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Pulse of the People: New Presidential Polls; Comebacks Can Happen; Bernanke Asks for Economic Jump-Start
Aired October 20, 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 hello again, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. And here are the headlines from CNN on Monday, October 20th.
The final two weeks. The candidates wearing out shoe leather in the crucial battleground states. We have brand new poll numbers on the tight, tight race.
We just heard live from John McCain. Barack Obama is due up this hour. We are tracking them on the trail.
On Capitol Hill, Ben Bernanke talking to lawmakers. Is it good news or bad from the Fed chief?
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Just think about it for a moment. Almost 24 months of presidential campaigning now down to just 15 days.
John McCain and Barack Obama sprint toward the finish line. Today, Obama stumps for votes in the crucial state of Florida. McCain hits the trail in the swing state of Missouri. His running mate Sarah Palin is in Colorado. Obama running mate, Joe Biden, will be in Colorado tomorrow.
So how are they doing? New polling numbers just out. Let's get right to them.
Our Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider joining us from Staunton, Virginia.
And Bill, first question, where does the race stand in this new poll?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it looks like the race may be tightening a bit. I emphasize "may" because the shift we're seeing from two weeks ago is not quite statistically significant. But let's take a look at where it is.
Right now, we're showing Obama with a five-point lead, 51 percent for Obama among likely voters, 46 percent for McCain. That's a two- point drop for Obama and a one-point gain for McCain from where the race was two weeks ago, when Obama had an eight-point lead. So a very small shift. The race may be tightening a little bit.
We have confidence that these numbers are probably reasonably accurate because when we take a look at our Poll of Polls, which combines all the most recent national polls, we see a very similar result. We see Obama leading McCain by six points, Obama 50 percent on the average. In all the recent polls, McCain 44, and a six-point lead is just about where it was in the last Poll of Polls last week.
So it looks like the race is tightening just a little bit.
HARRIS: And do we at least now have any idea as to why the race might be tightening, Bill?
SCHNEIDER: Well, Tony, there's one interesting suggestion. We're seeing a shift in the poll on the question, "Do you think John McCain would mostly carry out President Bush's policies or would his policies be different from those of the Bush administration?"
Two weeks ago, 56 percent of voters said yes, he would be the same as President Bush. But recently, particularly in the last debate, McCain has hit hard with several arguments.
He said, "I'm not Bush" at the beginning of the last debate. He says, "The status quo is not on the ballot." He tells Mr. Obama, "If you wanted to run against George Bush, you should have run four years ago."
So where does that question stand right now? Right now voters aren't sure. About half say his policies would be the same as those of President Bush and half say they would be different from those of President Bush. So it looks like he's managed to sew a certain amount of doubt about whether his policies would be different.
HARRIS: Yes.
And Bill, one more for you. Do you see anything else in this new poll?
SCHNEIDER: Well, if his policies -- if people aren't sure if his policies would be different or the same as President Bush, do they think they would be any better? Well, there's no evidence of that.
We asked, "Who do you think would better handle the nation's financial crisis?" And there, Obama has a very solid 15-point lead over John McCain, and that really has not changed at all in the last two weeks.
When we asked, "Who would do a better job of helping the middle class?" Obama's lead is even bigger. He leads McCain by 2-1. That also has not changed.
So it looks like people are not sure whether or not his policies would be different from those of President Bush, but they're not yet convinced McCain's policies would be any better. If they are different, would they be better? They don't think so.
HARRIS: Yes.
Bill Schneider for us.
Bill, as always, good to see you. And thank you for the wrap on those very new, hot-off-the-press poll numbers.
Bill Schneider for us.
Still trailing in the polls, but some tightening there. Many pundits are counting him out, but history shows there's still hope for an underdog candidate like John McCain, even in this close election.
CNN's Frank Sesno has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK SESNO, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even a couple of weeks before Election Day polls can change, and they have been wrong. Most famously, Dewey didn't beat Truman, though some polls gave Dewey, the governor of New York, a double-digit advantage right up to Election Day. That was as much about unsophisticated polling as politics.
If John McCain is hoping to compound the polling this time, he better get moving. There is precedent though for a candidate down in October to prevail in November. McCain could still win one for the Gipper.
KEATIN HOLLAND, CNN POLLING DIRECTOR: Ronald Reagan was down in the polls before the last debate that he had with Jimmy Carter on October 28th. He wound up winning the election in large measure because of that debate.
SESNO: That debate just a week before Election Day was crucial when Reagan uttered those famous words...
RONALD REAGAN, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Are you better off than you were four years ago?
SESNO: He won by 10 points. Ironic, because just four years earlier, Jimmy Carter survived a late surge. His mid-October six- point lead over Gerald Ford narrowed to almost nothing.
HOLLAND: Many people say that if the election had had another week, Ford might have actually won in 1976.
SESNO: In '68, saddled by LBJ and the war in Vietnam, Vice President Hubert Humphrey was behind eight points in October. He distanced himself from Johnson, got a late endorsement from anti-war Democrat Eugene McCarthy. His surge wasn't enough, but it was close.
Final result: Nixon, 43.4. Humphrey: 42.7. Leads have a way of eroding in the final weeks.
Bill Clinton saw that happen to him in '92. That was the year of maverick. Yes, maverick Ross Perot.
As for this year...
HOLLAND: When you're talking about, say, a six-point lead, you really only need to change three percentage points. SESNO: Every year has its own dynamic. And there's not much time left.
(on camera): And the dynamic of this race at this moment is defined by the economy, by Barack Obama's breathtaking $150 million fund-raising take in September, and by the endorsement of Colin Powell over the weekend. It all makes John McCain's long climb steeper still.
Frank Sesno, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And we've got much more from the campaign trial to come. Barack Obama is set to rally supporters in Tampa, Florida. A live picture. Boy, that just appeared out of nowhere. Thought we might not get that.
Susan Malveaux is there and will join us live.
Also this hour, Senator Hillary Clinton holding a rally for Obama not far away, in Fort Lauderdale. A live picture for you. We will keep an eye on this event as well.
Got to give you another look at the Dow industrials right now. Boy, we are still in positive territory, up 138 points. We have been in positive territory throughout the morning, but we are slightly off session highs, but we are still -- emphasize the positive here, Tony -- in positive territory.
And just in to CNN, The Associated Press is reporting President Bush says he is now open to the idea of a fresh economic stimulus.
While on Capitol Hill, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is asking Congress to consider a second stimulus package. He says it could help jump-start the economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN BERNANKE, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: ... for several quarters, and with some risks of a protracted slowdown, consideration of a fiscal package by the Congress at this juncture seems appropriate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Wow.
Our Allan Chernoff watching developments from New York.
And Allan, what's going on here? The idea of a second stimulus package is an idea from, let me see here, congressional Democrats.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: They're looking for anything they can get on the economy here. And Bernanke, the Fed chief, is saying he doesn't necessarily want to see more of the same, the tax rebate we had earlier this year. He's pointing out that the biggest problem the country has right now is a credit freeze, so he would like to see Congress take steps to increase lending. And he's adding, this is all about the average American.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERNANKE: I'm very concerned about the average person. That's my only motivation for what we're doing. I was very emphatic about the financial rescue plan because I think if the financial system crashes, the implications for everyone in the country will be quite severe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF: So what can Congress do? Well, first of all, Bernanke is saying Congress can actually provide loan guarantees backing up loans, federal guarantees there. Also, direct federal loans. That, of course, would do a lot to increase lending. And he's talking about tax credit as well. All steps to thaw out this credit freeze that we've been seeing.
Of course the other big move we've had, the Treasury providing $250 billion to major banks. And the whole idea there is to get the banks to lend the money. The secretary of the Treasury, Henry Paulson, within the past hour, said that he's had lots of expression of interest from all kinds of banks.
Remember, last week, there was the announcement that nine major banks would get half of that $250 billion. Treasury has to give out the other half as well. He's saying lots of banks want it. The Fed chief says, well, we certainly do want the banks to lend, but we're not going to force them because we want them to make good loans, not bad loans -- Tony.
HARRIS: Yes. You know, Allan, Fed speak gets a little crazy sometimes, but maybe you could summarize this for us. How bad does Bernanke say the economy is right now?
CHERNOFF: Well, the word that he used, he said we're facing a serious slowdown. He would not use the "R" word, recession. He was directly asked by a congressman about that, but he said look, it's a serious slowdown, it has serious consequences for Americans, and he's leaving it there. A recession, whether or not we're in a recession, he's saying it's all academic.
HARRIS: Yes. And once again, the news here is that President Bush is open to a second stimulus package. He is speaking today in Louisiana. I'm sure we'll hear more on this at that time.
Allan, good to see you. Thank you.
CHERNOFF: Thank you.
HARRIS: And by the way, you can follow the markets, get all the latest on the economy on our Web site. Just log on to CNNMoney.com. We are getting a look at Senator Joe Biden's health records this hour. How healthy is the VP hopeful? We will ask our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: How fit is the number two man on the Democratic ticket? Senator Joe Biden's health records about to be released.
CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins me now.
Elizabeth, at this point, what do we know? We know a bit about Joe Biden's health, but what's the current state of play here with regard to his health?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, when you talk about Joe Biden's health history, what comes to everyone's mind is that aneurysm that he had in 1988. It was very serious business when an aneurysm in the brain burst. It can be deadly. Obviously, thankfully, he survived that.
Now, the big question, ,of course, is, well, can that happen again? If he's had one, does it mean that he could have another?
Doctors tell us that there is a somewhat increased chance that he would have another one compared to someone, say, who never had one. Does it mean that he's definitely going to get one? It doesn't mean he's at a huge, gigantic risk, but it definitely is a possibility. And you can bet that his doctors are imaging his brain, keeping a watch on it, making sure that he's doing OK.
HARRIS: Give it to me straight on this. How much can reporters really learn about a candidate's health by sitting in a room and poring over health records?
COHEN: Right. You know we journalists, we call these document dumps.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes.
COHEN: You go into a room, thousands of pages, sometimes you just have a few hours to go through them. I mean, imagine, you're given 60-some years of health history in a room, you have to go through them.
HARRIS: Right.
COHEN: It is not easy.
First of all, the candidate doesn't have to divulge anything he doesn't want to divulge. So there may be some big health thing that they don't even put in these thousands of pages. But even if something is in there, it can sometimes be a bit of a hunt and peck method.
HARRIS: Yes. COHEN: I mean, you figure a family doctor, if they're going through a health history, they would want to call in specialists to consult, right?
HARRIS: Yes, exactly.
COHEN: And this is a bunch of journalists sitting in a room, and they can't call any specialists in. So it is not easy.
HARRIS: But you believe that it's important for these candidates, the future leaders of this country, to at least put these records out there for the examination, regardless of what we discern from them?
COHEN: It is important, but I would want to say one thing, which is we should not be under any illusion that they are telling us everything about their health. They don't have to divulge anything.
HARRIS: That's right.
COHEN: If there's some piece of paper that says...
HARRIS: Any more than we do.
COHEN: Right.
HARRIS: Right, to an employer or to...
COHEN: Right, exactly. There's no legal requirement saying you have to tell the public everything.
HARRIS: Yes.
COHEN: They can tell what they want to tell and not tell what they don't want to tell.
HARRIS: All right, Elizabeth. And that's happening this hour, correct?
COHEN: That's right. That's right.
HARRIS: All right. And maybe you'll give us an update on what we've been able to learn.
COHEN: I hope to. I hope we find out something.
HARRIS: OK. Elizabeth, thank you.
COHEN: OK. Thanks.
HARRIS: Bicycling saves billions. Biking or walking to work helps the environment and helps the economy. How much? We will get an "Energy Fix." That's up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: How about a sight to behold from Des Moines, Iowa.
If you look closely at the sign, you will see gas is selling here for, yes, $2.39 a gallon. Can you believe that?
The national average is a bit higher. AAA says a bit more than $2.92 a gallon. But prices have slid downward now for 33 straight days.
You know, one reason gas prices are falling is because many Americans are finding other modes of transportation. Of course, biking and walking are two popular alternatives, but just how much of a savings do they offer?
CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow joins us from the energy desk in New York with a look at the numbers.
And you know what, Poppy? Why would you -- you walk, and some of the benefits of walking and biking, pretty obvious.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Yes, they're certainly obvious, right? You save on fuel, you help the environment, keep a little extra change in your pocket.
HARRIS: Yes.
HARLOW: You get a healthy workout in the process. But a new report out today from the nonprofit group Rails-to-Trails Conservancy really breaks down how much you'd save by hitting the pavement.
They group says we could actually save as a country more than $10 billion just by increasing the amount we bike or walk by three percent. Take a look at the numbers there, pretty impressive.
We'd use less fuel, we'd reduce traffic congestion. And in most cases, you'd actually only have to be on a bike for about 20 minutes since, get this, Tony, nearly have a trips we take are within three miles from our own home. I know that's true here in New York, but it's amazing to hear it's true for a lot of other people in this country, too.
HARRIS: Well, I've got a question that points to one of the problems in a city like Atlanta. For many people, this really isn't much of an option, because many towns -- and there are a lot of areas in Atlanta that I'm referring to here -- don't have bike lanes. So I'm just curious about the cost associated with actually building them.
HARLOW: Yes. It's not free, right? You still have to build the bike lanes and pay for that, or the walking paths.
But if you compare the cost of doing that to keeping up a highway system, it is certainly a lot cheaper. Take a look at these numbers.
One mile of four-lane urban highway can cost about $50 million. Now, Rails-to-Trails says for the same amount, you can build hundreds of miles of bike paths and walking paths. Portland, Oregon, is actually a really good example of this idea of basically, if you build it, they will come. In Portland, the number of commuters riding their bike to work has jumped five times higher than it was in 1990 -- Tony.
HARRIS: Yes, but gas prices, Poppy, as we mentioned just a moment ago, are falling like crazy -- I shouldn't say that. So how necessary is this, really?
HARLOW: It's really necessary. OK, gas prices are down today, but if anyone remembers this summer in July, gas was at $4.11.
We also know OPEC is meeting this week. They're expected to cut oil production significantly on Friday. That move could make oil go up. Oil prices are up today.
And Tony, if we learned anything from the summer's past surge in oil and gas prices, it is that this market is extremely volatile. A turnaround could come at a moment's notice. You need long-term energy fixes like this. That's why we're here to bring them to you. Many more right there on our site.
HARRIS: Outstanding, as always.
Poppy, good to see you. Thank you.
HARLOW: Sure.
HARRIS: And back to politics now. Barack Obama holding a rally in Tampa, Florida, in just a few minutes. Senator Bill Nelson, I understand, is speaking to the crowd right now. We are going to take you there live and talk to our Suzanne Malveaux about Obama's big endorsement and his big fund-raising month.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right. Let's take another look at the Big Board, the New York Stock Exchange.
As you can see, the Dow is up 188 points, just a bit off of session highs. But as I like to remind myself, we're still in very positive territory at this point. We're going to get a market check in just a couple of minutes with our Susan Lisovicz, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
You know, there's a reason they're called battleground states, and the troops are charging, both sides, McCain and Obama. That's John McCain in St. Charles, Missouri, just minutes ago. The Republican telling crowds, don't count me out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let me give you the state of the race today.
We have 15 days to go. We're a few points down. The national media has written us off, as they have several times in the past. Just the other day, Senator Obama's campaign announced that he's choosing his cabinet. He's measuring the drapes, and planning with Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid to raise taxes, increase spending and concede defeat in Iraq.
My friends, I will never concede defeat. I will bring us home with honor and victory.
(APPLAUSE)
AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA! USA!
MCCAIN: But despite the prognostications of the national media, they forgot to let you decide. My friends, we've got them just where we want them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: This is Barack Obama's new weapon on the campaign trail, a much coveted endorsement from Republican Colin Powell. The retired general and former secretary of state for President Bush heartily endorsed Barack Obama yesterday. Powell also said he was disappointed in John McCain's negative campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, FMR. SECRETARY OF STATE: We have two wars. We have economic problems. We have health problems. We have education problems. We have infrastructure problems. We have problems around the world with our allies.
And so those are the problems the American people wanted to hear about, not about Mr. Ayers. Not about who's a Muslim and who's not a Muslim.
Those kinds of images going out on Al-Jazeera are killing us around the world. And we have got to say to the world, it doesn't make any difference who you are or what you are. If you're an American, you're an American. And this business of, for example, a congressman from Minnesota that's going around saying, let's examine all congressmen to see who's pro-America or not pro-America, we have to stop this kind of nonsense, pull ourselves together, and remember that our great strength is in our unity and in our diversity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Barack Obama on the campaign trail. He is expected to appear shortly at a rally in Tampa, Florida.
Our Suzanne Malveaux is on the scene for us.
And Suzanne, Florida is a pretty hot place to be right now. The polls are open for early voting, and I would imagine the name "Colin Powell" will be mentioned a few times in today's speech.
SUSAN MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. He is going to mention that, as that is really a prize endorsement. Barack Obama, I have to tell you, has been working hard at that endorsement. Both John McCain and Barack Obama -- Colin Powell really didn't know him two years ago. And these are two men who have sat down from time to time. He sought his council and his advice. And Colin Powell says that he's known John McCain for some 26 years, Barack Obama just the past two or so.
But really, this was a test for both the candidates. The final exam, perhaps the last six or seven weeks. But Colin Powell said, look, he was examining both of these candidates, looking at how'd they handled the financial crisis, who they picked as their running mate, even the tone of the campaign to the term and which one he thought would be a better president. And he said he thought Barack Obama would be a transformational type figure.
We've heard Obama talk about that yesterday. The sense of gratitude and the fact that he is going to be reaching out to Powell. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And, this morning, a great soldier, a great statesman, a great American has endorsed our campaign for change. I have been honored to have the benefit of his wisdom and his council from time to time over the last few years. But today, I'm beyond honored. I am deeply humbled to have the support of General Colin Powell.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And, Tony, it was important where he was actually saying that, in North Carolina. A big military community. Obviously they have a lot of respect for Colin Powell. That could make a difference when it comes to the military, as well as independents and perhaps some moderate Republicans.
We also heard Barack Obama talking about he has this association with Colin Powell and the billionaire Warren Buffett, hitting back at John McCain's accusation that somehow his own financial plan or his tax plan in some ways would be socialism. He says, look, you know, he is associated with these mainstream figures, that this is not something that makes very much sense. So, obviously, using Colin Powell's credibility to make that case as well.
Tony
HARRIS: Yes, you mentioned that socialism claim there. We're going to spend a moment talking about that.
Susan Malveaux for us in Tampa, Florida. Good to see you, Suzanne.
You know, there has been a lot of talk on the campaign trail about socialism. Listen to what Republican VP Sarah Palin says about Obama and his response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SARAH PALIN, (R) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Joe is plumber and Ed the dairy man, I believe that they think that it sounds more like socialism. Now is no time to experiment with socialism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's kind of hard to figure how Warren Buffett endorsed me, Colin Powell endorsed me, and John McCain thinks I'm practicing socialism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: So here's what we did. We cracked open the Miriam Webster for the manning of socialism and here it is. It describes socialism as, "economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership." It goes on, socialism is "a stage of society in Marxist theory between capitalism and communism." It is "distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done." And there you go.
With just 15 days to go until Election Day, with robo-call wars continue, especially in key battleground states. Veronica De La Cruz has been checking the blogs and joins us now with the very latest.
Veronica, what have you found? Good to see you.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, nice to see you too.
Well, as you know, Tony, McCain's reference to Joe the plumber did make some pretty big news last week. So this week, Barack Obama's campaign is responding. They have launched robo-calls in the battleground state of Colorado with their own version of Joe the plumber. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE MARTINIZ (ph), POLITICAL CALL: Hi. My name is Joe Martiniz and I'm a plumber from Denver, Colorado, calling for Barack Obama's campaign for change. During this week's debate, Barack Obama talked about cutting taxes for middle class families like mine, lowering health care costs for everyone and bringing the change we need in Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: "The Huffington Post" has being reporting that the Obama camp and the state's Democratic party have been blasting out these automated messages featuring Joe Martiniz, like you just heard, who says that he is a plumber who supports Obama's tax plan. The call then goes on to say that instead of focusing on the issues, McCain used last week's debate to attack Obama and failed to mention the middle class one. "The Huffington Post" writes, "these calls are noticeably positive in message compared to those currently being made by the RNC and McCain camp tying Obama to former Weather Underground member Bill Ayers."
Now, Tony, you do remember last Friday we told you the McCain campaign had launched a series of these attack calls. Some of them that sounded like this. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, POLITICAL CALL: 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. capital, the Pentagon, a judge's home and killed Americans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: So on our political ticker right now, Tony, Governor Sarah Palin is speaking out saying that if she had her way, the Republican National Committee would not be using this message. Instead, she says, "I would be sitting at a kitchen table with more and more Americans talking to them about our plan to get the economy back on track and winning the war, and not having to rely on the old conventional ways of campaigning that includes those robo-calls."
Ultimately, however, Tony, Palin is not saying that she is calling for an end to these types of phone messages. So we did want to remind you out there, if you feel like you are being inundated by these robo-calls for either candidate, you can always register for the National Do Not Call political registry. You find it online at stoppoliticalcalls.org. That's the web site right there. You can register your home phone, as well as your cell phone because, Tony, you know, some people don't know that . . .
HARRIS: Are getting them on the cell phones as well?
DE LA CRUZ: Absolutely. And some of these calls are illegal depending on what state you live in.
HARRIS: Yes.
DE LA CRUZ: So you can register if you are being bothered by them.
HARRIS: OK, Veronica, appreciate it. Thank you.
Senator Hillary Clinton now on stage in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. She is holding a rally for Barack Obama. We will keep an eye on this event for you.
And another reminder. You can always see it on our web site, CNN.com/live.
You've no doubt heard of i-report, but do you know about the i- Report film festival? We will show you some of the finalists. That's coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: Roll back before roll in. NASA moving the space shuttle Atlantis from launch pad 39A back to the vehicle assembly building. Atlantis' mission to the Hubbell space telescope being delayed at least until February. The Hubbell team will need the extra time to prepare a spare part for the telescope. NASA also needs the launch pad for the space shuttle Endeavor's planned November liftoff. That's a great picture there.
It's time to check in now with Chad Myers at the weather center.
Chad, cooler temperatures on the way, clearly. So we're talking about snow possibly in the Rockies and New England?
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Barack Obama speaking soon to supporters in Tampa, Florida. When he begins, we will take you there live.
And, you know, speaking of Tampa, sorry here, for our friends in the Boston area. Fans in Tampa still celebrating after the Rays advance to baseball's World Series. The Rays beat the world champion Red Sox 3-1 last night. But for some timely hitting, we might be talking about the celebration of Boston right now. But the Rays will play the Philadelphia Phillies beginning on Wednesday.
You know, if you are of a certain age, and I certainly am, then you've heard the Four Tops. Levi Stubbs, the front man for the group, died Friday. His was one of the amazing voices in all of music. The Four Topps sold millions of records and performed for more than four decades with the same four guys. During the '60s -- look at that choreography -- the group had 20 top 40 hits. Stubbs died in his sleep at the Detroit home he shared with his wife of 48 years. Levi Stubbs was 72.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: America's financial crisis. It is issue number one and the topic of "Fareed Zakaria GPS" this weekend. Fareed talked to some of the top economic experts in the country about what the next president should do to get the economy back on track.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAREED ZAKARIA, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": What are the key issues that the next president is going to have to focus on and how would you describe them? I mean, specifically.
GLENN HUBBARD, DEAN, COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL: Well, I think there are two things. One is, in regards to the current financial crisis, the next president really has to focus on restarting financial intermediation, making something like TARP, if that's the way we're going to do it, work. And then second, tackle housing. But at another level, you have to get your principles right. We're facing a possibly toxic cocktail from a new administration of protectionism and raising taxes on capital at the same time and then increasing the regulatory state. That's a dangerous mix in an economy like this. ZAKARIA: OK. So what you're referring to is Obama's tax proposals. And some of the rhetoric around trade and NAFTA. And then finally, on the regulation, just the generic sense (INAUDIBLE).
HUBBARD: The idea of using more regulation as opposed to smarter regulation. And it's not just the idea of tax increases. It's tax increases on capital.
ZAKARIA: But, Glenn, the government just took over the entire financial industry. Of course it's going to have to regulate it.
HUBBARD: We need to change regulation. There's no doubt about it. But doubling the number of people who missed it the last time doesn't strike me as the right answer. A better answer would be to chance the way we do capital requirements and possibly create a new, super financial regulator in the U.S.
ZAKARIA: Well, I'm looking for magic wands here, Martin, so what would you do if you were advising President Obama? If they somehow waved the nationality of requirements and allowed a Brit to be chairman of the council?
MARTIN WOLF, COLUMNIST, FINANCIAL TIMES: If I were an American (INAUDIBLE), really controversial, I would say you need a national sales tax. That is . . .
ZAKARIA: To tax consumption?
WOLF: That is -- income tax is too high here. You rely too much on it. All these states, the sales tax are ridiculous. Very distorting. I would go for a national sales tax. Every other significant developed country has one. Now I understand . . .
ZAKARIA: That's never an argument for America before.
WOLF: Yes, I know. I know. But actually I do think -- (INAUDIBLE), I'm prepared to bet on this one with you, 10 years from now, the average tax burden in this country will be considerably higher than it is today.
ZAKARIA: Doesn't it have to be, Glenn? I mean we have mountains of debt. We have, you know, we want a certain level of government. Nobody's in favor of abolishing Medicaid and Medicare. So, you know, how are we going to face (ph) this (ph)?
HUBBARD: Well, that's really the issue. It's not even so much what we're spending right now or have spent in the past. We have $70 trillion of unfunded liabilities in Medicare and Social Security. I don't think we can raise taxes to cover that. It would require crushing tax burdens. I think most of that's going to have to come on the . . .
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: You can see more highlights from the show on our web site. Just log on to CNN.com/gps and you can catch it live, "Fareed Zakaria GPS" Sunday's at 1:00 Eastern Time.
You know, some creative i-Reporters sent in their mini movies for the i-Report film festival. Are you kidding me here? Why don't we do this, take a trip to CNN.com's i-Report desk and check in to Tyson's Corner. Tyson Wheatley is there helping us run things at our i-Report operation.
And, Tyson, this is amazing. We're holding a film festival here and I understand we have some finalists?
TYSON WHEATLEY, IREPORT.COM: Yes, we do. We have 20 semi- finalists. And, you know, Tony, this is really a unique thing for ireport.com. The first of its kind we've ever tried something like this. And for the last couple months, we've been asking people to send in short films from the campaign trail. And today we announced the 20 semi finalists. And they're so impressive. I wanted to show off a couple of them to our audience.
HARRIS: OK. Great.
WHEATLEY: So let's go ahead and take a look at this first one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, (singing): (INAUDIBLE) look at us, this isn't what we planned. You've got to take a stand. Don't forget that pride always goes before falling and nobody's (INAUDIBLE) freedom fall.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHEATLEY: OK. So, Tony, this came to us from Kat Edmonson. And she's a singer/songwriter from Austin, Texas. And she was inspired to make this music video. And her and some friends, they went out with some cardboard and some markers and they went to the streets of Austin and they got some complete strangers to answer the question, what would you do if you were president. So that's one clever example.
From "Strangers in Austin," let's go to "The Mouths of Babes." These are what some kindergartners in New York had to say about the election. Let's take a look at this video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good choices? Good things happen. Bad choices?
CHILDREN: Bad things happen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So what do we want to make? Good choices.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Barack Obama.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John McCain.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Barack Obama. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John McCain.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: John McCain.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Barack Obama.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ron Paul.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHEATLEY: OK. So that last kid said, Ron Paul. He came in there.
This one comes to us from Tony Stampalia. And he's an independent film maker from Utica, New York. And these were kindergartners at New York Mills Elementary School. And, you know, it's interesting, this was a cool little -- this is a perspective from, obviously, kids who are obviously too young to vote, but they went on and did some other fun things like picking -- just picking the candidates based on their images. A really cool, creative film.
And, you know, Tony, these are just two examples of all the amazing submissions that we got.
HARRIS: That's terrific.
WHEATLEY: And now we're highlighting all 20 online. In fact, this is where we want our audience to help us out. If you -- check it out. I've got some up here on my screen for you.
HARRIS: OK.
WHEATLEY: And if you go to CNN.com/ireportfilmfestival, you can not only see all 20 of the semi finalists, you can take them, you can rank them and then you can vote. And so voting ends midnight Wednesday and the winner will be announced Sunday on CNN.
HARRIS: Outstanding. All right. Let's put together a nice award or something. Some kind of trophy or maybe a nice little bag of CNN swag or something. Let's do something like that.
WHEATLEY: The top two are actually going to win a high definition camera and get sent to Washington, D.C. for the inauguration of the next president.
HARRIS: Well, I hope that's coming out of your budget and not mine.
All right, Tyson, good to see you. Thank you. See you tomorrow.
WHEATLEY: Take care, Tony.
HARRIS: Here's a question for you. Can an impression sway an election? Sarah Palin appears on "Saturday Night Live" alongside, yes, Tina Fey. But could the comedian actually be hurting the candidate? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Sarah Palin. She's been a favorite fixture on "Saturday Night Live" this season. I'm sorry, I'm looking over at Kyra. The Republican VP candidate has been . . .
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Another fixture on "Saturday Night Live."
HARRIS: Oh, yes, that's right. You've had a couple moments, haven't you? No, that was Letterman, right? Oh, I'm sorry, I went there.
Has been impersonated famously and pointedly by Tina Fey. But these impersonations, do they help or hurt a candidate?
CNN's Alina Cho takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're calling it the "Fey Effect." There's no denying that Tina Fey's spot-on portrayal of Sarah Palin is funny and wildly popular, but is it good for Palin? The two look so much alike that many confuse them. And when you're trying to win an election, is that really what you want. Some believe the fake Sarah Palin could be hurting the real one.
The fake Sarah Palin.
TINA FEY, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": I just want to say how excited I am to be in front of both the liberal elite media, as well as the liberal regular media.
CHO: Tina Fey is back. But this time the real Sarah Palin is looking on. Even Alec Baldwin . . .
ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR: Hey, Lorain (ph), hey Tina.
CHO: Is confused.
BALDWIN: This is the most important election in our nation's history and you want her, our Tina, to go out there and stand there with that horrible woman? What do you have to say for yourself?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Governor Palin.
GOV. SARAH PALIN, (R) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hi, there.
BALDWIN: You are way hotter in person.
CHO: Then the moment of truth.
BALDWIN: The real one? Bye.
PALIN: Live from New York, it's Saturday night. CHO: "Saturday Night Live" saw its best ratings in 14 years thanks to Palin's highly anticipated guest appearance. Good for "SNL," but is it good for the governor?
To some 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: Not so fast. In 1976, Chevy Chase famously played Gerald Ford. A likeable guy, but a bumbling buffoon.
PROF. JERALD PODAIR, LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY: I think that Chevy Chase cost Gerald Ford the presidency.
CHO: And Chase and Ford looked nothing alike. Some believe the "Fey Effect," as it's called, is real.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She could be worth a million votes or lose a million votes for a political candidate like Sarah Palin.
CHO: A recent independent study finds Palin's favorability rating dropped when viewers watched Fey's parody of her.
MATT COOPER, "PORTFOLIO MAGAZINE": This imitation can't help. It does portray her as a lightweight at a time when the country doesn't need lightweights.
CHO: Fey's take, she tells "TV Guide," if McCain and Palin are elected, "I'm leaving earth."
TINA FEY, SARAH PALIN LOOK-ALIKE: You have to be able to goof on the female politicians just as much. Sarah Palin is a tough lady. She kills things. Big -- kills animals.
CHO: As one pundit says, politics makes for great comedy and great tragedy, too.
PALIN: I'm Sarah Palin. Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow.
CHO: What you didn't see on camera is that after the show, Tina Fey and Sarah Palin actually hugged each other and Palin, always the politician, shook hands with members of the audience on her way out. Now many pundants believe that Palin's appearance on "SNL" will help her. The big question is, will it help her get votes.
Alina Cho, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: I think it helps. Don't you think it helps? I mean . . .
PHILLIPS: You've got to be able to laugh at yourself. HARRIS: That's the point. You've got to be able --
PHILLIPS: She was...
HARRIS: She was raising the roof a little bit.
PHILLIPS: She had some moves.
HARRIS: She had some moves, raising the roof. It was good stuff.
No, it's not my time. It's Kyra's time.
HARRIS: Give me a hug.
PHILLIPS: We're going.
