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American Morning
No Evidence of Al-Qaeda Attack Plans on Election Day; Cindy McCain's New Role; Stock Futures Trading Limited; D.L. Hughley on His New CNN Show
Aired October 24, 2008 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: 8:00 here in New York. A look at the top stories this morning. We're following breaking news. The Dow futures -- both the Dow and the S&P futures also being limited this hour. Both indexes hitting their so-called limit down levels. The S&P falling 60. The Dow dropping 550. They can't fall below those points, but they can go higher. The markets open for regular trading in just about 90 minutes. And we'll, of course, keep an eye on that for you.
Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will give a deposition today in St. Louis as part of the investigation of whether she unfairly fired Alaska's Public Safety Director. Her husband, Todd, will also give one. The depositions are not likely to be made public unless approved by the lead investigator.
And Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says there's no threat from al Qaeda during the presidential election. Still, Chertoff says the government must stay on guard as the new administration transitions into the White House. Chertoff also warned that angry political rhetoric could set off domestic violence from, quote, "disturbed people."
But first -- after Joe the Plumber bus tour through Florida targeting middle-class voters, John McCain's now taking his message to another critical battleground state -- that's Colorado. Our Dana bash is traveling with the Senator and she's live in Denver for us this morning.
Dana, now he's in Colorado, it's not supposed to be a swing state. This election season, however, it is. What's the story?
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. You know, a Democrat hasn't won here, in fact, in about 16 years. But the story is that the Democrats demographics in this state are changing. It's the whole reason why the Democrats had their convention here. And you know, our latest average of polls, Kiran, they show that Barack Obama has a six-point lead up against John McCain here. So it's certainly tough for him. His campaign aides say that he is still competing here.
But let me show you something. This is the "Denver Post," the local paper, of course. It says "Election Cash Leaves Colorado." This actually ran yesterday. And the story is about the fact that the reality is John McCain and his campaign have actually slashed their spending on advertising in this state. So, publicly they're saying they're still competing here. John McCain is going to be campaigning the entire day here, but you can tell by where they're spending their money that they might be a little skeptical about actually taking the state even though, again, it hasn't gone for a Democrat in 16 years.
CHETRY: And what are the aides telling you about what his message is going to be out there today, the strategy?
BASH: He is going to keep pounding away on Barack Obama and his tax plan, using Joe the Plumber as a vehicle, as a metaphor to try to reach those blue-collar voters, and also to try to make the case, the fundamental case, that's sort of contrast his tax plan with Barack Obama's.
He is going to say, as he has for the past several days, that he believes that Barack Obama will raise taxes on small businesses, that will cost jobs. Again, I flew here with Senator McCain last night, Kiran, and his aides telling us on the plane that, you know, they understand this is tough for him in this state and on every state, but this particular message on the economy is finally something that they think that they're actually resonating -- it's resonating, that they're actually breaking through a little bit on it.
CHETRY: All right. Dana Bash for us in Denver. Thanks.
ROBERTS: And let's turn to the magic wall and take a look at the states that are in play now. First of all, we've got the Electoral College map up which reminds you of where we are. These are projections based on current polls. Barack Obama with 277 Electoral College votes. John McCain with 174. Of course, 270 needed to win the Oval Office. That's not to say Barack Obama is going to win the election, but if it were held today, that is a possible scenario that would shape up.
According it the latest poll of polls, if the election were to be held today as well, Barack Obama would win Ohio. He would win North Carolina. He would win Florida. John McCain would win Missouri. Barack Obama would win Colorado, and he would also win the state of Nevada. Because he is up in all of those polls, which would give him a grand total of 353 electoral votes to 185 for John McCain.
So what does John McCain need to do? For that, let's go back to our primary map here and look at the results of the election in 2004. Pop out the state of Pennsylvania because this is an area where John McCain is investing heavily. Take a look at the CNN polls there. Obama is still ahead by 10 points. That's down just a little bit. He was ahead by 13. We'll clear that off.
Why is John McCain still focusing on this? Well, take a look at this. The entire central part of Pennsylvania here was heavily Republican in 2004. George Bush lost the state to John Kerry by three points. But look at that massive red in the middle. Barack Obama -- the Democrat John Kerry was strong here around Allentown, Philadelphia, out here in Pittsburgh. But if we overlay the results of the primary on that, take a look at this. That light blue color was all Hillary Clinton, and those were counties that Hillary Clinton carried. Barack Obama got a little slice of dark blue here in the middle, down here by Harrisburg, down through Lancaster and toward Philadelphia as well.
So, Senator McCain is hoping that the poll numbers there for Senator Obama are weaker than they might actually show, that some people might say that they are going to vote for him and they're not. We're talking particularly about counties like here, Green County, south of Pittsburgh. We're also talking here about Cambria County -- sorry, Cambria Country is there next door.
These are counties where John McCain is going to try to increase the vote count here and see if maybe he can steal a few votes away from Senator Obama and in this way, try to pull back Pennsylvania because if he were able to do that and then put the other states that President Bush won in 2004 in his win column, all those red states, he might be able to turn things.
It's difficult, but that's the strategy that they're trying to pursue. We're not the only ones, by the way, with a magic wall. Here is how "Saturday Night Live's" Fred Armisen shook up the states last night on "Saturday Night Live."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRED ARMISEN, ACTOR, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": Now, let's take a little bit of Oregon. Let's move it out to the ocean. It's going to be surrounded by water. That's very, very dangerous. Let's take Minnesota. Let's put it right over Virginia. Minnesota is very heavy. Imagine the sheer weight of it. Here's New York right there. New York was there in 2004 as well, and we can shake it around like that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, don't do that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, Fred, just put the states back where they belong.
ARMISEN: Look at Michigan. I can make it bounce.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: How about it? Can our technology do that, by the way? Not that we'd want to.
ROBERTS: You know, there are certain things that we can and cannot reveal about the magic wall. I could tell you but I'd have to kill you.
CHETRY: Although this morning you did show that you can put the United States of America in your pocket.
ROBERTS: Absolutely. You can do that. You can put it anywhere you want. But it should stay there in a prominent place in front of the wall. Should not be put in anyone's pocket.
CHETRY: At least for 11 more days.
ROBERTS: As a flag should never touch the ground, the United States should never be put in anyone's pocket.
CHETRY: Exactly. Well, we have breaking news this morning. Dow futures dropping 550 points. Stocks around the world suffering colossal losses. What is going on this morning and how much worse will it get when the markets actually open? Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business."
Breaking out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CINDY MCCAIN, JOHN MCCAIN'S WIFE: I can imagine, you know, what changed her mind.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Cindy McCain steps it up and goes on the attack. A look at the rock behind John McCain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
C. MCCAIN: Here you have a man who has distorted and lied about my husband's record.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: All right. We're following breaking news this morning on Wall Street. Dow futures as well as the S&P futures falling so far that they're actually not allowed to fall anymore. Christine Romans in "Minding Your Business" this morning.
What's going on?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: This is called lock limit down. That's what people in the markets call it. That's when the Dow Jones industrial average futures and the S&P 500 futures have fallen so far that the exchanges will not allow them to fall anymore. Now, you can still trade them and they can cop up a little bit. But right now, you have the Dow futures locked down 550 points. So, that's telling you that there's a lot of selling in the market, a lot of selling indications for when the Dow actually opens at 9:30 Eastern Time here in New York.
So what's the problem? Art Hogan is the chief investment strategist at Jeffries & Company. He says it's, quote, "across the board global liquidation of stocks." We saw this in Asia. The Nikkei down 9.6 percent. We saw this in Europe where you had 5 percent, 6 percent, 7 percent declines in the stock markets there. There is just selling across the board of stocks this morning.
Why? Britain's economy shrank for the first time since the recession of 1991. Companies around the world are reporting that this credit crisis is hurting them. It's hurting their earnings, and in some cases they are losing money for the first time in a very long time.
There are all these measures around the world to try to stop this credit crisis, but the companies are reporting that things are still, still hurting them, and we're seeing that the economy is following suit. There are concerns of a global economic slowdown, concerns of global recession, and we don't know when it started, if it has started yet. If there is one, how deep it will be? What countries will be affected? And all of that uncertainty is what stock investors just don't like.
So, you're seeing big losses. The Dow down about 550 points in futures trading, and it's not allowed to go down anymore. Those are measures that are put into place, Kiran, so that panic -- when panic ensues in the global marketplace that it forces people to stop for a second and take a look at the fundamentals again. The question is there are so many questions, that's why stocks go down.
CHETRY: What about when it opens today? All bets are off?
ROMANS: Right. I mean, when it opens today, then the futures are allowed to fall another 5 percent, if they want. So, you've got 5 percent losses overnight for the Dow and the S&P futures. So, they'll be allowed to fall again, you know.
I mean, let's be honest. I mean, they can open up and fall, quickly fall again if they want, or sometimes people step in and say, look, this may be an opportunity for me to buy. We've already seen a 41 percent decline in the S&P 500. Now, the advice from a lot of professionals, a lot of people I've been e-mailing with this morning in the markets is that if you have followed the market down, 41 percent in the S&P 500 to bail out in a frenzy today, what's the point? But as Art Hogan said if across the board global liquidation of stocks that we're seeing right now.
CHETRY: All right. There's really no way to make that sound good.
ROMANS: Nope. That's absolutely right.
CHETRY: Thanks, Christine.
ROBERTS: One-on-one with D.L. Hughley.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
D.L. HUGHLEY, CNN HOST, "D.L HUGHLEY BREAKS THE NEWS:" Wait a minute, wait, that's me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The comedian breaks the news and opens up about working at CNN and his version of covering the campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUGHLEY: It was like a parallel universe. They drank the Kool- Aid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Wow. What's a Friday morning without a little ACDC, huh? Some great steady cam work by Brad this morning here in our studio. And meanwhile, we're showing you some shots of Manchester, New Hampshire, coming to us from WMUR this morning, where it is 28 degrees and sunny. A little chilly out there, but it's warming up to a high of 59 a little later this morning.
Our Rob Marciano is covering it all for us. Wish you were up here. We're having a fun Friday.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: ACDC is coming to the garden here in New York, soon.
CHETRY: Did you get tickets?
ROBERTS: I'm going to.
CHETRY: Nice.
ROBERTS: Kind of relieve my past once in a while.
CHETRY: Yes, absolutely.
ROBERTS: "Most Politics in the Morning." 11 days now and counting until the presidential election. John McCain faces an uphill battle to win the White House. I met them by the way in Rio de Janeiro.
One of the most enduring images from the McCain campaign has been his wife, Cindy, standing by his side. CNN's Jason Carroll joins us now to talk about Cindy McCain's changing role now in the campaign.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And as you know, during the campaign, we've seen Governor Sarah Palin played the role of the attacker, but Cindy McCain is out there throwing a few political punches as well.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
C. MCCAIN: The next president of the United States, my husband, John McCain.
CARROLL (voice-over): In Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, virtually anywhere Senator John McCain gives a speech...
J. MCCAIN: This is my wife, Cindy.
CARROLL: ...his wife, Cindy, is right next to him.
LESLIE SANCHEZ, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: In many ways, Cindy McCain is the rock behind John McCain. She's the stabilizer, the encourager, the nurturer.
CARROLL: And some political observers would now add, the attacker.
C. MCCAIN: The day that Senator Obama decided to cast a vote to not fund my son when he was serving sent a cold chill through my body.
CARROLL: And she's not afraid to get personal.
C. MCCAIN: Here you have a man who has distorted and lied about my husband's record. My husband's never done that.
CARROLL: Supporters respond when the normally soft-spoken Cindy McCain gets tough, like with this jab at Michelle Obama.
C. MCCAIN: And, yes, I always have been proud of my country.
CARROLL: Former rival Ann Romney, wife of former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, says she and Cindy McCain have become friends. Romney says she watched as McCain began to take a more active role in her husband's campaign.
ANN ROMNEY, MITT ROMNEY'S WIFE: I can't imagine, you know, what changed her mind or made her decide to be a little more vocal, but perhaps she's just a little more comfortable with being in that role and maybe she also feels like she can help John a little bit more by stepping forward.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cindy McCain.
CARROLL: But stepping forward can also bring her unwanted attention, like this recent "New York Times" profile, which reported previously known details about Cindy McCain's addiction to prescription drugs.
JONATHAN MARTIN, POLITICO REPORTER: She's making herself part of the story, and when she does that, it becomes more fair game to the kind of scrutiny that we give the candidate because she's playing the role of a campaign surrogate.
CARROLL: Sharon Harper has known McCain for more than 20 years, and says she's strong to take the criticism.
SHARON HARPER, FRIEND OF CINDY MCCAIN: Cindy is not fabricated for the election cycle. As a matter of fact, she has a great heart and a great humanitarian spirit.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CARROLL: And as tight as the race is, the reality is both candidates need to have surrogates out there fighting for them. Cindy McCain all too willing. One of her friends telling us, quote, "She wants to be a team player, not just be out there on the sidelines."
ROBERTS: She's not afraid to get in there and mix it up with everything.
CARROLL: Not at all.
ROBERTS: All right. Jason, good piece. Thanks so much for that. 20 minutes now after the hour.
CHETRY: Swing state shocker.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have very poorly engineered systems.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The Ohio problem. A warning about the critical state and the long lines that chased voters away four years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It might actually be worse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, welcome back to the "Most Politics in the Morning." Another former member of President Bush's inner circle coming out for Barack Obama. Scott McClellan actually broke the news to the newest member of the CNN family, D.L. Hughley.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUGHLEY: Well, you haven't endorsed anybody. You haven't endorsed anybody. And it's McCain and it's Obama. You know, and I'm a new show and your endorsement would probably mean a lot. But -- and don't look at the fact that I'm black or nothing like -- no pressure. Endorse somebody, damn it. Endorse somebody.
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: From the very beginning I have said I'm going to support the candidate that has the best chance of changing the way Washington works and getting things done. I will be voting for Barack Obama.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: He was taping the first edition of his new CNN show "D.L. HUGHLEY BREAKS THE NEWS." But before he talked to Scott McClellan, I had a chance to talk to him about his new show and welcome him to the CNN family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Great to have you with us. And welcome to the team.
HUGHLEY: Thank you. Thank you.
CHETRY: Welcome aboard.
HUGHLEY: Good morning. Good morning.
CHETRY: You're an Obama supporter.
HUGHLEY: You know what, I am an Obama supporter.
CHETRY: And you said he's earned my vote now, he has to earn my trust.
HUGHLEY: Well, I think --
CHETRY: What do you think he's going to be like as a president?
HUGHLEY: Well, I can't know that, but based on any other politician I've ever known, I think politicians basically all lie to us. But then I think we prompt them to. They encourage. In America, we don't want to hear the truth, because if a politician ever got out and told the truth, the speech will go like, "we're screwed, but I approved this speech." So, I don't -- I think that, you know, that's just how I feel about all politics.
CHETRY: Do you also find it funny when candidates say I'm going to create jobs. How do you --
HUGHLEY: Right. You know, it's so funny to me. I think, you know, this is a really funny election because this is between a dude who is half black and a dude who is half alive. So, it's just --
CHETRY: Poor John McCain.
HUGHLEY: To me, it's a very funny election. I don't think anybody can do anything the American people don't make them do. No politician is going to do anything they don't make them do. And that's, to me, the perspective I take when I do comedy and is certainly going to be the perspective of my show.
CHETRY: You know, speaking of comedy, I would say the butt of most of the jokes -- many of the jokes has really been John McCain's vice presidential candidate.
HUGHLEY: Right.
CHETRY: "Saturday Night Live," -- I mean, they have a whole new life now making fun of Sarah Palin. Do you think it's a bit imbalanced that, you know, Barack Obama doesn't get made fun of nearly as much as Sarah Palin and John McCain. HUGHLEY: No, no, it's even now. I went to -- I went to the Sarah Palin rally. Now, some of the things she said were amazing. Like when she said, I'm an expert on foreign affairs because I can see Russia from Alaska. Well, I can see the moon from my house, that doesn't make me an astronaut. So, I think that she has kind of brought some of these things on herself. I think that in a strange way it's made her even more popular than she would have been before.
CHETRY: What was it like being at the rally? Sarah Palin rally.
HUGHLEY: It was like being in another world. It was like a parallel universe. And it was interesting because they were the nicest people in the world, but they clearly had an idea of what was wrong with the country and all of it had to do with the liberals and all of it had to do with progressives. So, if -- they're very strident but they seem to be very nice people, but you know, they drink the Kool-Aid a lot.
CHETRY: Do you think that this Bradley Effect people have talked about, which is that, you know, it looks like the black candidate is running ahead then when somebody gets in the voting booth, they do the exact opposite. Do you think that's a concern as it relates to Barack Obama?
HUGHLEY: Well, I certainly -- well, I was actually in California, the Bradley Effect was mayor Tom Bradley who was running for governor. And I remember going to bed, my father was so happy because he thought a black governor was going to -- you know, he was ahead in the polls and then in the morning, he didn't win.
I think the whole thing that the Palin -- given at the Palin- McCain campaign is doing is basically trying to seed doubt. It's not -- so people will answer questions in the polls, so when they get in the polling booth, they actually have to make a choice. It's a sobering thing. And I think that they do it deliberately.
CHETRY: Now you're doing "D.L HUGHLEY BREAKS THE NEWS."
HUGHLEY: Right.
CHETRY: What can we expect when we watch, because we'll be watching -- 10:00 on Saturday when this airs?
HUGHLEY: An awful lot. We're going to do -- you know, it's going to be a lot of comedy from my perspective. I think that you'll see -- you know, you'll see a lot of one-on-one interviews, you'll a lot of skits, you'll see a lot of man on the street stuff.
But, primarily, I just try to look at the things that are going on around me and try to, you know, just talk about it from my perspective. I don't think that -- like Barack Obama would basically saying he was going to cut everybody's taxes except those making $250,000. I'm like, wait a minute, that's me. They'll eat it at a black dude who is doing good, discount, don't we get that? I just started doing good. If this ain't black on black crime, I don't know what is. CHETRY: It was 10 years ago (INAUDIBLE).
We certainly look forward to it, and as I said before, welcome to the team. Great to have you with us.
HUGHLEY: Thank you very much.
CHETRY: By the way, "D.L. HUGHLEY BREAKS THE NEWS," airs this Saturday and Sunday at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: It's coming up now on 28 minutes after the hour. And breaking right now, OPEC says it is cutting oil production by 1.5 million barrels per day. It's been looking for ways to curb the historic drop in oil prices. This morning, crude still down more than $4 a barrel.
Throw the bums out. That appears to be the way that most voters feel about Congress with 11 days left until the election. A new national CNN poll shows that 58 percent of voters think most congressmen and women do not deserve to be re-elected. Most of the anger is directed at Republicans rather than Democrats who have controlled Capitol Hill for the past two years.
And the World Series now tied at a game apiece. The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Phillies, 4 to 2 in game 2. The Rays came up big with lots of small ball scoring runs and two ground balls and a safety squeeze. The series goes to Phillie for game three tomorrow.
Battleground Ohio. CNN's latest poll of polls shows Barack Obama now with a seven-point lead in the state -- 50 percent to 43 percent for John McCain. 7 percent still on the fence. That's the difference.
And election officials there are doing what they can to try to avoid voter headaches 11 days from now, but some problems may be unavoidable. CNN's Mary Snow joins us now live from Columbus.
It's a state with its fair share of controversy over the last couple of elections and more controversy this year, Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: Definitely, John. Controversy and such long lines in 2004. Election officials say, yes, they've made improvements to the system, and they're also hoping that by encouraging as many people as possible to cast ballots by November 4th, they'll avoid problems. But some experts warn there's some serious pitfalls.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): Ohio is hoping its early voting will prevent a repeat of this, lines that lasted for more than five hours in places like Franklin County, which includes Columbus.
Engineering professor Ted Allen was hired by the county to look at what went wrong.
TED ALLEN, ENGINEERING PROFESSOR, OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY: We estimate that between 20,000 and 30,000 people were deterred from voting.
SNOW: Twenty thousand to 30,000 people who couldn't vote, and that's just in one county.
Allen says lines were longest in urban areas. And, as a result, African-Americans, on average, had to wait half-an-hour longer than everyone else to vote. One big problem? Not enough machines. The state has doubted the number from 2004.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first thing the voter would do would be to vote on this page.
SNOW: Touch screen machines like this will be use in Franklin County for the first time in a presidential election. Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner who inherited the machines was so skeptical of them, she ordered backup paper ballots at polling places.
JENNIFER BRUNNER, OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE: We have very poorly engineered systems that I know that there are some of the horizon that would be an improvement, but we're waiting on a very slow federal certification and testing process.
SNOW: There's more emphasis on better training for poll workers.
BRUNNER: If David's address or one he provides me with does not match, what I have in here, that's not going to work.
SNOW: We did a walk through of the early voting process using a paper ballot.
MICHAEL STINZIANO, DIR. FRANKLIN CO., OHIO BOARD OF ELECTIONS: The time wait study we did it takes seven to nine minutes for the average person. We've seen anywhere from three minutes to an hour.
SNOW: Crunching the numbers into stimulations Ted Allen says long ballots coupled with high turnout could be problematic.
TED ALLEN, THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY: Amazingly, it takes so much longer to vote with the new machines. We're predicting that there might be lines and depending on the turnout it might actually be worse than 2004.
SNOW: Worse than 2004?
ALLEN: Possibly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: And, John, voters here in some precincts are being asked to weigh in on about 24 races and ballot initiatives. Now, officials say they're trying to encourage people to look at sample ballots on their Website, but still there's expected to be record turnout on election day.
ROBERTS: All right. Looking forward to Election Day. See how many people do turn out. Mary Snow for us in Columbus this morning. They are the states who could move into the White House and CNN is in each and every one. Our reporters covering battleground states coast to coast to help you decide.
CHETRY: Well, you have to be 21 to take part in this poll. A restaurant voting for president by the pint. What party can throw them back better? We'll ask the man behind the coolest poll we could find.
Also party like the bears and the bulls and the cubbies all at the same time? Well a million people expected to join Barack Obama in Chicago on Election night. But is it the right time to be throwing a party for the ages? Thirty two minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Thirty four and a half minutes after the hour. With just 11 days to go until the election presidential polls are popping up everywhere. We track them every morning on the magic wall, but maybe it comes down to just the beer. The folks at the Flying Saucer Draft Emporium are conducting the pint poll in 14 nationwide locations. Here to explain more about it is Jeff Mickel, he is the general manager of the Raleigh, North Carolina Pub. He is there in Raleigh. Good morning to you Jeff. How are you doing?
JEFF MICKEL, GENERAL MANAGER, RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA PUB: Good morning. Very well.
ROBERTS: So your last pint poll that you conducted in 2004 accurately predicted that George Bush would be the winner there. Not only in North Carolina but across the country beating John Kerry. How does the poll work and how is it looking this year?
MICKEL: Well, the poll works in that our customers across our locations around the country can purchase a pint glass for the candidate of their choice and we tally those polls and post them each day and currently Obama is leading in our overall poll.
ROBERTS: All right. And let's actually put up those numbers so the folks at home can see them. The latest count there from Raleigh, 1,205 pints for Barack Obama, 759 for John McCain. We've also got the nationwide numbers 5446 is the margin nationwide for Senator Obama over Senator McCain, 10,516 to 8,636 pints.
Now, North Carolina, according to our latest polls there, is favoring Barack Obama by four points. The last time it went Democratic there in that state was back in 1976 when Jimmy Carter swept the south. When you listen in on people's conversations at the Flying Saucer, what are you hearing?
MICKEL: In Raleigh especially, there's a lot of support for Obama. We hear the economy is the biggest topic at each one of the tables when I visit our customers, and Obama here has quite a substantial lead, 61 percent to 39 percent McCain.
ROBERTS: So what about the discussions? Are they, you know, very calm, are they very rational? Are they more like the Duke/UNC rivalry where there's a lot of hate generated there?
MICKEL: No, there's not a lot of hate.
ROBERTS: I didn't say hate. I meant heat, heat, heat, heat.
MICKEL: Oh, heat, I'm sorry. I sometimes walk into kind of heated debates between tables, but overall the conversations among our customers are all in good spirits.
ROBERTS: You were undecided until very recently. What helped you make up your mind and how is your vote going this year?
MICKEL: Well, I was leaning towards John McCain from the beginning, but I wanted to see the debates and especially how the economy -- the outcome of the bailout and so forth has affected overall, and I've chosen for McCain.
ROBERTS: All right.
MICKEL: Personally.
ROBERTS: Well, Jeff Mickel joining us from the Flying Saucer this morning there in Raleigh. Jeff we look forward to the final results of your poll. I understand that you're having an election night party there as well. I'm sure it will be just like the battle for tobacco road there at the pub on November the 4th. Thanks so much for joining us. Appreciate it.
MICKEL: Thank you.
CHETRY: They're starting early, aren't they?
ROBERTS: Kind of like us. They probably got up in the middle of the night.
CHETRY: Exactly.
ROBERTS: Happy hour somewhere.
CHETRY: Exactly. Just for the cameras. Of course not going to finish those pints.
Well never at a loss for words and with the election right around the corner, Michael Moore didn't disappoint. He was Larry King's guest last night and Larry joins us now with some of the highlights.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Kiran and John. Michael Moore was my guest last night, the guy who says he doesn't know much about women's clothes. He had something to say about Sarah Palin's wardrobe, and its cost. You were buying clothes in flint, how far would $150,000 take you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you could buy Flint for $150,000. Actually, you know, I got this hat at a Seven 11 on one of the racks that turn around, this tiger hat. Here is the thing about Governor Palin. Let's just say what it is, let's cut the crap. She talks about Obama being elite. She made a quarter million dollars a year with her husband, so I would assume that she likes to shop at Saks and Neiman Marcus and these places. If you make a quarter million dollars, you can do that.
But again this is the genius of the Republicans because they always love for someone else to pay the bill. It's like she could afford to go to Neiman Marcus, but, instead why not have all the donors or somebody else, some schmoe, some Joe six packs who sent in 100 bucks to the Republican campaign, they can pay for my $150,000 worth of clothes.
Michael is backing a new political group, plumbers for Obama. They could give Joe a run for his money or his pipes. Pipes. Never mind. Kiran, John.
ROBERTS: My goodness back in the new political group, plumbers for Obama.
CHETRY: Larry, we got it. All right. There you go, Larry King live. Well first ladies in a store window. Portraits of president's wives on display and why the artist who painted them included both Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN BREAKING NEWS.
ROBERTS: Forty two minutes after the hour. Looks like it's going to be a big down day in the markets here. In fact, futures trading has been locked, limited.
ROMANS: Locked limit down is what they say. That means that the Dow is down some 550 points, popped up to 548. Just locked it down for the Dow futures. The S&P futures are also down. They don't allow them to trade further down. They can go a little higher if there's some buying but they lock them there so that the selling doesn't just keep spiraling into the opening bell.
So we have 9:30 when stocks open, we're looking for a big sell off on Wall Street. And I don't think that there is any question that that is what's different today? Why more selling today? Why did they lock the limit down? Why is that global fear of a recession spreading around the globe? Why are all of these stocks down so much?
We've seen so many big losses. The difference is these company earnings reports around the world are showing the results of what has been a really tough, tough market, and so you're seeing different kinds of companies in all different kinds of countries saying that things are tough, and that's sparking these fears that this is spreading. Also in the UK you had the first shrink -- the economy actually shrank for the first time since the '91 recession. I want to show you what the S&P 500 in some over the past year, we are going has done over the last year. It's already had a big run.
ROBERTS: Looks like the coast of Dover.
ROMANS: Down from 41 percent over the past year. You've already seen a really big decline. So let's just watch and see what happens here on the market here today, but in terms of bear markets, that 41 percent decline over the past year puts it right in the middle of what happens when we're in bear markets.
ROBERTS: Forty one percent.
ROMANS: Forty one percent, it hurts.
ROBERTS: Thank you for that Christine. We look forward to your coverage throughout the day.
CHETRY: All the president's women, just 11 days left until we have a new president and a new first lady. One portrait artist is already hard at work adding to her election of first ladies. Our Lola Ogunnaike joins us with a look.
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, it's a package actually. Let's check it out and then we'll talk after.
Hey.
CHETRY (voice over): Jackie just painted herself. It was so cool. Just went like this and it was Jackie.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nearly everyone is featured, from Martha Washington to Laura Bush even though still in the running.
CHETRY: She's very reserved, but here she looks full of live and vibrant.
OGUNNAIKE: I wanted to give her a little pep.
CHETRY: Obviously you had to use a different pallet to paint her than any of the other first ladies.
OGUNNAIKE: Yeah, I did.
CHETRY: You had to pull out a few brown colors.
OGUNNAIKE: But it was so fun.
A lot of these women have been Barney's customers in the past for their husbands, for themselves. I have seen Laura Bush in the shoe department.
CHETRY: The ladies are stopping traffic.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Most of them you have to remember them for style, so I'm not surprised they're in a window. OGUNNAIKE: The series is a history of hair styles and fashion and some ladies worked it better than others.
CHETRY: For quirky, Betsy Johnson. I would go with Mary.
CHETRY: Mary Todd Lincoln?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
OGUNNAIKE: Mrs. Lincoln also kept a few shopping secrets from her husband, honest Abe.
She spent $3,000 on little white knitted gloves and hid them in the White House so Abraham Lincoln wouldn't find them.
CHETRY: Yeah, I'd hide $3,000 gloves from my husband, too. If you could have a dinner party and invite say five first ladies, who would be at your dinner party?
OGUNNAIKE: Eleanor Roosevelt. I would like Betty Ford. I think I would invite Pat. Mamie Eisenhower because she was the symbol of America for me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Once in love with Mamie, always in love with Mamie.
CHETRY: So Mamie Eisenhower that's your girl.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, my girl is Lola.
CHETRY: What happens November 5th? Do you take down one of these photos or do you leave them both up?
LAURIE MUNN, FIRST LADIES PORTRAIT ARTIST: I don't know. I asked Barney's what will happen and they said, well, we'll come in and we'll draw a big red circle, put a line through it.
CHETRY: I'm sure they were kidding. Those are beautiful portraits she did of everyone.
OGUNNAIKE: What was interesting was talking to people about who their favorite first ladies are. Mine was definitely Jackie O. I just love Jackie O. and apparently she was really popular in that neighborhood, because that was her old hood. But people liked --
CHETRY: I told you Eleanor Roosevelt you said that was another --
OGUNNAIKE: Eisenhower was really another popular one. They were really into the older first ladies.
CHETRY: When I first got my hands on the curling iron as a teenager, I had Mamie Eisenhower hair as well so I don't blame her. The parade of hairstyles. How long is that exhibit up?
OGUNNAIKE: It is only until up till the day after the election, so you have to run, not walk, to Barney's to see these beautiful first ladies.
CHETRY: Very cool, Lola, thanks.
OGUNNAIKE: Thanks.
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CHETRY: Party planning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I see this upwards of a million people.
CHETRY: Forget the tiny old ballroom; Barack Obama is planning a blow out. An inside look at what the campaign has in store for election night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to be an impressive night to see.
CHETRY: You're watching the most news in the morning.
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ROBERTS: Win, lose, or draw, the Obama campaign is already planning a colossal election night bash that could make Chicago look like Times Square on New Year's Eve. "American Mornings" Carol Costello joins us now live from Washington. This is going to be in the middle of grant park Carol and it's going to be huge.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Win or lose that big bash will take place. It will come with a big price tag. Chicago's mayor says it will cost 2 million bucks.
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COSTELLO (voice over): You think that rally in Berlin was big? Win or lose, Barack Obama wants election night to be bigger.
JERRY ROPER, CHICAGOLAND CHAMER OF COMMERCE: This is going to make the crowd that he had in Germany and St. Louis -- this will triple that. I mean, I see this upwards of a million people.
COSTELLO: Imagine four times the crowd in Germany filling this half empty park Chicago's Grant Park.
MARK HALPERIN, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Whether you're a supporter of Barack Obama or not, the ability to draw this many people on a cold Chicago night is going to be an impressive sight to see.
COSTELLO: And what a contrast it will be.
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): Hyannis Port.
COSTELLO: John F. Kennedy, he went to bed not knowing if he won. The next morning he greeted reporters in Hyannis Port.
JOHN F. KENNEDY: So now my wife and I prepare for a new administration and for a new baby. COSTELLO: Ronald Reagan in California in a hotel ballroom to more modest crowds. John McCain is going the Reagan route holding his party at Phoenix's historic Biltmore Hotel where the Regan's got married. Some Chicagoans are way more open to that more modest way. They like the idea of a big Obama bash but they are leery of the cost.
ARGELA SCHMIDT, CHICAGO VOTER: Who is paying for it?
COSTELLO: A fair question. According to the "Chicago Sun Times" the city has more than a $400 million deficit and will lay off more than 1,000 employees. City officials were quick to say they're negotiating with Obama for the cost.
RAYMOND OROZCO, CHICAGO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICE: I will tell you this cost of this event will not be paid for by the taxpayers of the city of Chicago.
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COSTELLO: That's right. And the Obama campaign told me they are more than willing to pay for private security, emergency services, and all of the cleanup costs, and something to keep in mind, John, the Chamber of Commerce in Chicago says the city could actually make money off of this event because they say so many people will be coming in to celebrate or not.
ROBERTS: Now, I remember in 2004 Al Gore had an outdoor party in -- sorry, 2000 Al Gore had an outdoor party in Nashville. But outside Grant Park November 4th by the lake. Who knows how long the party is going to go on, when we're going to get the final results of the election. This could be a real challenge for folks. It could be cold out there.
COSTELLO: As Mayor Daley said he tried to convince the Obama campaign to hold it indoors, but the Obama campaign wanted it outdoors and the mayor said how can you argue with them?
ROBERTS: You get a taste of the outside venues like they did in Denver with Invesco Field you want more, more, and more. Carol thanks so much, good to see you this morning.
Fifty three and a half minutes after the hour.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Campaign keepsakes.
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These are the designer Obama underwear.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jeanne Moos looks at some of the most unusual costumes, gifts, and gadgets to spring forth from the campaign.
MOOS: Barack in a box.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're watching the most news in the morning.
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CHETRY: Well, "Saturday Night Live" alum will Ferrell returns to channel George Bush's in the latest presidential parody and just when you thought the campaign couldn't surprise you, along comes a giant Obama puppet and breakfast cereal, fortified with real slogans. Jeanne Moos has another edition of "Campaign Follies."
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MOOS: Candidates say the darnedest things. Take Sarah Palin speaking after country star Gretchen Wilson serenaded the crowd about what kind of woman she is.
GRETCHEN WILSON: I'm a red neck woman.
SARAH PALIN, (R) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Someone called me a red neck woman once and do you know what I said back? I said, why, thank you.
MOOS: Governor Palin is probably fed up with the press, but at least she hasn't sneezed on it.
BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It should be the banks taking -- I'm sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bless you.
OBAMA: I was fighting that off for a while.
MOOS: Not only did Senator Obama sneeze, he then reached out and touched the poor reporter. The video is spreading faster than germs on the web as is this photo of the senator with holes in his soles. Obama's VP sole mate had some trouble with their opponent's names.
JOE BIDEN, (D) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: John McLean, excuse me, John McCain.
MOOS: We know John McLean, Senator, from "Diehard."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Still the cowboy.
MOOS: And McCain, you're no McLean.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy trails Hans.
MOOS: From "Diehard" to "007", "Parade" Magazine asked actor Daniel Craig which candidate would be the better Bond. He said Obama. Craig said McCain would be a better --
Craig said McCain has a kind of Judi Dench quality. Meanwhile, Sarah Palin told "People" Magazine if she had had another child joining the ranks of Trig and Piper and Track she would have named him Zamboni. What? Not Joe the plumber?
JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Joe over here. Thank you, Joe. Joe, thank you. There's Joes.
OBAMA: He is fighting for Joe the hedge fund manager, Joe the CEO.
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MOOS: But the Joe the plumber costume is big on Ricky's Halloween web site. We thought you might like to take a look at a few of our campaign favorite souvenirs. For instance the Obama and McCain gargoyles. These are the designer Obama underwear. Captain McCain and Obama O's cereal, custom cereal, $39.00 a box. Speaking of boxes Barack in the box. Reminds us of that 13-foot puppet an I reporter sent in tending to encourage early voting. He looks like he had his Wheaties or maybe his Obama O's.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
CHETRY: Well thanks so much for joining us on this "American Morning." Have a great weekend.
ROBERTS: We'll see you back again here on Monday. Right now here is CNN "NEWSROOM" with Heidi Collins.
