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Ballot Bowl 2008

McCain Rallies in New Mexico; Barack Obama Speaks in Reno

Aired October 25, 2008 - 17:00   ET

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

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN's BALLOT BOWL, I'm Dana Bash in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Well, the election is just 10 days away and here on BALLOT BOWL what we have been doing and what we will continue to do is bring you the candidates as they are on the campaign trail. Sometimes it is live, sometimes it's taped. But always unfiltered. We want you to hear what those of us who are able to cover these reporters get to hear. Their stump speeches in long form, basically. And this hour we have Jessica Yellin, who is going to join us in a minute. She's covering Barack Obama out in Las Vegas, Nevada. She is waiting for a live rally to happen there in about an hour.
But before we get to Jessica, I want to take you back to what we heard here in Albuquerque a few hours ago. John McCain started his day with a rally here at the state fair, state fair grounds I should say. And he had this kind of flourish that he likes to have in his speeches now where he tries to get people who are here to support him, maybe even people who are here to decide whether or not they're going to vote for him. He says that he wants them not to give up and to fight for him and to fight for this country. Listen to how he really tries to rally the crowd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My friends, let me give you the state of the race today, 10 days out. Ten days to go. We're a few points down. We're a few points down and the pundits, of course, as they have four or five times have written us off.

Senator Obama is measuring the drapes and planning with Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid to raise taxes, to increase spending and concede defeat in Iraq. I will never concede defeat in Iraq or Afghanistan. I will never allow this nation to be defeated. And you know what, my friends? I forgot one thing. They forgot to let you decide.

My friends, we got them just where we want them. We love being the underdog. We're going to win. What America needs now is a fighter, someone who puts all his cards on the table and trusts the judgment of the American people. I have fought for you most of my life, and I am proud of it.

There are other ways to love this country, but I have never been the kind to do it from the sidelines. My friends, a little straight talk. I know you are worried. America is a great country, but we're in a moment of national crisis. It will determine our future. Will we continue to lead the world's economies or will we be overtaken? Will the world become safer or more dangerous? Will our military remain the strongest in the world? Will our children and grandchildren's future be brighter than ours?

My answer is to you is yes, yes, we will lead, yes, we will prosper, yes, we will be safer. Yes, we will pass on to our children a stronger, better country. But we must be prepared to act swiftly, boldly, with courage and wisdom.

I'm an American and I choose to fight. Don't give up hope. Be strong. Have courage and fight. Fight for a new direction for our country. Fight for what's right for America. Fight to clean up the mess of corruption, infighting and selfishness in Washington.

Fight to get our economy out of the ditch and back in the lead. Fight for the ideals and character of a free people. Fight for our children's future. Fight for justice and opportunity for all.

Stand up to defend to defend our country from its enemies. Stand up. Stand up and fight. America is worth fighting for. Nothing is inevitable here. We never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history. Now, let's go win this election and get this country moving again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: That was John McCain warming up what was a chilly morning here, trying to warm up the crowd this morning here in Albuquerque, New Mexico. And, Jessica, you know, you do hear John McCain say that at every single speech. First of all, he likes the sort of pattern of that speech because it really does get the crowd moving. But there's another reason for it, obviously, and that is McCain campaign, they understand the news is out there that he is down in the polls, and they really feel like it is so urgent for them to keep his supporters energized, keep them enthusiastic, make them understand that it is not over, and they need to get out there and fight. They need to work for him. Obviously, if you look at the polls, certainly he is down. But not necessarily out, Jessica.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Still 10 days to go, Dana. Anything can happen. And the Obama campaign has been quite focused on something that has come out of some of some of not John McCain's message, but the message from Sarah Palin and some of McCain's surrogates suggesting that there are pro-America parts of America or real and fake parts of America. It's not something that's standard in their stump speeches, but you hear it now and then. And both Joe Biden and Barack Obama have added lines to their speech going after that as part of their unity message. Barack Obama talked about that very thing today when he appeared in Reno, Nevada, just hours ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are no real or fake parts of this country. We're not separated by the pro-America and anti-America parts of this country. We all love this country no matter who we are, no matter where we live, where we come from. There are patriots who supported that this war in Iraq and patriots who oppose it. Patriots who believe in Democratic policies and patriots who believe in Republican policies. The men and women from Nevada and all across this country, who served on our battlefields, some may be Democrats, some may be Republicans, some may be Independents, but they fought together, and they bled together. And some died together under the same proud flag.

They have not served a red America or a blue America. They have served the United States of America. Reno, we've always been at our best and we've had leadership that calls us to look past our differences, to come together. Leadership that rallies us to a common purpose, a higher purpose.

I'm running for president of the United States because that's the country we need to be. This country and the dream it represents are being tested in a way that we haven't seen in nearly a century. Future generations will judge ours by how we respond to this test. Will they say that this is a time when America lost its way? When it lost its purpose? When it lost its nerve? When we allowed the same divisions and fear tactics? Our petty differences to plunge this country in a deeper recession?

Or will they say this was one of those moments when America overcame once again. When we battled back from adversity? When we recognized the common stake we have in each other's success.

I realize some of you are cynical. Some of you are fed up with politics. I understand you're disappointed, even angry with your leaders. You have every right to be. But despite all this, I'm asking of you what's been asked of the American people time and time again throughout our history. I ask you to believe in yourselves and in each other and in the future we can build together.

Together we can't fail, not now, now not when we have a crisis to solve and an economy to save. Not when there are so many Americans without jobs and without a home. So many who can't afford to see a doctor or send their child to college or even pay their bills at the end of the month.

Not when there's a generation that's counting on us to give them the same opportunities that somebody gave us. You know, when you look out over this crowd, I guarantee you everybody here has got a story, and somewhere in your family history, you have got a parent or a grandparent who they couldn't go to college, but they said to themselves if we work hard, if we do the right thing, then maybe my child or grandchild, they'll go to college.

You have a parent or a grandparent who came from another country. They said maybe we don't have freedom here in our country, but across the ocean, somewhere if we can make that trip to America, we know that our children and our grandchildren, they'll have freedom and opportunity.

You know, somewhere you have a parent or a grandparent who worked in a tough and dirty job, maybe in a mine. Maybe they worked in a factory floor, and they say to themselves I'll never own my own business, but if I work hard, if I save, maybe my child, my grandchild, they'll have a business of their own or a home of their own. They'll be able to live a life I could have never imagined for myself.

Somewhere in this crowd there are parents or grandparents who said I may not have the right to vote, but my child, he might be able to run for the United States Senate. He might be able to run for the presidency of the United States of America.

Nevada, that's the American dream. That's what we're fighting for. That's what this election is about. And if you will stand with me in 10 day's time, if you will go out there and vote early, if you are going to make sure that you talk to your friends and talk to your neighbors, if you make phone calls and knock on doors and get organized, then I promise you we will not just win Nevada. We will win this general election and you and I together are going to change the country and change the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YELLIN: Barack Obama just a few hours ago in Reno, and he is headed here to Las Vegas shortly in less than an hour. He will be speaking here. A big crowd gathering, including, I think we have some video we just rolled on. A group of construction workers showing up in their union outfits with their local on their lapels, showing up in force for Barack Obama.

You've got to wonder if maybe it's not a nod that he has some working folks on his team, too. It's not just Joe the Plumber on the other side. So it takes all types, and it takes all kinds of shows of force at these events, Dana. They got a huge applause when they walked in altogether here. So a little bit of campaign rivalry going on, Dana.

BASH: Sure is. You know, we basically see Joe the Plumber signs here. We haven't seen anybody in plumber outfits. But wouldn't be surprised if we see it. There are 10 days left. You never know what's going to happen, Jessica.

Well John McCain is here in New Mexico while Barack Obama is in the neighboring Nevada. John McCain is going to speak later on in the south of this state. But while we wait for that, we want to go to his running mate, Sarah Palin. She was speaking earlier this week in Findlay, Ohio, and she is really developing this idea that the McCain campaign has been pushing all week long that Joe Biden in remarks that he made to donors last weekend, he basically made the McCain campaign's argument for them with regard to Obama's inexperience. That's what the McCain campaign calls it and his riskiness. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R-AK), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We'll start by asking if you heard what Senator Biden said at a fundraiser on Sunday. He guaranteed that if Senator Obama is elected, we will face an international crisis within the first six months of their administration. He told the Democrat donors to mark my words, he said, that there were at least four or five scenarios that would place our country at risk in an Obama administration.

I guess we've got to say first, thanks for the warning, Joe. In case you're thinking, then that's just another case of Joe getting carried away at the podium, and, no, because we also heard then from former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. She was asked if it was true. Should we expect an international crisis with an untested man, Barack Obama, in the White House?

She said, well, she quotes, "I think it is just a statement of fact." And Joe didn't specify what all those four or five scenarios would be, but for clues let's review the Obama foreign policy agenda.

First, our opponent wants to sit down with some of the world's worst dictators with no preconditions met first. He proposes to meet, for instance, with the regime in Tehran that vows to wipe Israel off the map. So let's call that crisis scenario number one. Then Senator Obama also has advocated sending our U.S. military into Pakistan without the approval of the Pakistani government.

Invading a sovereign territory of a troubled partner in the war against terrorism, you can call that scenario number two. And Barack Obama opposed the surge strategy that has finally brought victory in Iraq within sight, that John McCain pushed for. Barack Obama voted to cut off funding for our troops over there, leaving our young men and women at risk.

He wants to wave that white flag of surrender, pulling out prematurely, leaving some 25 million Iraqis at the mercy of an Iranian supported Shia extremist and al Qaeda in Iraq. They would be at their mercy.

But by his own admission, he says that even that could mean that our troops would have to go back to Iraq, so that's crisis scenario number three. And then after the Russian army invaded the Democratic nation of Georgia, Senator Obama's reaction was one of indecision and moral equivalency, the kind of response that would only encourage Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine next. And that would be crisis scenario number four. But I guess that the looming crisis that most worries the Obama campaign right now got to be Joe Biden's next speaking engagement. That's crisis scenario number five.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: A little bit of humor with a little bit of a dig there at Joe Biden, but this is the McCain campaign's attempt to try to inject national security back into this race that has been completely dominated by the economy. National security is something that everybody agrees that helps John McCain if it would be kind of front and center in this campaign, but it certainly is not.

So that's why you have heard that the McCain campaign, John McCain, Sarah Palin pounding away at these new comments for Joe Biden that they call a political gift. Unclear how much it's going to actually give them in the next 10 days.

Well when we come back, we're going to look at what we think is -- might happen 10 days from now by looking at a snapshot of the national polls as we see it with regard to John McCain versus Barack Obama. Our Bill Schneider is going to take a look at that for us after the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

YELLIN: Welcome back to CNN's BALLOT BOWL. I'm coming to you from Las Vegas, Nevada, where we're awaiting Barack Obama for a rally here. His second of the day in this state that has long been a red state, but Barack Obama vying aggressively for the five electoral votes here. He is pulling ahead in Nevada and that is quite a change of pace from past years. The state twice won by George Bush and has a history of going Republican. Only once going for Bill Clinton in, I think, the last four decades or so. Always a Republican state in the presidential election.

But the man who knows the most about polls, CNN's very own professor in chief, Bill Schneider, who is joining me now. Bill, thanks for being here. Let me ask you. We do this poll of polls. The nationwide poll of polls tends to give us a pretty good snapshot of where the race is. So if Election Day were today, what would we know?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, we would be very surprised but what would happen, according to our poll of polls is Obama could get 51 percent of the vote. He would win the election. That would put him nine points ahead of John McCain at 42 percent of the vote. That 51 percent for Obama is just three points better than John Kerry did four years ago, but McCain's 42 percent is nine points worse than George Bush did four years ago, which means that we're seeing a real loss by the Republicans, but not quite the same gain for the Democrats.

Where is all that vote going? Seven percent of the voters remarkably, but there it is, 7 percent of the voters in this late date of little over a week before the election remain unsure how they're going to vote. Republicans are hoping to take those votes back to the Republican column. Democrats are hoping to reel them in.

YELLIN: And that 7 percent getting more attention than just about anybody else in the universe at this stage from both presidential candidates. Let me ask you one bit of news we can report is that former President Bill Clinton is going to make his first appearance on the campaign trail side-by-side with Barack Obama. He has been out for Obama, but never appeared at a rally with Obama yet, and that is going to happen on Wednesday in Orlando, Florida. Florida has been one of those tense states. Where does Florida stand and how do you think Bill Clinton's appearance would help?

SCHNEIDER: Well, Clinton, of course, is a respected ex-president, former president, especially among Democrats. Although, there is, of course, controversy that always hangs around both of the Clintons. Florida, of course, is the state that made George Bush president in 2000, so Bill Clinton's appearance there, I think, will galvanize a lot of Democratic voters in Florida, though at the risk of turning off some Republicans. But it could also remind a lot of voters that times were good back in the '90s. The Democrats called it a boom. The Republicans called it a bubble. But nevertheless, things were good.

And Barack Obama hopes to be able to communicate the message to the voters that he can manage the economy just like Bill Clinton did simply because a lot of former Bill Clinton advisors are now advising Barack Obama on economic matters.

YELLIN: I got one other poll question for you, Bill. You must get e- mail about the hat. Are the viewers for the hat or against the hat?

SCHNEIDER: Well, this is a new hat, so I haven't heard too much about it. But I can tell you it is cold here. It is cold here in Ohio. This hat is very handy, and this is actually not real fur, but it's still very warm.

YELLIN: OK, thanks. We always look forward to seeing your hats, Bill, thank you and for your information, so thank you for that.

We are going to tack a look back at something that happened earlier this week. I think it was Joe Biden earlier today, I should say, excuse me -- Joe Biden on the campaign trail vying for that 7 percent Bill Schneider was just talking about, those undecided voters, and he has been doing it by going after the McCain-Palin ticket as more of the same old thing. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOE BIDEN (D-DE), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ladies and Gentlemen, you know, in the last debate my friend John McCain felt the absolute need to declare, Bobby, that he was not George W. Bush. And just recently John McCain actually went so far as to compare Barack Obama to George W. Bush.

I have a 10-year-old granddaughter. Her name is Finnegan Biden. She's cute as can be. And Finnegan, as she would say -- she'd look at John McCain and say, "Hello?" You know.

I mean, come on. John, John, John.

And now John McCain is attacking George Bush's budget and his fiscal policy.

But Johnny, where were you the last eight years when you voted four out of five times for his budget?

Well, I'll tell you where John was the last eight years, and it was a matter of principle. I'm not making -- this is not political. It's a matter of principle. John McCain thought that -- he voted with George Bush 90 percent of the time. He believed George Bush was right 90 percent of the time.

Just yesterday -- just yesterday it was reported that President Bush filled out his absentee ballot and he voted for John McCain. Well, I suppose that's what you might call returning the favor.

Ladies and Gentlemen -- Ladies and Gentlemen, look, John McCain -- John McCain is the one who, for the better part of this past year, has been saying literally, not figuratively, saying that, "We've made great economic progress under the Bush economic plan." That's what he was saying up until September the 15th. Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, he's been very out of touch. Sarah Palin, Governor Palin's been very out of touch.

Ladies and Gentlemen, look -- look, I know Halloween's coming, but John McCain dressed as an agent of change is one costume the American people ain't gonna look at it.

I mean, you know, give me a break. Agent of change? Whoa!

Look, on a serious note, I know we're not running against President Bush. But we are running against the very Bush economic policies that John McCain embraces. I mean, literally.

John McCain and Sarah Palin, I love watching them on TV, Bobby, when I get back to the hotel room after these great days, long days but great days, invigorating. The American people are so receptive to our message, in my view, all across America. And I get back and I turn on the television when I get back to whatever hotel or motel room I'm in, in whatever part of the country. And I turn on the television and they always have replays of what went on during the day.

And I love watching Senator McCain and Governor Palin standing on the stage and go, "Hey, maverick. Hey, maverick. We're the mavericks."

Well, I want to tell you -- I want to tell you, they're mavericks. I love it. Well, as Senator Bob Casey from Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States Senator Bob Casey says -- I'm paraphrasing, it -- he says, folks, you can't call yourself a maverick when all you have been the last eight years is a sidekick!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YELLIN: Joe Biden speaking earlier today in Virginia. On the other side of this break, we'll give you some of John McCain saying that he is really relishing his role as an underdog. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DANA BASH, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Welcome back to CNN's "BALLOT BOWL," I'm Dana Bash in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where John McCain is spending his day campaigning. In about a half hour he's going to have a live rally in Mantia (ph), New Mexico, which is in the southern part of the state.

We want to actually bring you to something he did earlier in the week, in fact, on Wednesday. We went back to a state that is very important to John McCain's political career, the state of New Hampshire. That is a state where he came back from the political dead during the Republican primary season. He was absolutely nowhere in the polls, and he went back and held town hall after town hall, and it was there he actually won and then went to win the Republican primary.

Well, he went back to that state because it is a battleground state in the general election, a battleground state he is losing and, according to the polls, losing pretty big. He went back on Wednesday, and he tried to connect with the people who gave him more political life. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have learned a lot over the years from the people of this state, and I know one thing for certain. It doesn't matter what the pundits think or how confident my opponent is. The people of New Hampshire make their own decisions and more than once -- (CHEERS) -- more than once they've ignored the polls and the pundits and brought me across the finish line first. I can't think of any place I would rather be as Election Day draws close than running an underdog campaign in the state of New Hampshire. (CHEERS)

By the way, I see some -- I think some hockey players here. I'll tell Sarah Palin that I met you. One of the great hockey moms in America and my governor -- Governor Palin, and a wonderful person. (CHEERS). I am so proud of the enthusiasm that Sarah Palin has sparked across this country, and I'm proud to have her as my running mate. And I know you're proud of her too. (CHEERS)

Well, as I said, my opponent is looking pretty confident these days. He'll be addressing the nation soon. He's got another one of those big stadium spectacles in the works, but acting like the election is over. (BOOS). It won't let him take away your chance to have the final say in this election.

You know, every once in a while my opponent gives us a little glimpse of what an Obama presidency would be like in the real world. And last week his campaign actually found itself on a detour into the real world in the driveway of Joe the plumber. (CHEERS). Joe didn't ask for Senator Obama to come to his house. And he sure didn't ask to be famous. And he certainly didn't ask for the political attack on him from the Obama campaign. (BOOS).

Joe's dream is to own a small business that will create jobs and the attacks on him are an attack on small businesses all over this nation. (CHEERS.) Small businesses employ 86 percent of Americans, and we need to help small businesses and not raise their taxes.

And as it happened -- as it happened, the Obama tax increase is just what Joe had on his mind. Joe showed the Obama traveling press how to ask a tough question, and get an answer instead of just another talking point. Thanks to him, we finally learned what Senator Obama's economic goal is. As he told Joe, Barack Obama wants to, quote, "spread the wealth around." (BOOS). In other words, in other words, Joe and guys like him will earn the wealth. Barack and people like him will spread it. (BOOS). Joe -- Joe didn't really like that idea much and neither did a lot of other folks who believe that their earnings are their own. (CHEERS). After all, before the government can redistribute wealth, it has to confiscate wealth from those who earned it. And whatever the right word is for that way of thinking, the redistribution of wealth is the last thing America needs right now. (CHEERS). In these tough economics times, we don't need government spreading the wealth. We need policies that create wealth and spread opportunity.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: John McCain with a now familiar theme, attacking Barack Obama for wanting to spread the wealth.

Very interesting that John McCain is closing out -- I expect that Barack Obama is too -- they're closing out on really traditional lines with regard to taxing and spending. Republicans say that Democrats want to tax and spend, and Democrats say the Republicans just want to give a tax break to the wealthy. Very interesting that some things never change.

We are going to go to Barack Obama and hear what he has to say on the issue of the economy. He was speaking in Florida this week about the need for another economic stimulus package. We'll hear that after the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Welcome back to CNN's "BALLOT BOWL." As we await Barack Obama, one of the closing messages we are going to hear from Obama in these last ten days is his look forward. He is going to ask voters, not are you better off now than you were four years ago, but do you expect to be better off four years from now than you are today?

One of the legs of his agenda, to get the economy jump started and improve the outlook for most Americans, is what he is calling his middle class rescue plan. And it includes immediate economic stimulus to help middle class voters. This is the message he has been pounding home in the last few weeks, his proposal for economic reform for the middle class. And it's something he spoke about when he made an appearance in Lake Worth, Florida, earlier this week. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is important to understand that I'm interested in a short-term stimulus through a middle class tax cut to get families who are dealing with higher gas prices, higher fuel prices, higher food prices to be able to weather this storm in the same way we need businesses to weather this storm. But understand what I'm trying to do long-term is to restore some balance in our tax code, because what happened was you had the Bush tax cuts that went disproportionately to the wealthiest Americans, huge corporate tax cuts, and a lot of ordinary Americans didn't get much help. So what I'm trying to do is to provide a tax cut for 95 percent of working families. We are going to roll back the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans, those making more than $250,000 a year. (APPLAUSE).

Now, Senator McCain, I think, over the last several days has been maybe a little confused about my plan. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he just hasn't read it. He has been suggesting that, well, I'm going give -- I'm going to, first of all, take away money from Joe, the plumber. Now, Joe is going to get a tax cut under my plan. And what we're going to do is make sure that ordinary families who are struggling, who are working hard, they get up to $1,000 per family per year. That's going to be a permanent change in our tax code. What Senator McCain lately has also been suggesting, that somehow I'm going to take money from people making over $250,000 and giving it to people who pay, quote, "no taxes." He has been citing this statistic. What he is confusing is the fact that even if you don't pay income tax, there are a lot of people who don't pay income tax. You're still paying a whole lot of other taxes. You're paying payroll tax, which is a huge burden on a lot of middle income families. You're paying sales taxes. You're paying property taxes. There are a whole host of taxes that you are paying. So when we provide an offset to people who are, you know, the waitress or the janitor, these folks are working. This isn't some give-away to people on welfare. (APPLAUSE). This is giving help to people who are working hard every day so that they've got a chance to live out the American dream, too. That's why we have to be clear. (APPLAUSE).

Now, just the second point I want to pick up on, and this is the whole issue of energy efficiency. This is actually the low-hanging fruit. We can create all -- battery technology, and that's great, and create the jobs of the future. We can create a new electricity grid, and that's going to be really powerful. But, you know, simple stuff like insulating homes, like Eric talked about, this isn't high-tech. We can do it right now. We could put people to work insulating homes or changing light bulbs in our school buildings or, you know, everybody here -- I talked about this in a town hall meeting and the Republicans made fun of me. Checking the tire pressure on your car makes a huge difference.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YELLIN: Barack Obama promoting his agenda. And behind the scenes, his aides are privately working the ground game aggressively doing well-laid plans, working out well laid plans to try to get out the voted and win on Election Day. A key component of that for them is early voting. It's a message we hear from the surrogates on the stump. And on the other side of the break, we're going to listen to how Michelle Obama, the candidate's wife, trying to get folks out to vote early. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

YELLIN: Welcome back to CNN's "BALLOT BOWL" coming to you today from Las Vegas, Nevada, where Barack Obama's campaign says 200,000 people have already voted early in the state of Nevada, 200,000 people already voted, and 53 percent of them are Democrats. They consider that a very good sign. They say beyond those numbers, inside them, they believe that many of them -- they say they have proof that many of them are new voters. Signs, they believe, that they're getting these newly registered Democrats to the polls, one of the key components of their strategy to win on Election Day. And as I said before the break, many of Obama's surrogates are pushing this message hard. Voters need to go out and get there early to the polls.

Here is how Michelle Obama made the case when she appeared in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MICHELLE OBAMA, (D), WIFE OF BARACK OBAMA: Every moment counts. So that's why we're doing these big rallies. It's about early voting. Right now. It's about getting people to the polls early, because, first of all, we hope and believe they're going to be there are going to be wonderfully long lines everywhere around the country. And you may not have time to stand in a line on Election Day. You might get a flat tire. You might get sick. You don't want to risk your voice and your vote. You don't want to take that chance. So right now, you've got until right up until Election Day to vote early. (APPLAUSE).

And the beauty of voting early is that once you vote early, you can use Election Day to get other people out. CHEERS). You can take that time to find five people in your life who may have a hard time getting to the polls, maybe some students who are sleeping in a little late. You wake them up. You get them up, you get them out. And if you take responsibility for five additional voters, that's how a movement is created. That's how we got right here, because of you, that kind of involvement. And if you don't think your voice matters, just realize this -- the election in 2004 was lost by hundreds of thousands of votes, not very many. And there are hundreds of thousands of people who are registered right here in Ohio that didn't vote. So trust me, in every election, your voice matters. In this one, it absolutely will. Do not be fooled. (APPLAUSE).

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YELLIN: And many of the nation's secretaries of state are -- sorry, Barack Obama on stage. Let's listen to him.

Sorry, we're going to take a quick break. I'm wrong. We're going to take a quick break and come back to Barack Obama live in Vegas after this break. Apology.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

YELLIN: Welcome back to CNN's "BALLOT BOWL." And as promised, live events going on right now with John McCain in New Mexico and Barack Obama here in Las Vegas. We'll give you some of them both.

First, let's dip into Barack Obama speaking here in Las Vegas, Nevada.

OBAMA: We're going to have to work. We're going to have to struggle. We're going to have to fight, every single one of those ten days to move our country in a new direction. We cannot let up. And we will not let up because it's too important. We've got to bring change to Washington right now. (CHEERS).

One thing we know is that change never comes without a fight. In the final days of campaigns, things can get ugly sometimes. The "say anything, do nothing, do anything" politics often takes over. We've seen it before, we're seeing it now. The ugly phone calls, the misleading mail and TV ads, the careless, outrageous comments, all aimed at keeping us from working together, all aimed at stopping change. Well, you know what? This is not what we need right now. The American people don't want to hear politicians attack each other. You want to hear about how we're going to attack the challenges facing the middle class all over the country. (CHEERS). What we need right now is honest leadership. We need real change. And that's why I'm running for president of the United States of America. (CHEERS)

CROWD: Obama! Obama! Obama!

OBAMA: This -- this is a moment of great uncertainty for America. The economic crisis we face is the worst since the Great Depression. Businesses, large and small, are finding it impossible to get loan loans, which means they can't buy equipment or hire new workers or even make payroll for the workers they have. We've lost over 750,000 jobs this year alone. Unemployment here in Nevada is up 30 percent. Wages are lower than they've been in a decade, at a time when the cost of health care and college have never been higher. It's getting harder and hard to make the mortgage or fill up your gas tank or even keep the electricity on at the end of the month. At this rate, the question isn't whether you're better off now than you were four years ago. The question is, are you better off than you were four weeks ago? (CHEERS)

What we need right now is a real debate about how to fix our economy, how to help the middle class, how to help people stay in their homes. That's not what we're getting from the other side. You know, a couple of weeks ago, my opponent's campaign said if we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose. So they said they're going to be focusing on attacking me instead. Now, that's one campaign promise they've actually kept. All they've been doing is attacking me. They've been throwing everything at us, including the -- including the kitchen sink. All seven of those kitchen sinks have been thrown at me. (CHEERS).

He's even called me a Socialist. He's called -- he's called me a Socialist for suggesting that we focus on tax cuts for the middle class instead of the wealthy, instead of for corporations. Then the other day he took it to a whole new level. He said -- get this. He said that I was like George W. Bush. (LAUGHING). That's what he said. You can't make this stuff up. In what may be the strangest twist of this very strange election, Senator McCain said that I would somehow continue the Bush economic policy, and that he, John McCain, could change them. He denounced the president for letting things get completely out of hand. That's what he said.

Now, John McCain -- that's right. John McCain has been really angry about George Bush's economic policies, except during the primary when he said, we've made great economic progress under George Bush, or just last month when he said that the fundamentals of our economy are strong under George Bush, or the fact that he adopted all of George Bush's policies for his own campaign. In fact, John McCain is so opposed to George Bush's policies that he voted with him 90 percent of the time for the past eight years. That's right. He really decided to stick it to George Bush ten percent of the time.

Let me tell you, John McCain attacking George Bush for his out-of-hand economic policies is like Dick Cheney attacking George Bush for his go-it-alone foreign policy. It's like Tonto attacking the Lone Ranger. Now fortunately, President Bush doesn't seem to be at all offended because yesterday he cast his vote early, like all of you should be casting your votes early. And amazingly enough, George Bush cast his vote for Senator McCain.

That's -- wait, wait, wait. That's no surprise because when it comes to the policies that matter to middle class families, there's not an inch of daylight between George Bush and John McCain, not an inch. Like George Bush, John McCain wants to keep giving tax breaks to oil companies, and CEOs, and companies that ship our jobs overseas. It's the same failed Wall Street first, Main Street last economic policy that we are going to change when I'm president of the United States of America.

Like George Bush, John McCain wants to tax your health care benefits from your employer for the first time in history and let insurance companies keep discriminating against people who need health care...

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're going to continue listening to Barack Obama. But John McCain has just taken the stage in New Mexico. We just want to let you know he is there. We will go to him next, but now more Barack Obama.

OBAMA: Like George Bush, John McCain wants to partially privatize your Social Security, leave it to the whims of the stock market. Like George Bush, John McCain ignored this housing crisis until it was too late and then proposed a $300 billion bailout for Wall Street banks that does hardly anything to help people stay in their homes. Like George Bush, he wants less government regulation of business. He said it again just yesterday. The 21st time he has called for less regulation just this year.

Now none of us want to see unnecessary burdens on business, but after what we've seen on Wall Street, isn't it obvious about now that we need some commonsense rules of the road to protect consumers and to protect our economy?

I don't know about you, but I think we've had enough of Bush/McCain economics. I can take ten more days of John McCain's attacks, but what the American people can't take is four more years of Bush/McCain economics. We're not going to let George Bush pass the torch to John McCain. And we're not going to let John McCain try to hide it from his 26-year record of supporting these same policies. And that's why I'm running for president of the United States of America, because we're going to change those policies.

Now Nevada, I know these are difficult times. And I know folks are worried, but I am convinced we can steer ourselves out of this crisis because I believe in you. I believe in the American people. And I believe in the United States of America. We are a nation that has faced down war and Depression, great challenges and great threats. And in each and every moment, we've risen to meet those challenges, not as Democrats, not as Republicans, but as Americans with resolve and with confidence. That's why we say, yes, we can. Si, se puede. That's what we're all about in this campaign. Si, se puede. Yes, we can. We entered into this campaign with the fundamental belief that here in America, our destiny is not written for us. It's written by us. We decide the future. That's who we are. And that's the country we need to be right now.

But it's going to take a new direction. It will take new leadership in Washington. It is time to turn the page on eight years of economic policies that put Wall Street before Main Street, but end up hurting both. We need policies that grow our economy from the bottom up so that every American everywhere has the chance to get ahead. Not just the person who own it is factory, but the men and woman who work on the factory floor. Not just the CEO, but the secretary, and the janitor. Not just the folks who own the casino, but the folks who are serving in the casinos. .

YELLIN: Barack Obama speaking live here in Las Vegas. And we will continue to monitor his speech. But on the other side of this break, we're going to bring you John McCain who's on stage in New Mexico. Stay with us.

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DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome back to "CNN's Ballot Bowl." I'm Dana Bash in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Before the break, we were listening as Barack Obama speaking live in Las Vegas, Nevada. As you see, John McCain has taken the stage. He is just south of here in Masia (ph), New Mexico. Let's listen to what he says.

JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ...this station and I know you're proud of their work, the people who are there.

(APPLAUSE)

You know, so what happened? Joe the Biden guarantees, guarantees there will be an international crisis if Senator Obama is elected president? The Democrats answer to the challenges we face is to lower our defenses and raise our taxes. That's not the vision I have for America. I want to strengthen our defenses and lower our taxes.

(CHEERING)

The next president won't have time to get used to the office. We face many challenges here at home and many enemies abroad in this dangerous world. We can't spend the next four years as we have spent much of the last eight, hoping for our luck to change at home and abroad.

We have to act. We need a new direction and we have to fight for it.

I've been fighting for this country since I was 17 years old. And I've gotten the scars to prove it. If I'm elected president, I'll fight to shake up Washington and take America in a new direction from my first day in office until my last. I'm not afraid of the fight, I'm ready for it.

I'm not going to spend $750 billion of your money just bailing out the Wall Street bankers and brokers who got us into this mess. I'm going to make sure we take care of the working people who are devastated by the excess and greed, corruption of Wall Street and Washington.

And my friends, one of the first things we have to do is go out and buy up these bad mortgages. Give people a new mortgage so they can stay in their home at affordable rates and help them realize the American dream of staying in their home. And this Secretary of the Treasury and this administration is not doing that. We've got to help people stay in their home. That's how the housing -- this crisis started. Keep people in their homes. I will make that my first priority, my friends.

I have a plan to hold the line on taxes and cut them to make America more competitive and create jobs here at home. We're going to double the child deduction for working families. We'll cut the capital gains tax. We'll cut business taxes to help create jobs and keep American business in America.

Raising taxes makes a bad economy much worse. Keeping taxes low creates jobs, keeps money in your hands, and strengthens our economy. If I'm elected -- when I'm elected president, I won't spend nearly a trillion dollars more of your money. Senator Obama will. And he can't do that without raising your taxes or digging us further into debt.

I'm going to make government live on a budget just like you do. I will freeze government spending on all but the most important programs like defense, veterans' care, Social Security, and health care, until we scrub every single government program and get rid of the ones that aren't working for the American people. I will veto every single pork barrel bill that comes across my desk. You will know their names and I will make them famous.

When I'm elected president, we're going to stop sending $700 billion a year to buy oil from countries that don't like us very much. The other night in the debate, I gave testimony to Senator Obama's eloquence. But I said you have to pay attention to his words. Remember he said he will consider drilling offshore, he will consider nuclear power. My friends, we need nuclear power now. And we need to drill offshore now. And we will do it when I'm president of the United States. We need to do it now.

Friends, we can create 700,000 new jobs by building 45 nuclear power plants. Ask any of our Navy veterans here. We've sailed Navy ships around the world for 50 years with nuclear power plants on them. And we can reprocess and we can store.

And we will invest in all energy alternatives -- nuclear, wind, solar, tide. We'll encourage the manufacturer of hybrid, flex fuel and electric automobiles. We'll invest in clean coal technology. We will lower the cost of energy within months. And we will create millions of new jobs in the United States of America.

Now my friends, got to give you some straight talk, a little straight talk. Let me give you the state of the race today. There's ten days to go and we're a few points down. The pundits have written us off, just like they've done several times before. My opponent is working out the details with Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid, their plans to raise your taxes, increase spending, and concede defeat in Iraq. I'm not going to let any of that happen.

You know what? We just learned from a newspaper today that Senator Obama's inaugural address is already written. You know? I'm not making it up, I'm not making it up. An awful lot of voters are still undecided, but he's decided for them that, well, why wait? It's time to move forward with his first inaugural address.

And my friends, when I pull this thing off, I have a request from my opponent. I want him to save that manuscript of his inaugural address and donate it to the Smithsonian, so they can put it right next to the Chicago paper that said, "Dewey Defeats Truman."

There's ten days left in this election. Maybe Barack Obama will even have his first State of the Union address before you head to the polls. You know, but I guess I'm a little old fashioned about these things. I prefer to let the voters weigh in before presuming the outcome.

What America needs now is someone who will finish the race before starting the victory lap, someone who will fight to the end and not for himself, but for his country. I've fought for you most of my life. I fought for you most of my life and in places where defeat meant more than returning to a Senate seat. There are other ways to love this country, but I've never been the kind to back down when the stakes are high.

I know you'll worry. I know you're worried. America's a great country. We're in a moment of national crisis that will determine our future. And I want to ask you these questions very quickly. Will we continue to lead the world's economies? Or will we be overtaken? Will the world become safer or more dangerous? Will our military remain the strongest in the world? Will our children and grandchildren's future be brighter than ours? My answer to you is yes! Yes!

BASH: And you have been watching John McCain speaking live in Macia (ph), New Mexico. As he has been speaking, his opponent, Barack Obama has also been speaking live in Las Vegas, Nevada. To keep watching these two candidates, you can take a look at CNN.com. We have both of these rallies streaming live on the web. So definitely click on there.

And we are going to now go to a break. And when we come back from a break, we're going to go to THIS WEEK IN POLITICS, which is already in progress. Stay with us.

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