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Presidential Candidates Stump in Swing States; Disruption During Stevens' Corruption Trial Deliberations; Voter Registration Fraud is Growing Concern; Reeling from Robocalls?

Aired October 23, 2008 - 14:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AUTOMATED VOICE OF RUDY GIULIANI, MAKING CAMPAIGN CALL: You need to know that Barack Obama opposes mandatory prison sentences for sex offenders, drug dealers and murderers.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Robo-Rudy says he's got Obama numbers. Do all these campaign calls get through to voters? Or just dial up the dissatisfaction?

Police show up at your door to evict you. You haven't missed any payments, but your landlord has. Renters, you better know your rights.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. And you're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Holding Florida, flipping Indiana, with 12 days to go, John McCain is setting out on a bus tour of Florida, a state he dearly hopes to keep in the Republican column. It has voted for the Democrat only once in the past four presidential elections. Indiana hasn't voted for a Democratic president since 1964.

But Barack Obama thinks he can win at this time. A CNN/"TIME" Opinion Research Poll from early this month shows McCain with 5-point edge among the Hoosiers and this morning in Norman Beach, Florida, McCain turned again to his old friend Joe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Whether it is Joe the Plumber in Ohio, or Joe over here. Thank you, Joe. There is Joes all over here; and small business owners that I met with this morning here in Florida. We shouldn't be taxing our small businesses more, as Senator Obama wants to do. We need to be helping them to expand their businesses and create jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, Senator Obama is on his way to Hawaii to visit his very ill grandmother. He'll get back to work on Saturday with a rally in Nevada. Before he left Indiana, the Democrat said that the economy should work for everybody.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is time to turn the page on eight years of economic policies that put Wall Street before Main Street but ended up hurting both. We need policies that grow our economy from the bottom up so that every American, everywhere has the chance to get ahead. Not just the person who owns to factory, but the men and women only the factory floor. Not just the CEO, but the secretary and the janitor. Because, if we have learned anything from this economic crisis, it is that we are all connected. We are all in this together. We will rise or fall as one nation, as one people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, the running mates are running in the tossup states. We saw Sarah Palin last hour in Troy, Ohio, and one of a half a dozen states that are anybody's guess. The latest CNN polling there shows that Obama with a 4-point edge. She moves on next to Pennsylvania where Obama is up by double-digits in CNN polling. And Joe Biden is on a college tour of North Carolina and another toss up, by the way. He spoke at UNC Charlotte this morning. He's going to be at Wake Forest later this hour. We will listen when he gets there.

As for Nevada the latest CNN/"TIME Opinion Research poll show Obama with a 5-point edge among likely voters but numbers only tell us so much. CNN's Dan Simon is in the town of --

(LAUGHTER)

Genoa, am I saying it right?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You are saying it right.

PHILLIPS: Oh, thank goodness.

SIMON: It is Genoa. It is very easy to say Jen-o-a, but Genoa

PHILLIPS: I'm so paranoid now, Dan.

SIMON: OK.

Well, I have to tell you that this is a pretty unusual town. It really maintains its historical flair, if you will. It was settled in 1850, Nevada's first territory. You can see the wagon, here. It is probably an original wagon. And we found a couple of characters in town. This is Sandy Johnson and Bill Garrison. My producer, Paul, he went into, you know, to check to see if there was anybody available to talk. And he found you two guys and you guys were talking politics.

I want to start with you, Bill, because when I asked you first if you were a Republican, what did you say?

BILL GARRISON, MCCAIN SUPPORTER: I'm a conservative, because Republicans are a little bit too liberal for me.

SIMON: A little too liberal for you.

We should tell you that Genoa is a very Republican town in this area, this whole rural area is dominated by Republicans.

Sandy, why are people so strongly in favor of the Republicans here? Why is it so ingrained in the culture?

SANDY JOHNSON, MCCAIN SUPPORTER: Well, this is a very independent area. You've got a lot of self-made people around here and this is the salt of the earth. People here don't rely on other people for their -- for their incomes. And they are very conservative.

SIMON: In 2004, in this area, about 70 percent of the voters went for George W. Bush, but we have seen some evidence that Democrats are increasing their numbers, in terms of the registration rolls. So I know you are not a political analyst, but if you are John McCain and he has to win the state of Nevada, what would you advise him to do?

GARRISON: Keep hammer away at our problems coming from the Democrats in Congress. Blocking his -- George Bush's efforts to get a handle on the subprime mortgage rates.

SIMON: And the latest CNN poll shows Obama is leading by about 5 points. I guess, Sandy, I will ask you this, how would you feel that after all of these years that Nevada obviously has been dominated by the GOP when it comes to presidential elections. Bill Clinton won in 1992 and 1996, but other than that, it has really been Republicans. How would you feel if the state becomes blue?

JOHNSON: Well, I wouldn't feel real good. I think, though, you have to look at what is going on nationally. What Bill said is, I think, very true. You have some very liberal politicians in Washington that are not basically grounded with people here. And, unfortunately, I think that John McCain has not satisfied your average person there. I think that you will see more people vote against him than necessarily for -- I think they have to be careful assuming this is necessarily going any direction.

SIMON: Well, last question for both of you. There has been some concern among some conservatives that Sarah Palin is a drag on the ticket. What is your take on Governor Palin?

GARRISON: Absolutely not. She is the reason I am voting for John McCain. John McCain hammered the Republicans a lot, and he was a Democrat's favorite son for a long time, but I think that he'll come around, and be a good conservative. And Sarah Palin is, I am hoping, can run for president in '12.

SIMON: All right, well thank you guys, both.

Kyra, I know you have some breaking news back there, so we'll toss it back to you.

PHILLIPS: Dan Simon, sure appreciate it.

We do. We are getting breaking news on the corruption trial of U.S. Senator Ted Stevens from Alaska. Our Kelli Arena, joining us now from the D.C. Bureau to tell us what is going on.

Kelli, what's the deal?

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, it seems that one member of the jury is not playing well with the others. Jury sent a note to the judge saying that one juror is being rude, having violent outbursts. We don't know if those are physical in nature, verbal in nature. Now there is going to be some discussion as to whether or not that juror needs to be dismissed from the deliberations. If that happens, Kyra, then an alternate would be at signed and then those deliberations have to start over again.

As you know, Senator Stevens was charged with accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts and home renovations that prosecutors say he never reported on Senate financial disclosure forms. The senator has contended he paid every bill that he ever got, more than $160,000 worth.

Those jurors went, and started deliberating just yesterday. At the end of the day yesterday, Kyra, they sent a note to the judge saying we want to stop a little early, because things are very stressful. We want to go home to get some clarity. So there was a little bit of a sign that things were tense yesterday. But today, obviously, it reached a bit of a climax. We are just waiting to see if -- the deliberations have halted, and we are waiting to see what the judge decides to do next.

PHILLIPS: All right. We will wait for word. Kelli Arena, thanks so much.

ARENA: You're welcome, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: I just want to take a few minutes right now to answer some criticisms surrounding my good friend and colleague Drew Griffin. Drew, who is one of our best investigative correspondents here at CNN recently sat down with Governor Sarah Palin for her first CNN interview. And some of you are taking issue with it. So, we want to clear the air.

You were criticized for questions that you asked. What's the deal? What was the question?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the issue is one question in a 25-minute interview. And I want you to first hear the question. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: Governor, you have been mocked in the press. The press has been pretty hard on you. Democrats have been pretty hard on you, but also some conservatives have been pretty hard on you, as well. "The National Review" had a story saying that, you know, I can't tell if Sarah Palin is incompetent, stupid, unqualified, corrupt, or all of the above.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: Now "The National Review" is a conservative magazine and the author, Byron York, was making the point that if all you did was to watch or read the mainstream media you would think that Sarah Palin is incompetent, when in fact, as York pointed out in his article, she has a very successful record of bipartisan governing in Alaska. I thought it was a very good article, Kyra. I was going to use it to get the governor to answer the question of why her message of governing in Alaska not getting out.

PHILLIPS: So, did she answer the question? Because I saw the interview, and it seems that you were having a back and forth, and she was going there and she cut off and she was eager to answers you.

GRIFFIN: First of all, Sarah Palin was delightful. She could not have been nicer, very engaging. And eager to talk, Kyra, because the governor's schedule, and we were under strict time limits, as you know, we were getting wrapped from the campaign people. Now I want you to see how that same question is played out, and how I never really explained the point of "The National Review" before she finished answering the question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: Governor, you have been mocked in the press. The press has been pretty hard on you. Democrats have been pretty hard on you. But also some conservatives have been pretty hard on you as well. "The National Review" had a story saying that, you know, I can't tell if Sarah Palin is incompetent, stupid, unqualified, corrupt, or all of the above --

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Who wrote that one?

GRIFFIN: That was in "The National Review". I don't have the author.

PALIN: Who wrote it? I'd like to I talk to that person.

GRIFFIN: But they were talking about the fact that your experience as governor is not getting out. Do you feel trapped in this campaign? That your message is not getting out? And if so, who do you blame?

PALIN: Well, I am getting my message out right now, through you, and with you, Drew, and the American people who watching CNN. And I appreciate this opportunity.

No, you know, I am obviously an outsider of the Washington elites and of the conventional -- I think, media targets or media characters that have been a part of this for years. I think that is final -- that is good for the American electorate to understand they have a choice here in our ticket of having the experience, and the reputation that comes with John McCain of being the patriot and the maverick in the Senate. You have that and you combine it a team member who is new and fresh, with new ideas, and new vision. New energy that needs to be infused into Washington, D.C. with that commitment to clean it up in D.C.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: When you understand the dynamic, she was jumping in, and you were trying to finish, to kind of explain the whole quote. But you were just being a gentleman and letting her finish her answer.

GRIFFIN: Well, you know, you try to get a little rapport going. Now, look, she asked me for the author's name and I could not remember it. I could not remember Byron York's name.

PHILLIPS: We do that all the time.

GRIFFIN: But I wanted to keep the interview moving, so I got to the heart of the question, and really the heart of York's article in "National Review" which is that you are a successful governor, why aren't you getting that message out? Which she answered. In no way did I intend to misquote "The National Review". This exchange aired just once, in the 6 p.m. hour.

And as soon as the "The National Review" brought it to our attention, at 7:05, we immediately realized that the context could be misconstrued. We cut that portion of the interview, it never aired again. We sent a statement to "The National Review", in an e-mail, explaining what had happened. That we had, in fact, cut the question from any further airings.

Here is what it says: "Drew was trying to express what Byron York was saying, but he didn't finish his thought and inadvertently left the impression it was York's view, rather than a commentary on how the candidate has been portrayed by others. We do not plan to re- air that portion of the interview."

PHILLIPS: Bottom line, we go to journalism school, we should graduate not only with a diploma but big target on our forehead, because no matter what we say during a political season, and you are rushed and it is tight time, there is always going to be people out there that are going to criticize.

You did a great job, Drew. Appreciate it. Appreciate you coming on and -

GRIFFIN: Hope that clears it up.

PHILLIPS: Well, I hope it does, too. Let's Moveon.org.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: OK. Thanks, Drew.

Well, it is getting rough out there on the campaign trail, as you can see. Here is another way. Take a listen.

(BEGIN CAMPAIGN AD)

AUTOMATED VOICE OF RUDY GIULIANI, MAKING CAMPAIGN CALLS: You need to know that Barack Obama opposes mandatory prison sentences for sex offenders and drug dealers and murderers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: A tough talking robocall by Rudy Giuliani, coming to a phone near you. The Truth Squad tackles the robocall wars later in this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Not a whole lot of sunny economic news today, foreclosure filings were up percent in the third quarter. They are up 71 percent compared to the same period a year ago. The Department of Labor says that the number of people filing unemployment claims last week jumped by 15,000. Total number of claims filed, 478,000.

Now, one of the Wall Street survivors, Goldman Sachs, announced it will cut 10 percent of its workforce. And former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan tells Congress that stable home prices and a healthier market are months away. That more layoffs are coming, and that he bears some of the blame.

Homeowners just can't seem to catch a break. Foreclosures still on the rise. Carrie Lee at the New York Stock Exchange with the latest numbers along with the reaction on Wall Street.

Hey, Carrie.

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra.

Well, most of the economic issues we're dealing with can be traced back to the housing slump. And the problems here are still getting worse. More than 81,000 homes were lost to foreclosure last month. And according to RealtyTrac, that means there are now more than 750,000 homes in some state of foreclosure across the country. And RealtyTrac expects that number to reach the 1 million mark by the end of the year.

Now these problems have been especially concentrated in six states. By far the hardest hit is California, which accounts for more than a quarter of all of the foreclosures in the country; also Sunbelt states, Arizona and Nevada, taking a beating, as have Florida and along with Ohio and Michigan, in the Midwest. Michigan because of all of the auto layoffs in Detroit.

But there is a new plan to help the troubled homeowners. The FDIC now proposing a way to help them before they get to the point of losing their homes. Chairman Sheila Bair told the Senate Banking Committee, this morning, that the government should give some type of financial incentive to lenders if they turn at-risk loans into more affordable mortgages.

Now, the FDIC developed a similar plan for borrowers of failed IndyMac Bankcorp, that was back in July, and that has helped those homeowners save about $350 a month in payments. That is the latest on housing.

Meanwhile, it is another volatile day on Wall Street. Triple- digit swings up and down for the Dow. We are not into last hour of trading yet. Right now the industrials are lower by 240 points, so a drop of 2.8 percent, close to the lows of the session. Tech stocks and the Nasdaq down even more, down 4.5 percent.

Kyra, we will see what happens as the minutes get closer to the 4:00 bell.

PHILLIPS: Sounds good, Carrie. Thank you so much.

A lot of these foreclosures are affecting people who don't even own their homes. We are talking about renters who pay on time, but still getting evicted. The situation made the sheriff in Cook County, Illinois, so angry, that he is refusing to serve eviction papers. He actually spoke out earlier this month on CNN's "American Morning". Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF THOMAS DART, COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS: And this is an example of where the banking industry has not done any of the work they should do. It is a piece of paper to them, and these poor people are seeing everything they own put out on the street. And, John, they have done absolutely nothing wrong. They have paid their bills. They have paid them on time. And here we are with a battery ram at their front row, going to throw them out. This stuff is -- it's gotten insane and we are going to stop it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: So what can you do as a renter if someone does show up at your door to foreclose? CNN Legal Analyst Sunny Hostin joins us now to answer your questions.

Sunny, great to see you. Let's get straight to the question. How about from a viewer, in New York, I understand, I think they sent this to you and it says: "I have been told that I have to leave my apartment because my landlord did not pay the mortgage, but I have been paying my rent on time and I paid a high security deposit. Do I have to move?"

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It is unbelievable that this is happening all over the country, Kyra. I am getting e-mails daily about. This I have about 200 e-mails from renters. In New York -- and really, it depends upon the state that you are in. Some states will only give you three days' notice to move out. Some states give you upwards to 60 days, as in California.

But in New York, in particular, New York state law does protect tenants from foreclosure. So for this particular viewer, that e- mailed, New York state law will protect him or her from foreclosure. But I have to say that really depends state-to-state, and typically in most states in a majority of the states, Kyra, unbelievably foreclosure trumps your rental lease, so you will have to move out. PHILLIPS: All right, let's say that someone does decide to sue their landlord, if they are evicted, what exactly can they sue for and what is the first move they need to make?

HOSTIN: There are a couple of things they can sue for and there are rights. One thing I do need to mention is some tenants are squatting in their apartments and refusing to evicted. That is against the law. I really would not advise anyone to do that because you can imagine, with an eviction, on your credit history, it is going to be very difficult to find housing.

But your first steps are, go to your local court. Landlords/tenant sections in courthouses are wonderful places to get information. The clerks are usually very helpful, and you can determine whether or not your landlord truly is in foreclosure.

And the next thing you should do is go to small claims court. Many states allow you $5,000 in recourse for small claims court. You could do it yourself. You don't have to hire an attorney. And it is a wonderful avenue to go to. And there are a lot of things that you can get. You can moving and apartment search costs. You can get application fees. And most importantly, you can get the difference between your old rent and your new rent, if your new rent is higher. And sometimes, I should say most of the time, you get your security deposit back, because your landlord has not kept his or her promise. They have broken the lease for you. And so there are a lot of things that you can do in small claims court.

PHILLIPS: All right, Sunny, we are glad you joining us, hopefully on a weekly basis. Of course if you have questions for Sunny you can e-mail her right there at Sunnyslaw@cnn.com. Or you can go to I-Report.com/sunny and she will answer your questions.

Sunny, thank you so much.

HOSTIN: Thank, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right.

Flames light up the sky over L.A. as a wildfire breaks out near Beverly Hills and the famous Getty Center. We have the latest from the front lines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, for hours it was touch and go. Flames and sparks lit up the sky over parts of Los Angeles overnight as a wildfire burned near Beverly Hills. Now, good news from the firefighters. They have put out all of the visible flames. The area is in L.A.'s Brentwood section, about two miles from to Getty Center. If you have not been to the Getty Center, it is the museum that has not been opened for about five years now, and for a while sections of the busy freeway there at the San Diego actually had to be shutdown. And the Getty was actually was being threatened by those flames. But so far so good.

Meteorologist Chad Myers actually is keeping track of that. Updated us and he's also watching that big fire threat on the West Coast and the rest of the weather.

What do you think, Chad?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, whenever you see a big red zone in Southern California, that means offshore wind, and that means the potential for Santa Ana. Big high pressure here. It is going to breathe in this afternoon, so that the winds will die off. This high pressure will breathe out, tonight, as this air collapses on to the land.

You cannot go down anymore, because the mountains get in the way, and then the air will be shoved out across the L.A. Basin and down the canyons and that is the Santa Ana event. We will have another one probably tonight and winds 25 or 35 miles per hour. There they go, right across.

Right down the deserts and right down into the places where people live. Through the canyons, because that is where the wind kind of gets funneled for the same reasons that you get this wind tunnel effect in New York City. You can stand on one side of the block and not get any wind, but all of a sudden you move and all of a sudden, these buildings just funnel all of this wind in one direction. That is what kind of happens out there in the Southwest as well.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Chad, I am kind of obsessed with the Getty Center because I used to live in the L.A. area.

MYERS: Yes, yes.

PHILLIPS: And you said that the flames were threatening this museum area.

MYERS: Yes, smoky.

PHILLIPS: Yes, I was just going through seeing -- and it is ironic they have this Climate Change and Preserving Cultural Heritage in the 21st century, talking about conversation. And there is pictures of like fire and pollution. So it is sort of ironic they have it going on there at the museum, while meanwhile the fires are in the area there actually threatening parts of it.

MYERS: It is one of those nights that even -- and this is not a 60 or 80-miles-per-hour wind night, but if you smell smoke, you better wake and figure out where that smoke smell is coming from.

PHILLIPS: All right, thanks, Chad.

MYERS: You got it.

PHILLIPS: Get phone, it could be an important call. Or it could be a robocall. The inside scoop on those automated political pitches that are ringing off of the hook.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips in the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, and you are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

It is 2:31 Eastern time right now. Here are some of the stories we're on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Another manic day for the markets. A rush of bad news on the mortgage and earning fronts, seeing these tumbling early right now. Dow Industrials down 152 points. It took almost eight hours, but firefighters have put out a blaze in the Los Angeles hills. The fire temporarily shutdown the 405 freeway and some other major roads, luckily no injuries reported and no homes lost.

And Barack Obama leaving the campaign trail for a bit as John McCain blazes a trail across Florida. Senator Obama heads to Hawaii to visit his ailing grandmother. Senator McCain sent him off with a slam saying, Obama will do -- quote -- "anything to get elected."

When it comes to campaigns, former New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani, knows how to play hard ball. He is putting those skills to work in one of those automated robocalls on behalf of John McCain. Here he is going after Barack Obama on the crime issue.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

AUTOMATED VOICE OF RUDY GIULIANI, MAKING CAMPAIGN CALLS: You need to know that Barack Obama opposes mandatory prison sentences for sex offenders, drug dealers and murderers. It's true, I read Obama's words myself. And recently, congressional liberals introduced a bill to eliminate mandatory prison sentences for violent criminals, trying to give liberal judges the power to decide whether criminals are sent to jail or set free.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Pretty tough stuff. But is it true? Let's go ahead and bring in Josh Levs from the CNN Truth Squad.

What do you think? What did you find out, Josh?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there.

Well, of course we this and had to jump on it right away, right? No surprise, that is what the Truth Squad does, especially these days. And of course the candidates are keeping us busy.

We tackled this one today. Here is the deal, back in October of 2003, when he was running for the Senate, Barack Obama was asked this at a debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Barack Obama, would you vote to abolish mandatory minimum jail sentences?

OBAMA: I would vote to abolish mandatory minimum sentences. The mandatory minimums take too much discretion away from the judges.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: It goes away fast, he said it takes too much discretion away from judges. And that ding sound you heard, that means it was a timed answer; he had to stop.

Now, four years later, which was last year, he was giving a speech at Howard University. He brought up this topic of minimum sentences.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I think it is time we took a hard look at the wisdom of locking up some first-time nonviolent drug users for decades.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: And he kept talking in those terms, this idea of nonviolent. I'm also going to show you something. It is way too tiny on the screen here, but this comes from his Web site, and he does the same thing. he talks about minimum sentences and he talks about it in the context of them being ineffective warehousing of nonviolent drug offenders.

So when we took a look at this today, Kyra, and we came up with our verdict -- I put it in really big letters here, you can see it -- CNN Truth Squad, the verdict -- misleading. Obama made a general comment about voting to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences four years ago, but more detailed comments and his Web site specify that he'd focus on nonviolent drug offenses, not violent crimes.

And that, Kyra, is how we got to the decision of misleading on what people are hearing in the robocall.

PHILLIPS: All right. Josh, thanks.

LEVS: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: We're going to keep talking about it. Robocalls are annoying for sure, but they are also pretty inexpensive and apparently effective. And with 12 days before, well, left, before this election, you can expect to hear a lot more of them.

Here is CNN's Carol Costello.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It sounds like a bad B-movie -- the attack of the killer robocalls. But for voters, that is exactly what it feels like.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is horrible. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hate them!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is ridiculous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really annoying.

COSTELLO: Stoppoliticalcalls.org feels your pain. Its goal is to stop robocalls now. But with two weeks to go, forget it.

SHAUN DAKIN, STOPPOLITICALCALLS.ORG: It is essentially the spam of this election cycle. They've become so cheap, they've become so ubiquitous at every level of every race. So if you particularly live in a battleground state, our members are reporting getting to 10 to 15 calls a day. That is only going to increase.

COSTELLO: Dakin says the McCain camp has launched 12 different robocall campaigns in the past month and a half, including linking Barack Obama to '60s radical William Ayers.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

ROBOCALL, MCCAIN CAMPAIGN: Hello, I'm calling for John McCain and the RNC because you need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist, Bill Ayers.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COSTELLO: That attack robocall is in part why you should expect more robocalls. It has actually sparked a robocall war, on and off of the phone.

SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: John, stop your ads. Bring down those robocalls.

COSTELLO: Even some Republicans echoed Joe Biden. The co-chair of McCain's main campaign, Senator Susan Collins, says these kinds of calls should stop immediately. Don't bet on it.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That robocall...

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

ROBOCALL, MCCAIN CAMPAIGN: ... Domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, whose organization bombed the U.S. Capitol...

(END AUDIO CLIP)

MCCAIN: ... is absolutely accurate. And by the way, Senator Obama's campaign is running robocalls as we speak.

COSTELLO: Stoppoliticalcalls.org says the Obama camp is doing that, launching at least four robocall campaigns in the last month. And the Wisconsin Democratic Party has also joined in, creating this robocall attacking McCain's attack call.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) ROBOCALL, OBAMA CAMPAIGN: I live in Green Bay. And like you, I have been getting sleazy phone calls and mail from John McCain and his supporters.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Expect to hear that one a lot if you live in a swing state. And the only way to avoid it? Don't answer your phone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Carol Costello joins me now.

We know we can't answer our phone. Have you gotten one of these calls yet, by the way?

COSTELLO: Oh yes, are you kidding? I don't get as many because of course I live in the state of Maryland which is not exactly contested. I think it is going Democrat.

But if you're wondering if these robocalls work, Pew Research did a study on it during the primary and found that half of the people who answer these robocalls immediately hang up, Kyra. And then, a lot of people like listen to it, and they become angry and then hang up when it is finished. And you notice how nasty they are. They are always really sleazy, and there is a reason for that.

It is because the nastier they are, the more likely people will stay on the phone to listen to them. And if you get just a small fraction of the people listening and believing it, I guess you have accomplished what you have set out to do.

PHILLIPS: Aren't there other numbers you can call for sleazy conversations? Why do you have to wait on the phone for these?

COSTELLO: And they are a lot more fun.

PHILLIPS: So curious -- what about unlisted numbers?

COSTELLO: Unlisted numbers, well, the campaigns hire these services, and if you put in a random number, it could come up with your unlisted phone number. So even if your phone number is unlisted, even if you have a cell phone and no landline so-to-speak in your home, you could get a robocall.

PHILLIPS: All right. Carol Costello -- I'll be calling you later.

COSTELLO: I'll be looking forward to it.

PHILLIPS: You better pick up the phone.

Well, the battle for votes in some areas is turning into the battle over who votes. Worries about potential voter fraud are a hot topic in the White House race. Our Chris Lawrence reports some examples of apparent fraud aren't always what they appear to be. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In 2006, this man helped register nearly 2,000 voters for ACORN. But you couldn't find a one of them who actually existed.

CLIFTON MITCHELL, FORMER ACORN WORKER: I regret it. I paid the price for it.

LAWRENCE: Clifton Mitchell spent nearly three months in jail last year. One of the few people ever convicted of voter registration fraud.

MITCHELL: I needed money, and I needed to support my family. And I was new to the area, it was the only job I had.

LAWRENCE: Mitchell says ACORN threatened to close the office if his team did not meet its quota, so behind the back of their supervisor --

MITCHELL: We came up with the idea -- let's make fraudulent calls.

LAWRENCE: They took addresses from homeless shelters, faked the birthdays and used baby name books to create new voters.

MITCHELL: We used the newspaper everyday. Everyday I would go to the library and get a newspaper. I had one guy who would go through the phonebook. Everyone had different methods.

LAWRENCE: ACORN was fined and ordered to improve its oversight. Senator John McCain's campaign has accused the group of trying to rig the election for Democrats.

(on camera): Are we talking about these fake people actually showing up to vote?

PROF. ERIC SCHNAPPER, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON: You look at some of the names, Mickey Mouse, Dr. Seuss -- Mickey Mouse only votes in Disneyland. He's not going to show up at a critical precinct in West Virginia or North Carolina.

LAWRENCE (voice-over): Law professor Eric Schnapper says if anyone should be upset, it is ACORN.

SCHNAPPER: The victims of this are the people who paid them -- these workers -- $8 an hour to go out and find legitimate voters, and they didn't get their $8 worth. They put down phony names.

LAWRENCE: Schnapper says threats of criminal prosecution may scare some groups into closing voter registration drives and keep some voters away from the polls.

SCHNAPPER: That really does affect the outcome of the election.

NARRATOR: Psst ... do something. LAWRENCE: ACORN has just released a new video to fight what it calls efforts to suppress voter turnout. And for his part, Mitchell says his team never intended to steal an election.

MITCHELL: They're just trying to keep a job.

LAWRENCE (on camera): A nonpartisan group at NYU Law School reviewed voter fraud cases across the country. It found that most were caused by technical glitches and clerical errors, and a person was more likely to be struck by lightning than impersonate another voter at the polls.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Seattle.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, we want to hear from you. If you run into problems at the polls, call the CNN voter hotline. Help us track the problems and we will report the trouble in realtime. Call this number -- 1-877-462-6608. We're keeping them honest all the way through the election and beyond.

The impact of the race on the race. That is the focus of our political coverage tomorrow. Be sure to stay with us as we get closer to Election Day.

Oh, dear, another lawsuit against Oprah. Who is going after Miss Winfrey's millions this time?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: From one launchpad to another, NASA is rolling the space shuttle Endeavour to the pad where it will wait for its scheduled launch three weeks from now. The move started this morning. Endeavour will carry seven astronauts to the international space station on a mission to deliver equipment. The shuttle Atlantis has been on the launchpad but was rolled back into the vehicle assembly building Monday. Its mission to the Hubble Space Telescope was delayed when the telescope brokedown.

It is a cruel summer up in the Arctic. The ice cap there is still slipping away, and the meltdown effects more than just the scientists who monitor these things.

Miles O'Brien takes a look at this "Planet in Peril report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CHIEF ENVIRONMENT AND TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: It is the incredible shrinking polar ice cap. A chilling sight for researchers who study Arctic ice.

WALT MEIER, NATL. SNOW AND ICE DATA CENTER: It is kind of like standing on a corner and kind of watching a car crash happening or something. You can't do anything about it but yet you don't like to see it happen. O'BRIEN: Walt Meier is a scientist who tracks the troubling trend. This past summer, the Arctic sea ice dwindled to its second lowest level since satellites started watching. A slight improvement over the summer of 2007, but by no means good news.

MEIER: If anything, it is reinforcing the long term trend. I would not at all call it a recovery. Our long term trend is still accelerating.

O'BRIEN: Thirty years ago, the polar ice cap was about the size of the continental U.S. at the end of the summer. But this year there is between 30 and 40 percent less ice. What has vanished would cover every state east of the Mississippi and beyond.

MEIER: We are heading towards a point where the ice is going to be gone during the summertime, and that will be a very big change in the Arctic, and would have impacts well beyond the Arctic.

O'BRIEN: So why is it happening? It's pretty simple. The Earth is getting warmer and the effects are felt most at the poles.

(on camera): The polar caps do a great job helping set our planet's thermostat. The big white sheets of ice reflect the sun's radiation, keeping the planet cooler. But when they melt away, the open ocean that is exposed, absorbs heat, instead of reflecting it, causing the climate to warm up even more, melting more ice. It is a vicious cycle that accelerates.

(voice-over): Of course, none of this is good news for the polar bears who hunt on the ice. They may now be listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, but their plight is not improving. They are drowning, starving and resorting to cannibalism.

KASSIE SIEGEL, CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY: Just continuing to do what we are doing, continuing business as usual will spell extinction for the polar bear as surely as clubbing polar bear cubs to death.

O'BRIEN: Some scientists believe the Arctic may be ice-free in the summer in only five years.

Miles O'Brien, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And this one is not about burgers or cattle, still somebody has got a beef with Oprah. The latest lawsuit filed against the talk show queen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Rick Sanchez is gearing up to take over.

What have you got going?

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Well, I'll tell you the story that we did yesterday certainly has picked up a lot of steam. It has been picked up by other networks, as well as some of -- new airs that have been taking place here on our network at CNN.

And the story simply is this, it is al Qaeda-linked Web site that is basically coming out and saying, or maybe I should say encouraging, al Qaeda to go ahead to attack the United States prior to this upcoming election. That is important information, considering who it is coming from. And you know the reason that they are an important Web site is, this is the very same Web site that has released the Osama bin Laden tapes in the past. So we have talked to experts about it.

Today, what we're going to do is we're going to be talking to Richard Clark. As you know he is the former White House counterterrorism coordinator. He's also written a bevy of best- selling books. And part of what this Web site suggests is not that al Qaeda should hit us, but that they should hit us because that would improve the chances for John McCain becoming president of the United States.

PHILLIPS: Tying into politics.

I saw you over there, pretty much most of the day yesterday, at the international desk looking at these Web sites, talking with -- our Arab-speaking folks about this --

SANCHEZ: But you have to read them like this, because they go the other way.

PHILLIPS: It's backwards -- and you also need someone to translate.

SANCHEZ: Yes, no doubt.

PHILLIPS: We've got Spanish and sign language, but we've got to work on the Arabic.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: There we go. Perfecto.

Thank you, Rick.

SANCHEZ: Bye.

PHILLIPS: Well, a Louisiana man has filed suit seeking $180 million from Oprah Winfrey, her lawyer and the FBI. Keifer Bonvillain claims that the talk show queen and her attorney made false statements that got him arrested on extortion charges. Those charges were dismissed in exchange for community service and $3,000 in restitution. Well, Bonvillain allegedly recorded phone conversations with someone who worked for Winfrey's company and said he wanted to publish a book based on those recordings.

Well, he has come a long way from that burning trash heap in Iraq. Ratchet the dog, now feeling some serious love in Minnesota. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Live picture now from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Joe Biden getting ready to step up to the podium there at Wake Forest University. The Democrat vice presidential candidate has been working his way across the country, of course. And also John McCain, as well. Barack Obama heading actually to Hawaii as he is getting word about his grandmother -- his ailing grandmother. Also we heard from Sarah Palin today. She is on the trail as well.

But we are following this. And as soon as Biden steps up to the mic, we will take that live.

A suicide bomber striking early and brutally in Baghdad. He rammed his car into an Iraqi government convoy this morning, but ended up killing mostly civilians. At least 11 people dead in all. Reports conflict on whether the Iraqi labor minister was actually in that convoy. We have confirmed that he is fine.

And coalition forces handed over security responsibilities in Babil Province today. Twelve of Iraq's 18 provinces now under local control. Commanders say that U.S. troops will stay close to assist as needed.

Meantime, the big picture is still up in the air as Baghdad and Washington butt heads over the status of the forces deal. It is meant to kick in when the U.N.'s troop mandate expires at the end of the year.

Well it was a long, winding and bureaucratic road, but Ratchet the dog finally made it to Minnesota. U.S. soldiers rescued him on Mother's Day from a burning trash heap in Baghdad. Well, a sergeant adopted the dog, wanted to take him home to Minnesota when she was transferred back to the U.S. but the military refused. Long story short, the story spread rapidly on the Internet, and everything is good now. Ratchet now a prairie home companion.

Rick Sanchez is going to be picking up from here with the 3:00 p.m. hour.

Rick, you ready to go?