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Campbell Brown
Republican Party Losing Hope?; Biden in the Spotlight
Aired October 23, 2008 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight: sharp new problems and growing anger within the Republican Party. New reports say the Republicans are despairing about the election, and the finger-pointing and the blame game is under way with a vengeance.
Also tonight, the $150,000 price tag for Sarah Palin's wardrobe still generating a ton of buzz. As I have said already, women are held to a different standard, far more attention given to a woman's appearance than a man's. And, yes, I do believe it's sexist. But, boy, $150,000 is an awful lot of money for clothes, and this whole discussion is a huge disconnect from John McCain's message about being the candidate of Joe the plumber -- tonight, the latest unexpected twist in this extraordinary presidential campaign.
Also, for members of Congress who have strayed from the straight and narrow, we introduce the no bias, no bull rogues gallery. You got to wonder, will your senator or representative be our first inductee?
But, first, cutting through the bull -- yesterday, I sat down with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for a lengthy interview, mostly about the presidential campaign. One exchange in particular has been getting a lot of attention.
It was when I asked the governor if he thought Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was qualified to be president.
Well, one quick nod now to transparency: When we do interviews like this, due to the time constraints of television, we often edit down a portion of the interviewee's remarks. But we try to make sure we maintain the full context of what was said, so that there's nothing misleading about a given sound bite.
There is a shortened portion of the governor's remarks about Sarah Palin circulating on the Internet and other TV outlets that leaves the impression that he does not think she is qualified for the job.
Right now, I just want to play for you again the governor's full answer, so you can decide for yourself exactly what he meant. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Do you think she's qualified to be president?
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: I think that she will get to be qualified. BROWN: She will get there? What do you mean? She's not ready yet?
SCHWARZENEGGER: By the time that she's sworn in, I think she will be ready. You know, you get to get up to speed.
I know when I became governor, there were a lot of things I did not know. But it is not about what you know, because, Sacramento, for instance, in 2003 had all the knowledge, and it had all the experience, warehouse full of experience, but there was not the will there for both of the parties to work together and to solve the problems.
So, that is not the only answer, is the experience. The answer is, do you have the will, do you have the will to educate yourself? Do you have the will to get up to speed? Do you have the will and are you a sponge that absorbs information very quickly?
And I have read some of her stuff when she said -- when I became governor, you know, I didn't know a lot of things, but I absorbed information quickly, and then I could ran with the state. And that's the kind of person she is, and I think that's exactly what she would do also if she becomes vice president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on whether Sarah Palin is qualified.
And we want to turn now to the infighting we mentioned before within the GOP. We're getting word that Republicans are in despair over their prospects on November 4, a lot of reporting done on this. And that has given rise to a lot of finger-pointing, a fierce blame game.
Today, it's all about Sarah Palin's $150,000 wardrobe bill and how that is precisely the opposite message of John McCain's Joe the plumber.
McCain tried to stick to that point as he crisscrossed Florida today on his Joe the plumber bus tour, driving home his attacks on Obama's economic plan and trying to close the gap on Obama's three- point lead in Florida now, according to some polls.
Ed Henry is in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, to tell us all about it -- Ed.
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Campbell, this is quite interesting.
I just got off the phone with a senior McCain adviser who said that they're basically tired of all the questions about Sarah Palin's wardrobe.e They think she is being held to a different standard. They wanted to be talking about the economy today. Instead, John McCain was peppered with questions by the Florida press at one point today about Sarah Palin's wardrobe. And what the McCain camp is saying is, look, first of all, there's a double standard. There's a lot more attention being focused on Sarah Palin's wardrobe because she's a woman.
Second of all, they say, look, she was a relatively obscure governor who didn't have expensive clothes. She doesn't have the same amount of money that the other three candidates on the tickets have. And, so, the Republican National Committee (AUDIO GAP) clothes. And they say (AUDIO GAP)
BROWN: Well, it looks like we had a technical problem there with Ed Henry, Ed Henry's live shot. We are going to try to get Ed back. It looks like the Gremlins have invaded this studio tonight, everybody. Bear with us.
In a moment -- we are going to take a quick break. In a moment, when we come back, three of the best political minds around weigh in on another one of the McCain campaign's problems right now, the blogosphere burning up with indignation that we mentioned before over Sarah Palin's wardrobe bill. Whether it's fair or not, we will talk about that. It's certainly stepping on McCain's efforts to connect with all of those Joe plumbers out there.
And then, a little bit later, the GOP infighting and what sounds like a desperate effort to rewrite history. So, who if anyone messed up the McCain campaign? We will talk about that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: We are back.
And, just a moment ago, right before we went to break, we were talking to our correspondent Ed Henry with the McCain campaign down in New Smyrna, Florida, and there's a heavy wind down there that blew him away or blew his live shot away. We got him back. And he was in mid- sentence when we lost him.
(LAUGHTER)
BROWN: So, Ed, you were talking about some of the concerns about the $150,000 spent on Sarah Palin's wardrobe and some of the complains about how the campaign is being handled now coming from within the Republican Party. Go ahead and give us the debrief.
HENRY: Yes.
I mean, the bottom line is that, while the McCain camp is saying there's a double standard about Sarah Palin's wardrobe, when you are out there right now, John McCain launching a Joe the plumber bus tour, saying, I'm fighting for the working guy, when you dig into the details of the wardrobe, $75,000 of it was spent at Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis.
It's very doubtful that Joe the plumber is shopping at Neiman Marcus. It's very doubtful that that kind of money is spent on clothing for the kind of people that John McCain says he wants to connect with.
So, this is critical in the final two weeks because John McCain has had so many fits and starts on his economic message, ever since his financial crisis exploded. He's finally starting to find his voice with this Joe the plumber message. And the Sarah Palin wardrobe thing just takes him off ever so slightly, because it looks like a bit of a problem throwing him off message here -- Campbell.
BROWN: All right, Ed Henry tonight for us.
And we're going to talk more about this right now with our political panel. Ed, thanks to you.
And let me introduce who we have got.
Joining me now, Republican strategist and McCain supporter Kevin Madden is with me, Dana Milbank, CNN political contributor and "Washington Post" national political correspondent, and also CNN political contributor Roland Martin, who says he's voting for Barack Obama, with me here as well.
Dana, you know, you can argue whether or not this is a real issue, a peripheral issue, what we should be talking about right now or not. That said, it is a huge distraction for the McCain campaign.
DANA MILBANK, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: There's no question. And I think there's one solution. That's Sarah Palin is actually going to have dress like Joe the plumber, right down to like, you know, where the pants ride a little bit too low on the backside there.
(LAUGHTER)
KEVIN MADDEN, FORMER ROMNEY CAMPAIGN NATIONAL PRESS SECRETARY: Ah, geez.
BROWN: Low, low.
(LAUGHTER)
MILBANK: No, no, no. I mean, here's what's going on here is that, of course, it is a peripheral issue, but when it rains it pours.
This is exactly the sort of thing that we were talking about with John Kerry in 2004, like, was he spending too much on his shirts, the pile-on with John Edwards and his haircut? When things are going your way, those stories tend not to crop up. I think they sort of fill the vacuum when the polls have you down and people are looking for a storyline.
BROWN: Kevin?
MADDEN: Well, you know, Dana's right.
Look, it complicates a message, an economic message, where John McCain and Sarah Palin are looking to connect with a lot of middle- class voters and draw the contrasts between their economic model and Barack Obama's, saying that, you know, that we need to worry about the middle class, when we all know that there are not many people going on $150,000 shopping sprees at places like Neiman Marcus or Saks.
So, again, it just -- it takes you off message at a critical time, where every single news cycle counts in these last 12, 13 days, where you are trying to make that closing argument to voters.
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: But, Campbell, the other reason why this is a story is because, look, the campaign paid for it.
Remember John Edwards. Republicans were slamming John Edwards for the $400 haircut. The only reason we knew about that was because it showed up on a campaign expenditure form because the campaign paid for it. He paid for it later.
If she had paid for her clothes by herself, nobody would know where she shops. The other piece is authenticity. When you hold yourself up as a Wal-Mart mom, as a regular mom, and you have -- that's your message, that's your image, if you will, and then all of a sudden that amount of money going to clothes, it competes with the message that you have been putting out all these months.
BROWN: In an interview, guys, that just aired tonight on "NBC Nightly News," Brian Williams spoke with Sarah Palin and John McCain, and he asked them about the issue of class. I want to play a little bit of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "NBC NIGHTLY NEWS")
BRIAN WILLIAMS, ANCHOR, "NBC NIGHTLY NEWS": Governor, what is an elite? Who is a member of the elite?
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R-AK), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Oh, I guess just people who think that they're better than anyone else.
And John McCain and I are so committed to serving every American, hardworking, middle-class Americans, who are so desiring of this economy getting put back on the right track and winning these wars, and America starting to reach her potential.
And that is opportunity and hope provided everyone equally. So, anyone who thinks that they are, I guess, better than anyone else, that's my definition of elitism.
WILLIAMS: So, it's not education; it's not income based? It's...
PALIN: Anyone who thinks that they're better than someone else.
WILLIAMS: A state of mind; it's not geography?
PALIN: Of course not.
WILLIAMS: Senator?
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I know where a lot of them live.
(LAUGHTER)
WILLIAMS: Where is that?
MCCAIN: Well, in our nation's capital and New York City. I have seen it. I have lived there. I know the town. I know what a lot of these elitists are, the ones that she never went to a cocktail party with in Georgetown -- I will be very frank with you -- who think that they can dictate what they believe to America, rather than let Americans decide for themselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: I think he is talking about you, Dana Milbank. I think you are one of those people who goes to those Georgetown cocktail parties.
Seriously, though, is this message -- does it work, pitting New York, D.C. elites against middle-class Americans? How does that come across?
MILBANK: Let's please stand up the Georgetown cocktail party circuit here. I don't think there have really been cocktail parties in Georgetown since the '70s. Now it's a bunch of drunk college students running around in that part of town.
But this has been effective for John McCain in terms of riling his base up. But, you know, you get to a point here , and it's like, how many voters is he going to win with that sort of argument who weren't already sort of hard-core Republican voters anyway?
So, I think it's now just sort of he's reacting out of anger, reacting out of a reflex, as opposed to having any sort of a tactical...
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: Hasn't he been there 26 years? Look, I'm not from D.C., but John McCain has lived there 26 years.
John, you're one of the elite. Using your own description, you're one of them. I mean, it's ridiculous.
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: Let me give Kevin the last word here.
You have got 12 days. McCain can't afford to lose a day at this point.
MADDEN: Right.
BROWN: Early voting going on. So, it's Election Day every day in some start. If you were running the campaign, how would you try to get them back on message at this stage? MADDEN: Well, I think John McCain has to talk about what John McCain believes. John McCain has to present to the American voters all those, swing voters out there that are still left, they haven't made up their mind or they're soft supporters of Barack Obama, he has to make a compelling argument for his vision for moving the country forward.
And, you know, that's not about talking about elitists vs. middle class. It has much more to do with a unifying message about where you are going to move the country forward and the big issues that people care about.
BROWN: Right.
OK. Stay with me, guys. We're coming back to you in just a bit.
We do have something new we want to tell you about tonight. In line with our no bias, no bull agenda, we're going to bring our rogues gallery. Those are the folks up on the hill who we think have been up to no good. Find out if your senator or representative makes our list.
And we're hearing reports, new reports tonight of infighting among Republicans over this whole wardrobe thing with Sarah Palin, party members enraged by the disconnect with McCain's bid to cloak himself in that Joe the plumber image, no bias, no bull still ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Barack Obama on his way to Hawaii tonight to see his ailing grandmother. I think we have got a live picture we can show you. This is the campaign jet on the ground getting ready to take off after a refueling stop in Sacramento, California -- 85-year-old Madelyn Dunham, as many of you know, from his biography, helped raise Obama.
Her health has been deteriorating and her family says she is gravely ill after breaking her hip.
On CBS' "Early Show," Obama explained why this visit can't wait.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "EARLY SHOW")
HARRY SMITH, CBS ANCHOR: You have said in the past that you regretted your own mother's illness. And her death came so quickly, you didn't have time to get back to see her.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Yes, got there too late.
SMITH: Yes.
OBAMA: You know, I mean it was sort of like this, in the sense that she had a terminal illness. She knew she wasn't doing well. But the diagnosis was such where we thought we had a little more time, and we didn't. And so I want to make sure that I don't make the same mistake twice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And with Obama off the trail, out of the picture for the next couple of days, spotlight and the pressure have landed squarely now on his running mate, Joe Biden, which could prove to be a mixed blessing for Democrats.
Biden is in North Carolina today.
And so is our Gary Tuchman, who is traveling with him.
And, Gary, Obama out of town at a very crucial time in the campaign. So, today, you had Biden leading these attacks against John McCain. What did he say today?
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Joe Biden went on a bus tour of North Carolina. He just finished two minutes ago a rally in Raleigh. It sounds like a movie. He was also in Winston- Salem and Charlotte before that.
And, yes, he went on the attack, Campbell, but it wasn't as vociferous as it's been in previous weeks. He talked today about a favorite sport here in the state of North Carolina, a very important state in this presidential election, NASCAR racing. And he talked about when a NASCAR, a race car driver goes 185 miles per hour, sometimes, he's driving loose, and he used that metaphor with John McCain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D-DE), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: What worries me most is the McCain campaign seems to have gotten a little loose. John is getting a little loose. He doesn't have much of a steady hand these days, and now -- and now's the time. Now's the time we most need a steady hand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: Biden seemed to try to be above the fray a little bit today, and he issued an attack about being attacked.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: This politics of division in America became an art form at the beginning of the Bush first campaign. It became an art form. Ladies and gentlemen, it is corrosive, corrosive to American society. It literally is corrosive. It's awfully hard to build anything with that kind of corrosion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: At each of his three stops today, Biden talked about unifying the country after November 4 -- Campbell.
BROWN: And, Gary, at the same time, Biden made this gaffe over the weekend that has gotten a lot of attention and gave John McCain an opening. Biden, what he said was that President Obama would be tested by an international crisis early in his presidency. And McCain pounded him on it today, didn't he?
TUCHMAN: Well, first of all, we wanted to talk to Joe Biden about that today, but he didn't want to talk to reporters on camera.
We can tell you, yesterday, Barack Obama said that what Joe Biden said, it was basically a rhetorical flourish. But John McCain attacked that explanation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: Yesterday, Senator Obama tried to explain away this by warning -- by saying that his running mate sometimes engages in rhetorical flourishes.
(LAUGHTER)
MCCAIN: Really? Really?
(LAUGHTER)
MCCAIN: That's another way of saying that he accidentally delivered some straight talk to America.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: The last time Democrats won North Carolina was 32 years ago. Sarah Palin was 12 years old, Barack Obama 15 -- Campbell.
BROWN: All right, Gary Tuchman for us tonight -- Gary, thanks.
Coming up: Congress behaving badly, no shortage of rogues on Capitol Hill. Tonight, we're shining a light on the latest, a Florida congressman who admits he deserves an F-minus for his personal conduct. We are going to tell you what he did.
And, then, later, you might think this "LIFE" magazine cover is altered, Photoshopped, but in fact it is the real deal. The story hits our bullseye tonight. We will explain.
And the GOP's blame game. Will the finger-pointing be fatal to McCain's campaign?
We will talk about that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: When it comes to members of Congress, the voters' attitude right now seems to be, mine is just fine, but throw the rest of the bums out. Here are the numbers to prove it -- 55 percent in our new CNN/Opinion Research poll say their member of Congress deserves to be reelected. But, when asked if most members of Congress deserve to be reelected, 58 percent say no.
Well, starting tonight, we are looking at some of the most endangered lawmakers out there.
Here is Joe Johns to tell us about the first member of our rogues gallery.
Joe, who is it?
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Campbell, early this month, Congressman Tim Mahoney of Florida had a big lead over his Republican challenger. Now one GOP poll puts the challenger up by 30 points. It is a bitter pill for Democrats who would hate to lose the seat the same way they won it, in a uproar over bad behavior.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS (voice-over): For Democrat Tim Mahoney, it was a no- brainer campaign strategy. When he won his Florida congressional seat two years ago, he ran on a faith and family platform.
REP. TIM MAHONEY (D), FLORIDA: I want to thank my wife, Terry.
JOHNS: It was a winning message.
MAHONEY: What we need to do is, we need to elect people like myself who represent the people that vote for them and will go to Washington, D.C., and make sure that their values are represented.
JOHNS: After all, Mahoney was appealing to disappointed voters who had seen their own longtime congressman, Republican Mark Foley, resign in disgrace, after he got caught sending sexually explicit text messages to former congressional pages.
MAHONEY: And what was really disturbing about it again is the fact that is it is now clear from all the press reports that the Republican leadership team knew this was going on. These are not Florida values. These aren't values in Martin County and Highlands County and Glades County.
JOHNS: But this is one of those watch what he does, not what he says stories. Now, after only a single term in Congress, Mahoney himself is in hot water. Other news organizations have reported he's under investigation by the FBI, his wife has filed for divorce, and his reelection race is looking a little shaky, after admitting to multiple extramarital affairs.
MAHONEY: I just think I'm a human being. And I think that, you know, I made some foolish mistakes. And, you know, the people that I love, my wife and daughter, are the ones that are paying the heavy price for this, and it's my fault. And I'm sorry for it.
JOHNS: But it's not just that he was having an affair while married. It's who he was having it with that raised eyebrows. One was a county government official who first came to him last year for help with a request to get hurricane money from the federal government.
The county says FEMA owed it more than $3 million in cleanup costs for past hurricanes. With Mahoney's help, finally, last year, the county got the money.
Another was a former staffer in his congressional office. He admits paying $120,000 of his own money to keep from getting sued. He says half of the cash went to the woman and the rest to the lawyers. Mahoney says he did nothing illegal and has actually asked House Ethics Committee to look into the matter. But, as far as the personal indiscretions go, which he has admitted to, he says he's sorry.
MAHONEY: My family, you know, God bless them. I mean, you know, you know, they're -- you know, they're -- they're unbelievable. I mean, I have got a 22-year-old, and, you know, sending me an e-mail with "The Daily Show" and seeing her dad. It's a very hard thing to do. And this is what's -- this is the tough thing. This is what -- this is what you have to fix.
JOHNS: Still, for all the uproar and having started out two years as a family values candidate, Congressman Tim Mahoney has earned his place in our no bias, no bull rogues gallery.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: So, is there a bright side? Maybe, maybe not.
The Mahoney mess can't hurt the reputation of the Congress all that much. The latest polls suggest just 15 percent of Americans think the folks on Capitol Hill are doing a good job -- Campbell.
BROWN: Joe Johns for us tonight -- Joe, thanks very much.
So, we're making it official, as Jeff Toobin sits next to me laughing. Our first member of the no bias, no bull rogues gallery is Democrat Tim Mahoney, representative for Florida's 16th Congressional District, at least for 12 more days.
And to clear up a couple of questions about our first inductee, Jeffrey Toobin is with me, CNN senior political and legal analyst.
So, you heard Joe Johns' report. Mahoney says he's not broken any laws; this is a private matter. What do you think?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: Sounds like Bill Clinton, right?
It does not sound like he broke any laws. There does not appear to be any sort of extortion here, or bribery. As far as we know, at this point, the money he paid was his own money. It wasn't campaign money. It wasn't government money.
But that's a totally separate question from whether he's actually going to be reelected. The voters don't need a crime to throw you out. And this sure looks like the kind of behavior that will get him thrown out.
BROWN: Well, this was his promise in his election campaign. This was his promise, a world that's safer and more moral.
So, I was going to say, no matter how you slice it, legal or not, it looks pretty bad for him, huh?
TOOBIN: Well, and he got into office in what is basically a Republican district because of the whole Mark Foley situation.
So, he owes his whole career to being the counterpoint to a guy caught up in a sex scandal. So, you know...
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: What is it about this district, Jeff?
TOOBIN: What is it about Florida? Florida is bringing the crazy -- come on.
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: Oh, come on. My mom lives in Florida. They're not all crazy.
TOOBIN: Well, no, there was a period there where it looked like Florida was really taking over the nuttiness capital. You had Elian Gonzalez. You had the recount in Florida, Mark Foley.
BROWN: OK. Can you stop now? Because my e-mail is just going to be overflowing from Florida people tonight.
TOOBIN: No, we love Florida. We love Florida.
But you know what the real message of this case is? Look at how bad a Democrat has to be to lose. Democrats are riding so high now, he is the only incumbent likely to lose at this point, the only one in the whole Congress, and he had to have not one but two affairs and pay $130,000 in hush money. I mean, that's a lot to do.
CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Jeffrey Toobin for us tonight with a little perspective there.
TOOBIN: All right.
BROWN: And I do not agree with Jeffrey on any of the points he made about Florida.
TOOBIN: Florida?
BROWN: Yes.
TOOBIN: See you.
BROWN: John McCain slammed President Bush today further distancing himself from the man he says he isn't. Tonight, we're going to put that to our "No Bull Test" to see just how much McCain differs from George W. Bush.
Also ahead, more on the reports of Republican infighting and finger pointing. We're going to speak with the author of a new "Politico" article called "the circular firing squad," when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Coming up, after a very long and tense campaign, voters in dozens of states just want to go to the polls and cast their ballots early to get it over with. It sounds pretty simple, but it is not. Some big problems in a lot of polling places we're going to tell you about.
But first, Randi Kaye has tonight's "Briefing." -- Randi.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, Campbell.
More wildfires tonight in southern California. You are looking at pictures from near Mount Baldy, that's 40 miles east of Los Angeles. Firefighters say the flames do not pose an immediate threat to neighborhoods. Just hours ago, firefighters put out a bigger fire in L.A.'s Brentwood area.
Courtroom drama near Atlanta when a murder victim's cousin attacked the convicted killer. Deputies immediately restrained and removed the man. The attack happened just moments before the judge sentenced Clayton Jerrod Ellington to death. He was found guilty of killing his wife and his twin sons.
And a judge released explicit text messages sent by former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick exchanged the messages with his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty. For months, they denied having an affair.
Kilpatrick resigned and pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice. He reports to prison on Tuesday. Beatty fought to keep those text messages sealed, but today the court ruled against her.
BROWN: All right. Randi Kaye for us tonight. Randi, thanks.
Now we've got something we want to show you. Take a look at this. OK?
Never mind. We don't have the picture. I told you, gremlins invaded the studio. Wait. You have it?
We have it! OK. Take a look at this picture. Here you have the woman who has been making endless fun of Sarah Palin standing there with John McCain. No! This is not photoshopped. There is quite a story behind it. We're going to tell you when we come back.
And yes, the $150,000 price tag for Sarah Palin's wardrobe still generating a ton of buzz. You already know how I feel about it. I told you women are held to a double standard. I do believe. But this discussion is hitting the McCain campaign with a double whammy and that's what we're going to talk about when we come back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Obama, I am not President Bush. If you want to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: That, of course, was John McCain in the final debate. It was a big line, a big hit for John McCain. He's used it several times since, but now he's taking it a step further.
In an interview in today's "Washington Times," McCain blasted the president saying this about the Bush years. "We just let things get completely out of hand."
So is Obama right when he said, as he has many times, that McCain votes with Bush more than 90 percent of the time, as he compares the two and tries to lump them into the same camp. Tom Foreman looked at some of these questions and tonight put it to our "No Bull Test" -- Tom.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Campbell, I can tell you you're absolutely right. In this new interview, John McCain has launched what looks like his sharpest, widest criticism of President Bush to date.
Barack Obama has hit McCain time and again with this true statement that McCain has voted heavily with the president and Obama is still at it. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You see, Senator McCain thinks the economic policies of George W. Bush were just right for America. In the Senate, he's voted with George Bush 90 percent of the time. He said earlier this year that we've made great progress over the last eight years. And while Senator McCain says now that he's different from George Bush, you sure couldn't tell by the policies he's proposing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: That was Barack Obama today. So in an exclusive interview with "The Washington Times," McCain says he has disagreed with the president on a wide range of issues, the war, the growth of government, the national debt and much more. Is he shooting straight on all of this? Let's take a look.
Remember that Medicare prescription drug bill passed back in 2003? Listen to what McCain said about the Bush team.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They put a trillion- dollar debt on future generations of Americans, and then expanded it, allowed the liberals to grab all of them, expand it so they're paying my -- they're paying for my prescription drugs. Why should the taxpayers pay for my prescription drugs? So it's just -- I mean, we just let things get completely out of hand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: McCain pretty much has the politics right there. The president did back this measure. It's not clear how much liberals expanded it, but the price tag at the time was 400 billion. McCain was citing updated estimates when he talked about a trillion. And McCain did fight the president on this, trying to get more of that money to poorer people and also the Gulf Coast hurricane relief at one point.
McCain voted against the original bill as he said, and as he said in this interview, he's different with the president on other things, too.
On the war, that's true. McCain voted for it, but was a big critic of how the war was waged. McCain says he opposed the way government spending ballooned under Bush. That's true, too.
And McCain indicates unlike the president, he would have stepped up financial regulation suggesting he would have done more to head off the Wall Street mess. Now that appears to be false. McCain has generally opposed more regulation until recently.
So, all of that said, you can see how Obama and McCain are both right to a degree. McCain has not always been as cozy with the president as Obama claims, but neither has he been as distant as he might want voters to think now -- Campbell.
BROWN: Tom Foreman for us tonight. Tom, thanks.
When we come back, those reports tonight of the fierce infighting tearing at the seams of the GOP. Three of the best political minds in America weigh in on what's turning Republican against Republican right now.
And this is for real. Take a look. Tina Fey and John McCain. Looks like it might have been photoshopped but it's not. Stick around for the real story behind the picture and why it hits our "Bull's- Eye."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: It's a big story tonight that Republican movers and shakers are voicing increasing frustration with John McCain's campaign. Not only that, but the blame game within the campaign itself under way already. We've got the very latest details right now from Jonathan Martin. He's joining me on the phone. He's the coauthor of a report that was just posted on Politico.com. The title says it all, "the circular firing squad."
And, Jon, I know you put up the story just a few moments ago. You've got the blame game kicking into overdrive here among Republicans and within the McCain campaign itself. Give us the gist. Tell us what you've learned.
VOICE OF JONATHAN MARTIN, POLITICO.COM: Campbell, thanks for having me. Basically, what is happening, Campbell, now is what happens at the end of every campaign that's down in the polls. You know, Election Day is almost here and they're trying to point fingers now and assign blame. And certainly nobody wants to take the fall for a campaign that's going down and folks now as one operative said are playing for the history books. They are looking beyond Election Day and thinking about obviously where they're going to stand when this campaign is said and done.
BROWN: But would -- I mean, doesn't those usually happen at least a little closer to Election Day or in the couple of days after?
MARTIN: Exactly. That's why it's notable because a couple of things. First of all, there's the "Time" magazine piece being published on Sunday, a long story by Robert Draper, all about the campaign infighting and, you know, shifting strategies. And now the talk that we're picking up today on Politico is the fact that this is happening before Election Day and I think it speaks to just how, Campbell, the press party is. They have never been adamant (ph) over this campaign and now that's starting to blow over.
BROWN: All right. Jonathan Martin giving us the lowdown there on this report out on Politico.com.
Jon, thanks. Appreciate it.
And we should mention in the midst of all this finger pointing within the Republican Party, Barack Obama picks up a notable endorsement today, former Bush White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan. He came after a bit of prompting from new CNN comedian host D.L. Hughley. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CNN'S D.L. HUGHLEY BREAKS THE NEWS)
D.L. HUGHLEY, COMEDIAN HOST: But you haven't endorsed anybody? You haven't endorsed anybody?
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, FORMER BUSH WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Right.
HUGHLEY: And it's McCain and it's Obama. You know, I I'm a new show and your endorsement would probably mean a lot, and don't look at the fact that I'm black. There's nothing like -- no pressure. Endorse somebody, damn it. Endorse somebody.
MCCLELLAN: From the very beginning I've said I'm going to support the candidate that has the best chance of changing the way Washington works and getting things done. I will be voting for Barack Obama.
HUGHLEY: Oh!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And you can see that whole interview on the new show "D.L. HUGHLEY BREAKS THE NEWS." That's Saturday night at 10:00 Eastern time.
So, is all of this simply a case of kicking a campaign when it's down? And what does John McCain need to do now?
We're going to bring back our panel. Republican strategist Kevin Madden, CNN political contributor Dana Milbank of the "Washington Post," Obama supporter Roland Martin.
And, Kevin, you are of Washington. And you know all the players and Republican politics. Give us a real assessment here. Is this being overblown do you think, or is the mood pretty dour?
KEVIN MADDEN, FMR. ROMNEY NATL PRESS SECRETARY: Well, look, you know, victory has a thousand fathers and defeat is an orphan. That's just something that you have to learn in politics. And right now, with the polls not looking like they're going in the right direction for the McCain campaign, there's going to be a lot of finger pointing.
But, look, you know, this is the time for people to remember that there's still 12 days left in this campaign. That there is still a lot of people that have put -- poured their heart and their souls and all their efforts.
Right now, there's probably everybody over at the McCain campaign. It's 9:00 and they're still working hard, and they haven't given up. And there's always going to be people on the outside who find it very easy to criticize the campaign but, you know, the decisions were made. We were facing a very tough political environment this year, and this campaign has done everything they could to point it in the right direction. And we still have 12 days until the people decide who wins this campaign.
BROWN: Is part of the problem, Dana Milbank, is that you had John McCain tearing into the Bush administration today, and also, congressional Republicans, when he tells "The Washington Times" we let things get completely out of hand? For some Republicans, they're going to view that as going too far.
DANA MILBANK, "WASHINGTON POST": Yes, it is getting unbelievably ugly around here. Just before the show I had to help Kevin remove several arrows from his back.
(LAUGHTER)
I mean, it really is extraordinary and also, harming the cause, because it's not just about John McCain. It's about all these Senate and House races. And if they -- Republicans by taking all these shots at each other are going to wind up demoralizing their own supporters and thereby potentially lose some of these other elections, you definitely get the sense that it's every man for himself. You see people like Elizabeth Dole and Coleman up in Minnesota all saying, you know, forget about John McCain. I'm just in this for myself now and it's being highly detrimental to the party.
BROWN: So, Roland?
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, look, I think from McCain's standpoint, you got to stay on message. You don't have time to sit and worry about what campaign aides are saying and so he has to keep driving home.
Look, I mean, he's latched on this whole Joe the plumber routine. I think one of the things that he's thrown an Al, Jim, Tom, every other kind of name there, as well.
If I'm Obama, you can't sit back and be quiet and silent. I think what he should be going after is, in fact, women. The fastest growing number of small business owners, that's what he should be targeting to counter Joe the plumber. More women are going to vote in this campaign than men. And so, if you keep it on that level, then, look, you don't know what's going to happen.
His campaign is not over. People need to understand. The primary's late breakers broke for Hillary Clinton. And so if that unsure number is anywhere from seven to 10 percent, that's a problem if you are the Obama campaign. It's a potential opportunity for the McCain campaign.
BROWN: So, Kevin, how do you get all these annoyed or angry Republicans back on the reservation given you could have an October surprise? I mean, you never know.
MADDEN: Well, that's true. I mean, you never know. And look, with John McCain, it's not over with this guy until the votes are counted. So, you know, I think Republicans have to do is just go out there and we have to knock on as many doors. We have to get as many of our neighbors out to the polls on Election Day as possible and continue to try and see this campaign through.
Look, at least, you know, remember that it's not over until all the seconds are gone on the clock. We have to continue to go out there and make the case and remember that there are Republicans up and down the ballot that require all of our efforts going in the right direction.
BROWN: Dana, last word.
MILBANK: Well, they call it an October surprise for a reason. So they're running -- got only a few days left here and the question is do they have enough time to reverse the whole narrative of this race even if something extraneous were to happen right now?
BROWN: And when this negativity and the infighting could become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
MARTIN: Let's just go shopping.
BROWN: Oh, Roland.
MILBANK: I'll buy you a suit, Roland.
MARTIN: Hey, trust me, I'll get it much cheaper than all the clothes that Palin got.
BROWN: Kevin, Dana, Roland -- you had to get one in, didn't you?
MARTIN: Come on, Bush told us to go shopping after 9/11.
BROWN: All right. All right. All right.
In a few minutes, the king of politics, Larry King, takes a look at the candidates' tax plans. And tonight, an outspoken special guest is part of the discussion. Larry, who is he?
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Campbell, we missed you here. You're not here. You went back.
BROWN: I know. I had to see my husband and my baby.
KING: It's not the same without you. I'm lonely here all the time.
BROWN: As tempting as it was to stay there with you.
KING: It was nice having you.
BROWN: Thank you.
KING: Michael Moore is with us tonight, and I can't wait to hear what he's thinking with the election less than two weeks away. Something tells me, Campbell, that he's got opinions about maybe Sarah Palin or Joe the plumber, John McCain, Barack Obama and more.
Last time he was here, he was in a bowling alley. I understand he's coming to us from another unique location tonight. Now where could that be? We'll mix it up with Michael Moore next on "LARRY KING LIVE" -- Campbell.
BROWN: We will find out in a few minutes. Larry King, see you in a bit.
And in just a moment, we've shown you the photo. It looks like it might be doctored up. Tina Fey and John McCain. But wait until you get the whole story about how this came about. Posing together for "Life" magazine and why. This picture really hits the "Bull's- Eye."
And voters who want to cast early ballots show up at the polls frustrated and angry. The problems at the polls in several states. We're going to walk you through when we come back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know what? In response to critics after that interview, what I should have told them was, I was just trying to keep Tina Fey in business, just giving her more information.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Sarah Palin talking about Tina Fey a few weeks ago which takes us to tonight's "Bull's-Eye," our nightly shout-out to somebody or something that we believe truly nails it and makes us think or laugh.
Well, tonight's "Bull's-Eye" goes to "Life" magazine for this cover and check out the picture. It's Tina Fey there with John McCain. This magazine not from this campaign season. It came from 2004. That's, of course, way before Sarah Palin was anywhere on John McCain's radar. Little did McCain know back then that Fey would be spoofing his 2008 running mate on "Saturday Night Live."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, FROM NBC BROADWAY VIDEO)
TINA FEY, COMEDIENNE, IMPERSONATING SARAH PALIN: I liked being here tonight answering these tough questions without the filter of the mainstream "gotcha" media with their follow-up questions, fact checking or incessant need to figure out what your words mean and why you put them in that order.
AMY POEHLER, COMEDIENNE, IMPERSONATING HILLARY CLINTON: I believe that diplomacy should be the cornerstone of any foreign policy.
FEY: And I can see Russia from my house.
They were all so welcoming. Be it from Hamid Karzai, the president of Afghanistan, or Jalal Talabani, the president of Iraq, or Bono, the king of Ireland.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: OK. So now, take a look at this. We did do some photoshopping and updated the old magazine cover to show the real deal. Palin and McCain.
"Life" magazine, boy, they called it quite a while back. They get the "Bull's-Eye" tonight.
When we come back, how much of the election will be decided before Election Day? If early voting is any indication, it could be enormous. Long lines, glitches, some screw-ups. Also, deja vu all over again. We'll talk about that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Vote early. I'll refrain from the second part of that quote. But vote early. Vote early. I mean it. We need you to vote early.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Well, early voters are turning out in unprecedented numbers. Hundreds of thousands cast ballots this week showing just how galvanized the electorate is by this historic race. But with this surge does come a lot of problems and Dan Simon is standing by in Nevada, a battleground state, to talk us through some of the problems they're having.
Dan, what's going on out there?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Campbell, we'll tell you about that in a second. But first, let me set the stage for you.
We are in the produce section of a grocery store. So what do apples, oranges and lemons have to do with Nevada's election system? Well, let's flip the camera around and show you. Check this out. How's this for a novel concept?
The state of Nevada actually allows you to vote early in grocery stores. They also allow you to vote in libraries and community centers. People here really taking advantage of early voting. About 550 people will vote in this one location alone per day.
Now, nationwide, we are seeing extraordinary levels of people voting early. Thirty-four states and Washington, D.C., allow you to vote early. And in terms of the problems we're seeing, we're seeing long lines all over the place, especially in Florida and in Georgia. Also, some equipment glitches but nothing major at this point. Thankfully, still, that doesn't mean everyone has been happy with the process. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought it was a big mess. Three hours. Machines breaking. Just exhausted on my day off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: So three out of 10 people this year will vote early. That is nearly double of what it was eight years ago in terms of who this benefits. In the states of Ohio, Nevada and New Mexico, more Democrats are voting than Republicans. So advantage Obama.
In North Carolina, Republicans have the edge in early voting so advantage McCain. But here in Nevada, pretty cool system here. You can do your shopping and also vote -- Campbell.
BROWN: Yes. They definitely make it easy for you, don't they, Dan? SIMON: Certainly do.
BROWN: All right. Dan Simon for us tonight. Dan, thanks.
And we should mention to folks out there, if you see something at a polling place that doesn't seem quite right, let us know about it. You can call CNN's voter hotline and the number is 877-462-6608. That's the number to call to report any problems that you're noticing at the polls.
We're going to keep tracking all that for you between now and Election Day. And certainly, we'll be updating that, any issues that may happen on Election Day all throughout the night.
That does it for us. Thanks very much for watching. We will see you right back here tomorrow night.
"LARRY KING LIVE" with Michael Moore starting right now.
