have a plan to hold the line on taxes and cut them to make America more competitive and create jobs here at home. Raising taxes make a bad economy much worse. Keeping taxes low creates jobs, keeps money in your hands and strengthens our economy. The explosion of government spending over the last eight years has put us deeper in debt to foreign countries that don't have our best interests at heart.

It has weakened the dollar and made everything that you buy more expensive. We have sent half a trillion dollars to China, and we have put you $10 trillion in debt. I guarantee you that the first earmark pork-barrel bill that comes across my desk, I will veto it. I will make them famous.

If I'm elected president, Senator Obama wants to spend nearly $1 trillion more of your money.

(BOOING)

MCCAIN: On top of the $700 billion that we just gave the treasury secretary as Senator Obama proposes. He can't do that without raising your taxes or digging us further into debt.

I am going to make government live on a budget just like you do.

I will freeze government spending on all but the most important programs like defense, veterans care, Social Security and health care until we scrub every single government program and get rid of the ones that are not working for the American people.

I will veto those bills that Congress passes.

I want to pause for a minute to say thanks to the veterans who are here today. Thank you! Raise your hands.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, thank you.

CROWD: USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!

MCCAIN: If I am elected president, if I am elected president, I won't fine small businesses and families with children as Senator Obama proposes to force them into a huge new government-run health care program while he keeps the cost of the fine a secret until he hits you with it.

I will bring down the skyrocketing cost of health care with competition and choice to lower your premiums and make it more available to Americans. I will make sure you can keep the same health plan if you change jobs or leave a job to stay in your home.

I will provide every single American family with a $5,000 refundable tax credit to help them purchase insurance. Workers who already have health care insurance from the employers will keep it and have more money to cover costs. Workers who don't have health insurance can use it to find a policy in this country anywhere to meet the basic needs.

If I am elected president, I won't raise taxes on small businesses. As Senator Obama proposes to force them to cut jobs and I will keep small business taxes where they are and help them to keep the costs low and let them spend their earnings to create more jobs. Don't give it to the government.

If I am elected president, I won't meet unconditionally with the Castro brothers while they keep people in jail, stifle free media and block free elections in Cuba. When I am president, we are going to pressure the Cuban government to free these people.

(APPLAUSE)

The day is coming when Cuba will be free! I will open -- I will open new markets for goods made in America and make sure that trade is free and fair, and I will make sure that we help workers who have lost a job that won't come back to find a new one that won't go away. If I am elected president, I won't make it harder to sell our goods overseas and kill more jobs as Senator Obama proposes, I will open up new markets to goods made in America and make sure our trade is free and fair and I will make sure ...

(APPLAUSE)

... we help workers who have lost workers that have lost a job to come back and find a new one that won't go away. My friends, the last person to raise taxes and restrict trade in a bad economy as Senator Obama proposes was Herbert Hoover, and he brought us into a depression ...

(BOOING)

They say that those who don't learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them. Well, my friends, I know history. And I sure won't make the mistakes that Senator Obama will.

(APPLAUSE)

If I am elected president, we are going to stop sending $700 billion to countries that don't like us very much -- including Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.

CROWD: Drill, baby, drill! Drill, baby, drill! Drill, baby, drill! Drill, baby, drill! Drill, baby, drill!

MCCAIN: Did you hear Senator Obama in the debate, he said, when conditions, conditions are met, my friends over here on the left just said, drill now, drill here, drill, baby, drill.

CROWD: Drill, baby, drill! Drill, baby, drill! Drill, baby, drill!

MCCAIN: I won't -- I won't argue to delay drilling for more oil and gas and building new nuclear power plants in America as Senator Obama does. As I said, we will start it now. We want to invest in all energy alternatives, nuclear, wind, solar and tide and we will encourage -- we will encourage the manufacturer of hybrid, flex fuel and electric automobiles, we will invest in clean coal technology and we will lower the cost of energy within months, and we will create millions of new jobs in this country.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, my friends, let me just end up by giving you some more straight talk. Let me give you the state of the race today. We have 18 days to go, we are six points down. And the national media has written us off.

(BOOING)

Senator Obama is measuring the drapes and planning with Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid to raise your taxes, increase spending ...

(BOOING)

... and take away your right to vote by secret ballot in labor and elections, and concede defeat in Iraq. But you know what? They forgot to let you decide.

(APPLAUSE)

My friends, my friends, as it has been in other races, we have got them just where we want them.

What America needs now in this hour is a fighter, someone who puts all of his cards on the table and trusts the judgment of the American people.

I come from a long line of McCains who believed that to love America is to fight for it.

(APPLAUSE)

CROWD: USA! USA! USA! USA!

MCCAIN: I fought for you most of my life.

CROWD: USA! USA! USA! USA!

MCCAIN: There are other ways to love this country, but I have never been the kind to do it from the sidelines.

(APPLAUSE)

MCCAIN: I know you are worried. America is a great country, but we are at a moment of national crisis that will determine our future. Will we continue to lead the world's economies or will it be overtaken? Will the world become safer or more dangerous? Will the military remain the strongest in the world?

(APPLAUSE)

Will our children, will our children and our grandchildren's future be brighter than ours? My answer to you is yes, yes, we will prosper, yes, we will be safer, yes, we will pass on to our children a stronger, better country, but we must be prepared to act swiftly, boldly with courage and wisdom.

I know what fear feels like, it is a thief in the night that robs your strength and I know what hopelessness feels like. It is an enemy that defeats your will. I felt those things once before, and I will never let them in again.

(APPLAUSE)

I'm an American, and I choose to fight. Don't give up hope. Be strong and have courage and fight. Fight for a new direction for our country. Fight for what is right for American. Fight to clean up the mess of corruption and selfishness and infighting in Washington and fight for us to get the economy out of the ditch and back in the lead, and fight for the ideals and the character of a free people and fight for children's future and fight for justice and opportunity for all, and stand up for the defend our country from its enemies. Stand up, stand up and fight. America is worth fighting for. Nothing is inevitable here. We never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history, we make history. Now, let's go win this election and get this country moving again!

(APPLAUSE)

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, I will tell you what, this is John McCain live in Miami at a rally, and fired up probably not like we have seen him fired up in a really long time. And then if you saw Barack Obama in Roanoke, Virginia, same thing. I mean, you can tell that it is getting close to voting day, less than two weeks away now, and both candidates on the trail.

The rallies are definitely getting more exciting, more vibrant and we will be taking them all live of course as they happen.

Well, in this time of financial crisis we are getting used to hearing about multibillion dollar spending plans, but the huge dollar amounts thrown around in the race for the White House will stop you in your tracks.

Consider these spending numbers by the men who want to oversee the economy. Barack Obama on track to outspend John McCain 3 to 1 on campaign advertising. In October, alone, Obama is expected to spend $110 million on ads. That doesn't include his 30-minute commercial set to run in primetime just before Election Day.

Now, John McCain for his part is making a late $70 million spending push in at least six battleground states. That is $70 million will also pay for a huge Republican Party effort to get out of the vote. Including a wave of phone calls blasting Barack Obama on several fronts including the past ties to 1960s radical Bill Ayers.

Now, party sources say that the calls are being made in half a dozen states including Virginia, North Carolina and Ohio.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) MCCAIN CAMPAIGN ROBOCALL: 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 whose organization bombed the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon and a judge's home and killed Americans. Democrats will enact an extreme leftist agenda if they take control of Washington. Barack Obama and his Democratic allies lack the judgment to read this country.

This call was paid for by McCain-Palin 2008 and the Republican National Committee at 202-863-8500.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, Obama has repeatedly distanced himself from Bill Ayers who is now a professor in Chicago. And an Obama spokesman called the phone calls dishonorable and dishonest.

Now coming up a bit later I am going to talk with an advertising expert. Do these political ads even work? He has actually worked on political campaigns and what are the candidates really getting for their money. He will have it laid out for us.

And now it's a major decision for the Supreme Court that only adds to the tension in this compelling presidential election. The justices in Washington have sided with Ohio's secretary of state in a dispute with Republicans over voter registrations.

Now the justices overruled an appeals court order for the secretary to beef up verification of voter registrations. Ohio, of course, an important presidential toss up. CNN's Mary Snow is in Ohio and will join us later in the hour.

Meanwhile, John McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin hammering Barack Obama over the group known as ACORN. That group now accused of voter registration irregularities in several states, including Ohio. While Obama denies any direct ties to group, Palin had this to say in a campaign stop in Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. SARAH PALIN, (R) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As for ACORN and voter fraud, now, they are under federal investigation, and John and I are calling on the Obama campaign to release communications that it has had with this group and to do so immediately.

And we are asking for this not picking on someone or someone's campaign, but we are asking this in fairness to all of you, the American voters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: More information now on ACORN. The name stands for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. On its Web site, the group describes itself as a grassroots community organization of low and moderate income people. It boasts 400,000 member families and chapters in 110 cities. The group says that it has helped more than 1.7 million people register to vote since 2004.

From now until Election Day, we are turning the attention to those tossup states and the leaning states who will lead the Oval Office. Today the focus is on the State of Florida. It is the biggest tossup state left on the map with 27 electoral votes at stake on Election Day.

But there are some other key states are left in play as well. Here is CNN's John Roberts in New York with a look at the big picture -- John.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, first of all let's take look at the presidential travel today. This is where Senator Barack Obama is. The city of Roanoke in southwestern Virginia, we will shrink the map down and show you why this is significant.

It is a little tiny island of blue in an enormous sea of red. 2004 election this was territory that was won handily by President Bush over John Kerry. So Barack Obama has been working this area down here to increase the margins and turn the Commonwealth of Virginia blue for the first time since 1964.

John McCain today is going to be in South Florida, he is going to be in Miami, a big Cuban vote there in Miami and traditionally votes republican and that is a small Republican area in an enormous sea of blue, here Monroe, Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties, very, very heavily Democratic.

Later on today he is going to be up here in Monroe, Brevard County. That is George Bush territory in 2004. He won it 58-42 percent over John Kerry.

His running mate Sarah Palin is going to be up today in the Midwest. She is going to be here in Ohio as well as Indiana. And she is also making a stop here in the southern part of Pennsylvania, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the extreme western suburbs of Philadelphia and that was George Bush territory, as well, in 2004, winning 66-34 percent over John Kerry.

It is a very, very tough, tough road for John McCain and we will take a look at the electoral map to show you why. Here is the current lay of the land. Barack Obama leads 277 electoral votes to 174 for John McCain with 270 needed to win the White House. So that if the election were held today, Barack Obama would theoretically win. So here is what John McCain needs to do, is to take all of the red states in 2004 which are tossups like Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Missouri, Colorado and Nevada and make them red again and it is still doesn't get him far enough.

So he has to play up in states like Maine where the system of counting electoral votes is such that he could peel off one vote there or maybe two vote even though Senator Obama wins the overall voting.

He has to play in states like New Hampshire and he has try to win in Pennsylvania and some people say it is out of reach. He also has to play here in Virginia and try Wisconsin and try Minnesota. Iowa and as well New Mexico, because if he manages to turn one of the states back to red, he goes over. If he turns Wisconsin red, he goes over the line. If he turns Minnesota red, he goes over the line. So it is very important for him to try to pull some of the states back from Senator Obama as well as defending in those traditional Republican red states from 2004 and a lot of work he has to do, Kyra that he has got to do over the next 18 days.

PHILLIPS: John Roberts, thanks.

And they are young and they are pretty fired up, but will they be the deciding factor on Election Day? We are going to go live to Miami where John Zarrella has been listening to what the young voters there have to say there.

And if you are looking for a job that is safe from recession, well, think pipes. Opportunities are there for plumbers in the bad economy and not just a guy named Joe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, it was another volatile day on wall street. The Dow was down 260 points earlier, but now we are seeing a very nice turn around. Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange keeping track of all of the turmoil. Hey, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hey, Kyra, whether you call it erratic or uneven or volatile, it is the new normal on Wall Street. And we are seeing it play out again. Yesterday we had an 800-point swing between the highs and lows and today it is 500 which is pretty calm compared to a week ago when we had a 1,000-point swing.

We opened lower and had a crummy housing sector report on home construction going to a 17-year low. Consumer confidence, the biggest monthly plunge ever in the history of that report.

But we also got some better-than-expected earnings reports from some tech heavyweights like Google, IBM, AMD and they are also showing nice gains. And Warren Buffett writing in the op-ed section of the "New York Times" today saying that he is buying stocks and specifically buying American stocks and holding to something that he has said for a long time, that be greedy when others are fearful and be fearful when others are greedy and he says that bad news that we've been seeing in the economy is actually an investor's best friend, because you can buy a slice of America at a -- America's future that is at a marked down price.

So what we are seeing in about 90 minutes left to go in the session, the Dow is up 97 points, and the NASDAQ is up 26 or about 1.5 percent and if we hold, if we rally and we hold this rally which is a big if, it will be the first back-to-back gains in three weeks, Kyra, so it would be nice. It would be nice on a Friday, wouldn't it?

PHILLIPS: Yes, it would give us a reason to celebrate. Thank, Susan.

LISOVICZ: And this we need. PHILLIPS: That is true, we don't need an excuse you and I. We never need it. Thank you.

Remember when John McCain said congratulations, Joe, you are rich. Well, what he should have said is congratulations Joe, you are recession-proof. Pipe skills are plum jobs in this economy. Here is Christine Romans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCCAIN: Joe the plumber.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The plumber is more than just a political talking point.

MCCAIN: Hey, Joe, you are rich!

OBAMA: Joe the plumber.

MCCAIN: Joe, I want to tell you ...

ROMANS : Plumbers are virtually recession-proof.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is certainly a pretty good job. It is expected to grow over the next 10 years. It has been, pays better than average and probably most importantly about plumbing is that there is a career ladder and it is not a dead end kind of job.

ROMANS: From apprentice to plumber to small business owner, the job market is tough, but the Labor Department says that opportunities are good for plumbers, along with pipelayers, pipefitters and steam fitters and it should stay that way in coming years.

Hourly pay is better than average and more than $20 an hour and you cannot export plumbing jobs to cheaper overseas labor markets and plumbing is not discretionary spending. What else is recession-proof?

Almost anything in health care. Also, jobs in education and security. Not so recession-proof is that other Joe ...

PALIN: Joe Six-pack.

ROMANS: If Joe Six-pack is a factory work or works in retail, he may have already lost his job and ditto if he is in a job related to finance and also grim for technology as companies delay big computer upgrades so what is an average Joe or Jane for that matter to do?

(on camera): Experts say even college graduates should consider some of the skilled trades, plumbers, electricians, miners, oil rig workers and anything related to medical equipment in a hospitals, aging baby boomers and a growing population have these jobs in demand.

Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ROMANS: Cheaper oil. One expert says that is an economic stimulus into itself, but will OPEC barrel in and bring the price drop to a screeching halt?

And this story out of Egypt has a TV movie written all over it. It has a billionaire politician, a sexy pop diva and a hit man who allegedly settled the score.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: 2:30 Eastern time. Here are some of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Down a couple hundred points this morning, the Dow made an afternoon U-turn into positive territory, right now Dow Industrials are up 137 points.

The markets may be erratic, but oil and gas prices are still on their steady slide. Today's national average for a gallon of regular is $3.04, the 30th straight day it has dropped. Oil futures hit the lowest price in over a year yesterday.

And the Supreme Court has stepped into a voting dispute between Ohio Republicans and the Democratic secretary of state. The justices overruled an appeals court order for the secretary to beef up verification of voter registrations. Ohio, of course, an important presidential swing state.

From now until Election Day, we're taking a close look at those tossup and leaning states where the race for the White House will be decided. And today, Florida is in the spotlight. The state, and its 27 electoral votes, are up for grabs. Will young voters make the difference there?

CNN's John Zarrella joins us now from Miami.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Don't let this relaxed demeanor fool you. University of Florida students are not taking this presidential election lying down. They are keenly aware of the issues they will face as they exchange textbooks for checkbooks.

BRYAN GRIFFIN, CHAIRMAN, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA REPUBLICANS: Just overall, the budget and money and not handing us a giant problematic economy and a giant problematic budget and deficit system and saying good luck.

ERIC CONRAD, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA STUDENTS FOR OBAMA: We see issues of international relations gone wrong. We see wars that shouldn't have been fought in the first place.

Hi, there. You supporting Barack Obama?

ZARRELLA: The students, Democrats and Republicans, believe November 4th could be a watershed for youth turnout, between the ages of 18 and 29. Nationally, Rock the Vote registered a record 2.5 million young voters.

HEATHER SMITH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ROCK THE VOTE: We're seeing the rates at which young people are watching the news and paying attention really skyrocket. They're the highest levels we've ever seen.

ZARRELLA: Why? There appears to be a rolling tsunami of sentiment that the stakes have never been higher.

GRIFFIN: I think that kids are moving in Florida from the beach to the ballot box. I think that they're really kind of understanding the significance of what is -- what we're on the brink of here.

ZARRELLA: The night of the final debate, young Democrats and Republicans gathered at the same watch party. Will this enthusiasm carry over to Election Day?

FLORENCE MOSS, PRESIDENT, MIAMI-DADE YOUNG REPUBLICANS: I believe that young people will show up to the polls, and we will see the impact of those young -- those new registered voters.

YARA LORENZO, RISING REPUBLICANS: Hazel, hi. My name is Yara --

ZARRELLA: Yara Lorenzo volunteers at this Republican phone bank in Miami. She helped found a group of young professionals called Rising Republicans.

LORENZO: Every election there's -- the young people are coming out, young people, but this election is really different. I mean, just by looking at our candidates, you can tell it's really different. And I think that young people will make that difference.

ZARRELLA: Both parties are hoping young voters, who have been talking the talk, will, in record numbers, walk the walk to the voting booth.

(on camera): Even though the majority of young voters appear to be favoring Barack Obama, the McCain campaign believes young Republicans, knowing they are outnumbered, will be more committed to get out and vote. We shall see.

John Zarrella, CNN, Gainesville, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: We shall see indeed. John Zarrella joining us live once again from Miami.

A lot of creative ways to draw in the young voters. I am curious, you get involved in the meditation, or the dancing, John, while wow were there?

ZARRELLA: Yes. It was actually somebody teaching people how to walk a tight rope there, too. I think that's more indicative of -- PHILLIPS: We do that everyday already.

ZARRELLA: And that's the campaign in Florida.

You know real quick, Kyra, you think about it -- you've got the youth voter in Florida, you've got Hispanic voters in Florida, you have the elderly voters in Florida, you have the I-4 corridor Independent voters from Tampa across to Orlando to Daytona Beach. All of these little groups that the candidates have to try and get because each one is so pivotal in deciding the race, which is separated by -- what -- four percentage points here in Florida with just over about two and a half weeks to go.

So, it is going to be an interesting race to the finish here in Florida in the next two weeks.

PHILLIPS: We will be following it every moment of the day with you.

ZARRELLA: Yes, indeed.

PHILLIPS: John Zarrella, thanks a lot.

Well big news from another White House battleground. The U.S. Supreme Court sided with Ohio's secretary of state in a bitter dispute with Republicans over voter registrations.

Let's get the story now from Mary Snow. She's in Montgomery, Ohio --Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, Democrats are saying this is going to help protect all votes from being -- that they will be counted. Republicans are saying this is not going to protect against voter fraud.

The Supreme Court stepping in, siding with the Democratic Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner. She released this statement saying: "We filed this appeal to protect all Ohio voters from illegal challenges and barriers that unfairly silence the votes of some to the advantage of others."

The Republicans have fired back. The state's party chairman saying: "As far as I am concerned, Senator Brunner is actively working to conceal fraudulent activity in this election. As many as 200,000 registrations submitted this year have been flagged for discrepancies."

Basically, the bottom line is that the secretary of state had a deadline of today to supply counties with lists of voters whose information did not match up with state databases, whether it be on driver's licenses or Social Security. She was coming -- she was asked to come up with a new system to verify those registrations. She had argued it wasn't necessary, that there are checks in place already to prevent voter fraud. She's saying that registration fraud doesn't amount to actual voter fraud. She was concerned that people would be given provisional ballots if their names didn't match up, and that those provisional ballots wouldn't be counted until after Election Day. And as you may remember, Kyra, back in 2004, President Bush won here in Ohio by 118,000 votes, so there is a fierce fight over this. And Republicans are saying that they are getting increasingly concerned by all these allegations of registration fraud.

So this is continuing to heat up. This is just the latest chapter in a pretty lengthy legal battle -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We'll follow it all.

Mary Snow, thanks.

John McCain is spending big money on political ads, and yet Barack Obama is outspending him three to one. Do these things even work? We'll go inside of the ad game.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: People in battleground states don't need us to tell them that Barrack Obama and John McCain are blanketing them with political ads. Obama is buying an average of more than 7,000 commercials a day, double what John McCain is purchasing. McCain and the Republicans are launching a new $70 million get out the vote effort, including automated phone calls like this one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCAIN CAMPAIGN ROBOCALL: 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, whose organization bombed the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a judge's home and killed Americans. And Democrats will enact an extreme leftist agenda if they take control of Washington. Barack Obama and his Democratic allies lack the judgment to lead our country.

This call was paid for by McCain/Palin 2008 and the Republican National Committee at 202-863-8500.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk about the ads and the strategy behind them with Bill Hillsman. He's a media strategist and president of Northwood's Advertising.

You know, you have worked, Bill, on these types of campaigns -- political campaigns. Do these automated calls work?

BILL HILLSMAN, MEDIA STRATEGIST: The only thing that voters hate more than political ads are those robocalls. They really despise them.

PHILLIPS: Then why do they do them? HILLSMAN: I don't know. I think that they think that somehow they're going to catch somebody who hasn't been paying any attention at all to this election and they think that a phone call from a disembodied voice will make a difference. It is absurd to me.

PHILLIPS: All right, well -- meanwhile, Barack Obama, speaking at a rally within the past hour and a half or so. I noticed that he said something about attacks and that politicians should not be attacking each other at this point.

Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: 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 are going to attack the challenges facing the middle-class each and every day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: All right. So let's read between the lines, Bill. What do you think? Is he saying no attack ads for me, no more attacks in my rallies, he's just going to play it clear and clean to the very end?

HILLSMAN: Well, he is basically saying he does want to get attacked. And I am sure if John McCain was in first place he'd feel the same way, too.

But the reality of the situation is if you're really looking at undecideds, independent, swing voters at this point in the election, they are not looking for somebody to vote against. They are really looking for somebody to vote for. So I think there is an element of truth in what Obama is saying right now. If you really want to get to these types of voters, they are either going to vote for somebody, or they are probably going to stay home.

PHILLIPS: So -- since he -- he is showing a bump, so why would he want to spend $110 million in a month on ads? I mean, do they prove that effective? And that money just seems so extraordinary.

HILLSMAN: Well, it is a little bit ironic because this morning Advertising Age announced that Obama campaign won the marketer of the year award by the Association of National Advertisers. And what is ironic about that is Obama's ads really have not been that good. It is has been the sheer tonage of them and his ability to outspend McCain that has had any advantage at all in the advertising battles, if there has been one.

PHILLIPS: So, is there any way to track those ads as they air and where they air and, you, as someone who puts ads together, can say, OK, that worked in that state, this amount of voters came forward and voted because of those ads? Or, is it just a risk? You just think they are working and if you've got the money, you spend it? HILLSMAN: You definitely spend the money if you've got it. The money doesn't do you much good after Election Day. But the Obama campaign made a very calculated decision. In a lot of swing states, they didn't put a lot of money in the latter part of September and even the first 10 days of October. And they held back so that the final three weeks of the election they could really throw a lot of money at this, and that is what we are seeing right now.

PHILLIPS: All right. Let me ask you a question, and I don't know if you know the answer or not, so forgive me if you don't know, but I was wondering -- say Barack Obama instead of putting $110 million toward ads, he decided to take $10 million of that money and put it toward people that are struggling in this economy, like pay for their houses that are being foreclosed, or help someone bring their 401(k) back up that has hit rock bottom, just to do something good in this economy, could he do that with that money?

HILLSMAN: I don't know how he really would be able to do it with that money. I suppose there is probably some sort of nonprofit organization you could put it towards, that is going to do work like that. But I really don't -- I don't understand how they would administer something like that.

And it would be a communications move anyway -- that is basically a P.R. move. Instead of advertising you're trying to get good publicity for doing something like that. So it is all communications.

PHILLIPS: It is all communications -- and we'll be seeing what kind of communications take place from now until Election Day. It will be interesting to see what kind of tactics they take.

Bill Hillsman, thanks a lot.

HILLSMAN: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: Well it has been a ratings hit, but could "Saturday Night Live"'s election comedy affect more than just the Nielsens? Some pundits say it's influential presidential parody.

It was a real mother of a fight. Some tweens throwing down in a park until one girl's mom intervenes. Can you believe this?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, in these tough economic times we're all looking for some economic help, and of all places it could come at the gas pump where falling prices mean a little more money in your pocket. CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow has our "Energy Fix" from New York.

Hey, Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hi, Kyra. Any more money these days certainly helps.

Oil is up a bit today, up about two bucks, but the trend really over the past month has been steep declines in the price of crude, falling below 70 bucks actually yesterday. That could mean a big economic stimulus because of what you are no longer paying at the gas station. The Energy Policy Research Foundation says the recent slide in oil prices could amount to at least a $275 billion stimulus for the American people. That is a lot more than if you add up all those checks that went out this summer.

Here is why. Every time we fill our tanks, it is money that we are not spending somewhere else. And the average American -- well, they buy about 500 gallons of gas single every year. When we were paying more than $4 a gallon on average that was more than $2,000 a year. Remember gas hit an average of $4.11 in July. Right now around $3 a gallon, you are paying about $1,500 an average on year, that is about a $500 savings.

Now the current national average -- $3.04 today. And, Kyra, gas prices have fallen for 30 straight days. There is some good news.

PHILLIPS: And that is just one place where we use oil.

HARLOW: Just one place, right? It should help us -- if we see this decline continue -- on our home heating bills this winter in a big way. Also, it saves businesses a lot of money because of the items that they ship every single day. So, let's say you go to Wal- Mart, the item you buy has likely been shipped right off of a boat there, right onto a truck, right out to your local store. That costs a lot of oil to bring it from maybe China right here to the U.S.

So as oil prices fall, maybe so will the price of a lot of those items that you have to buy on a daily basis. It's an energy fix, a little bit of a good news. We'll see if we can hold on to this, but remember OPEC is meeting in an emergency meeting next week. We'll see if they cut production, that could mean oil prices will go right back up -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Poppy Harlow, thanks.

Sex, power and murder. An Egyptian billionaire goes on trial for the gruesome killing of a pop star. But could his money and political connections trump justice?

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PHILLIPS: Well, unfortunately fights between two young girls aren't too unusual these days, but the fact that a friend wanted to get it on tape -- well that is also pretty standard. But when it became a tag team match involving one of the girl's moms, hello, well you don't see that everyday. When the California police got their hands on the tape, they arrested the mother for corporal injury of a child. She spent part of the weekend jailed, but got out yesterday.

Sex, power and murder. On of Egypt's most powerful men is accused in the death of the pop star that he loved but couldn't have. And allegedly, if he couldn't have her, no one could.

Details now from CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Egyptian parliamentarian Hisham Talaat Moustafa's political and business connections run deep. But his alleged connection to the murder of Lebanese pop star, Suzanne Tamim, may cost him his life.

FARID EL-DIB, MOUSTAFA'S DEFENSE LAWYER (through translator): My client isn't at all interested in knowing who the killer is, but he is very much interested in denying the charges against him.

VAN MARSH: Moustafa is charged with paying an alleged hit man, a former police officer, $2 million to kill Tamim. The alleged hit man denies the charges.

Prosecutors say the murder was -- quote -- "means of taking revenge."

Moustafa's lawyer says his client loved the sexy singer, but could not take Tamim as a second wife because his family objected. Moustafa is already a married father of three, though having multiple wives isn't rare in Egypt. Attorney Farid El-Dib says Moustafa is innocent. But his client may face the death penalty if convicted.

EL-DIB (through translator): Some people are making the worst exploitation of this case, not only to attack Hisham, but to attack businessmen in general.

VAN MARSH: Hisham Talaat Moustafa sat in Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's political inner circle. He is also one of Egypt's richest real estate moguls. But despite his wealth and connections, analysts believe Tamim's murder investigation left Egyptian authorities little choice but to strip him Moustafa of his parliamentary immunity, indict and jail him pending trial. The public was shocked.

Authorities say Tamim was stabbed and nearly decapitated in this Dubai apartment block in July. As rumors of evidence linking Moustafa to the crime spread, he used his influence to plead his case on state- run TV.

(on camera): Hisham Talaat Moustafa's case is set to be held at this court later this month. But because Egypt has no jury system, his fate will be determined by a three-judge panel.

(voice-over): But there's a further twist. The man who says he's Tamim's widower fears Moustafa's influence could still taint court proceedings.

RIYADH ALAZZAWI, SAYS HE WAS TAMIM'S HUSBAND: For his background and his connection in Egypt, I'm worried about trial. I prefer if the trial moved to UAE. I (INAUDIBLE) much better.

VAN MARSH: Riyadh Alazzawi is a world-class kick boxer. He says he married Tamim after, he says, she refused to marry Moustafa. And soon after that, Alazzawi says, came the death threats that were investigated by British police. So the singer and her athlete planned for a new life in the UAE.

Tamim went to Dubai first. The powerful kick boxer says he regrets not being there to help Tamim fight off her killer.

ALAZZAWI: I couldn't believe it. I couldn't sleep all night -- until when I saw her in the morning on the news, saying that she had been murdered.

VAN MARSH: Alazzawi says he hopes there will be justice for his wife's murder in what's sure to be a legal drama and test of Egypt's resolve to ensure that no one, if found guilty, is above the law.

Alphonso Van Marsh, CNN, Cairo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, it's a serious thought for many pundits, could presidential parody possibly have an influence at the polls?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TINA FEY, ACTRESS, PLAYING SARAH PALIN, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": But I would like to talk about being an outsider.

(LAUGHTER)

You see, while Senator Biden has been in Washington all of these years, I have been with regular people, hockey moms and Joe six-packs and I'd also like to give a shout out to the third graders of Gladys Woods Elementary who were so helpful to me in my debate prep.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Tina Fey doing her Sarah Palin impression on "Saturday Night Live." But this weekend, they are getting the real thing. Sarah Palin planning to be on the show herself. Maybe we'll see a Sarah Palin/Tina Fey face-off.

During the campaigns, John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton all made appearances on that show by the way.

And not to be outdone, Joe Biden is also getting in on the comedy act. The Democratic vice presidential candidate paid a visit to the "Ellen DeGeneres' Show," and check this out, as Biden takes aim at actress Julia Louis Dreyfuss of "Seinfeld" fame who is sitting above a dunk tank.

Well, as part of his West Coast swing, Biden also put in an appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." Still don't know why he dunked her and what the purpose of that was. But, if this presidential thing doesn't work out, maybe McCain or Obama could get into standup comedy. They both killed last night in New York. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCAIN: After all, it began so long ago with the heralded arrival of a man known to Oprah Winfrey as "The One." Being a friend and colleague of Barack, I just called him "that one."

He -- friends, he doesn't mind at all. In fact, he even has a pet name for me -- George Bush.

OBAMA: 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, that does it for us.

I'm Kyra Phillips. Have a great weekend.

The rest of the CNN NEWSROOM goes to Rick Sanchez right now.