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American Morning
Asian Markets Take a Beating; Wildfires Break out in California; McCain and Obama Campaign in Battleground States; McCain Pushing for a Pennsylvania Win; A Push to Decriminalize Prostitution; America Shifting to Socialism?
Aired October 23, 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): Only 12 days to go.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm so proud of the enthusiasm that Sarah Palin has sparked across this country.
CHETRY: And a deepening countrywide divide.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are no real parts of the country and fake parts of the country.
CHETRY: Plus, family secrets. They say they're descendants of slaves owned by the McCains.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you feel like you're related to Senator John McCain?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I feel like it.
CHETRY: The black McCain on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And good morning. Glad you're with us. It's Thursday, October 23rd.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: How many days left?
CHETRY: Just 12.
ROBERTS: Twelve more to go. Wow. Just getting down to the wire.
We begin though with breaking news out of southern California this morning. A wildfire in the Los Angeles area is being fueled by 40 to 50 mile-an-hour winds. Officials say some 200 firefighters are battling the blaze that began overnight in west Los Angeles forcing part of the busy 405 freeway to be closed. Residents in the Brentwood area are being warned that they may have to evacuate. Rob Marciano is going to have more on that fire just ahead.
Also this morning, Asian markets taking a beating after another brutal day on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunging 514 points. Overnight, Japan's Nikkei index fell to its lowest level in five years before recovering and closing down nearly 2.5 percent.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng lost more than three percent. London's FTSE is trading in negative territory. Oh, the one bright spot in all of this, Dow futures flat right now. At least they're not down 900 points.
Nine people are dead in Baghdad this morning after a suicide bombing aimed at Iraq's labor minister. It happened at about 1:00 a.m. New York time. The bomber drove his truck into the minister's convoy. The minister was not in it at that time. Twenty people were wounded including some guards and civilians.
CHETRY: Well, again, just 12 days to go until the election. And the candidates and their running mates are campaigning at a ferocious pace in the states that could decide the next president. The latest CNN national poll of polls shows Barack Obama leading John McCain by seven points, 50 percent to 43 percent. New polls in the key battleground states also appear to be favoring Obama.
In Nevada, Obama is ahead by five points. In North Carolina, he has a four-point lead. Obama is also up by four in Ohio, and has a 10-point lead in Virginia. But McCain has a nine-point lead in West Virginia and in these final days, it's all about the economy.
CNN's Ed Henry is covering the McCain campaign. He's live in Ormond Beach, Florida.
And you know, what is the mood of the campaign when they look at the national polls and see that in most of these battleground states, Barack Obama does have an advantage?
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: They're very concerned, Kiran. Good morning to you. And obviously, it's very hard to craft a winning strategy for John McCain without him winning Florida with these 27 electoral votes. Clearly, that's why he is here today. He's going to be at a building material shop, a small business behind me, talking up the economy as you said.
Clearly, this is a state, Florida, that's been especially hard hit by the foreclosure crisis. You also obviously have a lot of retirees worried about their retirement savings because of those gyrations on Wall Street. And so what John McCain has been trying to do, what he'll say today is that he believes Barack Obama's tax plan will hurt middle class Americans more and that this is the worst thing to do in a bad economy. Take a listen to how he put it yesterday in Ohio.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That's the problem with Senator Obama's approach on taxes. He's more concerned about creating a tax plan that is both fair and creating a plan that creates jobs and grows our economy. The Obama tax increase could come at the worst possible time for America, and especially for small businesses.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HENRY: Now, you've heard Senator Obama push back over and over by saying that he just wants to make the U.S. tax code more fair. The McCain response has obviously been trying to cite Joe the plumber from Ohio and saying that this is really redistributing wealth, that it's socialism in the words of Senator McCain and Sarah Palin.
What's interesting is today, the McCain camp is building this as a Joe the plumber tour. We're expecting that we will not see Joe the plumber himself. Instead, the campaign says there will be various stand-ins for Joe the plumber, such as Tom the lumberyard man who runs the shop behind me -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Ed Henry for us this morning in Florida. Thanks.
Also, John McCain is responding to criticism from former Secretary of State Colin Powell who questioned his judgment on the economy and his choice of a running mate. Senator McCain spoke to Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, FROM CNN'S "THE SITUATION ROOM")
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Colin Powell was pretty biting in his criticism. He said you were a little unsure of how to deal with the economic crisis. You seem to have, he said, a different approach every day. He sensed you didn't have a complete grasp of the economic crisis the American people are going through right now. I wonder if you'd like to respond to Secretary Powell?
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I respect General Powell, but I respectfully disagree. I especially disagree when he said, the comments that he made about Governor Palin, the most popular governor in America. The governor knows energy issues, $40 million pipeline, reformer, took on the governor of her own party. And I hope that sometime General Powell will take the time out of his busy schedule to meet with her. I know she'd be pleased to meet with him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: As for Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama, McCain points out that he himself is endorsed by five former secretaries of states.
Meantime, Governor Sarah Palin and her husband Todd will give depositions tomorrow as part of a second investigation into her firing of Alaska's public safety director. They'll be questioned separately by an investigator for the state's personnel board. The initial investigation found Palin had the right to dismiss Walter Monegan but violated state ethics laws by pressing him to fire her former brother- in-law, a state trooper.
ROBERTS: Well, polls say Barack Obama is safely in the lead in Pennsylvania but underdog John McCain is refusing to put up the white flag. Two days ago, McCain spoke at a rally in Moon Township. He responded to comments by Democratic Congressman John Murtha that "rednecks live in the western part of the state." The line wasn't quite delivered as planned, though. He eventually got around to what he was talking about. Put it up, chalk it up to, I guess, extreme sleep deprivation.
Today, McCain's vice presidential pick Sarah Palin is going to be campaigning in Pennsylvania. And Jim Acosta joins us now from Pittsburgh.
Does the McCain campaign actually think they might be able to claw the state back, Jim?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, I talked to a spokesman for the McCain campaign and they're saying that their polls are inconsistent from what we're seeing in these national polls coming from the news media regarding Pennsylvania. So John McCain is thinking what some leading Democrats are thinking about this state, that Barack Obama is far from having a walk on the Keystone State.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): Workers at the U.S. steel plant in Clairton are ready for a shift change in the White House, but even in this reliably Democratic union crowd, there are nagging doubts about Barack Obama.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't like Barack Obama's socialist policies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't feel as if he's ready. I think he's too young still.
ACOSTA: Those reservations explain why John McCain is defying conventional wisdom going for the upset win in this football crazy state. Even though most polls show Obama riding high with roughly a double digit lead in Pennsylvania --
BILL BENNETT, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: That can change the whole chemistry of the election. If he wins in Pennsylvania, he can lose one of those states that George Bush won, even two of those states.
ACOSTA: A do or die strategy has caught the attention of Pennsylvania's most powerful Democrat, Ed Rendell, who helped Hillary Clinton trounce Obama in the state's primary.
GOV. ED RENDELL (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Far be it from me to advise the Obama campaign. No one knew Barack Obama 22 months ago, and now he's on the verge of becoming president. But I think we're nervous in Pennsylvania.
ACOSTA: Rendell says Obama may be neglecting conservative western Pennsylvania, an area where Democratic Congressman John Murtha says the Illinois senator faces an unspoken disadvantage.
REP. JOHN MURTHA (D), PENNSYLVANIA: There's still folks that have a problem voting for somebody because they're black. This whole area years ago was really redneck.
ACOSTA: Rendell is concerned racial bias may not be fully reflected in polling, a phenomenon commonly known as the Bradley effect, named after an African-American candidate running for governor in California where he was ahead in the polls but lost to his white opponent.
Are you concerned about a potential Bradley effect in this state?
RENDELL: A little bit.
ACOSTA: But a little may not be enough to overcome the overriding factor in this state, the economy.
MIKE CORE, OBAMA SUPPORTER: Just don't trust the Republican regime, you know what I mean.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: And another sign that this state is still up for grabs, John, Sarah Palin will be in nearby Beaver later today. And not to be outdone, Barack Obama is sending Hillary Clinton out to this area on Friday -- John.
ROBERTS: That scenario that during the primaries, she scored very heavily and she beat him soundly in that area. Maybe see if she could pick up some support there.
Jim Acosta in Pittsburgh for us this morning. Jim, it's good to see you. Thanks.
ACOSTA: You bet.
CHETRY: Overseas financial markets take another pounding on the heels of another stock plunge on Wall Street. Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business" this morning.
And will prostitutes be able to work the streets of San Francisco with no fear of getting busted by police? A push to decriminalize the world's oldest profession.
It's eight minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Eleven minutes after the hour. Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning."
Let's take a look at what's going on around the world. A selloff on Asian financial markets. Japan's Nikkei index losing nearly 2.5 percent today. Hong Kong's Hang Seng off more than three percent.
In Europe, London's FTSE is also in negative territory. It follows the latest stock slide on Wall Street. The Dow dropping 514 points yesterday sparked by poor corporate earnings and fears of recession. Christine Romans here now "Minding Your Business," more on the economy. Things actually kind of looking up a little bit today on Wall Street. Looking up because you're not looking down.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right and that's what we'll take right here. But you know the stock market is something. It's a score we keep every day about what's happening or what we think is happening in the economy. But the big score is your job. If you don't have your job you're really concerned in this economy right now because it's hard to find another one. And we know that mass layoffs in September were the worst since September 11th.
Mass layoffs -- that's when a company fires 50 people or more in just one fell swoop. That's because they look at their numbers and they say, I'm not making -- I'm not going stay in business if I have all these labor costs. I have to fire a bunch of people.
So look at that -- 235,000 jobs cut just in September and this isn't counting layoffs we've been hearing this week. In the corporate earnings news, Merck 7,200 jobs. Yahoo is cutting jobs. A lot of different companies are not filling open positions.
But what does this mean for the election? Because this is a really interesting time wherein some of these swing states, these battleground states, your vote literally has more to do with your ability to make a living and your ability to feed your family than it has in some time.
Let's look at the battleground states and the job cuts since January. Florida, 37,000 job cuts. Ohio, 43,000 job cuts. That's incredible some of these job cuts since the beginning of the year. Nevada, Colorado, Missouri, North Carolina.
So for the candidates, this is really, really an interesting time to be trying to be president because you got all these people who are really feeling it in these swing states and foreclosures, 2,700 people. Twenty-seven homes were lost to foreclosure every day last month.
ROBERTS: Wow.
ROMANS: Every day. And it's getting big every day.
CHETRY: I'm going to create jobs. Is that -- is that high in the sky in this economy?
ROMANS: Well, they are the ones who's got policies that can help create jobs. What I've been told over and over again, it's not who can create the most jobs, who can help fewer jobs be lost, because we will continue to lose jobs next year.
ROBERTS: Yes. I mean, there's no question that things are going to get worse before they get better. So --
ROMANS: That's right. So the most important thing for people -- most important thing for people watching us is your job is, you know, the lynch pin of your personal economy.
ROBERTS: Yes.
ROMANS: So this is not the time to be taking risks with your job. If you just lost a job, move quickly to try to find a new one. And, you know, if you're in one of these states, your vote really matters on what's going to happen for the policies that will be set.
ROBERTS: Christine, thanks so much for that.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
CHETRY: Well, still ahead, it's a major charge against Barack Obama by John McCain. But are we really seeing a shift towards socialism in America?
It's 13 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Well, it is clear in Philadelphia this morning where they're feeling pretty good. It's 39 degrees, feels more like 33, though, with the wind chill factor which is starting to get in that zone now.
A little winter is just around the corner. It's going up to a high of 57, but it will be nice and sunny. And the sun is definitely shining on the City of Brotherly Love today because take a look at this.
Last night, game number one of the World Series. Philadelphia Phillies, here's the final out. Here it comes. Here it comes. Here it comes.
Yes. And the Phillies win game one, 3-2 over the Tampa Bay Rays. You can bet that Governor Ed Rendell is going to be happy today. He's joining us in about an hour and a half. Talk more about the election, what's going on there in Pennsylvania.
Kiran, as I said, he should be in a very good mood today, I would think.
CHETRY: How about it? Yes, there's a lot of Phillies fanatics out there that are thrilled this morning.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: Well, let's check in with Rob Marciano. I know he's a Yankee fan, so I'm not sure if he was watching the game. But he's certainly watching the weather for us.
Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. And the weather for day two in that dome will be just fine and chilly temperatures across the northeast including Philadelphia. Getting some fresh pictures in from southern California. Fire breaking out just hours ago overnight near the Getty Museum. And now, the 405 southbound, San Diego freeway has been shut down because of these flames.
So dramatic pictures coming in overnight. They got about 200 firefighters on the scene here. No word on acreage burned, but residents in Brentwood are being told to be on guard. They may have to evacuate soon as these fires, these flames continue to get whipped for the northeast down to the southwest. We have critical fire danger in effect today, and those flames are going to be hard to handle for sure.
Dry air Santa Ana winds will blow and lower altitude humidity, so all the ingredients for a bad day for firefighters today. This will diminish somewhat tonight, but I think it will be a good couple of days before we turn down the heat and turn off the wind.
Look at this on the radar scope. Heavy snow across parts of the plains. Winds yesterday gusting to 60 miles an hour at times, so kind of a nasty day there. And some rain across parts of the south.
Temperatures in the 30s and lower 40s across the northeast. Certainly chilly. There are freeze warnings posted for the suburbs of New York City for tomorrow morning. So another day of frost on the pumpkin before the weekend rolls in.
Kiran, back up to you.
CHETRY: All right. Rob, thanks.
Well, could the world's oldest profession be one step closer to becoming legal in San Francisco? On Election Day, voters there will decide on a ballot question called Proposition K which could or would decriminalize prostitution.
Here to break down the measure and what it can mean for the City by the Bay is AMERICAN MORNING legal contributor Sunny Hostin.
Hey, Sunny, how are you?
SUNNY HOSTIN, AMERICAN MORNING LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, Kiran.
CHETRY: So, this is interesting because technically it's still against state law. State law prohibits prostitution. So what would Prop K do in San Francisco?
HOSTIN: Exactly. And it's very different from legalizing it. It is decriminalizing it which is really legalese for saying law enforcement officers will just look the other way. They'll see prostitution going on and they won't arrest prostitutes. They won't arrest their John. They will just simply look the other way.
CHETRY: Proponents of this are claiming it's going to be able to free up some $11 million so that police can actually focus on a larger problem. They want to try to focus on pimps and thieves. Do they have a valid argument?
HOSTIN: You know, I think the more valid argument would be legalizing it because I've spoken to a couple of people in San Francisco about this, a couple of voters. And what they're saying is why not legalize prostitution because then brothels will be taxed, prostitutes will be taxed, and that will boost the economy in these economic times. This is the one time, I think, that this sort of proposition in San Francisco could -- could be passed.
And so, is it a valid argument for decriminalization? I don't think so.
CHETRY: Very interesting. Also, police need this to be able to focus their efforts. They're claiming or proponents of this are claiming that. But can't they just do that now as well? I mean, isn't it about a police officer's discretion? They probably see crimes taking place as to how they're going to move in on it.
HOSTIN: Absolutely. Absolutely. And I think that's one of the weaker, weaker arguments of this proposition. You know I prosecuted crimes and prosecuted sex crimes, and prosecutors and police officers rarely go after the Johns. And let's face it, even though this sort of crime has been on the books it hasn't stopped the world's, you know, oldest profession. So I think that's a very weak argument.
CHETRY: And what about people, you know, who say and they argue this with many things that, you know, these moral issues that we try to decriminalize or, you know, change the way that they're now illegal, they say look this is a slippery slope? What are you going to allow next? Do they have a valid argument as well?
HOSTIN: Absolutely. Absolutely. Because if you think about it, if you decriminalize prostitution in San Francisco or look the other way, criminals and prostitutes and Johns and pimps from other jurisdictions where it is illegal will go into San Francisco. I think that's a very, very strong argument.
Won't it increase crime if you decriminalize prostitution in a particular area? But I have to say what's interesting is, according to the polls, about 73 percent of San Francisco voters are supporting this proposition.
CHETRY: Wow. So it could pass?
HOSTIN: It very well could pass.
CHETRY: You, as a prosecutor, also know that oftentimes prostitution and drug use go hand-in-hand. A lot of the reasons why and partly women are on the streets is because of drug addiction.
HOSTIN: Certainly.
CHETRY: Are they trying to do anything about that and are they worried that if it is legalized or, you know, decriminalized we'll see more of that? HOSTIN: Well, that's actually a very good point because they're saying the $11 million that would be saved from law enforcement going after prostitutes will be redirected towards services for prostitutes, meaning health care, perhaps, drug therapy, physical therapy, that sort of thing. So I think that in terms of Proposition K, that is one relevant point because prostitutes are typically loathe to cooperate with police officers. They are afraid of being arrested themselves. So they don't report crimes against themselves and they certainly don't report, you know, don't seek drug therapy.
CHETRY: All right. We'll see what happens. In 2004 in Berkeley, it was two-thirds of voters rejected a similar measure.
HOSTIN: Absolutely.
CHETRY: So we'll see what happens in San Francisco.
Good to see you this morning. Sunny, thanks.
HOSTIN: Good to see you.
ROBERTS: It is a major charge against Barack Obama by John McCain, but are we really seeing a shift towards socialism in America? We'll find out.
It's 22 1/2 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the "Most Politics in the Morning." Whether it's tax policies or the Wall Street bailout, charges of socialism are flying around on the campaign trail these days. But is the economic meltdown really bringing socialism to America?
Joining me now live from Washington, "Financial Times" economic and trade correspondent James Politi.
It's good to see you, James. Thanks for being with us this morning. Do you believe that we're really seeing moves toward socialism in the United States?
JAMES POLITI, U.S. ECON. & TRADE CORRESPO, "FINANCIAL TIMES": I think we're still a far cry from socialism in the United States. And the traditional definitions of socialism are the government basically takes control of huge chunks of the economy, allocates resources, decides on prices. And I think neither of the candidates are really advocating anything like this.
ROBERTS: All right. Let's drill down then on Senator Obama's tax plan which John McCain and Sarah Palin have said seems to be socialism to them. Joe the plumber, I guess, was the guy who started that whole thing.
This idea of taxing the rich at a higher rate, people making about $250,000 and then giving a tax cut to lower income earners, does that seem to approach socialist ideology? POLITI: I don't think that would be quite right. It's definitely a stretch. We've always had a sort of progressive tax structure in the United States and I think the question is just how do you skew the incentives here? And the Obama campaign would argue that we're just going back to the sort of tax structure that we had in the 1990s and that most people wouldn't say that, you know, socialism was in existence in the 1990s.
ROBERTS: At the same time that Senator McCain is making the charges about socialism on the campaign trail, he also voted for that $700 billion bailout, which many people say is much more socialist than Barack Obama's tax policies have ever been.
Our Wolf Blitzer asked him about that yesterday in an interview done for "THE SITUATION ROOM." Here's how Senator McCain responded to the inquiry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We all know that we are in a severe financial crisis, and the big mistake that the administration has made now and the secretary of treasury is not going out and buying up these home loan mortgages that are bad and give them back to the homeowners.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: He's basically saying there on the $700 billion bailout, extraordinary times required extraordinary action. But this idea of resurrecting the homeowner's loan program from the 1930s, which McCain suggests building his idea on bailing out mortgage holders, does that approach socialism?
POLITI: Well, I mean it's clearly more government intervention into the economy. But, as we've seen throughout this crisis, you can have various degrees of government intervention in the economy without it approaching the kind of traditional definitions of socialism.
ROBERTS: Now looking down the road, many economists are expecting the times are going to get really tough. That what we've seen in the credit crunch and the stock market is just a leading edge of a deep recession that could see nine percent unemployment.
Jeffrey Sachs, a noted economist up there at Columbia, he's a good friend of the show, wrote in "Fortune" magazine about the end of the Reagan era believing that we are going to need more taxes and bigger government. He said, "America can pull through the current economic crisis with a dose of political maturity and a bit of luck. Success will mean the end of the Reagan era, of an ideology that has brought the country to its knees."
Do you think, James, that we're going to have to see bigger government and will everybody need to pay more taxes?
POLITI: Well, I think, in part, the answer will come on November 4th and we'll see the extent to which the Democrats are able to win the presidency, take bigger majority in Congress and see whether a consensus does, in fact, emerge in the U.S. that there has to be greater -- a greater role for government in the economy.
ROBERTS: All right. James Politi from the "Financial Times," it's good to see you this morning, James. Thanks for your analysis.
POLITI: Thanks for having me.
ROBERTS: All right. Take care.
CHETRY: Well, we're just about half past the hour now. A check on the top stories.
Asian financial markets fell overnight taking a cue from Wall Street where the Dow dropped 514 points at the close yesterday. Japan's Nikkei index down nearly 2.5 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index more than three percent lower.
Stocks in Europe were trading in negative territory. Dow futures, though, are pointing higher right now ahead of the opening bell.
And a new report says the number of foreclosures is up 70 percent in the third quarter of this year compared to 2007. Nearly 766,000 homes in the country have been given a foreclosure notice according to the listing service RealtyTrac. Now, the service expects to see more than a million homes on the market by year's end or one-third of all homes up for sale in the United States. It's a staggering number.
Well, it's a growing trend in your children's schools -- foreign teachers. Many districts are facing shortages in math, science and special education. The nation's largest teachers' union blames low pay, disruptive students and a lack of materials. Another union says at least 18,000 of the country's 3.7 million teachers were hired from overseas.
Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business" this morning, sort of giving us some perspective on what we've been seeing in the Dow and some bad earnings reports coming in. But we're going to continue to hear bad news.
Are we going to continue to see 500-point slides?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, we certainly hope not. But this is sort of the way it's going to be for the foreseeable future. I mean it's very, very, very volatile and nobody's expecting that volatility to go away.
One of the things that's a big challenge for the candidates on the campaign trail is articulating their plans and trying to get through all of this bad news, you know, all this bad news about foreclosures and about jobless claims and job situation, to try to, you know, say what they're going to do.
And on education, it's interesting to talk about science and math, investments. On education, there are very starkly different views of exactly what these two candidates are going to do.
You have McCain who wants to better spend all of the 70 billion, I think, a year that we spend on education. He wants to better spend that money. And you have Obama who wants to spend more. He wants to quadruple the number of children who are eligible for head start. He wants to really invest in technology -- in science teachers.
So, $18 billion a year more is what Obama would spend. McCain would spend about $1 billion more a year.
So, where do they -- where do they sort of, you know -- you know, stack up here?
We have Obama who wants more, more children to be allowed to get into head start. He thinks that poor children in this country don't get -- by the time they get to kindergarten, they're already behind. He wants to make sure that doesn't happen.
McCain wants to improve the efficiency of the current student aid programs to get to college. He thinks that will help. Obama, in terms of going to college, thinks the government should do more to help students pay for college overall.
Another thing that's interesting, too, about these two plans is that it really comes down to philosophy. We talked about this on some of the other areas -- health care and taxes and the like.
McCain thinks that we have to take a look at this bureaucracy and figure out where there's all this waste and try to spend the money better, to spend the money better. And give bonuses for teachers and try to fix the system as it is. Obama thinks we need to go in there. We need to raise teacher pay. We need to give a $4,000 tax credit to students in exchange for 100 hours of community service to go college.
So, they've different ways of getting there but they both think that the education system needs a lot of work.
CHETRY: Wow. All right. Very interesting. Thanks so much, Christine.
ROBERTS: Hi-tech campaigning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's doing everything he can do to try to get that youth vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The newest weapon in campaign ads. A look at how Obama is going after a crucial voting bloc by campaigning inside video game. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: The "Most Politics" now. And another day, another battle in the battleground states and the candidates are stumping in Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana. Just 12 days to go now. CNN's latest poll of polls shows Barack Obama with a seven-point lead over John McCain. That's two points closer than yesterday.
On a campaign trail, Obama said he supported plans to improve the economy that McCain was against. Alina Cho and our "Truth Squad" checking the facts this morning.
Hi, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kiran. We're talking about the stimulus plan. Good morning. Good morning, everybody. Barack Obama is using an old political trick. He's using the McCain campaign's own words against them. But were those words taken out of context?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Nine months ago back in January, I called for a stimulus plan. Senator McCain, on the other hand, insisted that the fundamentals of the economy were strong. His advisers openly mocked the idea of a stimulus package. One referred to it as borrowing money from the Chinese and dropping it from helicopters. Another dismissed it as junk.
CHO (voice-over): We went back and checked the record. Obama announced his plan in January, just as Democratic leaders were putting together a similar plan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm very honored to welcome the distinguished chairman of Fed.
CHO: At the time, the McCain camp was reluctant to back any stimulus plan and during an economic panel, McCain adviser Kevin Hassett was quoted as saying we'd be, quote, "borrowing money from the Chinese" and that "just raining cash down, which seems like what Congress wants to do, is not going to have much of an effect."
As for the "junk" comment, that came from another adviser -- Douglas Holtz-Eakin. He was talking about pork barrel spending and was quoted as saying stimulus packages can turn into an excuse for pet projects and, quote, "end up with a lot of junk." Holtz-Eakin also clarified that he was speaking of his own opinion, not on behalf of the McCain campaign.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, the Senate will come to order.
CHO: McCain eventually voted in favor of the bill, which did end up incorporating some elements of Obama's plan. So is Obama getting this one right?
OBAMA: His advisers openly mocked the idea of a stimulus package.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHO: And the "Truth Squad" verdict on this one is -- misleading. Obama does quote one comment accurately but he takes the "junk" comment out of context. He also appears to overstate his role in the creation of the stimulus package when, in fact, Obama was just one of many politicians on both sides of the aisle to work on the plan.
And, of course, as always, we are watching both sides. Coming up at 8:00, Sarah Palin takes another swipe at Obama's experience, saying he only served 300 days, Kiran, before running for president. Was she right? We will have the answer at 8:00.
CHETRY: All right. We look forward to it. Thanks, Alina.
CHO: You bet.
ROBERTS: Family matters. We visit the ancestral home of John McCain and we talk with one couple who says they are descendants of the Republican hopeful. Wait until you meet them. 39 minutes after the hour.
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ROBERTS: It's coming up now in 42 minutes after the hour. Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning" in the morning." 12 days away now from the election, and CNN's Jason Carroll just back from Mississippi where he visited the ancestral home of John McCain and found some very proud -- well, are they really descendants?
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I don't know if we could say descendents. I think that's up for some debate here. This is really the story of two McCain families, both different, both share the same name, and a history.
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CARROLL (voice-over): This is McCain country -- Carrollton, Mississippi. Senator John McCain's ancestors settled in this rural area in the mid-1,800s and signs of their legacy still exists. There is a McCain exhibit at the museum. The family still owns land where a plantation once stood, and there are the McCain descendents.
(on camera): Do you feel like you're related to Senator John McCain?
CHARLES MCCAIN, MCCAIN DESCENDENT: Well, I feel like it.
CARROLL: You do?
C. MCCAIN: Yes.
CARROLL (voice-over): Charles McCain, Jr. and his sister, Mary, say they are descendents of slaves owned by Senator McCain's great- great-grandfather.
MARY MCCAIN, MCCAIN DESCENDENT: I feel that in being that his great-grandfather once owned our great-great-grandfather. There is kinship. Can't help but be.
CARROLL: Like many slaves during the time, Mary and Charles ancestors adopted their owner's name. Mary and Charles took us to these former plantations where an old home barely stands, and overgrown African-American cemetery waits to be tended.
M. MCCAIN: And this is the grave of Letty (ph) McCain here.
CARROLL: It's where their great-grandmother is buried. They have a proud history and a tight extended family. Reunions are common and attended by black and white McCains.
M. MCCAIN: And this is a picture of Joe McCain, which is his brother.
(on camera): Who is this -- Senator McCain's brother.
M. MCCAIN: Senator McCain's brother.
CARROLL: So, he attended the reunion.
M. MCCAIN: Yes, he attended the reunion.
CARROLL (voice-over): Mary McCain says Senator John McCain has not attended the reunions. In the past, he said that his ancestors never owned slaves. A campaign spokesman was quoted as saying, "the descendants are a testament to the power of family, love and compassion. These McCains look to their past not to place blame but as a reminder of American's shared history.
M. MCCAIN: What has happened in the past has happened. So, accept it. Deal with it and go on.
CARROLL: Post-slavery, five generations of Mary's family went on to serve in the military. Some became professors and nurses. The questions for this generation is who to choose in the upcoming election. Are family ties stronger than the desire to see the nation's first African-American president?
C. MCCAIN: (INAUDIBLE).
M. MCCAIN: Barack.
CARROLL: You're going to go for Senator Obama?
M. MCCAIN: Yes.
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CARROLL: In addition to Senator McCain's brother showing up at the last reunion, Mary McCain says the senator's cousin also attended. She said the ground rules were clear no politics would be discussed. We reach out to Senator McCain's campaign about the story but they did not return our calls. Interesting little bit of history there.
ROBERTS: Now that it's aired, though, we might hear from him. CARROLL: We'll see.
ROBERTS: That happen so much. Jason, fascinating story. Thanks for that. It's 45 minutes now after the hour.
Hi-tech campaigning.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's going to everything he can do to try to get that youth vote.
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ROBERTS: The newest weapon in campaign ads. A look at how Obama is going after a crucial voting bloc by campaigning inside video games. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
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ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): This General Motors engine plant in Flint, Michigan s a landfill-free facility. It, along with 42 other GM plants worldwide, recycles or reuses every bit of waste. Nothing is thrown away.
JOHN BRADBURN, GENERAL MOTOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS: Any waste is really a resource out of place. The key is to be innovative, apply science to technology and find the best possible outcome for that product.
MARCIANO: For years GM and other car companies have recycled scrap iron and aluminum chips, they are melted to make new parts. But other waste streams pose bigger challenges. Like this stuff, called swarf, a mixture of metals shavings and liquid.
BRADBURN: This swarf was getting landfilled up until a few years ago. This will go to markets on the outside and it will be turned into materials that require iron.
MARCIANO: And this polymer material, which separates metal shavings from coolant, also used to be discarded after use, but now it is sent to an outside company for recycling into new products. John Bradburn, GM's landfill free experts, says he has not found anything yet that could not be reused.
BRADBURN: When there is enough of something, you can usually find an interest in that material.
MARCIANO: GM says by the end of 2010, half of its 160 manufacturing plants will also be landfill free. Rob Marciano, CNN.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. From a video game to a religious Web site, they'll take those votes anywhere they can get them. Kareen Wynter shows us the lengths the candidates will go to to reach out and find your vote.
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, the presidential candidates are using unique methods of campaigning to reach out to America's niche audiences.
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WYNTER (voice-over): From online gamers to hot music, even social networking Web sites like faithbase.com and the gay and lesbian Web site glee.com. Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is hunting for every untapped vote in this election. Obama wrote this open letter to the one million readers of "Vibe," an urban music magazine seeking their support. The magazine endorsed Obama in its October issue of "Vibe" first for presidential candidate.
DANYEL SMITH, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, VIBE: The hip-hop culture is major. It's multigenerational, it's multicultural, so I think we are going to have a huge impact on the presidential election.
WYNTER: Obama is also targeting young voters in key states with a unique online outreach. He began campaigning this month on Xbox 360 by purchasing virtual ad space on the Xbox live platform which reportedly has 12 million gamers in its online communities. When players download updates they see this billboard advertisement of Obama, but the campaign ads are only available in ten swing states.
STEVEN J. ROSS, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, USC: He's going out to vibe, and he's going out to Xbox. He's going to everything he can do to try to get that youth vote because everyone is saying right now it's the youth vote that might put him over the top.
WYNTER: Senator John McCain's camp told CNN the Republican presidential nominee is also turning up the heat in this homestretch, but adds they are still relying heavily on conventional campaign methods with his direct dial phone calls. In addition to interactive Web sites, Facebook and mccainspace.com, his new social network on his Web site.
MCCAIN: Check back every day and meet up with other supporters just like you who are leading us to victory.
WYNTER: Ads on Xbox, because, quote, "there's no prove method there, no proof of return on your money."
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WYNTER: Analysts agree that may be true but say that's a gamble Obama can afford to take after raising a record number of campaign dollars last month -- John, Kiran.
CHETRY: It's them again.
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VOICE OF UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers.
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CHETRY: The robocalls, 10 to 15 times a day.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's horrible.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hate them.
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CHETRY: New onslaught, attack of the robocalls. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's ridiculous.
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CHETRY: Plus, secrets of a political dirty trickster.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a felon. So, yes, I think about it every day.
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CHETRY: In his own words, how to rig an election. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
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VOICE OF RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You need to know that Barack Obama opposes mandatory prison sentences to 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.
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ROBERTS: Recognize that voice? It is former New York mayor and presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, and he may soon call you with that same message.
Giuliani is the star of a new robocall from the McCain campaign portraying Barack Obama is soft on crime. And if you live in one of the elections crucial battleground states, the odds are that you are already getting more than your fair share of robocalls. The bad news, it's only going to get worse in the next 12 days. Our Carol Costello live in Washington with more. I've got one of these in my home in Virginia. I'm sure that many other people have gotten this as well.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are so irritating, aren't they, John? Expect your automated phone friendless to go. Robocalls are not only ubiquitous this year, they are nasty.
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COSTELLO (voice-over): It's sounds like a bad B movie. The attack of the killer robocalls. But for voters that's exactly what it feels like.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's horrible.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hate them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's ridiculous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really annoying.
COSTELLO: Stop politicalcalls.org feels your pain. It's goal is to stop robocalls now, but with two weeks to go, forget it.
SHAUN DAKIN, STOPPOLITICALCALLS.ORG: It's 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 10 to 15 calls a day. That's 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 Ayres.
VOICE OF UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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 Ayres.
COSTELLO: That attack robocall is in part why you should expect more robocalls. It's actually sparked a robocall war on and off the phone.
SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: John, stop your ads. Bring down those robocalls.
COSTELLO: Even some Republicans echo 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.
MCCAIN: That robocall --
VOICE OF UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Domestic terrorist Bill Ayres, whose organization bombed the U.S. capitol --
MCCAIN: Is absolutely accurate. And by the way, Senator Obama's campaign is running robocalls as we speak. COSTELLO: Stoppoliticalcalls.org said the Obama camp is doing that. Launching at least four robocall campaign in the last month. And the Wisconsin Democratic Party has also joined in creating this robocall attacking McCain's attack robocall.
VOICE OF UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I live in Green Bay, and like you I've been getting sleazy phone calls and mails from John McCain and his supporters.
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.
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COSTELLO: OK. So you ask, do robocalls actually work? Are they effective? Well, not so much. Pew Research did a study during the primary and found that half of us hang up on our robo friends. We don't even listen to the message. Other voters listen angrily. But there are a few, John -- there are a few people who do listen and the more negative the robocall, the more the message sinks in. So, for those people, I guess it works.
ROBERTS: Yes. I think for a lot of voters, they would be happy if these robocall war were fought between the phone banks and didn't include their telephone. But you know, a lot of people, too, upset that a lot of children are at home when these calls come in. The children are picking up the calls. They find them upsetting. Maybe the call is left on the message machine.
COSTELLO: That's right.
ROBERTS: The child listens to that as well. And there's also this interesting disconnect between John McCain and Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin saying if she had to do it her way, she wouldn't be doing these robocalls.
COSTELLO: Well, there is a bill floating around in Congress. So if you really hate these robocalls, lobby your Congress person. It maybe, you know -- that bill will pass some day.
ROBERTS: You said, Carol, that the only way to avoid these calls is if you don't pick up the phone. Do they come to unlisted numbers, do you know, as well as listed numbers -- if you were to have an unlisted number, would you still get the call.
COSTELLO: I think so, because the campaigns are hiring these special phone companies and they have all kinds of tricks to use to get your phone number. And, you know, if you put a random number in there and it happens to hit on your unlisted phone number, you could get it. And it also calls cell phone numbers, too. So you can't even escape that.
ROBERTS: Lucky us.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
ROBERTS: Carol, thanks so much for that. It's good to see you.
COSTELLO: Sure.
CHETRY: Hey, we live in New York, haven't gotten a single phone call. How about it?
