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American Morning
Asian Markets Took Steep Losses; Obama Talks About Economy and National Security; Palins' Polling Problems; Testing the Next President; The Fight for Battleground Pennsylvania
Aired October 23, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's 7:00 right now on the East Coast. A look at the top stories.
Markets in Asia took steep losses in overnight trading. Japan's Nikkei falling to its lowest level in five years before rebounding a bit, closing down 2.5 percent. Shares in Hong Kong were down 3.6 percent, and major markets in Europe are currently in the red.
In Baghdad, a suicide bomber killed nine people earlier this morning ramming a vehicle filled with explosives into the Iraqi labor minister's convoy. The minister was not in the convoy at the time. Twenty people were wounded in the attack. It happened in a crowded commercial area.
Governor Sarah Palin and her husband Todd will give depositions on Friday to Alaska's personnel board. It's part of the so-called "Troopergate" investigation. Earlier this month, Alaska's bipartisan legislative counsel found Governor Palin abused her power by pushing for a state trooper to be fired.
Barack Obama leaving the campaign trail today and tomorrow to visit his gravely-ill grandmother in Hawaii. Obama appeared on CBS' "Early Show" today. In a pre-taped interview, he was asked about his grandmother's health.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE EARLY SHOW")
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It was sort of like this in the sense that she had a terminal illness. We 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 -- I don't make the same mistake twice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, anyway, he was explaining how he was not there for his mother's death and, again, he said he didn't want to make the same mistake twice with his grandmother, being as ill as she is. But before exiting the campaign trail, Obama is heading to a rally with supporters in Indianapolis, and that's where we find our Jessica Yellin this morning.
Hi, Jessica.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran. Well, Barack Obama is not ahead in Indianapolis but by coming here, he forces John McCain to compete on this turf to continue to invest in a red state where he could use spending more time and resources elsewhere. Barack Obama will be talking about the economy here today as he has been, but he'll also be hitting on another theme we heard him bring up yesterday, national security.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
YELLIN (voice-over): Rousing cheers for Barack Obama in a state that was once considered a long shot.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are no real parts of the country and fake parts of the country.
YELLIN: With his healthy lead in Virginia, Obama turned today to shore up a perceived weakness -- his national security experience. Obama spoke to reporters after holding a private meeting with his top foreign policy advisers.
OBAMA: To succeed, we need leadership that understands the connection between our economy and our strength in the world. Our economy supports our military power. It increases our diplomatic leverage, and it is a foundation of America's leadership in the world.
YELLIN: This turn to national security comes on the heels of his endorsement by Colin Powell.
OBAMA: General Powell is one of our finest soldiers and statesman. He has been the source of advice, and I look forward to drawing on his counsel.
YELLIN: But it also comes as his running mate makes headlines telling donors that if Obama is elected --
VOICE OF: SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.
OBAMA: You know, I think that Joe sometimes engages in rhetorical flourishes. But I think that his core point was that the next administration is going to be tested, regardless of who it is.
YELLIN: And it seems designed to address any lingering security concerns among late deciding voters.
STU ROTHENBERG, ROTHENBERG POLITICAL REPORT: I think there's still a sense that Senator McCain's greatest strength is national security. That's the one area where he has an advantage over Senator Obama. And so I think all that Barack Obama is trying to do now is neutralize that issue because on every other issue, the Democrats are way ahead.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
YELLIN: And, Kiran, here in Indianapolis, Barack Obama has a new ad on the radio. This one from the rocker John Mellencamp. So I guess he can put Jack and Diane up against Joe the plumber -- Kiran.
CHETRY: There you go. All right. Jessica Yellin for us this morning. Thanks.
ROBERTS: Good one for this time of the morning.
John McCain sat down with our Wolf Blitzer yesterday and the talk turned to national security. McCain touched on Joe Biden's comment that a "President Obama" would be tested and took the opportunity to tell voters that he's ready for any challenges that the country might face.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CNN'S "THE SITUATION ROOM")
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Do you believe America's enemies whether terrorists or hostile governments would test you during the first six months of your presidency?
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've already been tested. And I'm astonished and amazed to here Senator Biden predict that the untried, untested "President Obama" will be tested by our enemies and we may not agree, his own backers may not agree.
Look, I've been tested. Senator Biden referred to the Cuban missile crisis. I was there. We came that close, as historians say, to a nuclear exchange. Senator Biden expects his own running mate, expects Senator Obama to be tested in that way? That's a remarkable statement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: McCain has consistently had strong poll numbers on the issue of national security but there is one issue where poll numbers keep getting worse for the candidate and that is his choice of a running mate.
Dana Bash has got more for us now on that front -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, the boisterous and rather large crowd here for John McCain and Sarah Palin is what's known as the Palin effect. She's helping rally the Republican faithful. The problem for McCain is the increasingly negative impact Palin seems to be having on those he needs to win who don't come to these rallies.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH (voice-over): With or without Sarah Palin by his side, John McCain warms up his crowds with this.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'm so proud of the enthusiasm that Sarah Palin has sparked across this country.
BASH: But what started as pure praise for his running mate has morphed into a staunch defense.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello, Ohio.
BASH: Aimed at swing voters, increasingly less likely to vote for McCain because of Palin, especially independent female voters McCain aides had hoped she'd appeal to, like Susan McGraw.
SUSAN MCGRAW, SPEAKER AND TRAINER: I don't think she's ready for the big boys, you know, should something happen to McCain.
BASH: Palin's negatives among key voters are climbing at a stunning rate. A fresh Pew Research Center poll shows just last month independent voters' unfavorable view of Palin has spiked, going from 27 percent to 50 percent. Even more dramatic among independent women, from 28 percent to 56 percent, with an unfavorable opinion of Palin.
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our opponent is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who targeted their own country.
BASH: Pew's Andrew Kohut says rhetoric like that has backfired.
ANDREW KOHUT, PEW RESEARCH CENTER: And obviously she's been front and center in going after Obama and I think it's hurt her.
BASH: And a new NBC News "Wall Street Journal" poll suggests worry about Palin's experience is really dragging McCain down. On a list of concerns about McCain, questions about Palin's qualifications ranks first, even higher than his link to Bush policies. But Palin remains wildly popular with the party's base, and Republican leaders and GOP strongholds like Hamilton County, Ohio, insists she's still a plus.
MARK TRIANTAFILOU, GOP CHAIRMAN, HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO: When people find out she's coming to this region, you know, our phones ring like crazy. So, you know, we still see tremendous energy. People are excited about her candidacy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: It's a trade off that some pollsters and even some Republicans say could prove too costly. Yes, McCain needs his Republican base and as you can see and hear from the crowd behind me Sarah Palin helps. But to win he needs the suburban and independent voters and evidence is mounting that with those groups, Palin hurts -- John and Kiran.
CHETRY: Dana Bash, thanks.
Well, from dealing with nuclear nations to the economy, testing the next president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The president is going to be tested.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm already been tested.
OBAMA: Will the next president meet that test?
MCCAIN: We don't want a president who invites testing from the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: A look at what's at stake for whomever wins the election. You're watching the "Most Politics in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: All right. Well, Christine Romans joins us now "Minding Your Business." She's not always the bearer of good news as we've noticed.
ROBERTS: But sometimes just the bearer.
CHETRY: Exactly. And unfortunately, one of the things you keep pointing out is we're looking at the ups and downs in the stock market.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right.
CHETRY: We're looking at a lot of other indicators that things are going bad but number one, you got to try to keep your job.
ROMANS: Yes. Number one is your job. I mean, this is the basis for everyone's personal economy, right? I mean, if you don't have that job, then suddenly the health insurance is an issue. Suddenly paying the mortgage is an issue, and everything else follows from that. So we want to tell you a little bit about the layoffs we've seen.
We saw a lot of layoffs in September, the highest number of mass layoffs they say since September 2001. And remember, that was not a good time in this country in terms of confidence for companies.
We've seen just this week "Wall Street Journal" is reporting that Goldman Sachs is going to lay some people off. Yahoo cut a lot of workers, announced a lot of job cuts. Pink slips for Merck this week as well. So a lot of different kinds of industries. People are going to have to try to retrain or find a new job in their industry and it's a tough time to be doing that.
So while we're watching the stock market go up and down by 500 points at a time, remember, this is not a time to be taking risks in your job. This is a time to be -- this is the time to be showing up and making sure you're on the right side of that list of, you know, who can be cut from your manager.
I want to talk about battleground states because there's somebody who's not going to have a job that they want in January, and it's one of these presidential candidates. Only one of them.
CHETRY: They both have old jobs to fall back on.
ROMANS: Right. Exactly, exactly.
Only one of them is going to win, and they have to face a whole lot of people at the polling booth who have lost their jobs. In the battleground states, you have seen job cuts up pretty sharply over the past -- over the past nine months or so. Florida, Ohio, Nevada, Colorado, Missouri, North Carolina. There is that pretty map.
You know, so listen, I have to imagine that in the war rooms of both of these campaigns they know these numbers by heart. How many foreclosures in these states, how many people have lost their jobs in these states, because people in those places are going to the polling booths angry and their personal well-being is at stake here.
ROBERTS: You know, we'll talk about this when we do our magic wall segment coming up in just a little while. But in Ohio, 10 percent of Republicans say that they are going to vote for Barack Obama. And you can imagine that's because of the bad economy.
ROMANS: Yes. The job cuts in Ohio were double last month what they were a year ago.
ROBERTS: Incredible.
ROMANS: So, yes.
CHETRY: It's tough. It's tough right now.
ROBERTS: I want to say thanks, Christine. But it seems so --
ROMANS: It's just the facts, John and Kiran. I'm just telling you, these are the realities on the ground and it's --
ROBERTS: Here we go. We found another Joe -- Joe Friday. Just the facts.
ROMANS: Yes. Exactly. Just the facts, ma'm.
CHETRY: Thanks, Christine.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
CHETRY: Well, if you've ever -- speaking of trying to keep your job -- if you ever called in sick to work you're not alone. A third of American workers admitted to calling in sick when they weren't this year, according to a new survey. But watch it, because 31 percent of employers say that they checked on workers who called in sick and 18 percent say they fired employees who missed work without a legitimate excuse.
ROBERTS: So in the context of all these job cuts, keep that in mind.
The fight for Pennsylvania, race, politics and 21 electoral votes. Obama is up in the polls, but McCain says he can still win the Keystone State. We'll take a look at how he could possibly do it.
Plus, when politics gets dirty. An inside look at rigging an election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Make it so the phones didn't work.
No calls going out, no calls going in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It almost to me felt like an election might have been stolen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The dark side of American politics.
Fourteen minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's coming up now at 17 minutes after the hour. Rob Marciano is down in the weather center in Atlanta tracking all of the extreme weather today. He joins us now.
We had that big storm in the center of the country yesterday. What's it looking like today?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, it's marching eastward. It's going to affect just about everybody east of the Colorado Rockies.
So we got wet in the middle. We've got cold on the northeast for sure. And we've got hot and dry across the southwest including southern California where fire danger is going to be at critical conditions today. Again, Santa Ana winds blowing dry hot air. Low levels of humidity and fires have broken out overnight.
Just a couple of hours ago near the Getty Center Museum, this fire has already burned 150 acres and it is still on the move with northeast winds gusting over 20 miles an hour at times. You see those flames reaching past the treetops. The folks who live in the Brentwood area are being told to be ready to evacuate if those flames get to those areas. The 405 southbound areas of that interstate have been shut down.
High temperatures in L.A. today will get to the lower 90s easily. It will be in the lower to mid-50s across the northeast with freeze warnings in effect for the suburbs of New York City tomorrow.
John, back over to you.
ROBERTS: Rob, thanks very much. Not looking forward to those freeze warnings, though. I need this transition between fall and winter.
Fall to spring would be great. See if you can make that happen. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: I'll look on it right now.
ROBERTS: Take a look at this, by the way.
MARCIANO: OK.
ROBERTS: Meet the bloodhound.
A British team is building a beast of a car. It's capable, they say, of reaching a thousand miles an hour. That's literally faster than a speeding bullet. They say that it's going to be ready in 2011. But that may not be too impressive to a guy like Rob, of course, because he took a run around the track in Daytona. We want to remind you...
MARCIANO: Oh, yes.
ROBERTS: ... fitting for a weatherman to be as fast as lightning, but they say --
MARCIANO: Look how fast that is, John. We're just cruising a thousand miles an hour there.
ROBERTS: Although, you know, you can stop a lot more quickly in a NASCAR than you can in this car. They say it's going to take 4 1/2 miles to go from top speed, more than a thousand miles an hour to a stop. So that's even with good brakes and a parachute.
MARCIANO: That will be fun to watch for sure. Much faster than what I ever did.
ROBERTS: All right.
MARCIANO: Looking forward to that.
ROBERTS: Rob, thanks so much.
MARCIANO: Bye, John. Bye now.
CHETRY: Rough road.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID ROTHKOPF, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTL. PEACE: As though some mountains were rising, others were falling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: If they think the campaign is tough, wait until they get into the White House. A look at the economic and political challenges waiting for the next president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID ROTHKOPF, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTL. PEACE: Other countries have grown stronger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." Barack Obama and John McCain both hope to win the presidential prize, of course. But what do they get along with it? Well, national security threats and a world economy in crisis for starters.
State Department correspondent Zain Verjee is live for us in Washington with a look at how those issues could be linked.
Hey, good morning, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Kiran. Long distance sparring between the presidential candidates over international affairs really has both men saying that they are better prepared. But the financial crisis may have changed the game.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE (voice-over): Whoever wins the White House must face a dangerous world.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The president is going to be tested.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've already been tested.
VERJEE: The new commander in chief will inherit the usual suspects. Iran may be on an unstoppable quest for a nuclear bomb. North Korea already has the bomb and with an ailing Kim Jong-Il, could be on the brink of chaos.
Afghanistan, the Taliban gaining strength. Next door in Pakistan, terrorists plot to kill Americans. But the financial crisis has changed the playing field.
DAVID ROTHKOPF, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTL. PEACE: Not only are we constrained by financial weakness, but other countries have grown stronger. And so, as you look out at the landscape, it's as though some mountains were rising, others were falling. The landscape is changing around you and you're being asked to navigate across that.
VERJEE: The candidates want to steer different courses.
OBAMA: The question is, will the next president meet that test by moving America in a new direction, by sending a clear signal to the rest of the world that we are no longer about bluster and unilateralism and ideology, but we're about creating partnerships around the world to solve practical problems. MCCAIN: Just this weekend, Senator Biden guaranteed that if Senator Obama is elected, we will have an international crisis to test America's new president. My friends, we don't want a president who invites testing from the world at a time when our economy is in crisis. And Americans are already fighting in two wars.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you.
VERJEE: The next president is going in with less money and less power.
ROTHKOPF: For one party or another to say, you know, I can handle it, I know what the solution is, or I've been tested, is somewhere between, you know, exaggerated and irresponsible.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: The next commander in chief will also have to navigate the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. The clock is ticking and there's still no agreement on the future of U.S. troops in Iraq after the 31st of December -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Zain Verjee for us. You're right. A lot of challenges ahead for whoever wins the presidency. Thanks, Zain.
ROBERTS: Dirty tricks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It almost to me felt like an election might have been stolen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Rigging an election. A former Republican operative who went to jail for trying tells us how easy it could be.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somebody was doing something.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 28 minutes after the hour. Welcome back to the "Most Politics in the Morning."
Battleground Pennsylvania, Barack Obama leading by double digits in the polls and the McCain campaign calls Pennsylvania a must-win. So what are the voters in Pennsylvania really made of? Lately some have been called racist, redneck, God-fearing and patriotic.
Joining me now from the Keystone State is Dennis Roddy. He's a columnist for the "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" and Salon.com (ph).
Dennis, good to see you this morning. We've got Governor Ed Rendell coming up in about 25 minutes time. He told CNN that he is asking Senator Obama and Senator Clinton to come back to western Pennsylvania for a couple more visits to try to shore up support there. It would seem to indicate that there are some concerns here as to whether or not Barack Obama can prevail in a state where he's 13 points ahead. Are they right to be concerned?
DENNIS RODDY, CONTRIBUTOR, SLATE.COM: Well, they're right to be concerned in the sense that Pennsylvania's political configuration shifted dramatically four years ago. It used to be that western Pennsylvania was solidly Democratic. I mean, even through the years of the Reagan landslide, it remained this isolated sea of blue counties.
That changed in 2004. Counties such as Cambria and Greene, long- standing Democratic new deal kinds of counties went Republican. Counties like Washington were up for grabs. Beaver County, which is home of a...
ROBERTS: Right.
RODDY: ... core of steel labor was won by Kerry by only 51 percent. So things are shifting here. It's a culturally conservative area and once you get away from the economic issues, the people left there will start to vote Republican on issues such as God, guns and abortion.
ROBERTS: And some Democratic members of Congress are wondering whether or not they would find an African-American candidate acceptable, somebody who they could support.
Jack Murtha who represents the 12th congressional district, as you know, last week called that whole part of western Pennsylvania "a racist area." On Monday, he tried to clarify his comments a bit. Let's listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN MURTHA (D), PENNSYLVANIA: What I said was that indicted everybody. That's not what I meant at all. What I mean is there are still folks that have a problem voting for somebody because they're black. This whole area years ago was really redneck.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: He went from saying it was a racist area to saying it used to be really redneck. You wrote an article about all of this in Slate.com. It's a very interesting article. I recommend people read it.
Is he right or wrong in what he said?
RODDY: Yes. Exactly. Look, racism exists in western Pennsylvania. It exists every where. It might have in my own experience and I'm writing from my own observations it might have existed with a little bit more prominence and a little less varnish than in some other parts of the country.
But there's another track that goes with some of the resistance to Barack Obama and it's a class sort of resistance too. I mean, when Barack Obama made the famous remark about clinging to guns and religion, a lot of people in places like this thought it was just another Harvard guy giving them the high hat. They didn't care what color he was. So it operates on two different tracks.
ROBERTS: Now Hillary Clinton took advantage of that statement when she campaigned through Pennsylvania during the primaries and now John McCain is trying to take advantage of what Jack Murtha said. Let's listen to what he said at a campaign event the other day in western Pennsylvania.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Obama supporters have been saying some pretty nasty things about western Pennsylvania lately. And, you know, I couldn't agree with him more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well, he didn't quite get that right. I guess it was a factor of fatigue. But he went on to finally say that area is the most god-loving patriotic part of the country. But could Congressman Murtha's comments help John McCain in the same way that Barack Obama's comments helped Hillary Clinton during the primaries?
RODDY: You know, in the end I think probably not, because people in this region or any other region that weren't going to vote for a black man just aren't going to do it anyway no matter what you say about him or about them. What's happening here though is the economy is bad. And it's never been terribly good in western Pennsylvania since about 1979. And so the economy is what drives voting here unless the economy is fairly solid. Then they will move on to other issues.
Right now I think you're going to see, for instance, Barack Obama do very comfortably in Allegheny county. It's places like Cambria -
ROBERTS: Right.
RODDY: Green, maybe even Beaver, places like that where you might see folks vote, you know, on cultural conservative issues or god forbid sometimes on race.
ROBERTS: We will find out in 12 days' time. Dennis Roddy of the "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" and slate.com. Good to see you this morning. Thank for that.
RODDY: Pleasure to be here.
ROBERTS: All right. Take care. CHETRY: Well, it's 32 minutes after the hour. A look at the top stories this morning. President Bush will host leaders from 20 nations in an economic summit. It will be held November 15th. They are hoping to get the other to agree on a common set of principles to shore up troubled markets. Even with world governments pouring hundreds of billions into markets and banks, recession fears continue to battle global markets.
Well embattled insurance giant AIG has agreed to freeze $19 million intended to go to its former boss and another $600 million to other executives. The company is facing a lot of criticism for such high payouts just as the government is paying to bail it out. New York's attorney general demanded the cash freeze or told AIG it could face legal action.
And more banks, four dozen in all across 11 states have now received threatening letters laced with a powdery substance. Federal, state and local authorities are all working together in the investigation. The powder so far has not turned out to be dangerous from what they found in any of these letters.
ROBERTS: As the clock kicks down in the last round in the fight for the White House the gloves are coming off. Barack Obama is continuing his attack that McCain is trying to turn the attention away from the economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator McCain's campaign actually said a couple of weeks ago they were going launch a series of attack on my character because they said if we keep on talking about the economy we're going to lose. That's a promise that my opponent has kept. He's been on the attack. That's what you do when you're out of ideas, out of touch and running out of time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And then there's John McCain fighting back. His campaign has leveled attack after attack that Barack Obama's tax plan is, at best, welfare, and McCain and Sarah Palin have repeatedly suggested that Obama's plan leans towards socialism. Kiran.
CHETRY: Rig an election. Well, we certainly know you wouldn't do it but our Jim Acosta is live in Pennsylvania where he found a felon with a history of political dirty tricks who is now spilling the beans on how and why he did it. Hi, Jim, fascinating story.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran. That's right and most guys in this line of work, if that's what you want to call it, don't have the guts to talk about it but Allen Raymond has been to the dark side of American politics. How dark? How about prison?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): Allen Raymond is living proof, political dirty tricksters do exist. The former republican political operative went to federal prison on charges of phone harassment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a volunteer doing some calls here.
ACOSTA: He pled guilty to jamming the phone lines at New Hampshire's democratic party on election day six years ago.
ALLEN RAYMOND, AUTHOR "HOW TO RIG AN ELECTION": Make it so the phones didn't work. No calls going out. No calls going in.
ACOSTA: We're not going to give away exactly how Raymond did it but federal prosecutors say two top republican party officials hired Raymond who then hired the operators of a phone bank in Idaho to make the calls to New Hampshire.
KATHY SULLIVAN, FMR. CHAIRWOMAN, NEW HAMPSHIRE DEMOCRATIC PARTY: You kind of know right away.
ACOSTA: You can tell something was wrong?
SULLIVAN: Yes something was wrong.
ACOSTA: Were the state's former democratic chairwoman Kathy Sullivan said the ensuing flood of hang up calls shut down her office.
SULLIVAN: Somebody was doing something. You don't know who, you don't know why but somebody is doing something.
ACOSTA: The operation also jammed the lines of this union hall where firefighter Jeff Duvall was lining up car rides to help senior citizens to the polls.
JEFF DUVAL, MANCHESTER PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS ASSN.: It almost to me felt like an election might have been stolen. It sounds kind of ingenious.
RAYMOND: Well it does in an evil sort of way right? Evil genius sort of way.
ACOSTA: In his book, "How to rig an election," Raymond details where that evil genius got him. An hour and a half to the jamming operation came this e-mail from a republican official who also pled guilty. The Chairman wishes not proceed with this project. It violates federal law. The feds eventually came knocking at his office.
And you ended up going to prison for this?
RAYMOND: I did. Yes for three months which -
ACOSTA: It doesn't sound like a long time -
RAYMOND: But it is a long time.
ACOSTA (on-camera): This operation didn't just affect the voters in New Hampshire, the balance of power in the U.S. Senate was on the line that year and the Senate race here between the democrat Jean Shahin and Republican Johnson Sununu was decided by just 19,000 votes.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Sununu won. Some state democrats remain convinced the phone jamming cost them votes.
JOHN FUND, AUTHOR "STEALING ELECTIONS": No party has a monopoly on virtue.
ACOSTA: Conservative author John Fund dirty tricksters in both parties are out to steal votes any way they can.
FUND: We need more poll watchers and monitors from both sides to make sure each side is watching the other.
RAYMOND: I'm a felon. Yes, I think about it every day. Every thing that I do every day, I try to do in such a way that makes up for that mistake.
ACOSTA: Allen Raymond learned that winning at all costs sometimes can cost plenty.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: And you know that old line that crime doesn't pay? Well in Allen Raymond's case, it does pay a little as we can tell you right now. Kiran. Allen Raymond tells us that his book is about to be turned into a movie.
CHETRY: Wow, that's fascinating. And as you said, it's very interesting to get someone to actually admit it and talk to you about it and how they did it.
ACOSTA: Doesn't happen very often.
CHETRY: Jim Acosta, great to see you this morning. Thanks.
ACOSTA: You bet.
CHETRY: Also tomorrow we're going to have the last installment of our "Count the Vote" series. We're going to see how some first time voters are being frightened into staying home. Who would be behind those threats? Also you can find more of our special "Count the vote" series online and learn about more problems that could plague this year's election. AMERICAN MORNING is on-line at CNN.com/am. If you have some concerns about possible voting irregularities in your state, we'd like you tell us about it. You can call us toll free at 877-gocnn-08.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): Worried about winning?
GOV. ED RENDELL (D), PENNSYLVANIA: We're nervous in Pennsylvania.
ROBERTS: Barack Obama has a double digit lead in Pennsylvania. So why is Governor Ed Rendell telling him to come back to campaign in his state? We'll ask the governor live. You're watching "the most news in the morning."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the most politics in the morning. Both candidates see the state of Pennsylvania as a critical win on the electoral map. In the latest CNN poll of polls there, Barack Obama has a solid seven point lead over John McCain. So why does the state democratic governor say he may be a bit nervous any way? Joining me now to answer that question is Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell. Thanks for being with us. I know you said you had a late night watching the Phillies win the first game of the World Series. So, congratulations to you for that.
GOV. ED RENDELL (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Three more to go.
CHETRY: Yes. Keep it going. How about that? Well, I want to ask you about this poll. There are some polls that show Barack Obama with a 13 point lead in your state. Now you said that you're nervous though about Pennsylvania urging Barack Obama to return there and do some campaigning. What are your concerns 12 days out with such a big lead?
RENDELL: Well, number one, the polls go from a low of five to a high of 13. And who knows which is right. That's number one. Number two, Senator McCain and Senator Palin have literally camped out here. They are helping the Pennsylvania economy tremendously by coming in with all you media folks, certainly helping our drink tax if nothing else. They are here all the time. They are here all the time. And people are beginning to notice that.
Look, we know that Senator Obama went to the states that had early voting. We're one of seven states that doesn't have any early voting at all. So we understand. And they are running a great campaign nationally. But of course you're always nervous. This is a key state. We want to deliver for Senator Obama. I've grown to think he's going to be a tremendous leader for this country and we don't want to take any chances. And he's so popular when he comes in, he turns undecided voters who listen to him, who listen to his economic plan and we want to nail this thing down. And we're always nervous.
CHETRY: I understand. No, I understand that you know, you can't think that you have it locked up or you could get yourself in trouble. I wonder though is Pennsylvania unique because I know that the McCain camp has chosen to leave some of these other states that are leaning Obama and not waste valuable and precious resources there. And as you said they have been camped out in Pennsylvania. I'm wondering if part of that is the feeling that perhaps they can capitalize on some of these voters that are not necessarily sure about Barack Obama. I want to draw your attention to something that democratic Congressman John Murtha suggested that perhaps he can face some problems specially in the western part of the state because Barack Obama is black. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN MURTHA (D): This whole area, years ago, was really red neck. I think the older people. They don't want - they want change but they don't want to see things go too far.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Could parts of Pennsylvania be vulnerable to not voting for Barack Obama, choosing John McCain because of race?
RENDELL: Well, I think race, if it is a factor at all is trumped by the bad economy. People are scared. They are worried about their pocketbook, their budget and they are looking for someone who will give them help. If you're a senior citizen, I don't care what your views are, when you hear that John McCain wants to take money out of Medicare over a trillion dollars to help finance his health plan which would mean benefits would be cut and premiums would go up. You're going to vote on that, you're not going to vote on any other factor. If you've lost your job or lost your health care, you're looking for someone who has the best plan. And I think Pennsylvanians like people all over the country have been reassured over these five or six weeks that Barack Obama knows what he's doing and has good ideas. And that John McCain really as he said himself doesn't know anything about the economy.
CHETRY: Well, first of all, we have, I think, run a fact check on that Medicare and John McCain said he's not taking money out of seniors that are currently getting Medicare. So that's something he claims is not happening. But I do want to ask you -
RENDELL: Well, it's certainly going happen - it's certainly going to happen people like me, seniors to be. There's no question about that. His health plan is a bad idea to begin with. And what about privatizing social security? Seniors have to worry about that and people, again, who are looking at becoming seniors have to worry about that. And that trumps any concern about ethnic background or who you're from or where you went to school. People are really worried right now and they are concentrating on real issues and when they concentrate on real issues we win.
CHETRY: I want to ask you about another real issue and that is the threat - the possible threat of any type of attack or a threat to national security. That is where John McCain is still running much higher percentage wise than Barack Obama and Joe Biden, Obama's running mate, taking some heat for saying that it could be no less than six months into an Obama administration that he could be tested by an international crisis. Let's listen to how Obama responded to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I think that Joe sometimes engages in rhetorical flourishes, but I think that his core point was that the next administration is going to be tested regardless of who it is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: What do you make of Biden's remarks and are they a distraction to the Obama campaign?
RENDELL: Well, again, I think everyone is focusing on taking certain things out of context which Joe Biden did as he set up a problem and it's true the next administration whether it's McCain or Obama is going to be tested early and then he said, and we were all living that up, Barack Obama is ready, he's got a spine of steel. And, by the way, the American people can make that judgment themselves. They've seen three debates now. They've seen Barack Obama tested on foreign policy questions. I think they've concluded he's smart, he's knowledgeable, he's poised, calm, and collected. He doesn't fly off the handle. He doesn't get angry. He gets the facts right. I think he's the type of leader we need and I think most Americans have concluded that.
CHETRY: All right. Well, I really want to thank you for getting up even after staying up so late to watch your team.
RENDELL: Three more to go. Three more to go.
CHETRY: Dare I say, good luck with the World Series. Thanks so much for joining us this morning, Governor Ed Rendell.
RENDELL: My pleasure.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): Pinched at the police department.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have cut everything that we possibly can.
ROBERTS: The weak economy force cops to cut costs and in some cases pull officers off the street.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Burglaries are up five percent year-to-date, 2008.
ROBERTS: What does it mean for safety? You're watching "the most news in the morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: In a bad economy you might think that crime would go up and you would be right for thinking that. So why are police being cut from coast-to-coast? Our Kelli Arena tells us it's for the same reason, the economy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. There was a recent survey of hundreds of police departments and here's the bottom line. Many say the weak economy has forced budget cuts but at the same time they are seeing a rise in certain types of crime. It is a very troubling double whammy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here's our lineup for tonight.
ARENA (voice-over): It's hard to put your life on the line when your job is too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tonight we're going to be working on our weaponless control tactics training.
ARENA: The bad economy is draining local law enforcement budgets. Here in Naperville, Illinois, the police department is leaving nine positions unfilled.
CHIEF DAVID DIAL, NAPERVILLE, ILLINOIS POLICE DEPT.: We have gone through the non-personnel related expenses in our budget and we have cut everything that we possibly can in there.
ARENA: There are not as many patrols, less officer training and fewer dollars for crime prevention, and the chief predicts there will be layoffs next year.
DIAL: Just popping in to see how things are going here.
ARENA: The department gets most of its funding from taxes on retail and home sales but consumers just aren't buying. At the same time expenses like the cost of gas are higher. Ron Hume runs a program in Naperville for families and kids in crisis.
RON HUME, NCO YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES: The concern is about what is it going to mean about safety, I'm concerned about the quality of life in the community.
ARENA: In some cities that's already a reality. A recent poll of 200 police departments shows that property crime is on the rise.
CHIEF DAVID ROHRER, FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA., POLICE: Burglary is up about five percent, year to date, 2008, and larceny and theft are up almost 15 percent in Fairfax County over the last eight months compared to last year.
ARENA: But Fairfax which is just outside of Washington, D.C. and many other jurisdictions are in the same boat as Naperville, trying to do more with less and bracing for even worst. Jack Harris is the police chief in Phoenix, Arizona.
CHIEF JACK HARRIS, PHOENIX, ARIZONA POLICE: We have been asked to look at what we would do if we were asked to cut up to 15 percent. And if we do that, that is going to get into sworn personnel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA (on-camera): In fact, several police chiefs say that they've never seen it this bad and they predict that we will be feeling the impact for years to come. John. Kiran. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY (voice-over): Phone spam.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, I'm calling -
CHETRY: While you're getting slammed by robo calls.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's ridiculous.
CHETRY: Robo calls over and over. Do they work?
Plus, mixing more music in the election. CNN and MTV team up. You're watching the "most news in the morning."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the post politics in the morning. Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin took some heat this week for suggesting that there are parts of the country that are more "pro American than others." She later apologized. Well, we've seen this topic a lot recently.
Last week Minnesota Republican Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann was under fire for her controversial comments to Chris Matthews. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe that Barack Obama may, you're suspicious because of this relationship may have anti-American views?
REP. MICHELLE BACHMANN (R), MINNESOTA: Yes, absolutely. I'm very concerned that he may have anti-American views.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, Bachmann went on to say that media should see if she would welcome - the media looking at whether certain members of Congress were pro-American or anti-American.
And yesterday she issued this apology.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BACHMANN: I want to be clear that I don't believe that Barack Obama is anti-American nor did I say that he is anti-American. Also I don't question Barack Obama's patriotism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Michelle Bachmann is up for re-election. Her congressional seat may now be up for grabs. And there's more, North Carolina Congressman Robin Hayes telling a crowd of McCain supporters last weekend "Folks, there's a real America and liberals hate real Americans that work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God. He also apologized saying after reading it there's no doubt that it came out completely the wrong way. That is definitely not what I intended.
So is this a new GOP tactic and could it work or could it backfire?
Joining us now to talk about it is republican strategist and CNN contributor Ed Rollins. Are these just sort of people that the GOP in general wishes would keep quiet? Or is this part of a larger strategy?
ED ROLLINS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I don't think it's part of a large strategy. I think they all wish they would have been quiet. They all three were forced to apologize and the congresswoman who would have sailed to election now has an opponent who has raised $1 million raised in 24 hours against her. So you can't think out loud. You need to be very, very careful what you say particularly when there's a camera everywhere, an i-Phone or whatever. So have to be careful at what you say and you can't attack people's patriotism in this country.
CHETRY: So you think that just by some of the comments that she made, that congressional seat is up for grabs?
ROLLINS: Well, the instant ability to raise money when you got a million people on an e-mail list to have contributed and all you need to do is send one e-mail out and there's a million there to make your opponent a very competitive race.
CHETRY: You also don't need to have a lot of money to be able to turn the words of somebody else into really a commercial and e-mail it out.
ROLLINS: It's the combination of Facebook and a combination of cable network. You can get his on cable network and then have a big impact very quickly.
CHETRY: I want to ask you about this. Because we've just been talking about this, Sarah Palin apologized. Bachmann in haste did. But one republican hasn't yet and that's Randy Kuhl of New York. And this is what his democratic opponent posted on the web, let's look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. RANDY KUHL (R), NEW YORK: I totally believe that the democratic majority wants the American public to suffer and to hurt so that they can make some political gains at election time. And I think that's wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROLLINS: It's an absurd statement. I mean, no offense to the Congressman, but he would have been better to argue with what the democrats want to do. They want to raise your taxes and they want to spend more money. But the idea that one party in this country wants to hurt the country is just not realistic and there's a backfire.
CHETRY: Now the GOP aren't the only people that have been saying things that they wish they could take back. Well, I mean, you heard Barack Obama wanting to explain the comments of his own running mate Joe Biden who says that Barack Obama would be tested possibly with some sort of international crisis within the first six months of taking office. Is that something also that is dangerous to say?
ROLLINS: Sure, it is. And unfortunately, he didn't say it in public. But he said it to a bunch of donors. And so you put your guard down. You think this is our team, I can really tell you the truth as opposed to doing it on camera and getting it somewhere else. Everything gets on camera and I think to a certain extent it's raised a question, it's taken the Barack campaign off message. The last couple of days, they have had to argue why we are prepared for an international crisis.
CHETRY: And Barack Obama himself went on to say that Joe Biden is known for rhetorical flourishes at times.
ROLLINS: Only for about the last 40 years.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: And at the same time the McCain camp has seized on these. The other thing that they've seen to continue to say on the campaign trail is, you can, let me know, you're a strategist, as to whether or not this is working is continuing bringing up Joe the plumber at every one of the campaign stops. Is that a message that's resonating?
ROLLINS: Well, I think the message is you're talking about working people and I think what they're going to do today is they've got a guy who's a lumberman, they have a whole variety of working people that they're going to identify beyond Joe. Adding to a certain extent the tax issue which is what they've talked about since the last debate has been the only good strategy they have for a good month or two and start to work
CHETRY: One other, I guess, you could call it a gaffe was Congressman Murtha's red neck statements about some parts of western Pennsylvania. It is a state where the governor himself said, even though we're in double digit lead in some of these polls, let's not say we won. And let's get Barack Obama back here campaigning. Is Pennsylvania, even though it looks right now to appear to be leaning toward Obama still up for grabs because of some of the comments that have been made?
ROLLINS: Well, I'm not saying it up for grabs, it's always been a very competitive and a very hard state for republicans to win. Even in Reagan's campaign that I ran 24 years, it was the last state to come into the line. So it's a competitive state. 13 points, 14 points is a pretty darn good lead. And if I was Obama, i would go back one more time. I would do what the governor wants.
CHETRY: All right. Ed Rollins, always good to have you with us. ROLLINS: My pleasure.
CHETRY: Thanks.
ROLLINS: Thank you very much.
ROBERTS: How did you screw up in Minnesota?
ROLLINS: They voted a lot of dead Indians along the border. 1620 votes, I'm not bitter.
ROBERTS: Ed, thanks.
ROLLINS: Thank you.
