Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Settling Key States; Undecided Colorado Voters; 6-year-old Nevada Boy Abducted; President Bush Meets European Leaders; China Affected by U.S. Economy Slowdown
Aired October 18, 2008 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, smooth sailing right into presidential politics. Heading into the home stretch now, there are 17 days lefts until Election Day. No time off for the candidates and they'll be on the trail. They'll be on the trail straight through until November 4, and today key stops in battleground states -- North Carolina and Virginia and Missouri. We'll bring you Barack Obama live from Saint Louis next hour.
Meantime, last hour we saw John McCain live in Concord, North Carolina, and this afternoon he's heading to Virginia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've got to tell you the facts and I'm going give you some hard facts in my comments today and one of them is we have to win the state of North Carolina, and I'm counting on you to do it. On November 4th -- this is a tough fight, my friends. And I've been around politics a long time, but the enthusiasm that we're seeing here recently has been overwhelming and gives me the confidence that we're on a roll and we're going win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, the candidates have little time to sway those last undecided voters. So, how are they doing? CNN political editor, Mark Preston joins us live from Woodbridge, Virginia, the site of John McCain's afternoon rally.
Good to see you and Virginia, a very important state and it's not going to be so predictable this go 'round.
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: No, it absolutely is not, Fred. In a couple of hours, John McCain will arrive here from North Carolina to give a rally. This is a very important state right now, one that he's fighting to hold on to. If you like at the latest CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll, it shows that Barack Obama has a 10-point edge at this point, Fred.
I will tell you, there is a line outside right now for this rally that will happen in a couple of hours and there's been a lot of talk of "Joe the plumber." well I saw a woman outside with a sigh, she says she's "Rose the teacher," so Joe will have a little competition.
WHITFIELD: Oh, there's a lot of competition out there. But, you know, the bottom line for these candidates is they want to try and reach the ordinary folks out there, the ordinary Joe, or the ordinary Jane. So how are they doing, particularly after the debate, do you think they've reached them or at least reached those undecided voters? Which it's hard to believe there would be anyone undecided at this juncture.
PRESTON: Yeah, absolutely. You're absolutely right about that, Fred And what they're doing right now, two different strategies. Barack Obama is using all of his war chest to go on the air with television commercials. He's spending $4.5 million a day in battleground states and national ads to reach out to the independent voters.
John McCain at a severe disadvantage is only spending $1.5 million a day, but what John McCain is doing in addition to that he is running robocalls, the automated calls into the battleground states and they're trying to call Barack Obama's judgment into question. This election will be won or lost by Independent voters. They are both reaching certainly out after that last debate.
WHITFIELD: Well you know, Mark, these robocalls, is just another example of how some people are saying the candidates aren't always be truthful and robocalls is one way in which they're able to do that. We saw on the debates there were a couple of occasions when McCain made certain allegations about Obama, he then tried to lay his case and re-state the facts and then McCain would turn around and restate what he said before leading to a lot of folks being a little confused or misled.
It would seem that credibility is really on the line when either one of these candidates would do this. So, why would either candidate continue to carry on with half-truths or just out and out lies?
PRESTON: Well, you know, Fred, 17 days left, all stops are being pulled out for this, no question about that and these robocalls are legal. We have to tell viewers that. They're absolutely legal. What they're doing is not telling the whole story in some of the calls and in other calls they are telling the story through the lens of what the McCain campaign and the Palin campaign thinks about Barack Obama.
And look, 17 days left, they're doing everything they can do on both sides, Democrats and Republicans, to try to win this election. We saw certainly a very spirited debate earlier this week and that's the last time they will be on national television together, so they need to try to reach these Independents as much as they can with their message.
WHITFIELD: All right, Mark Preston, thanks so much from Woodbridge, Virginia, and of course, we'll be hopefully we'll be joining Woodbridge, Virginia, when John McCain makes his appearance, as soon as that happens. Thanks a lot, Mark.
All right, well still undecided, we talked a little bit about them, a lot of voters still haven't made up their minds so what is the hold up? CNN's Dan Simon talked with undecideds in Littleton, Colorado.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you think everyone by now has pretty much made up their mind, then you haven't met Henry and Sue Wightman. Henry owns a plumbing business. Yep, McCain, here's another one. And like "Joe the plumber," he likes your economic plan, too.
HENRY WIGHTMAN, UNDECIDED VOTER: You get to that profit stage, and then you get crushed with taxes. So, you know, taxes are a big deal.
SIMON: Yet, Henry and Sue are both undecided in this election, even though both are registered Democrats. In 2004, she went for Kerry. He voted for Bush. This time around, Sue says she has changed her mind at least four times.
SUE WIGHTMAN, UNDECIDED VOTER: I actually like them both. I was leaning towards McCain for a long time. And then I read more about some of his stands on issues, and I've -- I've kind of swung back a little bit towards Obama.
SIMON: Henry, he seems to side with McCain on all the major issues, including Iraq.
H. WIGHTMAN: The war thing is -- though, on the flip side, the war thing, I feel more confident with McCain.
SIMON: Still, he can't seem to commit to McCain because he's drawn to Obama's personality.
H. WIGHTMAN: I think that's a big factor when he's leading the country, the -- the persona.
SIMON: They live in Littleton, Colorado, a Denver suburb and part of Arapahoe County, one of the states' biggest and most influential when it comes to elections.
NANCY DOTY, ARAPAHOE COUNTY CLERK AND RECORDER: I have heard that, as Arapahoe votes, so goes the state, and that could very well be true, because we have an even number of registered voters.
SIMON: In other words, the county has about the same number of Republicans, Democrats and Independents, a microcosm of the state. The voter turnout is expected to be a record. Seventy percent of the voters here have requested mail-in ballots. People have already starred dropping them off. But don't expect Henry...
H. WIGHTMAN: Oh, like -- I'm glad it's not right now. I'm not prepared to make it, make the decision yet.
SIMON: Or Sue...
S. WIGHTMAN: I don't know. I just you really knew what they could do.
SIMON: ...to make a decision any time soon. (on camera): Election workers have begun the process of sorting thousands and thousands of mail-in ballots. About 70 percent of the voters here vote by mail and you can bet that on election night, campaign officials will be looking at Arapahoe County early to see which way the state might go.
Dan Simon, CNN, Littleton, Colorado
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, well, a reminder, we are just 17 days away from the big election and hear about the candidates' plans from the contenders themselves. Join the best political team on television today, 2:00 Eastern on CNN's "BALLOT BOWL."
And if you missed the final presidential debate earlier in the week, watch the best parts and get the best analysis with John King and the best political team on television, "The Next President: Battlegrounds," tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN, your home for politics.
And now to this alarming report, the abduction of a 6-year-old Nevada boy. Police now have his grandfather in custody to question him in connection with the boy's disappearance, but the child is still nowhere to be found.
CNN's Kara Finnstrom is live in Las Vegas with the details. This is a very confusing and very sordid tale.
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It really is, Fredricka. We are here at the Las Vegas Police Department where the hope is that grandfather might provide some new information could lead to a break in the case. Now, overnight authorities in Riverside, California, took the grandfather into custody, that is 51-year-old Clemens Tinnemeyer. Riverside, California, is a little less than a four hours drive away from here in Las Vegas, which is where the boy was kidnapped on last Wednesday.
Now, authorities have been wanting to talk with Tinnemeyer because they believe he stole millions of dollars from Mexican national drug traffickers and they think that triggered the kidnapping of Cole because they think perhaps those kidnappers wanted ransom money.
We did catch up with Cole's father last night. He was passing out flyers with Cole's picture on them and he said he's been asked to not speak about the specifics of the kidnapping, but he did want to put out a plea for his son.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT PUFFINBURGER, MISSING BOY'S FATHER: Just find him for me, you know? I need my son back. I just want him home. I want him home...
(END VIDEO CLIP) FINNSTROM: And again, while police do say they do have the grandfather in custody, Cole is still missing and they're still looking for those kidnaps are. Fredricka, they're asking for any and all tips that the public might have.
WHITFIELD: And so, Kara, are police saying anything about other family members that they're questioning, as well?
FINNSTROM: Well, they have said they're looking into all possibilities in this as to whether other family members may have been involved in any drug trafficking as well, but they have said that the grandfather is the person of interest. They have also said they do not believe the parents were involved in any type of an abduction, here, that this is clearly the result of some drug trafficking gone bad.
WHITFIELD: Wow, sad and very frightening story. Thanks so much, Kara Finnstrom, there in Las Vegas, appreciate it.
Dinner guests and a discussion around the president's agenda at Camp David. We not sure exactly what's for dinner, but the discussion, well, that will be the global financial problem and how the U.S. and Europe can fix it perhaps together.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, an anti-American march attracted tens of thousands into the streets today in Baghdad. The rally is seen as a show of support for Shiite cleric, Muqtada al Sadr. He's calling on the Iraqi parliament to reject a deal with the U.S. to extend American forces in Iraq. That agreement must be reached before the current authorization expires at the end of December. The rally also marks the fifth anniversary of what some Iraqis call the "U.S. Occupation of Iraq."
Meantime in this country, President Bush and European leaders will be meeting at Camp David to talk about the global financial crisis. Let's go to Kathleen Koch right now, in Washington.
We know that they're going to be talking about finances, but what do they hope will be resolved?
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, the White House is downplaying expectations for this meeting this afternoon, basically when it was announced earlier this week the White House said that since French president, Nicholas Sarkozy and the European Commission president, Jose Manuel Barroso were in Canada and basically in the neighborhood that the president wanted to invite them to come by for what really amounts to a working dinner.
So, White House press secretary, Dana Perino said do not expect any major decisions, any major announcements out of this afternoon's meetings. She also said they would not be settling yet on any kind of date for the world leaders conference that is going to be held on the global financial crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA PERINO, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think a date for a meeting is less important than figuring out what recommendations people want to come to the table with. We have issues to deal with regarding disclosure for banks, accounting rule, the credit rating agencies, capital standards, asset valuations, supervision, all of these issues are what are included in what the financial services forum has been trying to work through for the past several months.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, also National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley are among those who will be joining in the discussions this afternoon and while a number of European leaders are very interested in seeing major reforms in the world financial system, among them, French president, Sarkozy. He's expected to bring that up in the meetings this afternoon including items like new controls on bankers and traders.
Right now, the White House is not signing on to that, Press Secretary Perino only saying that administration is willing to listen to good ideas. The president is saying he wants to do what he can to prevent a crisis like this from happening again in the future. But again, Fredricka, they're saying no major announcements on decision coming this afternoon.
WHITFIELD: All right, so in part it really seems like kind of just exemplifies how important the U.S. economy and the world economy are and how they work together and you can't have one without the other.
KOCH: Quite so, and just a means for them to get together to talk and compare notes, share ideas, but again, not the White House saying it's really not appropriate for these three leaders themselves to take any making decisions on their own. That will come later at this summit.
WHITFIELD: All right, Kathleen Koch from Washington thanks so much from Washington, this afternoon.
All right, in this country, a big focus Lehman Brothers. Well, they were one of the biggest dominoes to fall in the financial crisis. Now its former CEO has gotten a subpoena as three grand jury probes examine the company's failure. Richard Fuld told Congress earlier this month that a loss of confidence in the markets and the government's refusal to help were actually to blame. Lehman's reported almost $4 billion in quarterly losses, its bankruptcy was the largest in U.S. history. Barclays later bought part of that company, rather.
Well, investors don't feel like taking any chances on new businesses right now. Third quarter numbers show venture capital dropped nine percent from the same period last year. Venture capitalists are the ones who help new businesses and entrepreneurs get going. And they help them grow by pumping start-up money into their accounts. Let's talk about weather and hopefully it's more uplifting. Reynolds wolf is in the Weather Center to bring a little sunshine to the picture for us.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, you mentioned uplifting. You want to see something just the opposite, you want to see something jumping down, like maybe off a bridge in West Virginia? Take a look at this video? Crazy stuff. You know, I like bridges, walking across them, jumping off the bridges, something a little bit different. This is in Fayetteville, West Virginia.
These guys having a great time, I say guys, I'm sure there are some ladies enjoying this, as well. They jump off, they pull the rip cord and joy the great sights. Beautiful colors this time of year, but the colors you're seeing there mostly from the parachutes. A beautiful day out there.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: OK, sounds good. I'm still hanging on that bridge scene, though, folks jumping off. You know, that looks courageous and cool and everything, but don't forget to open that chute because there are times you are looking at their somersaults that you kind of forget that, oh, yeah, are they ever going open that chute? We know they don't forget, but.
WOLF: Exactly and that water, I'm sure, is pretty cold down there. Not anything you'd want to jump into, that's for sure.
WHITFIELD: Courageous. That wouldn't be me. All right Reynolds, thanks so much.
Well, how about this? Have you ever seen a mob of angry toymakers? Well, you will because they're jobless and they're very upset and they're not playing around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: China's workers have been busy for years making things for Americans to buy, but Americans aren't buying much right now.
Andrew Stevens shows us the impact of workers at one Chinese toy company.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Riot police arrived outside a shuttered toy factory in southern China. Hundreds of workers demanding two months of back pay. The factory shut its doors Wednesday, apparently the victim of the increasingly tough economic conditions.
Many workers lived in the factory's dormitories, so its closure has left them not only unemployed, but homeless, as well. This woman says she and her two friends spent the equivalent of 50 cents and three of them slept in one bed, "now we have no money," she says, "we've been asked to leave. Where are we going sleep? We have nowhere to sleep."
"My biggest problem is food now," says this workers, "the plant provided me meals and a place to live."
The toy workers also protested outside the local government office. They left only when the government agreed to pay their lost wages, estimated at nearly $3 million. The Hong Kong-based toy company Smart Union was one of southern China's biggest toymakers. Calls to the headquarters went unanswered, but Chinese media reported the firm supplied toys to major U.S. companies.
This government official said that in the past month the plant had been producing, but hadn't been able to buy materials. Like many factories in China's industrial south, Smart Union has come under pressure because of rising material and labor costs. Summer flooding also cost the company millions. Arising Chinese currency has also hurt by making Chinese products more expensive overseas. And then the final blow, a slowdown in the U.S. economy.
A Chinese newspaper quoted one staffer as blaming the U.S. market for the shutdown. China's toymakers have been slammed this past year, hit by both the economic crunch and tighter government regulations after a series of high-profile safety scandals. According to state- run media, more than 50 percent have gone under, most of them small operation, now with more and more signs of slowing U.S. Consumer spending, the fear across China is that this is just the beginning.
Andrew Stevens, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, well speaking straight to the voters and there's no greater messenger than the candidates themselves. Just 17 days until Election Day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, if the current economy has you staying home, Richelle Carey has some money-saving tips to get you back on the go.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHELLE CAREY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Getting away can be a much-needed break, but right now it is all about the money. There are ways to stretch your travel dollars at home and abroad.
STEPHANIE OSWALD, TRAVELGIRL MAGAZINE: One of my biggest pet peeves is spending a fortune to have Internet connections in hotel room. You're going to save money by walking a few blocks away to a local Internet cafe. You will get a slice of life that maybe you wouldn't have seen.
CAREY: From staying connected to what's on your plate, saving money can be about timing.
OSWALD: Spend your money on a bigger lunch, a lot of times the dinner menu will get the same as the lunch menu, you're still getting the same quality of food, but you're spending less money.
CAREY: If you need cash while vacationing overseas, use an ATM to get the best conversion rate. And when using a credit card, watch out for those hidden fees.
OSWALD: What you have to be careful for now are special foreign currency fees that banks and credit card companies are charging. Sometimes they will wave the fees and you make a simple phone call. You can save yourself a lot of money.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, 17 minutes after the hour, happening right now across the world, the grandfather of a 6-year-old boy abducted from his Las Vegas home is now in custody, the grandfather is. Police say Clemens Tinnemeyer was involved in a significant drug dealing and the boy was kidnapped by drug dealers trying to recover lost money and property. Despite a nationwide Amber Alert, there is still no sign of the little boy.
And tens of thousands took to the streets in Baghdad, today. The rally is seen as a show of support for Shiite cleric, Muqtada al Sadr. Al Sadr is calling for the Iraqi government to reject a deal with the U.S. to extend the presence of American forces in Iraq.
OK now, 17 days to go, Election Day is fast approaching. The candidates are on the trail hoping to make an impact in key battleground states. We want to give you a chance to hear exactly what they're saying in their own words.
Here now is Barack Obama in Roanoke, Virginia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: 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.
(BOOING)
OBAMA: 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.
(APPLAUSE) OBAMA: Oh, no. 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.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, Obama there earlier in Virginia, Missouri later. And we'll see him live from St. Louis next hour. We'll take you there.
Meantime, this afternoon, John McCain heading to Virginia, that key battleground state. North Carolina is also up for grabs and that's where we saw John McCain last hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: America has an alternative to the phony tax cut my opponent started talking about only months ago. The McCain/Palin tax cut is the real thing. We're going double the child deduction for every family. We'll cut the capital gains tax.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
MCCAIN: And we'll -- and we'll cut business taxes to help create jobs and keep American businesses in America.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
MCCAIN: As Joe has now reminds us all and small business persons all over America has reminded us, America didn't become the greatest nation on earth by giving our money to the government to spread the wealth around.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
MCCAIN: In this country, in this country, we believe in spreading opportunity for those who need jobs.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
MCCAIN: For those who create them and that's exactly what I intend to do as president of the United States.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
MCCAIN: So, this is the choice that we face. Now, I'd like to give you -- I'd like to give you a little straight talk. These are hard times. I don't have to tell you here in North Carolina. Our economy is in crisis. Americans are fighting in two wars.
By the way, we face many enemies in this dangerous world and many challenges here at home. The next president won't have time to get used to the office, he'll have to act immediately. We can't ...
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
MCCAIN: We can't spend the next four years as we have spent much of the last eight waiting for our luck to change. We have to act immediately. I said it at the last debate. I'm not George Bush.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
MCCAIN: If Senator Obama wants to run against George Bush, he should have run for president four years ago.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
MCCAIN: We need a new direction now. We have to fight for it, and I'll fight for it, and I've been fighting for this country since I was 17-years-old and ...
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
MCCAIN: ...and I have -- and my friends, I have the scars to prove it. If I'm elected president -- if I'm elected president, I'll fight to take America in a new direction from my first day in office until my last. I'm not afraid of the fight. I'm ready for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, so the clock is ticking as we get closer to decision day, 17 days away. Watch history unfold with the best political team on television. Watch it on CNN Worldwide Network November 4th.
All right, a New York Congressman may face jail time after being found guilty of drunken driving. Police say Representative Vito Fossella ran a red light in Virginia while under the influence. There were questions about the accuracy of the breathalyzer test, but the judge said the issue would be argued at the sentencing hearing. Fossella's arrest turned into a sex scandal when the woman who bailed him out of jail turned out to be a longtime lover and the mother of Fossella's child. Fossella says he won't seek re-election.
All right, the case against long time Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska could go to the jury by Tuesday. Stevens is accused of not reporting free work done to his Alaskan chalet by an oil industry contractor and making false statements on financial disclosure forms.
Well yesterday, Stevens actually took to the stand, testifying that he and his wife did pay for the renovations and despite requests for a full accounting of the work, he says they were not told about some of the additions, including a front deck.
All right, Madonna heading for splitsville and the ticket could cost her plenty. Plus, just when you thought the Christie Brinkley divorce case couldn't get any more sensational, well, it does.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk about some legal matters. We've got a real mixed bag here. We're talking Madonna, Christie Brinkley and even two cases involving voter registration.
So, we invited our regulars back. Avery Friedman is a civil rights attorney and law professor. Good to see you in Washington today.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hi, Fredricka. Yes.
WHITFIELD: All right, and Richard Herman is a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor. Good to see you as well.
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hi, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, well, let's delve into the first case involving voter registration. Avery, you first, because the court did weigh in and what's significant about this one?
FRIEDMAN: Profoundly significant. What it is -- the Help America Vote Act wound up being the basis for lower-court decisions this week, Fredricka, taking away the rights of about 200,000 Ohio voters. What the Supreme Court did about 24 hours ago was to say, you know what? We don't think Congress intended for this law to be used by political parties or others and they threw the case out. That means that 200,000 voters will probably have the opportunity to vote in two weeks.
WHITFIELD: All right, so that one's done, settled, period.
FRIEDMAN: Right.
WHITFIELD: OK. On to the other voter registration case, this also in Ohio and a few other states. Richard, I'll let you weigh in on it. We're talking about ACORN, we're talking about investigations, investigations into a voter fraud. However, if folks have not voted yet and may turn out to be ineligible voters because of this voter registration drive, what laws have really been broken since they haven't actually voted?
HERMAN: Well Fred, when you fill out that application to register to vote, you have to take an oath and swear under oath to the accuracy of the information placed. This investigation is now taking place by the FBI in 12 different states. It's really unrealistic to think there's going to be any resolution before the election here.
FRIEDMAN: Right.
HERMAN: These ACORN employees were getting paid $8 an hour, they were running around trying to sign up people. They -- I think they signed up 1.3 million voters and some of them may have done duplicates.
WHITFIELD: But if those are the individuals that may be the law breakers, those who are, you know, trying to increase the numbers and even though they may have, I guess, made up some of the voters, how would that be ACORN as a whole that would have to be held accountable?
HERMAN: I don't see how it can be. I think this whole thing is ridiculous, to be honest with you. I think this is a political thing, close to election right now. They knew about this months and months ago. Why all of a sudden is it happening now?
FRIEDMAN: Well -- the answer ...
WHITFIELD: Avery.
FRIEDMAN: ...the answer to that is simply if the organization itself was engaged in some kind of patented practice to create these fraudulent registrations, I think there are some criminal implications, but I think Richard's exactly right. I think what happened here is you have minimum-wage people trying to fulfill quotas. I mean, we saw the entire Dallas football roster registered. Mr. and Mrs. ...
HERMAN: Mickey Mouse.
FRIEDMAN: ...Jive Turkey are registered and the bottom line is when Mr. or Mrs. Turkey goes to the polls, they're not going to have any kind of verification. It might be a tempest in a teapot.
WHITFIELD: So, is this probe taking the place right now, because now we're at a federal level ...
FRIEDMAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: ...with federal prosecutors involved. By taking hold of this now, perhaps quashing it, if you will, before November 4th and this should not impact the outcome at least for these 12 states, as you mentioned, come November 4th, right?
HERMAN: No, there's going to be -- the FBI moves very slowly, Fred. This is going take probably at least a year, this investigation. Nothing's going to happen before the election.
FRIEDMAN: Exactly right.
WHITFIELD: OK. All right, let's talk about these other two cases. One, this Christie Brinkley case which I thought everybody probably thought was over.
FRIEDMAN: Right.
WHITFIELD: Custody, you know, battle over, she's going to get the kids, there may be some exchange of money. But now there's a tape, a kind of nasty tape involving her ex. Allegedly on the tape is his sexual encounter with this young girl. So Avery ...
FRIEDMAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: ...without kind of, you know, beating a dead horse on this case, how might this potentially affect any rights that he may have to see the kids?
FRIEDMAN: Well, I don't know that it will have any effect. I think the issue -- the legal issue that's popped up on the tape is among other things, is that we have a situation where the young woman involved is asserting that she knew nothing about the clandestine tape.
And so, the legal issues that are presented here are whether or not her right of privacy has been invaded and that is going to be a stretch because the question is only two people involved ...
WHITFIELD: Right.
FRIEDMAN: ...one claimed she didn't know about it. How did it get on the Internet? You figure it out.
WHITFIELD: And so -- all right, Richard, this is your jurisdiction, your backyard there, where do you think it would go?
HERMAN: Yes. Well, first of all, it's going to have no impact on his visitation with his children, Fred. But, Christie now is claiming she may bring an action against him for breach of a confidentiality provisions of their agreement, which is just a monetary situation. It's not going to affect visitation.
But in New York, it is a crime, it's a felony to videotape someone undressing without their knowledge. That's a felony, it's punishable, up to three-and-a-half in prison.
WHITFIELD: So now, she could potentially bring a case against him.
HERMAN: Well, then she could bring a ...
WHITFIELD: The young lady.
FRIEDMAN: Civil action, civil action. HERMAN: Yes, but well, he could be prosecuted criminally and she could bring a civil action ...
FRIEDMAN: Right.
HERMAN: ...against him. So, he's facing potentially three different claims. However, he says he doesn't know about this and why is she bringing it up in the public and he's blaming her for all this publicity now.
WHITFIELD: A lot of finger-pointing. OK.
HERMAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Let's talk about Madonna and her millions because a lot of finger-pointing going on there ...
FRIEDMAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: ...except for the fact that they are legitimately going, you know, through a divorce, or about to. She, with her $600 million is on the line, he with his -- what, $30 million or so. OK, what jurisdiction would we be talking about? They were married in Scotland, right, but they've been living outside of London.
Richard, who's going to settle this divorce and who would determine how much money is paid to whom?
HERMAN: Fred, this is going to absolutely fall under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom. The states have no jurisdiction here. $250 -- $500-million estate plus. Look, she wants to bring the kids back to New York. He wants them in the UK, that's going to be the bargaining chip. He's going to agree to allow her to bring the kids to the States for a nice chunk of money.
FRIEDMAN: And a lot of money.
HERMAN: $200 million probably.
WHITFIELD: And wait a minute, there's no -- and apparently, there's no real pre-nup here. So Avery, were you able to kind of, you know, look into the crystal ball and determine what protections would she have given that she made most of her millions before he even came along. Why should she owe him any amount of millions?
FRIEDMAN: She shouldn't, but the reality -- the reality, Fredricka, is that we just saw this with Peter Cook and Christie Brinkley. I mean, you've got these guys -- what's with these women marrying guys like this?
WHITFIELD: Why would you not have a pre-nup?
FRIEDMAN: Well, she should have had a pre-nup. It makes no sense in the world. It's stunning that she doesn't have a pre-nup. But the bottom line here is that Guy Ritchie's going to walk away with a ton of money and Madonna will say good-bye and the question of child custody or that is visitation I think in this case ...
WHITFIELD: Yes.
FRIEDMAN: ...will be an important one because every child -- obviously, if you've two good parents, both of the children should have access to both parents.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
HERMAN: Yes, the ...
WHITFIELD: I have a feeling we're going to be talking about this case for a long time. It's just the beginning.
FRIEDMAN: Yes, that's right.
HERMAN: Yes, Fred, UK is like community property states. It's usually 50/50 in the UK no matter what.
FRIEDMAN: Oh, too bad for Madonna.
WHITFIELD: Wow, so sort of like California.
HERMAN: Yes, exactly.
FRIEDMAN: Yes, exactly right.
HERMAN: And -- you know, her new tour is Sweet and Sticky, this is going to be a nasty and expensive tour in divorce court.
WHITFIELD: Yes, it is. I was waiting for a little rhyming something from you.
FRIEDMAN: As these cases are.
WHITFIELD: All right, guys, thanks so much. They're screaming at me. Out of time!
FRIEDMAN: All right, good to see you. Take care.
WHITFIELD: You all are great. All right, good to see you.
HERMAN: Take care, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Take care.
All right, well, here's a question for you. How much did our own Reynolds Wolf lose last week? Did you know that he was actually looking to lose anything? Weight? Time? We're going to have to clue you in on all that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF: Hi there. How are you doing? (END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Oh, he looks like he's having fun. Remember when I was talking about losing weight or losing something? Well, that's what we meant: weightlessness. That was indeed our Reynolds Wolf and he's there with teachers having a really good time.
You got to see the rest of this story for a better explanation than what I'm doing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF (voice-over): This group of 30 Georgia middle school teachers is learning firsthand what it's like to be weightless. Aboard the modified and heavily padded 727, there were games of "toss the teacher" and simulated Superman flights. But in between the fun and hilarity, the educators conducted experiments testing Newton's laws of motion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's working. I'm getting up and down acceleration like this.
WOLF: The flight is courtesy of the Northrop Grumman Foundation. Northrop, an aerospace and defense company hopes the experience of these teachers will inspire students to pursue careers in science, math and engineering. Northrop Grumman says most of the teachers surveyed on past flights report their students became more excited about science.
TOM HENSON, NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP.: It's important that they do this. Our country faces significant shortage in the future of mathematicians, scientists and engineers, people in technology fields. And so, we've targeted their teachers to try to illustrate for their students how math and science can be cool and relevant and applied to their daily lives and it's just fun.
WOLF: Fun for the teachers and yours truly.
(on camera): Hi there. How are you doing?
TRACEY HEFFELFINGER, LITTLE MILL MIDDLE SCHOOL: You know as a science teacher you're told what all affects how you move and that gravity is a great portion of that. It's a whole other thing to get up there and experience it. I would try things like, you know, I'd want to just like to hover off the ground a little bit. Well, the problem is is if you push off enough to get off of the ground, there's nothing to stop you and you keep going until you hit the ceiling.
WOLF (voice-over): The plane uses the same technique that NASA uses to train astronauts. See, it flies a series of parabolas or peaks and valleys to create periods of weightlessness that last about 30 seconds. But each parabola also has a period of increased gravity.
(on camera): We're experiencing 1.8 Gs, which is actually almost double your body weight. Right now, I feel like a heavy dude. (voice-over): Now, a handful of teachers did experience motion sickness, but after all, they don't call the NASA training jet the "vomit comet" for nothing. But thankfully, most of the teachers were just fine.
HEFFELFINGER: I'm very proud of the fact that I will be able to show them my unused barf bag.
WOLF: Nearly a thousand teachers from California to Washington, D.C., have taken part in Northrop's zero gravity flights, hoping at least that some of their students will flip over careers in science.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Oh, that looked like fun. Did you use your barf bag, as she put it?
WOLF: Did not use it. Did not use it. Did not barf, as you say.
WHITFIELD: Good, good, good.
WOLF: Yes, they do ...
WHITFIELD: Because it looked like it was fun.
WOLF: It was fun. You know, they do refer to it as the "vomit comet," which did not ...
WHITFIELD: Yes.
WOLF: ...live up to its billing in my world. But I will tell that we had roughly, I think 30, 35 teachers or so. Half of them, the third time we were weightless, clearly were out of it.
WHITFIELD: Up chucked.
WOLF: Completely sitting down and strapped in. They -- it just, you know, had the gag reflex (ph).
WHITFIELD: Well, nothing to be embarrassed about. I know I would, probably.
WOLF: No, really. But the really cool thing is we did a couple of these things called, you know, the peaks and valleys. You go to about ...
WHITFIELD: Yes.
WOLF: ...34,000 feet, they can drop to about 24,000 feet. The first couple time we did it, we scaled it back to about one-third of gravity, what you would experience if you were say on Mars. Then the other two times, it was one-sixth of your body weight, which is what you'd have on the moon. Within the final 12, you were completely weightless.
WHITFIELD: Wow!
WOLF: And it puts the world in a whole different perspective.
WHITFIELD: Fun, that's very fun.
WOLF: It is just weird.
WHITFIELD: And so, you felt that for a while because you were telling me ...
WOLF: Yes.
WHITFIELD: ...you know, it kind of hangs with you for a bit.
WOLF: It really does. I mean, that's the after effect. I mean, later on at night trying to fade off to sleep, you feel like you're ...
WHITFIELD: You're like, whoa, am I floating?
WOLF: ...weightless again. Kind of floating around all over the place, yes.
WHITFIELD: What a cool experience.
WOLF: It was. Good times.
WHITFIELD: Although I beg to differ. I think a lot of the teachers go back and they tell their kids about it, and they're like we get cool points. You don't think cool points ...
WOLF: There's no question.
WHITFIELD: ...are earned there?
WOLF: I'm with you, I'm totally with you.
WHITFIELD: OK, lots of cool points.
WOLF: We're getting a big wrap (ph)?
WHITFIELD: All right.
WOLF: You betcha.
WHITFIELD: Well, you, too, are cool. All right, Reynolds. I appreciate it. That was fun.
All right, well, no matter who wins the election next month, cool or not, one winner is already clear: "Saturday Night Live."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is going to show America that she's got a sense of humor. She's on "Saturday Night Live" tonight and SNL's ratings have doubled during the campaigns, by the way. What happens tonight?
CNN's Alina Cho visited with the cast.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On Wednesday, this from the real candidate.
MCCAIN: Now, my old buddy Joe --
OBAMA: To Joe the plumber --
MCCAIN: Joe the plumbers out there.
CHO: On Thursday ...
DARRELL HAMMOND, SNL ACTOR: Joe the plumber is a straight shooter and one of the finest people I've ever known.
CHO: Darell Hammond as John McCain on what Joe the plumber means to him.
HAMMOND: He's got a lot of good ideas on how to fix this economy and as president, I'll be relying on his advice and expertise.
CHO: ..."Saturday Night Live" at its best.
FRED ARMISEN, SNL ACTOR: First of all, look, I don't recall meeting the individual you're referring to.
HAMMOND: As president, I would go after these bloated budgets with a giant hatchet and then use a scalpel or I might take the advice of my friend Joe the plumber and use a plunger.
CHO: What distinguishes SNL from other comedy shows are the dead-on impersonations of the candidates.
(on camera): So, they're coming to you and they're talk -- they want to talk about the issues.
HAMMOND: Oh, like I'm a conduit at Capitol Hill.
CHO: How does that strike you? That's bizarre.
HAMMOND: I -- it's absolutely bizarre.
CHO (voice-over): Even more bizarre: when actor and candidate actually look alike, like Tina Fey and Sarah Palin, ratings gold.
TINA FEY, SNL ACTOR: Katie, I'd like to use one of my lifelines.
CHO: SNL's viewership is up 50 percent this season and millions more watch on the Internet. A large megaphone and attentive audience equals impact.
PROF. JERALD PODAIR, LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY: They influence the politics of this country as much as any of the pundits on TV and perhaps even more.
CHO: More than the pundits?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a phenomena we all hope would not become an a Obambanom.
CHO (on camera): To a certain degree, you do influence the way people feel about candidates.
SETH MEYERS, SNL HEAD WRITER: I think when people actually get into a voting booth, there are a hundred things on their list before what they saw on "Saturday Night Live."
CHO (voice-over): Perhaps, but in this election year where anything can happen, everything matters and "Saturday Night Live" brilliantly blurs the line between parody and reality.
FEY: Oh, and for those Joe six packs out there playing a drinking game at home, maverick!
CHO (on camera): SNL does have an impact on politics. Back in 1976, Chevy Chase played Gerald Ford, the character was likable, but also a bumbling baffoon and a klutz. The truth is the real Ford was considered a graceful man and a star athlete, but the parody stuck and some believe it cost Ford the presidency.
As for how the Tina Fey impersonation of Sarah Palin will affect the current race for president, well, we'll have to wait and see. One thing we can confirm, the real Sarah Palin will make a guest appearance on the show this Saturday night.
Alina Cho, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, stay with CNN for all the latest news. "YOUR MONEY" starts right now.
