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American Morning
Obama to Visit Ailing Grandmother; Palin Motorcade Blocked; Bernanke Raises Talk of Second Stimulus Package; Can the Palin Factor Drive Enough Conservatives to the Polls?; Candidates Make Final Push: What McCain Needs to Do to Win Florida
Aired October 21, 2008 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Breaking news. Barack Obama leaves the campaign trail. A family emergency with 14 days until America picks a president.
And just in to CNN. Brand new video as anti-Palin protesters nearly get mowed down by her motorcade on the "Most Politics in the Morning."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And good morning. Thanks so much for being with us on this Tuesday, October 21st. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Roberts. Good morning to you. A lot of activity out there on the campaign trail. My goodness.
CHETRY: Absolutely.
ROBERTS: Wow. We'll be showing you a little bit more of that coming up.
First, though, new this morning. Growing optimism that credit is loosening giving markets across the globe a shot of confidence.
The Dow adding 413 points yesterday. That helped investors recoup some $500 billion in value. Overseas, Japan was up three percent. Hong Kong down slightly. But right now in Europe where trading is underway, the markets there in positive territory. Looks like it could be a good day today.
Right now, FBI agents are conducting an investigation after threatening letters were sent to nine Chase banks. Six of them were in Denver, three in Oklahoma. Some of the letters contained white powder.
Bank employees were examined by medical workers at the scene as a precaution. Officials say initial tests showed that the substance does not appear to be dangerous.
And as voters get ready to head to the polls again today in Florida, election officials are kicking it into high gear. More machines will be added across the state to handle the early voting crowds after lines wrapped around the block yesterday. In some sites the wait time was up to three hours. Some computer glitches were reported in a few voting spots.
CHETRY: Well, now to the "Most Politics in the Morning." Barack Obama will be leaving the campaign trail to be with his seriously ill grandmother in Hawaii. There's just 14 days to go in the presidential race. Events scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Wisconsin and Iowa have been canceled. Obama is expected to resume campaigning Saturday.
Meantime, CNN's latest poll of polls shows Obama leading John McCain by seven points, 51 percent to 44 percent. Both candidates are sharpening their attacks in the campaign's final days. Obama holds another rally in battleground Florida today.
Meanwhile, Suzanne Malveaux is live in Palm Beach, Florida, with more on the campaigning.
Hey there, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Kiran. Well, as you mentioned, some sad news for Barack Obama. He is going to be temporarily leaving the campaign trail for about a day and a half, heading back to Hawaii. That is where he's visiting with his gravely ill grandmother, Madelyn Dunham. She's 85 years old.
Doing a documentary about Obama, I had a chance to meet some of the relatives, his sister Maya. And she told me that Obama is very close to her.
His grandmother, grandfather raised him for part of the time when he was a teenager in Honolulu. Obviously, this is something that has a great deal of impact. He calls her "toot (ph)." That's short for tutu, Hawaiian for grandmother, because she never wanted to be called grandmother.
So, this is something that, obviously, he is going to do later in the week. But in the meantime, he is still focused on Florida. As you know, Florida very competitive and it really is a key state for a win.
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MALVEAUX (voice-over): With just two weeks left, Barack Obama's secret weapon, former rival Hillary Clinton.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: You can vote today, tomorrow, the next day and begin our march to take our country back.
MALVEAUX: Once fierce opponents now in a rare appearance together in Florida, the state that gave Clinton a win in their unsanctioned primary.
CLINTON: Tell them Hillary sent you to vote for Barack Obama.
MALVEAUX: In the battleground state of Florida where presidential ambitions have rested on hanging chads, early voting began. New Democratic voters out-register Republicans 2-1 here, and Obama needs everyone of them.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want you to go vote. Don't -- don't wait until November 4th.
MALVEAUX: Here the financial crisis has been devastating. Forty-four thousand homes in foreclosure, the second highest rate in the country behind California. Obama is making the case his financial plan will benefit them, the working class. John McCain's, the rich.
OBAMA: No tax. That's my commitment to you. You can take that to the bank.
MALVEAUX: Despite supporting the federal government's biggest intervention in the financial markets since the Great Depression, McCain is accusing Obama of going one step further, promoting a system of government control over private industry or socialism.
OBAMA: It is true that I want to roll back the Bush tax cuts on the very wealthiest Americans and go back to the rate that they paid under Bill Clinton. John McCain called that socialism.
MALVEAUX: Obama also mocked McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, for saying if she had a magic wand she'd prefer not to use the automated calls her campaign is being criticized for.
OBAMA: You really have to work hard to violate Governor Palin's standards on negative campaigning.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: And, Kiran, we don't expect Obama to necessarily take those digs at Palin today. What he's focusing on is jobs. They're calling this an economic summit and what he's done is he's invited governors from four different states, Republican leaning states to participate in this. Michigan, Ohio, New Mexico and Colorado. All of those states, however, have Democratic governors. And so this is really a push, a big push to try to make some inroads in those states -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Suzanne Malveaux for us this morning in Palm Beach. Thanks.
ROBERTS: More now on that story we showed you at the top of the hour. Police in Colorado are trying to track down several people who tried to block Governor Sarah Palin's motorcade. Look at this.
A lot of people on the ground there as the motorcade rolls by. It happened last night in Grand Junction as Governor Palin was on her way to speak to supporters. Our affiliate was there, captured the whole thing on tape.
Police say the protesters were part of a group called Red Pill. Officers in the motorcade had to drag some of the protesters out of the vehicles way. No reports of any injuries. And Governor Palin on the stump in Nevada today. She is the fastest rising star in the Republican Party with a following said that sometimes surpasses John McCain's at these campaign events. But as the campaign enters the homestretch now, some prominent conservatives are speaking out suggesting that Palin was a mistake.
Here's CNN's Ed Henry with that story.
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, Sarah Palin has taken a lot of hits from Republicans back in Washington lately but it's a whole different story out here on the campaign trail.
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HENRY (voice-over): In the final days out here in battleground states like Colorado, Sarah Palin is treated like a rock star still drawing much bigger crowds than John McCain.
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Barack Obama calls it spreading the wealth. Joe Biden calls higher taxes patriotic. Joe the plumber said it sounded to him like socialism. And now is not the time to experiment with that.
HENRY: She's ripping into Barack Obama, and the party faithful is digging her feistiness.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I think she's different. She's not the bureaucracy that we've been putting up with and putting up with and putting up with for so long in Washington. She's changed.
HENRY: It's one of the great unknowns about the final two weeks. Can the Palin factor drive enough conservatives to the polls to offset Obama's gains with independent voters?
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: It may well be that there is a -- there are a group of people out there now find it politically incorrect to be for Sarah Palin in public, but they're going to vote for her in the privacy of the voting booth.
HENRY: Former Secretary of State Colin Powell is hardly alone among establishment Republicans, however, in believing Palin actually hurts the Republican ticket.
GEN. COLIN POWELL, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States which is the job of the vice president.
HENRY: Conservative "New York Times" columnist David Brooks has called Palin a cancer on the Republican Party. While former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan wrote in "The Wall Street Journal," "There is little sign that she has the tools, the equipment, the knowledge or the philosophical grounding one hopes for, and expects, in a holder of high office." But there may be a disconnect between elite Republicans and the party faithful.
RICK STENGEL, MANAGING EDITOR, "TIME" MAGAZINE: I think Sarah Palin is still very popular among the conservative base. There are other conservatives, the conservative intelligencia who have peeled off and think that maybe it was a mistake.
HENRY: More so than McCain, she has built a fervent following that may show up on Election Day for the Republican ticket.
ALEX CASTELLANOS, GOP STRATEGIST, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Don't underestimate the Palin voter. They're still out there. They're still intense a lot of those voters.
PALIN: Live from New York it's Saturday Night!
HENRY: And her solid performance on "Saturday Night Live" suggests that regardless of what happens on Election Day, Palin could be a winner. If McCain pulls out a comeback victory, she'll get plenty of credit. If he loses, she could be the heir apparent in 2012.
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HENRY: If McCain falls and Republicans lose more ground in Congress, there'll be a lot of soul searching. Palin could emerge as the woman who tried to save John McCain and now represents the future of the Republican Party -- John, Kiran.
ROBERTS: Ed Henry reporting for us this morning. Ed, thanks so much.
Accusations of tricks and lies happening now to the race in the race to register voters. Why some people say they were duped into re- registering under a different party.
CHETRY: And momentum is building right now on Capitol Hill for a second stimulus package to boost the economy. Hear what America's top money manager and the president are saying.
It's eight minutes after the hour.
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BEN BERNANKE, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: In the ideal case, a fiscal package would not only boost overall spending and economic activity but also be aimed at redressing specific factors that have the potential to extend or deepen the economic slowdown.
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ROBERTS: That's Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke endorsing the idea of a second stimulus package telling Congress that it may be just what the economy needs right now, but Bernanke did not specify the size or scope of any plan.
The White House now says it is open to ideas. Democrats are pushing a package that could cost as much as $150 billion. Also considering a second round of tax rebates.
CHETRY: Well, 11 past the hour. Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business" this morning. So we're talking about the second stimulus.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right.
CHETRY: Is the success of the first one a model at all as to whether or not the second one would help?
ROMANS: Well, some would argue that the first one might not have been all that successful, right? I mean, there was a bump in retail sales in the summer when people got those checks. And people actually just now are getting blasted with those checks in the past few weeks. But there was a bump in retail sales but, you know, we still found ourselves in this crisis and we're still talking about a very, very weak economy.
So Ben Bernanke giving the seal of approval to the idea of perhaps another stimulus for consumers. We know there's been so much stimulus for the banks and for the banking system and for the financial system but something may be for consumers again.
Now, Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, the Democrats have really been pushing this for some time. She's been pushing this for several weeks, and we don't know what it would look like. And the Fed chairman saying that it's not really appropriate for him to say the size or the scope of it. That's something for Congress to say.
But what could it look like? Well, Democrats have wanted more cash assistance. They wanted more maybe infrastructure spending. That creates lots of jobs, although sometimes it can take a long time for those jobs to actually get started. They want to extend jobless benefits and maybe raise limits on home loans backed by the government.
Now, some of the competing proposals that have been floated out there that people have been talking about from the Republican side of the aisle, focus on tax breaks, little philosophical differences here. Cut capital gains tax in half for a couple of years. Cut income tax for firms buying troubled assets and expand capital gains tax exclusions on home sales and the like. So you see one is sort of -- maybe no surprise targeted toward, you know, getting money in people's pockets.
We don't know if they're talking about rebate checks again. The last time when Pelosi was talking about another stimulus just a few weeks ago, rebate checks weren't part of that equation. It was more targeted spending elsewhere in the economy. So we'll see what --
ROBERTS: But they're not ruling out that idea.
ROMANS: They're not ruling out that idea. And the White House says, you know, they're open to suggestions. They'll see what comes down the pike. So I think that a lot of experts have been saying we're going to see a lot more over the next few months of just trying to goose this economy as much as we can to try to prevent something terrible in 2009.
ROBERTS: They're sure goosing the deficit too.
ROMANS: Yes. Well, oh, yes. That's absolutely right, John.
CHETRY: We're going to talk about the flip side of this. What happens if there's too much liquidity put into the market when there's nothing to back it up?
ROMANS: That's right. Well, the unintended consequences of too much liquidity in the markets maybe what got us here in the first place.
CHETRY: Right.
ROMANS: So, I mean, what kind of lessons are we learning or repeating, I don't know.
CHETRY: We'll just save that for another day.
Christine, great to see you. Thanks.
Well, Congressman John Murtha at it again, taking more shots at the people who put him in office. We're going to hear what the Pennsylvania Democrat is now saying just one week after calling his constituents racist.
Also, Rob Marciano watching extreme weather for us this morning. Boy, it is chilly up here, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Kiran. Yes, chilly, a little blue on the map and came the cool air. Some browns and oranges with the leaves and maybe a little bit of white on the ground in some places in the northeast. Complete forecast coming up when the "Most News in the Morning" comes right back.
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CHETRY: Wow. Beautiful this morning. That's a look at the true colors of fall shining through. In Manchester, New Hampshire, shades of red, orange and yellow taking over the hillside. Experts say that the colors are more brilliant this year and will last a little bit longer thanks to the favorable weather. But boy, what pretty shots.
Manchester will be seeing a high of 59 degrees today. Some showers expected a bit later tonight. And at 17 past the hour, we check in with Rob Marciano this morning.
How gorgeous. And they say it's going to last a little longer this year because of favorable conditions. That's pretty neat.
MARCIANO: Yes. And you know, usually this time of the year we get a pretty good wind and rain storm that will start knocking those leaves down and we haven't seen that. It may not happen for several days. So it looks like we'll progress another few days where you can go out there and check out the leaves. Temperatures quite nice for that. Temps in the lower 40s in the cities and in the upper 30s in some spots across parts of the high country.
All right. Let's talk -- let's throw the leaves up there. You know, the spine of the Colorado Rockies, they get the Aspens turning pretty early in the season and then the northeast takes over. Those maples really pop. They're not only good for fall foliage but obviously good for syrup as well.
And in the birches, the tulip trees. It's the last one. Oh, the oaks. Of course, the mighty oaks. You can't get those. Those turn a lot the latest.
Sixty-eight degrees today in D.C. It will be 67 degrees in Nashville, 62 in New York. So even though a chilly start, we warm up quite nicely. Eighty-one degrees expected in Dallas and 83 degrees in Los Angeles.
All right. A little system that's rolling across the northeast today will bring enough cold air to where we'll probably see a little bit of snow mixing in from time to time, especially upstate New York. The Adirondacks will see one or two inches. And this probably could be extended over the next few days across the northern tier of the white and green mountains of New Hampshire and also Vermont.
So seeing that fall color pop, it's always kind of weird to see a little bit of snow mixed in especially though when the ski resorts help throw that in there. Also a slight chance for seeing -- it's not pictures here -- but there's a slight chance of seeing thunderstorms that could become severe across the plains today.
Kiran, back up to you.
CHETRY: All right. Rob, sounds great. Thanks.
MARCIANO: All right.
ROBERTS: Battleground Florida.
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AL CARDENAS, FORMER REPUBLICAN CHAIRMAN OF FLORIDA: Frankly, doesn't feel good.
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ROBERTS: Outmanned and outspent, a look at McCain's uphill battle and what he needs to do to turn things around.
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JIM KANE, "THE FLORIDA VOTER": There's only one way to go.
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ROBERTS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
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ROBERTS: Twenty-one minutes after the hour now, and checking the political ticket this Tuesday morning.
A week after calling his home base of western Pennsylvania "racist," Democratic Congressman John Murtha says many of his constituents are simply rednecks. Murtha telling a Pittsburg television station that five to 10 years ago the entire area was "really redneck." Now he says only certain segments of the population would have a problem voting for a black candidate.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden releasing his medical records. Biden's overall health is good, but the records remind that he was treated for two life threatening brain aneurysms back in 1988. Doctors say that Biden has had no subsequent aneurysms and has undergone appropriate screening.
The election results are in and Nickelodeon's kids have chosen Barack Obama. More than two million voted online and Nick's kids picked the president election. Barack Obama got 51 percent, John McCain 49 percent. Nick's kids have been right in four out of the last five elections.
And for more up-to-the minute political news, just head to CNN.com/ticker.
CHETRY: Just 14 days until the election and CNN has reporters fanned out across the battleground states. They'll be covering the issues most important to voters.
And right now, the polls show the presidential race is growing tighter by the minute. Both John McCain and Barack Obama zeroing in on Florida, a state that may hold the key to McCain's presidential hopes. Battleground reporter John Zarrella checks out the campaign blitz.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, Republicans are calling these next couple of weeks the sprint to the finish line.
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CALLEBS (voice-over): There's an overwhelming feeling among Republicans here that John McCain can not win the White House without winning Florida.
GOV. CHARLIE CRIST (R), FLORIDA: I imagine mathematically it's possible, but I think, I don't want to test it. I want to make sure that Senator McCain and Governor Palin win Florida.
CALLEBS: Even though Florida Governor Charlie Crist is campaigning hard at the 11th hour, he's been criticized for alleged tepid support and not doing more to help McCain, allegations Crist says just aren't true. CRIST: I have committed to do everything I can to help them win, because I think it's that important to our country and because he's my friend.
CALLEBS: McCain had a lead here all summer, but when the economy soured his numbers turned south. So what does McCain need to do here to win?
Long time Florida pollster Jim Kane says usual hot button issues like national defense, the war and education aren't even on the radar right now.
JIM KANE, "THE FLORIDA VOTER": There's only one way to go. I mean, he has to come up with a plan that's understandable, not complex about how to solve the every day problems of voters economically.
CALLEBS: A tough order. Tackle foreclosures, keep money flowing into the stock market and saving jobs.
Al Cardenas has been instrumental in assisting presidential campaigns in Florida for nearly 30 years. He's watched Barack Obama amass a staff of about 450 in Florida compared to about 100 for McCain. And Obama has outspent McCain in TV advertising by a 3-1 margin.
AL CARDENAS, FORMER REPUBLICAN CHAIRMAN OF FLORIDA: It's a first time in recent memory that Republicans in Florida have had less resources than Democrats and frankly, doesn't feel good. We've been spoiled by always having resources advantage.
CALLEBS: Cardenas says there are a few McCain musts. In a conservative upstate and panhandle, McCain must win big. In the so- called I-4 corridor, Tampa, Orlando and Daytona Beach, he must win by one or two percentage points. And in heavily Democratic South Florida, McCain must limit the damage.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS: So can McCain win? Well, of course. But as pollsters point out, history hasn't been kind to candidates who have trailed by four or so percentage points with such a short time before the election -- John and Kiran.
ROBERTS: Fear of fraud. People being paid to register voters charged with doing whatever it takes to turn a buck and in some cases, they're even switching people's party affiliation without them knowing.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is serious. It is a felony to register falsely.
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ROBERTS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning." (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the "Most Politics in the Morning." Just 14 days now until the election and the candidates are putting in some face time in the battleground states. Barack Obama is leading John McCain in most polls, but what do both candidates need to do in the final two weeks?
Ed Rollins, Republican strategist and CNN contributor, joins me now. Good morning.
ED ROLLINS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning. How are you this morning?
CHETRY: Clearly, John McCain has the bigger challenge here when you look at the polls. Barack Obama still ahead. Tightening slightly just a little bit according to our latest polls, but he continued to drive home the point that he was not Bush. He said that in the final debate and he's been saying that on the campaign trail. Effective?
ROLLINS: Well, that's very effective. You know, he should have done that six months ago. But at the end of the day, the last two weeks before these independents have made up their mind, it's a very important message.
CHETRY: When it comes to his policies on regulation and taxes, the Democrats are arguing he still is very much like Bush. How does he make sure that he's able to articulate the key differences?
ROLLINS: It hasn't been the policies as much as the lack of leadership over the last four years. And I think that John is a very strong leader and I think people perceive that. I think he's also drawing a contrast that Barack's programs, both taxing and spending, are not good in this recession.
CHETRY: The McCain campaign adviser, Rick Davis, said that circumstances have changed and because Congressman John Lewis compared recent GOP crowds, some of the Sarah Palin rallies to segregationist George Wallace's rallies, that the campaign was going rethink what was in and out of bounds. Some say that this has to do with McCain saying that Reverend Wright was off the table. Two weeks before the election, is the McCain campaign going to use Reverend Wright?
ROLLINS: It would be an idiotic mistake and I repeat, an idiotic mistake, if they did. That's something they should have done four months ago. Right now, they need to basically talk about the economy. That's all people care about in Florida, Ohio and the key states that they have to win.
CHETRY: Obama raised a record $150 million in September, and the McCain campaign said, well, he went back on his pledge. He promised that we would both take public financing. How much does money really play into leading in the polls?
ROLLINS: Money is a very important part of this game. When you can out buy someone three or four to one as you're doing in these key states, you certainly, certainly have an advantage. And I think to a certain extent -- you know, McCain will have a good campaign but they'll have more money and more resources.
CHETRY: Our polling has Barack Obama ahead by double digits in the state of Pennsylvania. Yet we're seeing the McCain camp still try to do some campaigning in Pennsylvania. Is that a smart move?
ROLLINS: Well, the truth of the matter is they're fighting on their own turf and I think that's they're -- that's sort of their exit emergency valve. As Congressman Murtha has said, there's a lot of people in western Pennsylvania that may not want to vote for Obama. He didn't say it very gracefully, and I think -- so I would not write it off totally. I would really focus on the Ohios and the Floridas and the North Carolinas and the Virginias where Obama is running the campaign.
CHETRY: And what's the most important thing if you were advising McCain that he needs to do in the final weeks.
ROLLINS: Be consistent. Don't have another tactical change. Basically stay right on this message. This is a guy who basis a traditional liberal Democrat. He's going to tax you to death and have big spending programs in a time of recession, that's economic disaster.
CHETRY: And if you're Obama what are you doing?
ROLLINS: I think you do what you're doing. I think the bottom line is that, you know, you keep moving forward and you don't -- you don't stop.
CHETRY: All right. Ed Rollins, always great to talk to you. Thanks for being with us this morning.
ROLLINS: All right. Thank you very much.
ROBERTS: We are crossing the half-hour now. And a check of today's top stories. Governor Sarah Palin breaking with John McCain when it comes to same-sex marriage. In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Palin said that she does support a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. McCain had said that issue should be a state matter.
A morning news anchor at Little Rock, Arkansas who had a small part in the movie "W" is in critical condition after being beaten severely in her home. Police say Anne Pressly was found early yesterday by her mother. Investigator says Pressly's purse was stolen. So far police do not have a suspect or a motive.
And President Bush says Americans concerns over the financial crisis are now easing. Speaking to business leaders in Louisiana, Bush credited the $700 billion bailout bill as having relaxed the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: People's attitudes are beginning to change from a period of intense concerns and I would call it near panic to being more relaxed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Our new CNN Opinion Research Corporation Poll, though, just out this morning, contradicts the President's message. It shows more than two-thirds of Americans, 67 percent are frightened about the way things are going in this country.
To the "Most Politics in the Morning" now, in this week in our new series "Count the Vote," we are investigating potential voting problems in key battleground states. Today our focus is on newly- minted Republicans who say they were duped into joining the party.
Here's CNN's Ted Rowlands for that.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, at the center of this case is a 25-year-old signature collector who is under investigation for allegedly switching people to the Republican Party without them knowing it. That wasn't, however, what he was arrested for.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS (voice-over): 25-year-old Mark Jacoby was arrested for allegedly lying about his own home address on two voter registration forms in order to do business in California. The charges against Jacoby are serious but have nothing to do with the outcome of an election yet. After his arrest, California's secretary of state was talking tough.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is serious. It is a felony to register falsely.
ROWLANDS: Jacoby runs a company which fines people at places like grocery stores to sign petitions or register to vote. According to the California Republican Party, Jacoby's company registered about 50,000 people for them this year, and was paid between $7 and $12 per person. Authorities say some of those people have complained that they were lied to, told they were signing petitions supporting tough laws against child molesters, not signing up to become a Republican. Jacoby hasn't been charged with wrongdoing related to those complaints.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That investigation is ongoing by our office into allegations that his company allegedly signed people up, re- registered them unbeknownst to them.
ROWLANDS: But the California Republican Party is crying foul. They accuse the secretary of state of using this case to make headlines to deflect recent ACORN criticism against Democrats. The secretary of state denies that allegation. Some experts say both parties are blowing cases of voter registration fraud out of proportion. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People should stop with the hyperbole that, you know, we're going to have a stolen election, that fraud is rampant and that the fabric of our democracy is threatened. None of that is true. But nobody should worry about the integrity of our electoral process.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: Jacoby was released on $50,000 bail. His attorney says that he is cooperating with investigators and also adds that he has done absolutely nothing wrong -- John, Kiran.
ROBERTS: Ted Rowlands for us this morning. Ted, thanks so much for that. For more from our special series "Count the Vote" or to hear more about potential problems that could plague this year's election, go to CNN.com/am, anytime, day or night, seven days a well, 24/7.
And tomorrow, CNN's Chris Lawrence looks at the community organizing group ACORN under fire, as Ted said, for voting registration fraud and whether this flawed registrations could really affect the vote count.
And if you're having any trouble at the polls, call the CNN voter hotline. We're tracking the problems now and on Election Day. Just call us at 1-877-462-6608. That's 1-877-462-6608.
Kiran?
CHETRY: It's time now to check with the "Truth Squad." And today we're putting Democratic VP nominee Joe Biden under the microscope checking out what he's saying about Senator John McCain and the minimum wage.
Hey, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, Kiran, good morning to you. You know, good morning, everybody. On the campaign trail and during the debates, we hear a lot of claims about voting records, the latest coming from Joe Biden. He's charging that John McCain voted against raising the minimum wage not once but 19 times.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: John McCain voted 19 times against raising the minimum wage, 19 times.
CHO (voice-over): So is Biden right? We checked the record. McCain has voted 19 times against provisions to raise the minimum wage. But as often happens when we look at voting records it's not nearly that simple. Some votes were on larger, complex spending bills. Others were procedural votes. And what Biden doesn't mention is that McCain voted at least five times to increase the minimum wage. When asked to explain his voting pattern, McCain said he supports increases when they are quote, "not attached to other big spending pork barrels." So, is Biden right? BIDEN: John McCain voted 19 times against raising the minimum wage.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Well, he said it pretty forcefully. But the "Truth Squad" verdict on this one, misleading. McCain did vote 19 times against provisions that would have raised the minimum wage but many increases as you heard were part of larger, complex spending bills. And one point that Biden, of course, did not point out McCain has also voted in favor of increasing the minimum wage.
As always of course we're watching both sides. Coming up in the next hour is Barack Obama, Kiran, really attacking Joe the Plumber, the big question everybody wants to know the answer. We will have it for you in the next hour.
CHETRY: All right. Alina, thanks.
CHO: You bet.
ROBERTS: Coming up now on 37 minutes after the hour. We're hearing a lot on the campaign trail about tax cuts, tax increases, socialism, redistribution of wealth. Christine Romans is here. She's taking a look at the candidates' tax plans, coming up.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And what you do in November at the polling booth. What will it mean for your tax bill next year? We'll tell you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." We've heard a lot from John McCain and Barack Obama about cutting your taxes. So, what will your tax bill look like under each individual candidate's plan? Our Christine Romans here, "Minding Your Business."
Good morning to you.
ROMANS: Well, you know, pretty much everybody is going to get some form of a tax cut. I mean, you look, unless you make $250,000 or more, you're looking at a lower tax bill in 2009 for under either candidate. And that is of course assuming that they can get their plans through and there isn't some sort of financial emergency and -- oh, wait, there is a financial emergency in the meantime, right?
Let's talk a little bit first about Senator John McCain and taxes. Let's take you through the nitty gritty here. He wants to keep the Bush tax cuts for low and middle-income earners. He wants to keep the Bush tax cuts for couples who make $250,000 or more. He wants to phase out the AMT, another -- there is a one-year fix already on that. In the bailout bill, it would have to be extended next year. He wants to cut the corporate tax rate to 25 percent.
Where is Senator Barack Obama on taxes? He also wants to keep the Bush tax cuts for low and middle-income earners. He wants to repeal them, though, for people making $250,000 or more. And no income tax for seniors earning less than $50,000.
Now, a bit here on that repealing the tax cuts for the $250,000 plus earners. He wants to take that money and use that revenue then to give tax credits to people in some cases who don't pay taxes at all. So, a check in the mail for low-income working families of, I think, $500 per person, $1,000 a family. So, taking money from the people who are making $250,000 or more and giving it to people who are not paying taxes.
Now, what is your tax bill going to look like? OK. Take a look at where your -- where you fit on this scale. If you make $38,000 to $66,000 a year, under McCain, you're going to see your average tax bill decline by about $300. Under Obama, your bill will go down by about $1,000.
If you make $66,000 a year to $112,000 a year, your bill under McCain is going to go down about $900. Under Obama, about $1200.
If you make $112,000 to $161,000 a year, under McCain, your bill is going to go down $2,500. Under Obama, about $2100.
And if you make $161,000 to $227,000, it's going to go down about $4000 under McCain and about $2700 under Obama.
You see the theme there. Both candidates, for almost everybody, they're talking about lower tax bills next year.
Where it gets sticky is if you're talking about people who make above $250,000 a year and you go up into the real big-income earners and you're talking about big tax increases under Obama and big tax declines under McCain. Obama wants to restore the Bush tax cuts for the top two income brackets. That would put them up to 36 and 39.6 percent, respectively. So, that is restoring those for the top two income...
ROBERTS: So, it's another 3 percent on everything above $250,000.
ROMANS: That's right, that's right.
ROBERTS: OK.
ROMANS: So, I mean, I think a lot of people talk about lowering taxes now and there a lot of people out there, though, who say, John and Kiran, why are we talking about lowering taxes when we have staggering budget deficits and we have all these other problems. But it is politics, we both know, and you don't win elections by going out and saying you're going to raise taxes.
ROBERTS: I spent some time with our good friend, Jeffrey Sachs, yesterday who thinks it's just nuts to be talking about cutting taxes on either side.
ROMANS: There are a lot of people who say that.
CHETRY: And unfortunately, we also find what they say when they're getting elected versus what happens once they're in office can be diametrically opposed.
ROMANS: Absolutely, absolutely. So, we'll have to see if either of them can follow through on their tax cut promises.
ROBERTS: Good fodder for discussion. Christine, thanks.
ROMANS: Yes.
ROBERTS: Tomorrow, both candidates want to drastically reduce emissions. Christine is going to take a look at both plans on how they plan to go about doing it. Now 43 minutes after the hour.
CHETRY: Early birds.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's see how long it takes me to negotiate and actually get inside today.
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CHETRY: Long lines and bad signs. John Zarrella spent hours trying to cast an early ballot in Florida.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Actually, I thought it was a big mess.
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CHETRY: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
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CHETRY: The election as we said is 14 days away. But voting is going on right now in Florida. People hoping to skip long lines and the long wait on Election Day were in a surprise yesterday, though. Battleground reporter John Zarrella checked out the turnout.
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JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John, Kiran, with early voting beginning on Monday in Florida, I decided I better beat the Election Day rush. Now, both parties are urging their supporters to get out and vote early. Why?
Well, there's a million voters in Broward County alone and they expect huge turnouts between now and Election Day. Now, I got in line 11:15 here. Let's see how long it takes me to negotiate and actually get inside today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Change is on the way. It's worth the wait.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I always vote early but I've never seen the crowds like this ever before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I live in the neighborhood.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, it was easier?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why not. I finished up at the golf course so I came here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anyone want a sample ballot?
ZARRELLA: I've been standing in line now for 30 minutes and I'm glad to say I'm not at the end of the line any more.
Are you going to stay?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes. Yes, yes.
ZARRELLA: Did you bring a deck of cards?
(voice-over): Many people spent their time studying the sample ballot. The real ballot is four pages including a host of proposed constitutional amendments.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they ask me for money, no.
ZARRELLA (on camera): Did you figure the ballot out? Did you figure out all those amendments, too?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely not.
ZARRELLA: I've been waiting an hour and a half now but we're almost inside the door.
Are you excited about that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm excited.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In order to vote for me, you have...
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Marty Ann Libby (ph) is reminding people she is running for a judgeship. Why? Someone else's name not hers was put on the ballot. Oops. Well, it is Florida.
(on camera): We're in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Finally.
ZARRELLA: Finally.
(voice-over): But it was hardly the end of the wait.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) were down.
ZARRELLA: Just ask those finally coming out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Actually, I thought it was a big mess. Three hours. Machines breaking. Just exhausted on my day off. ZARRELLA (on camera): It took me three hours and 15 minutes. They have two machines that actually spit out the ballots. Both of those machines went down which just brought the line to a complete standstill. So, there's certainly were some problems here on the first day of early voting in Broward County.
John?
Kiran?
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CHETRY: Wow. Three plus hours to cast your ballot. Along with John Zarrella, we've sent a team of reporters across the country to cover the key battleground states in the days leading up to the election. We're going to continue to bring you the very latest from the ground.
And if you're heading to the polls today, we want your help. We're trying to keep track of any problems and we've set up a hotline for anyone having troubles at the polls. The number is 877-go-CNN-08. It's 48 minutes after the hour.
ROBERTS: Dog days. From squirrels to mouse ears to political pumpkins.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just be careful cutting off my ears
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ROBERTS: Jeanne Moos takes a look at the creepy side of the campaign trail. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
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ROBERTS: Welcome back to the "Most Politics in the Morning." Just two weeks, 14 days to go now before we elect a new president, and the race is getting down-to-the-wire wacky. CNN's Jeanne Moos takes a look at some of the odd ball happenings on the campaign trail.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Things are getting squirrelly out there. Mickey Mouse politics.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How much will you pay me to put this up?
MOOS: And Hillary had her own head gear to ward off the rain.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This has got to be a short speech. OK, we will get out and vote.
MOOS: Ranting in the rain. And how about those Republicans accusing Senator Obama of the "S" word.
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Like socialism.
MOOS: No wonder when Obama walked in a diner the other day, a lady started yelling --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).
MOOS: She was yelling socialist but she sure wasn't being sociable. She refused to shake Obama's hand.
OBAMA: How are you, Ma'am?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE), North American Union.
MOOS: Forget about the skunk at a garden party, how about a Republican squirrel at a Democratic press conference.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Negative attacks.
MOOS: Squirrel drawing attention ACORN, the controversial group doing voter registration. This just in. Madam Tousseau (ph) is calling the election too close to wax. They are preparing clay molds of both Obama and McCain so either will be ready on inauguration day.
(on camera): With Halloween falling just four days before Election Day, the campaign and the holiday are already beginning to intersect. Who cares about people wearing silly masks?
(voice-over): We rather see Bon-Bon the Chihuahua in an Obama mask. Bon-Bon showed up for the Dog Day Masquerade in Times Square. Note the oversize, but accurate ears, Obama wouldn't mind the resemblance. He's pointed obvious plus-size earlobes himself posing with this kid.
OBAMA: We've got the same ear. So, we got power ears.
MOOS: But power ears on a pumpkin.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just be careful, cutting off my ears.
MOOS: Better homes and gardens is running a presidential pumpkin poll.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And my confident, maverick smile.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But that offer is being baked into a pie, I said thanks, but no thanks.
MOOS: Those Obama folks will turn anything into a slogan.
OBAMA: Yes, we can!
CROWD: Yes, we can! Yes, we can!
MOOS: Yes, we carve. Just think only two weeks left with these guys carving up each other.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE AND FEMALE: And we approve this message.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
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CHETRY: What if 3,500 votes get lost in a critical battleground state.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want it to go well because we don't want Florida in the news again.
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CHETRY: The new Florida voting machines that already botched up their summer primary.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They weren't lost. They were in the warehouse.
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CHETRY: Our special series "Count the Vote."
Plus, blame the Wall Street meltdown on reckless men. A medical link between the money mess and guys with high levels of sex hormones. Dr. Sanjay Gupta on "Drive, Risk and Testosterone." You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
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ROBERTS: There it is. The countdown clock is up after months and months and months -- no, just call it years of campaigning. We are now just two weeks away from Election Day. To be exact, our countdown clock at 13 days, 23 hours and 4 minutes right on. Wow.
Without a doubt, the next president faces enormous challenges around the world. In fact, Joe Biden told a crowd of supporters that the world would probably test a President Obama within months of taking office. Joining me now with here perspective in all of this is Obama supporter and the author of the new book, "Memo to the President," now in paperback. You'll likely know her best as America's first female secretary of state, Madeline Albright is here.
Good morning to you. It's good to see you.
MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, BARACK OBAMA SUPPORTER: Terrific to be with you, John, really.
ROBERTS: Love the pin.
ALBRIGHT: Thank you. Thank you.
ROBERTS: It's something from the book, right?
ALBRIGHT: Right.
ROBERTS: It's pretty incredible. I want to ask you of what you thought of what Joe Biden said yesterday in terms of this idea that, now, Senator Obama if he becomes president will be tested by an international crisis within the first six months. John McCain certainly picked up on that. Let's listen to what he said yesterday.
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MCCAIN: If Senator Obama is elected, Senator Biden said we will have an international crisis to test America's new president. We don't want a president who invites testing from the world at a time when our economy is in crisis, and Americans are already fighting in two wars.
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ROBERTS: Well, no question there what Senator McCain thought about those comments. What did you think of it? What's in your mind?
ALBRIGHT: Well, I think it is -- it's just a statement of fact, frankly. And in my book, I talk about the fact that there are a lot of big issues out there. But that also something unexpected, you always have to be prepared for that. And that's why, I actually think that Senator Obama is a terrific person to be president because he has this capability of assessing the situation in a calm way, of listening to a lot of different opinions and one of the things, John, that I talk about in my book is the necessity of having a president who is comfortable with different opinions, who has the capability actually of multitasking, of doing a lot of different things. And so, I think that it is exactly kind of what I talk about in my book as the necessary part for a president.
ROBERTS: But in terms of this being tested by international crisis, is that a suggestion that a rogue state or terrorist organization may try to launch an attack on the United States to try to take advantage of what may be seen as, I don't want to say a vacuum of power, but you know, when a new president is just getting going, all of the systems aren't necessarily in place right off the beginning.
ALBRIGHT: Well, I think that what you see is the fact that there's something happening in the world all the time. I mean, nobody expected just a complete financial meltdown in this particular way. And I think that we just have to expect the unexpected. I also do think that what is very evident is that there are many systems that are put into place right away and there is continuity on things. So, I think that it's a statement of fact, and I think Barack Obama is a terrific person to handle it.
ROBERTS: Of course, one of the big issues on the radar screen, Madam Secretary, is Iraq and what's to do about Iraq. Senator Obama has said that he would like to see American troops out of Iraq within 16 months if he's taking office, should he win the presidency, which would be about the summer of 2010. You seem to be at odds with that idea.
You told the "The Washington Times" on Thursday, quote, "I was never for a date certain. In Bosnia, we gave a date certain and then we couldn't get out and that undercut our credibility." Is this idea of a time table, a date certain -- is it the wrong idea?
ALBRIGHT: No. Actually, there is not an issue here. I think a timetable is a really good idea. What I had talked about was just saying, and I've been saying this a long time, if you say we have to be out on May 15th of the next date, I think that doesn't work. But a timetable, I think, is very important.
ROBERTS: But he's saying summer of 2010. It's not saying May 15th, but --
ALBRIGHT: Well, it's different, I think, you know. But he has a timetable that actually has a trajectory, a glide path. And the part that's interesting about that also is that the Iraqi government is, in fact, working on a similar idea that we would get out in some kind of a systemic way. But I think that -- I support Barack Obama's approach to this.
ROBERTS: Of course, you know, the Democrats talk about you, and they quote you at length, but we saw something interesting on the campaign trail a little more than a week ago where Governor Sarah Palin quoted you in a campaign event in California.
Let's listen to what she said.
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PALIN: It was Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State, and U.N. ambassador and Madeline has as her quote of the day for Starbucks -- now she said it, I didn't. She said, there's a place in Hell reserved for women who don't support other women.
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ROBERTS: So, that's what she said in the campaign trail. She had gotten a Starbucks mocha that morning. And we've got a grab frame of that. Let's take a look. This is Starbucks Quote #287. What you actually said, though, "There's a place in hell reserved for women who don't help other women." She said support. And you really took issue with that.
ALBRIGHT: Well, I did. Because actually it means something different. And I haven't used it in a political context. But, I'm really honored that she looks to me a source of wisdom.
But, the bottom line, John. This is not an issue of gender. It's a question of the agenda. And I think that is something that is very important for people to think about for this campaign. Which is, what are the issues? Which are the issues that are important to women? And they should vote in the way that suits them. I happen to think Barack Obama suits that very well.
ROBERTS: Madame Secretary, it's always great to see you. Congratulations on the book coming out in paperback.
ALBRIGHT: Great. Thank you very much.
ROBERTS: And we hope to see you back again soon.
ALBRIGHT: Thanks a lot.
ROBERTS: Thank you -- Kiran.
