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TV Anchorwoman Attacked; Early Voting Controversy
Aired October 21, 2008 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Coming at you right now: A North Carolina polling place being used by early voters is picketed by angry McCain/Palin supporters, but why? We have the video, and we will explain the controversy.
This TV anchorwoman viciously attacked. Who could have done it? I will talk to her neighbor.
Name-calling in West Virginia -- quote -- "They say you're inbred, redneck racists. You won't vote for a man who is black" -- that coming from an Obama supporter.
And a Muslim campaign worker puts a belligerent McCain supporter in his place. Will the McCain campaign let him talk to us today?
Unfiltered, on Twitter, Facebook, like nowhere else, this is your newscast, and it begins now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: And hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez.
We are going to start today with a controversial video, one that, when you look at it, it might make you somewhat disturbed. And the reason for that is, it appears they are McCain and Palin supporters who are picketing while people try to vote at a polling place in an early voting place in North Carolina.
But there is more to this than meets the eye. There is controversy. We have made some phone calls. We have nailed down some of this information, and we are going to be joined by some guests.
Here is the video. Again, this is a video that we have gotten from the "Washington Times" reporter who shot it. Her is Christina Bellantoni. She's going to be joining us shortly.
But here is the beginning of the video as she introduces it as she comes upon this scene. Here is this scene.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINA BELLANTONI, "THE WASHINGTON TIMES": This is an early voting site in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Senator Obama held a rally here a few hours ago and his organizers encouraged people to go and vote early, which you can do for another I think week here in North Carolina. And there's quite a few protesters right across the street from the polling place.
Check out the scene.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right. Right there, baby.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... vote for Obama.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vote of confidence in Obama.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And another cheater casts his vote today.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) Yes to forgiveness. Yes to McCain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: All right. As you look at this video, you are wondering why in the world would people show up to protest what is an important right for all Americans, the right to go out there and vote for the candidate of their choice?
There is more to the story than meets the eye, as I had mentioned.
Let's be joined now by Christina Bellantoni. She is a reporter for "The Washington Times" and she's good enough to join us.
I understand that thing was riddled with controversy from the very beginning, Christina. Would you explain it to us or set it up for us?
All right. One more time. Christina, you there? Christina Bellantoni, can you hear me?
BELLANTONI: Oh, yes. Yes, I'm here.
SANCHEZ: OK. Sorry about that. I wanted to make sure I can hear you.
Would you set up for the audience what the controversy was on that day and why these protesters had shown up?
OK. We are having a problem with Christina Bellantoni. Let's put her on ice for just a minute. We will get back to her in a little bit.
We have with us Roger Farina. He is one of the McCain supporters -- in fact, he is on the tape. He is the one of the ones that you might if see him quickly who has the bullhorn, who is actually protesting.
Roger, are you with us?
ROGER FARINA, MCCAIN SUPPORTER: I can hear you. SANCHEZ: All right, Roger, that's great. You said can, right, as in positive, not negative? You can hear me?
FARINA: I can hear you.
SANCHEZ: All right. Good. Roger, why were you there? Roger, why were you protesting out there that day?
FARINA: I can't hear you.
SANCHEZ: You can't hear me? All right.
FARINA: Rick, I can't hear you, man.
SANCHEZ: You can't hear me. All right. If you can't -- how about now? I am counting to three. Can you hear me? He still can't hear me. All right.
Let's try one more thing. Terri Robertson is good enough to join us now. We have got the guests lined up for you and we are going to promise that one of us is going to be able to talk to us. Terri Robertson is the Cumberland County elections supervisor. It was her offices that were being picketed, which was also being used as a polling place on that day.
Terri, are you there with us?
All right. Let's do this. Let's take a break. We have three guests lined up who are going to take us through that video. One of them is a reporter. The other one is one of the protesters that was there who will explain why they were there protesting while people were trying to vote, and, as we said the official, the election official from that county. We will have that for you when we come back.
Stay with us. We apologize for the audio problem. It's live television.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Now, I know we have probably doubled our audience because of all of the people who are curious enough to see if we can pull this off. Let's try it one more time.
First of all, let's look at the video. It actually shows McCain and Palin supporters who have gathered at a particular spot in North Carolina, and they are protesting people who are going to a polling place to early vote. That is the scene.
Let's bring in the reporter now who actually went there and got this video.
Tell us, Christina Bellantoni with "The Washington Times," why you went there? Why this particular spot?
BELLANTONI: Well, I was doing a story about North Carolina at looking at the strength in early voting. The early voting had been open for about two days, and they had already seen about thousands and thousands of people showing up.
And we were covering the rally of Obama rally in Fayetteville at the Coliseum, and the campaign actually had an organizer come up on stage and list off the names of the early voting sites and the addresses.
SANCHEZ: Right.
BELLANTONI: And, so, as soon as the rally was over, we headed in that direction and maybe expected to find some long lines and interview voters. We definitely did not expect to find the scene that is there on the video.
I had been shooting video on the campaign trail, along with the stories that I write for "The Washington Times," for a year-and-a- half. And I had never seen anything like that.
SANCHEZ: Well, we have never seen people actually picketing a polling place. That is why it certainly got our attention as well. And that is why we made this our most important story of the day.
Let's bring in Roger Farina. He is one of those people who was there protesting.
Roger, people would want to know, why would you be protesting someone's right to vote?
FARINA: Well, it was not their right to vote, as much as it was that I was there protesting the Cumberland County Board of Elections' accommodations that they made because of Barack Obama...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Well, what do you think they did wrong?
FARINA: Well, they accommodated the voting on a Sunday for Barack Obama's rally. And that is why I was there.
(CROSSTALK)
FARINA: I was not there for any other reason other than that. I don't care...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: I get it. I get it.
FARINA: I'm amazed at it. I was just there because I am sick and tired of listening about all these different things that are going on across the country.
And, as a 21-year veteran of being in the Army, I have never had the opportunity to go to stand up and speak out for what I believe in. And this was an opportunity for me to do that. And that is why I went there.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: We understand that, Roger. And you know what, you have a right to protest as an American, as people have a right to vote. It is putting of the two together that seems a little inconsistent.
(CROSSTALK)
FARINA: This is where it comes into play.
SANCHEZ: We're trying to work our way through this. Go ahead. Make your last point.
FARINA: This is where it comes into play, is that I was there protesting everybody that walked through the door. It didn't matter whether they were an Obama supporter or a McCain supporter.
SANCHEZ: Right.
FARINA: I was there protesting everybody.
And anybody else that makes it anything more than that, they're -- it's baloney.
SANCHEZ: All right, it sounds -- Roger, I'm going to stop you for just a minute, because I want to bring in the other side here.
Terri Robertson is the Cumberland County elections supervisor.
It seems, Terri, that what some people are saying is they were angry because your office accommodated either an extra or a special location for Obama supporters to go vote, and they say the proof is in that the Obama supporter during his rally that day actually told people to go to this place and other places.
Is that true, and were you over-accommodating one side over the other?
TERRI ROBERTSON, CUMBERLAND COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, ELECTIONS SUPERVISOR: Absolutely not. We had -- in July, we began discussing Sunday voting. In August, the board voted to have Sunday voting.
So, this site was already planned to be open and months ago. On Thursday, we had such a large turnout with one stop, I spoke with my board and I said, look, it appears that we may be working to midnight to process voters if we don't get some extra sites open.
And these are sites that are already established. And they just -- we just opened them on Sunday, because our staff has to process every voter in the line...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: So, just to be clear, you did add a couple of new places only because of the overwhelming response that you were getting; is that correct?
ROBERTSON: That is correct, because my staff would be required to process every voter in line at 5:00, which meant that we could potentially be working until 9:00 or 9:30 at night trying to get all the voters processed.
SANCHEZ: Roger, does that explanation jibe with you? Is that OK? Does that make sense now?
FARINA: Not at all. No, not at all.
You know, the paper said that they were expecting 6,000 voters to come through. Only 2,800 came through. And if she was telling the truth or being truthful about this, why is there not early voting next Sunday? I don't believe it.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: OK. Let me stop you.
Terri, is there early voting against next Sunday, if there is a demand for it?
ROBERTSON: No, sir. And I can produce our original plan that shows that the only Sunday we ever intended opening was on the 19th.
SANCHEZ: OK. Christina Bellantoni, Roger Farina, Terri Robertson, we will have to leave it at that.
Thanks to all three of you for explaining this to us and taking us through it.
By the way, another controversy yesterday. This is about a McCain supporter who stands up at a particular rally where there are people or at least one particular man who is saying something that most people saw very negative and he puts him in his place. Watch this piece of tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm with the campaign, and we don't endorse that behavior. So...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't endorse this man's behavior?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The McCain campaign doesn't endorse your behavior, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm for McCain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: That's Daniel Zubari (ph), who told him the McCain campaign does not endorse his behavior. We have been trying to reach out to him for making that statement that was so well received by most of the people there and others around the country. But, so far, he has not been able to talk to us. We're going to try again.
Also, the anchorwoman, was she stalked, the woman from Little Rock, Arkansas. That story by talking to a neighbor when we come back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: That is Mike Brooks next to me. He's going to be joining me in just a little bit. We have got a lot of stuff to get there, well, because we lost a lot of time in that first block. So, let's try and see if we can cover all the ground that we intended to.
First, we're going to take you to Missouri. This is an unbelievable scene. Watch this. It's a police officer who comes in to try and break up a fight. What he doesn't know is, the first person that he seems to take and slam down into the ground is a woman who was actually already breaking up the fight. It is a girl in a high school. It's a fight that breaks out in a classroom. The girl who tries to break up the fight actually gets slung by the police officer.
He has since apologized to both her and to her mother. And we understand that charges are not being filed against him. And then he grabs and slings another girl as well.
Mike, you're joining us now. Is there proper police behavior or do you think he was a little too fast?
MIKE BROOKS, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Rick, when you come on to a situation like this -- and I have been on situations like this -- it is very tough to determine, oh, excuse me, are you involved in this particular fight?
Because you have got a big crowd. The police officers have already been called there. You have got staff trying to break up the fight. So, it is hard to tell who is involved with the fight and who is not. Now, a lot of times you want to go ahead, separate everyone, get everyone cuffed up and calmed down, and then try to sort things out.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
BROOKS: Because it is very, very difficult. And we're only seeing -- again, only seeing part of the situation here. We are not seeing when they first came in and what actually caused this.
SANCHEZ: It is important to make that point, that, as you come up on the scene, there are things that are taking place that sometimes have to be taken into account.
BROOKS: Right. SANCHEZ: I want to show you another one now. This is a police officer in Boston, and what he does is, he comes up on a student who seems to be leaving a bar, a young man. He's certainly not a minor. There he comes, seems to put him in what many would describe as a choke hold and then takes him down to the ground.
BROOKS: Right.
SANCHEZ: Apparently, he was mad at the young man because he and his friends had been partying at a place where they have these problems in the past. It is a bar in a particular part of town. Did he act suspiciously to you?
BROOKS: Well, you listen to the video -- and, again, we have only seen part -- you hear him say, hey, he gets out -- and, apparently, there had been some other incidents in this area earlier in the evening. He says, get the hell out of here.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
BROOKS: And then the guy, you can hear them say, no.
And, so, he comes over. What other was exchanged? We don't know. Was that proper procedure? I think they are looking into it right now. So, it is really hard for say. It's hard for me to Monday-morning quarterback, because I was not there and didn't hear the whole exchange as it happened.
SANCHEZ: But, sometimes, police officers let their own emotions get the best of them in these situations, though, right?
BROOKS: Oh, very much so. Sometimes they do, yes.
SANCHEZ: I have got another one for you. And that is what you have brought us this for.
BROOKS: Right.
SANCHEZ: This is an actual Taser. I know. Those of you who have seen me on YouTube know that I have a little bit of experience in this.
BROOKS: Been on the business end of that.
SANCHEZ: Let's show the video on this one, and then you and I will be having a conversation. Let me hand it over to you. All right, here we go. This is a police officer off duty.
BROOKS: Rookie officer.
SANCHEZ: He's at a party, and he thinks it is funny to Tase somebody and actually have it recorded. Tell us what kind of Taser this is and tell us what he is doing.
BROOKS: This is a Taser just like I have here, Rick. This is a Taser X26. And this was a rookie police officer who apparently had thrown a party. And there was a lot of underaged drinking. And for something like this to go on, do I think there is probably alcohol involved? I would say, most likely.
SANCHEZ: He has been fired, by the way.
BROOKS: Yes, he has. And well he should, because he is a rookie officer in his probation. And these are less than lethal weapons that are not toys. These are not to be used as toys, especially at this party, where he was using it. And you saw the drive stun, where he puts it right up to the kid's back, and he's holding him, so he doesn't hurt himself, but still, this kid, he lost his job because of stupidity.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: You are going to be joining us in just a little bit. We have got a lot of stories that we're going to be running through, including the one in West Virginia, where officials from the AFL-CIO say this. "They say you are inbred, redneck, racist, that you won't vote for a black man" -- direct quote. Some of the people who said that, we have been in contact with. One of us (sic) is going to be joining us.
Also, the anchorwoman attacked, was she targeted? Was this somebody who was stalking her? It is an interesting question that a lot of public officials want to know. We're going to be joining Mike again. He's going to be taking us through that one. And we're going to talking to a neighbor, an exclusive interview.
Stay with us. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Next story that has really gotten the attention of people all over the country is a story of a Little Rock anchorwoman. She's only 26 years old. And, just yesterday, they found her in her bed, where she had been viciously attacked. That is what she looks like. She was supposed to be waking up. Her mother was going to call her, where she usually does wake her up to tell her to get up and go to work.
Well, she never returned her mother's call. Her mother went and saw her, called police, and that is where they found her just hanging on yesterday. We understand her situation has improved somewhat.
There's a lot of questions in this case. So, we're going to ask some of them to neighbor of Ms. Pressly. His name is Joey Sabb. He is joining us now by phone to take us through this.
You know, one of the questions -- hey, Joey, you there?
JOEY SABB, NEIGHBOR OF ANNE PRESSLY: Yes, sir.
SANCHEZ: Oh, sorry, I thought you were going to be on phone. But I am glad you are there.
Joey, because of how badly she was beaten, a lot of the folks are theorizing that this may have not just been your usual robbery. What's your take on that?
SABB: My take is, it was not a robbery, that somebody was looking for her and stalking her and definitely had a motive.
SANCHEZ: What have you seen since you have been living next to her as far as coming and going? Has this been a place where a lot of people come and go? Does she have parties?
SABB: No. All I see her is once in a while coming in from work, going back to work, going to her Bible study.
The girl had -- to me, she had no enemies in this world. Everyone loved Anne Pressly. She was sunshine to our area, to our homes here in Little Rock. Everyone adored this girl, not a mean bone, not a bad bone in her body.
SANCHEZ: That's amazing. Have you heard how she has been doing? Have you been in contact with friends or family?
SABB: I just got a phone call about a half-hour ago. She is stabilized. She is fighting for her life. She is stabilized. She's got a long way to go. But with her prayers and your prayers and the world's prayers, she will pull through this.
This girl had a dream, and she was living her dream, and she was achieving her dream and believing her dream, and now we have got to fight for her to go through with this.
SANCHEZ: Wow. What a story.
Mike Brooks joining us once again.
Mike, you look at a case like this, and especially the way she was beaten, she was beaten severely around the face and head. What does that tell you?
BROOKS: Right.
This doesn't seem like a random act of violence to me. It almost looks like a crime of passion. Now, did she receive any letters at her station, at her home, that maybe she didn't...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: You are thinking stalking, aren't you?
BROOKS: I am thinking stalking right now. It's most likely someone she knew. That's what I'm thinking right now, Rick.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
BROOKS: And, as I said... (CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: How do we find this out? Who do we -- do they keep -- I know, at our station, they do. Do you think they would able to do it at that station?
BROOKS: Absolutely. Here at CNN, because we -- some of our people get letters all the time from nut jobs.
SANCHEZ: Yes, do I know.
BROOKS: And we have Ray Shaddock (ph), who heads up security here, who is former Secret Service, who does threat assessments when those things do happen. Hopefully, if anything like this had happened at her station, they would have turned it over to the Little Rock Police, and they would done a threat assessment, say, OK, is she in any kind of danger, imminent danger, and go back, take a look at her friends, her associates, her computers. Had she been receiving anything like...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: It is almost like you have to almost do a history at this point...
BROOKS: You really do.
SANCHEZ: ... to find out some of that information.
I'm going to hold you right there, Mike, because we have got so much to get to.
We also have -- oh, and my thanks, by the way, to Joey Sabb. Appreciate your information that you shared with us. Hope everything works out for your neighbor and friend.
This is something I want to show you now, the question of whether or not the AIP, the Atlanta (sic) Independence Party in Alaska, is an organization that has ties to Sarah Palin and her husband, so has been reported many times. The question is, what kind of organization are they? They have been refuting that they are secessionists. Here is a little bit of a sound from a special that we have prepared for you tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do I hate America and Americans? No. I don't hate anything. I dislike what they have done to a very fine idea. I dislike it intensely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: They invited us, so we went all the way up to Alaska to sit down and have a conversation with the leaders of the AIP. It is an exclusive the we're going to be sharing with you. And then Jeffrey Toobin, our legal analyst, is going to be joining us as well to break down what they are asking for, what are their demands, and much more.
Stay with us. That special, it will be right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: And I know we are moving fast.
Johnny B. Goode, do me a favor. Go over here and give me this MySpace. Somebody wrote this to us just a little while ago. And this is rather partisan, but I will read it to you.
"Hey, Rick, when it is illegal to protest? I am moving out of America. I am a huge Obama supporter, but the protesting outside the North Carolina poll place should be allowed. I think it helps points out the ignorance of the McCain/Palin arguments."
Again, it is a partisan comment that just came in to us moments ago from somebody who is watching our newscast as we move forward.
Well, we have gotten a lot of response to our segment on the Alaskan Independence Party, a lot of media response and response from you, thousands of you writing in. AIP has a strong secessionist leaning, you might say anti-American, and some have.
And vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's husband was a member. Palin herself addressed the party as a governor and told them to keep up the good work.
Because you asked us to, we have followed up on our original segment. And we have gone all the way to Alaska to talk to their leaders to get their side of these accusations.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LYNETTE CLARK, CHAIR, ALASKAN INDEPENDENCE PARTY: We have strawberries and rhubarb on the other side of it.
DEXTER CLARK, VICE CHAIR, ALASKAN INDEPENDENCE PARTY: Raspberries. And those raspberries come big as your thumb.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): The chair and vice chair of the Alaskan Independence Party live on this quaint homestead in cold interior Alaska, where they proudly hunt their own meat and grow fruit and vegetables in a homemade greenhouse.
D. CLARK: Oh, nice and warm in here. Fire it up, baby.
SANCHEZ: Even though Dexter and Lynette Clark were not born here, they are quick to call themselves Alaskans.
D. CLARK: Sometime maybe even just in how you say it, Alaska.
SANCHEZ: Clark argues that Alaska is not just a place on a map. It is a state of mind.
D. CLARK: Nowhere I have ever been where the dream that our founding fathers had for America has as good a chance of survival as it does in Alaska. It takes that independent spirit. It takes that ability to stand on your own two feet.
SANCHEZ: Long time prospectors the Clarks spend most days working a mining claim in their own backyard. A company name speaks to what they believe.
D. CLARK: UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am mining my own business.
SANCHEZ: The Clarks speak openly about lessons learned over 50 years of statehood. They disdain government dependence and contend the current U.S. financial crisis is proof that government is too big.
D. CLARK: An empire loses touch with its people. The American empire has gotten too big. It seems that everything needs to be bigger, so that it will be better. I think the lesson in Alaska is that it doesn't have to be bigger to be better.
SANCHEZ: Clark believes the vote for statehood was conducted illegally, and says Alaska's resources are now being robbed. As the party's vice chair, he publicly argues for a new vote.
D. CLARK: The very first thing we say in our platform is we pledge that the United States Constitution and the state of Alaska Constitution should be enforced as written and we should live our lives politically by those documents as written. Not the way that some of them have become interpreted over the years.
SANCHEZ: The independence party's 20-point platform never mentions the word secession, but repeatedly calls for greater state's rights, specifically, when it comes to the right of Alaskans to access public lands unencumbered. He says that is why AIP's founder, Joe Vogler, said -- quote -- "The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government."
D. CLARK: The Supreme Court refused to hear it. To Joe, that was the end of hope for the United States, when the highest court in the land would not even hear his arguments. That made him very bitter.
SANCHEZ: So bitter Vogler went on to say he would not be buried under America's quote damn flag. Clark insists those comments have been taken out of context by critics.
D. CLARK: There are people that have been involved in this movement are ordinary people, are not terrorists or not white supremacists, we were promised something with statehood and we feel we didn't get it. It's a broken promise.
SANCHEZ: Clark sees the broken promise as the federal government's steady encroachment on Alaskan land and rights and asked if his group hates America --
D. CLARK: Do I hate America and Americans? No. I don't hate anything. I dislike what they have done to a very fine idea. I dislike it intensely. They have made, they may have very well spoiled it for a lot of future generations, because they have taken the smell of freedom out of it. It is a race, and it is -- I'm not part of it.
SANCHEZ: As the sun sets near Fox, Alaska, fresh thawed caribou is being prepared for dinner and the Clarks can't imagine why anyone would want to live any other way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Let's bring in Jeffrey Toobin now, he's our legal analyst, to kind of parse this for us.
They say, Jeff, that they are not secessionists, but taking away Vogler's words we went into their platform on their Web site and I will read you just some of the things that it says on their platform. You explain them to us. They want to support and defend state's rights. They want to advocate the convening of a state constitutional convention. They want to re-establish the rights of all Alaskan residents to enter upon all public lands within the state, and they want to seek the complete repatriation of all public lands.
As I read that to you, how do you take it? What are they doing? What do they want?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Well, none of what is in that platform is unconstitutional or violent, it's very far outside the mainstream of normal American politics. But those sorts of objectives for state's rights, for access to state lands are perfectly legitimate things that people can seek. There is nothing unconstitutional about it.
SANCHEZ: The question I guess then becomes something like this, because it's something that we haves tussled with as we looked at organizations like this. Are they a fringe group masquerading as a party or are they a party that has some fringe elements in it?
TOOBIN: I think it's fair to say it's more of the latter. This is very much a political party, which is not advocating anything violent or anything unconstitutional, but it is expressing views that are well to the right of the Republican Party and certainly the Democratic Party.
This is not just your everyday party. The degree of independence they are seeking from the particularly the federal government is really extreme. It's particularly ironic in Alaska, because thanks to Senator Ted Stevens and others, Alaska has benefited from tax dollars from the lower 58 much more than any other state has. It has really been a beneficiary of big government not a victim of big government.
SANCHEZ: Point well made. Jeffrey Toobin, thanks for being with us. Appreciate it. By the way, they did get a governor elected before Sarah Palin which is an important point to make as well.
Thanks again to Jeffrey Toobin.
By the way, that video out of Virginia where one McCain supporter and several others go after another McCain supporter. Someone saying they put him in his place. We will show you that video once again, because of all the reaction it has gotten from you. We'll share that.
Stay with us. If you have not seen it, it's must-see television. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: First the McCain supporter shows up at a rally in Virginia and he starts spewing some pretty hateful stuff. Let me show you that first and then there is a part two, by the way, so hang tight. First one, take it, Dan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mohammed himself taught to deceive the infidel in order to progress Islam. I know that and you know that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just said Obama is a socialist?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A socialist with Islamic background.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you defend that claim, what makes you think you have -- ?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, a lot of --- he was raised in Madrassa, he has a lot of background, there's a lot of stuff that you can read on. I can't do it right now. I understand you are a Muslim?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I am not Muslim.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am here as a journalist.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Now what happens is that a bunch of other McCain supporters start questioning that guy, and saying why are you behaving this way? You are chasing people away. These are other McCain supporters including one who speaks for the McCain party, who is part of the McCain campaign. He comes out and confronts this individual. Let's watch that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you Muslim? Are you Turkish?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I'm Kurdish.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kurdish?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm one of the campaign chairs, I'm Muslim, I'm chairman of the Maryland campaign, I was (INAUDIBLE) McCain delegate. But he's not with the campaign, so you don't have to worry about it. I'm with the campaign, and we don't endorse that behavior.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't endorse this man's behavior? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The McCain campaign doesn't endorse your behavior, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm for McCain.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's not what our constitution is about. You are here being anti-Islam, but you're complaining against people in Muslim countries being against Christianity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: It seems like a heroic act, doesn't it? We have spoken with Mr. Zubari several times, he's anxious to come on our show and talk to us about that exchange, unfortunately the McCain campaign won't let him talk to us. We just wish that they would change their mind. Sounds like a heroic character. We'll keep trying.
There is another story that we're following for you now, this one coming out of West Virginia. Interestingly enough it involves some language which at first glance does seem to be somewhat heated.
We're joined now by Kenny Purdue, he's in West Virginia, member of the AFL-CIO and he brings us some information about how he has tried to get some of the folks in West Virginia to go out and give a good look to Barack Obama. I'm going to share with our viewers the very language that you used which stunned us when we saw it at first, Mr. Purdue.
Let's put that up on the screen, if we can. Here is the first one. "He is black, you say. The gentleman that's in the White House and John McCain -- they're white men. And I'm absolutely ashamed of what George W. Bush has done to this country." It goes on -- no, that's where it stops. Sorry about that.
You are obviously pointing out race here, where many people would question why you're doing that. Can you explain your point of view on this?
KENNY PURDUE, PRES., WEST VIRGINIA AFL-CIO: Well, I think it is a fact that Barack Obama is a black man, and it's the people looking at it, can they vote for a black man? And the issue is that it is a white man in the capital as well as John McCain that have been part of the problem. So we went through the southern counties to address the issues with them and talk about issues. This is more about issues than it is anything else. We addressed that and I think that the people really enjoyed today.
SANCHEZ: But it's the way that you approach it with such directness, speaking not only of the skin color of Barack Obama, but also about the people who live in West Virginia. I want to read you two more quotes and I want you to respond to them if you could. You say, "I would rather have a black friend than a white enemy." Referring I suppose to the two campaigns. This is Cecil Roberts speaking by the way, who's a member of your organization. Now, let's put up the other one, this one is pretty interesting as well. "There is a lot of people out there that think you are a bunch of inbred, redneck racists. They say you won't vote for a man who's black." You are referring to -- or that was said in reference to people who live in West Virginia, right? That was one of your colleagues who made that comment, correct?
PURDUE: That is true.
SANCHEZ: We are left wondering when you say that whether you are not doing as much harm as good.
PURDUE: Well, I don't think we did anybody any harm. The issue is brought to the people. There are a lot of African-American people in that area and they had no problem with the comments, because the issue needs to be addressed. That gets us to the point of views where we talk about the issues, it's some pocketbook issues, it's some 401(k)s that have disappeared. So we took it to the issues.
SANCHEZ: You're saying though, and this is what's interesting about this, that there are people who live in West Virginia who simply won't look at the issues or may not look at the issues, because of Obama's race. And you are trying to tell them, don't look at his race, look at the issues, is that right?
PURDUE: Well, the issue is not the person. The issue out there, are the issues that we spoke of. As we went through the south --
SANCHEZ: But you don't think without you telling them, they would be able to figure that out?
PURDUE: Well, nobody has been down here. We are not a targeted battleground state, so it doesn't get brought up that much. We took it upon ourselves to take the issue to the people in the southern counties and I think we did a pretty good job of it.
SANCHEZ: We appreciate your taking the time to talk to us through this, it's just maybe from a national perspective, it's interesting to have somebody use such colorful language when addressing something that they want to accomplish. We thank you sir for taking the time to talk to us. Kenny Purdue, West Virginia AFL- CIO.
When we come back, we're going to be talking about those in the past who have approached some of these things and we're also going to bring you the latest on "the fix" and we're watching the markets. Stay with us, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back to the world headquarters of CNN, I'm Rick Sanchez. Got a lot going today and a lot of your responses that we have been reading over the breaks. Let's do this right now though, let's go over to Drew Griffin. He's standing by for us in Reno, Nevada, where Drew has just moments ago completed an interview with candidate Sarah Palin. Drew thanks so much for joining us. What did you learn? How did the interview go?
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It went pretty well, Rick. We have been waiting for this for a long time. This is her first real sit-down interview with CNN, and it was pretty wide ranging, we talked about a lot of subjects. Most particularly though about the economy and Joe the plumber and Joe the plumber's view of Barack Obama being a socialist, and we asked Governor Palin if she thought the same thing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Is Barack Obama a socialist?
GOV. SARAH PALIN, (R) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not going to call him a socialist, but as Joe the plumber has suggested and in fact he came right out and said it, it sounds like socialism to him and he speaks for so many Americans who are quite concerned now after hearing finally what Barack Obama's true intentions are with his tax and economic plan. And that is to take more from small businesses, more from our families and then redistribute that according to his priorities.
That is not good for the entrepreneurial spirit that has built this great country. That is not good for our economy. Certainly it's not good for the opportunities that our small businesses should have to keep more of what they produce in order to hire more people, create more jobs. That's what gets the economy going.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Rick, I also asked her about trooper gate, about the issues back in Alaska and how she really squares with her own running mate John McCain on some of these big government interventions in the banking industry and a possible another supplemental bill for the American public.
As a fiscal conservative I asked her if she is square with that. Some very interesting sometimes candid answers. She did come right off the stump speech and come into our interview, but I feel like we did get a little more insight into who Sarah Palin is and how she would govern as a vice president in this interview, which we're going to have much more of later in the day.
SANCHEZ: All right, we'll look forward to it. Drew Griffin is going to be bringing you more of this interview, that's coming up in "THE SITUATION ROOM," by the way, with Wolf Blitzer. Good work, Drew.
Drew is in Nevada, Reno, Nevada, our next story is going to take us to Las Vegas, Nevada. The story of little Cole Puffinburger. Is it possible that this little boy may have been abducted and that somehow his grandfather could have been involved? There is an investigation going on.
We have new information. We're going to be sharing with you, stay with us we're going to be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back.
A lot of people commenting on some of the stories we've been following for you on this day. As a matter of fact, look at this one. Comans just wrote to us moments ago. Johnny or Robert, that's going to be on Twitter. Twitter board it is. She says, as sad as it is, race is still a factor for some people. This obviously in reference to our interview moments ago with the AFL-CIO member from West Virginia. So, yes, they need to be told it's OK to vote for a black man. There's a direct statement.
All right. Little story of Cole Puffinburger. He's in Las Vegas, Nevada, disappears. And at first police seem to be intimating to the entire country that he may have been taken by a Mexican drug cartel. Just a few days later he's actually found walking the streets by a bus driver not far from where he was taken. It's now led police to a massive investigation.
We've just received new information by the way, go over my shoulder if you can Robert, this came in just moments ago. Police are now identifying a man jailed on a weapons charge as another person of interest in the kidnapping of the 6-year-old boy. His name is Jose Lopez Buelna. There's his picture. We just received this. Again, just in. Another person of interest in the case of little Cole Puffinburger. This is an interesting case.
Let's bring in Mike once again, Mike Brooks to take us through this.
What's interesting, I think, most of all is the grandfather's role in this. Now I understand that they're questioning the grandfather's girlfriend?
BROOKS: Yes, they picked her up in Fontana, California. Now, they both have not been charged with this particular case. But they're being held as material witnesses. There were material witness warrants put out by U.S. magistrate. Now they are allowed by U.S. statute to be held for what they call a reasonable amount of time before they either give depositions or sworn testimony.
So we saw a lot of this after 9/11 when they were rounding up some folks they thought might have been involved as material witnesses and they're allowed to be held by U.S. statute. What they're doing now, they don't really know what the grandfather's role is. They initially thought he may have been involved with a large methamphetamine --
SANCHEZ: Somebody was trying to get back at him so they took his grandson.
BROOKS: Right, as retaliation, ransom, they didn't know. We don't know exactly. They're kind of going back saying now we're not sure exactly who's involved in this because we don't have any suspects. But now we do have a suspect. What role did this person play? That remains to be seen. But apparently Rick it was a large methamphetamine gang if you will, that went back and forth between the border of U.S. and Mexico.
SANCHEZ: Hold on a minute, this whole Mexican drug cartel thing doesn't look as realistic as it did last Friday when we first reported this.
BROOKS: It doesn't.
SANCHEZ: These guys have been methamphetamine dealers who live in the local area. It's a far cry between that, it's a reach to go from that to a cartel.
BROOKS: Right. Initially they also were saying that they thought other family members were involved in this also. But they've kind of backed off of that. We haven't heard too much about that. So again, the boy was just found wandering. Did somebody think there was some heat on them and they released the boy? I'm sure, he's 6 years old. I'm sure he was able to give them some good information. This bus driver found him just wandering the streets about 10:30 p.m. the other night. Again, new twists and turns. We have the two material witnesses. Now we have Lopez as a suspect.
SANCHEZ: As Yogi Bear would say, it gets curiouser and curiouser.
BROOKS: It ain't over until its over.
SANCHEZ: And it ain't over until it's over. We're going to be covering it until it's over. Mike Brooks you're the best, thanks so much for joining us on that. We're going to be coming back with some polls to share with you in just a little bit.
Today's fix? What did you miss? You won't miss it as long as you're watching us every day at this time. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Wow, we got two comments coming in. Let's start on Twitter, this is Melissa then we'll get to Jen. Melissa writes to us, West Virginia labor guy he spoke to racists in a way that would allow them to vote for a black. Well done. Deserves credit.
But then Jen, she's also watching our show and here's what she has to say. I was born and raised in West Virginia and people do think we are inbred racist rednecks. I'm not offended. I simply explain that I am wild and wonderful and that we have a unique rich culture and racism is ugly and exists in all states. North, south, east and west. Interesting perspective.
Let's go to the fix now, it's where we gather the stuff that you weren't able to see over the last couple days because you were probably working. It's Colbert on Colin Powell and Biden was on Ellen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) STEPHEN COLBERT, "THE COLBERT REPORT": I hope you had a good weekend. Friday I went antiquing upstate. Saturday I did a little apple picking. Sunday I was stabbed in the back by Colin Powell. Here's what the general said on "Meet the Press."
COLIN POWELL: I think he is a transformational figure and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama.
COLBERT: You want a transformational figure, Powell? Endorse John McCain. This campaign has transformed him into everything he hated.
ELLEN DEGENERES, "THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW": From what I hear, you didn't really want to be asked to be vice president and here you are, vice president candidate. And what has changed and how do you feel?
SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well I didn't want to be vice president. It's not anything I ever auditioned for. Vice presidents don't do a whole lot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: And there you have it. Here's the key question now. Do Americans believe that the United States right now is in a recession? We've got a poll we can share with you. Huh. 76 percent of Americans say, yes, we are in a recession. Despite what any politician says. 23 percent say no.
Let's see what the market and the investors are saying on this day. Susan Lisovicz checking on that for us, she is there at the Wall Street market watch place. Whatever it is we call it.
Susan to you. Market watch. There you go.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm watching the market. Actually, things are pretty quiet, Rick.
Although I'll say that stocks are receding. We're seeing a recession in terms of stock prices today. But you know, it's really a sign of the times Rick when I can tell you that things are calming down and we're still seeing a more than 200 point decline. That is, yesterday we had a rally all day.
Today we had a selloff all day, but it was calm, it was orderly. You know, the credit market continues to improve, that's a good thing. But we're in the midst of earnings season. The fact is, a lot of earnings aren't good. The forecasts aren't good because of concerns about where the economy is. And where it's going. We're not seeing the big swing. We are seeing the Dow give back more than half of what it gained yesterday. But pretty modest compared to what we've seen.
See you tomorrow, Rick.
SANCHEZ: They're up, they're down, they're up they're down. Susan, thanks so much. Wolf Blitzer standing by now with "THE SITUATION ROOM" -- Wolf.
